Chapter 3942 — The Ancient Pure Land
The Blossom Guardian · Page 2 of 2
However many ancient texts Yu Jiang had read, when it came to true discernment, ten of him would not match that one ghostly thing.
With so many shops in the market, a determined eye could always spot a bargain. Sure enough, Wei Zhao soon found an unexpected delight at an unremarkable roadside stall.
It was a pot of small blue grass, known as Blue Light Grass—a fairly common spirit herb. But what truly caught Wei Zhao's eye was not the grass itself, but the pile of black mud in the pot that no one would ever notice.
Had the ghostly thing not spoken up to remind him, Wei Zhao would never have paid it any mind. Compared with the altogether ordinary Blue Light Grass, this pile of black mud was of no small pedigree.
It was called the Pure Land. According to the ghostly thing, this soil appeared only in ancient times—a wondrous earth capable of nurturing the spiritual essence of life. Later, as the environment changed, the Pure Land faded into legend after the ancient era. Nowadays, no amount of money might be enough to find it.
What set Wei Zhao's heart racing was this: if the Pure Land were used in artifact forging, it could imbue a weapon with spirituality—and the effect of such spirituality was something that could only be sensed, never described.
It would not boost attack power, nor add any other special ability. In the short term, no obvious, tangible effect would show. But weapon spirituality was profoundly mysterious; only with time would its wonders gradually manifest.
A weapon with spirituality and one without were existences on two entirely different levels.
Without spirituality, a weapon could only ever be a dead thing. Once spirituality was born, however, it meant infinite possibility—even the legendary growth-type weapons were no longer beyond reach.
First the ten-thousand-year tree crystal, now the ancient Pure Land—with each new find, Wei Zhao grew ever more eager for his coming meeting with the Scrap King. Just imagining what the fine-steel staff might ultimately be upgraded into was enough to set his heart racing.
But for now, the pressing task was to buy the Pure Land first.
"Shopkeeper, how much for this pot of Blue Light Grass?" Wei Zhao asked, betraying nothing in his expression.
The art of the bargain lay in keeping silent and quietly making a fortune. Knowing full well that the ancient Pure Land was a treasure one might encounter but never seek out, he absolutely could not let the slightest oddity show on his face.
Bargain-snatching happened from time to time in the market, so nearly every stall owner was acutely sensitive to it. If Wei Zhao betrayed even a hint of a tell, unforeseen complications could easily arise.
The stall owner looked Wei Zhao up and down and had a vague feeling he had seen this man before, though he could not quite place him. After all, over the past two months, Nan Tianguan and Yu Jiang's crowd had gradually quieted down. Even if the man had seen a portrait of Lin Er, his impression of it had long since blurred.
"Seven spirit jades!" The stall owner, unwilling to think further, named his price without another word.
Wei Zhao could not help but laugh. Shaking his head, he said, "Shopkeeper, you're fleecing me. Blue Light Grass has some value, true, but it's an extremely common spirit herb—you're hardly the only one selling it. That price is far too steep."