Serpent Ancestor

Five thousand spirit stones were enough to deter most Foundation Establishment cultivators.

Among the storage bags Xu Hei had acquired, only a few of Xuan Yangzi’s direct disciples and a couple of deeply hidden individuals had more than five thousand spirit stones.

”What is this ancient map?” Xu Hei asked.

”This is a map of an ancient ruin. The story behind it is quite significant...” Han Te began to boast.

He claimed that two Core Formation Stage cultivators fought fiercely over this ancient map, and he had obtained it by sheer luck.

He had once formed a team to explore the ruins, led by a Core Formation Stage cultivator, but the entire team perished, leaving him as the sole survivor.

As for the mechanism box, it was discovered within the ruins.

With permission, Xu Hei picked up the mechanism box and examined it. There was a keyhole on it, and the size...

Xu Hei was suddenly startled.

He had found a key in the black jade storage artifact of the old ape, and its size seemed to match this keyhole.”Could it be such a coincidence?”

Xu Hei was uncertain but remained outwardly calm, placing the box back down and turning his attention to the mirror.

Inwardly, he was debating whether to buy the mechanism box.

Five thousand spirit stones were no small amount.

”Hey? Isn’t that the mirror from the Purple Mist Pavilion? How did it end up here?”

A surprised voice came from behind.

Xu Hei turned to see a young cultivator dressed in luxurious clothes, exuding an extraordinary aura, likely a scion of a great family.

Han Te’s expression changed, and he looked around before lowering his voice, ”Do you recognize this item, fellow cultivator?”

”Indeed!”

The noble cultivator nodded slightly and stepped forward, ”I’ve seen it once before. How did it end up in your hands?”

Han Te sighed, ”To be honest, this mirror is an ancient relic that had been stored in the Purple Mist Pavilion for many years, but no one could decipher its mysteries until one day, a demon stole it!”

”And that demon used this mirror to defeat Xuan Yangzi!”

Han Te lowered his voice for the last two sentences, as if transmitting the information only to Xu Hei and the noble cultivator.

The noble cultivator’s expression changed immediately, indicating he had heard of it before.

”I acquired this mirror by chance, and the details are inconvenient to disclose,” Han Te said.

The noble cultivator pressed, ”What exactly does this mirror do?”

”Its function...” Han Te took a deep breath and lowered his voice mysteriously, ”It can create inner demons!”

Both the noble cultivator and Xu Hei were shocked.

Han Te’s words were so convincing that if the genuine mirror wasn’t in Xu Hei’s possession, he might have been deceived into buying it.

”Really? You’re not a fraud, are you?” the noble cultivator asked suspiciously.

Han Te glanced at him disdainfully, ”If you don’t believe me, I can demonstrate, but you’ll have to buy it first.”

The noble cultivator hesitated for a moment, then gritted his teeth, ”If it truly can create inner demons, this treasure is priceless. I, Bai, will definitely buy it!”

Han Te smiled slightly.

”Watch closely, I can only demonstrate a fraction of its power.”

Han Te picked up the mirror and chanted a spell. The mirror emitted a faint light and shone on the Bai family cultivator.

Suddenly, Bai Ye’s expression changed as if he had seen something terrifying, and he staggered back.

”It’s really... an inner demon!”

His eyes were filled with fear, and he clutched his chest as if struck by a heavy blow, spitting out a mouthful of blood, as if an invisible person was attacking him.

Han Te retracted the mirror and sneered, ”Now, do you believe me?”

Bai Ye nodded quickly, still shaken, ”I believe, I believe!”

Xu Hei was baffled. He had tried various methods but couldn’t see what was in front of Bai Ye.

But judging by his reaction, it seemed he had indeed been attacked.

”Could it be that Han Te created a replica using the mirror?”

Xu Hei vaguely sensed something. The mirror wasn’t entirely useless; it still had some effects of a magical treasure.

”Damn it!”

Bai Ye touched his storage bag and panicked, ”I didn’t bring enough spirit stones! Can I owe you five hundred? I’ll go get it right away.”

”That’s not possible. No credit here!” Han Te frowned.

Bai Ye was so anxious he was almost jumping, ”Fellow cultivator, can you lend me five hundred? I’ll repay you double, no, triple!”

Xu Hei decisively refused.

Bai Ye had no choice, sweating profusely, ”Hold it for me, I’ll be right back with the money!”

With that, he disappeared as fast as he could.

Xu Hei watched him leave, frowning slightly.

Could these two be colluding to put on a show?

That Bai family cultivator might not have encountered any inner demons at all; it was all an act.

One selling fake goods, the other acting as a shill!

This...

Xu Hei was speechless. If he hadn’t opened his Heavenly Eye and known the real mirror was with him, he would have been deceived.

”Creating a fake, selling it for five thousand, and using real rumors to make people believe...”

Xu Hei suddenly felt that the city was full of schemes, and he just wanted to go back to the mountains.

Seeing Xu Hei still hesitating, Han Te raised an eyebrow and smiled, ”Fellow cultivator, time waits for no one. That Bai family cultivator might return any moment.”

Xu Hei remained silent for a long time, then took out a storage bag with ten thousand spirit stones, ”A total of ten thousand spirit stones for these three items. If you don’t sell, I’ll leave immediately.”

Han Te’s face stiffened, and he shook his head repeatedly, ”Three items for fifteen thousand, no bargaining!”

”Then goodbye! I want to see if that Bai family cultivator will come back.”

Xu Hei sneered and turned to leave decisively.

Han Te panicked, feeling like ants were crawling all over him, but he remained outwardly calm, sitting still.

Until Xu Hei reached the marketplace gate, Han Te transmitted, ”Ten thousand, I agree!”

Xu Hei returned, threw out the storage bag with ten thousand spirit stones, and took all three items from the stall.

”Fellow cultivator, here’s the method to use the mirror.” Han Te tossed a jade slip over.

Xu Hei caught the jade slip and left without looking back, heading to an inn under the Myriad Treasure Pavilion.

...

Myriad Treasure Pavilion, marketplace.

Not long after Xu Hei left, the Bai family cultivator returned.

He looked around cautiously and approached Han Te, ”Senior Han, did it work?”

”It worked, but that person... seemed to have noticed something wrong with the mirror,” Han Te said seriously.

”What?” Bai Ye was stunned.

”Anyway, we sold the other two treasures, so it’s not a loss,” Han Te said.

”Are the other two also fake?” Bai Ye couldn’t help but ask.

Han Te glanced at him and smiled, ”I, Han, do business with a mix of truth and falsehood. What I said before was not a lie, and the items are real. Don’t ask more.”

...

In the inn.

Xu Hei looked at the jade slip’s instructions, which said the mirror needed to be refined for a year before it could be used.

”Damn it!”

Xu Hei threw the mirror on the ground.

It wasn’t even a replica, just a piece of junk! Completely useless!

After hesitating for a while, Xu Hei picked up the mirror and put it back in his storage bag. He had spent money on it, and if he ever got the chance, he would demand a tenfold refund!

Xu Hei could only pin his hopes on the mechanism box now.