Chapter 1996
It did not take long for the two of them to arrive before a sealed chamber . There were many layers of formations constructed over it, and there were four True Immortal realm guards standing outside .
A middle-aged man dressed in a thick fur coat noticed Elder He's presence and quickly walked over to greet him .
Elder He introduced the middle-aged man to Zhang Xuan . "This person here is Boss Hu of Wuhai Market . Boss Hu, this young man over here is a core disciple of the Ascendant Cloud Sword Pavilion, Zhang Xuan . He might be young, but his expertise as an appraiser is far above mine!"
"Far above yours?" Boss Hu was surprised by Elder He_s high evaluation of Zhang Xuan, such that he could not help but reassess the young man before him once more .
Elder He was the chief appraiser of the Wuhai Market, and the two of them had known each other for several decades . As such, he was very familiar with the other party's temperament .
Considering how formally Elder He was introducing this young man to him, it was likely that this young man was the real deal!
It was just that he could not help but harbor a hint of doubt at the back of his mind . Appraisal was highly dependent on the scope of one's knowledge; the older one was, the more knowledgeable one was likely to be . It was a little hard for him to imagine a twenty-year-old being truly proficient as an appraiser .
Despite his doubts, he did not show any sign of making light of Zhang Xuan at all . Instead, he turned to the latter and bowed slightly . "Brother Zhang, it's a pleasure to meet you . For Elder He to have such a high opinion of someone as young as you, you must be a truly capable individual!"
"Boss Hu, you are flattering me," Zhang Xuan replied calmly .
The middle-aged man before him did not have a particularly impressive presence, having sealed his zhenqi deeply so as to not reveal any hint of it . Nevertheless, through the Eye of Insight, Zhang Xuan was still able to see that the other party had already reached Half-High Immortal!
With such a level of cultivation, the middle-aged man could be considered among the top echelons of Wuhai City . "Come, follow me!"
After trading some pleasantries, Boss Hu took the two of them into the room ahead .
Without wasting too much time, Boss Hu gestured toward the object ahead and said, "Brother Zhang, this is the artifact that I would like you to appraise . "
At the center of the room was an object around the height of a person wrapped in a layer of black cloth .
Pulling the cloth off, a glistening rock dyed in the striking color deep crimson was revealed . It seemed to have been worked on before, such that the gleam reflecting off the rock was particularly bright . It was slightly similar to a blood jade, but again, it did not really seem so either .
"It's just a piece of rock?" Zhang Xuan frowned .
Considering the exceptionally high reward for the mission, as well as the fact that a skilled appraiser like Elder He was unable to discern its true nature, he had expected an invaluable treasure of some kind . . . but it turned out to be a piece of rock instead!
This was truly surprising .
"Don't underestimate it just because it's a piece of rock . It has an appearance similar to a blood jade, but the blood jade doesn't have a glow as warm as it . Its texture is reminiscent of that of a blood crystal, but blood crystals are known to exist in smaller sizes . I have browsed through innumerable books, and there was nothing that tallied with this rock . At least a hundred appraisers have been brought in to appraise the rock, but none of them have been able to discern its origin or name . As such, we chose to seek the help of the Ascendant Cloud Sword Pavilion!" Elder He said .
There were several reasons that they had chosen to engage the help of core disciples .
Firstly, most core disciples in the Ascendant Cloud Sword Pavilion came from illustrious clans, so there was a chance that they might have chanced upon something similar to it .
Secondly, core disciples were not as powerful as the elders, so even if they appraised the rock to be something valuable and attempted to take it for themselves, they would still be able to do something about it .
It was a survival of the fittest world that they lived in, so this was something that could not be helped . Besides, it would be truly scary if the enemy feigned a lack of interest but resorted to underhanded means to acquire it . That would really be extremely troublesome .
Dealing with a core disciple was simply much easier .
Hearing those words, Zhang Xuan nodded slightly .
While they were speaking, he had already tried assessing the rock with his Eye of Insight, but to his astonishment, he was unable to discern it .
He had read all the books in the libraries of the inner disciples, core disciples, and elders . In terms of general knowledge, even elders who had lived on the Forsaken Continent for centuries would not be a match for him . Yet, he was actually unable to identify the rock through his Eye of Insight . There was indeed something amiss with it .
"Have you tested the rock's attributes yet?" Zhang Xuan asked .
If it was just an unidentifiable rock, Boss Hu would not have gone to the extent of gathering so many appraisers and even seeking help from the Ascendant Cloud Sword Pavilion . There had to be some sign that hinted to him that this rock was not an ordinary artifact .
"We did . The most intense flames used by the strongest blacksmith in Wuhai City are unable to faze it, and High Immortal-tier weapons can't even leave a scratch on it," Elder He said .
Knowing that such information was crucial to appraising the artifact, they chose not to withhold any information at all .
"It's impermeable to flames, and even High Immortal-tier weapons aren't able to scratch it?" Zhang Xuan was astonished .
High Immortals could already be considered the top existences on the Azure, but even a weapon of that tier was unable to leave a scratch on it . Could this stone have reached Semi-Divinity or even beyond?
That would explain why Boss Hu was willing to spend so much money on it . Most likely, he was planning on selling this item for an astronomical sum after confirming what it was .
"Brother Zhang, I'll have to trouble you to take a good look at the stone and help us figure out what it is!" Elder He clasped his fist .
"Very well," Zhang Xuan replied as he walked up to the stone .
The crimson-emerald stone had a heavy presence that weighed down on one . Without even coming into contact with it, Zhang Xuan could tell that even he would have trouble trying to lift it with his current cultivation realm .
While he was only at the Heavenly Pseudo Immortal realm, his strength should be comparable to a Heavenly True Immortal . Despite that, he was still incapable of lifting it up . This stone was really getting more and more interesting to him .
"Brother Zhang, do you need a compass or any other equipment for your appraisal?" Elder He asked as he watched Zhang Xuan approaching the rock without any tools in hand .
Usually, when it came to appraising stones, one would try to measure its density, weight, and other properties using all kinds of tools in order to make a more informed deduction regarding the identity of the artifact .
Yet, Zhang Xuan was completely empty-handed . It was almost as if he thought that he could figure out what the rock was just by staring at it .
In response to Elder He's question, Zhang Xuan waved his hand and said, "There's no need for that for now . . . "
He slowly circled the rock contemplatively before reaching out to touch it lightly .
Weng!
A book materialized in the Library of Heaven's Path .
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