Chapter 1738 - Overbearing
Three youths entered through another doorway. The oldest appeared to be in his thirties, while the youngest seemed around Liu Wuxie's age. The man who had spoken appeared to know Ye Linghan and walked over with a smile.
Xiao Qian became a little frightened when she saw strangers approaching and quickly hid behind Liu Wuxie.
"Teacher, he's also a mentor of the Azure Flame Dao Hall. I went to him before, but he threw me out," Xiao Qian said, grabbing onto the corner of Liu Wuxie's clothes. She lowered her voice so only the two of them could hear her.
"Mentor Ye, give us some face. Since you're here, let's gather. It would only dampen everyone's mood if you leave like this," the other youths echoed along.
"We still have other matters to attend to, and we won't accompany you," Ye Linghan said firmly and turned around, unwilling to remain there for even another moment.
"Mentor Ye, isn't that a little too rude?" The man who had spoken earlier shifted and blocked Ye Linghan's path. He was also a profound immortal, with cultivation equal to Ye Linghan's.
"Nangong Shan, what do you mean by that? Why are you blocking my way?!" Ye Linghan roared, releasing her aura and forcing Nangong Shan back one step.
"I've long heard of Mentor Ye's fiery temper, and that reputation is well deserved after seeing it today," Nangong Shan said, a lecherous smile flashing deep in his eyes.
"Let's go," Ye Linghan said, turning back toward the way they had come, while Liu Wuxie remained silent.
Shen Chao found himself in an awkward position and quickly followed them.
"Linghan, I'm sorry about this. I didn't expect things to turn out this way," Shen Chao apologized repeatedly. He had only invited Ye Linghan over out of goodwill.
"Take us to buy alchemy cauldrons," Ye Linghan said coldly, her voice devoid of any emotion.
After leaving the courtyard, they entered another hall filled with alchemy cauldrons.
Not long after Liu Wuxie's group arrived in the hall, Nangong Shan and the others followed them inside. There was still some time before the exchange, so they weren't in a hurry and were curious about what Ye Linghan and the others had come to buy.
"Feel free to pick what you need. Tell me once you've made your choice," Shen Chao said, maintaining an enthusiastic smile. After speaking, he turned to attend to Nangong Shan's group.
"Hurry up and choose. Let's leave once you finish," Ye Linghan urged.
Aside from them, dozens of other alchemists were also in the hall, choosing alchemy cauldrons. The cauldrons varied greatly in size, with the smallest as large as a water jar and the largest as massive as a house.
The quality of an alchemy cauldron didn't depend on its size, but on its materials, pill runes, cauldron runes, and many other factors.
Right then, a familiar figure stepped into the hall. Wei Wenbin had also received an invitation to the exchange.
"Brother Wei, you're a little late," Nangong Shan teased.
After arriving, Wei Wenbin was informed by a steward that Shen Chao, Nangong Shan, and the others were in the alchemy cauldron hall. They were all mentors at the Azure Flame Dao Hall and had a good relationship with Shen Chao. They gathered there every month.
"Something delayed me," Wei Wenbin said. He still hadn't noticed Liu Wuxie and Ye Linghan as he greeted Nangong Shan and Shen Chao.
"What could delay Brother Wei for so long? Share it with us," Nangong Shan said. He didn't have class today and had arrived early, so he naturally didn't know what had happened in the Azure Flame Dao Hall.
Wei Wenbin began recounting every strange event that had happened today.
"Are you talking about him?" Nangong Shan asked, pointing at Liu Wuxie.
When Wei Wenbin saw Ye Linghan standing with Liu Wuxie, he couldn't help frowning, and his eyes flashed with murderous intent.
Everyone present had pursued Ye Linghan before, only to be rejected.
"Assistant Liu, why are you here to buy alchemy cauldrons when you're responsible for teaching spiritual arrays?" Wei Wenbin asked teasingly as he stepped forward. After all, he was an alchemy mentor at the Azure Flame Dao Hall.
"Who said that someone who teaches spiritual arrays can't refine pills?" Liu Wuxie replied. He disliked Wei Wenbin, the typical scumbag who schemed behind people's backs.
In contrast, Nangong Shan was far more straightforward and wore his emotions openly. Shen Chao, on the other hand, was a hypocrite. Though he had presented himself as a refined gentleman from the start, the possessiveness lurking in his eyes did not escape Liu Wuxie's notice.
Liu Wuxie countered Wei Wenbin with a single sentence. Liu Wuxie had never liked Wei Wenbin from the moment they first met. It had nothing to do with Ye Linghan. Rather, it was because Wei Wenbin had tried to warn him away with a look during their very first meeting, making it clear that he should stay away from Ye Linghan.
After speaking, Liu Wuxie continued to search for a suitable alchemy cauldron. With Ghost Pupil, he scanned all the cauldrons before locking onto one that wasn't especially large.
The alchemy cauldron looked rather strange, with a missing notch on the edge as though something blunt had struck it. Since someone had shoved it into a corner, few people paid it any attention.
When Liu Wuxie stood beneath the cauldron, his soul sea stirred, and the Heavenly Dao Book released a faint glow.
"Could there be something strange about this cauldron?" Liu Wuxie murmured. He began examining the cauldron more closely, knowing that anything capable of stirring the Heavenly Dao Book couldn't be ordinary.
However, the more he examined the cauldron, the stranger it seemed to him. Its forging technique, artifact runes, pill runes, and everything else looked ordinary. Yet such an insignificant-looking defective cauldron had stirred the Heavenly Dao Book.
"Wuxie, this cauldron is damaged. Let's pick another one," Ye Linghan said. The only advantage of this cauldron was its price, as it was the cheapest in the hall and cost only thirty thousand immortal stones.
Alchemy cauldrons differed from weapons. Their market prices were usually absurdly high because refining one was incredibly difficult. Even a grandmaster blacksmith might not be able to forge an alchemy cauldron alone. It required a blacksmith and an alchemist to work together, which led to their outrageous prices. A high-grade alchemy cauldron could easily sell for over a million immortal stones.
"No need. I'll take this alchemy cauldron," Liu Wuxie replied calmly. He didn't explain his decision. As for the damage on the cauldron, it wouldn't affect pill refinement at all.
"Assistant Liu, since you have made your choice, please follow me to complete the payment," Shen Chao said as he stepped forward to lead Liu Wuxie to the payment cauldron.
"Hold on!" Wei Wenbin spoke out to stop Liu Wuxie.
"Brother Wei, do you have something to say?" Shen Chao asked.
"He's not an alchemist, and what right does he have to buy a cauldron?" Wei Wenbin asked, his sharp gaze fixed on Liu Wuxie. Based on all the information he had gathered, Liu Wuxie wasn't versed in alchemy.
He deliberately raised his voice, drawing the attention of the surrounding customers.
Liu Wuxie frowned. The celestial realm had no rule stating that only alchemists could buy alchemy cauldrons.
The mortal realm did have such a rule, requiring one to pass the alchemy assessment and obtain an alchemy badge to verify one's rank before buying an alchemy cauldron. This rule existed to crack down on fake alchemists and prevent inferior pills from flooding the market. After all, many fake alchemists merely pretended to have skills and sold low-quality pills. People had established such rules to maintain market order.
"Wei Wenbin, what are you trying to say?" Ye Linghan snapped. She only wanted to buy an alchemy cauldron and leave this place immediately.
"He's not an alchemist, and it's against the rules for him to buy a cauldron. After all, each product sold by the Myriad Artifact Pavilion must match the buyer's identity, am I right?" Wei Wenbin replied slowly.
Whether it was a sword or a curved blade, each item had to match the new owner's identity before merchants could sell it. For example, if a swordsman wanted to buy a blade, the Myriad Artifact Pavilion naturally had the right to refuse, and vice versa.
Every item sold by the Myriad Artifact Pavilion was unique, so they naturally wouldn't allow their items to fall into obscurity. Since Liu Wuxie wasn't an alchemist, selling him a cauldron would violate the Myriad Artifact Pavilion's rules.
In short, the Myriad Artifact Pavilion had established this rule to highlight the value of its products. Only through this method could the Myriad Artifact Pavilion sell its goods at sky-high prices.
"Assistant Liu, are you an alchemist?" Shen Chao asked. If Liu Wuxie could verify his identity as an alchemist, he could naturally buy a cauldron.
"I am," Liu Wuxie replied.
"What a joke. You're merely a heavenly immortal, and I bet you can't even activate a cauldron. Yet, you have the cheek to claim that you're an alchemist?" Wei Wenbin sneered, mocking Liu Wuxie in public. As long as he could drive Liu Wuxie away, he would have a chance to get closer to Ye Linghan.
"Wei Wenbin, that's enough!" Ye Linghan snapped.
"Linghan, I'm only doing this out of goodwill so nobody deceives you," Wei Wenbin said earnestly. He believed Liu Wuxie had bewitched Ye Linghan, and he was determined to expose Liu Wuxie's hypocritical mask today.
"Assistant Liu, you can only buy this cauldron if you can prove your identity as an alchemist," Shen Chao added, his tone much heavier.
"How do you want me to prove it?" Liu Wuxie asked, suppressing his anger. If not for the Heavenly Dao Book's reminder, he would have already left. After all, the Myriad Artifact Pavilion wasn't the only place that sold alchemy cauldrons. He believed there had to be a reason the Heavenly Dao Book had chosen this cauldron.
"It's simple to prove it. You only need to refine a cauldron of pills," Shen Chao said with a straightforward request.
"And if I refuse?" Liu Wuxie asked, his voice sinking with fury. Did they expect him to obey just because they ordered him to? If that were the case, he would rather give up the cauldron than become their puppet.
"If that's the case, I'm sorry, but I cannot sell the cauldron to you. Also, I must charge you a thirty-percent handling fee," Shen Chao replied with a helpless expression.
They had already taken the alchemy cauldron down, and even if Liu Wuxie no longer wanted to buy it, he would still have to pay a thirty-percent handling fee.
The Myriad Artifact Pavilion was truly overbearing. Thirty percent of thirty thousand immortal stones came close to ten thousand.
"Is this the rule of your Myriad Artifact Pavilion?" Liu Wuxie asked, murderous intent surging through him. He was truly furious now.
"Liu Wuxie, I advise you to pay the handling fee obediently and get lost from here," Nangong Shan added.
"I'm curious to see who dares to stop me from leaving today," Liu Wuxie said and walked out, giving up on the cauldron.
"Hold on!" Several figures appeared from the shadows and blocked Liu Wuxie's group.
