Chapter 152: Chapter 152: The Strange Stone Mixed In
"What fool? She’s my customer."
Nan Qi felt her handmaiden’s words were too rude. "I won’t let you be so impolite to my guest."
The handmaiden, Aduo, had grown up with Nan Qi. The two were as close as sisters, so Aduo wasn’t afraid of her in the slightest.
She chuckled teasingly. "It’s not just me saying it. Even the young master and the others think so."
Nan Qi snorted. "I’m not as talented as my brother and the others, but the Magic Treasures I refine aren’t bad! I’m in the Early-stage Foundation Establishment, yet I can make a Magic Treasure for the Late-stage Foundation Establishment. Isn’t that impressive?"
’Although, it is disposable.’
Aduo shook her head in resignation. "You know it’s disposable, Miss. On the entire Yunzhou Continent, what Cultivator would actually buy a Disposable Magical Treasure, especially for fifty Mid-grade Spirit Stones? Only someone with more money than sense. It was probably the young master and his friends who sent someone in disguise to buy it just to cheer you up."
"Really?" Nan Qi considered the possibility. She pouted. "But I don’t think so. That Cultivator tried to haggle with me, and she even signed a contract."
"Signed a contract?"
Aduo immediately grew worried. "What kind of contract? Miss, you can’t just go around signing strange contracts! That’s not something to be taken lightly!"
"Relax. It just guarantees that the Magic Treasure I made has the power of a Late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator. It’s disposable, so she couldn’t test it. Of course she’d need a contract to feel at ease..."
Aduo frowned. "That may be true, but that’s just how business works. If she thought it was unreliable, she could have just not bought it! You really can’t be so careless about signing contracts, Miss."
Nan Qi stuck out her tongue. "Okay, okay, I get it."
"By the way," Aduo said suddenly, "are those spiritual ores from the Secret Realm trip still here? The Xue Cang Sect sent people to ask the young master, and he said you might still have a piece?"
"Yes." Nan Qi nodded. "I got one, but I haven’t managed to figure anything out about it yet. The Xue Cang Sect wants it?"
As she spoke, she sent her Spiritual Sense into her Qiankun Bag for a closer look.
Suddenly, her expression changed drastically. "Oh no! I gave her the wrong one!"
Aduo was shocked as well. "Miss, what did you give away by mistake?"
Nan Qi scanned everything inside her Qiankun Bag with her Spiritual Sense and confirmed that the spiritual ore was indeed missing.
Nan Qi’s face fell. "Oh, dear... This afternoon, when I sold the Magic Treasure to that Cultivator, she paid the fifty Mid-grade Spirit Stones all at once, and I felt a bit bad. So I offered her a few spiritual ores as a freebie. I was only supposed to give her some ordinary First-rank Spiritual Ores, but that special one looked so much like the others... I think I mixed it in and gave it to her by accident..."
"WHAT?!!!"
Aduo was on the verge of screaming. "Miss, how could you be so absent-minded! That was from the True Moisture Secret Realm! You just gave it away?!"
"SHH, SHH, SHH, SHH, SHH—"
Feeling guilty, Nan Qi immediately clamped a hand over Aduo’s mouth. "Don’t be so loud! Someone might hear you."
Aduo was still frantic. "Then we have to find a way to get it back, don’t we?"
Nan Qi shook her head. "A day has already passed, and she wasn’t using her real appearance when she bought it. There’s no way to know who she is. Besides, I never figured out what that spiritual ore was for or how to open it. It’d be too embarrassing to ask for it back. Let’s just tell the Xue Cang Sect that I used it."
Aduo sighed in exasperation. "You’re always so careless with these little details. Don’t you think that’s the same problem you have when you’re refining treasures? The reason you always mess them up?"
Nan Qi cried, "Don’t say it! Say one more word and my fragile self-esteem will throw a fit!"
Aduo sighed. "Fine. I’ll go ask the Eldest Young Master to speak with the people from the Xue Cang Sect."
Nan Qi looked at Aduo gratefully. "You go on, then. I’m going into seclusion. If anyone comes looking for me, just tell them I’m busy with Artifact Refining and can’t be disturbed."
’At this point, all I can do is hide for a couple of days.’
——
Song Jiulai bought some more Third and Fourth-rank Elixir Pills, then left one of her remaining top-grade spirit stones for the Sect.
’She was worried a player might need to exchange it at a critical moment.’
’The other miscellaneous materials didn’t seem to be of any use.’
Song Jiulai emptied her bag and cleared out the warehouse as well.
The Sect warehouse could be used by both Song Jiulai and the players.
However, unless she gave permission, players couldn’t see or use the items Song Jiulai stored.
Of course, with the system’s shop available, Song Jiulai usually had no need for the warehouse.
This time, she planned to list the few spiritual ores she had received as a bonus from her earlier purchase.
The main reason was that although the spiritual ores from the seller were all First Rank, they were considered relatively rare varieties.
’Putting them in the Sect store to squeeze out a few points was better than nothing.’
As she was about to list one of them, Song Jiulai paused. "Hmm? This doesn’t look like a spiritual ore."
The texture of a spiritual ore was very distinct.
Yet while the stone before her emitted Spiritual Energy similar to a spiritual ore, it felt completely different.
Spiritual ores were generally somewhat transparent, but this stone was like solid white jade; it was impossible to see what was inside.
One could only vaguely make out a black shadow encased within it.
’It’s definitely not.’
The System was a little surprised after scanning it. "The energy source is quite high and pure. This isn’t a First-Rank item."
Song Jiulai picked it up to observe it closely. Even with her Sea of Consciousness, she couldn’t penetrate the stone to see what was inside.
And yet, her naked eye could clearly make out a dark shadow within.
’This was rather peculiar.’
Song Jiulai asked the System, "What’s inside?"
System: "The scan is inconclusive, but I can try to open it. The energy cost will be substantial."
Song Jiulai pondered for a moment. "So the seller gave me such a strange stone? Was it a mistake?"
System: "How could a Cultivator be so careless? It’s a weird rock. It’s possible she didn’t even know what it was and just threw it in as a bonus."
Song Jiulai was convinced.
’After all, it wasn’t realistic to go asking questions about something bought on the black market.’
Song Jiulai held it up, examining it for another moment before saying, "I’ll leave it to you."
’Since the System said it could open it, she might as well let it try.’
System: "You should think it over carefully. Whatever’s inside could be good, but it could also be bad."
Song Jiulai had always been fond of this sort of gamble.
"Let’s give it a shot."
This time, she could see the energy the System was consuming.
Her energy had been full after the last time the Energy Pool was replenished. Even after a period of continuous use, she still had over 900 points.
’She was flush with energy.’
But as the System began to unlock it, it consumed 500 points, and her total instantly dropped below 500.
Song Jiulai’s face paled. "What on earth is this thing? How could it consume so much of your energy at once?"
System: "...I don’t know."
The data calculation just showed that this was the amount of energy required to start dissolving it.
But on the flip side, anything that costs this much energy to unlock is, in all likelihood, extremely powerful.
Of course, whether it’s a good kind of powerful or a bad kind remained to be seen.
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