Chapter 306: Chapter 304: Sinking Mountain
The long saber was dark and unsharpened. It had a simple, ancient look, with nothing remarkable about it.
But Jiang Jichen could see two words engraved on the dark long saber.
Sinking Mountain!
As the name implied, this saber was heavy enough to sink a mountain.
It was forged from Celestial Heavy Iron. Otherwise, how could a small saber, just over a meter long, possess the power to sink a mountain?
Moreover, Celestial Heavy Iron was incredibly difficult to melt. It could not be forged by anyone less than a supreme Master Level Artifact Refiner.
However, aside from being heavy and indestructible, Sinking Mountain seemed to have... no other strengths.
For example, it could not achieve Spirit Communication or amplify Sword Skill. Furthermore, it was so heavy that it was simply not something a Spirit Cultivator could wield easily.
For a Spiritual Artifact that couldn’t achieve Spirit Communication, a Spirit Cultivator would have to use an unknown amount of Spiritual Power just to lift and swing it. How could they possibly fight an enemy freely?
But for a Body Refiner, this saber was a priceless treasure. It couldn’t be more suitable.
The more Jiang Jichen looked at it, the more he liked it.
And then he saw the name of the person who left the message... Broken Ancient!
What an imposing name. And what arrogance!
’Broken Ancient... to rule supreme through all of antiquity?’
’Does he want to forge the strongest Divine Artifact of all time?’
Jiang Jichen was shocked, but in the end, he confirmed the trade without hesitation.
After the trade was confirmed, an old man dressed like a beggar quickly appeared.
His hair was a mess, his face was covered in wrinkles, and his eyes... they glinted with a lecherous light.
’Yes, lecherous!’
As soon as he appeared, a sharp voice called out, "Kid, are you sure you want to trade with me? You’re getting a real bargain!"
Jiang Jichen was speechless. ’This man is dressed even more like a beggar than I used to be, yet he wasn’t thrown out and was even allowed in here. The difference in treatment is truly vast.’
Before Jiang Jichen could speak, the scruffy old man had already spoken up, "But, for the proprietress’s sake, hehe... I won’t haggle with you. Take Sinking Mountain, and give me the Seven-Section Bloodthirsty Bamboo!"
As he spoke, the old man wasn’t looking at Jiang Jichen. Instead, his lecherous gaze was fixed on the proprietress. ’That image... how could he possibly be Broken Ancient, the man with such an incomparably domineering name?’
’He’s ruining the name!’
Jiang Jichen felt that from now on, he would absolutely never judge a person by their name.
The reality was too different from his imagination; for a moment, he found it hard to accept.
Even the proprietress and the others had strange expressions. They hadn’t expected Jiang Jichen to actually trade with Elder Broken Ancient.
They felt a wave of disappointment!
Just then, Elder Broken Ancient, holding a blade box, said, "Kid, it has a Three-Layer Seal on it. Every time you undo a layer, Sinking Mountain’s weight will increase tenfold! You’re a scrawny little thing. Be careful not to get crushed, haha..."
’This old man isn’t just lecherous, his words are foul too. I really... really want to slap his face!’
However, the old man’s words truly shocked him, because when he took the blade box, his hand sank!
’At least ten thousand pounds!’
Jiang Jichen estimated its weight in his mind.
’And with a Three-Layer Seal... if all three were undone, wouldn’t it weigh ten million pounds?’
’This... Sinking Mountain can’t even achieve Spirit Communication. Who could possibly swing it?’
Jiang Jichen couldn’t help but suck in a sharp breath.
Even he, at the Tenth Layer of Body Refining, could only comfortably handle a saber weighing ten thousand pounds. If it were heavier, he could still use it, but not with any real freedom of movement.
"Hmph, besides being heavy, what’s so special about this saber? Besides, for a Spiritual Artifact that can’t achieve Spirit Communication, the heavier it is, the bigger its flaw. Little brother Lingchen, you should trade with me instead. I’ll trade you my Blood Shadow Traceless Saber. It’s a Low-grade Celestial-Level Spiritual Artifact!"
At that moment, an old man dressed in black brocade walked out. When Jiang Jichen saw him, he was slightly alarmed.
’The man is at the Spirit Infant Perfection Realm, and it seems he’s suppressing his Cultivation.’
The moment this old man appeared, everyone couldn’t help but take a step back, not daring to get too close. They were clearly terrified of him.
But Elder Broken Ancient, who seemed to have ordinary Cultivation and a lecherous demeanor, showed no fear of him at all. Instead, he laughed mockingly, "Hehe, Old Ghost Qiao, that Blood Shadow Traceless Saber of yours is as brittle as a toothpick. My Sinking Mountain could smash you with a single blow. Hmph... Once my Sinking Mountain is fully unsealed, it’ll be an existence that surpasses Holy Artifacts. Your brittle saber isn’t even worth a damn..."
The old man called Qiao He smiled faintly. "You’d have to be able to lift it first, wouldn’t you? In this world, if someone could lift the hundred thousand great mountains, that too would be an existence surpassing Holy Artifacts. What need would there be for you to refine anything? Ridiculous. Any peerless Spiritual Artifact is only useful if it can be used. To put it bluntly, your Sinking Mountain is just a pile of Celestial Heavy Iron melted together. There’s not a shred of technical skill involved. It can’t be used with Spiritual Techniques or Saber Techniques. It’s nothing but a pile of scrap metal..."
The lecherous Broken Ancient grew furious. "Bullshit! That’s absolute bullshit! Old Ghost Qiao, you must know that I’m refining a true Saint Weapon and need the Seven-Section Bloodthirsty Bamboo. You’re doing this just to spite me, hmph... But the kid has already confirmed the trade with me. What can you do about it?"
After his outburst, Broken Ancient put on a smug expression.
But Qiao He just smiled coldly. "So what? This little brother hasn’t actually completed the trade with you. At most, he’ll just have to pay a small penalty for breaking the agreement. I, Qiao, will cover that for him!"
"You..."
This time, Elder Broken Ancient was truly getting anxious. He was afraid Jiang Jichen would really refuse to trade with him.
And the truth was just as the old man Qiao He had said.
It was just that he no longer had anything of value on hand. He had already traded everything for peerless materials to forge his Saint Weapon.
In the end, he was still missing just one Bloodthirsty Bamboo!
That was why he had no choice but to take out even his last treasure, Sinking Mountain, to trade.
Although, just as Qiao He said, this Sinking Mountain was unusable and no different from junk.
But if he hadn’t been at the end of his rope, Elder Broken Ancient would never have been willing to offer Sinking Mountain in a trade.
And now, even after he’d brought out Sinking Mountain, a complication had arisen.
If Jiang Jichen refused to trade with him, all his previous efforts would be for nothing.
Of course, he could find other Bloodthirsty Bamboos, but how could they compare to a Seven-Section Bloodthirsty Bamboo?
With the Seven-Section Bloodthirsty Bamboo, Broken Ancient was ninety percent confident he could forge a true Saint Weapon!
His Artifact Refining Realm was at a watershed moment. If he succeeded, his Artifact Refining Skill would undergo a qualitative leap.
He might even become... a Holy Artifact Master!
Therefore, the Seven-Section Bloodthirsty Bamboo was of utmost importance to him. The moment he heard that a Seven-Section Bloodthirsty Bamboo had appeared at the Yunlai Inn, he immediately came over carrying Sinking Mountain.
As for the old man Qiao He, he naturally wanted to seize the Seven-Section Bloodthirsty Bamboo for himself, and at the same time, prevent Broken Ancient from forging a Saint Weapon.
At this moment, everyone’s gaze was fixed on Jiang Jichen, waiting for his answer.
By now, of course, no one dared to try and compete with Elder Broken Ancient and Qiao He.
In everyone’s opinion, the Seven-Section Bloodthirsty Bamboo would probably end up in Qiao He’s hands. After all, to any Spirit Cultivator, the Sinking Mountain, unable to achieve Spirit Communication, was truly just a pile of heavy scrap metal.
Jiang Jichen was currently stroking the ancient patterns on the Sinking Mountain Blade Box. As he immersed his mind in it, he actually felt a faint sense of resonance.
"Little brother, this old man is Qiao He, an Elder of the Qiao Family, one of the three Great Families of the Central District. You should think carefully before making your decision!"
Finally, Qiao He added one last, casual-sounding sentence.
But anyone could hear that it was brimming with threat.
However, Jiang Jichen tapped the blade box, slung it onto his back, and casually flicked the Seven-Section Bloodthirsty Bamboo toward Elder Broken Ancient, saying, "I want Sinking Mountain!"
