Chapter 3742 — Never Meant for You

As far as he knew, across the whole of the five great islands of the Heavenly Tier, the alchemists who had ever refined a top-grade Foundation-Breaking Barrier Pill over the course of history could be counted on one hand. After all, a figure like Zhang Lifeng was a peerless prodigy the likes of which appeared only once in several hundred years; no one else could even come close to matching him.

Generally speaking, being able to refine a high-quality Foundation-Breaking Barrier Pill already counted as exceedingly rare in the world of alchemy. Across the whole of Middle Island on the Cloud Tier, alchemists capable of reaching that level were few and far between, and North Island's own Pill Hall could not produce one at all. As for the legendary top-grade Foundation-Breaking Barrier Pill, that was nothing but a pipe dream!

Besides, even if they made the most generous allowance, even if this penniless wandering cultivator had truly been lucky enough to obtain two top-grade Foundation-Breaking Barrier Pills, he would surely be too busy hiding them to do anything else. How could he possibly bring them out to trade at random?

Yet the shopkeeper's next words left the confident Yu Jiang dumbfounded: "My apologies. The top-grade Foundation-Breaking Barrier Pill may be the stuff of legend, but these two before us are genuine legend made real! Sir, you truly are one who hides his depths—this old man was remiss earlier!"

With that, the shopkeeper bowed deeply to Wei Zhao. A patron who could casually produce two top-grade Foundation-Breaking Barrier Pills was, in their eyes, a veritable living god of wealth!

"You needn't bow!" Wei Zhao hurried to help him up. The shopkeeper had indeed been somewhat cool toward him earlier, but there was nothing truly reproachable in that; the man had been fairly impartial on the whole.

Yu Jiang, however, stood frozen solid at these words.

"Good heavens! How can this be! Shopkeeper, you must have misjudged! This penniless wretch produce top-grade Foundation-Breaking Barrier Pills? Two of them? Who the hell would believe that!" After standing there dumbstruck for a long while, Yu Jiang finally blurted out in shock.

Yet before his words had even faded, the shopkeeper's previously genial expression turned dark as a thundercloud. To say a shopkeeper had misjudged was like cursing a monk to his face as a bald donkey—it was a slap in the face, plain and simple!

Moreover, the top-grade Foundation-Breaking Barrier Pill was such an important and rare treasure—how could he possibly have misjudged it?

"Sir, whether you choose to trust my judgment is your freedom, but if you speak disrespectfully, I may regard it as a provocation against our Hong Clan Merchant Guild. Mind your words!" the shopkeeper said coldly and sternly.

As though a basin of cold water had been poured over his head, Yu Jiang snapped awake. The Hong Clan Merchant Guild was a colossus before which even the higher-ups of the Threefold Pavilion treated with courtesy. As an inner disciple of the Soaring Heaven Pavilion, he might have found some sense of superiority elsewhere, but before the Hong Clan Merchant Guild he was less than nothing!

Never mind how grave the consequences of offending the Hong Clan Merchant Guild might be—just look at the immediate situation: the Star Ink Stone he had set his heart on was still in their hands!

Yu Jiang hastily put on an obsequious smile to make amends: "Shopkeeper, please don't take it to heart. I spoke in the heat of the moment—a slip of the tongue, a slip of the tongue!"

Only then did the shopkeeper's expression soften slightly. He looked at Yu Jiang and said, "For the two top-grade Foundation-Breaking Barrier Pills alone, even calculated at the lowest buyback price of eight hundred spirit jade apiece, they are already worth one thousand six hundred spirit jade. Add the additional four hundred spirit jade, and the total comes to two thousand spirit jade. Sir, if you cannot offer a price of two thousand spirit jade or more, then think no more of this Star Ink Stone."

So he said, and yet in the shopkeeper's heart, even if Yu Jiang truly could produce two thousand spirit jade, it still would not match Wei Zhao's two top-grade Foundation-Breaking Barrier Pills.

After all, if the name of the top-grade Foundation-Breaking Barrier Pill were used to draw a crowd of cultivator heirs to attend the auction, the real profit to be made would be far beyond anything two thousand spirit jade could compare to—three thousand, four thousand, no trouble at all!

Two thousand spirit jade? Good gods, why don't you just rob me outright!

Yu Jiang was so stung that his eyeballs nearly popped out. Fortunately, he reacted quickly enough to clap a hand over his own mouth, barely managing to keep from cursing aloud—otherwise he would likely have been thrown out on the spot.

His earlier bid of one thousand two hundred spirit jade had already been his absolute limit, and he had taken an enormous risk even to make it. Two thousand spirit jade—he could not produce it if it killed him!

Leaving aside how stunned and speechless Yu Jiang was, even Wei Zhao—the very owner who had refined the top-grade Foundation-Breaking Barrier Pills—could not help twitching at the corner of his mouth when he heard the shopkeeper's words. He had known before that a top-grade Foundation-Breaking Barrier Pill was certainly worth far more than an ordinary one, but he had never imagined it could be worth this much.

Still, after a moment's thought, Wei Zhao quickly grasped the reasoning behind it. A top-grade Foundation-Breaking Barrier Pill was indeed different from an ordinary one—it was a scarce resource that could only be stumbled upon, never sought.

As the saying goes, things are precious for being rare. The shopkeeper's valuation of the two pills at one thousand six hundred spirit jade was already extremely low; if they were truly put on sale, the asking price would at least double!

And even at a higher price, there would absolutely be bidders scrambling to buy them. Especially those cultivator heirs with truly deep backgrounds—to snatch up such a rare prize, they would not care a whit about spending that much spirit jade!

Yet though he had underestimated the value of his two top-grade Foundation-Breaking Barrier Pills beforehand, Wei Zhao did not feel he had been shortchanged or aggrieved.

After all, as far as he was concerned, so long as he had the materials ready, he could refine more Foundation-Breaking Barrier Pills at any time, and they would absolutely come out top-grade. But the Star Ink Stone was one of a kind—miss it, and it was gone.

So two top-grade Foundation-Breaking Barrier Pills plus four hundred spirit jade in exchange for a Star Ink Stone was absolutely worth it!

The shopkeeper waited a moment. Seeing Yu Jiang red-faced and silent for so long, he said, "Time is precious. Sir, if you cannot offer a higher price soon, this old man can only declare that the Star Ink Stone is not meant for you."

Not meant for me? How could it not be meant for me?

Three whole years of enduring hardship in the Scripture Repository, and only then had he finally discovered such a priceless treasure capable of changing his fate. For it he had even taken out a high-interest loan of one thousand two hundred spirit jade, and for a full month he had gone without sleep, thinking of it day and night—and now they declared it was not meant for him!

To hell with not being meant for me! Yu Jiang's expression had already twisted into something utterly hideous. Only the last shred of reason remained, enough to keep his lips clamped shut and hold his tongue.

For he knew that if he spoke even one disrespectful word now, he would next have to face the Hong Clan Merchant Guild's resident experts. These men were a match for the core disciples of the Threefold Pavilion—not someone the likes of Yu Jiang could afford to provoke!