Chapter 163: Five Skandhas Seal-Breaking Talisman

Not only Chen Mu, but everyone was filled with doubt as they gazed upon the ancient talisman. Such a tattered and worn paper talisman possessed Yuan Qi fluctuations so weak they were barely perceptible. Could such an item truly hold any value?

The person speaking this time was not the auctioneer, but Jiang Ying, one of the several Nascent Soul stage cultivators from the organizing committee.

Unlike others, Jiang Ying and his entourage of organizers wore no concealing equipment whatsoever, brazenly exposing their true appearances and auras for all to see, as if they entirely cared not whether anyone might harbor designs on the treasures in their possession.

Yet, Jiang Ying and his companions indeed possessed the confidence to act thus, for every single one of them was at the Great Circle of the Nascent Soul stage, and each was presumably only a hair's breadth away from stepping into the Divine Transformation stage.

Stepping into the trading circle, Jiang Ying cupped his fists and said in a ringing voice, "I am Jiang Ying, the young master of the Jiang family in Kuan'an City, and the son of the current patriarch, Jiang Weiming. I believe you all recognize me, so without further ado, let me speak directly of this talisman. I brought this talisman back from an ancient ruin at the risk of my life, nearly dying in the process. It should be an artifact from the ancient era. Although its primordial energy has dissipated and it appears ordinary, every time I hold it in my hand, I feel an inexplicable sensation. I cannot put this feeling into words, but I can be certain that this talisman is by no means ordinary, for back then, it was stored in the very center and most crucial location of the ruin, resting within a jade box, which already demonstrated its supreme importance. Of course, you may think that after such an immensely long epoch, no matter how important it once was, it would have lost its spirituality and its primordial energy would have long since dissipated, am I right? Yet, no sooner had I approached this talisman than the stone statues within the chamber suddenly came to life and attacked me. Those stone statues were already battered and broken beyond repair, but their offensive might was such that even if everyone in this underground plaza were to combine forces, we could not have resisted it, for that attack unquestionably possessed the strength of the early Dharma-Phase stage."

Jiang Ying's tone grew increasingly solemn, and his words caused every single participant in the trading assembly to draw in a sharp breath of cold air. A stone puppet left over from the ancient era actually possessed the strength of the early Dharma-Phase stage? Wasn't it already ruined and broken? Furthermore, how had Jiang Ying managed to survive such an attack?

Sighing, Jiang Ying understood what everyone was thinking and immediately answered, "Before leaving home, I was bestowed with a top-tier Divine Transformation stage inner armor by my father, and he also imprinted a defensive divine sense of the early Dharma-Phase stage upon my body, which could preserve my life once. That was how I managed to survive that Dharma-Phase stage blow without perishing. Although my life was spared, the attack was so terrifying that it instantly inflicted severe injuries upon me, and that inner armor was shattered into countless pieces."

Jiang Ying's words caused everyone present to swallow hard. Just how perilous had that been? It was practically teetering on the edge of the abyss! Although this scene was merely being recounted in words, the listeners still felt a chill run through their hands and feet.

Yet a problem remained: Jiang Ying's protective divine sense could only preserve his life once, so what would happen if the stone statue attacked again? Wouldn't he be left entirely without means of defense? Everyone waited for Jiang Ying to continue his story.

"Although I blocked that fatal strike, another fatal strike descended immediately afterward. However, prior to that, the shockwave had thrown me toward the jade box, knocking it over and exposing the talisman. Though the stone statue lacked eyes and a mouth and its expression was unreadable, I am certain that at that moment, the stone statue seemed exceedingly wary of the exposed talisman and dared not approach this side to attack me. Therefore, I picked up the talisman and clutched it in my hand. As a result, the stone statue actually retreated two paces. In this manner, using the talisman to ward off the stone statue, I dragged my heavily wounded body and retreated from the ruins."

Upon hearing the course of events, the crowd turned exceptionally solemn. If that was the case, this talisman most likely truly held some secret unknown to ordinary cultivators. If it were merely a useless ancient talisman, the stone statue would never have exhibited such deep wariness.

Moreover, that stone statue had unquestionably gained spiritual sentience after traversing the long river of time—in other words, it had developed what is commonly known as an artifact spirit. Otherwise, an emotional reaction like wariness, which only sentient beings possess, would never have manifested.

Having learned of the talisman's extraordinary origins, the minds of the cultivators began to stir. Someone immediately asked, "Young Master Jiang, do you happen to know what purpose this talisman actually serves?"

Jiang Ying sighed and said, "Had I known, I would not be bringing it out to trade for other items. Ever since I brought this talisman back nearly two years ago, I have made no discoveries whatsoever. Whether infusing it with primordial energy or pressing it against my skin, it yields no effect. I only know that although this talisman is tattered, it is impervious to water and fire; aside from that, as you can see, it is no different from an ordinary object. Therefore, no matter how I study it, I reap no rewards, and it seems I have no affinity with it. Thus, I wish to transfer it in exchange for fourth-tier or even higher-grade spiritual materials and medicinal herbs that can nourish qi and blood and aid in healing. After all, ever since that incident, although my injuries have mostly healed, chronic ailments and internal wounds still remain."

The crowd offered wry smiles. Even the young master of a great clan in Kuan'an City like Jiang Ying could not make heads or tails of it, so what could they possibly discover? Furthermore, fourth-tier blood-nourishing medicines were not particularly rare commodities. While their value might be slightly lower than this talisman, the talisman's purpose remained completely unknown. Such a transaction would undoubtedly be a losing proposition.

Chen Mu narrowed his eyes. He indeed possessed fourth-tier or even higher blood-nourishing medicinal herbs, but those were meant for his own consumption.

This Jiang Ying did not seem to have been present at the tea gathering earlier. Clearly, either Wanyan Shen had not invited him, or Jiang Ying had declined Wanyan Shen's invitation. In Chen Mu's view, the latter was far more likely.

Given such confidence, Jiang Ying's Jiang family must possess considerable strength within Kuan'an City, right? The Jiang family? Wasn't that the very same Jiang family behind the teahouse they had entered upon first arriving in Kuan'an City?

Although Jiang Ying appeared very modest, repeatedly referring to himself humbly, this young genius was also fraught with arrogant pride. To reach the Great Circle of the Nascent Soul stage at around thirty years of age was an extraordinary achievement, so it was impossible for him to be entirely devoid of pride.

Yet the fact that he could restrain and conceal this pride while displaying such modesty indicated that Jiang Ying was certainly no simple character. Of course, it was also possible that Jiang Ying was genuinely humble by nature, but Chen Mu did not believe this for a moment. After all, the obsequious auctioneer by his side clearly harbored a trace of fear toward Jiang Ying. How could a genuinely modest and amiable person cause his own subordinates to be so fearful?

However, Chen Mu cared not whether Jiang Ying was a tiger or a wolf. Since Rou'er had taken a fancy to this Five-Elements Seal-Breaking Talisman, he would do everything in his power to trade for it, even if it meant resorting to plunder.

Therefore, Chen Mu hesitated not a moment as he stepped into the trading circle, intending to make the exchange. This action left those around him astonished and dumbfounded. Could this fellow Daoist actually possess blood-derived medicinal herbs of the Nascent Soul stage or above? Even if he did, he shouldn't waste them on a talisman of unknown utility!

Seeing Chen Mu step forward, Jiang Ying's gaze tightened slightly. He was somewhat surprised that Chen Mu had chosen to step out.

In fact, he had previously observed Chen Mu because the latter had exchanged for the three Lightning Fire Beads, but since Chen Mu had not revealed a single flaw, Jiang Ying had been unable to discern anything unusual about him.

To be able to produce a stalk of Soul Spirit Dream Luo Flower and now perhaps a Nascent Soul stage blood-nourishing medicinal herb? Jiang Ying's mind raced as he pondered precisely what sacred background Chen Mu possessed.

Yet at that very moment, another fully wrapped-up cultivator also stepped into the trading circle, evidently likewise wishing to trade for the ancient talisman.

This left everyone utterly bewildered. Could these two individuals possibly know the secret of the talisman? Did this talisman truly possess earth-shattering might or secrets?

At this thought, the crowd grew restless, yet tormented by the fact that they lacked Nascent Soul stage blood-nourishing medicinal herbs to trade with, they could only stand on the sidelines and watch helplessly.

Jiang Ying had originally thought that having Chen Mu alone trade with him was already a miracle, but he had not expected a second person to appear, which took him somewhat aback.

Jiang Ying carefully scrutinized Chen Mu and the other newcomer, only to find that he could see through neither of them. Although the trading assembly employed protective devices to shield auras and appearances, he had tamed the robes and masks lent out by his organizing committee with subtle alterations; as long as he wished, he could effortlessly pierce through the identities of the others.

However, both of these individuals were using their own protective gear, making it entirely impossible to probe anything at all.

Although displeasure stirred within Jiang Ying's heart, he did not let it show. After all, being able to produce fourth-tier blood-nourishing medicinal herbs for exchange meant these two were likely Nascent Soul stage geniuses belonging to some major faction within the city.

What he did not expect, however, was that Chen Mu was not cultivated by any major faction at all. Although he currently served as an alchemy apprentice under the Minghuan Chamber of Commerce, and the two elders Mo Shouchen and Xiang Ming were clamoring to introduce him to Senior Huang Ru as a disciple, Chen Mu had already made up his mind: once he gathered enough Primordial Stones, he would head to the Dao-Discussion Assembly hosted by the four supreme powers of the Misty Immortal Mountains and participate in their disciple selection.

Therefore, Chen Mu would never remain in this branch of the Minghuan Chamber of Commerce, nor would he become any disciple of Senior Huang Ru.

Chen Mu was also somewhat surprised that someone would step out to compete with him. He had come to trade because Rou'er knew the background of this talisman and desired it, but what was this other person's motivation? Was it merely a coincidence? Did they simply feel this talisman had extraordinary origins?

Chen Mu frowned. Regardless of the reason, he could not allow this talisman to fall into another's hands, because this was what Rou'er wanted.

Thus, to successfully outbid his rival, Chen Mu decided to produce two stalks of fourth-tier blood-nourishing medicinal herbs for the exchange. He immediately communicated with Xue Tian within the Resting Immortal Residence, instructing him to fetch two fourth-tier blood-nourishing medicinal herbs that had not been cultivated around the Golden-Sun Crimson-Paulownia Tree and hand them over.

A moment later, two blood-nourishing medicinal herbs were transferred out of the Resting Immortal Residence, appearing in Chen Mu's hands before being passed to Jiang Ying for inspection. Jiang Ying was stunned for a moment, then cried out in shock, "You are using two blood-nourishing medicinal herbs to trade with me?"

Without a word, Chen Mu nodded indifferently, offering no verbal reply.

The crowd erupted in uproar. They had never imagined that the eccentric cultivator whom they had deemed somewhat addle-prained could be so wealthy, actually possessing two blood-nourishing medicinal herbs on his person. Could this fellow Daoist perhaps be a member of the Minghuan Chamber of Commerce? Yet even members of the Minghuan Chamber of Commerce would not dare to trade two blood-nourishing medicinal herbs in such a manner.

Yet their guess was spot on; Chen Mu truly was a member of the Minghuan Chamber of Commerce at present, leaving them uncertain whether sheer luck had allowed them to guess his identity correctly.

Yet in the next breath, they grew hesitant once more, for even members of the Minghuan Chamber of Commerce would hardly trade two such precious blood-nourishing medicinal herbs for a talisman of unknown use.

The only ones with the authority to mobilize such medicinal herbs were the few Divine Transformation stage elders of the Minghuan Chamber of Commerce, and above them, only Fairy Huang Ru and the branch president, Hao Tianyi.