Six Realms Immortal Emperor

Now that he was here, Xu Jingtian certainly wouldn't leave so easily; he knew when to stop while he was ahead.

Hearing Kong Xing's words, he readily agreed, "Since you're so sincere, I'll go and take a look." Although he remained expressionless, he was secretly overjoyed. He did it so subtly that even the Three Saints of the Soul Separation Sect cursed him for being despicable.

At this point, Kong Xing had no choice but to lower his stance and become more sincere, greeting them with both hands and respectfully saying, "Please, both of you!"

After speaking, Kong Xing led the two to the back of the shop. They turned and twisted, with a disciple guarding the area every few feet along the way, making it a heavily guarded place. They passed through several secret chambers before finally arriving at a smooth, enclosed stone wall.

However, this was no problem for Xu Jingtian. He glanced at it and immediately saw that the seemingly empty stone wall was actually concealed by a protective barrier. Pointing to the wall, he asked, "Is this the place?"

Kong Xing nodded and said to the disciples guarding the area, "You should all retreat."

Upon hearing this, the surrounding disciples quickly dispersed.

Kong Xing then took out a delicate, small diamond-shaped ornament from his pocket and smiled mysteriously at Xu Jingtian, "We'll be there soon!" He then infused the diamond-shaped ornament with a little magic power, and then gently pressed it against the wall. A small stone sank in with a "pop," revealing a small hole about the thickness of an arm.

Xu Jingtian was stunned. This rhombus-shaped ornament was a low-grade magic weapon. To use a low-grade magic weapon as a key, the Wanhe Valley shop was really willing to spend money.

The small hole in the stone wall was more than two feet deep. Kong Xing slowly put his entire arm into the hole, and with a slight turn, the stone wall snapped open to the sides, revealing a stone chamber about ten feet square.

Kong Xing respectfully said to Xu Jingtian and his companion, "Please, both of you!"

After Xu Jingtian and the other man entered the stone chamber, Kong Xing pulled his arm back, slipped inside, and the stone wall slammed shut again.

Upon entering the secret chamber, Xu Jingtian glanced around and saw a huge flying sword on the left, its entire body radiating a dazzling white light, so bright that it was impossible to open one's eyes even in the enclosed room; on the right was an antique jade zither lying there, its body emitting a faint fragrance.

Kong Xing asked, "How is it? Are you satisfied?"

Xu Jingtian said, "The magic weapon is good, but I wonder about its price?"

Kong Xing quickly replied, "Hehe, the price is negotiable. The Crimson Sky Gale Sword on the left is priced at sixty Five Elements Blood Coagulation Pills, and the Clear Wave Zither on the right is priced at eighty Five Elements Blood Coagulation Pills."

Selling a top-grade magic weapon is only enough to get fifty Five Elements Blood Coagulation Pills, but the Wanhe Valley shops have almost doubled the price, selling them for eighty Five Elements Blood Coagulation Pills. They really know how to do business.

However, Xu Jingtian was surprised by more than just that. He asked, "Oh, why is this jade zither more expensive than that flying sword?"

Kong Xing chuckled and said, "You two are unaware of this, but this Qingtao Qin has quite a history."

Xu Jingtian slowly walked towards Yuqin and said with a smile, "I'd like to hear the details!"

Kong Xing continued, "It is said that this Qingtao Qin was passed down from a beautiful female cultivator. Later, this female cultivator became the leader of a sect and gave it to her beloved disciple. After this disciple became the leader, she passed it on to her own disciple, and so it has been passed down from generation to generation."

Xu Jingtian asked suspiciously, "What's so special about this?"

Kong Xing laughed and said, "You two may not know this, but it is said that all the female cultivators who used this zither eventually became immortals, ascended to the ranks of immortals, and ascended to heaven in broad daylight."

Kong Xing's storytelling skills are truly terrible; he probably doesn't even believe it himself. Xu Jingtian chuckled. "In that case, how did you obtain it?"

Kong Xing was taken aback, and said regretfully, "We don't know. That's all Master told us."

Xu Jingtian gently stroked the body of the zither, and a delicate fragrance wafted from his fingers. Seeing this, Kong Xing was about to shout "Absolutely not!" when Xu Jingtian's fingers had already lightly touched the strings. *Zheng!* A clear, melodious note rang out, lingering like a gentle tune. Xu Jingtian suddenly felt a blur before his eyes, as if he saw a beautiful female cultivator sitting there, her jade-like fingers lightly plucking the strings, smiling at him…

"Jingtian! Wake up quickly!" The voice of the Three Saints of Separation suddenly entered Xu Jingtian's mind.

Xu Jingtian suddenly snapped out of his daze, realizing his hands were still resting on the strings, and quickly let go. The scene had been too real; if the Three Saints of the Soul Separation hadn't noticed and reminded him in time, he would still be in a hallucination.

"What happened?" Xu Jingtian asked.

The Three Saints of Separation said, "I don't know either. I was in a state of deep meditation when I suddenly felt something was wrong and realized that you were already in a hallucination."

Xu Jingtian then took a closer look at the Qingtao Qin in front of him. He never expected that he would fall into the illusion of this magic weapon by simply touching the strings lightly.

The Three Sages of Separation then reminded them, "Quickly wake them up; they're still under the illusion."

Xu Jingtian looked up at Kong Xing and the man in blue beside him. He saw that both of them had blank stares and varying expressions, clearly also under the illusion's spell. Xu Jingtian thought to himself, "Impressive! Impressive!"

With his hands placed on the chests of the two men respectively, he released a slight burst of magical power, and Kong Xing and the man in green woke up one after the other, and were quite surprised to see Xu Jingtian.

Xu Jingtian asked, "Were you also under an illusion?"

The man in blue clicked his tongue and said, "I dreamt that I discovered a priceless treasure, and now others are relentlessly pursuing me..."

Kong Xing said, "That's right! Master also warned us not to touch the strings lightly, because if our cultivation is not high enough, we are easily backfired by its illusions."

Xu Jingtian asked, "What level of cultivation is required to control this zither?"

Kong Xing said, "One needs at least the early Foundation Establishment stage cultivation to avoid the backlash from this zither's magic. But it's strange, those mortals who don't know magic are not affected at all when they play this zither. On the contrary, the music is refreshing and pleasant, as beautiful, elegant and charming as flowing water in the mountains."

Xu Jingtian asked, "Oh, such a wondrous thing?"

Kong Xing replied sincerely, "Exactly!"

Xu Jingtian asked, "Could the price of this zither be lowered a bit? We'll buy it then."

Kong Xing smiled and said, "Eighty Five Elements Blood Coagulation Pills, not a single one less. This is the number set by our master, and it's the fairest price our Wanhe Valley shops can offer. If it were in other shops, the price would probably be higher."

Xu Jingtian nodded in understanding, and said somewhat awkwardly, "In that case, I'm truly sorry, I was in a bit of a rush when I left home and only brought these two items with me. I don't have any extra pills. You can save this high-grade magic weapon for another time!"

Xu Jingtian certainly wouldn't buy the zither at a high price. Now that he had seen the superior treasure, he could take the opportunity to leave. As he said this, he walked out while sighing, showing that he was very sorry.

Kong Xing, still unwilling to give up, followed closely behind them and said, "If you two aren't in a hurry to leave, please stay in the valley for a few more days. The monthly auction is in two days. There will be even more treasures for sale then, all of which are rare items."

Upon hearing this, Xu Jingtian asked the man in blue beside him with great interest, "An auction?" The man in blue nodded in agreement.

Some independent cultivators occasionally acquire one or two valuable treasures and then come to the valley to sell them. Since they don't have fixed shops on the island, and selling in the island's own market carries a certain risk—it would attract the attention of petty thieves—they usually find reputable shops to sell their items on their behalf. If they sell, they can simply come back to the island to retrieve them, thus avoiding unnecessary trouble.

Some reputable shops even protect those who make transactions in their stores, and if there are special requests, they will even send the pills after the sale to the customer!

Xu Jingtian turned to his second senior brother and said, "Oh, then we'll stay in the valley for a couple more days."

Kong Xing was overjoyed and said, "That would be perfect. I will send someone to invite you two." He then personally went downstairs and escorted the two of them to the outside of the shop.