Chapter 392: Chapter 242: Iron Tree and Silver Flowers

Returning to the Qi Stone Pavilion once more did not attract much attention.

It wasn’t until the cracked spirit ore was taken out that it drew some reactions from the people present.

However, compared to the shock at the inn, it wasn’t as surprising here.

After all, those who come and go in the Qi Stone Pavilion are noble patrons, what haven’t they seen?

Last year, the Qi Stone Pavilion even opened a Seventh Grade spiritual treasure wrapped in spiritual liquid.

They’ve even opened living creatures before!

"How does the young master wish to resolve it?" The master appraiser gave it a once-over, then looked up at Li Jizhou.

"What are the options?" Li Jizhou said casually.

"It seems the young master is not a regular guest. Let me explain a thing or two for you." The stone appraiser sized up Li Jizhou for a moment and smiled as he spoke.

"I’m all ears!"

"This spirit stone ore, originates from the absorption and release of spiritual liquid. When the carving on the outside releases spiritual liquid and the inside retracts, there’s a spiritual eye in between. If the spiritual eye is inadvertently damaged during the stone cutting, the spiritual qi within the spirit stone will immediately dry up.

To avoid damaging the spiritual eye, one must follow the stone shell’s patterns, but no one can guarantee perfection. Even a master might inadvertently break the spiritual eye.

So, no matter how it’s resolved, there are risks. Our method is just to minimize them." The stone appraiser patiently explained.

Li Jizhou nodded, as this was more detailed than he previously knew.

"Our stone mill offers three methods: the first is for stones already confirmed to hold celestial treasures. It can be cut for free, but we do not bear any risk and there is no obligation.

Secondly, we can assess the value and take on fifty percent of the risk. The condition is that if we wish to purchase the celestial treasure found, it must be sold to us at market price.

The third is where we bear one hundred percent of the risk. If the cutting fails, we compensate according to the assessed value. If successful, any treasure found will be purchased at up to twice the market price."

After explaining, the stone appraiser looked at Li Jizhou.

"Seems fair enough, I’ll choose the first option," Li Jizhou smiled slightly, without much hesitation.

He wasn’t interested in gambling on stones, and as the Seventh Prince aspiring for the throne, he cared even less about whatever so-called treasures were inside.

Especially after hearing the evaluations at the inn, it was likely just Tier Four or Five treasures, at best.

Such treasures are invaluable to ordinary cultivators.

But to the present Li Jizhou, they’re just trivial.

"Young friend, the Qi Stone Pavilion is quite fair. Most people go for the second option. Even if you unearth celestial treasures, at your current level, you wouldn’t be able to use them, and you’d probably end up selling them here anyway, so why not pick the second option?"

"In all of Yunzhou City, no one can match the Qi Stone Pavilion’s offer, and once you make a transaction, you become a distinguished guest here, which has many benefits."

"If it were me, I’d choose the third option. The Qi Stone Pavilion’s evaluation is quite accurate. I’ve witnessed it several times, and the estimated value always closely aligns."

...

The people around kept advising.

Li Jizhou, however, was unmoved, simply nodding towards the stone appraiser to indicate his decision.

The stone appraiser smiled slightly and didn’t say more.

Those who choose the first method are of two kinds: one, those convinced of their good fortune and believe the treasure value exceeds common understanding.

The second, those who completely don’t care.

Clearly, though the young man before him was just entering Foundation Establishment, his bearing was extraordinary and his status unusual, showing little concern.

Without further ado, the stone appraiser began to carefully examine the spirit ore.

The master appraiser only began cutting after half an hour of observation.

As the cleaving knife, comparable to a Third Grade spiritual treasure, moved along the stone texture, layers of stone shell fell away with a rustle.

"Whoa!" As the outer shell peeled away to the crack, a flash of spiritual light drew more people’s attention.

"That flash of spiritual light just now seems...more than just a Tier Four treasure!"

"It might at least be Tier Five!"

"The keenness is even greater, it’s certainly a metal element treasure!"

"Metal element treasures are the highest in value, this young friend just hit the jackpot!"

"It depends on how many spirit stones he paid for it. If it was under three thousand middle grade spirit stones, it’s a big profit!"

"You didn’t know? I saw Miss Fang personally give him that spirit ore when the wolf from Prince Yun’s mansion came to stir up trouble."

"Really? That’s truly a fortune from the heavens! With his freshly entered Foundation Establishment cultivation, this gift from Miss Fang could truly help him form a True Core!"

...

More people started paying attention to this stone cutting platform.

The origins of Li Jizhou’s spirit ore also became a hot topic for discussion.

"Zheng~" At this moment, the stone appraiser reached a critical moment, and a resounding hum echoed out.

"This..." The stone appraiser, being the closest, could sense the aura within, and stood in a daze, his hands surprisingly trembling.

"Master Wu, why don’t you continue? It’s about to open, let us see what’s inside!"

"No, this hum is definitely not something a common treasure can produce; it’s a treasure born with spiritual nature!"

The crowd finally became extremely curious about this piece of spirit stone ore.

It’s normal for spirit stone ore to produce spirit stones, where a Top-Grade spirit stone is already rare, and the elemental attribute spirit stones or extraordinary spirit stones are exceptionally lucky.

Discovering celestial treasures is one in ten thousand. However, that one in ten thousand doesn’t always denote value.

After all, opening one or two-tier celestial treasures is not uncommon.

But if one can unveil a treasure possessing spirituality, that would indeed be rare and extraordinary.

"Young master, please wait a moment; the treasure within this spirit ore... I might not be able to handle it, I need to call the resident master," the stone appraiser said decisively after a moment of silence.

Li Jizhou smiled slightly and nodded in agreement.

"A treasure born with spirituality? A spiritual treasure?" Still indifferent, for he had even gifted a Eighth Grade spiritual treasure to Cang Huang; how could he care about a spiritual treasure?

Unless it was a Profound Celestial Treasure!

Soon, the shopkeeper from before returned with the highest skilled master from Qi Stone Pavilion.

"Young master... it’s you?" The shopkeeper recognized Li Jizhou, slightly surprised.

After another glance at the half-opened spirit ore on the stone cutting platform, he smiled knowingly.

"Hahaha, someone came to tell me that a spirit ore might unveil a spiritual treasure, and unexpectedly, it was you, young master," the shopkeeper laughed heartily.

He even began forming promotional phrases in his mind: The young lady of Qi Stone Pavilion freely gifts a spirit ore to a guest, resulting in unveiling a high-grade spiritual treasure, bringing joy to all.

This would greatly enhance Qi Stone Pavilion’s reputation and prestige!

"Master Zheng, please!" Directed the shopkeeper to the master appraiser to commence the stone cutting.

With the arrival of the chief stone appraiser, at this moment, the entire commotion at Qi Stone Pavilion focused on Li Jizhou’s piece of spirit stone ore.

The chief appraiser, living up to the title, took a look and began cutting with steady hands.

With each slice, more aura seeped out from the spirit ore, stirring waves of exclamations.

As the stone shell gradually peeled off, more and more of the artifact within became visible, freezing the atmosphere on site.

Until the final cut was made.

"Swoosh~" As all the stone shell was removed, a delicate thin veil enveloping the outermost layer of the spirit stone disappeared, revealing the true form of the item within!

"Celestial and Earthly Spiritual Objects!"

"Oh heavens, it’s actually Celestial and Earthly Spiritual Objects!"

...

Exclamations of shock erupted instantly.

Li Jizhou was also slightly taken aback.

After completely stripping away the stone shell, inside was revealed a small tree branch enveloped by spirit stone, with a trunk of lustrous gold and branches full of dazzling silver flowers.

It was exactly the Celestial and Earthly Spiritual Objects, the Iron Tree and Silver Flowers, seen in the illustrated compendium of Celestial and Earthly Spiritual Objects.

Compared to second-grade spiritual items like Celestial Pure Water and Profound Crystal Fruit, once considered treasures in past lives, the Iron Tree and Silver Flowers are a true third-grade Celestial and Earthly Spiritual Objects, providing many benefits for Core Formation with metal attribute spirit root.

"Third Grade Celestial and Earthly Spiritual Objects, the Iron Tree and Silver Flowers!" Someone recognized the item nearby, their voice almost trembling.

"Three thousand years ago, it’s said that Black Stone City mined out Celestial and Earthly Spiritual Objects; who would have thought it was true!"

"With this, one could definitely form a True Core! Especially for those with metal attribute spirit roots, there’s even a possibility to directly achieve Golden Core!"

The entire scene was thoroughly excited.

The only one left dumbstruck was the Qi Stone Pavilion shopkeeper, who stared in awe at the third-grade Celestial and Earthly Spiritual Objects on stage, his face stiffening.

"Third Grade Celestial and Earthly Spiritual Objects, Iron Tree and Silver Flowers!!!"

"Isn’t this the alchemical item the young lady has been desperately seeking?"

"What expression would the young lady make if she knew she personally gave away the very treasure she sought after?"