Chapter 428: Chongguang Underground City

With Zhou You revealing this character, he was no longer afraid that the other party could snatch it away by force!

Casting a stone to ask the way—this fragment was his stone; he not only had to get a hold of Liu Tianxian, but also use this opportunity to open up a path to the Golden Immortal Dao behind him.

A single Nine Tripod Character, even if incomplete, possessed considerable value.

Liu Tianxian would rather take out his entire collection to trade for it, which showed just how much weight it carried.

"Haha, as fellow Daoists, exchanging what one has for what one lacks, why not?"

Zhou You smiled and handed the fragment to him; it was, after all, only a second or third-generation Tuopian, and its fidelity had already shrunk significantly.

After Liu Tianxian got his hands on it, he couldn't wait to lift up a crystal ball, actually using it as a magnifying glass to savor the lines of the character in detail, even the bumps and horizontal ridges left during the rubbing process.

"It possesses both wood and stone textures; this Tuopian must have been transferred through carriers like stone slabs and wooden boards in succession."

Zhou You's heart skipped a beat—an expert indeed; the source of this character was a wooden tree burl, and it had later been transferred via a stone slab.

Being able to deduce the carrier from mere subtle traces, Liu Tianxian's attainments in metal and stone were extraordinary.

He observed it for half a day, still somewhat reluctant to part with it, then carefully set the Tuopian down and sighed, "This life has not been in vain."

Having said that, he turned to Zhou You, "I have let a fellow Daoist see me make a fool of myself."

After sending off one fragment, he directly upgraded Moyunzi to a fellow Daoist! "There is a Ceng Fuzi in Fucheng who is a master of metal and stone in this world; I have also exchanged ideas with him a few times and probed that he has a Tuopian in his possession that has been transferred seven or eight times, suspected to be Nine Cauldrons Seal Script."

"Now it seems that compared to yours, that Tuopian is like comparing the bright moon to mud."

Liu Tianxian spread his hands, "Fellow Daoist, let us not speak in riddles; we are all people of the Dao, our temperaments are much the same. If I were you, if I could bring out something like this, I would certainly have something even more precious kept in my hands, wouldn't I?"

Zhou You nodded with a smile; that was correct.

"So, I want this Tuopian of yours. From now on, we shall cooperate in studying and interpreting it, and we shall share whatever we obtain together."

"Hmm, I won't take your item for nothing either; my collection here is of great value, feel free to pick whatever you like and take it away."

Liu Tianxian was extremely generous; since he had this Tuopian, the rest of the items were like mud and sand to him.

"Exchanges without value are meaningless."

Zhou You waved his hand, "I'll give it to you; I don't want your things."

Liu Tianxian grew anxious, "I know you look down on these things, but there are some ancient bronzewares here, as well as war weapons and ritual vessels of the Witch Tribe; they are quite interesting to play with, just pick one or two!"

He invited him sincerely, fearing that if Zhou You took nothing, he wouldn't be able to keep that Tuopian with peace of mind.

Zhou You had no choice; he scanned the room, and the panel gave a reminder: "Fragment 2, matches the break of Fragment 1."

This was a length of rope, thin at the front and thick at the back, coiled into a circle; what was unusual was that during the braiding process, patterns resembling characters had been woven in with silk threads of different colors.

This was Fragment 2, while Fragment 1 was one of the spoils of war Zhou You had forgotten about for a long time: a broken horsewhip handle.

He understood; this wasn't a rope, it was a whip.

With the handle and the whip put together, it was strikingly a complete whip with a handle.

Interesting; although he didn't know what it was for, obtaining this item to complete a set had the pleasure of treasure hunting.

"I'll take this."

Liu Tianxian didn't ask any questions and nodded, "Take whatever you want!"

The second item was a piece of silk hanging on the wall, its edges tattered, either burned by fire or eaten by insects, with only a central piece remaining, covering an area of about three palms.

Liu Tianxian noticed Zhou You's gaze and explained, "It's not Seal Script; it's written in cipher and has no research value. I usually treat it as a game."

The so-called cipher was a jumbled arrangement of ordinary characters, a type of word game that tested intelligence. "Can you see what the content is?"

Liu Tianxian shook his head, "It's encrypted at least a dozen layers deep; without a copy, it's impossible to decipher."

"Give it to me, let me try!"

The panel prompted: Supplement to the Heaven-Nourishing Origin Art discovered, can be recorded.

Zhou You took down the silk piece without changing his expression, "This is a bit interesting; I'll take it."

Liu Tianxian agreed readily.

Zhou You walked around the entire secret chamber, but the panel gave no further prompts; clearly, there were no more good items.

Looking at it this way, Liu Tianxian's collection was quite lackluster.

Leaving the secret chamber, Zhou You was about to bid farewell when he was called back by Liu Tianxian, "Wait."

He hadn't expected this noble gentleman to have obsessive-compulsive tendencies, insisting that good things come in threes, "I'll give you this golden mask."

The mask felt cold to the touch and was filled with golden splendor.

"This is the war mask of the Clan Elder of the Witch Tribe's Zhongxi Tribe. He led his tribe to invade from Beijing and was beheaded by the newly promoted Mighty Warrior Xiong Fuyue; this item was given to me as a trophy."

Liu Tianxian enthusiastically stuffed it into Zhou You's hands, "The patterns on the mask are suspected to be the characters developed by the Witch Tribe after they were exiled to Beijing; they possess a certain research value, so accept it!"

Zhou You accepted the golden mask, thinking that Liu Tianxian also had connections with the Mighty Warrior; this noble family's network was truly pervasive!

He had also heard of the battle where the Zhongxi Tribe Clan Elder fell; it had taken place just outside Caojiang Cheng.

That newly promoted Mighty Warrior Xiong Fuyue had been invited to the battlefield to help, but although he slew many experts of the Witch Tribe, the momentum was hard to stop, and Caojiang Cheng inevitably fell, with the human race losing another important town in Beijing.

That this golden mask was given to Liu Tianxian as a trophy showed that their relationship was extraordinary.

"It's not bad!"

Liu Tianxian explained with reserve, "He and I once studied under the same master, having been fellow disciples for twenty years; it is normal for us to exchange what we have."

Zhou You weighed it a few times; it was at least ten catties heavy, and the value of the gold alone was not low, so he accepted it.

He then cupped his hands to bid farewell.

"Fellow Daoist, if you have time, you might as well go to Chongguang Cheng to take a look."

Zhou You nodded and vanished without a trace in a single leap.

Chongguang Cheng was a city five hundred miles southwest of Fucheng, of medium scale.

What made it different from other cities was that this Chongguang Cheng was located deep underground, never seeing the sun or moon, and free from the troubles of wind and rain.

It is said that Chongguang Cheng is bottomless and suspected to be the ruins of a city-state from the ancient era; the antiques sold there are a major specialty.

The reason Chongguang Cheng is famous far and wide is that the largest underground black market in Beixuan Zhou exists within the city.

In the black market, it is claimed that everything can be bought and everything can be sold; the abundance of goods is almost comparable to Dijing.

What is even more difficult is that the black market also has underground auctions, where extremely rare peerless treasures occasionally appear, and even Martial Experts often frequent such occasions.

Liu Tianxian mentioning Chongguang Cheng was certainly not without purpose, but rather had a specific intention.

Could it be that there are other members of the Golden Immortal Dao hiding in Chongguang Cheng?

Zhou You felt that he must make a trip to Chongguang Cheng; perhaps in the underground black market there, he could use money to buy the resources and materials he urgently needed right now.

He also wanted to see what a city that has existed underground for thousands of years and still operates well to this day looks like? (End of chapter)