Lu An's eyes narrowed. The people blocking their path were mbers of the Ding family, the sa ones who had frequently bid against them for the Foundation Establishnt Pills during the auction.
"Everyone, please stay. We an no harm," said the man in black leading the group.
Li Ziyou stepped forward, blocking their way. "If it weren't for you, we wouldn't have had to pay such a high price for the Foundation Establishnt Pills. And now you say you an no harm?"
The man in black frowned slightly. "You interfered with several of our bids afterward, so I'd say we're even."
"Hmph, even? Sorry, but I've always had a distaste for the Ding family. Kindly move aside and stop blocking the way."
The man in black's expression darkened. "If you want to leave, I won't stop you. I actually want to make a deal with your friend here." He shifted his gaze to Lu An.
Lu An was taken aback. A deal? Why ? He briefly wondered if the man wanted to buy talismans from him, but that seed unlikely. Though his reputation had recently grown, it was limited to the marketplace and hadn't reached as far as Qingfeng County, where the Ding family resided.
"What kind of deal are you proposing?" Lu An asked.
Li Ziyou, curious, decided not to intervene.
The man in black beca serious. "I'd like to offer three hundred spirit stones to buy the 'Withered Tree eting Spring' diagram from you."
He had co to the auction specifically for that diagram. However, due to the high bids for the Foundation Establishnt Pills, which had been aggravated by Li Ziyou's interference, he hadn't been able to compete for the diagram. He now hoped to negotiate directly with Lu An.
In his view, it was a good offer. Lu An had paid two hundred and fifty spirit stones for the diagram, and now he could make a fifty-spirit stone profit. It seed like a straightforward deal.
However, Lu An was puzzled. The diagram had already been drained of its mystical properties. Now it was just an ordinary painting of a withered tree.
Of course, he didn't plan to ntion this. He saw an opportunity and wasn't about to let it slip by.
Feigning interest, Lu An asked, "The 'Withered Tree eting Spring' diagram? May I ask what you need it for?"
Seeing that Lu An hadn't outright refused, the man in black thought he had a chance. "We want it for the cultivation of the younger generation in our clan. It's not of major importance."
Lu An didn't believe him but knew he wasn't likely to get any more information. He hesitated for a mont and said, "I see. However, I quite like the diagram myself and hadn't planned on selling it."
The man in black sneered inwardly. "Perhaps the price is too low? I understand." He spoke with more sincerity. "I'll increase my offer to four hundred spirit stones. That's the highest I can go. You'd make a profit of one hundred and fifty spirit stones, which is quite substantial."
Li Ziyou, hearing this, looked anxiously at Lu An, wanting to intervene but unsure what to say. The offer was beneficial, and he had no real reason to persuade Lu An against it.
Lu An smiled and shook his head. "You've misunderstood. I'm fairly well-off and don't need the spirit stones."
The man in black was taken aback. "Then what do you an?"
"I'm focused on the path of talismans but have had difficulty finding true thods. I wonder if your clan possesses any?" Lu An asked directly.
The man in black thought for a mont. The Ding family did have a partial volu of true thods for talismans, said to be from a declining talisman family. However, it was extrely valuable, and he couldn't make the decision to trade it for the diagram.
Despite the diagram's long-term potential for increasing spiritual awareness, it had limited practical use for him. But the clan held the belief that the diagram was tied to an ancestral cultivation thod and possibly linked to their ancestor's rise to the Core Formation stage. It was too important to lose.
After so deliberation, he replied, "This is a significant matter. Let report to the clan before proceeding."
He moved to a quiet corner, took out a communication jade slip, and contacted the clan elders.
Taking this opportunity, Li Ziyou approached Lu An. "Brother Lu, are you really going to make a deal with him?"
Lu An patted his shoulder. "Don't worry, Brother Li. No matter how this turns out, they'll be the ones losing."
Li Ziyou was confused and wanted to ask more, but Lu An rely smiled and shook his head. "I can't explain it."
Seeing this, Li Ziyou remained skeptical but let it drop.
After a while, the man in black returned, holding a jade slip. "The clan has agreed to the deal. Let's proceed."
The jade slip was titled Thirty-Six First-Order Talisman True thod – Volu 1. It contained the first half of the true thod. Satisfied with the exchange, Lu An cupped his fists in thanks and left.
The man in black unrolled the diagram and found it exactly as it had appeared during the auction. He had no reason to suspect anything was amiss.
anwhile, Lu An smiled to himself. I got a true thod for free. I wonder what expression those Ding family mbers will have when they discover the diagram's mystical properties are gone.
The auction had lasted all day, and it was now evening. Instead of rushing ho to study the true thod, Lu An decided to visit Uncle Zhao's house. He had borrowed eight hundred spirit stones from Uncle Zhao for the auction and had about four hundred left.
Though Uncle Zhao had said he could repay the debt anyti, Lu An didn't want to delay. He planned to return two hundred stones now and keep the rest for talisman materials, repaying the rest later.
Before heading to Uncle Zhao's, Lu An made a stop to buy so wine and dishes. He also visited a won's accessory shop to purchase a hairpin for Zhao Wenyiao. He had watched her grow up like a younger sister, and now that she was a young lady, he thought it was ti to give her a proper gift.
With the packages in hand, Lu An soon arrived at Zhao Zhijiu's ho.
"Knock, knock, knock."
No one answered.
Strange, he thought. Uncle Zhao usually took odd jobs but always returned early, and Aunt Zhao, who wove spiritual cloth, rarely left the house. It was unusual for no one to be ho.
Frowning, Lu An gently pushed the door open.
"Cre-eak—"
The door wasn't locked.
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