Xiao Yixian's gaze swept across the stall and finally locked onto a broken arrow.
The arrow had only the front half remaining, and the arrowhead was rusty, with traces of dried blood still visible on it.
Although the broken arrow seemed ordinary at first glance, Xiao Yixian had a feeling akin to encountering a gourmet delicacy.
Due to the influence of her Woeful Poison Body, the stronger the poison, the more delicious it was to Xiao Yixian.
On this broken arrow, she sensed something even more appetizing than a third-grade poison.
If Xiao Yixian's guess was correct, the bloodstains on the broken arrow likely came from a powerful poison-attribute magical beast, which explained why it smelled so enticing.
Meanwhile, Qing Lin's attention was drawn to a small stone statue, no bigger than a palm.
The statue was incomplete, and its features were so eroded that only a vague shape of a woman could be discerned.
However, the statue's eyes were embedded with two rice-sized green crystals, exuding a somewhat eerie aura.
Xiao Feng glanced at the pile of junk in front of him for a moment before scoffing, "Hey, man, where did you pick up all this trash?"
"What trash? If you don't recognize value, don't talk nonsense!"
The burly middle-aged man retorted irritably, "These are ancient relics I collected from an ancient battlefield."
"Tch." Xiao Feng curled his lip in disdain. "So it's just battlefield junk?"
The Tagore Desert was surrounded by several human empires, and for hundreds of years, the snake people and humans had frequently been at war.
The sites of those large-scale battles were called ancient battlefields.
Although both sides cleaned up after battles, the harsh environment of the Tagore Desert often buried many items under sudden sandstorms.
Some lucky scavengers would stumble upon treasures like gold or magic core weapons in ancient battlefields, but most just found trash.
Hearing Xiao Feng's words, the middle-aged man's face darkened, and he waved dismissively, "Go, go! If you're not buying, don't bother me!"
"Hey, don't get mad~ I never said I wasn't buying~"
Xiao Feng turned to Xiao Yixian and Qing Lin. "Xian'er, Qing Lin, is there anything you want to buy?"
"I want that broken arrow."
"Young master, I want that stone statue."
Following their gestures, Xiao Feng noticed the two seemingly worthless items and said to the middle-aged man, "Boss, I'll take these two. How much?"
"Two… one hundred gold coins."
Initially, the man had intended to ask for two hundred, but seeing the poor condition of the items, he worried about scaring the customer away and settled for one hundred.
"One hundred gold coins?"
Xiao Feng raised an eyebrow. "You really dare to name your price! These two worthless things, and you're asking for one hundred gold? The most I'll give is twenty."
"Fine, fine! Twenty it is, just to make the first sale of the day."
Although the man pretended to be at a loss, inside he was rejoicing.
All the junk at his stall was low-quality stuff he bought wholesale for less than ten gold coins total. He'd already made a huge profit.
If a few more gullible fools like Xiao Feng showed up, he'd soon be rich!
Unaware of the man's thoughts, Xiao Feng bought the broken arrow and stone statue and casually handed them to the two girls, continuing their stroll through the market.
...
The night was like water, and the stars painted the sky.
"Hu~ Hu~ Hu~"
Qing Lin, her petite figure submerged in emerald green bathwater, was cultivating with the aid of Foundation-Building Elixir. A pale green mist slowly entered her body with each breath.
As time passed, the bathwater gradually lost its color, returning to clear water.
"Swish!!!"
After her routine cultivation, Qing Lin slowly opened her emerald-like eyes, and an eerie green light flashed.
"Buzz… buzz…"
The stone statue Qing Lin had casually placed on the table began to tremble lightly under the eerie green glow.
???
As Qing Lin looked on in confusion, the eyes of the stone statue, carved from green crystals, suddenly shot out two beams of green light, which drilled straight into her eyes.
"Ah!"
A sharp pain pierced Qing Lin's eyes, and she let out a cry before losing consciousness.
"Bang!!!"
Hearing Qing Lin's scream, Xiao Feng and Xiao Yixian, who were staying next door, rushed in, kicking open her door.
Xiao Yixian quickly checked Qing Lin's breathing and, after confirming she had only fainted, gave Xiao Feng a reassuring look. She then wrapped Qing Lin in a towel and carried her to the bed.
Xiao Feng's gaze scanned the room and quickly settled on the incomplete stone statue.
The statue's eyes had shattered into green crystal powder, clearly linked to Qing Lin's scream and fainting.
After waiting for more than half an hour, Qing Lin's eyelids fluttered, and she slowly opened her eyes.
Still dazed, Qing Lin instinctively shook her head and asked, "Young master, Sister Xian, why are you in my room?"
"Qing Lin, what happened just now?"
Xiao Feng gently touched her forehead, concerned. "Why did you suddenly scream and faint? Do you feel any discomfort?"
Hearing Xiao Feng's words, Qing Lin finally snapped out of her daze, her expression surprised. "So it wasn't a dream!"
"A dream?"
"Young master, I just met a very powerful person in my dream. She said her name was the Triple Jade Flower Sovereign, and she too had awakened the Triple Jade-Green Snake Flower Pupils."
Qing Lin's delicate face lit up with excitement. "She even taught me an advanced Earth-grade technique called the Green Snake Canon and three secret arts!"
"…"
Xiao Feng and Xiao Yixian exchanged shocked glances.
If what Qing Lin said was true, she had stumbled upon an incredible fortune, gaining the legacy of a Dou Venerate.
Xiao Feng was the first to recover from the shock and tentatively asked, "Qing Lin, can you write down the technique and the three secret arts the Triple Jade Flower Sovereign taught you?"
(End of Chapter)
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