Chapter 4: The First Encounter with Wu Wanren

"This must belong to the young man," Mr. Liu said, looking at Shen Junhuai. "How should I put it? This is a page of a book, yes! Just a single page of a book, or one could say this is one of the pages of the book."

Indeed, it has been two years since I went there, and I have just been promoted to an outer disciple after working as a servant for more than a year. He is here, and he will arrive shortly, so please wait for him.

At the other exit of the alley, a vendor had a wooden rack displaying a nearly half-foot round basket filled with various incomplete parts of metal weapons. This was not particularly interesting, but the vendor was familiar; he was a blacksmith from near my mother's family home, and he had a distant kinship with my mother, Liu.

As for the cultivation methods and elixirs, they will naturally be devised by Wu Wanren after verifying the spiritual roots. Outside the western city lies the Crane Crown Ridge mountain range

Meeting with the Liu family naturally evokes a sense of nostalgia and reflection, and after the feast of food and drink, the two sat in the courtyard for an in-depth conversation

Wu Sanyang still regarded him as a child, while Shen Junhuai nibbled on the fruit handed to him by the elder, engaging in casual conversation with little continuity.

What is going on? Please tell me quickly! Shen Junhuai also said urgently.

Shen Junhuai was exceptionally excited. A few years ago, Shitou had already reached the seventh level of martial arts. Now in his thirties, he got along quite well with him. In his youth, Shen Junhuai was like a lackey following behind Uncle Shitou. He was currently anxious about testing his spiritual roots but had no leads, and it just so happened that he could ask for his help.

Mr. Liu looked at Shen Yihuan and the other person, his tone solemn and profound: "This is a page of a book, a precious book! A precious book!" His words were filled with excitement

"Then how can we determine that this page of the book uses this kind of gold thread?" Shen Jun questioned.

After the household chores were assigned, Wu Wanren and the two returned to the Shen family's villa

From Wu Wanren's words, it was learned that he possesses a Wood Spiritual Root. He met his senior brother Yun Jizi while training in the Heguang Ridge Mountains outside the West City. After being introduced and tested, he was accepted into the sect. The testing of spiritual roots is conducted using a Spiritual Origin Stone. He and dozens of others from the Tianji Sect went on a mission, and his master's uncle brought a stone with him, which can be delivered in about a month. Shen Junhuai was very pleased.

"Come and take a look," he explained, pointing to one side of the metal piece. "There is a row of round holes here, used for threading gold wire. Why is it called gold wire? This object is made from sunstone and extraterrestrial iron, known in legend as the 'Iron Xuan Golden Talisman.' This page is one of the pages of the 'Iron Xuan Golden Talisman,' as books made from this material can only be bound with gold wire refined from a mixture of gold and the tendons of the ancient two-headed dragon."

Mr. Liu is somewhat incoherent

Mr. Liu took the metal piece and examined it carefully, then took out a bottle of liquid to meticulously clean it. Upon further inspection, he noticed countless tadpole-like characters on it, all in silver, resembling seal script.

Mr. Liu ignored him and quickly turned back to the inner room, rapidly flipping through a bookshelf to find a bamboo slip.

There are quite a number of vendors in the alleyways

After circling around inside, I arrived at a pile of items against the courtyard wall and discovered a stone covered with fine cracks. At home, there is a similar ore, which my father had given to me as a toy in my early years, and it can attract certain metals like a magnet. When I first received "The Compendium of Wonders," there seemed to be some descriptions regarding such ores, but I did not have the time to read them in detail.

"Seventh Young Master, come, come, let us talk inside." The old man gestured for Shen Junhuai to step behind the stall, "It is this, your Uncle Datou has joined the Tianji Sect, and your Grandmother Wu is longing for her grandson. Now that you are here, you won't be leaving. I am also getting too old to forge iron, so I set up this stall to clear out my inventory."

Upon seeing the metal piece received by Shen Junhuai, Wu Wanren said, "You may go find Uncle Huan; he knows a master who might recognize this item."

Due to the need to meet with his relatives within the gate the next day, Wu Wanren agreed to meet again in one month and then took his leave.

After examining the metal piece, he brought him to a weapon shop located several miles away. The shopkeeper, named Liu Shanying, is a connoisseur. In the realm of cultivation, there are countless extraordinary items, and it is impossible for anyone to know them all. Thus, a profession has emerged known as the connoisseur, who rents a space at the front desk of large shops to specialize in appraising items, or they may simply be experts cultivated by the large shops.

"Come and take a look at this round hole in the card; is it not only the thickness of a single hair?" Mr. Liu explained patiently, "Only this type of gold thread can bear the weight of the metal sheets used to create this book."

Wu Wanren has not yet established his foundation and is currently at the initial stage of the ninth level of Qi Refinement. The Tiangong Sect has over one hundred thousand disciples, and his level of cultivation is considered just the beginning, which will not attract the attention of the sect. Therefore, his suggestion is that if one can cultivate to establish a foundation before joining the sect, only then will the sect's resources for cultivation possibly be inclined towards Shen Junhuai

This meteorite is identifiable, and only by incorporating sunstone can inscriptions be engraved upon it

A pill stall received two pieces of Yunlinghua, a supplementary material for the Jiu Zhuan Dan used in foundation establishment. For the late stage of Qi refining, several pieces of Poluozi and Huanshincao are needed for the Yangqi Dan and Peiyuan Dan, totaling more than ten low-grade spirit stones. The cost of forming a pill easily exceeds hundreds of high-grade middle spirit stones, which is currently unaffordable.

"How did Lao Qi find his way here?" Wu Wanren arrived and was quite surprised. After listening to Shen Junhuai's account, he said, "How about this, uncle will go back with you for a visit; it has been a long time since I last saw my cousin. We can drink and chat while enjoying the freshly caught demon hedgehog." He bent down and pulled out a knife from under the stall, handing it to Shen Junhuai: "Take this, it's a good item."

Coming here is also to see if I can find a suitable elixir for myself. After all, I have made up my mind to leave the Shen family, and being away from the Shen family's influence will certainly reduce the amount of trouble I encounter

After wandering around, Shen Junhuai arrived at a second-hand thrift shop, which specialized in reselling second-hand junk. There were many defective items, and numerous impoverished itinerant workers were searching for the goods they needed.

The bamboo scroll unfurled, and his fingers swiftly smoothed out a line of text, his head buried motionless in the bamboo scroll. When he lifted his head again, Mr. Liu's cheeks had already taken on a slight flush

Another surprise came, and Shen Junhuai was naturally filled with joy, his mouth slightly agape, and he was once again subjected to a round of teasing from Wu Wanren

The next day, Shen Junhuai arrived at Shen Yihuan's residence

A stone in hand, just a low-grade spirit stone, sometimes being young has its advantages. I also saw a rusted metal piece, on which several tadpole-like characters seemed to be swimming slowly, five low-grade spirit stones were collected.

"Grandpa Wu, how have you set this up?" The old man, named Wu Sanyang, has a family heirloom skill and is somewhat well-known.

Later, Shen Junhuai took out that knife

The silver tadpole seemed to be swimming incessantly, as if it contained boundless knowledge and supreme secrets, instantly captivating him, and a glimmer of brilliance emerged in his eyes, while his breathing appeared to become much heavier. Gradually, Mr. Liu's hands began to tremble, and sweat slowly beaded on his forehead

This market is indeed very large, selling a wide variety of items, including attack artifacts refined from low-grade flamingo beaks, available for just 80 spirit stones. There is also the bamboo eagle, an artifact for solo flight, priced at only 150 low-grade spirit stones; the damaged town inkstone, the most expensive at 18 low-grade spirit stones and the cheapest at 11 low-grade spirit stones; ... incomplete low-grade cultivation methods range from 5 low-grade spirit stones to 500 low-grade spirit stones ... . ... There are quite a few items available, and although I cannot afford them, it is still good to broaden my horizons. Incomplete low-grade cultivation methods range from 5 low-grade spirit stones to 500 low-grade spirit stones ... . ... There are quite a few items available, and although I cannot afford them, it is still good to broaden my horizons.

This knife is called the Shadow Blade, crafted by my father from dozens of incomplete yellow-grade swords, combined with high-quality black iron ore. After joining the Sword Sect, it has become useless in my hands, so you may keep it for yourself. This knife possesses a remarkable quality; it can absorb blood, likely due to the infusion of a special mineral from one of the incomplete swords.

"Shan Ying, what exactly have you discovered? Is it a treasure?" Shen Yihuan could not help but ask anxiously upon seeing this.

Datuo is his only son, Wu Wanren, and Datuo is a derogatory name. "Really? The Heavenly Secret Sect is a cultivation sect, and there wouldn't be anyone in the entire Pingdu City with hundreds of thousands of people who would qualify to become a disciple, right?" Shen Junhuai was extremely surprised

How can we determine the material of this metal? Shen Yihuan also inquired