Chapter 416
Phoenix Bone
The bronze cauldron was over a foot tall, and it grew on an ancient vine. Even though they heard the introductions of others, Shi Hao, the Flame Crow, and the others were still a bit shocked.
They saw that when someone put in medicinal ingredients for it to refine, some of the tough beast bones would make clunking sounds when they struck the cauldron. It sounded like metal.
The vine blossomed with bronze flowers. This was extremely shocking and inconceivable. Not only did it look like a bronze cauldron, but it also sounded like one.
“This is nothing. This ancient vine is on the same level as that spiritual medicine tree. Both of them are strange existences in the Medicine Capital, and they protect this place,” someone explained.
Even Yun Xi looked surprised. She asked the people who were queuing up and waiting to refine medicine for the details.
A divine flame descended from the sky once, landing on this spiritual vine. Not only wasn’t the vine burnt into ashes but it was nourished and strengthened by the flame. It went through rebirth overnight.
Afterward, this ancient vine became completely different. It had its own will and spirituality. Moreover, it could absorb metal energy, turning it into a part of itself, and the flower on the vine turned into a bronze cauldron.
After hearing these rumors, the big red bird’s eyes lit up and said, “Is there no one who wants to steal this spiritual vine?”
Someone nearby looked surprised and whispered, “Don’t say that, or else lord Fire Metal Vine will be unhappy.”
Fire Metal Vine was precisely the name of this spiritual vine. It reflected its characteristics. It contained divine flames within, could devour metal, and blossomed with a bronze flower cauldron.
Everyone felt great reverence for it because this ancient vine was extremely powerful. Back then, experts tried to challenge it, but they were all defeated.
Meanwhile, it never stirred up trouble and could even help others refine medicine. After the medicine was refined by the bronze flower cauldron, the effects were excellent, and it was well known within the Medicine Capital.
Because of this, it stood side by side with that medicinal tree, and both were respected at the same level. From a certain perspective, they could be considered the Medicine Capital’s protectors.
Everyone knew that this vine was extraordinary. The divine flame it contained might have a tremendous origin and could most likely allow cultivators to transform, but no one dared act rashly.
Flame Crow went to line up. When it was his turn, he placed the medicinal herbs into the cauldron and paid on the spot. The price was a few pieces of rare metal that were instantly turned into metal vapor by the Fire Metal Vine and absorbed.
After that medicinal pill was refined, it was full of spirituality, much better than what an ordinary person refined.
“It’s extraordinary. The flames it uses far surpass the Flame Essence of my Li Fire Cave.” This was Flame Crow’s judgment.
Shi Hao used that dual-pupil to take a look. He was shocked. Within the Fire Metal Vine, there was a small figure that was formed from a flame. It had a dignified appearance. What kind of flame was this?
He felt a wave of horror and was shocked by the formidable vine as if he had been possessed. That flame figure was wrapped in layers of divine chains of order.
It was much more terrifying than that spiritual medicine tree. He had a feeling that when the little figure in the spiritual vine revived, there would most likely be great chaos!
“How long has this Fire Metal Vine existed for?” Shi Hao asked.
“Several thousand years,” someone replied.
Shi Hao carefully examined it again and discovered that it was similar to the aura of the cave sealed under the fiery red Spirit Guardian Divine Tree in the Fire Nation’s capital. Could it be that this was also the “source of chaos”?
He couldn’t calm down. Was the wasteland region going to become chaotic? Could it be related to these mysterious things?
“Let’s go,” Shi Hao said. He didn’t want to stay here for too long.
They left this place and entered the other bustling streets of the Medicine Capital. As expected, this place was rich in medicinal herbs. There were people trading everywhere, and there were stalls on both sides of the street.
“Dragon bones, genuine dragon bones. Check out the true supreme treasures and wondrous medicines. Don’t miss this opportunity!” Someone shouted.
The medicines sold in this region weren’t plants, but rather bone fragments, ores, and other things. These could all be used as medicines, so quite a few people surrounded this place.
There were quite a few cultivators in this stall that sold true dragon bones. Even though they didn’t believe the seller, they couldn’t help but be curious. They wanted to see what kind of spiritual object it was.
“Everyone, you have to trust me. This is a bone piece that was fished up from a bottomless abyss. Even the passage of time couldn’t erase it, so it’s not ordinary. Apart from dragon bones, what else could survive in that place?” The seller boasted.
Everyone walked up and tried to take a look first. In the end, quite a few people looked surprised.
“I want this bone,” said a vicious bird. Of course, it had already transformed into a human, only its head still retained its original form, which made it look a bit vicious.
“I am willing to pay five stalks of spiritual medicine for it!” Another person said.
“Hey, it isn’t an ordinary bone. How impressive!” The Nine-Headed Lion was tempted. He had long turned into a human, his head of golden hair making him look heroic and intimidating. His original form would be too shocking, easily drawing the attention of other creatures.
“At the very least, it’s a piece of holy bone. It can’t be crushed at all.” Yun Xi was surprised. She never thought that she would encounter a piece of bone that was extremely valuable.
Shi Hao picked it up and carefully studied it. Then, he released divine force to examine it. In the end, he didn’t say anything and put it down again.
“What is it?” Huo Ling’er and the others asked quietly.
“This is a piece of a saint’s bone, but its divinity has long been guided out. There isn’t much left, and all that is left is on the surface of the bone,” Shi Hao explained.
“Isn’t it a scam? They purposely set up this trap. I reckon those potential buyers are in it with the seller, right?” The big red bird was displeased.
Soon after, the price of this bone rose to an extraordinary level. Quite a few people gathered around, and someone even offered eight stalks of spiritual grass to exchange for it.
This area was mainly selling bone pieces and ores. Shi Hao and the others did find some good things here and bought them at a high price.
In the end, they returned to the booth selling dragon bones and saw that the holy bone had been purchased.
Suddenly, Shi Hao noticed something. He saw a piece of tortoiseshell in an inconspicuous stall. After picking it up, he rubbed it with his hand and noticed the silver color.
Could it be a white tortoise shell? His expression changed. If it was true, then that was good stuff. To refine the Minor Nirvana Pill, the legendary white tortoise shell was one of the main ingredients, but it was too rare. Tortoise shells were easy to obtain, but white ones were hard to come by!
If he obtained this tortoiseshell, Shi Hao felt like he could purchase some spiritual medicines from the Medicine Capital and make a furnace of precious medicines first. Then, he would make a breakthrough.
However, when he carefully examined it with the dual-pupils, he discovered that this seller wasn’t honest. The shell was fake. Only a small section of it was a white tortoise shell, and the rest was an ordinary tortoise shell. The whole thing was pieced together.
The tortoise shell only revealed a bit of silver-white section. If one didn’t look carefully, they wouldn’t be able to notice it at all. It was purposely made that way so that one would feel that the entire shell was pure white and was concealed for some reason. Others would mistakenly think that they discovered something good.
“What a profiteer!” Shi Hao cursed inwardly.
Sure enough, when the seller saw Shi Hao pick up this bone, his eyes lit up. He walked over absent-mindedly and began to fish.
“How shameless! This fella has no morals.” After the big red bird knew what was going on, it cursed inwardly.
Shi Hao secretly used the dual-pupils to examine the entire stall. His mind was shaken. He did find something good. It seemed to be a pile of things that had just been sent over and still had dirt on it.
“How much does this pile need?” Shi Hao asked.
“One holy magical artifact,” said the vendor, who then explained in detail. “Do you see all this? This is a good thing that was just dug up from an ancient cave. I heard that the divine supreme treasure of ancient medicine is about to appear. This pile was brought out from that region. They’re all good stuff!”
Shi Hao and the others had just learned that someone discovered a divine valley with countless formations inside. Immortal mists surged, and it was suspected that there was a stalk of divine ancient medicine planted at the center of the formation. The Medicine Capital’s people had already hurried over. They surrounded the divine valley and are currently trying to break the formation.
“Your price is too ridiculous. What kind of trash are these?” The big red bird complained.
In fact, no one would give him a holy magical artifact. How could ordinary people have something like that? Even supreme experts would be tempted, and the vendor was only asking for sky-high prices.
“How about this? I won’t beat around the bush. Just give me a Formation Arrangement Realm magical artifact,” the vendor said.
Shi Hao and the others still shook their heads, not willing to pay the price. Then, they turned around, preparing to leave.
The vendor carefully examined the pile of ores and bones. In the end, he wanted an Engravement Realm precious artifact in exchange. After a bit of dispute, Shi Hao agreed and immediately collected the pile of things.
“Is it worth it?” Huo Ling’er was doubtful.
“Very!” After walking a short distance, Shi Hao replied like this.
“What is inside?” Flame Crow asked.
“I don’t know what level of bird bone it is. Its surface is pitch-black, but there is divine light inside like a small sun,” Shi Hao said.
Right at this time, an extremely valiant middle-aged man rode on a precious artifact and flew over, shouting, “A’de, where is the pile of things I sent back? Don’t sell them!”
“What’s wrong?” The stall owner was confused.
“Someone discovered a few bone pieces in the valley and they are most likely true phoenix bones. Perhaps some of them contain primitive symbols that possess undying power!” The valiant middle-aged man said. He remembered that there was a similar bone in the pile of things he had someone bring back.
Their voices were extremely low. However, with Shi Hao’s cultivation level, he heard everything clearly.
“What? I just sold it!” A’de was shocked. Then, he turned around to look at Shi Hao and the others, saying, “My friend, I’m not selling it anymore!”
Shi Hao was shocked. If it really was a phoenix bone, then it contained undying power that was even more powerful than a rare white tortoise shell. He could make a furnace of precious medicine now, which would allow him to break through.
What kind of place was that valley exactly? There were divine ancient medicines protected by formations, as well as phoenix bones scattered about. That was too shocking!
“I am not selling that thing.” The middle-aged man walked over with a gloomy face. For this pile of things, he had killed two competitors. Now that he knew that the value might be a lot more than he thought, there was even less reason to sell it.
“But I already bought it. The item is mine,” Shi Hao said.
The middle-aged man reached out, trying to grab Shi Hao. He wanted to capture and suppress Shi Hao to take back that pile of things.
Shi Hao lightly waved his hand, stopping that large hand.
“Are you really not going to give it back to me?” The middle-aged man’s eyes were malicious. He didn’t expect that there might be rare True Phoenix Bones in that pile.
“What happened?” An imperial carriage stopped. The eight vicious beasts in front of the carriage roared. It was clear that the identity of the person on the carriage was extraordinary.
“My lord, someone is forcefully buying my precious bone,” said the middle-aged man.
Right at this time, several divine rainbows tore through the air. Someone shouted, “The divine valley might be the place where the True Phoenix fell. Someone has discovered an undying divine object!”
This was the messenger, who was informing a few great figures in the Medicine Capital. It immediately triggered a great disturbance.