Library of Heaven's Path

Translator: StarveCleric Editor: Millman97

"What?"

"It's dead?"

"Could it be that… the pill isn't a Bottleneck Surmounting Pill but poison?"

"That is way too scary! Imagine spending two high-tier spirit stones just to buy lethal poison home!"

"The Spirit Emporium has truly gone too far this time around! Is this how it conducts business?"

…

Seeing the Pill Sample Beast breathing its last, a huge uproar broke out amidst the crowd.

They couldn't help but imagine what would have happened if they'd purchased the pill. They would have been filled with expectations for the future when they purchased the pill, only to end up dead due to it. The huge contrast between their expectations and reality was something that made the situation even more unacceptable.

That Mo Fei had just confidently declared that the Bottleneck Surmounting Pill was authentic a moment ago, but a minute later, a Pill Sample Beast was poisoned to death by it… With such a precedent, how could they possibly ever dare to buy any pills from the Spirit Emporium in the future?

"This…" Mo Fei also froze on the spot.

In truth, he had carefully calculated the amount of powder to feed the Pill Sample Beast. He was certain that it shouldn't have been sufficient to kill it with the dose he had rubbed off.

Yet, it still ended up collapsing in the end… Could the other party be speaking the truth? This pill was not a Bottleneck Surmounting Pill but a failed product turned into poison?

"So, is this considered to be a fake?" Zhang Xuan asked with a cold smile.

"This… Fine! I admit that my judgement was off for this pill!" With the Pill Sample Beast poisoned to death, there was no way he could deny this anymore.

"Hah, you are saying that your judgement was off for only this pill? Let me tell you, this pill isn't the only thing you are wrong about!" Zhang Xuan casually waved his hand, and the Bronze Gong which he had picked out first flew into his hand.

"According to what you have written in the appraisal certificate, this item was forged by a 6-star blacksmith, and it possesses the ability to wipe out a soul. Even a soul oracle would be utterly destroyed by a single knock on the gong!"

"Indeed. Even though the Bronze Gong is only a Spirit intermediate-tier weapon, it has a long history behind it. The lightning energy that has gathered within it over time grants it sufficient power to destroy even a soul oracle!" Mo Fei declared proudly.

He had studied the Bronze Gong carefully over a long period of time, so he was confident that there wasn't any mistake in its appraisal.

"Since you are so confident, why don't we give it a try?" Zhang Xuan turned to the attendant standing by the side and said, "You are a Consonant Spirit realm cultivator, so you should have already started cultivating your soul as well. If this weapon has the ability to destroy a soul, you should feel a sharp pain in your soul when used against you."

At which, he turned to Mo Fei and asked, "Do you have any disagreements with this test?"

While the effects of the Bronze Gong were discounted against most cultivators as their souls would be protected by their physical body, they would still be more or less affected by it.

Furthermore, Consonant Spirit realm experts had barely started cultivating their soul, making them even more prone to any attacks on their soul.

"I have no objections to it!" Mo Fei replied.

The crowd who were watching the commotion also nodded in agreement.

Soul oracles had already disappeared in the annals of history, so it was impossible to test the Bronze Gong on them anymore. However, it should work fine against a Consonant Spirit realm expert as well.

"I will let you do it…" With the edges of his lips curled up, Zhang Xuan passed the Bronze Gong to Mo Fei.

Mo Fei took the Bronze Gong over impatiently, and gathering his zhenqi, he struck it powerfully toward the attendant.

However, the attendant remained completely unfazed by the attack. In other words, the Bronze Gong didn't have any effect on the soul!

"H-how is this possible?" Mo Fei's face turned ghastly pale.

Back then, he had even experimented with the Bronze Gong. The lightning energy it harnessed was extremely effective on souls, capable of even annihilating a soul oracle!

Why did its effects vanish all of a sudden?

Without that, this would only be an ordinary Bronze Gong, worth nothing at all!

"The Bronze Gong's effect of dealing with souls can only be dispelled by a soul oracle, but the heritage of the soul oracles has already vanished countless years ago. Thus, it is impossible for anyone to have tampered with it… Have I really appraised it wrongly?" Mo Fei muttered as cold sweat trickled down his back.

Souls were an extremely complex subject, and the only occupation to have truly uncovered their secrets were the soul oracles. They were the only ones who could dispel the effects on the Bronze Gong. No one else, not even a Saint realm cultivator, could do the same.

However, the soul oracles had already been eradicated by the Master Teacher Pavilion, so it was impossible for anyone to dispel the effects of the Bronze Gong. Since the effect clearly wasn't there, could his appraisal have been wrong from the very start?

It was one thing for him to have made a mistake, but to make two of them consecutively… He was already beginning to doubt his life.

Appraisers could only make three errors throughout their entire career, and beyond that, they would be stripped of their license. Was his career going to end here?

Ignoring Mo Fei's slump, Zhang Xuan waved his hands, and a pill cauldron flew in front of him.

"Moving on, let's talk about this copper cauldron. You have identified it to be a Nine Symphony Cauldron created by a 6-star blacksmith on the appraisal certificate. It is capable of producing Nine Symphony Flames which allows the heat to be distributed more equally throughout the cauldron, thus making it easier to fuse the medicinal herbs together. However, you also stated that it is extremely difficult to tame its spirit and make it acknowledge one as its master… May I confirm that what I have just said is true?"

This was also another artifact in the Spirit Emporium, and it had an appraisal certificate as well.

"Yes…" Mo Fei nodded.

This time, however, his tone wasn't as confident as before.

"Even though the Nine Symphony Cauldron increases the chances of successfully forging a pill, it is extremely difficult to make its spirit submit. This is a fact that all appraisers know, so there can't be any mistake on that." Mo Fei gritted his teeth.

"This isn't the Nine Symphony Cauldron, and it doesn't have such a troublesome spirit as well. It won't even take me a minute to make it submit to me!" Zhang Xuan said calmly.

"You will make it submit in less than a minute? How can that be? If you can do so, I will admit that I am mistaken, and that it is a fake!" Mo Fei sneered coldly.

You must be joking! It is a well-known fact that it is difficult to make the spirit of a Nine Symphony Cauldron submit to one. To make it submit to you in less than a minute?

You're dreaming!

Not even a Saint realm expert could do that!

"You are the one who said those words!"

With a chuckle, Zhang Xuan walked up to the cauldron and slapped it casually. "Acknowledge me as your master!"

Weng!

The next moment, a resounding buzz sounded from the cauldron, as if it was shaking in excitement from meeting its master.

"What?" Mo Fei's body trembled uncontrollably, and he nearly spurted blood.

That was clearly the sound of the cauldron acknowledging its master, of that there was no mistake!

Due to the unique method in forging a Nine Symphony Cauldron, its spirit was disjointed, making it extremely difficult to win its loyalty. There were many who had spent decades on it, only to fail eventually. Yet, this cauldron actually acknowledged that young man in less than half a minute… Was he truly mistaken once more?

The cauldron was a fake as well?

Just what was going on?

"These Lilac Sandalwood Beads can indeed keep one's mind composed when worn, but unfortunately, it is cursed. As a result, not only will it not keep one calm, it might even cause one to go berserk!"

"In your analysis, you said that this bottle of medicinal solution is made using dozens of different poisons, and it is extremely useful for tempering one's body. However, I have just taken a look, and the poison within hasn't been neutralized yet. Anyone who consumes it will die without fail!"

"You claimed that this ore can raise the grade of a weapon up a notch by fusing it in. However, it is impossible to melt this ore in the first place, so how could one possibly combine it within a weapon?"

"This…"

"…"

After proving the issues in the appraisal of the first three items, Zhang Xuan moved on to point out the problems of the other items the attendant had taken out. He would pick up every single item and pat off the dust on them before explaining what was wrong with them.

With every problem he explained, Mo Fei's face would turn a shade darker.

By the time Zhang Xuan was done pointing out the errors in everything, Mo Fei seemed as if he was already standing on the threshold of insanity.

He had the attendants test the other items as well, and some of them he even did it himself, but the conclusions were still the same.

He was certain that the items here weren't like that when he was appraising them, why did all of them change all of a sudden?

This was exceptionally so for the weapons he had checked. Not only were the spirits within them difficult to tame, they were aggressive even! If a cultivator were to buy one of them, there was no guarantee that he wouldn't be killed by his sword in his sleep!

"There are actually so many fakes here?"

"I have always trusted the products of the Spirit Emporium, but to think that they were actually such a dishonest business!"

"How can I still trust them not to lie to me in the future?"

"It seems like I can't buy anything from here anymore. The items may be cheap, but if saving that bit of money could cost my life, I would rather not take that risk…"

…

Watching the events unfold, the crowd in the area felt their hearts turning cold.

The two main reasons they frequented the Spirit Emporium despite the unlawful means they use to obtain their items were due to the relatively lower prices of their goods and the guarantee on its quality.

But even with the relatively lower price, if all they were going to receive was a fake, what was the point?

Putting everything aside, if they had bought that Bottleneck Surmounting Pill, not only would they be cheated of their money, they might even lose their life… Who in their right minds would pay just to have themselves killed?

"… So, this is a fake as well. All in all, everything here is a fake!"

Zhang Xuan glanced at the attendants and Mo Fei calmly and said, "All in all, you charged me 237 high-tier spirit stones for these items. Given your refund policy… I believe that you owe me 2370 high-tier spirit stones!"

"2370 high-tier spirit stones?"

"They said earlier that they would pay tenfold the selling price should an item be deemed to be a fake. Now that everything has been proven to be fakes, it is only right for the Spirit Emporium to compensate him!"

"This is insane… Even if the Spirit Emporium were to sell of its assets, it couldn't possibly afford that!"

"Well, who asked them to brag about their refund policy? Not to mention, they even dared to put up so many fake goods on top of that. They had it coming…"

…

Hearing the young man's words, everyone leaped in shock.

Putting aside the Spirit Emporium, it was questionable whether even the royal family had 2370 high-tier spirit stones in its treasury!

But considering how it was exposed before so many people, if it were to default on its payment, its reputation would be completely ruined. If so, they need not dream of operating in Hongyuan City anymore.

"Amazing…" Sun Qiang's eyes were glowing in respect.

He had been wondering how the young master would exact his vengeance, but upon seeing this sight, he finally realized how fearsome the young master was!

If they had walked into the store and threatened the Spirit Emporium with violence, the Spirit Emporium would have held the moral high ground, and no one could have said anything no matter how the Spirit Emporium dealt with them. However, the young master challenged them through legitimate means, cornering them with the rules they had set for themselves…

Let's see how you will deal with that!

Even if you go to the Master Teacher Pavilion to mediate in this matter, it is clear that you are in the wrong!

It was impossible for the Spirit Emporium to pay the 2370 high-tier spirit stones compensation. Even if it could, it would be severely crippled financially. With its reputation in shambles, it would never recover from this blow.

With so many fakes in the store, who would dare to buy from them in the future?

"W-who in the world are you? What do you intend to do?"

It wasn't too difficult to see through all of this. At this point, the attendant was already on the verge of tears.

He'd thought that he had finally met his God of Fortune, and he was looking forward to a life of extravagance. Who could have known that it was a God of Misfortune instead? He might very well lose his job due to this!

"Who am I? I am just a customer in your store. Don't you think that it's only right for you to pay after trying to sell me so many fakes?"

Zhang Xuan smiled.