Chapter 31: One Body, Many Souls, Legendary Creature
“Yes.”
Grandpa Chu nodded slightly and pointed at the massive scissors beside the Human-faced Dragon Carp.
The blades were sharp, but only half remained.
The edge was riddled with rust, yet still gleamed coldly.
The curve was sinuous and slender, and the end was connected to something slender...
A woman’s arm?
He said, “This was a mutated being slain by a History Walker team from Jianggan Province in a Diseased Domain—Split Lady, at the Foundation Establishment Stage. Her appearance was enchanting and alluring, with scissor-like arms possessing extremely sharp characteristics.
Not only could she slash with a mere raise of her hand, but when her arms crossed, even metal seemed as fragile as paper before her. She nearly wiped out their entire team.
Fortunately, they had a Historical Relic that could cause metal to rust, reducing the sharpness of her arms. Only then did they find a chance to kill her.
They brought half of the arm to me to forge into a sword, but it was too sharp. Every time it was used, the wielder would get cut and bleed profusely, and the wounds would be afflicted with a lingering effect that was difficult to heal.
The remaining part was severely rusted. They wanted to pay compensation, but I had never seen such a strange monster, so I decided to keep it.
If you can find a way to remove the rust, it can be made into a sword. If you want it, take it for five hundred fifty thousand.”
So expensive!
Jiang Yan’s mouth twitched slightly.
Moreover, this ability overlapped with the Sanskrit Sword and was even inferior.
Even if fused, it would probably only slightly enhance sharpness.
The cost-performance ratio was too low.
Its only advantage was that persistent bleeding buff.
Any flesh-and-blood creature would be affected by it.
“Anything else?”
Grandpa Chu’s expression did not change as he continued introducing:
“This is the ear of the Scarlet Iron Cauldron from the Foundation Establishment Stage, a spirit from the Ancient Cauldron City, naturally fierce and combative.
Using it to make a Cauldron Talisman can greatly enhance combat power for a short time, but it consumes a massive amount of vitality and life force. Because of the drastic boost, it can even tear one’s body apart.
Unfortunately, this is only the most basic Scarlet Iron Cauldron among fighting cauldrons—not even a Brass Cauldron. Take it for five hundred thousand.”
Jiang Yan’s eyes lit up.
Though its drawbacks were obvious, it was indeed a powerful burst-type technique.
As for vitality and life force, he had ways to replenish them.
It’s just that...
Jiang Yan, thick-skinned, continued asking:
“Anything else?”
Grandpa Chu’s hand holding the oil lamp trembled. His face was full of helplessness as he went on:
“Silk sac of the Mountain Spider—only half of it is left; the other half has already been turned into trauma medicine. The remaining half is best applied directly to wounds. It stops bleeding instantly and accelerates healing. Four hundred thousand.”
“Eyes collected by the Fly Boy. When crushed, they can enhance vision or be made into a deterrent gaze item...”
“...”
Grandpa Chu went on and on about more than half the wall. Seeing that Jiang Yan was still waiting for further explanations, he puffed his beard and glared, waving his hand:
“Since nothing has caught your eye, why not just let it go? This old man is also thirsty...”
Before he finished speaking, a cup of tea was handed over.
Ningning grinned and said, “Grandpa Chu, don’t rush. This just means big brother really wants to buy, so he’s being careful.”
Grandpa Chu rolled his eyes and sighed:
“This customer, there aren’t many monster corpses left, and not much worth introducing. If you fancy anything, just ask me.”
Jiang Yan also realized his questioning was starting to annoy the old man. He thought picking a Cauldron fragment wouldn’t be bad.
But... since he was already here...
Jiang Yan followed the ghostly firelight, looked at the remaining monster corpses, swept his gaze over them, and suddenly froze. But he quickly regained composure and casually pointed at one of them and asked:
“Boss Chu, what’s this?”
Grandpa Chu followed the direction of his finger and saw a five-meter-long pitch-black snake. Its tail was split, branching out into hooks, and there was a bulge on the right side of its neck, looking extremely hideous.
“Oh that... now I remember. Seems to be a snake with faint Hook Snake bloodline. I recall the person who brought it said it was a Snake King from the Diseased Domain, capable of manipulating shadows. Once touched, one would be poisoned.
But somehow, it underwent a mutation that deformed its body and made it sluggish. After being killed, they brought it here to extract its gallbladder for refining antidote pills.”
Jiang Yan’s heart began to beat faster and faster.
Ever since cultivating the Past Burning Lamp Scripture, he had been able to see that all things possessed a Life Lamp.
Even when living beings died, their Life Lamp would remain—it would simply be extinguished and in disrepair.
The Life Lamp not only represented vitality, but also symbolized the fate and karma entangled with it.
It was the trace of existence in all things.
Creatures like the Human-faced Dragon Carp and Split Lady, despite losing their extraordinary organs or even reduced to mere remains, still retained their Life Lamps—albeit tattered.
However, on this Hook Snake’s Life Lamp, another smaller Life Lamp had actually grown. The deformity on its shoulder and neck had reflected back onto its soul and karma.
It was somewhat like the legendary...
One body, many souls.
With such a trait, a serpentine body, and potent venom, it seemed to correspond to a legendary creature from the Classic of Mountains and Seas mythology.
Even if he guessed wrong, it didn’t matter.
This Hook Snake, with its ability to manipulate shadows and release toxins, could match perfectly with Shifted Shape and Reflected Shadow, making it an all-rounded warrior.
‘It’s a pity I can’t buy the Scarlet Iron Cauldron. I’ll have to wait until next time.’
Suppressing his excitement, Jiang Yan did not speak immediately.
Instead, he glanced at the remaining monster corpses, letting his gaze deliberately dart between the Cauldron and the Hook Snake.
In the end, he made his decision and asked:
“How much for this snake?”
Grandpa Chu took a sip of tea and said leisurely:
“Eight hundred thousand.”
Jiang Yan: “……”
That was beyond budget.
Weren’t they all supposed to be around five hundred thousand?
Grandpa Chu chuckled and said, “Customer, I haven’t raised the price arbitrarily. The History Walker who brought it only extracted the snake gall to refine medicine and save someone, so this Hook Snake’s extraordinary organs are all still intact.”
‘But now that it’s been chopped and isn’t complete, can’t it be a bit cheaper?’
Jiang Yan grumbled internally. Though he was tempted, it really was pushing his budget.
Ningning leaned over and looked at Grandpa Chu with wide eyes:
“Grandpa Chu, when I brought this big brother here, I gave him a guarantee—it would be affordable and worth it. Can’t you give him a regular’s discount? Otherwise, all the reputation Ningning worked so hard to build will be gone!”
“All that reputation you gained came from fleecing me. If it’s gone, good riddance.” Grandpa Chu rolled his eyes.
Ningning wanted to say more, but Jiang Yan patted her head and smiled:
“Thank you, Ningning. It’s alright. I’ll step out for a bit and be right back.”
“Wait!”
Just as Jiang Yan was about to step outside to call Old Ba, Grandpa Chu called out to stop him.
Stroking his beard, he grinned and said, “Ningning went out of her way to speak up for me, this old man. I’m not that hard to deal with. I can even offer you a big discount.”
“You seem to like Cauldron fragments, so how about this—this Hook Snake and the Cauldron fragment together, I’ll give both to you for four hundred thousand.”
However, Jiang Yan was not pleased. Instead, his gaze turned wary as he asked:
“What’s your condition?”