Chapter 15: Speculation Confirmed!

  After visiting nearly twenty stalls and having a general understanding of the prices of some items, although she had seen several "Dan Ding" that met her expectations in terms of appearance, material, and size before, but to understand the market, she also found out that this kind of thing is very common here, so Zuo Xiaoyao has not made a move yet.

  After all, the tripod was originally used for cooking food, but later it became a ritual vessel for sacrifice, and its history of refining elixirs is quite ancient. In addition, there are legends about its ability to ward off evil spirits, which has led to people having a special affection for it. As a result, modern people often like to use replicas of ancient tripods as decorative objects. The prices of these replicas vary greatly due to differences in the materials and craftsmanship used to make them.

  "How much is this stone pot?"

  Upon hearing this question, Zuo Xiao Yao subconsciously raised her head and looked towards a stall in the front left direction. She saw a middle-aged man in his forties squatting in front of that stall, holding a square tripod about one foot high, and asked.

  “3000！”

  The young vendor in his twenties replied quickly, and then enthusiastically introduced "This is a good thing, you see, it's been around for some years! It was passed down from my friend's family, if he wasn't short on cash, he wouldn't be willing to sell it!"

  "Don't drag that out, to be honest, every single thing here has its own story. I'm sure this stone is quite old too. Considering the decent carvings on it, I'll give you three hundred yuan at most. Be quick about it, will you sell or not?"

  "No way, this price is already very reasonable. Don't look at the material, it's not that great, but it's really good stuff, an ancient artifact from a long time ago. Look at this intricate design... Ah, you... you... won't even add a little more, sigh!"

  The middle-aged man was obviously an old hand in the antique market, and when he heard that he was still arguing about the price, he became impatient and put down the stone tripod and left. The young stall owner couldn't help but feel a little regretful.

  "Five hundred yuan, will you sell?" Seeing the middle-aged man leave, Zuo Xiaoyao quickly asked while pretending to examine the goods at a nearby stall.

  When someone asked again, the young stall owner looked up in surprise and replied, "Five hundred is five hundred. If my friend wasn't waiting to use the money, I would definitely not sell it. Once the goods are sold, they will not be returned or exchanged! This is the rule!"

  Zuo Xiaoyao handed over the money with a smile and said "No refunds or exchanges!"

  Of course, there will be no returns or exchanges! From the moment she laid eyes on this stone tripod, she had already made up her mind that even if she had to spend all the money on her, she would buy it down. That somewhat mysterious intuition told her that this was the goal of her trip, even though the era when this not-so-ancient stone tripod was formed was not far away, and anyone with discerning eyes could see it.

  As the young stall owner was thrilled to sell something he bought for 50 yuan for 500 yuan, Zuo Xiaoyao, who had already achieved her goal, was also preparing to leave this antique market with excitement. The more she stayed in this crowded and enclosed space, the more uncomfortable she felt, after all, the air here was really too turbid.

  Near the bus stop, Xiaoyao bought a newspaper at a newsstand and wrapped up the stone steamer. Since it was still early, she decided to visit her grandmother's grave on the way. After her grandmother passed away, she had been keeping the habit of visiting the cemetery every twenty days or so. There were not only her grandmother's tomb but also the tombs of her grandfather and uncle, Zuo Zhenglong, whom she had never met before.

  As usual, she cleaned the three graves first, then sat quietly in front of her grandmother's tombstone. She didn't pour out her life, nor did she shed tears again, nor was she sad, but just wanted to be with her at this place closest to her grandmother.

  Since the cemetery was reorganized and many empty graves were sold, Grandma had reserved a spot for herself here. Zuo XiaoYao could understand her thinking, even though at that time she didn't want to imagine the fact that Grandma would one day leave her. The fact proved that their decision back then was really wise. The price of this cemetery has now risen to more than ten times what it was back then. Even in order to buy it, she had been painting non-stop during class breaks, working much harder than usual.

  Some people think that the cemetery is too gloomy and being there makes them feel depressed, but Zuo Xiao Yao has never thought so. Since she was old enough to understand things, she would often accompany her grandmother here. Now that her grandmother rests in peace here, she even feels that her own home has also been moved here.

  For years, the only spiritual dependence of Zuo Xiao Yao was her grandmother, but now she has to face this distance that separates heaven and earth, and knows she must be stronger, but for now, she still needs to draw more strength from her grandmother to face a future full of unknowns.

  Time flies quickly, and the desolate cemetery is bathed in the warm glow of sunset. Xue Xiao Yao picks up the stone tripod she had put aside earlier and walks slowly away, her solitary figure casting a long shadow on the stone-paved path that winds through the vast and empty cemetery.

  After buying a few cheap Chinese medicines at a pharmacy near the residential area, she brought the stone cauldron into the Purple Boundary Realm that night. Xiao Xue's heart was filled with excitement and some hidden tension. Through her recent dozens of days of cultivation, the small flame that had been faintly visible had grown much stronger, and the terrifying temperature contained within it left her without a doubt that if this flame grew even stronger, it would be able to instantly burn a living person into ashes.

  Of course, having received a legal education from a young age and having a normal mindset, Zuo Xiaoyao had never thought of using them on people, not even considering the idea of testing them on animals.

  Under the guidance of the basic skills of alchemy, Zuo Xiaoyao sat on the ground with her legs crossed and placed the stone tripod one meter in front of her. She then quickly released a strand of yuan force into the stone tripod through a series of hand seals. The stone tripod gradually grew larger under Zuo Xiaoyao's astonished gaze, reaching a height of two feet and its diameter also increasing proportionally at the same time.

  This was also a very mysterious scene, and at the same time, it further confirmed a guess that Zuo Xiaoyao had been vaguely forming in her mind since she saw this stone cauldron, that is, this world was not as simple as she thought, and in places she didn't know, there might be a group of people who were similar to her in cultivation!

  This is something Zuo Xiao Yao only thought of today, in the past she had a simple life and all she came into contact with were social manifestations that ordinary people on earth could easily know about. She thought those mystical things only existed in myths, legends and TV shows, never thinking they might also exist in reality. Unexpectedly when she became someone who knew about the mystical world due to chance encounters, she discovered a side of this world that was unknown to humans!

  This 'stone tripod' was made not too long ago, but it is already a truly suitable alchemy tripod for refining elixirs. The material is far from being ordinary stone as it appears on the surface. After Zuo Xiaoyao imprinted her own spiritual mark on the tripod, it can be enlarged or shrunk according to her mental consciousness, making it very convenient and easy to use!

  Low cultivation base, nothing is convenient, this is Zuo Xiaoyao's personal experience!

  After she was stunned by the discovery of the mysterious side of this world, she hastily took out some dried Chinese herbal medicine to refine it. However, when she completely burned the small amount of Chinese herbal medicine in the cauldron into ash, she found that the energy cluster in her dantian was also consumed.

  PS: Thanks for Jianmo's strong support, double updates will continue, and it will be released around 6 pm!