While Huang Mingnian was still exchanging sharp words with Yuan Fang, the staff at the Wanxing Trading Association had brought over the other three Zengyang Marrow Beads.

  The beads were identical in appearance, but Han could sense that the treasure-finding stone only reacted to the first one.

  However, Han chose to buy all four beads. It would be strange to single out the first one, and Han didn't want to draw attention or stir unnecessary trouble.

  Huang Mingnian was somewhat surprised. He hadn't expected Han to buy all four on his own.

  What surprised Han, though, was that after the transaction was completed, Huang Mingnian didn't try to cause any trouble.

  "You’ve got quite an eye for things, brother," Huang Mingnian said to Han. "I have a few Zengyang Marrow Beads at home too. If you ever need more, feel free to ask. I’ll send you a few."

  Han felt a bit awkward—what exactly was he implying?

  "No need," Han replied quickly.

  Huang Mingnian glanced at Yuan Fang before turning and walking away.

  Han watched him leave, puzzled. "He just came to bicker with you and now leaves like this?"

  Yuan Fang shook his head and smiled. "The Yuan family and the Huang family have never gotten along. My feud with Huang Mingnian goes way back. His actions are nothing unusual."

  "I thought he might try to interfere," Han said.

  Yuan Fang chuckled. "Huang Mingnian is a smart man. Before he understands who you really are, he won’t risk offending you."

  "And once a deal is made here at Wanxing Trading Association, it’s final. The transaction won’t change unless you choose to cancel. Even if he offered ten or a hundred times the price, they wouldn’t sell it to him."

  "Of course, if it were at the open bidding of the Wanxing Auction House, that’d be a different story."

  Han frowned. This wasn’t the usual trope where the "villain" would meddle in the transaction.

  Putting Huang Mingnian out of his mind, Han continued to browse through the Wanxing Trading Association. He visited both the second and third floors but didn’t find anything that triggered the treasure-finding stone again.

  It seemed that finding hidden treasures wasn’t as common as he thought.

  Meanwhile, outside the trading association, Huang Mingnian was listening to a report from one of his subordinates.

  "He entered the city with Lu Duguan from Black Cloud Town and went to the Ghost and Spirit Department?"

  Huang Mingnian’s expression shifted. "So that’s why Yuan Fang, that hypocrite, was so friendly with him. Turns out this man has a powerful background."

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  After meeting Han, Huang Mingnian had immediately sent someone to investigate him.

  Anyone who could make Yuan Fang act so warmly must be someone significant.

  "As expected," Huang Mingnian muttered. "I’ll need to tell my father about Black Cloud Town."

  After a moment of thought, he made his way back home.

  By the time Han and Yuan Fang finished the transaction for the incense ingredients, the two of them left Wanxing Trading Association.

  "If you ever need anything, Brother Zhou, you can go directly to Manager Lin," Yuan Fang said.

  "Wanxing Trading Association is just the tip of the iceberg. There are many things they don’t display openly, but they can be acquired through private negotiations."

  The city of Tianyue was vast, and Yuan Fang showed Han around, even treating him to a meal.

  Han, however, declined Yuan Fang’s invitation to visit the Yuan family and returned straight to the Ghost and Spirit Department.

  "Do you just eat the Zengyang Marrow Beads as they are, Yuan Fang?" Han asked.

  Yuan Fang nodded. "That’s what I’ve heard, though I can’t be sure."

  Yuan Fang accompanied Han to the Ghost and Spirit Department's residence. Their rooms were next to each other, as Lu Qingmo had requested it.

  "Thanks for today, Yuan Fang," Han said as he bid him farewell.

  As soon as Han entered Lu Qingmo’s room, Yuan Fang’s expression turned thoughtful. He wondered why Han was asking about the Marrow Beads and then rushed to Lu Qingmo’s room.

  What was going on here?

  Yuan Fang didn’t dwell on it, though. The less he knew about personal matters, the better.

  "Mo Yi, Mo Yi!" Han called softly.

  The door opened immediately, and Lu Qingmo, sitting by the chair, looked at Han. "You’re back early."

  "Come on in."

  Once Han entered, he quickly shut the door behind him.

  "Mo Yi, I went to Wanxing Trading Association and found something interesting, but I’m not quite sure what it is."

  "Oh?" Lu Qingmo was intrigued. To find something interesting at Wanxing Trading Association? That was rare.

  "Let me see."

  Han took out the four Zengyang Marrow Beads and handed her the one he’d intended to display.

  Lu Qingmo frowned the moment she saw it. "This is what you found interesting?"

  Han realized how odd this must seem. Here he was, holding a potency-enhancing item, claiming it was a "treasure" in front of Lu Qingmo, a mature and wise woman.

  "Wait, Mo Yi, you’ve misunderstood," Han quickly clarified. "I was drawn to it when I first saw it. Something about it told me it was a valuable item."

  Lu Qingmo placed the bead on the table and set the other three aside.

  "Really, Mo Yi, the other three beads didn’t interest me, but this one... I feel like it’s special."

  "That’s why I wanted you to check it."

  Lu Qingmo’s frown softened. Han's instincts were often accurate—martial artists sometimes had sudden inspirations, and cultivators experienced moments of clarity.

  She picked up the Zengyang Marrow Bead and studied it closely.

  After a few moments, she shook her head. "I don’t sense anything unusual about it. It’s just a regular Zengyang Marrow Bead."

  "Wanxing Trading Association’s appraisers are quite skilled. They wouldn’t miss something valuable."

  "Could your instincts be wrong?"

  Han hadn’t expected Lu Qingmo to miss the bead's hidden secret, but the treasure-finding stone had never failed him before.

  Thinking it over, Han decided to use his Insight Talisman, which he had previously found, to examine the bead.

  Though he had hoped to save it for a later time, it seemed there was no choice.

  With the talisman activated, Han immediately saw something unexpected.

  Inside the Zengyang Marrow Bead, there was a golden-red flame!

  So, the treasure-finding stone had responded because of what was inside the bead?

  "Mo Yi, my eyes... I think I saw something. There’s a flame inside this Marrow Bead."

  "A flame?" Lu Qingmo’s eyes narrowed, but after inspecting it again, she couldn’t find any trace of it.

  She looked back at Han, who had awakened a rare gift, and it was clear that his insight was sharp.

  "Should I cut the Marrow Bead open?"

  "Cut it!"

  With a swift motion, Han cracked open the bead.

  Immediately, a golden flame shot out, burning the bead to ash, leaving only a faint blue smoke that wafted into the air.

  But neither of them cared about the bead anymore.

  Lu Qingmo quickly contained the flame with her power. Her eyes widened in surprise.

  "Pure Sunfire?!"

  What about this fire that could destroy demons?