Chapter 163: Thousand-Faced Eccentric
“Not necessarily in the future?”
Chu Liang’s expression shifted slightly, remaining silent.
Of course, he understood the meaning behind Qin Yuandao’s words.
Regarding the rumors of seeking a son-in-law, the Qin family was not without such thoughts.
But Chu Liang truly had no such intentions, only wishing to reach the peak of martial arts as soon as possible and experience the feeling of looking down on all others.
Even the peak of martial arts might not be the end. The legendary “demons” were said to be stronger than those at the peak of martial arts, requiring multiple peak martial artists to join forces to defeat them.
With the Evolutionary Appraisal Mirror in hand, Chu Liang was eager to see if he could use it to continue this path after reaching the peak of martial arts.
“Chu Liang, come in and take a look. If there’s anything you like, feel free to take it.” Qin Yuandao approached the treasure vault and beckoned to Chu Liang.
“Alright.”
Chu Liang responded and stepped into the treasure vault.
He looked around, his eyes taking in the dazzling array of items.
Ranked treasure weapons, valuable medicinal herbs, precious pills, special ores, demon beast materials, and more glittered under the illumination of the luminous pearls, creating a brilliant and mesmerizing scene.
The value of the entire treasure vault was immeasurable. Just the crimson ore, “Dragon Blood Iron,” casually placed at the entrance was worth more than five thousand taels of silver.
But Chu Liang was not interested in most of the treasures.
Treasures that were difficult for ordinary martial artists to obtain could be easily acquired by Chu Liang through the Evolutionary Appraisal Mirror.
Qin Yuandao had been observing Chu Liang’s expression. Seeing that Chu Liang remained unfazed, without even a flicker in his eyes, he couldn’t help but feel a sense of surprise.
Even a Skin Tempering Realm expert might not be able to remain so calm when entering this treasure vault for the first time.
He waited for a moment and then asked, “Chu Liang, what do you think? Do you see any treasures that catch your eye?”
“Family Head Qin, don’t be hasty. Let me take another look.”
Chu Liang began to move around the treasure vault, his gaze slowly sweeping over each treasure, judging their value based on the prompts from the Evolutionary Appraisal Mirror.
Time slowly passed.
About the time it takes for an incense stick to burn had gone by.
Chu Liang had already examined most of the treasure vault, yet he still hadn’t found anything he could use.
What he wanted were extremely special items, ones that even the Evolutionary Appraisal Mirror couldn’t easily evolve.
After a while longer, Chu Liang had basically seen all the treasures in the vault, and his brows furrowed slightly.
“They’re all conventional martial arts resources that can be obtained through the Evolutionary Appraisal Mirror,” he thought to himself. “The Qin family is, after all, just an ordinary third-rate family, their foundation limited by being in a small place like the county town. It’s difficult for them to acquire truly special treasures.”
Chu Liang’s gaze shifted, revisiting some of the treasures he had seen before.
He planned to choose a few valuable items as a fair exchange for this transaction.
But just then, Qin Yuandao’s gentle laughter sounded, “From the looks of it, you haven’t taken a liking to anything in my Qin family’s treasure vault.”
“Family Head Qin, you jest. Allow me to look again,” Chu Liang responded with a smile.
“No need. Come with me. I have a few more treasures.” Qin Yuandao turned and walked out of the treasure vault.
Chu Liang immediately followed.
The two of them, one after the other, arrived at a relatively quiet side courtyard in the Qin residence.
“Wait here for a moment.”
Qin Yuandao instructed, then entered a room on the side.
Not long after, he emerged with three specially made black boxes and placed them one by one in front of Chu Liang.
He opened the first box, revealing two fiery red, oval-shaped pills.
A faint smell of blood wafted out, entering Chu Liang’s nose.
“This is…”
“This is the ‘Skin Transformation Pill’.”
Qin Yuandao picked up a pill and introduced it to Chu Liang, “This pill is worth more than one hundred and fifty thousand taels of silver. It has only one purpose, which you can probably guess, and that is to assist martial artists in breaking through to the Skin Tempering Realm.”
“So this is the Skin Transformation Pill.”
Chu Liang was enlightened. He had heard of this pill before, but this was his first time seeing it.
There are many auxiliary methods for breaking through from the Blood Coagulation Realm to the Skin Tempering Realm.
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For example, the “Blood Skin Stone” that Wu Neng once offered to Law Enforcement Hall Master Liang Han was worth several thousand taels for a small piece.
By collecting five Blood Skin Stones and using them during the breakthrough, the probability of success could be increased by about ten percent.
And this pill called “Skin Transformation Pill” was the most top-tier among all auxiliary methods, capable of increasing the success rate by about seventy percent.
With just one Skin Transformation Pill, along with the martial artist’s own accumulation, a breakthrough to the Skin Tempering Realm was almost guaranteed!
The two pills in this box, if nothing went wrong, could allow the Qin family to gain two more Skin Tempering Realm experts.
“This pill is very precious, priceless in the market. Even Skin Tempering Realm experts would find it difficult to obtain. As for ordinary Blood Coagulation Realm martial artists, they might not even hear about this pill.” Qin Yuandao’s voice was gentle as he explained its rarity to Chu Liang.
Chu Liang nodded silently, understanding this point.
There were at least ten experts in the county town stuck at the Five Strands of Qi and Blood stage, such as the hall masters of the three major martial arts halls and the hall masters of the Martial Alliance.
If they knew of the existence of this pill, they would undoubtedly do everything in their power to obtain it from Qin Yuandao.
“Chu Liang, if you agree to the exchange, you can take both of these pills.” Qin Yuandao said to Chu Liang.
“Family Head Qin, why don’t you give this pill to Qin Zhong, allowing the Qin family to gain another Skin Tempering Realm expert?” Chu Liang asked, puzzled.
“Qin Zhong’s Qi and Blood are still at their peak, and will remain so for at least fifteen years. Only after fifteen years will they begin to decline,” Qin Yuandao explained. “If I can learn your movement technique, in these fifteen years, I will definitely be able to find him a treasure no less valuable than this pill.”
“I see.”
Chu Liang asked no further questions.
As the head of the family, Qin Yuandao had his own plans for these matters.
“Chu Liang, look at this.”
Qin Yuandao put down the pill, closed the box, and then opened the second box.
Inside the box were two black metal balls the size of a baby’s fist.
Chu Liang asked, “Family Head Qin, what is this…”
Qin Yuandao introduced, “This item is called ‘Seven Yin Soul Extinguishing Gallbladder’. It’s a type of hidden weapon, containing forty-nine specially made poisoned needles, capable of killing Skin Tempering experts!”
“It can kill Skin Tempering experts?”
Chu Liang’s eyes flickered. This thing was truly extraordinary.
Skin Tempering Realm experts were said to be impervious to swords and spears. For this hidden weapon to be able to kill them, its internal structure and crafting method were truly unimaginable.
Qin Yuandao’s gaze lingered on Chu Liang’s face for a moment, then he closed the box and opened the last one.
Inside this box was a pale yellow, human-faced mask.
“This item is called the ‘Three-Part Mask’. When worn, it can change into three different appearances: an old man, a middle-aged man, and a young man,” Qin Yuandao explained.
“Three different appearances?” Chu Liang was surprised. Ordinary human skin masks only had one form.
“That’s right!”
Qin Yuandao asked him, “Chu Liang, have you heard of a Grandmaster known as the ‘Thousand-Faced Eccentric’?”
Chu Liang nodded, “I’ve read about him in the Martial Alliance’s records.”
The Thousand-Faced Eccentric, a Grandmaster expert.
According to the records, this Grandmaster was humorous and enjoyed playing games in the mortal world. He was skilled in making human skin masks and often traveled around in various guises.
Sometimes he was an old man, sometimes a robust young man, and sometimes even a young maiden. No one knew his true appearance.
“Family Head Qin, could the mask in this box be made by the Thousand-Faced Eccentric?” Chu Liang asked.
“Indeed, but it’s a work from before he achieved Grandmaster status, so it’s not considered very good. Otherwise, it wouldn’t have ended up in my hands.”
Qin Yuandao did not hide anything. Grandmaster treasures were not something a Skin Tempering Realm expert like him could obtain.
He had introduced all three treasures.
Now it was up to Chu Liang to choose.
