Chapter One: Heaven's First Floor

  Not far away, the stall owner and the skull-like stranger were still arguing over the value and price of the yellow crystal stone, while Shen Shi was squatting in front of the neighboring stall, staring at the spiritual grass in a daze.

  "Hey, young master, you've been looking at that Tian Luo leaf for half a day, are you going to buy it or not?"

  A voice with a hint of impatience sounded in front of Shen Shi, it was the owner of the stall he was squatting in front of, who looked at this young man who only window-shopped but didn't buy anything with an unpleasant expression.

  Shen Shi came back to his senses, feeling a bit embarrassed, and let out a dry laugh. He stood up and took two steps back, walking away nonchalantly. The stall owner snorted in disgust, muttering to himself: "All day long I meet these kinds of poor devils who only look but don't buy, when can I meet that kind of big shot who throws money around like rain? Sigh..."

  Shen Shi didn't hear the vendor's contemptuous evaluation, but even if he had, there was nothing he could say. At this moment, he still had an expressionless face, and after casually walking around in a circle, he quietly returned to his original position, only this time stopping at the stall next to where he had been before.

  After a while, the stall owner who had been arguing and haggling with that skull-like strange man finally seemed to have reached an agreement, both sides having given in a little, and they settled on a price of four spirit crystals.

  Looking at the strange man's painful expression, which made others feel a few more points of horror, he took out four bright and shiny spirit crystals from his pocket and handed them to the stall owner. He then took the yellow crystal stone, lightly touched it twice, and hid it in a cloth bag on his waist before turning around and leaving.

  In the process, Shen Shi silently watched without speaking until the strange man walked away. He then walked to the stall and took a glance, his eyes scanning over other spiritual materials before finally stopping at the small jar that was lying on the ground by itself.

  It was an old small jar, looking like it had just been dug out of the ground. The jar still had some mud on its body. The jar was about half a foot high, with the mouth sealed shut. The surface of the jar was rough and uneven, with signs of erosion everywhere, to the point where even the original patterns carved on the jar were blurred and difficult to make out, only in a few places could be vaguely seen.

  Shen Shi took a closer look, but didn't notice anything unusual about the small pot. It seemed to be just an old pot with some age on it. Just then, the vendor picked up the pot and glanced at Shen Shi, smiling as he said, "What's wrong, young master? Do you like this pot?"

  Shen Shi smiled slightly and didn't say a word. After hesitating for a moment, he stretched out his hand to pick up the small can. The weight of it was slightly heavy in his hand, but he couldn't tell if it was the weight of the can itself or something sealed inside. However, from the rough feeling transmitted from his palm, it could be seen that the small can had indeed been severely corroded.

  Although Shen Shi didn't say a word, he picked up the small jar and examined it carefully, seemingly interested in this worthless trinket that no one had asked about for years. The stall owner suddenly became excited, laughing and saying: "Young master indeed has good taste, this thing is not ordinary goods, it was excavated from an ancient tomb in 'Yingzhou' several years ago, I almost died inside the tomb after encountering many evil spirits. How about it? This thing isn't bad, right? Old Hou has always been honest, I'll only sell it to you for ten spirit crystals."

  Shen Shi's mouth twitched slightly, and without saying another word, he directly put the small jar back on the ground and stood up to leave.

  The stall owner hastily stopped him and dryly said: "Young master, what are you doing? We have a deal to make, let's discuss it properly..."

  Shen Shi grunted and turned around, seemingly somewhat unwilling, saying: "Don't think you can deceive me just because I'm younger."

  The stall owner's eyes flashed with a hint of joy, thinking that this was indeed some rich young master from a wealthy family. It made sense, after all - this broken old vase had been sitting here for months without anyone asking about it or giving it a second glance. Real cultivators were concerned with things that were crucial to their cultivation, such as spiritual herbs, spiritual minerals, elixirs, and even ancient texts. Who would have the leisure to bother with this unremarkable vase? Only some foolish young master from a wealthy family would be interested in these inexplicable antiques!

  The stall owner's smile grew warmer as he chuckled and looked at Shen Shi, saying: "Young master is joking, old Hou isn't that kind of person who cheats people. If you really like this small pot, name a price, let's discuss it?"

  Shen Shi sank into thought for a moment, his eyebrows slightly furrowed, as if he still hadn't made up his mind about what this small jar was. After hesitating, he picked it up again and turned it over in his hands, finally slowly turning it upside down and focusing on the bottom of the jar.

  The circular bottom of the pot, about half the size of a palm, was also severely eroded, causing the original carved floral pattern to become blurred. However, compared to the body of the pot, the bottom might be slightly better preserved since it was covered in soil. After careful examination, Shen Shi still managed to make out a faint image of a sunflower with three leaves.

  This is only half, in the other half that has been eroded to the point of being unrecognizable, there are still some faint patterns, and it seems like there are a few leaves, but they can't be seen clearly.

  The stall owner was quite patient, letting Shen Shi stare at the small jar for half a day without showing any impatience, unlike his neighbor next door. He just smiled and said, "How's that, young master? Can you see anything?"

  Shen Shi remained silent, but in his heart, he was hesitant. The pattern was too damaged to be discernible, but judging from the distribution of the patterns, apart from the three recognizable lotus leaves, there seemed to be enough space left to draw four more leaves.

  Perhaps this is indeed a pattern of a seven-leaf clover...

  Shen Shi silently stared at the small jar in his hand, his fingers unconsciously tightening for a moment before slowly putting it back.

  In the distant and remote past, so long ago that even now people have already forgotten to the point of oblivion, ten thousand years ago, there was a pattern called "Seven-Leafed Golden Chrysanthemum" that shocked the entire Hongmeng world, with all tribes surrendering and heroes showing respect. This magnificent and dazzling golden emblem belonged to the master of that era, the supreme ruler of the demon tribe that once ruled over all tribes, the master of the Tianyao Court, the Demon Emperor lineage.

  The era of the Tianyao Wangting ruling over the Hongmeng realms was far longer than the years when humans dominated Hongmeng. It is said that just the recorded years alone were at least 40,000 years long. However, after the great war between humans and demons in the past, the demon tribe was defeated, and the once glorious Tianyao Wangting collapsed amidst the flames and blood. From then on, everything about the demon tribe disappeared like smoke in the wind, dispersing into the dust of the past.

  No matter whether it was intentional or unintentional, the scrolls that recorded the history of the demon tribe have almost all disappeared over the years. The human race dominates the Hongmeng realms, and what needs to be remembered is that in the past, the demon tribe cruelly enslaved the human race, but eventually, the human race rose up and drove the evil demon tribe back to the demon realm, destroying the tribal god instrument "Yinming Tower" and sealing themselves within the demon realm, never to emerge again.

  Time is most ruthless, no matter how prosperous and prestigious you were in the past, after thousands of years, it will still turn to dust and floating clouds, leaving no trace. Moreover, many ancient books have been lost or destroyed, so nowadays people hardly remember the seven-leafed golden flower of that year. And Shen Shi was also at that time in Yinzhou West Lucheng Tianyi Building, coincidentally, when identifying a kind of historical and distant spiritual material, due to some doubts, he flipped through the books to find out, unintentionally saw some words mentioning this pattern.

  No matter what, the demon tribe had ruled this world for a long time, even if that era has passed for 10,000 years. But in some inconspicuous corners, sometimes you can still unintentionally discover some faint words and phrases.

  Only the broken pattern in front of my eyes, I couldn't see how many leaves were left, and under the distant years, the dazzling color that once belonged to the seven-leaf chrysanthemum had also fallen off, without a trace.

  Or is it just me who's mistaken?

  Shen Shi had some doubts in his heart, after all, before this, he had never seen the real seven-leafed golden chrysanthemum pattern, everything was based on speculation, but if it was indeed a seven-leafed golden chrysanthemum pattern, the origin of this small pot would not be simple.

  It is said that the pattern of the seven-leafed chrysanthemum in the Tianyao Wangting era symbolized the supreme imperial power, and only the direct descendants of the Youhuang clan could use it. The reason why this small pot has the pattern of the seven-leafed chrysanthemum is that the owner of the stall was lucky enough to discover the tomb of a certain Youhuang from a distant past, and this small pot was obviously one of the burial objects.

  But...

  Shen Shi looked up and took a glance at the stall owner in front of him, only to see that he had a broad face and big ears, with a horizontal scar on his cheek. Although he was smiling at the moment, it seemed like there was still a hint of ferocity in his demeanor. He didn't seem like a particularly lucky person either.

  Could it be that this is a burial object of some ancient Heavenly Demon King or Emperor, a treasure worthy of being buried with the ruler of the entire Hongmeng world after their death? Could it really be this unassuming little jar in front of me?

  Shen Shi looked at the stall owner with a expressionless face, while the stall owner looked at Shen Shi with a warm smile.

  "A soul crystal." Shen Shi said calmly.

  The stall owner's face suddenly didn't look so good, rolled his eyes and said: "Young master, you're cutting the price too aggressively."

  Shen Shi shook his head and said, "This thing is worthless."

  The stall owner hummed and said, "Young master, you can go ask around, Old Hou has been running a stall here for many years, and I've always been honest with everyone... Eh, what's that expression on your face?"

  Shen Shi looked at him with a smile that was not quite a smile, and after a moment, he lowered his voice slightly, saying: "Huang Jing Shi, its color is bright orange-yellow, the best quality is pure red-yellow, if there are any impurities mixed in, it must have impurities, its effectiveness will be greatly reduced, it cannot be used for alchemy, nor can it be used to refine elixirs..."

  "That's enough." The stall owner's face changed drastically, staring at Shen Shi, speechless for a long time.

  Shen Shi smiled and said, "The yellow crystal stone you just sold, I saw at least three black gray spots on the stone."

  The stall owner looked Shen Shi up and down, furrowed his brow and said: "I can't tell, you're so young, yet you have such discerning eyes."

  Shen Shi smiled but didn't speak, merely repeating a sentence: "One Spirit Crystal, sell it to me?"

  The shopkeeper was silent for a moment, his expression changing on his broad face, and then suddenly a smile appeared, saying: "Young master, what do you think this small jar is?"

  "I don't know either, I just took a liking to it."

  The stall owner looked at him and slowly curled up the corner of his mouth, suddenly saying: "I'm not selling anymore."

  "What?"

  The stall owner, Old Hou, smiled slightly and said: "Young master, I think you have a discerning eye, probably from a noble family. Since you have such good taste, I'll trust you this once. I'll take this thing back to study it myself. You're only willing to offer one spirit crystal, so I might as well gamble with that. What do you say?"

  Shen Shi fell silent for a moment, looking at Old Hou, who had a pleased expression on his face. He stretched out his hand and slowly took back the small vase, placing it in front of him. A hint of cunning flashed across his eyes. Shen Shi took a deep breath, slowly stood up, and realized that he was still too young and inexperienced. He had wanted to rely solely on his own judgment to find treasures from others, but didn't know that there were many clever people in this world, not just him.

  At this time, he suddenly recalled the words his father Shen Tai had told him when they parted in Xilu City:

  There are countless talented and outstanding individuals in this world, and those who gather on the path of cultivation are even more so the crème de la crème. There will always be someone smarter and stronger than you.

  Being clever on one's own initiative... This sentence is just talking about myself at present...

  Even an ordinary street vendor can be enough to thoroughly lay himself off, his past self was indeed a frog at the bottom of the well. Shen Shi didn't say much more, he just silently recited his father's warning again in his heart, this time he wanted to carve it deeply into his heart. Then, Shen Shi took one last look at the small jar and turned around to leave.

  Behind him, Old Hou, the stall owner, revealed a triumphant smile.

  One step, two steps, three steps, four steps... Although he didn't turn his head back, Shen Shi still felt a burning sensation on his face. Perhaps that was just the nature of youth. Even though he knew it was his own fault, he couldn't help but feel some anger - towards the cunning stall owner and also towards himself.

  Just as he was about to take his fifth step, preparing to leave the stall that gave him a strong sense of frustration, a strange and eerie soft voice suddenly came from behind him, making people feel a little frightened, saying:

  "Boss, I think that piece of yellow crystal stone was a bit short in weight earlier. Can I ask if you have any other stock? I'd like to buy some more."

  Shen Shi's footsteps suddenly came to an abrupt halt.