Who Let Him Cultivate Immortality

At the temporary venue set up by Land of Gold Commerce, four items were lined up and surrounded by formations that blocked divine sense probing, allowing only visual inspection.

When Lu Yang and his group arrived, there was already a crowd gathered.

Fortunately, the distance didn’t affect judgment, especially for early-stage Golden Core cultivators who could clearly see the details of items several hundred meters away.

“A painting of a woman in armor.”

“A charred bamboo stalk with two green leaves.”

“A bug—could it be some kind of Gu worm?”

“A metal ring, possibly a necklace or decorative item?”

Lu Yang examined each item but couldn’t discern their origins.

No one present seemed to know what these items were either; everyone was carefully observing, trying to find any clues.

The person next to Lu Yang raised his hand and asked, “Is the third one a Gu worm?”

The merchant cultivator politely replied, “I’m sorry, but I can’t answer that question.”

After some thought, the person made his guess: “The fourth item is a Gu worm. The pattern on its wings resembles coins, so it must be a Money Gu that helps its owner find treasure!”

“Unfortunately, you’re wrong.”

“Do you recognize any of these items?” Lu Yang asked Meng Jingzhou and the others through a voice transmission.

“The first painting might have a painting spirit hidden in it, but I’m not sure,” Lan Ting said, having some knowledge of painted artifacts.

“The bamboo looks familiar; I feel like I’ve read about it somewhere. Let me check my books.” Bai Ming pulled out a series of ancient texts from his identity jade token, flipping through them one by one.

Yan Tianzhi remained silent; he hadn’t recognized anything.

Meng Jingzhou stroked his chin. “The fourth one should be a Gu worm. Let me give it a try.”

Meng Jingzhou raised his hand and asked, “Is the fourth one a Love Gu? The kind that, when used on someone, makes them gradually fall in love with you.”

The merchant cultivator was quite surprised; he hadn’t expected anyone to identify an item so quickly. He placed the small bug in a wooden box and handed it to Meng Jingzhou.

“Congratulations, you guessed correctly. This is a Love Gu.”

The person next to Lu Yang, who was well-versed in Gu worms, protested, “A Love Gu? I remember that Love Gu has blood-colored wings, but this one has transparent wings!”

The merchant cultivator explained, “This is a mutated Love Gu. The wing color has changed to transparent, but its effect remains the same.”

“You could identify it? Have you seen it before?” Lu Yang asked Meng Jingzhou through a voice transmission.

Meng Jingzhou smirked proudly. “No, I’ve only heard of Love Gu before—I had no idea what it looked like.”

“Then how did you figure it out?”

“I owe it to my careful observation.”

“What did you observe?”

“When I looked at the bug, it trembled in fear. Why would it fear me? I thought about it and realized that with my Twin Single Bachelor’s Spirit Roots and mastery of the Single Curse Fist, the Gu worm I naturally suppress would be the Love Gu!”

Lu Yang felt that this wasn’t something worth boasting about.

“Is the painting of a general who protects homes?”

There’s a type of painting believed to ward off evil spirits when hung in the home.

“No.”

“Is the bamboo withered ink bamboo?”

Ink bamboo can be ground into powder and mixed with water for painting.

“No.”

“Is the metal ring an imitation of a Vajra bracelet?”

“No.”

Three people in front of Lu Yang raised their hands and made guesses, all incorrect.

Lan Ting and Bai Ming were still flipping through their books, unsure when they’d find an answer.

Lu Yang discreetly asked Everlasting Fairy, “Do you recognize any of these items?”

Everlasting Fairy yawned out of boredom. “They’re all just trivial little things.”

“The woman in the painting is alive, or rather, she can change. Every night at midnight, she moves and changes her clothes. Today she’s wearing armor; tomorrow, she might be in a long dress, the day after in a Daoist robe, and the day after that in pajamas. She never repeats an outfit all year.”

“It doesn’t have any attack power; it’s just for novelty. I can also change my clothes every day,” Everlasting Fairy tried to prove that she was better than the painting.

Lu Yang glanced at Everlasting Fairy, who was still disheveled after waking up, and looked at her with disdain. “You really should change your clothes. What’s the deal with the black bamboo?”

“It’s Thunderstruck Bamboo. If a bamboo is struck by lightning and manages to sprout new leaves, it’s called Thunderstruck Bamboo. Iron-Eating Beasts love to eat it. If you take Thunderstruck Bamboo into the Demon Territory, you can attract an Iron-Eating Beast to become your mount.”

“I remember Confucian Peak has Iron-Eating Beasts.”

“Those are just ordinary Iron-Eating Beasts; they can’t handle Thunderstruck Bamboo. I’m talking about those with cultivation, known today as Ancient Iron-Eating Beasts.”

“What about the metal ring? Do you recognize it?”

“Oh, that’s just junk, completely useless.”

“Junk?”

“Yes, junk. Haven’t you ever heard the saying, ‘A good chef needs good tableware’?”

“I thought it was ‘A good chef needs good cookware.’”

“Close enough.”

“When I became an Immortal Chef, I realized there wasn’t any tableware worthy of my food. Plates, bowls, chopsticks—anything that touched my dishes would just melt.”

“So, I asked Ying Tian Immortal to forge a set of tableware for me. At first, he was reluctant, but after some coercion and persuasion, he finally agreed.”

“The forging process was incredibly difficult. He tried using ceramics, iron, wood, and other materials, but all failed. This metal ring was one of the failed attempts. I poured my freshly made soup into a plate, and the plate just leaked.”

Lu Yang: “…”

This was the first time he’d heard that even tableware needed to be crafted by immortals.

But still, something made by Ying Tian Immortal should be sturdier than the flying sword Qilin Immortal used to deceive his wife, right?

Lu Yang raised his hand and said, “The metal ring is part of a plate.”

The merchant cultivator was greatly surprised. The metal ring was the hardest item to identify among the four, and yet Lu Yang had guessed it correctly.

“Congratulations, you guessed right.”

“A plate? Are you kidding me? This thing looks just like a Vajra bracelet!”

“Yeah, even if it’s not a Vajra bracelet, it should at least be some kind of weapon!”

The merchant cultivator calmly explained, “This cultivator is correct; the metal ring is indeed part of a plate. According to our appraisal experts, someone once forged an extremely durable iron plate for unknown reasons. Later, the plate was corroded by some kind of poison, dissolving the middle and leaving only the rim, which is what you see now.”

“As for the exact nature of the poison, we haven’t been able to determine it. No known toxin can cause this level of corrosion.”

Hearing this explanation, Everlasting Fairy stomped her feet in anger. “What nonsense! The food I make is highly nourishing, and they dare to call it poison!”

Lu Yang didn’t dare say a word. If he dared to suggest Everlasting Fairy’s food was poisonous, she might cook him another meal to prove otherwise.

Lu Yang took the metal ring, and Bai Ming and the others sent him voice transmissions, saying, “Great eye, how did you figure that out?”

“Be careful with the ring; there might still be some poison left on it,” Lan Ting warned, concerned for Lu Yang’s safety. Even a trace of that poison could be fatal.

“Well done.”

Lu Yang smiled and responded to each of them.

Just as everyone was about to continue guessing, a sudden explosion sounded nearby, and a powerful aura swept over the entire event like a tidal wave.

Lu Yang could feel the rage and killing intent emanating from the aura. “Fairy, what’s their cultivation level?”

“Unity Stage Cultivators—two of them. They seem to be those ancient cultivators you mentioned.”

Lu Yang narrowed his eyes. They clearly weren’t here with good intentions.

Bai Ming immediately went on high alert. “That direction…is it the secret realm?”

(TL Note: This appraisal event reminds me of lantern riddles during the Mid Autumn Festival)