Chapter 161: The Vessel

After Ye Cheng successfully bid for the bronze scrap, auction items were continuously brought out one after another. However, most of them were cultivation techniques and martial arts manuals. The ultimate grand finale treasure was a high-tier cultivation technique—the "Crimson Flame Manual!"

As soon as this item appeared on stage, it immediately sparked fierce bidding throughout the entire venue. A high-tier martial arts manual was enough to elevate the status of an aristocratic family, and this manual was ultimately purchased by the Hai family at an exorbitant price.

When the auction concluded, Ye Cheng slowly stood up. After bidding farewell to Liu Yan and the others, he walked out of the auction house amidst the hostile gazes of Shang An and Hai Chao.

"Big Brother, how do you plan to teach this brat a lesson?" Hai Chao watched Ye Cheng's departing figure and asked in a low voice beside Shang An's ear. He could sense the undisguised killing intent in the latter's eyes.

"Wait a moment. This brat is not easy to deal with; we need to resort to some tactics!" A chilling voice slowly escaped Shang An's lips. His once scholarly and refined face had now twisted into a somewhat ferocious expression.

He had pursued Liu Yan for a long time, but the latter had never given him a favorable look. This caused his mentality to gradually distort; the more he could not obtain something, the more desperate he became to possess it, and he absolutely would not tolerate anyone else touching her.

...

At this moment, Ye Cheng was on his way back to the inn. He had no idea that a hidden crisis targeting him was beginning to brew.

As soon as he stepped out of the auction house, Ye Cheng sensed numerous gazes lurking in the shadows, constantly monitoring his every move. A faint curve appeared at the corner of his mouth, and he asked Elder Mu to help conceal his aura. Taking advantage of the dark night, he darted into the crowded street and vanished without a trace.

After turning into a few alleyways and confirming that no one was following him anymore, he let out a sigh of relief and walked toward the inn.

"It seems that staying in this Poison Dragon Town requires maintaining twelve levels of vigilance at all times; otherwise, one might be ambushed without even knowing how it happened." Recalling the gazes that had locked onto him just now, a helpless expression crossed Ye Cheng's face.

Many people who lacked sufficient funds at the auction house to bid for treasures turned their attention to those who successfully acquired items. Tonight, most of the valuable items went to several prominent families in Poison Dragon Town whom these thugs dared not provoke. Ye Cheng, however, was a lone wolf, and naturally received special attention.

Fortunately, he had Elder Mu's help to conceal his aura. Once he blended into the crowd, finding him was no longer such an easy task.

Walking into the inn and returning to his room, Ye Cheng hurriedly closed the door, sat down on the edge of the bed, and retrieved the bronze scrap he had just won from his spatial ring.

This bronze scrap looked rather unremarkable, covered in rust spots and stained with a bit of soil. Clearly, it had been buried underground for a long time and was only excavated recently.

"Teacher, you said this is a good thing, but no matter how I look at it, it just looks like junk from a scrap heap."

Gazing at the item, Ye Cheng could not help feeling puzzled, and communicated with Elder Mu in his mind.

Just as his voice fell, a stream of light burst forth from the jade pendant around his neck, transforming into an aged figure. A pair of old eyes burned with a piercing gaze as they stared at the bronze scrap in Ye Cheng's hand.

"Back at the auction house, the moment this item appeared, I felt it looked somewhat familiar. If I am not mistaken, this bronze scrap is indeed a carrier, exactly as the appraiser from the Light Auction House claimed."

"Oh? A carrier?" Ye Cheng rubbed his chin and nodded, but then seemed to think of something. His brows furrowed slightly. "Yet even an Ancient Dan Realm expert couldn't break it open. What methods do we have to access whatever is stored inside this bronze scrap?"

"Could it be that Teacher, you have a way to break this thing open?" Ye Cheng flipped the palm-sized scrap in his hand a few times, looking expectantly at Elder Mu with shining eyes.

"You are mistaken. It's not that I can break it open—it's you!" Elder Mu said with a deliberate air of mystery, a smile on his face.

"Me?" Hearing this, Ye Cheng blinked in confusion and gave a bitter smile. "Teacher, please don't joke around. Even an Ancient Dan Realm expert couldn't break this thing open—what ability do I have to crack it?"

He was well aware of the terrifying power of the Ancient Dan Realm; such powerhouses could snap rivers and shatter mountains with a flick of their hands. Yet he was merely a greenhorn whose combat strength was barely comparable to a peak Yuan Realm cultivator. He simply lacked the confidence to accomplish something that the former could not.

"I said you can, so you can. What? You're even doubting your teacher's words now?" Elder Mu expressed slight dissatisfaction at Ye Cheng's skepticism, staring at him wide-eyed.

"Ugh!" Ye Cheng was left speechless. With a cunning grin, he replied, "Alright, whatever Teacher says, I'll do."

"Hmph!" Seeing Ye Cheng's reaction, Elder Mu finally withdrew his displeasure. He took the bronze scrap from the former's hand and said, "I surmise that the object placed inside this bronze scrap is related to an apothecary."

"I have seen this type of storage method before, but it has long become a rather unorthodox storage technique. Not many people know about it, and nowadays, scrolls are mostly used as carriers. Over the long passage of time, this storage method using bronze scraps was phased out and eliminated. It is excusable that the Light Auction House failed to recognize it; after all, to be honest, this Nanyang Prefecture is merely a tiny corner of this vast continent."

Elder Mu turned the scrap over in his hands and chuckled as he looked at Ye Cheng.

Hearing this, Ye Cheng fell into deep thought. Although the profession of an apothecary had a long and ancient history, many formulas, fire-control techniques, and even storage methods were constantly evolving. Anything that failed to keep up with the trend naturally faded from people's sight very quickly.

Moreover, Elder Mu was right. Compared to the Celestial Plane, Nanyang Prefecture indeed amounted to nothing significant.

"This thing really is tough." Ye Cheng took back the bronze scrap, condensed his vital energy into a sharp blade, and slashed across its surface, yet not even a white scratch was left behind.

"Teacher, how on earth am I supposed to extract what's inside?"

"Since this item is related to an apothecary, naturally we must use an apothecary's methods." Elder Mu pondered for a moment before speaking. "In the past, however, this storage method could only be utilized by a select few top-tier apothecaries, because only they were capable of skillfully employing fire-control techniques to raise the flame's temperature to over five times normal levels, thereby gradually melting the bronze scrap."

"Over five times the flame temperature?" Ye Cheng was stunned, but comprehension dawned upon him shortly after. "So it needs to be melted with fire! Since it involves fire, things become much easier."

"Heh heh, metals fear fire—that is an immutable law of the Five Elements. However, melting this bronze scrap doesn't strictly require flames; if one possesses the force of the Divine Soul Realm, shattering it would also be a trivial matter."

"The Divine Soul Realm... No wonder even the Ancient Dan Realm experts at the Light Auction House were helpless against it." Ye Cheng wore a sudden understanding look, followed by a hint of a smile. "That's fine too. Since the Light Auction House couldn't break it open, it's my gain."