This jade pendant had an ancient appearance, a pale green hue, and a substantial weight, suggesting it was quite old.

Of course, the external appearance of the jade pendant was secondary. What mattered was that he could faintly sense a familiar spiritual energy emanating from the green stone, much like the spirit of the Azure Rock.

"This dark green jade pendant was acquired from a down-on-his-luck martial artist in the capital of Pingzhou. It is the rule of our Treasure Sect not to inquire about the provenance of our acquisitions. This jade is quite peculiar; when placed in water, it produces illusory smoke and shadows, making it excellent for viewing. I shall have someone bring a basin of clear water immediately for Young Master Ye to observe this pendant."

Elder Huang, seeing Ye Qin hold the jade pendant, gave a brief introduction before clapping his hands. A sturdy man in tight clothes standing outside the door quickly entered, carrying a basin of clear water as instructed.

Elder Huang smiled, "Please, young brother, place the pendant into the water!"

Ye Qin complied, submerging the dark green jade into the wooden basin and watching with keen interest. After a short wait, the ripples in the water settled completely. Indeed, a very faint plume of smoky shadow was reflected in the clear water, and the shadow seemed to undulate continuously.

Even with Ye Qin's usual composure, he could not help but express a note of surprise and praise.

Elder Huang explained with slight pride, "The most marvelous aspect of this dark green jade is its ability to manifest smoke and shadow in clear water. Jade floating smoke and shadow signifies that this jade harbors rare spiritual quality. Merely looking at its surface, one can tell it is no ordinary object, possessing high aesthetic value. This jade pendant is easily worth twenty to thirty Gold Leaves."

Ye Qin paused for a moment in thought. Whether it looked good was not the primary concern; he intended to use it for cultivating spirit herbs with spirit stones anyway. Weighing the jade pendant, he decided to accept it, stating, "Then I shall trade this Heart-Clearing Pill for this jade pendant. I wonder if Elder Huang has any more such pendants?"

Elder Huang shook his head, "Such a peculiar jade stone is rare enough to possess just one; how could a second one be found?"

A flicker of disappointment crossed Ye Qin's face, but he quickly regained his composure. After all, finding such a piece of jade was fortunate. If he were to search the deep mountains and wilderness himself, he might not find a stone of this quality even after a month or two.

Elder Huang had always prided himself on fair dealing. While profit was necessary, it should be the just profit. In terms of value, this dark green jade pendant was worth, at most, about ten Gold Leaves, far less than the hundred-plus Gold Leaves ascribed to a single Heart-Clearing Pill.

To exchange a jade pendant worth ten Gold Leaves for a Heart-Clearing Pill valued at over a hundred Gold Leaves—a difference of ten times—was an outcome that he, Huang Jin Hu, would not inflict upon a seller. Normally, he aimed for only one or two times the markup.

Elder Huang continued, "Since the young brother fancies this dark green jade pendant, I will value it at twenty Gold Leaves and sell it to you. As for that Heart-Clearing Pill, I will purchase it for fifty Gold Leaves. The difference is thirty Gold Leaves. Would the young brother like to select another small treasure, or take the money directly?"

Ye Qin was uninterested in the other treasures. He handed the vial containing the Heart-Clearing Pill to Elder Huang, then unceremoniously accepted the small pouch containing thirty Gold Leaves from him.

Elder Huang felt a surge of satisfaction. This exchange earned him a full sixty Gold Leaves—an unusual profit for a single transaction.

However, Elder Huang could never have imagined that Ye Qin’s internal joy far surpassed his own. To others, this jade pendant might be merely an aesthetically valuable piece of dark green jade with no other special use, but to Ye Qin, it was the most urgently needed item.

Ye Qin estimated that this jade pendant could support the growth of at least several dozen Dew-Gathering Grasses, enough to last him for ten days to half a month. His cultivation of the second layer of the Sitzing Oblivion Sutra: Gaze Upon Nothingness, which had been interrupted for several days, could finally resume.

Ye Qin tucked the jade pendant away and adjusted his bamboo hat, stating, "Elder Huang, if you come across any other jade stones brimming with spiritual energy, regardless of type, please be sure to keep them for me. I will trade Heart-Clearing Pills for them in the future and certainly won't let the Elder suffer a loss!"

Elder Huang was startled. "What? You possess more Heart-Clearing Pills?"

Ye Qin stated calmly, "Indeed. I never claimed to have only one."

Elder Huang immediately felt a pang of dread in his heart. If there were only one pill, selling it for over a hundred Gold Leaves was no problem, but if more appeared, the price would drop significantly.

After all, this was merely a top-tier medicine for "regulating imbalance and preventing demonic deviation," not a supreme elixir for "increasing internal cultivation power." Only a few large sects would purchase a single Heart-Clearing Pill for contingency. Smaller and medium sects typically relied on the mid-grade or high-grade regulating medicines produced by the Medicine King Sect, while ordinary martial artists mostly used low-grade regulating drugs. Thus, if the quantity of Heart-Clearing Pills increased, they would not fetch such high prices. He had assumed that having one pill from this dark-clothed man was good fortune; he never expected the man might possess more, and judging by his tone, possibly quite a few.

"I wonder how many Heart-Clearing Pills the brother has? I am willing to purchase them all at a high price!" Elder Huang offered with a wry smile. He realized that even the seasoned river fisher could sometimes get hooked. If this was the case, it was best for him to acquire every Heart-Clearing Pill this mysterious dark-clothed man possessed to control the market price.

"I have about four or five more. They were passed down by my family. Since they are of no use to me now, I wish to exchange them for other items. However, I desire jade stones, not money. I ask for Elder Huang's understanding. As long as there are such jade stones, I will exchange Heart-Clearing Pills for them."

Ye Qin did not wish Elder Huang to know his true identity, so he intentionally confused matters, fabricating a fictitious background.

Family? Elder Huang seemed to grasp something, his expression shifting slightly. He looked towards Ye Qin with hesitation. Which family in Pingzhou did this dark-clothed man belong to?

"Very well. Our Treasure Sect possesses no small number of rare jades and peculiar stones. I should be able to find the type of stone you desire and will try my best to procure some. Here is a Treasure Token. Only exceptionally honored guests of the Treasure Sect may possess one. In the future, as long as you present this token to find me, or show it to any disciple of the Treasure Sect, they will bring you to me."

Elder Huang seemed distracted by his thoughts. He took out a small, glittering gold token, about the length of a middle finger, and the arrogance he usually displayed when speaking to a junior had vanished from his demeanor.

Ye Qin accepted the Treasure Token. As he was leaving, he added a final note: "Elder Huang, besides jade stones containing spiritual energy, if you happen to have rare herbs or the formulas for rare herbs, I will trade for those as well. I will return in a few days."

Shortly after Ye Qin departed, a young man and a young woman emerged from the adjacent guest room and entered Elder Huang's chamber.

The white-clothed youth, whose features were refined like jade, expressed deep confusion. "Master, why did you give the Treasure Token to this black-clothed man of unknown origin? Our sect possesses only a scant few of these tokens. His martial arts appeared quite ordinary; his footwork was unsteady and weak—he seemed like merely a third-rate martial artist."

Elder Huang's expression had already reverted to sternness. He snorted coldly, "A third-rate martial artist? Ma Yu, I have told you before, your experience in the martial world is too shallow. Such a profound technique for concealing one's breath—even I, a top-tier master, could not discern the depth of his skill, yet you judge him so poorly! Don't assume that just because you are among the top ten young experts of the Treasure Sect, you can dismiss the heroes of Pingzhou as insignificant. There are far more masters you have yet to encounter!"

"Can his Qinggong truly surpass my ultimate lightness skill, the Soaring Wind Art?" The white-clothed youth named Ma Yu, clearly indignant at his Master's high praise of the dark-clothed man, immediately strode out of the room to track Ye Qin.

"Nonsense, come back!"

Elder Huang’s face changed instantly, and he roared a command to stop Ma Yu.

But the shout was too late. In the blink of an eye, Ma Yu had left the inn and vanished without a trace.

The girl in red also looked puzzled. "Master, is that dark-clothed man truly that formidable? Senior Brother is a first-rate expert. This Zhuqi County is not a major locale; where would a top-tier martial arts master comparable to you reside?"

"Zhuqi County likely does not host such a person, but the whole of Pingzhou certainly does. While the ten great sects of our Pingzhou are brimming with experts, they have not reached the point of looking down upon all of Pingzhou. That dark-clothed man’s aura was so internal that I couldn't even feel his released True Qi. He must have concealed a significant amount of his power; his true strength is likely not much weaker than mine. Otherwise, why would I so easily give him a Treasure Token? Hong'er, do not emulate your senior brother’s arrogance and rashness, or you too will suffer a great loss someday."

Elder Huang shook his head with concern.

He left quickly, and returned just as fast. After the time it took to eat one meal, Ma Yu returned to the inn with a darkened expression. His face alone told the story that the pursuit had yielded nothing profitable.

However, Elder Huang did not reprimand Ma Yu at this moment. Instead, he meticulously questioned him about the process and details of the tracking, scrutinizing every minute point. Ma Yu was both ashamed and mortified, reporting that he had only followed the dark-clothed man to a small, dense patch of woods southwest of the county town before losing sight of him. He remained utterly confused as to how the man had shaken him off.

Elder Huang's expression turned grave. He waved his hand, dismissing Ma Yu from the private room. Losing the trail of the dark-clothed man was within his expectations.

He paced back and forth in the room, slowly sinking into deep thought.

The dark-clothed man possessed four or five extreme-grade Heart-Clearing Pills, claimed to be from a certain family, and explicitly sought jade stones imbued with spiritual energy and rare herbs in exchange. His movements were extremely secretive. All of this felt deeply familiar, stirring a memory that had been sealed for twenty years.

At that time, he was not yet the Grand Elder of the Treasure Sect, but merely one of the most outstanding young disciples within the sect. He had accompanied the then-Sect Master of the Treasure Sect to pay a visit to an exceedingly mysterious family in Pingzhou...

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