Chapter 830: The One with Discernment

"Heh, that was deliberately done for my benefit; you needn't mind it. The fact that he didn't refuse your guidance at first was already giving me face. Later, when he dismissed you at Dijiang Market, it was a warning—telling me to know my limits and not push too hard. Clearly, he is dissatisfied with my surveillance, but he knows how to handle things with restraint." Shi Pokong rubbed his hands together and said with a smile.

"Hmph, a lowly human, in the capital of our holy domain, how dare he be so insolent! And yet Your Highness treated him with courtesy. Such a barbarian deserves a taste of hardship!" Hu Jingjing said indignantly.

"Enough, do not speak of this again. After all, he is a guest invited by Thirteenth Brother. We were the ones who acted improperly. Issue an order: from now on, there is no need to have him followed or watched. I will keep an eye on him myself." Shi Pokong waved his hand.

"Yes! Your servant obeys." The young woman quickly responded.

"Alright, you may withdraw." Shi Pokong waved his hand.

Hu Jingjing immediately took her leave and departed. After she left, Shi Pokong turned to look at the massive scroll painting, lost in thought.

"Indeed, not a simple character. Quite interesting..." After a long while, he murmured to himself.

...

In Dijiang Ward, Han Li had already left that "Immortal Spirit Pavilion" and arrived before a peculiar building constructed by the river, its shop door facing the leisurely river waters rather than the main street of the ward.

The building was constructed entirely of black stone, with a rounded top, its surface engraved with circles of strange patterns.

At this moment, he stood before the building, looking up at the plaque on the door.

"Sutra Artifacts Ward..." Han Li murmured, his brow slightly furrowed.

After a moment's hesitation, he still stepped inside.

Once through the door, he found that there was not a single customer in the shop, which seemed rather desolate.

The shop's furnishings were clearly divided into two rows. On the left shelf hung a black wooden plaque high up, inscribed with four large characters: "For Those with Discernment to Obtain." The characters were faded, and the plaque was covered with a thick layer of dust.

The left shelf also had a wooden plaque hanging, but the characters written on it were "For Those with Boundless Wealth to Obtain," which appeared relatively newer.

Behind each of the two counters stood a shop assistant. One was yawning, his eyes drowsy; the other held a cyan ancient scroll in his hands, leaning over the counter, reading with great relish.

Han Li approached the latter for a closer look and found that what he was reading was not a cultivation technique, but a pornographic novel widely circulated among the secular populace.

Noticing Han Li approach, the shop assistant moved his body aside with some disdain and put away the book.

"What would you like to see, sir? Our Essence Artifacts Shop has plenty of legitimate goods, and even more unorthodox ones. Whatever you need, we can satisfy." The assistant's opening words were startling in their boldness.

Han Li found this somewhat absurd, so he raised his head and swept his gaze across the shelves behind the assistant. They were cluttered with a dazzling array of various demonic artifacts and treasures, as well as rare elixirs and spiritual materials, all mixed together without any order.

In terms of grade, each was naturally extraordinary, and the prices marked below were naturally astonishing. Even Han Li, who had obtained the Bone-Reflecting True Man's fortune, found them somewhat inflated.

However, after a brief browse, Han Li didn't find anything that caught his eye. He shook his head and turned toward the side bearing a wooden sign that read, "For Those with Discernment."

The assistant, seemingly accustomed to customers who bought nothing, showed no contempt. He casually picked up his blue book again, licked his finger, and flipped through the pages.

The items on the other shelf were arranged even more chaotically, and none of them had price tags.

At a glance, Han Li saw various severed limbs and claws of strange beasts. Some still had a luster, exuding a fierce aura, while others had dried up and withered, devoid of life.

Beside those severed limbs were many transparent crystal bottles containing spiritual liquids of various colors, in which were immersed eyeballs of different sizes and shapes. Among them were not only eyeballs of various strange beasts but even those of human cultivators.

When Han Li's gaze fell on one eyeball that resembled a gray stone ball, his heart stirred slightly.

"How much is this?" He pointed at the eyeball through the air and asked.

The drowsy assistant finally came to, rubbed his bleary eyes, glanced back, and mumbled indistinctly:

"Three thousand... five hundred... demon essence stones."

"So expensive? Didn't it say 'for those with discernment'?" Han Li frowned and asked.

"You see, sir, we said 'for those with discernment,' but we didn't say 'free for those with discernment,' did we?" The assistant yawned, a lazy smile spreading across his face.

Han Li was momentarily speechless and could only force a bitter smile.

If he wasn't mistaken, that eyeball was the single eye of an adult Tai Fei, a time-law artifact.

However, the crystal bottle containing the single eye seemed to have a layer of restriction blocking it, concealing all its fluctuations, preventing Han Li from sensing it deeply.

"May I ask if your shop sells maps of Yeyang City? It would be even better if you could include some related news bulletins." Han Li stopped looking at the eyeball and asked.

"A map... naturally, I have one, but it only shows the city layouts of the Heitian and Mohe districts. The Luojia district where the imperial palace is located, as well as some hidden places within the city, naturally won't be shown." The shop assistant paused slightly before speaking.

"That's fine. If you could also include some descriptions of the sights in each district, that would be even better." Han Li said with a smile.

"The map of Yeyang City costs fifty demon spirit stones, and the Record of Yeyang Realm's Scenery costs three hundred. If you want to buy some specific secret information, we have that too, but it will cost you more." The shop assistant raised his eyelids and said.

"No need, I'll just take these two." Han Li hesitated briefly upon hearing this, then said with a smile.

After handing over the money, Han Li put away the black jade slip inscribed with the map and a thick black book, then turned and left.

Just as he reached the doorway and was about to bend down to exit, he suddenly heard the shop assistant call out from behind: "This Tai Fei's single eye, would you care to reconsider? The price is still negotiable..."

"Oh? How would you suggest we negotiate?" Han Li withdrew his already lifted foot and turned back to ask.

"Our shop's second manager left a rule: if a guest can produce something rare enough to sell here, then the items on the 'Discerning Eye' shelf can be discounted at our discretion." The shop assistant said.

"Something rare enough?" Han Li raised an eyebrow.

"Or something strange enough will do. We will judge whether it has value." The shop assistant said.

Han Li frowned and thought for a moment, then suddenly remembered one 'thing' and asked: "Since you have so many fragments of exotic beasts here, do you also purchase complete corpses?"

"That depends on what kind of corpse it is. Usually, it must be at least a relic of a Taiyi Jade Immortal level; otherwise, what use would an ordinary cultivator's remains be?" The shop assistant frowned and said.

"A Gray Immortal corpse." Han Li replied.

"What cultivation level?" The shop assistant's interest was piqued upon hearing this, and he asked.

"Comparable to a Golden Immortal cultivator in life." Han Li replied.

"If it were a Gray Immortal corpse at the Taiyi Jade Immortal level, it could be exchanged directly for this Tai Fei's single eye. Since it's only at the Golden Immortal level, you'll need to pay an additional fee." The shop assistant's expression drooped, clearly disappointed, but then he continued.

"How much more would I need to pay?" Han Li asked.

"Five hundred demon spirit stones." The shop assistant replied.

"Deal." Han Li thought for a moment, then nodded.

With that, he waved his hand, and a dazzling silver light flashed. A Gray Immortal corpse dressed in a white robe lay on the counter.

This corpse was the first Gray Immortal he had encountered in the ruins of the True Word Sect back then.

The shop assistant stepped forward, pried open the Gray Immortal's eyelids, examined it carefully for a moment, then took out a palm-sized silver mirror and scanned the Gray Immortal corpse from head to toe.

"Identity verified. The transaction can proceed." Then he put away the mirror and nodded.

Subsequently, Han Li paid an additional five hundred demon spirit stones, took the Tai Fei's single eye from the shop assistant's hand, and left the shop.

Not long after Han Li left, a tall, beautiful woman slowly walked out from behind the screen in the inner hall of the shop.

She wore a form-fitting silver armor that only protected her chest and abdomen, yet perfectly outlined her exquisite, flawless figure. Her striking snow-white hair was tied high on her head, secured with a silver crown and hairpin, giving her an overall heroic and spirited appearance.

Coupled with her stunningly beautiful face, she was even more radiant and captivating.

"Greetings, Big Steward." The two shop assistants, upon seeing her, quickly ran out from behind the counter and bowed.

The silver-armored woman waved her hand casually, signaling them not to stand on ceremony.

But her eyes did not look at them; she only glanced at the Gray Immortal corpse on the counter, then shifted her gaze to the Diyuan River outside the door, murmuring to herself: "Given a chance to probe for information and you didn't take it, you really have patience..."

Back on the main street, Han Li looked up at the sky and found it was still early, so he continued strolling through the Dijiang Market. However, to avoid suspicion, he deliberately did not go to the Liufeng Pavilion, which had the Great Prince as its backer.

...

It was not until dusk that Han Li drove a scale carriage he had purchased from the beast pen outside the market back to the Third Prince's residence.

After returning to his own courtyard in Changting Yuan, he quickly walked back to his room.

After activating all the restrictions, he pulled over a chair and sat down. With a flip of his wrist, a gray-white stone ball appeared in his palm—it was the Tai Fei's single eye he had bought earlier.

A golden light flashed in his palm, and a strand of time law power slowly infused into it.

A flash of light appeared on the gray-white stone ball, and cracks spread across its surface like cracking earth, revealing a bright golden light.

When the outer layer of stone skin completely peeled off, the intact golden eyeball within truly revealed itself, emanating waves of extremely powerful time law fluctuations.