“Mr. Zhuang, I want to buy time, and I want to sell treasures. I wonder if you accept cursed relics here?” Liu Old Lord took a deep breath and spoke decisively.
“Of course, everything can be bought, and everything can be sold.”
Zhuang Buzhou nodded with a smile and said, “You can now think of the items you wish to sell. The prerequisite is that the item must belong to you. Then, it will naturally appear here.”
Liu Old Lord understood.
In an instant, he saw various items continuously appearing beside him: first, boxes of gold, silver, and jewels, then various Spirit Medicine, collected ancient books, and cursed relics stored in the secret vault. Suddenly, the entire secret vault appeared before him. The image of the secret vault was illusory, but he felt that he could take out the corresponding treasures from it with a single thought.
“Here are one thousand catties of gold and three hundred thousand taels of silver. I wonder how much time this can buy.”
Liu Old Lord first materialized the treasure chests containing gold and silver. In front of him, they instantly became real. Upon opening them, the glittering gold and silver were clearly visible.
“One thousand catties of gold and three hundred thousand taels of silver can be converted into three thousand catties of gold, making a total of four thousand catties. This can purchase four thousand days of time, which is nearly eleven years,” Zhuang Buzhou slowly said. It must be said that the Liu family’s accumulation was truly extraordinary. The word ‘gambling’ truly brought in immense wealth daily. It was not surprising that they could produce such an amount.
“Eleven years.”
Liu Old Lord’s heart stirred with excitement, his liver and guts trembling.
Eleven years—how wonderful it would be if he could extend his life by eleven years.
However, this was not enough; eleven years could not satisfy him. He wanted to live much longer.
“Please, sir, appraise these ancient books.”
Liu Old Lord quickly brought all the classics from the secret vault.
“‘Evergreen Cultivation Technique,’ Yellow Rank Low Grade Cultivation Technique, ten eternal coins; ‘Surging Waves Art,’ Yellow Rank Medium Grade Cultivation Technique, one hundred eternal coins; ‘Evergreen Talisman Book,’ containing thirteen basic Talismans and Talisman crafting insights, one hundred eternal coins; ‘Thick Earth Cultivation Technique,’ Yellow Rank Low Grade Cultivation Technique, ten eternal coins; ‘Floating Cloud Daoist’s Travels,’ a common travelogue, five eternal coins; ‘Primordial Qi Cultivation Technique,’ Yellow Rank Medium Grade Cultivation Technique, one hundred eternal coins; ‘Pure Yuan Cultivation Technique,’ Yellow Rank High Grade, one thousand eternal coins. Together, that’s one thousand three hundred twenty-five coins.”
Zhuang Buzhou glanced at these classics, immediately estimated the price in his mind, and continued, “Do you want to exchange them? Once sold, it means that these Cultivation Techniques owned by your Liu family will no longer be eligible for Legacy. They cannot be written down, cannot be passed on orally, and no trace of mental or spiritual intent can be leaked. They cannot be passed down to future generations. If violated, your Divine Soul will collapse, and you will die.”
Cultivation Technique classics are naturally needed. Those that are already possessed are not accepted. For those not possessed, once accepted, all possibilities of the seller spreading them are eliminated, ensuring that their own value is not lost. Of course, if similar Cultivation Techniques are circulating in other Families, they are not restricted. The restriction only applies to the Liu family, the subject of the transaction.
“Exchange, I want to exchange them.”
Liu Old Lord’s eyes gleamed as he decisively made up his mind.
Compared to his own life, what did these count for?
“And these cursed relics, I want to exchange them too.”
Liu Old Lord continued to sell.
“cursed relics are priced by their grade, divided into Heaven, Earth, Profound, and Yellow. Heaven Rank is the highest, and Yellow Rank is the lowest. Each rank has nine grades, with ninth grade being the lowest and first grade being the highest. Taking Yellow Rank as an example, a Yellow Rank Ninth Grade is worth one hundred eternal coins. Each increase in grade adds one hundred coins. Profound Rank Ninth Grade is one thousand coins, with each increase in grade adding one thousand coins. Earth Rank Ninth Grade is ten thousand coins, with each increase in grade adding ten thousand coins.”
Zhuang Buzhou slowly spoke, his eyes sweeping over the few cursed relics before he said, “The five cursed relics you brought are all Yellow Rank. Three are Ninth Grade, and two are Eighth Grade. Together, they are worth seven hundred eternal coins.”
Ultimately, Liu Old Lord chose to sell all of them.
“Gold and silver, four thousand coins; Cultivation Technique classics, one thousand three hundred twenty-five coins; cursed relics, seven hundred coins. In total, that’s six thousand twenty-five coins. This means you can exchange for six thousand twenty-five days of time and lifespan. That’s sixteen and a half years. Are you sure you want to exchange?”
Zhuang Buzhou looked at Liu Old Lord and asked.
“Exchange, I want to exchange.”
Liu Old Lord’s body trembled slightly, his voice carrying a tremor as he spoke, showing how excited and anxious he was.
The hope of living was right before his eyes.
“Very well. This is the contract. Take a look. If there are no issues, then sign and seal it with your handprint.”
Zhuang Buzhou smiled calmly. On the table before him, ripples appeared, and then a scroll resembling gold and jade emerged, naturally unfurling. On the scroll, a contract was clearly visible.
It listed the items Liu Old Lord was selling and the time he was purchasing.
At the very end, there were sections for Party A and Party B.
Party A’s section already had a name: Zhuang Buzhou, though only the character ‘Zhuang’ was visible. Party B’s section was for the transactor to sign.
“The contract is fine.”
Liu Old Lord quickly scanned the contract. The clauses were all clear, with no ambiguity. He couldn't find any flaws. The simpler and more straightforward a contract, the less problematic it usually was.
“No problem, I’ll sign!!”
Liu Old Lord took a deep breath, picked up the pen and ink nearby, and signed his name on the contract—Liu Yishou.
Then, he pressed his vermilion handprint.
Swish!!
As the contract was signed, a golden light flashed on the contract scroll, and a golden scale appeared on the counter. The scale had two trays at its ends. At this moment, on one of the trays, with a flash of light, the gold, silver, ancient books, and cursed relics that Liu Old Lord had brought out for the transaction naturally fell onto the right side. Then, the scale tilted to the right.
This was the Scale of Fairness, a Divine Ability derived from the book of contracts. Once a contract was signed, the principle of fair trade must be adhered to, and the contract must be followed. Violators would face punishment. These items were Liu Old Lord’s bargaining chips.
Zhuang Buzhou smiled. With a thought, golden coins appeared from his body. These coins were round on the outside and square on the inside. The front depicted the River of Time, and the back showed the Other Shore Flower. As soon as they appeared, they solidified. These were the time gold coins, also known as eternal coins.
Clink, clink, clink!!
One by one, they fell into the left tray, each coin representing one day of time. A total of six thousand twenty-five eternal coins dropped into the tray, neatly stacked, shining brightly. As these eternal coins fell into the tray, the tilted scale immediately returned to balance at a visible speed.
Swish!!
Immediately after, the left and right trays of the scale began to rotate, switching places. Over six thousand eternal coins flew up into the air and merged into Liu Old Lord’s body.
With each coin that integrated, Liu Old Lord felt his time increasing, his life extending. His life, which had reached its end, was prolonged.
“Sixteen and a half years, my lifespan has increased.”
This was a subtle sensation, especially clear within the Other Shore Space.
The joy of having his life extended completely filled his heart. His formerly weak body felt as if it had suddenly regained vitality.
“Liu Old Lord, I must remind you that although your life has been extended and you have gained over sixteen years of time, this only means that you can continue to live for sixteen more years. It does not mean that your life will reverse, that you will return to youth, or that time will flow backward sixteen years. It merely allows you to continue living on your current foundation.”
Zhuang Buzhou calmly stated, “Time flows like water, and water leaves traces. These are fate marks, engraved deep into the bones, which are bone patterns and bone age. This cannot be reversed. Time only extends your life, not restores your youth or reverses aging. Time alone is not enough to achieve that. Moreover, although you have sixteen years of time, there are many unforeseen circumstances during this period. If you fall seriously ill or suffer a sudden calamity, that time could reset to zero at any moment. Whether you can safely pass these sixteen years depends on your fortune.”
Sixteen years, this was indeed the remaining time. As said before, time is time, but accidents are everywhere. Time does not represent the final lifespan. It is merely a theoretical value.
“Thank you for the reminder, Mr. Zhuang.”
Liu Old Lord heard this and felt a hidden sense of awe, naturally understanding the meaning within.
However, having lived so many years, he believed that living peacefully would certainly not be a problem.
“The transaction is complete. You may leave.”
Zhuang Buzhou nodded. With a wave of his hand, Liu Old Lord felt an invisible force, and his vision turned golden. When he looked again, he was back in his secret vault.
Liu Old Lord, however, felt as if he had just woken from a dream.
He looked at the secret vault and found that the items he had sold and exchanged in the Other Shore Space had truly disappeared from the secret vault. There was no trace at all. While shocked, he also felt a surge of joy. He directly threw aside the cane in his hand. Even if it wasn't a return to youth, after the extension of time, an inexplicable power had appeared within his body, making him feel as though his body had instantly returned to the level of a normal person.
“It’s like waking from a dream.”
Liu Old Lord sighed with emotion and strode out of the secret vault.
Those riches and treasures were completely insignificant compared to his own life. Exchanging them for time and extending his lifespan was more precious than anything else.
“Someone, go invite Physician Jiang.”
Subsequently, the Liu family became active again, once more inviting Jiang Jiu Zhen back to the mansion. What exactly happened, no one knew, but when Jiang Jiu Zhen left, the shock on his face was impossible to conceal.
“Strange, too strange! The complexion I observed and the pulse I took clearly indicated he only had three days of life left. Why did it suddenly change? Extended life, Liu Old Lord extended his life. How exactly did he extend his life?”
Jiang Jiu Zhen muttered to himself, his face full of bewilderment.