I changed the world.

Zhang Jing came here after lunch today, mainly hoping to find some treasures. To this end, he had specifically purchased many books online a few days ago about the world's cultural artifacts, especially various natural resource collectibles such as jade and seal stones.

Because of space exploration, the total social wealth of this world is much higher than in Zhang Jing's previous life. Because space exploration has accumulated a massive amount of resources, the periodic economic crisis caused by the increase in total wealth and the excess of financial bubbles, as in his previous life, has not occurred.

Technological stagnation and the resulting inter-state competition for limited resources did not materialize, and overall prices remained relatively low. As the saying goes, "Gold is valued in times of chaos, and collectibles are valued in times of prosperity." In this peaceful social atmosphere, the prices of antiques and collectibles have consistently risen steadily, thus the collecting craze has always existed worldwide.

Wearing sunglasses, Zhang Jing strolled through the market. It should be said that due to the prolonged bull market for collectibles, opportunities to find truly great bargains were actually few and far between. On the contrary, along the way, he saw countless obviously fake and inferior counterfeit goods.

There were some jade shops in Tongbao City, and Zhang Jing went in to take a look. He even chatted with the shop owner about jade appreciation for a while. These shop owners all sold finished products and did not sell any so-called "gambling stones," which disappointed Zhang Jing, who had originally planned to do so.

Before he knew it, Zhang Jing had finished browsing all the shops on the first floor. Then he took the escalator to the second floor. At the elevator entrance on the second floor was a shop with a large "Leping Stone" promotional poster, so Zhang Jing went inside.

Leping is a famous seal stone producing area in Dazhao, and its seal stones have been renowned since ancient times. Geographically, it is located in western Linzhou, about 100 kilometers away from the city center, and is a small mountain town.

Linzhou is the largest provincial metropolitan city in terms of distance from Leping, so buying Leping stones in Linzhou can be considered direct sales from the place of origin.

The shop was dimly lit, with rows of display cases along the wall displaying various cut seals, most of which were plain seals without carvings. The owner was sitting in the shop looking at his phone. When he saw Zhang Jing walk in, he stood up and turned on a switch, and the lights in the display cases came on.

Zhang Jing went over to take a look and saw that there were quite a few chicken-blood stones among them. This is the most famous variety of Leping stone, with bright, blood-like patterns on the base of the seal stone, and its price has always been high.

Due to traditional aesthetic factors, the colors of seal stones in Dazhao are mainly yellow and red. Among them, the most precious red seal stones are the chicken blood stones from Leping, which are known as the "Queen of Stones".

Zhang Jing wasn't particularly interested in the already cut stones in the cabinet, so he asked the shop owner, "Boss, do you have any raw stones?"

Raw seal stones come in various shapes and sizes, and regardless of the shape, they all carry a certain degree of "gambling." Some raw stones are directly mined from mines or pits, without any outer skin, allowing the stone's interior to be seen directly. These raw stones have relatively less of a gamble. Even so, because it's unclear whether there are impurities inside, or uncertain factors such as water lines or cracks, there is still considerable uncertainty when cutting them.

Another type is a single stone dug out of a water pit or soil. Because of long-term independent weathering, the surface of this kind of stone usually forms a layer of stone skin, which completely covers the internal situation. This kind of single stone is particularly risky because you don't know the specific situation of the stone after cutting it open, and you can only judge based on experience.

Hearing Zhang Jing's question, the shop owner wasn't surprised. After all, many regular customers preferred to buy raw stones directly, as it was more cost-effective. So he nodded and said, "I have a few more that I just brought from my hometown. I haven't had time to cut them yet. Let me show them to you."

As he spoke, he opened the bottom cabinet of the display case next to him and took out nearly ten rough stones one by one. Each stone was the size of an ostrich egg and was covered with a yellow stone skin.

"These are all Tianhuang chicken blood material, good stuff." The shop owner pointed to the material on the ground, then walked aside and said no more.

The "Tianhuang Chicken Blood" mentioned by the shop owner has nothing to do with Tianhuang stone, strictly speaking. Real Tianhuang stone is produced in Rongzhou City, Nanzhang Province. It is warm and translucent and has been the most precious variety of seal stone since ancient times. Its price is also calculated by the gram.

The so-called "Tianhuang Chicken Blood" stone from Leping was actually called "Yellow-based Chicken Blood" more than a decade ago. However, due to the soaring price of Tianhuang stone in recent years, merchants adopted this name to capitalize on the trend. As a result, its price has risen the fastest among all chicken blood stones.

Tianhuang chicken blood stones are mostly solitary stones with their outer skin intact. In many cases, after cutting them open, there isn't much blood color inside, making them just ordinary materials with low value. Therefore, they are highly gamble-worthy.

Zhang Jing didn't take off his sunglasses. He squatted down to examine the items. The shop owner was a little surprised, but didn't say anything. He just lit a cigarette and watched him make his selection silently.

Zhang Jing secretly activated a secret technique, his eyes flashing with golden light, but it was hidden by his sunglasses and the angle of his eyes, so the shop owner did not notice.

In his field of vision, of the several raw stones on the ground, only one was shrouded in a faint white light, and of the others, only two had a slight misty feel, while the rest showed no sign of anything unusual.

Zhang Jing dispelled his secret technique, then casually picked up a few rough stones and examined them. He pointed to the stone enveloped in white light and asked, "Boss, how much is this stone?"

“It’s not easy to mine stones now, all the mines have been dug out. These few pieces of mine are old materials that I’ve kept for more than ten years…” The shopkeeper started with a half-truth and half-lies. Zhang Jing had heard similar things many times in his previous life, so he laughed and said, “These kinds of rough stones are a gamble. Who knows what they will turn out of? If they are too expensive, I wouldn’t dare to take them.”

"Okay... I'll give you a fair price, 5000, you can take it." The shopkeeper thought for a moment, and finally held out a hand to Zhang Jing.

“I can’t lift it…” Zhang Jing stared at the rough stone, which was slightly smaller than a football, shook his head, and sighed: “If this were worth 1500, I could take it and play with it, but 5000 yuan is really too much for me.” As he spoke, he made a move to leave.

Seeing that Zhang Jing was about to leave, the shopkeeper became restless. In fact, this is how the antique trade is. The prices are usually very high and accompanied by stories that are both true and false. Buyers need to have their own judgment and composure.

"Here's the deal, 3000 yuan, let's be friends, you can take it." The shop owner said in a generous manner, "The quality of this batch of raw stones is very good. If you cut them well, you might be able to make a lot of money."

“I’m just doing this for fun, I’m not expecting to make money.” Zhang Jing shook his head and said, “The price is too high, I really can’t afford it, I’d better look at something else first.”

"Okay, 2500, I won't make a profit, but you can add a little more."

"Boss, if you put it that way, then I'll add a little more, 2000. Is that okay? If not, then there's nothing I can do." After thinking for a while, Zhang Jing gritted his teeth.

"Alright, alright, consider it making friends... This price is really a loss for me." The shopkeeper frowned and hesitated for a long time before finally nodding, looking like he was cutting off his own flesh.

Chapter Sixty-One: The Crimson Robe

Zhang Jing naturally didn't believe the boss's claim of losing money, but he still cupped his hands and said, "Thank you so much for your generosity, boss. I'll transfer your phone number to you."

After completing the transfer on his phone, the shopkeeper found some newspapers, wrapped the raw stone in them for Zhang Jing, and then put it in a plastic bag. From now on, it belonged to Zhang Jing.

"Boss, where can I cut stones here?" Zhang Jing asked directly, carrying a rough stone.

“Go to the end of this corridor, turn…” The shopkeeper gestured with his hand, then thought for a moment and said directly, “Never mind, I’ll just take you there.” With that, the shopkeeper turned off the light, walked out the door, locked the glass door behind him, and then led the way.

"Thank you very much then," Zhang Jing said, following behind the boss.

Before long, the two arrived at a workshop with double glass doors. It was an open-plan work area with many workbenches, where some technicians were working. Zhang Jing glanced around and saw that many of them were polishing jade and others were setting jewelry. Several people were gathered around one of the machines, seemingly cutting material for seals.

"Most of the processing and cutting in Tongbao City comes here." The shop owner introduced the items to Zhang Jing. At this moment, someone came up to greet them. The shop owner and Zhang Jing obviously knew each other. The shop owner pointed to Zhang Jing next to him and said, "This is my client. He has a piece of material that needs to be cut. Lao Yu, are you free now?"

"Yes, yes, come over here..." The man the shopkeeper called Old Yu was a short, stocky man. He brought over a mill from the side and beckoned the two men to come over.

Zhang Jing took out the rough stone, and Lao Yu placed it on the ground. Then he fetched a bucket of water from the side, washed the rough stone, and asked Zhang Jing what he thought about how to proceed—whether to cut it directly or peel it first.

"Let's peel off the skin first," Zhang Jing said. Cutting it open directly would be the cheapest way, but it would be a waste of resources. Besides, processing the raw stone wouldn't cost too much money, so he didn't need to save that much.

Old Yu nodded without saying much and picked up the grinder. Compared to harder jade materials like jadeite and Hetian jade, seal stones are much softer. You can easily scratch them with a screwdriver, so you don't need very professional equipment. A handheld grinder and cutter will suffice.

The shop owner lent a hand, helping Lao Yu hold the stone to make it stable. Then, as stone dust flew, a small piece of the stone skin on one side of the original stone was quickly wiped away.

The shop owner, being experienced, took a ladle, scooped water from the bucket, and poured it over the stone powder after the grinder had rubbed it a couple of times. Meanwhile, because the stone hadn't been polished yet, it needed to be wet to reveal the approximate patterns of the exposed stone.

A blush of red greeted their eyes. Old Yu glanced at it and exclaimed, "This stone looks good. Let's open up a few more to take a look!"

Old Yu worked quickly, and about fifteen minutes later, most of the outer skin of the raw stone had been removed, and the entire stone was basically exposed.

After rinsing off the stone powder with water, the water layer clearly reveals a clean, light red base with a semi-transparent feel. On this base, large patches of bright red veins resemble fresh blood splattered across the entire stone.

"What a find! This is Da Hong Pao tea!" By this time, it wasn't just Zhang Jing, Lao Yu, and the shop owner who were watching. Those who had been cutting the tea leaves had obviously finished their work and were now also crowding around to take a look.

"Old Wang, is this your stuff? You're awesome!" a fat man asked, coming over.

"I bought it from here, and it belongs to this friend now." The shopkeeper's expression was somewhat complicated; he had clearly lost money on this deal. However, the fact that the item was bought from him would somewhat help his reputation if word got out, even so, he was still somewhat frustrated. He thought to himself that fortunately, there were still a few other pieces of material from the same batch, which he would never sell; he might as well open them up and take a look later.

"Friend, are you going to bid on this stone?" A middle-aged man who had been standing to the side silently observed for a while suddenly asked.

"I was planning to cut the chapters up for my own enjoyment, but I'm open to negotiating the price if it's right," Zhang Jing replied.

As soon as Zhang Jing finished speaking, the room fell silent. Even the shop owner who had brought Zhang Jing there earlier squinted, carefully examining the stone. Old Yu had stopped. The outer layer of the stone had been mostly peeled away, and the stone's condition was quite clear after the water was poured on it. In Leping chicken-blood stone, "Big Red Robe" refers to a stone covered in blood-red inclusions, and it is also the most expensive variety of chicken-blood stone. In addition, the stone's base cannot be too bad, and this stone perfectly met both of these criteria. From any angle, it was undoubtedly a Leping Big Red Robe.

"I'll offer 10 yuan, can I have this stone?" the middle-aged man said.

"I'll offer 13," the fat man who had spoken earlier said, then looked at the middle-aged man beside him: "Old Yu, don't try to take it from me. My shop hasn't received any good goods lately; we're really short of good stuff..."

“Friend, look, this stone came from me before. I’ll add some more, 15, but let me take it back.” Shop owner Lao Wang, no longer bothered with his frustration, hurriedly said to Zhang Jing beside him. Whether it’s seal stones or jade, top-quality materials are always scarce and must be fought for, otherwise it will result in the loss of the most profitable high-end old customers.

"Old Wang, you can't do it like this. This kind of thing is cash on delivery once it leaves the store..."

"Ladies and gentlemen..." Seeing that the atmosphere around him was getting warmer, Zhang Jing quickly stood up and said, "Now everyone wants this piece of material, and I am also planning to offer it. Since that's the case, let's not fight over it and ruin the harmony for no reason. I have only one point: the highest bidder wins, and the payment will be made in cash."

By this time, Zhang Jing had figured out that these people were probably colleagues in Tongbao City. Such an opportunity was rare for him, so he simply decided to hold a small auction on the spot.

The business owners exchanged glances and then, without saying much, began to quote prices. After several rounds, the price finally settled at 21.

The fat man was the one who quoted the price in the end. Seeing that everyone else had fallen silent, Zhang Jing cupped his hands in greeting and said, "In that case, this piece of Da Hong Pao raw stone belongs to this friend."

The fat man, beaming with joy, bowed deeply to the people around him, saying, "Thank you, thank you for giving me face, brother."

Chapter Sixty-Two: Resentment?

The shop manager, surnamed Wang, withdrew from the bidding when the price reached 18 yuan. This was mainly because he felt there were several other rough stones from the same batch in the shop, and there was no need to compete at a high price. Therefore, even though he didn't win the bid, he remained quite calm. The others all looked somewhat unwilling, but since it was the highest bidder who won, there was nothing more to say.

The fat man then transferred 21 yuan to Zhang Jing via his mobile phone, and generously stated that he would also settle the 50 yuan processing fee for peeling the raw stone.

Now that the transaction was complete and the excitement was over, the fat man said there was no need to cut the remaining part. He planned to take it back and study it carefully before making a decision, whether to cut it into several stamps or simply make it into a whole ornament.

There's a saying that, regarding seal stones, for the same volume, cutting them into seals always commands the highest price. This is because cutting is the most material-intensive processing method. However, for stones of the same quality, larger pieces are rarer and therefore more expensive per gram. From this perspective, processing the entire stone as a whole is also a viable option.

Of course, how to weigh the pros and cons was no longer Zhang Jing's concern. Once the transaction was complete, he took his leave. Zhang Jing was quite happy to have made some money for free. More importantly, it proved that his previous idea was correct, and that his secret technique, "True Fire Refining Eyes," could indeed be used to make money.

Perhaps it was just good luck that day. After making a sum of money, Zhang Jing found a familiar-looking cyan jade pendant in an antique shop on the third floor of Tongbao City. He had seen similar jade pendants many times before, so he immediately used his secret technique to examine it closely. In his technique, the jade pendant emitted a faint white light.

It really does seem to be a Dharma treasure, and Zhang Jing felt a surge of excitement. Although, based on his experience, a Dharma treasure of this color probably doesn't contain particularly important information, Zhang Jing still felt he had made a profit by obtaining it without having to make a wish.

After some haggling with the shop owner, Zhang Jing bought the jade pendant for 1200 yuan. He put it into his shoulder bag, intending to read the information inside later.

This discovery put Zhang Jing in a very good mood. In addition, it made him even more certain that there must be many good things scattered in the antique and collectible markets all over the country. This can also be extended to the fact that there must be many Buddhist treasures and spiritual treasures in the private collection circles of Dazhao and even abroad, which are collected by their owners as ordinary antiques.

And all of these can be obtained without using Wishing Points...

As Zhang Jing pondered, he continued to wander around Tongbao City. Whenever he saw an uncertain item, he would use his secret technique to examine it. Unfortunately, after that, he did not find anything else of note.

After touring all four floors of Tongbao City, Zhang Jing felt a rare sense of fatigue, a feeling he hadn't experienced since becoming a cultivator. Zhang Jing guessed that this might be due to the excessive consumption of energy from repeatedly using the "True Fire Refining Eyes" secret technique.

Fortunately, he had seen everything he needed to see. Zhang Jing rubbed his slightly throbbing temples and walked down the escalator. Since it was Saturday, this was a busy time for Tongbao City, with many people stopping to look at the various shops and shop windows.

Upon arriving on the first floor, Zhang Jing put his hands in his pockets and strolled towards the main entrance. However, at that moment, an uncomfortable sensation came from the side. It was a feeling that instinctively disgusted him. It wasn't very strong, but Zhang Jing still turned his head away immediately.

Almost instantly, he pinpointed the source of his unease: a middle-aged woman dressed in ordinary clothes, wearing a common long-sleeved sweater, with her hair in a bun. She was walking forward, looking around as if she were looking at the items in the shop windows, and she looked no different from any other ordinary citizen on the street.

Zhang Jing frowned. Although he couldn't see anything unusual about the woman, he believed his intuition wasn't unfounded. The next moment, golden light flashed in Zhang Jing's eyes. Under the vision of True Fire Refining Eyes, a sudden change occurred. He saw wisps of crimson and black aura swirling around the woman. When he focused his attention on this aura, he could even hear faint cries.

Is this... resentment? Although Zhang Jin didn't actually know what it was, he instinctively had this feeling.

This was the first time he had encountered such a situation, and driven by curiosity, Zhang Jing decided to follow and see what was going on.

With his hand discreetly forming a hand seal in his pocket, Zhang Jin vanished from the sight of ordinary people. He then followed a few steps behind the middle-aged woman.

As Zhang Jin followed the middle-aged woman, he gradually sensed something was amiss. For instance, the woman would often stop and pretend to observe the shop windows, but in reality, her gaze wasn't on the windows; she was clearly looking around at her surroundings.

This woman definitely has something going on... Zhang Jin thought to himself.

The outermost part of the first floor of Tongbao City is a ring of street-facing shops. Because Tongbao City is built on a T-shaped street corner, two of the street-facing shops are directly next to the road.