Tianjin, starting with unorthodox methods to achieve immortality

May you live longer!

These two words were like a thunderclap, exploding in Chen Mo's heart, which was almost in despair.

Refining demons and monsters not only grants access to their special abilities but also allows one to directly steal varying amounts of their lifespan!

For Chen Mo, whose lifespan was nearing its end, the temptation was fatal.

As for the dangers involved, he had long since ignored them!

"Load! Load everything!" Chen Mo roared in his mind without the slightest hesitation.

As the Moonlight Treasure Mirror trembled slightly, a flash of light appeared on the surface of the jade slip.

In the blink of an eye, the loading was complete.

At this moment, a very subtle cracking sensation suddenly came from the jade slip.

"Snap... Crack..."

A series of fine, crisp sounds suddenly rang out amidst the surrounding noise that had not yet completely subsided.

All eyes instantly shifted from Chen Mo's face to his hands.

The jade slip, with its dark gold trim and black binding cord, suddenly developed countless spiderweb-like cracks on its surface!

The cracks spread rapidly, covering every inch of the jade in the blink of an eye!

Immediately afterwards...

"Splash..."

The entire jade slip completely disintegrated right before everyone's eyes!

It transformed into a dozen or so fragments of varying sizes, pouring down from Chen Mo's suddenly released fingers, clattering and falling to the ground.

The inspiration vanished completely, and that captivating, ancient aura disappeared without a trace.

The fragments were dull and gray, devoid of any remaining mystique.

Even the dark gold trim fragments were shrouded in a gloomy veil, their spiritual energy completely gone.

The entire fork in the road seemed to have been muted.

Three or four breaths passed before someone finally took a deep breath.

"It's...broken?!"

"The jade slip... the jade slip actually shattered on its own?!"

"Oh my god! How could this happen? It was fine just now! The barrier was still glowing!"

Exclamations and sighs of regret erupted, even more deafening than when the jade slip had been produced before.

Everyone was stunned by this sudden turn of events, their faces filled with disbelief.

"What broke? Old Tan, get out of my way!"

"What kind of thing is this?!"

The crowd that rushed over from outside looked at the pile of shards on the ground, then at Chen Mo, and their eyes widened in disbelief.

"The spiritual energy has dissipated! The precious body has collapsed!" The white-haired old man was the first to sigh, beating his chest and stamping his feet in grief.

"I should have foreseen this! I should have foreseen it! It's a miracle that such an ancient jade scroll could survive the sealing of Yin Stone until now. The spiritual essence within it is long gone, like a candle flickering in the wind, its oil exhausted!"

"...Without the protection of the stone skin, exposed to the outside world...it's over, all over! A complete ancient lineage that could have led directly to the path of immortality has vanished before our very eyes! How tragic! How lamentable!"

"Mr. Zhang is absolutely right!"

The king in the green robe also looked dejected, shaking his head repeatedly. "Just by looking at the quality and restrictions on this jade slip, one can tell how ancient it is, beyond imagination. Now that its spiritual energy is completely exhausted, the last force maintaining its form has dissipated, and it has naturally collapsed into an ordinary object."

"What a pity! This young man had incredible luck, but no way to enjoy it. The priceless treasure he had in his hands turned into a pile of broken jade in an instant!"

"Hahaha! I knew it!" The short, stocky man finally realized what had happened. His face first showed intense disappointment, which was then replaced by schadenfreude.

"All that fancy stuff, turns out to be a disposable piece of junk! What a waste of all that effort! Kid, you've got some pretty good luck!"

The surrounding chatter was even more chaotic.

"Alas, all his efforts have been in vain. This young man must be heartbroken."

"Perhaps it's a blessing in disguise. Possessing a treasure is a crime, but with the jade slip broken, half the trouble is gone."

"Fragments...are these fragments still useful? After all, they're ancient jade..."

"That young man seemed to pause for a moment while holding the jade slip. Could it be that he sensed the inheritance inside? It's a pity it shattered before he could memorize it?"

"How is that possible! How could someone remember a legacy protected by such restrictions just by glancing at it? Unless he has a special bloodline or a secret treasure... but judging from his appearance, that doesn't seem like it."

Amidst this wave of regret and mockery, Chen Mo, at the center of the storm, finally made a move.

He seemed to recover from the enormous shock, his body swaying slightly. "Holy crap!!"

Chen Mo looked at his empty palms, then at the pile of lifeless fragments on the ground.

He quickly stretched out his slightly trembling fingers and almost frantically picked up the larger pieces from the ground.

"How could it... be broken..."

His empty gaze fell on the shards in his palm. His dejected and utterly devastated appearance was so heartbreaking that anyone who saw him would feel his pain was truly intense.

"Fellow Daoist...please accept my condolences." Seeing this, Brother Wang felt a pang of sympathy and offered words of comfort, "This is the will of Heaven, which is beyond human power to defy."

Just as Chen Mo was feeling lost and disoriented, a slightly shrill voice suddenly rang out from the periphery of the crowd.

"Oh dear, what a pity, what a pity. Such a fine antique, just broken like that. But then again..."

The crowd looked in the direction of the sound and saw a thin, middle-aged man wearing a silk robe and sporting a mustache push through the crowd and walk over.

He rubbed his hands together, his small eyes darting between the pile of shards on the ground and Chen Mo, a shrewd smile plastered on his face.

"However, even broken jade is still jade, and ancient jade is even rarer. Young man," he cupped his hands towards Chen Mo, who was still bowing his head, and said in a warm tone, "these fragments are of no use to you, and they're even prickly. Why don't you... give them to me?"

Upon hearing this, the surroundings fell silent for a moment, then erupted into even louder laughter and discussion.

"Pfft—! This pile of broken stones? Someone actually wants it?"

"Is Hu San trying to pick up bargains again? This place is so broken, what bargains could there be to be found?"

"Old Hu, have you gone mad with poverty? You're even accepting this?"

The skinny man known as Hu San wasn't annoyed. He chuckled and ignored the mockery around him. He just looked at Chen Mo and held up one finger.

"Young man, I, Hu San, have always been fair in business. Although these fragments of yours have lost their spiritual essence, they are still made of ancient jade and have some research value. Take them back and study them; maybe you can make a replica... How about this price?"

He held up one finger.

"Ten silver dollars? Old Hu, you're really generous!" someone sneered.

"Ten dollars? To use as a table leg pad?"

Hu San shook his head, cleared his throat, raised his voice, and said, enunciating each word clearly, "Not ten dollars. It's—ten thousand dollars! Silver dollars!"

"What?!"

"Ten thousand dollars?! Silver dollars?!"

"Hu Laosan, have you gone mad?!"

"Just for this pile of broken jade pieces?"

The crowd erupted in chaos!

Ten thousand silver dollars was an absolute fortune for most of the lowly people who frequented the ghost market!

That's enough to buy some decent elixirs and magical artifacts!

Used to buy a bunch of jade fragments that have lost all their spiritual energy?

What else could Hu San be but a madman?