Chapter 38 | Sequence: Sacrifice

“A treasure?”

“Yes, yes! Come here quickly. Just keep going straight in the direction I went before. I’m at a stall next to a big trash can; you’ll see me right away.”

“Alright.”

Yin Yang agreed and walked in that direction for two or three minutes before finding Lin Zhen.

When Lin Zhen saw Yin Yang, she pulled him over and discreetly pointed at a statue on the stall.

The statue looked very old, its features barely recognizable as humanoid. It seemed to be made of some kind of animal bone, with several cracks running through it, held together by a copper ring tightened around its middle.

Engraved on that copper ring was a dense circle of incantations.

Yin Yang’s eyes narrowed slightly. Lately, he had finished reading every book in the library concerning incantations and had even started on books regarding formations.

With a single glance, he recognized about seventy to eighty percent of the incantations on the copper ring.

It wasn’t that he didn’t know the remaining ones; rather, they were heavily worn. With things like incantations, a tiny discrepancy could lead to a massive difference in effect.

‘Absorption, transformation, sealing, demon suppression, containment, storage.’

Yin Yang linked those incantations together in his mind, his eyes narrowing.

This thing didn't seem like a transcendent item; it felt more like a sealed object.

And what it was sealing was likely this animal bone statue.

Yin Yang reached out and picked up the statue. It was heavy—even though it was only about the size of a fist, it felt heavier than a solid iron piece of the same proportions.

It felt freezing to the touch, like a block of ice.

“Boss, what kind of statue is this?”

Yin Yang asked directly. The stall owner was an old woman in her sixties. Hearing Yin Yang’s question, she smiled.

“I don’t know what kind of statue it is either. It’s been passed down from my ancestors.”

“I’m not bragging, but my family used to be quite wealthy. If it weren’t for my grandson’s tuition fees, I wouldn’t be selling such a fine piece.”

Lin Zhen’s eyes sparkled even more upon hearing this, while Yin Yang weighed the statue in his hand.

“How much?”

“One thousand five hundred.”

“Eighty.”

“One thousand three hundred.”

“Eighty.”

“Young man, you aren’t being sincere. Look at this patina; this is a genuine antique.”

“Eighty.”

“Then why don’t you try some other stalls, young man?”

Yin Yang didn’t rush to leave. Instead, he pointed at several other statues nearby.

“Those things are all mass-produced. Combined, they probably aren't as old as you are.”

“I’m just buying this to use as an ornament. Eighty isn’t low.”

The old woman glanced at Yin Yang and said, “Fine, I’ll take it as my first sale of the day. One hundred. Not a penny less.”

Before Yin Yang could continue haggling, Lin Zhen impatiently paid the money.

The old woman didn’t look particularly happy after receiving the cash, which suggested the haggling had indeed been quite successful.

After the two of them had walked a distance away with the statue, Lin Zhen said excitedly, “Xiao Yang, how is it? Is this a transcendent item?”

“When you were reading those books on incantations, I read some with you. I recognized the incantations on that copper ring.”

“Why would ordinary things have incantations on them? So I thought it might be a transcendent item. Is it? Is it?”

Yin Yang shook his head, and Lin Zhen’s face immediately fell into a look of disappointment.

“Huh? It’s not?”

“It’s hard to say.”

As they walked, Yin Yang began to explain. “Transcendent items all have negative effects, so they are kept in gold when not in use.”

“If you encounter a transcendent item that isn't sealed in gold, you would perceive it immediately.”

“Huh?” Lin Zhen was a bit confused, not quite understanding what he meant by perceiving it immediately.

“Meaning, true transcendent items are very special. You’d know it was one just by looking at it.”

“Unless it’s being suppressed by the holder’s spirituality or sealed in gold.”

“But even if it’s suppressed by spirituality, that only hides its aura to make it look like an ordinary object; it still has negative effects.”

“That’s why transcendent items that aren't used for a long time, or those with extremely strong side effects, usually have to be wrapped in gold.”

Lin Zhen nodded, but she still wasn’t ready to give up. “Then if this isn’t a transcendent item, why are there incantations on it? It can’t be just for decoration, right?”

Her voice grew less confident as she spoke, because some decorations did indeed have incantations carved on them.

Without special materials or empowerment, incantations could just be decorative.

For example, incantations for auspiciousness or luck were very common on many pieces of jewelry.

Yin Yang thought for a moment and shook his head. “It might not necessarily be decoration. The incantations on this are very specific.”

As he spoke, Yin Yang gave a rough translation of the incantations. Lin Zhen’s expression shifted repeatedly as she listened.

“We didn’t accidentally buy some product of an evil god, did we?”

The words ‘evil god’ seemed to drop the surrounding temperature, making both of them feel a slight chill.

“I doubt it. Things related to evil gods are almost always transcendent items.”

“This thing doesn't have a hint of a transcendent fluctuation. It’s unlikely.”

Lin Zhen still wasn’t entirely convinced. “How do you know? Have you seen a transcendent item?”

“Of course. That’s why I told you that if you found one, you’d know it was transcendent immediately.”

“Though, I’m referring to when it’s not being used.”

Lin Zhen’s eyes lit up. “What did the transcendent item you saw look like? What did it do?”

“It was a ring that could tell if someone was lying. As for what it looked like...”

Yin Yang pulled at his collar, revealing the metal necklace around his neck.

“It looked something like this.”

A ring hung from the metal necklace like a pendant, looking quite exquisite.

“Sigh, I wonder when I’ll ever own a transcendent item,” Lin Zhen lamented.

Yin Yang let go of the necklace. “You aren't a transcendent, so why do you want a transcendent item?”

“Huh? Only transcendents can use them?”

“Not exactly, but all transcendent items have side effects. These side effects vary in intensity, and even transcendents usually have to use them with caution.”

“Some of the more powerful transcendent items can even increase the risk of a transcendent losing control.”

“If an ordinary person held one, they would absolutely go mad.”

Lin Zhen was even more shocked to hear this. “Whoa? How do you know all this in such detail?”

Yin Yang chuckled. “From books, of course. I’m quite interested in these subjects.”

Lin Zhen took the statue from Yin Yang’s hand. “Forget it. If it’s not a transcendent item, then so be it. I don't want to go mad.”

“But I can't let that hundred yuan go to waste. I’ll clean it up when I get back and see if I can sell it.”

“By the way, if you’re interested in this stuff, our bookstore has some secondhand books we’ve bought back. I remember some of them recorded transcendent events.”