Chapter 4870 Being Conned  

This seemingly ordinary rock contained astral energy, and the fact that it was put out for sale here indicated that it was not ordinary.

While Mo Nian was at another booth selecting items, Long Chen discreetly inspected the wares at this booth. It was noticeably larger than the others, and only one person was managing it. He was deeply engrossed in his tasks.

The shopkeeper was a stooped elder, not very tall but appearing even smaller due to his hunched posture. He sat there, occupied with rubbing a violet crystal.

“Senior, did you profit a lot this time?” Long Chen couldn’t help being shocked at the pile of violet crystals in front of the elder.

These were primal chaos amethysts, the highest level of currency that Long Chen knew of. Primal chaos amethysts contained the innate essence of the world, with each one containing a trace of Grandmist violet qi.

This Grandmist violet qi was the natural energy that originated at the moment of the world’s birth, and Earth Saints needed it to break through and become Heaven Saints.

Primal chaos amethysts were exceptionally valuable because they were formed at the beginning of the world. Unlike other spirit stones, they couldn’t be produced.

In other words, the number of primal chaos amethysts in the world was limited. A single chunk was equivalent to one million top-grade primal chaos spirit stones, but it was a conservative estimate. In reality, very few people were willing to exchange primal chaos amethysts for primal chaos spirit stones because the former was just too precious. Once traded away, it was very difficult to get them back.

Seeing this elder with dozens of primal chaos amethysts in his basket, Long Chen was stunned. The elder raised his head slightly. Contrary to the rest of his appearance, his face didn’t look that old. With a hint of frost, he indifferently said, “What profit? Does your family’s business not have costs? Renting a booth doesn’t cost money? Just pick out what you want. The price is the price; no haggling here.”

His cold indifference suggested that he didn’t care if people bought from him or not. Perhaps he had made so much money that he couldn’t be bothered to make more. It even seemed like he might pack up and leave early. Long Chen eyed the stone with a tag beside it. However, when he saw the price, he couldn’t help but gasp, “Three million?!”

Long Chen was speechless. A piece of rock at three million? Why not just rob people?

“Can I pick it up and examine it?” asked Long Chen.

“You can. One touch is one million,” replied the elder, not even raising his head.

“You...!”

Long Chen had the urge to curse this elder. What kind of money grubber was he? Even examining it required money? Then how could Long Chen tell whether or not this thing was a fake?

“What’s going on here?” At this moment, Mo Nian, Yu Tong, and Yu Fei walked over curiously.

“It’s nothing. Let’s go,” replied Long Chen. He simply shook his head and walked toward them.

Seeing Long Chen eyeing the rock, Mo Nian couldn’t help being curious. He came forward to look at it, but that elder suddenly barked, “If you want to look, use your eyes! Don’t get so close!”

“You old fogey, I gave you too much face, is it? Why don’t you take a look at this?”Mo Nian narrowed his eyes as a violet light appeared in his hand. It was a primal chaos amethyst.

Upon seeing this, the elder’s pupils contracted. Although he did his best to conceal it, Long Chen clearly sensed a shift in his emotions.

“Ah, young friend, you might have money, but I’m not greedy. I’d ask you to be a bit more respectful,” said the elder, his tone still aloof but now lacking some power.

“I didn’t even bother exposing you, but you still look down on me? The city lord is my brother, so how about I report you right now?” Mo Nian snorted.

Hearing that, Long Chen realized that he had been conned. The wily old fox’s primal chaos amethysts were most likely fake.

Regrettably, Long Chen had only heard of primal chaos amethysts and had never seen them before. As someone was trying to use this to their advantage and con him, his anger immediately flared Seeing quite a few people drawn over by the disturbance, the elder grew nervous. He stopped rubbing those amethysts, put them away, and forced a slight smile. “Junior brother, don’t be angry. Isn’t this also a method for doing business? Why don’t you pick out something you like from my booth? I’ll give you a satisfactory price.”

The elder’s change of expression was shockingly fast. Even when he was nervous, he was able to smile so brightly. Long Chen couldn’t help but smile bitterly, thinking that he was still lacking experience.

Long Chen didn’t say anything and just picked up that rock. It was a foot long but shockingly heavy.

When Long Chen picked it up, the elder’s eyes shrank as he was well aware of its weight. Normal experts wouldn’t be able to make it budge without accumulating power beforehand.

Seeing this scene, he realized that he had provoked a terrifying character, so he instantly became much more obedient. Pointing at the handprint on the rock, he explained, “This rock was struck by a supreme expert. Look at the irregular pattern and the granules that seem like water drops. Their one palm had such power that it blasted apart a boulder the size of an entire mountain, and this bit that remained was definitely its purest essence. Although I am an Earth Saint, I’ve never been able to open it. Let me tell you, this is definitely a priceless treasure. If it is used to forge a weapon, it might even be able to reach the level of a Heaven Saint divine weapon. I didn’t pick this price for nothing.”

“A mountain-sized boulder? How big is the mountain?” scoffed Long Chen. This fellow certainly had an active imagination.

“It... should be very big,” replied the elder, smiling awkwardly.

Holding the rock in his hand, Long Chen sensed the astral energy fluctuations clearly. However, after a while, he frowned. “You really are a snake oil salesman.”

At this moment, the elder looked embarrassed. In truth, he had noticed that the rock contained astral energy, but the fluctuations were so weak that he had stealthily added more to make it easier for people to sense its extraordinariness. This small action had deceived countless people, and he had made quite a bit of money by charging them to look at it. He was simply a conman.

Wait, this astral energy doesn’t come from the surface of the stone.

Long Chen’s heart suddenly shook. As he reached out and pressed his hand against the handprint on the stone, the starry sea in his Dantian felt a summons.

“Heavens, this is...!” Long Chen was shocked.

Just then, a group of people surrounded Long Chen and the others, and a sharp voice rang out. “Long Chen, you’ve finally come out of your tortoise den!"