128: Chapter 128 Stop fooling around here

As soon as his voice fell, he flicked his wrist gently, and an ancient-looking bronze mirror slowly emerged in the air.

This bronze mirror was about the size of a palm, its surface as smooth as ice, and its frame was engraved with intricate Artifact Refining patterns, emitting a faint Spiritual Qi fluctuation; it was clearly an extraordinary Magical Artifact.

The Disciples all focused their attention, their gazes locked tightly on the bronze mirror floating in mid-air, their eyes filled with curiosity.

Master Refiner Chu Yanqiu raised his hand again and tapped the bronze mirror lightly, injecting pale purple Spiritual Qi into it.

The next second, the surface of the bronze mirror instantly lit up with a soft white light. After the white light dissipated, a clear image appeared within the mirror.

In the image, a piece of millennium black iron the size of a fist lay quietly. Its entire body was deep black, with a faint, mysterious luster on its surface, and its lines were as fine as silk. It felt cold to the touch; even though it was just a phantom in the mirror, one could still feel the rich Spiritual Qi it contained.

"Everyone, please look; this is the millennium black iron." Master Refiner Chu Yanqiu's voice sounded slowly as he patiently introduced it to everyone.

"This iron has absorbed Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi for a thousand years. It is jet black, gives off a mysterious luster, and is incomparably hard. It is a core Material for refining Earth-Grade or higher Magical Artifacts. Ordinary flames cannot temper it; only by using pure Spiritual Qi supplemented with special techniques can it be refined and fused into a Magical Artifact to enhance its power and spirituality."

Master Refiner Chu Yanqiu's introduction was detailed and meticulous. The Disciples listened with great interest, nodding in agreement from time to time. Some even subconsciously noted down the characteristics of the millennium black iron, secretly calculating in their hearts to keep an eye out for it in the future.

However, Lin Hao in the crowd was like someone struck by a thunderbolt. He froze in place, the curiosity and eagerness on his face vanishing without a trace, replaced by unbelievable shock.

He stared fixedly at the appearance of the millennium black iron in the bronze mirror, his eyes wide and bloodshot. The sound of Master Refiner Chu Yanqiu's introduction seemed to be blocked out, and he could hear nothing.

That deep black color, the fine lines, the faint, mysterious luster—it was exactly the same as the "ordinary black iron" he had sold to Hu Nan a few days ago!

Images from a few days ago flashed through his mind: Hu Nan using three Spirit Stones to purchase some black iron.

At that time, Lin Hao had even laughed at Hu Nan for spending such a high price to purchase black iron.

Seeing that everyone was selling black iron to Hu Nan, he had also sold the seventy-plus pieces of black iron collected by his trusted aides to Hu Nan.

He had always thought that he had picked up a great bargain and earned a sum of Spirit Stones for nothing.

But at this moment, looking at the appearance of the millennium black iron in the mirror, Lin Hao suddenly realized that it wasn't that he had made a profit, but that he had been meticulously schemed against by Hu Nan!

Hu Nan had deliberately pretended not to understand the market, just to swindle him out of the treasure in his hands at an extremely low price!

An uncontrollable rage instantly surged from the bottom of his heart, spreading through his Meridians to his entire body.

Lin Hao's eyes were bloodshot as he looked at Hu Nan, filled with monstrous rage and regret.

Ridiculous, it was truly ridiculous! He had actually been schemed against like a fool, personally handing over the millennium black iron to someone else, all while foolishly thinking he had made a profit. This humiliation and regret were almost enough to swallow him whole.

He could not understand at all why someone as shrewd as himself could have been so easily schemed against by Hu Nan.

Master Refiner Chu Yanqiu's gaze slowly swept over the various Foundation Establishment Cultivators, whose expressions were mixed. Seeing some looking troubled and others full of eagerness yet unable to hide their confusion, he knew that they had no way to find this millennium black iron at the moment.

Although Master Refiner Chu Yanqiu was a little disappointed, he still said gently, "Everyone, there is no need to rush. I know that millennium black iron is rare and difficult to find."

"I will state this clearly today: even if you do not have the millennium black iron right now, it does not matter. As long as someone among you can find the millennium black iron within three years and deliver it to Sword Villa, the promise I made earlier will hold entirely—I will impart all my insights on refining Life-Bound Magical Artifacts, and the invitation to Sword Villa will be presented as scheduled."

As soon as these words were spoken, a commotion stirred in the Main Sect Hall again, but this time it was no longer the restlessness of eagerness, but more of a sense of relief and joy.

The three-year time limit, although still not easy, gave everyone enough time to search. The Opportunity, which had originally seemed almost hopeless, now had hope again. The Disciples all wore relieved expressions on their faces, whispering to each other with tones full of longing.

Lin Hao stood in the crowd, the rage and regret in his heart unabated. Upon hearing the three-year time limit, a trace of unwillingness flashed in the depths of his eyes.

If he had not been schemed against by Hu Nan, he could have immediately produced the millennium black iron and seized this Opportunity. But now, the treasure had fallen into other hands; even with a three-year time limit, finding another piece of millennium black iron would be as difficult as ascending to heaven.

Qin Changsheng, who was far away in the small courtyard, also knew that this was the best time to hand over the millennium black iron.

He hurriedly controlled Hu Nan to walk out from the crowd.

Watching Hu Nan walk out of the crowd, everyone looked at him with some curiosity, completely failing to understand why Hu Nan would come out at this moment.

Even Sect Leader Xuanyangzi, Lin Zhentian, Fairy Qingling, and the others above looked at Hu Nan with curiosity.

"This young friend, what is the matter?" Master Refiner Chu Yanqiu asked.

"Great Master Chu, this Junior has a piece of millennium black iron here," Hu Nan said.

The voice was not loud, but it was like a giant stone thrown into a calm lake, instantly plunging the entire Main Sect Hall into dead silence.

Every Cultivator's face showed astonishment, and their eyes were filled with disbelief.

"Hu Nan? How could he have millennium black iron?"

"That's right, hasn't he just reached Foundation Establishment? How could he possibly have millennium black iron?"

"He probably wants to use ordinary black iron to fool everyone!"

"I've seen plenty of people like this who engage in speculation and trickery!"

Many Cultivators whispered to one another, their gazes toward Hu Nan filled with doubt and shock. No one was willing to believe that in the hands of the unremarkable Hu Nan, there would actually be millennium black iron.

They all believed that Hu Nan was engaging in speculation and trickery.

Using ordinary black iron to deceive Master Refiner Chu Yanqiu.

At the same time, many Cultivators also thought that Hu Nan had miscalculated.

After all, Master Refiner Chu Yanqiu was a Great Master of Artifact Refining; no matter how well Hu Nan disguised it, it was impossible to deceive the Great Master.

Meanwhile, Lin Hao in the crowd, the moment he heard Hu Nan's voice and saw everyone's gazes turn toward him, his face instantly turned terrifyingly gloomy, like dark clouds gathering. The Spiritual Qi around his body surged violently, and he stared fixedly at Hu Nan, his eyes bloodshot, hatred almost erupting from the depths of his gaze.

He knew better than anyone that Hu Nan really did have millennium black iron in his hands, and it was the very piece he had personally sold to Hu Nan!

Before Master Refiner Chu Yanqiu could speak, the moment was broken by a deep and sharp rebuke.

Lin Zhentian stepped forward: "Hu Nan! Stop making trouble here!"

His voice was resonant and powerful, filled with rebuke, instantly suppressing the remaining whispers in the hall.

Lin Zhentian was Lin Hao's father.

He naturally knew that his son hated Hu Nan very much.

He also knew that last year, Hu Nan had made his son lose face at the Foundation Establishment Ceremony.

Now that he had caught an Opportunity, he naturally wanted to humiliate Hu Nan severely.

"What kind of rare treasure is millennium black iron? Even many Golden Core Cultivators find it hard to see. You are merely a Foundation Establishment Cultivator with mediocre Aptitude in the Sect, usually muddle-headed and struggling to even handle ordinary Magical Artifacts, so how could you have millennium black iron? You are clearly just trying to attract attention and disrupt order here!"

As soon as these words were spoken, the Disciples nodded in agreement, the astonishment on their faces gradually replaced by disdain.

"That's right, Elder Lin is correct. How could Hu Nan possibly have millennium black iron? He must have gone crazy wanting to become famous!"

"I said it was impossible; he is usually short on even Spirit Stones, so how could he have the ability to obtain such a treasure? It really is just making trouble!"

The discussions started up again, and the gazes directed at Hu Nan were full of mockery and disdain.