Chapter 647 - 642: A Jade Pendant, Imperial Shadow Guard

Chapter 647: Chapter 642: A Jade Pendant, Imperial Shadow Guard

"Is there anything else you need, sir?"

The maid asked, her smile growing even sweeter.

Only one in several hundred Earth Martial Realm experts could afford a map of the Celestial Domain’s One Thousand Provinces. Judging by how readily Ning Jiang had purchased it, he surely had a large amount of Spirit Stones on him.

Her years of experience told her instantly: ’This is an incredibly wealthy young Martial Artist!’

Ning Jiang’s gaze swept over the area.

The shop was very large, with many Martial Artists coming and going. It also offered many other Treasures, such as Spirit Medicines, Magical Treasures, and Martial Techniques.

Ning Jiang looked over the items on the counter one by one.

But not a single one caught his eye. After all, he had emptied the treasuries of the Seven Great Super Sects and had Treasures in abundance. ’How could this shop, no matter how wealthy, possibly compare to the millennia of accumulated wealth of the Seven Great Super Sects?’

Just as Ning Jiang’s interest was waning and he was about to leave...

"Hm?"

Suddenly, he sensed something, and his gaze fell upon a Jade Pendant in the display case. It had an ancient feel to it and looked rather ordinary, placed in a corner of the counter where it was clearly overlooked.

"How much for this Jade Pendant?" Ning Jiang asked directly.

The maid had expected Ning Jiang to purchase something valuable. Seeing it was only this Jade Pendant, a nearly imperceptible flicker of disappointment crossed her eyes as she explained, "This Jade Pendant was left here as collateral. The owner said he would be back to redeem it in three days, but it has now been seven. So, the Jade Pendant now belongs to our shop. If you would like it, sir, it’s five million Spirit Stones."

"Five million Spirit Stones?"

Ning Jiang shot the maid a wry look, shook his head, and turned to walk away.

The maid was taken aback. She quickly added, "If you’re truly interested, sir, a lower price isn’t out of the question. How about three million Spirit Stones?"

"One million," Ning Jiang said flatly.

"Well..."

The maid hesitated.

In truth, their shop had already appraised the Jade Pendant and determined it was worth no more than five hundred thousand Spirit Stones.

They had only accepted the Jade Pendant in the first place because of its astonishing resilience; not even a Heaven-Reaching Realm expert could damage it. Other than being incredibly hard, it had no other special features.

As for her asking price of five million Spirit Stones, it was because she saw how extravagantly Ning Jiang spent and thought he might be willing to pay a high price. But clearly, he had seen through her little trick and wasn’t taking the bait.

"Fine, one million it is."

In the end, the maid agreed to the price.

In Ning Jiang’s eyes, she saw a firm resolve that told her he would walk away without a second thought if she refused.

"Here is one million Spirit Stones."

Ning Jiang took out one million Spirit Stones. After he handed them to the maid, she retrieved the Jade Pendant and placed it in his hand.

"If I may ask, sir, what use do you have for this Jade Pendant?"

The maid couldn’t resist asking. Others had inquired about the Jade Pendant over the past few days, but no one had actually bought it. For Ning Jiang to do so, he must have a reason.

"It caught my eye."

Ning Jiang answered casually.

The maid paused, then quickly realized what a silly question that was. ’If this Jade Pendant really has some secret, why would he tell me?’

"Farewell."

Stowing away the Jade Pendant, Ning Jiang left the shop. He shot into the air, ascended high into the sky, and returned to the back of the Cyan-Scaled Eagle.

"Let’s go."

At Ning Jiang’s command, the man and the eagle tore through the sky and departed.

「Barely fifteen minutes after Ning Jiang had left.」

A group of unwelcome guests entered the shop. They were dressed in black robes, completely shrouded from head to toe. Their heads were covered by hoods, and their faces within were cast in pitch-black shadow, their features completely indiscernible.

These were specially crafted garments designed to obscure the wearer from sight.

"How may I help you, sirs?"

The maid didn’t dare to slight such strangely dressed individuals and quickly went to greet them.

"We’re here to buy a Jade Pendant."

The leader of the black-robed men produced a drawing of a Jade Pendant. The maid’s expression flickered when she saw it. "I’m sorry, but that Jade Pendant was just purchased by someone."

"What did you say?"

The black-robed man’s voice turned cold, filled with an unstated menace. "Who bought it? Give me his information!"

"I’m sorry, sir. We cannot disclose customer information."

The maid refused, citing the shop’s policy.

"You worthless thing, do you have any idea who we are?"

The black-robed man’s gaze turned frigid. An immense pressure radiated from him, and the temperature in the shop instantly plummeted.

"What insolent fools dare cause trouble in the Qibao Shop? Don’t you know the Qibao Shop is backed by a King?"

A cold snort echoed as a middle-aged man emerged—the shop’s manager.

"A King? If a King dares to get in our way, even he will die," the black-robed man scoffed.

"Insolent."

The shop manager’s face flushed with anger. Publicly insulting their King was a direct slap in the face to the shop.

"You’re the one being insolent," the black-robed man roared. "Do you recognize this?!"

As he spoke, he flashed a black Token before the manager’s face. On the Token was the word "Shadow."

The moment he saw the Token, the manager seemed to realize something. His face changed dramatically, and he stammered in disbelief, "You are..."

"Hmph. So you do have some perception."

"My apologies, I was blind to your esteemed status. Please forgive my earlier offense." The manager’s attitude did a complete one-eighty. He quickly took out a Storage Ring. "This is fifty million Spirit Stones. Please, esteemed sirs, accept this small token."

"You’re a sensible one."

The black-robed men accepted it without ceremony.

The manager then looked at the maid beside him and barked, "Whatever these esteemed sirs want to ask, you will tell them everything, down to the last detail. Do not hide a single thing, understand?"

"Yes."

The maid now understood that these black-robed men had a background so immense that even the Qibao Shop couldn’t afford to provoke them. She quickly told them everything about Ning Jiang.

After learning Ning Jiang’s physical description and direction of travel, the black-robed men did not linger. They immediately left the Qibao Shop and gave chase in Ning Jiang’s direction.

"Manager, who on earth are they?"

The maid asked with curiosity. The manager himself was a powerful figure who had reached the Great Celestial Rank, yet he had acted with such extreme fear, even taking out fifty million Spirit Stones just to appease them. This was somewhat hard for the maid to accept.

The manager took a deep breath and slowly uttered three words: "Imperial Shadow Guard!"

Instantly, the maid’s face paled, and cold sweat broke out on her forehead!