Chapter 33  : Jade Marrow

“What is it?”

Seeing Chen Fan was no longer speaking, she looked along the direction where Chen Fan was staring and saw a gray-colored jade in the corner.

Except for being really old, this piece of ragged jade couldn’t really compare with the scintillating Dzi bead.

“Oh, yeah! Jackpot!” Chen Fan exclaimed in his mind.

A gleeful smile broke over Chen Fan’s face. He turned around and said to Wei Ziqin. “How much is this jade, I want to take it.”

He had brought the bank card that Zhou Tianhao had gifted him, so he didn’t hesitate and asked for the price.

“If you like you, just take it.” Wei Ziqin said with a smile.

Her grandfather had already gifted the boy a mansion that was worth over tens of millions of yuan. What would be the harm in adding this ordinary looking jade into the package?

“What do you say, Uncle Lin?”

Uncle Lin plastered on an unctuous smile and then replied, “Of course. Please, Mr. Chen, help yourself.”

Uncle Lin was still stunned by Chen Fan’s display of power, having learned his lesson; his tone became much more respectful.

“Very well; I owe you one.”

Chen Fan nodded and grabbed the jade. His eyes were lit up with glee.

Wei Ziqin felt a mix of surprise and joy after seeing that the Transcendent Master finally started to open up to her family.

She remembered Chen Fan’s placid face and ungracious look after he had received a mansion from her grandfather. But who would have thought that he would become so ecstatic after receiving a worthless piece of jade? A piece of bauble for a grand master’s favor: the deal just could not get any better.

Could it be that this jade was worth more than a mansion?

“What is so special about this jade?” We Ziqin asked curiously.

“Haven’t you just asked me to show you a real Dharma Artifact?” Chen Fan paused a second and then asked slowly.

“Yea.”

Wei Ziqin and Uncle Lin exchanged a confused glance.

“Mr. Chen, could this be the real Dharma Artifact you were talking about?” Uncle Lun asked cautiously.

This ancient jade looked unremarkable, and anyone could tell that its body was filled with impurities. It was a far cry from many precious gemstones at display in the hall. What would be so special about this jade?

“Well, it’s... not quite a Dharma Artifact yet. ” Chen Fan said slowly as he carefully placed the jade into his pocket.

“It still has some rough edges, but once I have finished refining it, it will be a powerful Dharma Treasure.”

Both Uncle Lin and Wei Ziqin were taken aback by his words. Never had they thought that anyone could simply create a legendary Dharma Artifact?

Sensing that Chen Fan didn’t want to disclose too much, the two decided not to press him with more questions.

“There is nothing else to look at here, let’s go” Having obtained the precious jade, Chen Fan was satisfied.

After he had returned the reception hall, he noticed that everyone looked at him strangely. Nearly all the teenagers had witnessed Chu Minhui’s embarrassing defeat at the hands of Chen Fan, and therefore no one dared looked down on him.

“You are back?” Jiang Churan greeted him; her voice was slightly awkward.

“Yea.” Chen Fan held an indifferent face as he nodded.

He walked past Jiang Churan to Xu Rongfei, and he rubbed Xu Rongfei’s cute and surprised face.

“Thank you for your help! If you ever need anything, feel free to ask me.”

Of all the participants of the reception, only Xu Rongfei had helped him when he was cornered by his opponent. Chen Fan would never forget that.

Xu Rongfei was willing to stand up for him even though she thought he was just a helpless country boy. Chen Fan was touched by Xu Rongfei’s genuine concern; it made him feel that other than Auntie Tang, Xu Rongfei was the most caring person in his life so far. He couldn’t help but consider her a younger sister and wanted to protect her like how she protected him.

Chen Fan’s intimate pat on Xu Rongfei’s head made her blush. She lowered her head and was suddenly lack of words.

“Haha!” Chen Fan laughed before he started off.

Wei Ziqin nodded at the two girls with a smile before she left the room.

Uncle Lin picked up the cue almost immediately. He ordered the workers to rearrange the seats so that the two girls would have the front-row seats. He reminded the workers to tend to the two girl’s needs, particularity the girl called Xu Rongfei.

The special treatment made Xu Rongfei’s other friends’ eyes turned green with jealousy.

Someone had recognized the old man as soon as he appeared in the reception hall. He was the second most influential person in the Fang Sheng International Group and was sitting on a much more senior position than Manager Zhu.

The fact that even Uncle Lin had to fawn over Chen Fan told everyone the clout of the boy.

After Wei Ziqin had dropped Chen Fan off, he took out the ancient jade right away.

“Who would have thought that I would encounter a piece of Jade Marrow on earth? I couldn’t have gotten a more valuable treasure than this!” Chen Fan beamed from side to side. He had thought that there would be no more numinous treasures left on earth considering its lack of Spirit Qi.

The Jade Marrow was the rarest form of jade. It was not a worldly object and could be classified as a Sentient Object.

I have thought of purchasing a few precious jades to create a Jade Talisman. However flawless a piece of jade stone was, it couldn’t compare with the Jade Marrow. All Jade Talisman made out of ordinary jade stone can only be used once. However, a talisman made out of Jade Marrow could be used and reused indefinitely.

He was only at the mid-stage of the Foundation Establishment level, and therefore he still has to live with his fragile worldly body. If he were hit by a bullet, depending on where it landed, the wound could be fatal.

However, with the protection of a Dharma Artifact, such as a Jade Talisman, Chen fan should be able to ward off any harm from small caliber firearms.

“This is the first sentient object I have obtained; I need to use it wisely. Who knows how long I will have to wait until I can lay my hands on another one ?”

So thinking, Chen Fan initiated the art and summoned an True Fire to help him remold the ancient jade.

After a short while, the ancient jade started to make crackling noise as it shed its outer shell, revealing a brilliant piece of gem, the size of an infant’s fist.

The texture of the jade was smoother than the purest of the Mutton-fat-jade, and its surface held a warm luster.

“I bet It would fetch a good price at the auction.”

It was simply a fleeting thought. Chen Fan knew that even if someone offered him a trillion yuan, he would not sell it.

“If I can successfully create a jade talisman, I might as well have gained a second life. No money could buy that.

“Once I am finished with this one, I will make a few more. Two for my parents, one for sister An, and one more Xiao Qiong.” Chen fan thought to himself. Those were the people he really cared in this world.

The thought of Xiao Qiong filled his heart with poignant emotions. He looked up toward the southern sky.

At the end of the stars was the Jin City where the love of his life lived. He figured that Xiao Qiong should be attending grade twelve just like him. In his past life, they didn’t see each other again until they were at the University.

Although he had only been reborn for just over a month, he already missed Xiao Qiong badly.

“Xiao Qiong, wait for me.

“I will never back down again!

“I will become stronger so that I can protect you for the rest of your life. I want to say this to you loud and clear in front of you: I love you! ”

Chen Fan swore in his mind.

In his last life, his cultivation couldn’t keep up with the speed at which his life had fallen apart, and therefore, he failed to save his loved ones. However, now he had entered the mid-stage of the Foundation Establishment, making a Jade Talisman was the least he could do for his family.

After he gathered himself, he was finally ready to create the very first Dharma Artifact he would own in this life.

Unlike brewing the elixir, only the high-level cultivators could be successful in creating a Dharma Artifact. Usually, the Ethereal Enlightenment Level was the jump-off point for successfully creating artifacts, but Chen Fan decided to give it a try anyway.

Only three students in the class knew what had happened at the auction; they were Si Yinxia, Chang Wen and Ji Xingyu.

Ever since that day, Ji Xingyu had given up his harassment while Si Yinxia seemed to have transformed his indignation and jealousy into motivation for studying.

Chang Wen, on the other hand, had a 180-degree change in her attitude toward Chen Fan. She started to strike up short conversations with Chen Fan from time to time and attempted to break into Chen Fan’s small circle of friends.

Chen Fan carried out the refinement of the artifact slowly but surely.

Due to Chen Fan’s relatively low power, he could only rely on patience. Every day, he chipped his way through the daunting task by etching small inscriptions and runes onto the Jade Marrow one strike at a time.

After a few days, the body of the Jade Marrow was covered with cryptic Daoism symbols and inscriptions. These words and symbols were so tiny that they might be as well invisible to naked eyes. Without using any tool, Chen Fan had etched these symbols using his arcane energy. The perfect execution of the etchings spoke loudly of Chen Fan’s incredible control over his power.

After a few nights of hard work, Chen Fan was finally close. He set the Jade Marrow aside and then heaved a sigh.

“Step one, complete! The next step is to grow its spirit using my True Essence by simply wearing it as much as I can.”

Before him, the jade talisman floated in the air and gleamed brightly.

Upon close inspection, one might find countless golden symbols constantly flowing and moving about on the surface of the jade. It was as if the jade was alive.

“I am still not strong enough to do the more powerful spells. So far, I have only three low-level spells: ‘Spirit Gathering Array,’ ‘Diamond Art’ and the ‘Arcane Bulwark of Thunder’ ” Chen Fan thought to himself as he knotted his brows. “Fortunately, I still have enough space left on the talisman to engrave more spells at a later time.”

The Spirit Gathering Array was what he needed the most right now.

The Numinous Abode under the willow tree was no longer adequate for his cultivation at his current stage. The Spirit Gathering Array could significantly boost the amount of Qi he could gather during each session. This spell should be useful until he reached the late-stage of the Foundation Establishment level.

“With this jade talisman, I should be able to speed up my cultivation at least three times if not more.”

A satisfying smile finally broke over Chen Fan’s tired face.

Both the Diamond Art and the Arcane Bulwark of Thunder were the most rudimentary spells: one focused on protection, while the other focused on offense.

“Since I have already created the artifact, I really should test it before I put it to use. ”

Chen Fan thought as he rubbed his chin.

Before he had come up with a method to test his talisman, someone knocked on his door.