Apart from Su Shiya, who was not a martial arts expert, everyone present understood what Venerable Ning Jing meant.

When a martial artist cultivated to the Peak Realm, unless they completed another qualitative change in their strength or plucked the Connate Phala to directly advance to the Connate Realm, it would be very difficult for their strength to advance even further.

However, as long as one forged the Forbidden Stone into armor, it could directly increase the attack and defense of a top grandmaster by 70%.

This bonus was absolutely terrifying!

To a top-notch grandmaster, any trace of improvement would greatly increase their combat strength.

With this kind of amplification and weakening ratio, although Wu Shuang was only at the early-Peak Realm, her strength was enough to match the grandmasters from the Three Absolutes Auction House, who had stepped into the Peak Realm for many years. She wouldn’t be at a disadvantage at all.

Seeing the passion in everyone’s eyes, Venerable Ning Jing suddenly changed the topic and said, “However, this special ability is not invincible. It has a huge restriction, which is that it’s only effective on martial artists in the nine-rank system.”

“If it can also increase the strength and defense of a Connate Realm expert, I’m afraid that I will have to shamelessly ask Fellow Daoist Wang for it.”

Everyone did not care about the restrictions that Venerable Ning Jing mentioned. After all, the Connate Realm was too far away for them. They were more concerned about the increase in their current combat strength.

When they looked at the Forbidden Stone again, their gazes were completely replaced by passion and desire.

The temptation of this special ability was too great.

This was especially so for those grandmasters who were already at their peak. The Forbidden Stone was even more precious for them.

This was because they had already reached the peak of the nine-rank system. Unless they completed the qualitative change in their strength and reached the Peak Realm, or plucked the Connate Phala and advanced to the Connate Realm, their strength would no longer increase at all.

However, Wang Yi frowned slightly when he heard that. A puzzled look flashed across his eyes.

He believed that Venerable Ning Jing would definitely not lie to him about this, but he was also certain that the swamp where he obtained the Forbidden Stone was indeed not a place with a spirit qi tide.

Wang Yi suddenly felt that things were not that simple.

His brain could not help but work quickly. The entire process of obtaining the ancient tea tree and the Forbidden Stone that day flashed before Wang Yi’s eyes like a movie.

No!

Now that he thought about it, he really felt that something was wrong.

Wang Yi could confirm that the swamp was very ordinary and the concentration of spirit qi there was very normal. It was definitely not a so-called spirit qi tide.

Then, it was obvious that as long as Venerable Ning Jing was right, the Forbidden Stone should not have been born there, but it must have been hidden there by someone.

This was exactly what was wrong.

Refining weapons was not a privilege that only humans enjoyed. The beasts could also use precious materials to refine full-body armor or some heavy weapons.

However, compared to humans, the armor refined by the beast race was cruder.

Despite that, as long as a precious treasure like the Forbidden Stone was refined into armor, it could definitely increase the combat strength of top experts by several levels.

Logically speaking, regardless of whether it was the humans or the beasts, after obtaining the Forbidden Stone, they would definitely refine it into armor or combat weapons to increase their strength. How could they possibly hide it?

Now that he thought about it, Wang Yi suddenly felt that the Forbidden Stone was not so much hidden under the swamp as it was suppressing something under the swamp.

Of course, this was just Wang Yi’s speculation on a whim. There was no substantial evidence.

But did Wang Yi need any evidence?

Obviously, there was no need. If he sensed anything unusual, he could just check the swamp again. It wouldn’t take much effort.

However, this was not something urgent. Furthermore, he had yet to settle the matter with the Three Absolutes Auction House. Thus, Wang Yi put this matter aside and prepared to take a look on the way back to Cang City.

Everyone saw the change in Wang Yi’s expression, but they obviously had no idea what he was thinking.

They only thought that he felt a little heartache after knowing the value of the Forbidden Stone. However, he could not take back his words, so he acted like this.

Although the Forbidden Stone in front of her was enough to forge a set of soldiers and armor, Wu Shuang was indeed unwilling to part with it.

However, she once again used her true qi to carry the Forbidden Stone and passed it to Wang Yi. Then, she said respectfully, “This item is too precious. I don’t deserve it. Please take it back.”

Seeing Wu Shuang like this, Wang Yi knew that everyone had misunderstood him. He couldn’t help but support his forehead with his hand and say helplessly, “Just accept it in peace. I don’t care about this little thing.”

When Wu Shuang heard this, she was naturally overjoyed. If she used such a precious treasure to forge armor, her combat strength would probably be much stronger than now. She would be comparable to some veteran top experts.

At this moment, the three top grandmasters of the Three Absolutes Auction House looked at Wu Shuang with envy.

From then on, Wu Shuang would really soar into the sky. Her status in Langya County City would probably not be inferior to the commander of the regional army, Yang Jingxuan.

Wang Yi’s gaze swept across Jiang Zailang and the other two again. He said indifferently, “I’ll keep my word. The three of you are safe.”

When the three grandmasters heard this, ecstatic expressions immediately appeared on their faces. Wang Yi had previously promised to let them off as long as they could prove that the person behind the scenes was Venerable Lie Kong.

They also believed that as an invincible Venerable, Wang Yi would not go back on his words.

However, after Wang Yi said those words, they still felt very relieved, as if they had survived a disaster.

Jiang Zailang glanced at the other two and nodded slightly. Before Wang Yi could speak, he directly stepped forward and bowed. “Lord Venerable, the three of us know our sins.”

“I’m willing to take out 60% of the shares and wealth of the Three Absolutes Auction House to compensate you for the shock your family suffered. I hope that you won’t abandon us.”

Su Shiya’s cute little mouth opened wide when she heard that. She looked at Wang Yi, waiting for him to make a decision.

She didn’t know how much 60% of the shares and wealth of the Three Absolutes Auction House were.

However, anyone with a brain would know that there would definitely be so much money that ordinary people would feel suffocated.

After all, this was the property of three top-notch grandmasters. Even if they only took out a bit of their wealth, it would be much more than what the Su family possessed.

The corners of Wang Yi’s mouth curled up slightly and he flashed a faint smile. However, he could not help but sigh in his heart.

Jiang Zailang was quite bold. After managing the auction house and saving for many years, there were definitely many precious resources.

Taking out 60% of their shares and wealth was definitely a huge blow to the three brothers.

However, at the same time, Jiang Zailang was also a good schemer. It seemed like they were at a disadvantage, but were they really at a disadvantage?