Seeing Tanner Shaw so enthusiastic, Evan Yang could only accompany him for a few drinks, chatting about the various families along the way.
They spent the night talking until dawn. Tanner quickly tidied up the garden, then took Evan and left the Shaw Family estate.
"Out so early—where are we headed?" Evan, who had just spent the night with Tanner, was dragged out again and asked helplessly.
"Taking you to see something interesting," Tanner said with a grin.
"Something interesting?" Evan followed Tanner, puzzled, wondering what could be so special that Tanner would rush out at dawn to see it.
Led by Tanner, they arrived at a three-story pavilion that stood out from the surroundings—like night and day compared to everything nearby.
"What is this building?" Evan looked around but saw no name, his curiosity piqued.
"It's called the Nameless Pavilion," Tanner replied with a smile.
"Nameless Pavilion?" Evan was speechless, but followed Tanner inside, curiosity bubbling as they found many people already there.
"So many people this early?" Tanner exclaimed in surprise at the crowd.
"What could possibly draw so many people?" Evan was curious—he'd never seen a crowd gather at dawn in an unknown building like this.
"You'll see soon enough," Tanner replied, pulling Evan into the throng.
Pushing through the crowd, Evan made his way to the innermost area and finally saw what was going on inside.
Inside, many people had set up stalls, but none seemed particularly remarkable. The most striking thing was the sheer variety of items—none of which could be judged for quality at a glance.
"What's going on here?" Evan asked, eyeing the thousands of items with suspicion.
"These were all dug up from Hundred-Change Valley. You can't tell their quality from the outside—only after breaking the restriction layer can you know if there's a treasure inside," Tanner explained with a smile.
"Hundred-Change Valley? What's that place?" Evan was puzzled—what kind of place was Hundred-Change Valley, and how could these be magic treasures if they showed no spiritual energy at all?
Seeing Evan didn't even know about Hundred-Change Valley, Tanner could only helplessly explain.
Hundred-Change Valley is located where the Three Great Star Systems intersect. There, on Hundred-Change Star, a planet, two-thirds of its surface is covered in mist. The outer layer is protected by a powerful membrane that opens once every hundred years. When it opens, many people venture inside.
Once inside, people can dredge up all sorts of things. Only after removing the outer membrane do you know what's really inside.
Sometimes, you can even dredge up an Immortal artifact.
Hearing 'Immortal artifact,' Evan exclaimed, "You could actually find Immortal artifacts—so why sell them here?"
"You don't know the half of it. The opening happens only once every hundred years, and each time lasts just a month. It sounds long, but it's actually very short—danger lurks everywhere inside. If you're lucky, you can haul out a lot; if not, you die in there. The Three Palaces and the great clans don't want to lose their elites, so they buy the finds at a flat rate—one million high-grade spirit crystals each," Tanner explained.
"One million high-grade? For a single item?" Evan was shocked.
"That's right. If you get an Immortal artifact, you hit the jackpot. If not, you lose out," Tanner replied.
"What's the odds?" Evan asked, seeing so many items and doubting the Three Palaces and great clans would let so many slip out.
"One in a million. That means out of a million items, maybe one Immortal artifact appears," Tanner thought for a moment before answering.
"A million? So you'd need a huge pile before you might get one." Evan looked at the thousand or so items on the ground, then thought of the tens of thousands elsewhere, amazed.
"That's why the Three Palaces and great clans limit their purchases—only a set number every hundred years. Some rogue cultivators want better prices, so they sell to outsiders. The price stays the same: one million high-grade spirit crystals per item. So even though there are only a thousand here, buying them all would cost a fortune—not something any random clan can afford," Tanner sighed.
"So why did you bring me here today?" Evan asked curiously.
"I want to try my luck," Tanner said with a grin.
"You have that many spirit crystals?" Evan asked suspiciously.
"I've been stashing away for centuries—I've got a few million at least," Tanner laughed.
"Makes sense. You're the sole heir of a great clan—of course you've got plenty of spirit crystals," Evan said with a smile.
"That's why I dragged you out so early—I'm afraid someone else might snatch up the Immortal artifact. Besides, on Northridge Star, this event only happens once a year. If we miss it, we'll have to go to another city to try our luck," Tanner muttered, eyes shining.
"You really think you'll get lucky? What if you spend a million and get junk? That's a one-in-a-million chance," Evan pointed out, doubting Tanner's luck.
Tanner thought for a moment. "I'll just buy one. Worst case, I'll save up again for a few years."
"So you dragged me out at dawn just to gamble?" Evan was speechless. Even with plenty of spirit crystals, he didn't believe his luck was that good—if the Three Palaces and great clans couldn't get an Immortal artifact, how could it show up here?
"Ever since I met you, it's like I've had a lucky star. So I'll spend a million, and you pick for me," Tanner said, staring at Evan.
"What?" Evan was speechless, completely defeated by Tanner's logic.