Chapter 1

Chen Shaojun's head felt heavy and muddled, as if it had been struck by a heavy hammer, causing him great discomfort.

With great difficulty, he opened his eyes. In the relatively spacious room, there was only one table, and on it, an oil lamp burned, casting a glow.

Next to the oil lamp lay an ancient jade, entirely emerald green.

Where am I?

Just as he was wondering, scattered memories suddenly surfaced in his mind.

Through these memories, he almost confirmed that he had been transported to another world.

This place.

Was not the Earth of his previous life, nor any dynasty he could recall.

This was the Great Zhou Dynasty, in the 97th year of the Shengde era.

Indeed, the current Shengde Emperor ascended the throne at the age of 35 and has been on the throne for 97 years.

Moreover, there were no reports of his ill health, and it was unknown how many more years he would remain on the throne.

It was evident.

This was not an ordinary world.

Of course, ordinary people could not live to be over a hundred.

Fifty was the age of knowing one's destiny, and sixty was considered a long life.

The reason the Shengde Emperor could live over a hundred years was said to be due to... cultivation.

There was no doubt that this was a world with cultivation.

Demons and ghosts roamed, and Dao and martial arts coexisted... a chaotic, bizarre, demonic, and ghostly world where all kinds of legends coexisted.

It was a golden age for the ambitious, but a nightmare for ordinary people.

And he was an ordinary person.

A person who had signed a contract, becoming an apprentice appraiser at the Lin family pawnshop in Shengjing City.

What is an appraiser?

In simple terms, an appraiser in a pawnshop is someone who evaluates the value of items and calculates the amount of silver.

Generally, becoming an apprentice appraiser at a pawnshop means that one has the potential to become a full appraiser and achieve success.

After all, the status of an appraiser in a pawnshop is not low, second only to the manager.

A skilled appraiser is even treated well by the manager, who dares not show disrespect.

However.

This world was not ordinary.

People die, ghosts live, demons and monsters frequently appear, and all kinds of strange and mysterious items abound.

If a pawnshop appraiser evaluates ordinary items, it is fine, but if they come into contact with special items, without the corresponding means, it could be life-threatening, even fatal.

Therefore, in this world, being a pawnshop appraiser is definitely not a good profession, but a high-risk one.

Chen Shaojun remembered very clearly.

Half a year ago, when he first entered the Lin family pawnshop, there were twelve apprentice appraisers like him, but now only seven remained.

While not all of them had met with misfortune, some might have left through connections or sought other livelihoods.

But it was evident that this profession was dangerous.

"This world is too extraordinary and too dangerous."

Chen Shaojun, after organizing his memories, felt a chill run through his body.

Who would have thought that an ordinary object could be life-threatening?

In this world, such life-threatening objects were countless.

If possible, he would not want to stay here any longer.

He would have to find a safer and more stable profession.

He believed that with the knowledge and experience from his previous life, even without any special skills, it would not be difficult for him to survive in this world. After stabilizing for a while, he could also find ways to learn the legendary Dao and martial arts.

However.

He had signed a contract with the Lin family pawnshop.

The contract in the Great Zhou Dynasty had legal effect.

If he dared to run away, the Lin family would immediately start a manhunt, with no regard for his life.

Moreover, if he reported to the authorities, the government would issue a warrant and send constables to track him down. He would also be unable to obtain a household registration, and would have to live in hiding for the rest of his life.

With his means, even if he managed to escape to the outskirts of the city, it would be extremely difficult to survive, let alone escape the government's pursuit.

Those constables were skilled in martial arts.

Even the Lin family had its own guards, each capable of fighting ten men.

He did not resent his previous father for selling him to the Lin family. His previous family was poor, with only a small plot of land and five children. If he had not been sent away, at least a few would have starved to death, and he, who was sick at the time, would likely have been the first.

Being sent to the Lin family, he at least had food to eat and survived.

"So, for the time being, I can only stay at the Lin family pawnshop."

Chen Shaojun sighed, finally returning to reality, and his gaze fell on the emerald green ancient jade on the table.

His expression was uncertain.

This ancient jade was an item assigned to him for appraisal.

Pawnshops are open for business, and every day, various items are pawned. Among them, rare and special items are handled by the official appraisers, while ordinary items are assigned to the apprentice appraisers in sequence.

Some are already appraised as a test, while others are "raw materials," meaning they are unexamined, unknown in origin, and uncertain in danger.

Clearly, this emerald green ancient jade was "raw material."

Considering his sudden rebirth, Chen Shaojun could not help but be more cautious about this jade.

He wanted to turn and leave.

But he knew that the pawnshop was not a charity. If he failed to complete the task, he would not avoid the punishment of flogging.

The status of an apprentice appraiser was not much higher than that of the miscellaneous servants in the pawnshop.

Taking a deep breath, Chen Shaojun carefully picked up the emerald green ancient jade and began to examine it closely.

For appraising "raw material," besides necessary observation, the most important skill was the appraiser's unique "spiritual insight."

So-called "spiritual insight" involves using one's mental power.

Everyone has mental power, but for ordinary people, it is weak and hard to manifest.

However, pawnshop appraisers can use special methods to concentrate their mental power, expanding it tenfold to investigate the special properties of the items to be appraised.

Chen Shaojun, having been in the pawnshop for half a year, naturally mastered this skill.

Each use was extremely draining, requiring several hours of rest to recover.

When using the "spiritual insight" technique, he was in the closest contact with the item to be appraised, and also the most vulnerable and dangerous.

If the item contained any hidden dangers, he could only endure them.

The previous five apprentice appraisers met with misfortune and disappeared from the pawnshop for this reason.

Chen Shaojun calmed his mind, narrowed his eyes, and slowed his breathing.

He followed a special rhythm, directing the blood and qi in his body to his head.

One minute, two minutes, three minutes...

This was a process of gathering momentum, slow but steady.

Suddenly, he opened his eyes wide, as if a sharp light shot out and entered the emerald green ancient jade.

One breath, two breaths, three breaths...

Chen Shaojun's face gradually turned pale, and his spirit weakened, clearly indicating the great strain of using the "spiritual insight" technique.

After a while, he moved his eyes away and took a deep breath.

Fortunately, nothing went wrong.

Just as he was relieved, his mind became hazy.

Before his eyes, boundless white clouds appeared, and at the edge of the clouds, a majestic palace seemed to float. Upon closer inspection, both the boundless white clouds and the majestic palace were reflected in an ancient and grand octagonal mirror.

On this octagonal mirror, several strange runes were inscribed.

The moment he saw these runes, he understood their meaning.

Spiritual Treasure Mirror.

...