Chapter 167: Chapter 167

Having no choice, Ivan gently patted the gourd with his tail, and sure enough, it obediently opened its lid, and Little Loach spat something out from inside.

The gourd closed its lid again.

Owen Bertram caught the item and saw that it was a long, narrow black armor plate. It felt weightless in his hand, and its appearance didn’t seem remarkable.

But when Owen Bertram infused it with spiritual energy, the armor plate suddenly expanded into a large shield, resembling a skateboard from Owen Bertram’s past life. As more spiritual energy was infused into it, the size of the shield could continue to increase.

Owen Bertram also discovered that this treasure had another function: flight.

With one thought, the long shield shrank to the size of a skateboard, and he placed it flat on the ground. Owen Bertram jumped onto it, and the shield whizzed him away, disappearing directly.

Its speed even surpassed that of ordinary Flying Sword travel, and it was very nimble. Owen Bertram maneuvered the Flying Shield through the forest, effortlessly dodging the trees, then rising and gliding along the mountainside, somersaulting through the air, before descending along the other side of the peak, creating obvious trenches from the wind he created as he moved.

"Hahaha!" Owen Bertram laughed. He really liked this treasure, but he didn’t know how good its defensive power was since he didn’t want to use his own Flying Sword to experiment.

Little Loach grudgingly told Elder Brother that it was several grades stronger than the previous Turtle Shell Shield.

Elder Brother was very satisfied, and subconsciously reached out to pat Ivan on the head. The clever Ivan allowed Master’s hand to penetrate his body, perfectly lying on top of Little Loach’s head.

Little Loach was confused and opened his mouth to roar at Ivan.

Owen Bertram was also confused and gained a new understanding of Ivan’s so-called "escape technique," which he had originally thought was just a wood or water escape.

When Owen Bertram reached inside, his perception also followed. He found that inside the gourd was another world, endless and vast. Ivan was fully visible here with his true size, several dozens of feet long, with an enormous head. His "little hand" felt funny when it touched the surface.

He asked Ivan, "Can you let some river water in?"

Ivan would definitely be more comfortable in the water.

Ivan couldn’t speak, but it was strange that he could communicate with Little Loach through consciousness while inside the gourd. Little Loach told Ivan that for now, a small river would be no problem.

As for the standard of this "small river"... They happened to be right beside Hunshui River, which was what Ivan meant by a small river.

Owen Bertram really looked at the gourd in a new light: it was just starting, and it was already encompassing the whole Hunshui River! If there was any further improvement, wouldn’t it even be able to hold an entire water system like the Molesting River?!

Ivan hurriedly started boasting, stomping on his brothers and sisters in the process: that would naturally not be a problem, his abilities were infinitely variable, highly growth-oriented, and not to be compared with his useless siblings!

Owen Bertram smiled and picked up the gourd from his waist, tossing it out. Ivan flew into the air with the gourd mouth facing down, sucking in a large amount of river water.

He restricted Ivan, only creating a small lake sufficient for Ivan to live in.

Of course, they couldn’t drain the entire Hunshui River, as it would cause too big a disturbance.

After the water was brought in, Little Loach cheered and rushed in. Then, with a flick of his tail, he disdainfully slapped the fish and shrimp out of the water.

The gourd mouth opened, and all the fish and shrimp fell back into the Hunshui River.

All of them floated belly-up on the water’s surface, since a mere flick of Little Loach’s tail at his current strength could easily kill them.

Owen Bertram opened his palm, and Ivan obediently flew back into it. Owen Bertram placed the gourd on his waist, and the Immortal Binding Rope automatically bound it.

Owen Bertram was in an excellent mood, with consecutive gains that greatly increased his power.

Instead of rushing back to the outpost, he stroked his chin while pondering his current priority—the Henry Case.

"Think of a way to deceive Lexi from Sword Mountain?"

Owen Bertram threw Mountain Master’s corpse from a Storage Brocade Pouch. The Storage Brocade Pouch isolated the inside from the outside, and the corpse hadn’t decayed. Owen Bertram searched and indeed found Mountain Master’s Token and Communication Talisman.

He forged a letter, originally intending to order Lexi to directly investigate Prince Henry, but thought that there might be a soul lamp for Mountain Master in Sword Mountain, and his forged order might arouse suspicion from them. They could easily discover the fraud once they returned to the mountain and checked.

For this matter, Owen Bertram had other plans.

That day, he had the gourd in his hands and various plans in mind, and time passed unknowingly.

As night fell, Owen Bertram released Spencer Aiden once again, loaded with funds and heading straight to the Ghost Market. Seeing the "Antique Appraisal Expert" again, the little ghosts immediately followed.

Owen Bertram had his plans and so he had to maintain Spencer Aiden’s persona. He yelled at the little ghosts to get lost, but they were slick and cunning, flattering Spencer Aiden with a few kind words. Spencer Aiden laughed and felt self-important, and then decided to enjoy himself that night, "If you have any treasures that you can’t understand, bring them here, and I’ll appraise them for you!"

"If I get it right, you’ll call me ’Lord’ and say a few auspicious words to make me happy."

"If I get it wrong, I’ll compensate you for any difference in the price!"

Owen Bertram, of course, wouldn’t use Spencer Aiden’s name anymore. Instead, he used his own title as "Lord" to create his own nickname, "Lord."

The little ghosts rejoiced, as they found a seemingly costless business apart from the two most ancient professions.

The little ghosts suddenly had honey on their mouths and began to blurt out various flattering phrases like "Lord of Good Fortune," "Unparalleled and Magnificent Lord," "Lord of Majesty and Grandness," and "Lord as the Pillar of Heaven in the Ghost Zone."

Lord also kept his word and spent half the night appraising items for all the little ghosts who made it to him.

In the latter half of the night, he waved his hand impatiently and said, "Alright, alright, that’s enough for tonight. I, the Lord, have important things to do. In a few days, the Lord will open a pawnshop here. Whatever you have to sell and if you’re worried about being cheated, bring it over. I, the Lord, can’t guarantee anything else, but I definitely won’t cheat you on Spirit Jade prices.

If you have something you’re unsure of, you can bring it over, and the Lord will appraise it for free."

After saying that, he stopped paying attention to the little ghosts, walking with his hands behind his back and swaying along the way.

The little ghosts agreed; this way, they wouldn’t need to set up their own stall. Thus, they spread the word, indirectly helping Owen Bertram with his promotion.

Owen Bertram searched for the right shop along the Ghost Market street. The shop’s prices were expensive, but they did offer good items.

Within less than half a shichen (2 hours), Owen Bertram found a suitable Alchemy Furnace for refining spirit pills below the third rank. After some bargaining, the deal was finally settled at the price of 1,800 Spirit Jades.

Owen Bertram returned to the outpost with the Alchemy Furnace, ready to begin Alchemy.