"Do you really want to give me the Demon Spirit Ring?" Sha Chu stared at the Demon Spirit Ring with shining eyes.
"Not give, sell," Li Xiu corrected.
"Okay, name your price," Sha Chu said straightforwardly. Without even a Demon Spirit, she felt embarrassed to call herself a true Trial Taker, and she was a bit anxious.
"I want to exchange some blue diamonds," Li Xiu thought for a moment and said.
Sha Chu’s initially excited expression suddenly stiffened. She replied gloomily, "Have you considered where we are? Diamonds aren’t produced here at all. You want gemstones like rubies, spinel, and tourmaline, that’s easy, but where am I supposed to get diamonds for you, let alone blue diamonds? I know you want to upgrade that Radiant Demon Spirit, but you have to face reality, right?"
"Then what can you offer me?" Li Xiu pondered, considering exchanging other gemstones as well. Not many people recognize the value of the Demon Spirit Ring; if he swapped it for other gemstones, it would be easier to trade for blue diamonds in the future.
"The Demon Core of that Flowing Color Demon Spirit, and these Demon Cores, are you planning to sell them together?" Sha Chu pointed to the Demon Cores on the table and asked.
"Are you interested?" Li Xiu squinted, scrutinizing Sha Chu. From her tone, she seemed to be quite wealthy.
"Of course I’m interested. These Demon Cores and the Demon Spirit Ring are of the same variety, with matching attributes. Using them to upgrade the Demon Spirit’s level is ideal, especially the Demon Core of the Flowing Color Demon Spirit, which would be the most beneficial to it," Sha Chu said.
"I can give them all to you, but it depends on what price you’re willing to offer," Li Xiu said.
"Wait a moment," Sha Chu said, walking towards the bathroom.
Soon Li Xiu heard the sound of clothes being removed, and he hastily said, "I only want gemstones, don’t support payment by flesh."
He liked beauties, but he couldn’t accept beauties involved in monetary transactions.
"In your dreams." Sha Chu’s voice came from inside, annoyed and embarrassed.
Not long after, Sha Chu came out, fully dressed, with a few gemstones in her hand.
"These are all my remaining possessions. If you’re not satisfied with this, then there’s nothing else I can do," Sha Chu said bluntly, placing the gemstones in front of Li Xiu.
There were six gemstones in total, four red rubies and two blue gemstones. The smallest of the four rubies weighed eight or nine carats, while the largest exceeded ten carats.
One of the blue gemstones was relatively small, appearing to be only five or six carats, while the other, a heart-shaped blue gemstone, appeared particularly large, possibly weighing forty or fifty carats.
Li Xiu was stunned by the forty or fifty-carat blue gemstone; such a large and pure blue gemstone was practically national treasure level.
Meanwhile, Li Xiu was curious about where Sha Chu had hidden these gemstones.
"These are my treasured collections. All the rubies are genuine pigeon blood red, determined by the oldest standards, not like those cheap rubies whose color is casually identified as pigeon blood red in minor authentication agencies. This blue gemstone is Kashmir Chrysanthemum, although not a Demon Spirit Gemstone, compared to the gemstone I previously gave you, it’s still very precious," Sha Chu pointed to the gemstones.
"You’re willing to part with such a big blue gemstone?" Li Xiu pointed at the heart-shaped blue gemstone and asked.
"Can you not tell the difference between blue gemstones and tanzanites? If I had such a big blue gemstone, why would I exchange it with you?" Sha Chu sneered.
"Turns out it’s tanzanite," Li Xiu stared at that tanzanite, surprisingly feeling a sense of hunger for it.
He felt nothing towards those top-grade rubies and blue gemstones, but surprisingly had feelings towards a tanzanite gemstone.
Of course, he knew about tanzanite; it’s a gemstone found only in former Tanzania, which is why it’s named tanzanite.
Once treated, tanzanite resembles blue gemstones, only with heavier purple hues. The top-grade tanzanites have less intense purple tones, and those unfamiliar with gemstones can easily mistake them for blue gemstones.
This tanzanite indeed looked like a blue gemstone; it was normal for someone like Li Xiu, who hadn’t studied gemstones much, to make a mistake.
"Don’t think that just because it’s tanzanite, it’s worthless. Tanzanites are now very expensive, and this particular tanzanite has a background, not an ordinary tanzanite; otherwise, I wouldn’t have specially collected it."
Sha Chu paused and continued, "Speaking of which, this tanzanite has some connection with the Hope Diamond you acquired from Ximen Guan."
"How can tanzanite be connected to a diamond?" Li Xiu genuinely didn’t understand this.
"In the old times, there was a movie called Titanic. In the movie, there was a gemstone called Heart of the Ocean, which was actually modeled after the Hope Diamond. Of course, they couldn’t use the real Hope Diamond for the film. The crew also considered borrowing a blue gemstone for the shoot, but such a blue gemstone couldn’t be borrowed so easily. Eventually, the crew used tanzanite to create the Heart of the Ocean; those who watched the movie thought it was a blue gemstone, but it was actually tanzanite," Sha Chu explained.
"Are you telling me this tanzanite is the Heart of the Ocean used in the movie?" Li Xiu asked surprisedly, examining the heart-shaped tanzanite.
"The person who sold me this tanzanite claimed it was, though I can’t confirm if it’s true or not. But it does look very similar, and even if it’s not, such a large, high-quality tanzanite is extremely valuable these days," Sha Chu herself was unsure if this was indeed the Heart of the Ocean used in the movie.