Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
The Red Blood Palace auction had not been over for more than three hours, yet Fairy Ling had already found out the identity of the owner in guest room number two. She did have impressive means!
“Why are you here?” one of the two Almighty Masters snarled at Fairy Ling in a low voice, while she was thinking… Oh no, Fairy Ling was going to assault guest room number two during the auction! If she tries to harm Su Yu now, no one will be able to stop her!
Fairy Ling fixed her stare upon Su Yu’s house, never even once looking at the two of them. She walked right up to Su Yu’s house, her voice melodious as she asked at the door, “I’m Fairy Ling, could Shopkeeper Su open the door to greet me?”
Su Yu, who was just preparing to start training, had already detected the descended energy, and he frowned slightly as he guessed… Fairy Ling? It must be her, the owner of the Tianya Auction House! But, what could she have come here for?
Su Yu had always been cautious about the Tianya Auction House, as it was a very mysterious influence within the realm.
“Please come in,” Su Yu replied calmly.
Su Yu knew that he could not stop her from coming in, so it would be better to come out and meet her honestly on his terms. Fairy Ling smiled and stepped into the house with a graceful gait.
“Does Fairy Ling want something from me?” Su Yu simply glanced at her, while asking her in a calm voice.
Fairy Ling could not help but give Su Yu a measured look, as she felt surprised by his calm demeanor. The ordinary people who met her were either completely overwhelmed with awe or nervousness, yet he was so very calm.
It was as though her presence did not matter to him at all! His composure was astonishing!
“What does Shopkeeper Su think?” Fairy Ling flashed him a sweet smile, while holding back her contempt.
Su Yu responded indifferently, “If you’re here for the Heart Refining Mortal Dust Liquid, you might as well go back. Our store will only begin selling it three days from now.”
“I’m not particularly interested in the Heart Refining Mortal Dust Liquid. I’m more interested in you than in the spiritual liquid.” Fairy Ling fixed her stare on Su Yu, trying to capture the look that she wanted from his eyes.
But, Su Yu remained cool, and he even laughed as he said, “The famous owner of the Tianya Auction House is taking an interest in an old man like me? That surprises me!”
“I hope that you can do me a favor.” Fairy Ling was still smiling, but the look in her eyes was sharp.
Su Yu cast a nonchalant look at her, then said, “Fire away…”
“I want a Heartbroken Zither Grass plant, a complete and living one!” Fairy Ling said excitedly.
“I’m sorry, but you’ve come to the wrong person. I don’t have such extinct spiritual existences like the Heartbroken Zither Grass with me.” Su Yu realized that something was off as he finished his sentence, but it was too late for him to shut up!
Fairy Ling’s pretty eyes shone with a shrewd light as she half-smiled and said, “I didn’t ask you for the Heartbroken Zither Grass! You were so keen on clarifying, it seems like you must have the grass with you now! Or, shall I say, you were the one who refined the Heart Refining Mortal Dust Liquid?”
Su Yu kept quiet, secretly regretting his carelessness in his heart. He was too quick with his mouth, giving himself away to this smart woman!
“Let me guess, the Heart Refining Mortal Dust Liquid had been extinct for a very long time, then one day, a shopkeeper came to Tianya City, announcing the recovery of the Heart Refining Mortal Dust Liquid! Moreover, he told everyone that it would be for sale in three days! In the end, the shopkeeper claimed that the spiritual liquid was given to him by an old senior? Do I have it right?” she quipped.
She then added, “Is there such a coincidence in the world? Tianya City is huge, so why did he not look for the top-notch elixir stores instead of choosing an indebted elixir store that’s going bankrupt and has not had a shopkeeper for a year?”
This keen and sensitive woman! Su Yu muttered silently in his heart.
However, he appeared relaxed on the surface as he replied, “Who knows? Perhaps the old senior saw me as a potential talent, or maybe he couldn’t bear seeing a small elixir store go bankrupt, so he endowed it with such a gift in order to save it…”
“Ha, do you actually believe that?” Fairy Ling smiled, and her eyes were filled with a shrewd light. It seemed as though she had seen through everything!
“I do believe it to be true,” Su Yu replied brusquely and with certainty.
Fairy Ling lifted her slender jade-like fingers and said, “I already know your secret. If you don’t want it disclosed, give me a hundred Heartbroken Zither Grass plants! Otherwise, if it’s made known, no one can guarantee your safety.”
She smiled cynically, then added, ” I’m sure that once such news spreads, stronger Almighty Divine Masters than me will come looking for you, and they won’t be talking to you as placidly as I am now!”
Su Yu looked calm, even in the face of her threats. “The Red Blood Palace will take care of my personal safety. I believe that the Almighties will be lying in ambush nearby in less than half a day regardless. If you disclose my secret, it’ll only bring me some minor troubles, but it’ll give you major troubles, don’t you think?”
Su Yu tried his best to counter her threat with a threat of his own. All the while, he wondered what exactly she was up to. After all, she was a fifth-grade Almighty Divine Master and the owner of the Tianya Auction House
This woman was extremely wealthy, yet she had come to pay him a visit, asking for the Heartbroken Zither Grass. So, Su Yu knew that she must have some important plans up her sleeve. Although his elixir-refining talent might be made known, he was determined that she wouldn’t get her hands on the Heartbroken Zither Grass!
“Are you threatening me?” Fairy Ling’s smile gradually disappeared after hearing Su Yu’s reply. Within her posed indifferent expression, there were traces of her murderous intentions visible if one looked for them carefully.
Su Yu remained surprisingly composed as he replied, “No more than you are threatening me…”
“Aren’t you afraid that I will kill you?! Fairy Ling lifted her gaze and stared at Su Yu in disbelief.
“You dare not kill me, because if I die, the whereabouts of the Heartbroken Zither Grass will never be known!” Su Yu said. He knew that if she had truly wanted to kill him, she would have done so long ago and wouldn’t have waited until now.
Fairy Ling kept quiet for a long while, then asked coldly, “How will you give it to me then?”
“We’ll make a trade!” Su Yu’s eyes shone as he responded.
The fierceness in Fairy Ling’s eyes softened when she heard this. Problems that could be resolved by trading were no longer considered problems.
“Fire away,” she said.
“I want two things. First, I want all of the Vital Energy from 100 fifth-grade Almighty Masters. Second, I want a precious Water Passage treasure of equal worth as a Fire Essence Jade!” Su Yu announced.
The former’s price was immeasurable, while the latter item was worth around 1,000,000 crystals! Su Yu was like a lion that was opening its mouth wide and roaring at this moment!
Just as he had expected, Fairy Ling was very angry when she heard this. She scowled as she asked, “The Vital Energy of 100 fifth-grade Almighty Masters? A Water Passage treasure equal to a Fire Essence Jade? Don’t you think that your appetite is a little too big? It seems quite greedy of you!”
Su Yu seemed indifferent as he replied, “Compared to Your Excellency’s wish to get 100 Heartbroken Zither Grass plants by threatening me, my request could be considered as kind!”
Murderous vibes sparked in Fairy Ling’s eyes as she screamed, “I reject your offer! Your price is too high!”
“Then, you can look for someone else to provide you with what you desire! Good luck with that!” Su Yu was calm, unwilling to let her ruffle his feathers.
Fairy Ling then said, “A Water Passage treasure equivalent to a Fire Essence Jade is worth 1,000,000 crystals. I can at least promise you that. But, the Vital Energy of 100 fifth-grade Almighty Masters is simply too much of an imposition, as it takes at least 10,000,000 crystals to make 100 fifth-grade Almighty Masters willing to agglomerate their Vital Energies!”
It was hard enough to find such an amount of fifth-grade Almighty, and it was even harder to convince them all to hand over their Vital Energies. They would only be convinced to change their minds if they were all given satisfactory benefits.
Among the entire region of the Blessed and Heavenly Lands, only the Red Blood Palace and the Purple Cloud Palace were capable of accomplishing such a thing. The other influences stood no chance of doing so.
“Think about it… The chances of you finding another Heartbroken Zither Grass plant from anyone else are slim to none…” Su Yu was exceptionally calm, as he truly felt as if he was in total control of this situation with Fairy Ling.
Fairy Ling was speechless, and as she kept her pretty eyes fixed on Su Yu, the flickering murderous intentions slowly began to fade before finally disappearing after a long while.
She then nodded her head and said, “Alright, I’ll agree to both of your terms! The Water Passage treasure will be delivered to you in three days, but it’ll take half a year to deliver the Vital Energies of 100 Almighty Masters!”
“Deal!” Su Yu flashed her a smile and took out a sheet of the Ancient Book of Heart’s Oaths to make it official. Fairy Ling then generously swore the oath with a drop of her blood, as did Su Yu.
“Haha, Fairy Long, it’s settled! Once your end of the bargain is met, I will deliver 100 Heartbroken Zither Grass plants to you!”
Fairy Ling stood up with a flick of her sleeves, then said with a cold look in her eyes, “You’d better behave yourself and follow through with your promises!”
Once she was done talking, she stomped out of the door with a glum face. The two Almighty Divine Masters at the door held their breaths and watched in shock as she stomped off furiously. The woman looked so vexed and menacing, that the pair figured that Su Yu must have enraged her somehow!
After she left, Su Yu was no longer in the mood to train. So, he took out the 200 grains of golden sand and continued studying the rare Mu words.
Half a day later, several Almighty Divine Masters were dispatched from the headquarters and sent to guard the vicinity. Now, it would be extremely difficult for Fairy Ling to barge into the yard again!
Three days slowly passed, but Su Yu’s house remained quiet. However, rumors about the Heart Refining Mortal Dust Liquid were spreading at lightning speed. In fact, everyone in Tiaya City, the Purple Cloud Palace and the Red Blood Palace, and even many regions in the Central Prefecture had all heard about the Heart Refining Mortal Dust Liquid by this time!
To all of the powerful influences, acquiring the Heart Refining Mortal Dust Liquid meant acquiring more strong men who were Almighty Divine Masters. If they took this step in strengthening themselves, they stood a greater chance of occupying greater resources.
With this thought in mind, many parties set off in search of this elusive treasure. Many strong men congregated in Tianya City. Not only did this gathering include the most influential people, but some mysterious talents also infiltrated the city.
At this time, the strong men in the city were starting to mobilize. This was because in the past three days, the Almighty in the Tonglin Elixir Store had fended off ten invasions by martial artists. Needless to say, a nerve-racking ambience surrounded Tonglin Elixir Store at the moment.
Everyone was waiting to see if it was true that the Heart Refining Mortal Dust Liquid would be on sale in three days’ time. If this rumor was true, it would cause a complete state of chaos as everyone would be clamoring to get it!
This very day, Su Yu, who had been in seclusion for the past three days, had finally left his house. His appearance stunned everyone.
From the guards who were secretly lying in wait to the representatives of various influences, all of them received notification of his emergence from their spies. Cabinet Master Xiaoyao was the first to receive the message.
Upon hearing the news, he scowled and asked, “Why did he appear at such a sensitive time? Could the master he mentioned be preparing to exchange the elixirs with him?”
He strongly doubted the credibility of the master Su Yu had mentioned, which is the exact reason that he had commanded his people to keep an eye on Su Yu while also protecting him. If Su Yu left Tonglin Elixir Store to obtain the elixirs, he would be cleared of all suspicion.
“I have to make a trip there on my own!” he said, and in the blink of an eye, Cabinet Master Xiaoyao turned into a gust of wind and instantly dissipated.
When Fairy Ling heard the news, she snorted and said, “He’s full of pretense!”
She clearly understood that there was no such master, as Su Yu had made it all up! While she was thinking of the unfair oath that she was forced to sign with Su Yu, she gritted her teeth in anger.
“Aunt, who are you so mad at?” A sweet voice resembling the sound of an oriole floated from the door, while a petite head appeared.
If Su Yu was there, he would recognize this figure her as none other than Gongsun Wuxie! She had a close association with the Tianya Auction House.
“Who else? It’s your Senior Brother Su! If not for your repeated reminders not to use violence, I would never have allowed him to negotiate terms with me!” Fairy Ling was clearly angry and filled with hate toward Su Yu.
With her cultivation, capturing Su Yu and interrogating him would have been a piece of cake. The reason that she had not done that was out of her respect for Gongsun Wuxie.
Gongsun Wuxie pouted when she heard this. She then asked, “How dare that jerk bully my aunt? I’ll go teach him a lesson!”
“Enough! Isn’t this all happening because of you? It could’ve been a simple matter if you hadn’t made such trouble out of it. The Water Passage treasure is fine, but I’ll have to seek help from the headquarters to obtain the Vital Energies of 100 fifth-grade Almighty Masters,” Fairy Ling said.
Gongsun Wuxie blinked her eyes. “What does the fellow want the Water Passage treasure for?”
“I don’t know, and I don’t want to know! Alright, come with me to see what scams that old brat has up his sleeves.” Fairy Ling was in a hurry, as she was afraid that some mishap might befall Su Yu before she had the chance to obtain the Heartbroken Zither Grass from him!
Gongsun Wuxie rolled her eyes. “What’s there to see? It’s boring! I’m not going.” But, her refusal failed to satisfy Fairy Ling, who commenced to drag her away with her.
At the Hall of Celestial Spirits, Hu Wangui received the news, causing a shrewd light to flicker in the depths of his eyes. He then said, “Come on… We have to get going. Let’s go take a look at this senior!”
He had intended to kill Su Yu for a long time, and he had been forced to stay put for these past three days just to wait for this moment! He was determined to speak to this senior in person. After all, if he could hand over the Heart Refining Mortal Dust Liquid to the Hall of Celestial Spirits, the Red Blood Palace would be thoroughly devastated! Moreover, he only had to come to some agreeable terms with the senior, and Su Yu could be killed anytime, which would give him an opportunity to vent his pent-up hatred for Su Yu!
——
Right now, Su Yu’s every move was pivotal, as he was manipulating all of the influences and the martial artists in the city. Many residents in Tianya City had noticed that the martial artists who had been lying in ambush in the city had begun mobilizing.
Everyone seemed to be in a hurry as they poured into the outer city. After all, Su Yu was the envy of every martial artist in the city. Not even the General Managers of the Red Blood Palace and the Purple Cloud Palace had ever received as much attention as Su Yu did now!
