Chapter 478 - 460: An Unexpectedly Simple Transaction

Chapter 478: Chapter 460: An Unexpectedly Simple Transaction

The original plan was for Bai Zichen, who had already demonstrated his strength, to step forward on behalf of the Five Elements Sect.

Given his status as a Nascent Soul Sword Cultivator, and considering Qingqiu Death Sea’s wariness of the Moral Sect, they shouldn’t have pursued the matter as long as he was willing to surrender the Demon Saint Pearl.

He had also long since assessed the three Nascent Soul Sects that had besieged Two Realms Mountain; there was nothing about them that required special attention.

With him acting as a deterrent, there would be no need to worry about them retaliating against the Five Elements Sect in the future.

But Qingqiu Death Sea’s attitude when they arrived completely baffled Bai Zichen.

Transformed Great Demons were the most arrogant of creatures, taking great pride in their bloodlines. The vast majority of them regarded the Human Race as slaves and Blood Food.

This was despite the fact that the Cultivation Realm had undergone immense changes over time, and Human Race Cultivators—from the top-tier combatants to the mid-level and even bottom-level cultivators—had long since far surpassed the Demon Race.

The most obvious evidence was that the beast tides commonly recorded in historical annals had rarely occurred in the last ten thousand years.

Even if small-scale beast tides did occur, they were suppressed in an instant.

Despite this, those Transformed Great Demons remained lost in the pleasant delusion that their powerful physical bodies and Bloodline Divine Techniques could still suppress Human Race Cultivators of the same realm.

They ignored the ever-evolving and increasingly flexible Battle Arrays.

They disregarded the Super Battleships, the best of which could match the might of a Spiritual Treasure.

They looked down upon the explosive growth of the Human Race’s population, coupled with the development of various Realm-Breaking Pill Formulas.

Perhaps the number of top-tier experts had decreased due to the great changes in the world.

But at the Foundation Establishment and Core Formation layers, the number of Cultivators had increased exponentially.

And Human Race Cultivators were the most adept at utilizing their numerical advantage.

As a former Demon Race Sacred Land, Bai Zichen had imagined Qingqiu Death Sea would be arrogant and untamable; he could easily picture the kind of faces they would present.

He never expected them to be so polite and yielding. If not for the Demon Qi that was so dense it was almost tangible, he would have suspected that the representatives from Qingqiu Death Sea were fakes.

"This item was obtained from your noble race, but the Five Elements Sect has also expended considerable effort to safeguard it for several millennia... A Nascent Soul Pill and one single-attribute Tier Five Spiritual Object. What do you think, Fellow Daoist Hu?"

Bai Zichen stood silently in the air. Only after communicating with the others via Divine Sense Sound Transmission did he speak aloud.

"My race is not skilled in Alchemy. We do not have a Nascent Soul Pill, so we will use this Nascent Soul Fruit as a substitute."

Old Hu flipped his palm, and a verdant fruit resembling a small infant suddenly appeared in it, its facial features distinct and lifelike.

Exposed to the air, it even let out a "WAH" cry, closely resembling a Cultivator’s Nascent Soul.

This was the very Nascent Soul Fruit that Master Hei Shui had been dreaming of day and night, an indispensable primary ingredient for refining the Nascent Soul Pill.

’To be able to take out a Spirit Fruit like the Nascent Soul Fruit so casually, it seems that Medicine Garden Secret Realm is in the hands of the Qingqiu Death Sea... It’s a good thing I wasn’t blinded by the so-called Ten Thousand Years Spirit Plants. Otherwise, if I had used the Demon Saint Pearl to find the entrance, I would have likely been facing a Tier Four Great Demon.’

Bai Zichen’s gaze shifted to the second Spiritual Material Old Hu produced: a three-foot-long, light brown piece of Spirit Wood.

"Jade Heart Phoenix Tree Wood, Tier Five Low Grade, and it’s purely wood-attribute. This should meet your requirements, Fellow Daoist."

Old Hu didn’t haggle at all, straightforwardly producing the items Bai Zichen had requested.

The Nascent Soul Fruit still required an Alchemy process to become a Nascent Soul Pill, but one batch of Nascent Soul Pills usually yielded two to three pills.

The remaining supplementary materials weren’t very valuable. The Cultivator who provided the Nascent Soul Fruit and the Tier Four Alchemist who refined the pills would each definitely receive one Nascent Soul Pill.

If a third Nascent Soul Pill was produced, the client would have to pay extra Spirit Stones to compensate the other two.

Therefore, the value of a Nascent Soul Fruit was by no means less than that of a Nascent Soul Pill.

"Excellent. Fellow Daoist Hu is indeed a straightforward person."

Bai Zichen reached out towards the array, and a square box that was not quite metal, not quite wood, nor quite jade flew towards him from a distance.

Hidden within the box was the Demon Saint Pearl, which had been kept in the Five Elements Sect for several millennia.

The moment the box was in his hand, Bai Zichen’s expression changed drastically. Something inside a storage bag on his chest began to churn violently, almost uncontrollably.

He hastily summoned the Ziwei Dazzling Thunder Sword, and a wisp of Thunder Radiance enveloped the storage bag, barely managing to isolate it.

"Fellow Daoist Bai, what is the meaning of this?"

Old Hu’s eyes twitched. The amiable, kind-faced old man from a moment ago was now radiating a heaven-piercing Evil Qi.

"It’s nothing. I’m just accustomed to keeping my sword at the ready during transactions. Let us continue."

Bai Zichen forced a smile and pushed the box forward, sending it flying steadily through the air.

Old Hu snorted coldly. The Nascent Soul Fruit and the piece of Parasol Wood shot over as streaks of light. Hu Jiu’er’s figure flickered, and a fox claw extended from the clouds to grab the square box.

"Grandfather, it is indeed the Demon Saint Pearl."

Hu Jiu’er pushed her small hand against the square box, and the several Talismans sealing it crackled and split open.

"Good, let’s go!"

Old Hu shot Bai Zichen a look, said nothing more, and left immediately.

’How was it so simple? They were in such a hurry, it felt like someone was chasing them...’

Bai Zichen formed a True Essence Giant Palm to grasp the Nascent Soul Fruit and the Parasol Wood, gazing thoughtfully at the departing backs of the two Transformed Great Demons.

They had been friendly from the start, proposing a trade for the Demon Saint Pearl, then agreeing to his terms without a second thought, and leaving immediately after the exchange.

He had run through countless scenarios for how to deal with the people from Qingqiu Death Sea, but none of them were needed. The matter was resolved cleanly within the time it takes for an incense stick to burn.

’Something unknown must have happened behind the scenes to force the Transformed Great Demons of Qingqiu Death Sea to act this way... Otherwise, believing the Demon Race could be this reasonable is like believing the Southern Domain Demon Sects would all renounce evil overnight and start caring for the common people.’

Still, Bai Zichen was very satisfied to have resolved the matter of the Demon Saint Pearl so smoothly.

Antagonizing a Divinity Transformation Level power was, after all, a nerve-wracking prospect, and he couldn’t stay at Two Realms Mountain for too long anyway.

First, he had yet to find a suitable Cultivation Technique for himself, so he couldn’t just settle down in one place for secluded cultivation.

Second, staying in one place for too long might bring trouble to the Five Elements Sect. The hidden danger he carried was no smaller than the one posed by the Demon Saint Pearl.

"Everyone, I have not disappointed you. With this Nascent Soul Fruit, obtaining a Nascent Soul Pill will be no problem."

With a thought, Bai Zichen had the True Essence Giant Palm place the two Spiritual Objects in front of Master Houtu and the others. He then turned to Master Qingmu and said,

"This piece of Jade Heart Phoenix Tree Wood is remarkably complete. It was taken from the thickest part of the tree’s trunk. Even without special refining, it’s already a Top-Grade Magical Treasure... If you perform Refinement on it and nourish it for a century, there’s a high chance it will advance into a Spiritual Treasure, which is perfect for Fellow Daoist Qingmu’s use."

Above Top-Grade Magical Treasures, the refined grade was no longer solely dependent on the quality of the Spiritual Materials.

It involved the abstruse matter of a Magical Treasure Spirit. Even if one used Tier Five Spiritual Materials as a base, there was no guarantee that the result would be a Spiritual Treasure.

One could only say that the grade of the Spiritual Materials, the skill of the Artifact Refiner, the Artifact Refining Secret Technique, and even the flow of the Spirit Vein on that day could all influence the final outcome.

The safest way to use it was not to try and refine it into a Spiritual Treasure, but to shave the Jade Heart Phoenix Tree Wood into thin pieces and refine them into Wood Talismans.

In the Dao of Talismans, Spiritual Materials played a crucial role.

However, doing so would be an outrageous waste of a precious resource. Such a complete section of Tier Five Spirit Wood was exceedingly rare.

"How can we accept this? That Transformed Great Demon was so agreeable surely out of respect for you, True Monarch. In my Sound Transmission, I insisted that aside from the Nascent Soul Fruit, you should request the other item for yourself..."

Master Houtu waved his hands repeatedly, indicating that he dared not accept.

"Then what’s the difference between me and some broker who takes a commission? The Demon Saint Pearl is a Treasure that the Five Elements Ancestor Master retrieved at the cost of his own life. How could I profit from it?"

Bai Zichen feigned great anger and shoved both the Nascent Soul Fruit and the Jade Heart Phoenix Tree Wood into Master Houtu’s arms.

"I still have Divine Techniques to cultivate. Do not disturb me unless it’s for a major issue."

The three Core Formation Ancestors of the Five Elements Sect looked at each other in dismay. They were startled back to their senses by the cry from the Nascent Soul Fruit in Master Houtu’s hands and quickly found a Jade Box to store it.

"With the Nascent Soul Fruit in hand, our Sect’s disciples now have a hope of breaking through to the Nascent Soul realm... Junior Brother Hei Shui, I hope this Nascent Soul Fruit can be used on you."

"I will naturally work hard, but if I cannot advance to Core Formation Perfection within a hundred years, there’s no need to waste the Nascent Soul Fruit. It should be left for a more promising disciple. At that age, even if I took a Nascent Soul Pill, my chances would be slim."

"Even if I fail at Shattering the Core and Transforming into a Nascent Soul, at least I will leave behind my experience for future generations... Success does not need to be achieved by me, but I will certainly be a part of achieving it!"

"Good! With such ambition, Junior Brother, I can pass on with peace of mind. In your hands, I will surely see the day our Sect becomes the Five Elements Sect once more!"

Tears streamed down Master Houtu’s aged face. A Sect that had once stood at the pinnacle always harbored loftier aspirations.

For generations, the Cultivators of the Five Elements Sect had been shackled, forced to maintain their bottom line and struggle to survive and develop in the Southern Domain’s environment.

...

’This has never happened before. Was it stimulated by the Demon Saint Pearl?’

The cyan Crystal Stone floated in the air. A Thunder Net covered its surface, trapping the pulsating Cyan Dragon Illusion within a small space.

If not for the help of the Ziwei Dazzling Thunder Sword just now, Bai Zichen felt that this Holy Beast Essence Blood Crystal Stone would have broken through the confines of his storage bag and flown into the air on its own to resonate with the Demon Saint Pearl.

’The greatest effect of the Demon Saint Pearl is to purify bloodlines and enhance potential... But this is already Holy Beast Essence Blood, so where is there room for improvement? The violent reaction might be related to the Demon Saint Pearl originating from the Celestial Demon Realm.’

To this day, he had not found any clear record in the ancient texts about which tier of Demon Beast the Cyan Dragon Sacred Beast belonged to.

A single drop of its Essence Blood could cause a qualitative change in a Dragon Monarch, allowing it to step into the realm of a Tier Five Demon Monarch. It was highly likely that it was at the legendary Demon Saint level.

Tier Five Demon Monarch, Tier Six Demon God, and Tier Seven Demon Saint were equivalent to the Divinity Transformation, Refining Void, and Integration Realms of Human Race Cultivators.

A Demon Saint, which was Integration Level One, was an extraordinary figure even in the Earth Immortal Realm, according to the fragmented records left behind by Immortals from the Lower Realm in Ancient Times.

A titan who stood at the pinnacle of a realm, supporting the destiny of an entire race.

’It’s a pity. If I had come to the Five Elements Sect earlier, I could have carried the Demon Saint Pearl with me for a while. Perhaps I could have found other ways to use the Holy Beast Essence Blood... But back then, the Qingqiu Death Sea hadn’t lost the genuine Demon Saint Pearl, so this Exotic Treasure was just collecting dust in the treasury, forgotten by everyone.’

Bai Zichen shook his head, abandoning the unrealistic fantasy. That was the Qingqiu Death Sea, after all.

Moreover, the escort for the Demon Saint Pearl was equivalent to one Late-Stage Nascent Soul and one Early-Stage Nascent Soul cultivator.

Unless a Divinity Transformation Great Power intervened directly, who could stop the two demons on their short journey back to the Qingqiu Death Sea?

’A loss in one area is a gain in another... At the very least, after being stimulated by the Demon Saint Pearl, it seems I can once again integrate the aura of the Holy Beast Essence Blood to improve the Fire Dragon Returning Essence Scripture.’

Bai Zichen was delighted to discover that the aura of the Holy Beast Essence Blood, which had originally reached its limit where he couldn’t bear to refine even a single wisp more, could now be refined and merged into the Fire Dragon again.