Chapter 466: Negotiation

Li Qi, the demon dragon ‘Dragon Fifteen’, and the Asura who could be called ‘A’Da’ were seated together.

Po Tisha, who had come to greet Li Qi earlier, was pouring water for him, but Li Qi himself didn't even glance at her.

The four sat facing the vast sea, with rippling waves, clear water and bright trees, fish, birds, and algae. The transparent water surface combined with the transparent open space, resembling a flight through the air, creating an extremely elegant scene.

Blue water, clear ripples, light clouds, thin mist, frost-infused ice, a beautiful day and scenery, a radiant clarity both inside and out, a pure light that seemed to illuminate a crystal palace. If Li Qi hadn't known that the individuals before him were a demon dragon and an Asura, he would have thought they were from Penglai.

However, it was likely that the decor was arranged this way to please Li Qi.

Hearing Dragon Fifteen's words, Li Qi naturally displayed a natural smile: "Senior is absolutely right. Ordinary people wouldn't trust such a large sum of money even with a life-and-death friendship. If you and I wish to conduct business, it naturally requires immense trust."

This was a form of evasive maneuvering.

Dragon Fifteen was telling Li Qi that their business itself indicated a good relationship, and thus he wanted to use this to draw closer in their conversation.

However, Li Qi's reply meant: "Indeed, you are right, so we need to talk more deeply. I need to confirm if you are truly that close."

When spoken, these words actually made the relationship less 'close'.

As expected, with Li Qi's words, Dragon Fifteen remained expressionless, but Po Tisha, the Asura woman beside him, suddenly stiffened.

The male Asura, ‘A’Da’, looked slightly angered and glared over.

Po Tisha trembled slightly.

The Asura race is inherently irritable and belligerent; don't be fooled into thinking they are a benevolent lot. They are merely not as purely evil as those of the Hell Dao.

Their irritability and belligerence are more a matter of temperament, and regarding evil deeds themselves, their attitude is largely indifferent. They feel no burden in committing evil, but also no pleasure, and they won't deliberately seek to do bad things.

This is why the Asura Dao is categorized among the 'Three Good Daos' within the Six Paths of Reincarnation.

This classification primarily depends on 'evil karma'.

Among the Three Evil Daos, the Hell Dao comprises those who commit High Grade Ten Evil Deeds, the Hungry Ghost Dao those who commit Medium Grade Ten Evil Deeds, and the Animal Dao those who commit Low Grade Ten Evil Deeds.

The so-called High Grade Ten Evils involve planning and executing great evils such as greed, hatred, malevolence, and sexual misconduct, and having no remorse before or after the act.

The Asura multitude cannot meet this requirement, so they are assigned to the Three Good Daos.

Li Qi also noticed the other party's anger, but he also realized that this anger was not directed at him, but at the Asura woman beside him.

Hmm… this means this woman was sent to gain his favor from the beginning.

However, the other party had clearly miscalculated. They hadn't expected that Li Qi hadn't looked directly at this woman from beginning to end, as he was more interested in the Hell Dao and those intriguing rumors.

So, at this moment, realizing this, Li Qi proactively took a step back, coughed twice, and then said to Dragon Fifteen: "Cough, cough, however, a good relationship is indeed very important. A woman is rather insignificant here. This is not about gender itself, but rather, anything that exists as a 'plaything' should not stand in the way of such a friendship."

"Therefore, I would rather have a friend sitting here, not a 'plaything'. That would show more sincerity, wouldn't it?" Li Qi said to Dragon Fifteen.

The meaning of these words was also very clear.

Stop with these superficialities. They do no good for our relationship. Where is my brother, Li Weng?

Dragon Fifteen's tone relaxed, and he said nonchalantly: "Haha, so that's how it is. Then I was indeed presumptuous. Step back, and bring Young Master Li's friend."

Po Tisha quickly rose and excused herself, but Li Qi felt another wave of anger.

Hmm… it seemed to be emanating from Po Tisha; she must be angry at him.

What's wrong? Do Asura get angry all the time for no reason?

But Li Qi did not bother with those matters. He merely said: "Senior Dragon Fifteen, let's get down to business. Regarding the ingredients I requested…"

"Of course, all the ingredients are ready. However, as you know, they are all secret and precious items, and it's very possible they could anger some factions, so it's not good to display them publicly. If Young Master wishes to inspect the goods, you can inspect a portion temporarily. The other portion will have to be discussed after the deal is finalized," Dragon Fifteen said.

"I understand, but what about the less sensitive ones…?" Li Qi hinted.

"Bring them up," Dragon Fifteen said to A’Da.

This male Asura seemed to follow Dragon Fifteen's lead, and immediately left upon hearing the command.

Then Dragon Fifteen looked at Li Qi and said apologetically: "It will probably take a quarter of an hour. Young Master, please wait a moment."

"No problem," Li Qi smiled, indicating he didn't mind.

Dragon Fifteen, however, began to converse with Li Qi at this moment: "Young Master, you don't seem very nervous. How do you manage to remain calm when holding such a large sum of money?"

"What's there to be nervous about? It's not my money. If you decide to embezzle this money, someone will naturally come to settle accounts with you. At that time, I only need to report the truth," Li Qi replied.

If it were because Li Qi had poor judgment or eyesight, leading to a mismatch in goods, Li Qi might blame himself for it, but it would only be self-blame. In reality, he would not bear any responsibility. The Peng Hai Cauldron would most likely not blame him; at most, they would simply not entrust important matters to Li Qi in the future.

As for robbery or any scheme to devour the goods, that would be entirely not his fault.

If the people in front of him dared to do so, the Peng Hai Cauldron would have a word with them.

So, in Li Qi's opinion, there was no need for him to worry at all.

"'Embezzle this money'—those are truly unpleasant words. We are all legitimate businessmen. The Pao Qiu Association, to which I belong, is a well-known large business association near Mount Dushuo. If you don't believe me, you can ask this Yin Messenger," Dragon Fifteen said.

Hearing his words, Li Qi was astonished.

Then he looked again, only to find that Li Weng had unknowingly taken the seat previously occupied by Po Tisha.

Such a bizarre appearance, even True Knowledge Dao Resonance hadn't noticed!

Let alone Li Qi, Li Weng himself looked utterly bewildered.

"Wait… Invoker, how could you, no… how could I!? Wasn't I just in the carriage?" Li Weng suddenly stood up, stunned.

He himself didn't know how the surrounding scenery had changed.

Li Qi was also quite surprised. He had seen many miraculous spells, and transitions between spaces or within Grotto-Heavens were commonplace for him.

Like the classrooms in Chang'an Imperial Academy, entering each building would lead into a different Grotto-Heaven, and they could also achieve this kind of scene-shifting operation.

But all of those, without exception, had 'precursors'. Li Qi could perceive the transitions and fluctuations within such spaces, and the connections between nested layers of space always had clear and distinct characteristics.

However, now, Information Stream Vision indicated that no additional information had appeared whatsoever, and True Knowledge Dao Resonance had also not undergone any changes, which meant that the space itself had actually not changed at all.

How did that person appear out of thin air?

Li Qi glanced at Dragon Fifteen. The demon dragon was still coiled, nestled in the chair, a dragon claw holding a cup of tea, looking utterly composed, seemingly with no intention of explaining to Li Qi.

"Calm down, sit down." And on Li Qi's side, a hand was placed on Li Weng's shoulder, making him sit down.

Li Weng immediately realized his impropriety, then nodded to Li Qi, and sat down, though he still seemed somewhat flustered.

It was impossible to feel at ease. If an opponent used a technique that could be seen and whose fluctuations could be felt, even if one didn't understand it, one could at least comfort oneself by saying it was 'a spell one didn't understand'.

But this kind of thing, with no warning whatsoever, was truly terrifying for cultivators.

Things beyond one's cognition were the most frightening.

Li Qi also frowned slightly, but he still first said to Li Weng: "Thank you, Li Weng, for introducing the Pao Qiu Association to me. However, I still don't know much about this business association, so please enlighten me, Li Weng."

"It should be so. I originally wanted to go directly to Invoker and tell you about it, but unfortunately, there are experts in the Pao Qiu Association who were faster, so they went to inform Invoker. I was still in the carriage, anxious about how to contact you!" Li Weng immediately said.

Li Qi nodded slightly upon hearing this.

Li Weng's meaning was very clear: the Pao Qiu Association initially did not want Li Weng to appear, so they sent Po Tisha to pick up Li Qi.

Li Weng naturally wouldn't say what happened in between, but he had given Li Qi enough hints. 'Anxious about contacting you' itself already indicated that the Pao Qiu Association did not treat Li Weng as an honored guest.

If Li Qi hadn't actively and strongly demanded Dragon Fifteen to dismiss Po Tisha and invite Li Weng back, Li Weng would probably not have appeared at the negotiation table.

Why would the Pao Qiu Association do this?

Moreover, right after Li Weng arrived, the method used by the Pao Qiu Association was clearly similar to a show of force, a sudden display of power to make you feel unknowledgeable, thereby instilling caution and reverence in your heart.

And it was quite effective, because Li Qi indeed didn't understand how the other party did it. This deterrent was quite successful.

"Invoker, the Pao Qiu Association, takes its name from 'pao sui long qiu' (shattering the Dragon's Deep). In the East Sea, there is a deep pool called Dragon's Deep, with three very deep holes beside it from which water emerges, forming two waterfalls. Above it is a cave with countless stone pillars, growing both upwards and downwards, appearing like a grand hall. There are also five or six small waterfalls, connecting with the waters from the peaks to form a large water curtain, with a small spring gushing out from its middle, thus called Dragon's Saliva. Therefore, everyone believes this to be a relic of a Dragon Lord."

"This Pao Qiu Association, which shattered the Dragon's Deep, once directly broke the waters of the Dragon's Deep and extracted the Dragon Lord's Saliva from it. It is arguably the most powerful business association in the vicinity, and it was my first choice to recommend to Invoker. When Invoker wanted to do business, they were the first ones I thought of!" Li Weng, while narrating the deeds and background of the Pao Qiu Association to Li Qi, praised the Pao Qiu Association with a boastful tone.

He was very good at handling people. He firmly established his position as someone brought by Li Qi, yet he also refused to offend the Pao Qiu Association, because he had also realized that the Pao Qiu Association seemed to have some issues with Li Qi, even resorting to a show of force.

Perhaps it was because Li Qi insisted on bringing him along?

After all, Li Weng felt that his identity was that of a Yin Messenger. Li Qi forcibly bringing him along, besides worrying about his safety, probably also intended to have a Yin Messenger witness the business deal.

Naturally, the Pao Qiu Association would then feel untrusted, so they made a slight demonstration, using this method to show Li Qi their power, possessing supernatural means that even a Yin Messenger could not see or hear.

This was the result Li Weng himself observed.

After listening to Li Weng's explanation and reminder, Li Qi pondered for a moment and then understood the implications.

He suddenly realized that his actions had provoked the Pao Qiu Association, but he hadn't actually thought so much. He initially just wanted to bring Li Weng back, as he truly had no interest in the Asura woman.

But after realizing this, Li Qi instead felt somewhat bored.

These people seemed to genuinely believe this was a huge deal, that he was playing some intense negotiation game with them, needing to probe their foundations little by little. Perhaps there were still a bunch of people behind the scenes investigating his background and confirming his whereabouts over the East Sea.

However, divination techniques were mostly useless against him. Grand Shaman Yun Fang had personally concealed the heavenly secrets, and combined with his strange origins, there should be no problems.

Thinking of this, Li Qi only felt bored.

So, he directly pulled out a mustard seed bag from his waist, then tossed it forward, gently hitting the table.

Facing Li Qi's action, Dragon Fifteen seemed somewhat puzzled. He didn't rush to pick up the mustard seed bag, but instead looked at Li Qi: "Young Master, this expression, this action, I wonder what… ?"

"Nothing special. I'm just tired. Send me the items on the list, and you take what's in the mustard seed bag. I'm a bit fed up, let's just get it done quickly," Li Qi waved his hand, saying casually.

This attitude, however, made Dragon Fifteen somewhat at a loss.

In his understanding, doing business meant mutual probing, exploring each other's bottom lines, and striving for maximum profit before the other party's limit, just as he was doing now.

But Li Qi seemed to be tired of it. After chatting with him for a few sentences, he thought the other party wanted to use the Yin Messenger to manipulate him, but he never expected Li Qi to directly pay the goods.

"The payment must not be enough; he wants to put on a show of strength," Dragon Fifteen speculated in his mind.

It must be so, so he smiled and picked up the mustard seed bag: "Then I will inspect it and see Young Master's grand gesture."

He said this to pave the way for later pressuring Li Qi to increase the price, flattering him as 'Young Master', surely his gesture wouldn't be small?

Then, he opened the mustard seed bag.

With a thud, his heart quickened a beat.

Holy cow! So much money!

The Peng Hai Cauldron felt that Li Qi might not have an easy time conducting business outside, so he prepared a little more funds for Li Qi, to prevent him from having more expenses when running errands due to his low cultivation, and to avoid making Li Qi pay out of his own pocket.

The 'extra' funds he prepared, when seen by Dragon Fifteen, immediately startled him.

He stared blankly at Li Qi…

No wonder this Young Master said he was tired.

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