Chapter 467: Transaction completed

It was too much; it was a full fifty percent higher than the normal market price.

In other words, if he had agreed directly, this one transaction alone would have allowed him to earn half a Fourth-Grade world more.

What is the concept of half a Fourth-Grade world?

It means several Fourth-Grade Spiritual Artifacts, multiple Fourth-Grade enforcers, a massive amount of Fourth-Grade materials, and countless Fifth-Grade and Sixth-Grade servants.

Yes, countless Fifth-Grade servants. For a Fourth-Grade world, there must be at least a hundred Fifth-Grade existences. In a completely refined Fourth-Grade world, most of these Fifth-Grade individuals would likely become servants. This doesn't even account for the Sixth-Grade and Seventh-Grade individuals further down, or the various technologies, foundations, and other intangible assets they represent.

How vast a fortune is this? How many Fourth-Grade powerhouses from orthodox lineages across the land couldn't afford this sum? As for the Fourth-Grade barbarians from beyond the domains, it would probably take dozens of them pooling their resources to gather it.

What level was Dragon Fifteen himself?

He was merely a Fifth-Grade demon dragon from an orthodox lineage, fortunate enough to leap over the Dragon Gate and step halfway into the True Dragon realm.

In this transaction, all his worldly possessions, and even he himself, were only worth a fraction of that 'servant' cost.

That's why he was so nervous, so insistent on giving Li Qi a ‘show of force,’ and why he brought so many things to bolster his presence, arranging for the Ghost Carriage, the Asura woman, and this dazzling crystal sea along with the Dragon Palace itself.

He was like a project manager with a monthly salary of 100,000, handling a billion-level payment for the company for the first time, so he was trembling with fear, using every means at his disposal.

He thought the other party was the same, after all, Li Qi was only a Seventh-Grade.

A mere Seventh-Grade, facing such a transaction, would surely be far more flustered than himself. With the right methods, he could make the other party submit voluntarily and extract even more profit.

If he could just raise the price by 1%, that would mean he earned several Fifth-Grade worlds!

Dragon Fifteen thought so.

But he never expected that Li Qi would directly hand him a Mustard Seed Pouch with the reasons of ‘uninteresting’ and ‘tired.’

That Mustard Seed Pouch contained the Heavenly Dao will of a Fourth-Grade world, and besides that, many scattered items, such as the Dao Resonance from the Human Dao, the central core of a Spiritual Artifact assembly line, genuine works from great calligraphers, many low-grade treasures, and even a Daoist Talisman, the kind that could be considered a true inheritance in a second-rate Daoist School.

Dragon Fifteen was directly scared stiff.

He had originally thought of increasing it by 1%, or, thinking bigger, by 5%, which was half a percent of the price.

But Li Qi directly threw him a high premium of over fifty percent! Over 50% extra price!

Such a heavy gift directly stunned Dragon Fifteen.

All his calculations, all his arrangements, all his plans, instantly collapsed. He still had many rhetorical tricks and methods he hadn't used, all waiting for Li Qi to counter them.

But Li Qi’s move completely bewildered him.

To be honest, when he truly saw such a large amount of ‘profit,’ he didn’t dare to do anything at all.

Picking up one yuan is called being calm and composed.

Picking up one hundred yuan is called good luck, and one might be overjoyed.

Picking up two thousand yuan, one would start to feel apprehensive, as the owner might report it to the police.

If one picked up twenty or thirty thousand yuan, the murmurs in an ordinary person's heart would start to become ceaseless, and they would most likely not dare to keep it in their hands.

Twenty or thirty thousand is already like this. Converting it according to the current situation, Dragon Fifteen, this project manager with a monthly salary of 100,000, had directly received 1.5 billion, and it was the full amount, in cash.

What was he supposed to think? How could he remain calm? How could he maintain his so-called ‘arrangement’?

Does a person with a monthly salary of 100,000 have the courage, the audacity, to proactively decide and swallow profits worth over 500 million?

Dragon Fifteen only felt his personal microcosm trembling.

He only felt that this might be Li Qi’s warning to him. If he truly opened his mouth too wide, he would probably face the biggest crisis of his life.

“It’s a trap… He’s luring me…” Dragon Fifteen muttered to himself, clutching the Mustard Seed Pouch in his sweating hands.

But after all, he was a Fifth-Grade, and he immediately suppressed the many emotions in his heart, especially the fear, and said to Li Qi in a steady tone: “Young Master, I don’t know what you mean by this?”

He voluntarily added a respectful address.

Li Qi, however, waved his hand: “I said, I’m tired. This is the money I have on me. You look at it and name a price. Stop with the pretentious stuff. Hurry up, I still want to offer sacrifices to the gods Shen Tu and Yu Lei. Don’t waste too much of my time. Also, divination on me is useless. Four people died… uh, four people? Is it necessary?” Li Qi said casually.

Li Qi could clearly feel that someone had sacrificed at least four lives on him, but with Grand Shaman Yun Fang’s concealment, all of it was meaningless.

Hearing this, Dragon Fifteen suddenly realized—

All his arrangements were empty.

The person in front of him was a true ‘Young Master,’ someone who could truly command these 1.5 billion.

The two sides… were simply not on the same level.

The other party could indeed control such a huge sum at the Seventh-Grade, could indeed treat 1.5 billion as nothing, could indeed say “you name a price,” and you couldn’t just name any price.

Precisely because he could do this, Dragon Fifteen could not just name any price.

Having understood this, Dragon Fifteen suddenly felt the pressure on his shoulders lighten considerably.

Li Qi easily pushed him to a dead end, using chips to smash his arrangements, plans, and rhetoric, but it instead made him much more relaxed.

Sometimes, too many choices lead to immense pressure. When only one choice remains, even if it’s not ideal, it can make one feel much more at ease.

Li Weng, however, was still trembling, fearing that as an Eighth-Grade Ghost Messenger, getting involved with Invoker and the Pao Qiu Association would lead to a bad end. So he kept observing and pondering.

But Dragon Fifteen had already made up his mind. He took out the Heavenly Dao will of that Fourth-Grade world from the Mustard Seed Pouch and said, “One Fourth-Grade world is enough. Besides that, Dragon Fifteen has also prepared some gifts for Young Master.”

“The Ghost Carriage from before will be given to Young Master. In the mortal world, it’s considered a good Spiritual Artifact, and among Sixth-Grade items, it’s of the highest quality. Some of its characteristics can even rival certain Fifth-Grade Spiritual Artifacts. In this Ghost Market, it can come and go freely, and can even travel between the Yin and Yang realms. This characteristic is unique to the Six Paths of Reincarnation, and it should be suitable for Young Master. It’s a small token of my regard.”

“Hmm, then that’s the price. It’s settled. Do we need to sign a contract, or is a verbal agreement fine?” Li Qi asked casually.

“Naturally, a contract is required. We will draft all of these. Please, Young Master, have some tea and wait a moment,” Dragon Fifteen replied respectfully.

His attitude became extremely respectful, because from the moment he voluntarily named the price of one Fourth-Grade world, he had already given up on an equal dialogue.

This attitude, naturally, also caught Li Weng’s attention.

Li Weng didn't know what had happened, but he could sense one thing: imperceptibly, the great expert from the Pao Qiu Association in front of him suddenly became subservient to Invoker, as if some kind of confrontation had already produced a result.

As expected of Invoker, though it wasn't very surprising.

After all, when he was in the Eighth-Grade, Invoker, who hadn't even entered the ranks yet, was already able to control him. Now, he was just doing something similar to what he did back then.

Li Qi, however, didn't pay attention to this matter at all. He merely stood up: “Then once you’re ready, send the rest of the items to me. I’ll be leaving now, farewell.”

As Li Qi spoke, he patted Li Weng’s shoulder.

Li Weng understood, immediately stood up, also bid farewell, and then followed Li Qi as he turned to leave.

After Li Qi and the others left—

Po Tisha silently appeared beside Dragon Fifteen. Several neat scars appeared on her body, not like injuries sustained in battle, but more like willingly self-inflicted ones.

“Mr. Fifteen, why? We originally had a chance to raise the price by more than ten percent. Why did we instead use the lowest price? If this continues, it might be difficult to report to the main association…” Po Tisha said.

Dragon Fifteen, however, shook his head: “Report? If we make money here, we won’t need to report in the future. You still don’t understand how favored a Seventh-Grade must be to be able to freely command resources exceeding that of a Fourth-Grade world…”

As he spoke, he shook his head with a sigh: “Young Master… Young Master, this is a true Young Master. Those I’ve seen before were just upstarts.”

“Enough idle chatter. Let’s go, prepare the goods. I will explain the profit situation to the main association.” Dragon Fifteen stood up, his body twisted, and he plunged into the water, leaving the place.

The Asura woman, Po Tisha, still stood rooted to the spot.

To be honest, she still couldn't understand what Dragon Fifteen was afraid of.

But she knew that she was very afraid of Dragon Fifteen. If even Dragon Fifteen had to fear something, then she definitely couldn't provoke it. The three soul-whipping blows just now were already enough for her to endure; two more would probably be fatal.

As for the contempt and insult, to the extent that merely being ‘scorned’ by the other party resulted in punishment from her superior?

Forget it, being able to keep her life was already very good.

To be honest, in the East Sea, one must get used to such things.

This is the East Sea, a place of absolute freedom, without any shackles. The strong can do as they please. If Hell Dao can distort human nature here, why can't the Pao Qiu Association?

It’s already good enough to be called a plaything and not actually be played with.

Finally, with a sigh, she also turned and left to do her own work.

————————

Meanwhile, Li Qi and Li Weng continued to chat and laugh, strolling slowly through the Dragon Palace.

“Then, I won’t disturb your work, Li Weng. Ghost Messengers should also have their own matters to attend to. My apologies for the disturbance, farewell!” Li Qi cupped his hands and said to Li Weng.

“No disturbance, no disturbance at all. It is only right to work for Invoker. In the past, Invoker arranged the Five Elements formation for me; I don’t know how to repay him. To have the opportunity to help you is truly a blessing, how could it be a disturbance?” Li Weng also spoke politely, looking at Li Qi with a beaming smile.

Li Qi then drew out a wisp of Divine Qi and said, “Although that’s true, I still made you leave your work to run errands for me. I’m truly sorry. Please accept this item as a memento.”

“If it’s payment, I absolutely cannot accept it. But if it’s a memento, then I cannot refuse. After we part today, I don’t know how long it will be until we meet again. Oh, also as a memento, please accept my Ghost Qi, Invoker. Do you remember that before you left, I also gave you three wisps of Ghost Qi? I wonder if you’ve used them all up by now?” Li Weng said.

“I used them up long ago, but I still have to thank you, Li Weng. Your Ghost Qi helped me a lot back then, truly thank you.” Li Qi smiled, then handed the Divine Qi to Li Weng.

Li Weng also drew out a wisp of Ghost Qi and happily exchanged it with Li Qi. It was clear from his expression that he was very pleased.

From this exchange, it could be seen that Li Qi had not forgotten the past and was now even more mindful of their connection. This was enough to show that he had truly connected with this Young Master’s lineage, and in the future, he could even proudly say that he was a friend of Young Master Invoker.

With this connection, his future Dao path would be much smoother. He might even break through another grade! When encountering danger, he would also have a reliance, a life-saving talisman he could speak of!

Li Qi, however, didn’t consider so much. He just felt that Li Weng had initially helped him stabilize Invoker’s cultivation, and now, as a Ghost Messenger, he had helped him connect with the Pao Qiu Association to complete a transaction. So, he naturally considered him a friend, and thus treated him with the etiquette due to a friend.

Both sides were pleased, exchanging their Qi as mementos.

For Li Qi, this Ghost Qi was truly just a ‘memento’; it had no other use. However, Li Qi’s Divine Qi was a life-saving item that Li Weng treasured deeply.

But there was no need to care so much. What was the point of always being calculating? Li Qi felt it was uninteresting, which was why he proactively let the Pao Qiu Association name the price.

The two exchanged pleasantries for a while longer, and Li Qi followed Li Weng out of the Dragon Palace, returning to the dark, eerie, and misty Ghost Market.

Li Qi still found this very interesting.

How exactly did the Ghost Gate achieve this kind of transformation? There was no spatial transformation, nor any special spell, but it could still perform such an operation, akin to switching between different Cave Heavens.

It wasn’t just the switch between the Dragon Palace and the Ghost Market, but also the switch from the Yang world to the Yin world. How was this achieved? What was the principle behind it?

Li Qi was very interested in this.

Therefore, he temporarily didn’t let Li Weng leave, but instead asked him some questions, including how to get to Mount Dushuo’s Great Peachwood, the layout of the Ghost Market, precautions, and other things that only locals would know.

Li Weng naturally answered everything he knew, telling Li Qi all these local common knowledge facts.

The two chatted for about half an hour, then Li Weng主动 bid farewell to Li Qi and returned to his post.

Li Qi found a spot and continued to observe the Ghost Market.

After all, it would be dawn soon.

After dawn, the Ghost Market was supposed to temporarily disappear, as Li Weng told him. The entire Ghost Gate would vanish, and at that time, unless one had special means, it would be impossible to find the entrance.

But then, one could truly see the scenery of ‘Mount Dushuo,’ not the gloomy and eerie appearance of the Ghost Market, but the majestic and heroic姿 of the vast sea divine tree.

He was truly curious.

Li Qi just sat there, waiting for dawn.

However, before dawn, the surrounding Ghost Market dispersed first.

Because a huge Ghost Carriage slowly drove over.

Oh, it was someone from the Pao Qiu Association.

Li Qi went forward, completed the contract, and retrieved the Mustard Seed Pouch. Indeed, it was only missing one Fourth-Grade world will, and it had many other ingredients that were on the list.

Moreover, these demons also sent the Ghost Carriage along.

The transaction was complete.

Now he could wait for dawn with peace of mind.

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