"I just don't know what you two desire. Please, speak plainly, and I will do my best to fulfill your wishes."
Yuwen Qing's words made Song Changsheng's heart race, and a flood of unrealistic thoughts flashed through his mind. Fortunately, he didn't lose his composure and quickly calmed himself.
Although the other party sounded generous, that didn't necessarily mean they would grant everything they asked for. There was a line, after all, ask for too little and it would be an insult to their contribution; ask for too much and it would be shameless. No matter how wealthy the other side was, they weren't fools.
After a brief moment of contemplation, Song Changsheng gritted his teeth and said, "Senior, may this junior discuss it privately with my companion?"
Yuwen Qing raised an eyebrow. He hadn't expected that answer, but it didn't bother him. He nodded slightly and said, "Of course. Once you two have decided, simply inform her. I must go check on Wanyun, so I'll take my leave."
He waved over a maid in a red dress and then left the hall.
"Gentlemen, I am Hongxiu. Please give me your instructions." Hongxiu gave a slight curtsey, her tone respectful.
"We'll have to trouble you to wait a moment, Fellow Daoist Hongxiu. We'd like to discuss things first," Song Changsheng replied politely. Although she was just a maid in the Qi Refining stage, there's an old saying: Even a seventh-rank official carries weight at a prime minister's gate. He remained very courteous.
Hongxiu smiled and nodded silently, then stepped aside and waited quietly.
"Brother Yunhe, what do you want?"
"I did a rough estimate just now. I think they'll agree to anything under 100,000 lower-grade spirit stones. We'll split that in half. Is there anything you lack?" Song Changsheng asked via voice transmission.
Xu Yunhe looked slightly distracted and replied without much thought, "Just give me spirit stones."
"You're sure?" Song Changsheng frowned slightly.
There's a big difference between 50,000 spirit stones and an item worth 50,000 spirit stones.
The logic was simple: some things couldn't be bought just with spirit stones. Take the Foundation Establishment Pill, for example, its market price hovered around 30,000 lower-grade spirit stones.
Plenty of people could afford it, but that didn't mean it was always available. Even when a few pills did circulate, acquiring one often required paying well above the market price.
And this wasn't an isolated case. For instance, back when Song Changsheng was cultivating the Inscribing Formations with the Body, he had paid far more than the pill's value just to acquire a single Heart-Guarding Pill.
The Sunset Auction House had immense backing. Treasures rarely seen on the open market were of little concern to them. In this context, simply asking for spirit stones was undoubtedly the least efficient choice.
"Just spirit stones. I don't lack anything right now," Xu Yunhe said indifferently.
His cultivation technique came from the Sword Dao legacy found in He Yunxuan's cave residence. It extended to the Purple Mansion stage, so he didn't need any other techniques.
As for equipment, while he currently used an ordinary Tier-2 flying sword, He Yunxuan's Lifebound Spirit Sword was also in his possession. It was an artifact even more powerful than the Lu Wu Bell, and its value was staggering.
As a sword cultivator, one good sword was all he needed.
He had no real need for pills or talismans, either. So in truth, he wasn't wrong within the equivalent value of 50,000 spirit stones; there was little he truly lacked.
In comparison, asking for just spirit stones was the more practical choice.
Seeing his serious expression, Song Changsheng didn't try to persuade him further. After finalizing what he would ask for, he called Hongxiu back.
"Fellow Daoist Hongxiu, we've decided. We'd like five hundred mid-grade spirit stones and one True Feather of a Bi Fang or a Flood Dragon Scale."
While 500 mid-grade spirit stones equaled 50,000 lower-grade stones in value, the exchange rate wasn't a strict 1-to-100. In practice, it was at least 1-to-110, sometimes even 120.
After all, mid-grade stones far surpassed lower-grade ones in both purity and utility. Only a fool would willingly trade mid-grade for lower-grade stones at face value.
This request was Song Changsheng's way of maximizing Xu Yunhe's share.
"Please wait a moment, gentlemen. I will report to the steward immediately," Hongxiu said, then turned to leave.
"Brother Song," Xu Yunhe said via voice transmission, "compared to me, your request is even stranger; you're asking for a single feather or scale."
Song Changsheng gave a wry smile. "It's not like I don't know those two things aren't worth 50,000 spirit stones. But they're far too rare to measure by simple market value."
He didn't want to make a losing trade either. But what could he do? Those items were essential materials for cultivating the Five Beast Body Refining Art.
They waited only a short while before Hongxiu returned, carrying a sandalwood tray with a spatial pouch resting on top.
She stepped forward and bowed slightly. "My sincere apologies, gentlemen. At the moment, we have neither the Bi Fang's True Feather nor the Flood Dragon's Scale in stock. However, we do have a Flood Dragon Horn. Would that be an acceptable substitute?"
When Song Changsheng opened the spatial pouch, he found five hundred mid-grade spirit stones neatly stacked inside. Beside the pile of spirit stones lay a one-foot-long, fierce-looking "dragon horn" that radiated a faint aura of draconic might.
This was the single horn of a third-rank descendant of a flood dragon, suitable as a main material for refining third-rank magical artifacts. In terms of value, it exceeded fifty thousand lower-grade spirit stones and was worth even more than the Bi Fang's True Feather or the Flood Dragon Scale.
It was indeed a precious item, but… ultimately, not what he needed.
He picked up the dragon horn and respectfully cupped his hands. "I beg your pardon, but may I request to exchange this for a third-rank offensive talisman?"
Hongxiu's smile didn't fade. She merely nodded and left with the dragon horn. Not long after, she returned with another tray, this time bearing a freshly inscribed talisman.
Song Changsheng took a look and found it was a Lower Third-Rank Thunderburst Talisman.
Among the many types of talismans, those with gold or lightning attributes were widely recognized for their powerful offensive capabilities, especially those with lightning, which ranked highest.
Though this was only a lower-grade third-rank talisman, its value still surpassed fifty thousand lower-grade spirit stones. The auction house had been more than generous.
Overjoyed, Song Changsheng now had another trump card in his hand. He cupped his hands once again and said, "Please extend our heartfelt thanks to Senior Yi for his generous gift. We'll be taking our leave now."
"Please wait, gentlemen," Hongxiu said with a smile. "My lord instructed me to deliver these to you as well. From now on, the two of you are honored guests of our establishment. Please accept these credentials."
She produced two intricately crafted metal cards, entirely silver-white in color, engraved front and back with elaborate patterns, sleek and refined in design.
This was a pleasant surprise. Naturally, Song Changsheng and Xu Yunhe had no reason to refuse; after all, a 20% discount was quite the temptation.
Upon leaving the auction house, Xu Yunhe paused and glanced up at the topmost floor, though nothing was visible from below.
Song Changsheng sighed silently in his heart. As things stood, they simply weren't from the same world. To each other, they were just passing visitors; there was never going to be a real outcome.
He gave Xu Yunhe's shoulder a firm pat, as if trying to pass strength through the gesture. "Don't dwell on it, Yunhe. We still have to head to the City Lord's Manor."
Xu Yunhe said nothing. He turned without hesitation and walked away.
Inside the auction house, Xia Wanyun had just finished bathing and changing clothes. She sat before her dressing mirror and called over a gentle and well-mannered maid.
"Tianxiang, have the two young men who rescued me already left?" she asked softly.
Tianxiang replied respectfully, "Hongxiu just saw them off."
"…They've already gone, huh…"
Xia Wanyun gazed absentmindedly into the glazed mirror before her, slightly dazed. Her thoughts drifted back to that bamboo forest, to the figure in white with a sword, the image etched deeply in her memory, impossible to forget.
"Well, well. Miss, are you still thinking about those two?"
A sharp, unpleasant voice broke the silence. It was the sour-faced woman Song Changsheng had seen earlier, now entering the room with a sneer.
Her words were quite rude. Tianxiang's delicate face instantly turned frosty, and she glared at the woman in anger. But out of fear for the woman's status, she dared not act further.
The sharp-tongued woman ignored Tianxiang's glare completely. Her voice was cold as she said, "Miss, you returned with your virtue intact. That's the only reason they received a reward and the only reason you're still considered 'our' young lady."
"Don't blame me for being blunt, but you'd better not develop any foolish ideas. If you do, you'll only bring harm to yourself and others."
"You!"
Tianxiang couldn't bear it any longer and stepped forward, ready to argue.
But Xia Wanyun held her back, not saying a word.
The sharp-tongued woman was quite pleased with Xia Wanyun's silence. Twisting her waist as she turned to leave, she paused at the doorway and added coldly, "The steward says, to avoid another incident like last time, you are to stay in your quarters from now on. There's no need for you to host auctions anymore."
Snap.
As the woman walked off with her nose in the air, the eyebrow brush in Xia Wanyun's hand snapped clean in two...
With their business at the auction house concluded, Song Changsheng and Xu Yunhe headed straight for the City Lord's Manor. Since they had only completed half of the mission involving the demonic cultivators, they wouldn't be receiving any rewards from that.
Fortunately, they had slain the living puppet. According to the City Lord's bounty, they were entitled to select three items from the Tier-2 treasure vault of Luoxia City.
On the way, the two of them divided the reward fairly.
Xu Yunhe took only one item, while Song Changsheng took the remaining two. As compensation, Song Changsheng gave him the Red Jade Vermilion Fruit he had previously received from his clan.
The Red Jade Vermilion Fruit could be used to refine Ascending Dragon Pills, which helped Foundation Establishment cultivators break through bottlenecks. Among Tier-2 spiritual fruits, it was considered top-tier.
Xu Yunhe wasn't losing out.
The City Lord's Manor was located in the southern part of the city, sprawling across a vast area. It was responsible for maintaining the operations of all Luoxia City and represented the most powerful faction within the city.
At the top of this power structure were the three City Lords, each with their cultivation halls. Within the manor lived their disciples, followers, and sect brothers, forming a formidable network.
To greet them was Elder Qianri, whom they had met once before. He was a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator and the junior brother of the Great City Lord, an elder of high standing.
"So you two are the ones who killed the living puppet?" Elder Qianri asked with a kind expression, treating them with great respect.
"That's correct, Senior. We defeated it together, its remains are here as proof," Song Changsheng said as he retrieved the battered puppet from his storage pouch and presented it.
Elder Qianri took just a glance and immediately confirmed it was indeed the peak second-rank puppet. He couldn't help but smile. "You two are truly exceptional, young and capable. Slaying such a puppet has greatly redeemed the face of Luoxia City."
"A mere puppet is nothing to the City Lord's Manor, hardly more than a minor nuisance. We were simply lucky," Song Changsheng replied modestly.
"That's where you're mistaken," Elder Qianri chuckled. Only he knew the extent of the threat that incident had posed to Luoxia City.
Truthfully, the whole affair had occurred at an uncanny moment when all three City Lords and the key figures of the manor were preoccupied elsewhere. Had that not been the case, those enemies wouldn't have escaped in the first place.
"In Luoxia City, our word is our bond. Please, follow me."
With a wave of his hand, Elder Qianri stored away the puppet remains and personally led them to the vault.
The treasure vault was located several dozen meters underground beneath the City Lord's Manor. It was fortified with multiple layers of restrictive formations and guarded with utmost rigor; even a Purple Mansion cultivator would pay with their life if they tried to force their way in.
Even with Elder Qianri escorting them, they were subject to extremely strict inspection before being allowed entry.
After descending deep underground and walking through a long passageway, the group finally arrived at the vault. Before them stood a towering bronze gate several meters high, etched with complex patterns and ancient, cryptic runes weathered by the passage of time.
Seated before the bronze gate were three elders cloaked in black robes.
The moment Song Changsheng laid eyes on them, his heart clenched. Of the three, the ones sitting to the left and right were both late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators, their auras even more restrained and subtly stronger than Elder Qianri's.
The elder seated in the center appeared frail and withered, his exposed knuckles resembling decayed wood, as though he might perish at any moment.
But the pressure radiating from him made both Song Changsheng and Xu Yunhe shudder. This was a powerful Purple Mansion cultivator, even stronger than Dong Tianxie and Yuwen Qing.
"He's not even one of the three City Lords, yet he has Purple Mansion cultivation. Luoxia City, one of the Seven Prominent Cities, truly can't be judged by appearances."
Song Changsheng marveled silently. This was the weight of time these old forces hid far more cards than outsiders could ever guess.
Elder Qianri respectfully cupped his hands. "Martial Uncle."
The old man didn't even lift his eyelids as he rasped, "It's finished?"
"It is. These two Fellow Daoists have slain the puppet."
"Hmph. A puppet turning on its master… how many years has it been since I've heard of such a thing? And now it's so easily destroyed? Hmph. So be it. It's fate. Let them in."
The elder opened his eyes, and for a brief instant, a flash of lightning flickered within them, making Song Changsheng and Xu Yunhe's hair stand on end.
Fortunately, the old man merely glanced at them before withdrawing his gaze. He and the other two elders each raised a hand, sending out three beams of light that struck the bronze gate.
RUMBLE
The great bronze doors lit up and slowly creaked open just enough to allow several people to pass through.
The group respectfully bowed to the elders and entered. The moment they crossed the threshold, the terrifying pressure vanished, and Song Changsheng finally felt his nerves ease.
"Please, Fellow Daoists, make your selections."
Elder Qianri's voice echoed beside them.
Song Changsheng instinctively looked up and was instantly stunned by the sight before him…
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