Chapter 957: Granting a Favor
Everything happened as Xiao Chen had expected. This clamor was the effect that he wanted. He smiled faintly and overwhelmed everyone’s voices, saying, “Old Sirs, please do not be excited. This Xiao no longer has any Longevity Fruits on hand. Even if you kill me, I would not be able to produce another one.”
Right after he said that, all the old men immediately revealed clear expressions of extreme disappointment.
After a short pause, Xiao Chen continued, “Just because I do not have any on hand does not mean that I do not have any more. Honestly speaking, in a fortuitous encounter at an Immortal sect Remnant in the Primal Chaos Domain’s Heavenly Ruin Wasteland, I managed to obtain ten Longevity Fruits.
“Aside from the one I gave to Mister Diao, I passed the other nine to the Flourishing Heaven Pavilion. Half a month from now, the Flourishing Heaven Pavilion will hold a small auction for grandmaster-level Martial Sages to sell these Longevity Fruits.”
There are still nine!
Hope instantly reignited in the hearts of the old men surrounding Xiao Chen. Several of them also revealed gazes of malicious intent when they looked at him. They did not believe what he said and wanted to kill him for his treasures.
When Xiao Chen saw all this, his heart remained calm. He smiled faintly. “The auction of the Flourishing Heaven Pavilion will take place half a month hence. I hope everyone will show up.
“I once said before, great grandmaster-level Martial Sages cannot stop me. That was not something I said casually. For those friends who are planning to keep this Xiao here, don’t bother trying.”
The Freedom Wings behind his back unfurled. Having already prepared the Magic Skill So Close Yet Worlds Apart, he instantly executed it. Xiao Chen took a step forward and in the blink of an eye moved several hundred kilometers away.
“He really disappeared. I cannot feel his aura anymore.”
“Xiao Chen was indeed not bragging. A great grandmaster-level Martial Sage would not be able to block him.”
“Longevity Fruit… It had not occurred to this old man that I could still come across such a natural treasure before I die. This time, I definitely have to get it.”
“It looks like I can only sell the divine materials I have for forging a weapon. Otherwise, I will not be able to buy the Longevity Fruit.”
Several of the old men on Sword Forging Peak left one by one. All of them went to start preparing for the auction for the Longevity Fruit that would take place half a month later.
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Several hundred kilometers away, Xiao Chen landed on a small mountain. His face revealed a satisfied smile.
He had managed to use one of the twenty Longevity Fruits in his possession to resolve a grudge and advertise his goods. This trade-off was something that he could afford. After all, it was a business transaction that involved no cost.
Given the location of Sword Forging Peak in the Profound Domain, word of the Longevity Fruits would definitely spread throughout the entire Profound Domain in less than three days.
At that time, many older-generation Martial Sages would make a move when they heard the news. Every older-generation great grandmaster-level Martial Sage obsessed over their lifespans.
Nine Longevity Fruits would surely fetch a good price.
Xiao Chen might not even need to find the Soul Returning Grass, Paramita Flower, and Three Life Stone himself. Perhaps he could use the Black Astral Coins that he would gain to buy them.
With one small action, he could kill three birds with one stone.
Soul Returning Grass, Paramita Flower, and Three Life Stone.
[TL Note: The names of the three items are all related to life and rebirth. In Buddhism, the Paramita refers to the perfection or culmination of certain virtues, which purify karma and help the aspirant to live an unobstructed life on the path to Enlightenment.]
Xiao Chen had never even heard of any of those three items. However, based on their names, he suspected that they might be found in the Ghost Domain, or perhaps he might have to make a trip to the Nine Layers of Purgatory.
As for the exact details, he still had to ask Ying Qiong. He would also ask about the Saber School Ranking as well.
Based on the time, Jin Dabao and Lord Jiu should have already arrived at the Ying Clan’s headquarters in the Profound Domain—Qin City.
Xiao Chen thought for a while and gave up on his plan to go to Qin City. Right now, his identity was rather sensitive. It was best that he get someone to send word to inform Ying Qiong.
The Profound Domain was much larger than the Primal Chaos Domain. On the surface, it looked much calmer than the Primal Chaos Domain. At the very least, there would not be any loose cultivators acting so boldly on the streets.
However, the internal struggles between factions were much larger and more complicated than in the Primal Chaos Domain.
The Profound Domain was independent of the domains of the five major races. There were many Noble Clans and sects from the Ghost Race, Corpse Race, and Fiend Race here.
They were all like the Sovereign Noble Clans of the human race. They would not submit to the major factions of their domains. Thus, they broke away and took root in this Profound Domain.
After developing for several tens of thousands of years, they had gained their own unique backing, becoming the center of the entire Kunlun Realm. Not only there were more factions here than in other places, but the Martial God Palace, the Corpse God Palace, the Deity Domain, and the Fiend Race also had footholds in this place, complicating the internal conflicts here even further.
The Profound Domain had countless experts and several Sovereign Martial Emperors. However, there are only two publicly recognized as the strongest—Saber Sovereign Wu Xiaotian and Sword King Liu Xiaoyun.
There were many Saber Sovereigns in this world, such as the Northern Sea Saber Sovereign, the Frost Saber Sovereign, the Primal Chaos Saber Sovereign. However, only Wu Xiaotian dared to call himself the Saber Sovereign without any prefixes.
This was the same for Liu Xiaoyun. The two of them were now recognized as the top bladesman and swordsman of the Kunlun Realm.
This Liu Xiaoyun was not the Liu Xiaoyun that Xiao Chen knew in the Sky Dome Realm. They shared the same name, but they were different people. Their strengths were also as different as heaven and earth.
Xiao Chen had been to the Profound Domain only a few times. His knowledge of the Profound Domain also went no further than the superficial level.
He looked around the small mountain, not knowing where exactly he was and which faction controlled it.
Xiao Chen chose the nearest city to him before he put away the Freedom Wings and started traveling towards it. Four hours later, he arrived at large, majestic city gates.
The three large words written in a bold cursive above the city gates looked very mighty. Xiao Chen muttered these words, “Heavenly Cauldron City!”
The size of Heavenly Cauldron City was similar to the Qin City that Xiao Chen visited before. It was only inferior to Leisure Feather City, which was in the sky at the center of the Profound Domain.
When Xiao Chen entered the city gates, he discovered an extremely large number of bladesmen in the streets. It felt like the Sky Dome Realm’s Saber City at the bottom of the Heavenly Saber Pavilion.
As a bladesman himself, he did not feel uncomfortable in this place. Instead, he felt quite at home.
When Xiao Chen entered the largest inn in the city, he found that all the special rooms were taken, even the suites. As for the independent courtyards, they all had long since been claimed. Only a few inferior rooms remained available.
“Hehe. Dear guest, sorry about this. The Young Master of the City Lord is organizing a tea party discourse. Making friends through tea and discussing the saber Dao. He invited all the famous bladesmen in the world, so the entire place is filled, leaving only the inferior rooms.”
As Xiao Chen sat at a table, he casually took a sip of wine before putting down the wine cup and saying, “That is fine; the inferior room it is. Does the City Lord have an illustrious background? How come his son dares to invite all the famous bladesmen in the world?”
The waiter smiled and said, “Of course. The City Lord of this city was a famous bladesman in the Tianwu Domain. He already cultivated to quasi-Emperor. The Heavenly Cauldron City is one of the holy lands for bladesmen in the Profound Domain. Do you think he has an illustrious background or not?
“However, this is nothing. At the very least, even Martial Emperors do not dare to say that they can move about unhindered and without fear in the Profound Domain. One of the few who truly can is the Young City Lord, Bai Lang. He has excellent talent and was accepted by the Saber Sovereign as his personal disciple. Given this, do you think that he is qualified to invite all the bladesmen in the world?
“This tea party is also something of a tradition. It is as famous as the sword Dao tea party that the Sword Sovereign’s inheritor organizes and is very popular.”
The waiter sounded very smug. Clearly, as a local here, he somewhat resented Xiao Chen’s question.
Xiao Chen smiled and did not say anything. However, he felt somewhat depressed. Since all the famous bladesmen in the world were invited, why had he not received an invitation?”
However, this thought passed in a flash. After drinking some wine, Xiao Chen cast this thought to the back of his mind.
“Help me prepare the inferior room. When you are done, I still have some errands for you to run. You should be familiar with the factions in the city that deals with delivery, right?”
The waiter laughed and said, “Tidying the room is part of my duties. As for the places for deliveries, I definitely know about them. However, as these things are not…”
Xiao Chen tossed out a Black Astral Coin and asked, “Is that enough?”
While in the Primal Chaos Domain, Xiao Chen had killed many Martial Sages. Although he left all the spatial rings to Lord Jiu, he had taken the Astral Coins and divine materials for himself.
The things that Lord Jiu had gone to the Ying Clan to dispose of were the spoils inside these spatial rings. Their total value was considerably more than the Astral Coins that Xiao Chen had claimed.
Xiao Chen currently had more than two million Black Astral Coins—an immense sum. He could afford to casually toss out a Black Astral Coin.
The waiter happily accepted the Black Astral Coin and quickly went to prepare Xiao Chen’s room, saying “good” repeatedly.
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After Ying Qiong received the letter, she arrived three days later as arranged. When Xiao Chen casually probed his surroundings, he discovered two grandmaster-level Martial Sages hidden in the vicinity.
After the lesson from the previous time, Ying Qiong was now much more cautious than before.
Her bringing out grandmaster-level Martial Sages showed that the battle for power among the Ying Clan’s younger generation was close to reaching its peak.
“Young Master Xiao, if not for seeking this little lady’s help, you would not even come and see me.” Ying Qiong sat down and looked at Xiao Chen sadly.
Xiao Chen smiled and said, “You don’t have to pretend with me. If you are a little lady, then there are no girls in this world.”
Ying Qiong’s face changed as she cursed, “You chap! Your mouth is still as vicious as ever. That auction! That is something you came up with on your own, right? Aren’t you afraid that I will get angry and prevent your auction from taking place?”
Xiao Chen set down the wine cup and put on an expression of pity. Then he said, “In that case, never mind. I was prepared to give you three Longevity Fruits as thanks after the auction finished. It looks like you don’t particularly care for them.”
Ying Qiong’s mouth hung wide open, and then she asked in a low voice, “Just how many Longevity Fruits do you have? Don’t tell me that you even took the Longevity Tree.”
“You give me too much credit. With my strength, how could I capture a Longevity Tree? However, I do have quite a few Longevity Fruits. If you promise to hold the auction, I will give you the three Longevity Fruits I mentioned.”
Ying Qiong eyed him with suspicion. “Are you that kind? Why do I feel that something is not quite right?”
Xiao Chen said softly, “Don’t make me out to be a bad person. I don’t want someone I’m not familiar with ending up in charge of the Ying Clan. With you controlling the Ying Clan, it will be much more convenient for me to deal with certain things. Three Longevity Fruits will allow you to recruit three experts. That should help you.”
Ying Qiong asked craftily, “Why is it that I heard that someone took away the King Grade Secret Treasures of scions from the Yan Clan, Jiang Clan, and Lin Clan? You must be afraid of offending the Ying Clan now—getting on the bad side of all four Sovereign Noble Clans of the human race.”
Xiao Chen smiled embarrassedly. “You can think what you want. If you’re willing to do the auction, then it is set. I can pass the Longevity Fruits to you now.”
“Why would I reject benefits that are delivered to me? As for your two friends, I already helped you settle that matter. However, I did not earn even a single cent. It would be such a waste if that fatty does not go into business.”
Xiao Chen smiled as he casually handed a box filled with Longevity Fruits to Ying Qiong.
She checked it, and her eyes narrowed to crescent slits as a smile bloomed. “Is there anything more? Tell me everything in one go. I don’t believe that you will give me something without expecting anything in return.”