Buy It Now or It'll Be Gone

Every activation of the teleportation array consumed a considerable amount of materials.

So under normal circumstances, the sect rarely used it.

This time, however, the sect master personally prepared a teleportation array to send Chu Xinghe to Spirit Vein Mountain.

Although it was Qin Xiangqian's second time using a teleportation array, when the light faded and everyone appeared on Spirit Vein Mountain, his low cultivation nearly left him vomiting up his stomach acid.

Having traveled this way twice, Chu Xinghe naturally had little reaction. The other junior brothers and sisters had decent cultivation as well. Though they felt some effects, they were much better off than the first time.

"President Qin, you can't neglect your cultivation entirely just because of the chamber of commerce."

Ma Liang grinned at Qin Xiangqian, who had vomited so hard he nearly fainted.

Qin Xiangqian didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Young master, do you think I'm like you? You're an inner disciple with peerless talent, a heaven's chosen. I'm just an outer disciple who accomplished little and was sent away to the chamber of commerce. If I had any talent for cultivation, who the hell would go to the chamber of commerce?

The teleportation array brought them directly to Spirit Vein Mountain, and Chu Xinghe told every junior brother and sister accompanying him the purpose of their trip without hesitation.

Though he told them they must never let it leak, his heart was full of anticipation.

Unfortunately, the solemn looks on their faces made Chu Xinghe realize that his junior brothers and sisters would probably disappoint him.

"Rest assured, Senior Brother Xinghe. This matter is of great importance. We absolutely won't breathe a word of it, and we'll never betray your trust." Ma Liang patted his chest as he made the promise.

The other junior brothers and sisters all nodded emphatically as well.

Senior Brother Xinghe told us such a huge secret without hesitation. If we told anyone, could we even call ourselves human?

Senior Brother Xinghe trusts us so much!

We absolutely can't disappoint Senior Brother Xinghe.

It feels so good to be trusted...

Spirit Vein Mountain was a mountain range at the southernmost edge of the Blazing Sun Continent. It was called Spirit Vein Mountain because it was rich in spirit stones.

The great sects of the world all had spirit mines there.

Still half exhausted, Qin Xiangqian forced himself to lead the way.

After traveling deep into Spirit Vein Mountain for half a day, they arrived at their destination, Spirit City.

Spirit City was the largest city in all of Spirit Vein Mountain. It was also where the various sects' chambers of commerce usually maintained their bases, and the raw stones extracted from the mines in Spirit Vein Mountain were all transported to their respective sects' bases.

All kinds of transactions were also conducted here.

The raw stones produced by spirit mines were not spirit stones in their own right. They had to undergo stone-pointing before they could become spirit stones.

The Shi Clan, one of the three great clans, had built its fortune on stone-pointing, and it was also the clan most proficient in the Stone-Pointing Technique in the world today.

It was no empty boast to say that the world's spirit stones came from the Shi Clan.

After the spirit stones produced were transported to Spirit City, they underwent stone-pointing here before being shipped to the various sects.

So although Spirit City was not particularly large, it had more spirit stones than anywhere else in the world.

The Vast Heaven Sect's chamber of commerce also had its base in Spirit City's most prosperous eastern district. Qin Xiangqian led everyone from the Vast Heaven Chamber of Commerce's branch to pay their respects to Chu Xinghe.

When some of the chamber's young people heard that the person before them was Chu Xinghe, their eyes nearly lit up.

Chu Xinghe's name had spread far and wide over the past few days. Among the younger generation especially, who didn't look up to him?

But while the young people looked up to him, some of the chamber's senior officials who knew the particulars of the No. 1 Spirit Mine grew uneasy.

They drew Qin Xiangqian aside.

"President... didn't you tell the sect about the No. 1 Spirit Mine?"

"I did!"

"Then... why didn't the sect send someone to deal with it?" The officials couldn't understand.

This was the most important matter. By rights, the sect should have immediately sent an elder with considerable authority to handle it.

"Didn't they?"

"What? President, you mean... Chu Xinghe?"

The officials were dumbfounded. They even wondered whether the president had explained the situation clearly to the sect.

The No. 1 Spirit Mine was exhausted, and they needed to choose a new one. Buying a new spirit mine required an enormous sum. They had actually left a matter of such importance to Chu Xinghe?

Was this some kind of joke?

But when Qin Xiangqian quietly gave the officials a complete account of what had happened in the Vast Heaven Sect, they all fell silent.

The sect master had personally produced the Haotian Token and given Chu Xinghe full authority to handle the matter?

He hadn't even needed an elder to accompany him. It completely overturned their understanding of the world.

They had let such a young disciple handle this matter. Wasn't the sect afraid that one mistake from Chu Xinghe would cause it a colossal loss?

What on earth were the sect's big shots thinking?

The officials couldn't understand it, but Qin Xiangqian had figured it out.

In their eyes, the spirit mine was a matter of great importance, but in the sect's eyes, it was clearly less important than Senior Brother Xinghe.

So even though they knew Senior Brother Xinghe was young and very likely to make mistakes handling the matter, the sect had handed it to Chu Xinghe without hesitation to give him a chance to deal with a major matter on his own.

Even if he botched it this time, the sect was willing to pay the price to teach Chu Xinghe a lesson.

The sect was grooming Chu Xinghe to take charge of the Vast Heaven Sect in the future.

After everyone had met Chu Xinghe, they went back to their respective duties. Qin Xiangqian, meanwhile, brought two of the chamber's deputies to see him.

"Senior Brother Xinghe, this is the information we gathered earlier on some spirit mines available for purchase. Please look it over."

When the documents were opened, they clearly listed the particulars of the various spirit mines for sale, including their locations, output, and how long they could potentially be mined, all in great detail.

"Thank you for your efforts, President Qin."

Chu Xinghe gave them a cursory glance, but inwardly shook his head.

It wasn't that the mines listed weren't good enough. They were too good!

Were these the spirit mines he wanted?

Look at this one... it says that although it has the highest price, its spirit stone output is almost as good as the No. 1 Mine's, and if they mine deeper, it might even surpass the No. 1 Mine.

If we buy it, won't the Vast Heaven Sect make a fortune, filling every pot and bowl?

How can we buy a spirit mine with so much potential?

And this one... it says that although its output is lower than the No. 1 Mine's, it has a promising future and a low price, making it the best choice.

That's even worse. If we buy it, how can I make sure the sect suffers a loss?

Chu Xinghe kept shaking his head as he read. Lucky General Qin, oh Lucky General Qin, you've disappointed me a little this time.

"What's this one that was crossed out?" Ma Liang asked, pointing at an entry.

"Senior Brother Ma Liang, that is the Tianyi Spirit Mine, which the Shi Clan discovered earlier. It's also the mine that produced those fake raw stones last time. It's a dead mine now."

A dead mine?

Chu Xinghe's eyes lit up when he heard that!

What dead mine? This is the mine of my dreams!

Last time, the Tianyi Spirit Mine had produced a huge quantity of raw stones and swindled the great sects so badly they had nearly coughed up blood and died. If Chu Xinghe hadn't stumbled onto the truth by accident, the Vast Heaven Sect would probably have been swindled into cursing too.

Having missed his chance last time, Chu Xinghe swore he would never miss a second one!

The Tianyi Spirit Mine, is it?

That name alone tells me it's no ordinary mine! Tianyi, Tianyi, number one under heaven!

Where else could I find such a perfect spirit mine?

"Is the Tianyi Spirit Mine for sale?" Chu Xinghe asked solemnly.

"The Shi Clan put it up for sale a few days ago, but as you know, Senior Brother Xinghe, this mine has swindled who knows how many people. What fool would buy it? I heard the Shi Clan is getting ready to take it off the market in the next few days!"

"That won't do! We're buying it!"

Everyone present: "???"

"Ahem... Senior Brother Xinghe, the Tianyi Spirit Mine has already been proven to be a dead mine, and the Shi Clan may take it off the market any moment..."

"So contact the Shi Clan quickly and buy it! We won't haggle over the price. If that's not enough, we'll even pay extra. If we don't buy it now, it'll be gone!"

Chu Xinghe was anxious. This was the mine of his dreams! If he missed it, where would he find one that could swindle people even worse?

Qin Xiangqian was dumbstruck, and the chamber's senior officials were even more bewildered.

Even Ma Liang couldn't help speaking up. "Senior Brother Xinghe, isn't the Tianyi Spirit Mine unsuitable?"

"It's perfect! President Qin, make the arrangements immediately. The Tianyi Spirit Mine it is!" Chu Xinghe was so anxious that he even took out the Haotian Token.

At the sight of the gleaming Haotian Token, tears streamed down Qin Xiangqian's face. But soon, he seemed to think of something and glanced at Chu Xinghe. Senior Brother Xinghe was not a rash person.

Last time, he had failed to understand Senior Brother Xinghe's intentions and ended up keeping so much raw ore that he had finally had to sink everything he owned into covering the shortfall. So this time... could Senior Brother Xinghe have discovered something else that no one expected?

That doesn't seem right... Senior Brother Xinghe hasn't even given the Tianyi Spirit Mine more than a glance since arriving here, yet he's determined to buy it? That's far too unfathomable.

Qin Xiangqian was uneasy, but with the Haotian Token out, how could he dare disobey? He could only take his people and do as Chu Xinghe had ordered.

But once they left the base, the two senior officials beside Qin Xiangqian pulled him back.

"President, why do I feel like this is reckless nonsense...? How about we report it to the sect?"

The deputy was almost in tears. In the past, buying a spirit mine meant all kinds of investigations, evidence gathering, inspections, and analysis. They wouldn't dare make a decision in less than two or three months. Chu Xinghe had been here only a day, and he was already saying he wanted to buy the Tianyi Spirit Mine, which the Shi Clan had declared a dead mine? Was he crazy?

Qin Xiangqian shook his head, his gaze firm. "The sect master said himself that Senior Brother Xinghe has full authority. We just need to follow orders."

"But..."

"Say no more. Come on! We're going to the Shi Clan!"

Without another word, Qin Xiangqian led his deputies to the Shi Clan's base in Spirit City.

When the person in charge of the Shi Clan's affairs in Spirit City heard that Qin Xiangqian wanted to buy the Tianyi Spirit Mine, he was utterly stunned.

Had the Vast Heaven Sect's brains been kicked by a damn donkey?

But whether or not the people of the Vast Heaven Sect had something wrong with their heads, the Shi Clan's representative was moved to tears. The Shi Clan had paid dearly to buy the Tianyi Spirit Mine after discovering it.

Now that they had found it was a dead mine, the Shi Clan had put it up for sale, but who would take it off their hands? Just when even the Shi Clan had lost all hope, the Vast Heaven Sect wanted to buy it?

Faced with such a sucker, the Shi Clan's representative brought out the fine tea he had treasured for twenty years and personally brewed Qin Xiangqian a strong cup. He nodded and bowed as he spoke to Qin Xiangqian, not because he feared him, but simply because he was afraid the fool would come to his senses and run away.

The negotiations went smoothly, and the various details were settled quickly.

The fastest spirit mine transaction in history was completed on Chu Xinghe's first day at Spirit Vein Mountain...