Unconventional Thinking

"No."

Wang Li suddenly frowned. "What did you say in the sentence before that?"

He Lingxiu looked at him in confusion. "What sentence before that?"

"I suddenly remembered—you said that would indeed require both sides to understand and trust each other more. The sentence before that was, since we're going to the Seven Treasures Ancient Domain together... I didn't react at the time... You're going to the Seven Treasures Ancient Domain too?" Wang Li looked at her doubtfully. "I didn't hear wrong?"

He Lingxiu gave a chuckle. "Why do you think you heard wrong?"

"Maybe there's too much earwax in my ears?" Wang Li said cautiously.

He Lingxiu immediately found herself unable to catch her breath.

This man's train of thought was far too unconventional. The way he answered questions was simply unbelievable.

She drew a deep breath, slowly let it out, and reined in her emotions before saying, "You did not hear wrong. I will indeed be going to the Seven Treasures Ancient Domain with you."

Wang Li pondered. "I originally thought you were merely a middleman. From what I know, many merchants at Jiaomu Market would never personally risk their lives. With your status as the Huayang Sect Master's illegitimate daughter, you seem completely unshort of spirit sand for cultivation. There is no need for you to take such a huge risk just to earn a little spirit sand."

He Lingxiu's expression remained unchanged, but her knuckles cracked loudly.

How had she become the Huayang Sect Master's illegitimate daughter already?

And Wang Li still looked utterly serious.

"It truly is a miracle that you have survived until now."

She said this earnestly to Wang Li before continuing, "You need not use such methods to probe into my background. Since I said I am not part of the Scripture-Abandoning Dao-Departing Alliance, then I cannot possibly be one of them. Besides, since you have heard of the Scripture-Abandoning Dao-Departing Alliance, you must know perfectly well that these cultivators are all immature little brats who, before doing anything at all, are already itching to shout what they plan to do from the rooftops."

"Since that is the case, can't we simply throw open the skylight and speak plainly, instead of beating around the bush?" Wang Li smiled faintly. "I do not know how a female disciple of the Huayang Sect became involved with Jiaomu Market, but judging by your manner, you have been at Jiaomu Market for far more than three or five years. Ordinary Workshop Masters cannot even get involved in businesses like entering the Chaos Domains to save or kill people. Yet a freak like you is willing to risk your life for this job. So although you do not approve of the Scripture-Abandoning Dao-Departing Alliance's way of doing things, you actually think these people are foolishly adorable and want to help them as much as you can?"

Am I the one with unconventional thinking who keeps beating around the bush? He Lingxiu looked at Wang Li with a slight frown. She had wanted to say exactly that, but after thinking it over, she let it go.

Though this Profound Heaven Sect disciple looked somewhat unhinged and his conversation jumped about too wildly, in her eyes, he was actually exceptionally clever. His thoughts were meticulous, and every twist and turn carried hidden meaning.

When dealing with someone like this, being more direct seemed preferable.

Without realizing it, her opinion of Wang Li rose another few notches.

Previously, she had rarely taken cultivators of her own generation seriously. She had almost never regarded those of Lesser Jade Continent as opponents. Even the Five Elders of Huayang within her sect were, in her eyes, as tender as chicks just out of the shell. Yet now, she was deeply wary of Wang Li.

But the more it was so, the more she felt that her choice to make this trip had not been wrong.

"Though I find these people far too childish and disdain to keep company with them, I do think they are much more endearing than those senior brothers of mine from the Huayang Sect. If they can be saved, then I will save them." She spoke frankly. "But that is the least important reason. I want to go with you to the Seven Treasures Ancient Domain because I myself wish to see those chaotic places that ordinary cultivators cannot possibly enter. And based on the records I have obtained so far, if I make you my guide, the chance of returning alive exceeds eighty percent. As for the final reason, those three Scripture-Abandoning Dao-Departing Alliance cultivators trapped in the Chaos Domains may be immature, but their parents, masters, and elders can all afford the price. This deal itself can also bring me considerable profit."

Wang Li's smile faded as he pondered. "So what you mean is that although those people from the Scripture-Abandoning Dao-Departing Alliance are laughably childish, some of them have extraordinary backgrounds. Perhaps they are the children of sect masters from powerful sects in our Lesser Jade Continent? Their entry into the Chaos Domains must also have been related to their abandoning scripture and departing from the Dao, but it likely violated the Three Sages' Dao Precepts. If their crimes are confirmed, their sects may be implicated as well. Right now, those sects do not dare make a great fanfare of rescuing them in order to distance themselves, which is why they are doing business with Jiaomu Market."

He Lingxiu's expression immediately turned grave.

This Wang Li seemed even more formidable than she had imagined.

Merely from their conversation, he had already guessed seven or eight parts out of ten.

"I am also only making guesses based on limited information, but it should be roughly correct." She slowly nodded. "In my estimation, even if these immature cultivators formed some so-called Scripture-Abandoning Dao-Departing Alliance, in the eyes of those who supervised the various continents on behalf of the Three Sages, it was merely children playing house and not worth taking seriously. But this time, the matter those three Scripture-Abandoning Dao-Departing Alliance cultivators risked entering the Chaos Domains to accomplish must have exceeded the limits of what those people could tolerate. If those three Scripture-Abandoning Dao-Departing Alliance members are captured and their crimes confirmed, their sects will surely be implicated."

A cold smile appeared at the corner of Wang Li's lips, though it was not directed at He Lingxiu.

"No wonder this trip is worth so much spirit sand."

His eyes narrowed slightly as well. "This is not merely serving as a guide, nor merely rescuing three lost cultivators from the Chaos Domains. The people hunting them should have entered the Chaos Domains too. Once we enter, we may have to settle life and death with them. Which sect do these cultivators hunting them belong to? Are they cultivators from the Immortal Toad Palace of Dushan Continent, or people from the Immortal Capital Sect of Qixian Continent?"

"We do not know yet." He Lingxiu gave a cold smile as well, and hers was not directed at Wang Li either. "What does it matter? They are all crawling at the feet of the Three Sages—so-called protectors of the Dao, nothing more than straw dogs!"

Wang Li turned to look at her. With just that one glance, he guessed what she was thinking. "As expected of someone who has spent years among Jiaomu Market. You are ruthless enough as well. Whether they are from the Immortal Toad Palace or the Immortal Capital Sect, they will naturally have many good things on them. Within the Chaos Domains, they have instead become fat sheep in your eyes."

"Whether they are fat sheep is irrelevant." He Lingxiu said grimly, "I mainly want to meet these people."

"I am afraid they have been meddling too broadly. Their hands were about to reach into Jiaomu Market already. Killing cultivators like them in the Chaos Domains means no one can do anything about it, but if they die in Lesser Jade Continent, it will certainly be much easier to investigate." Wang Li turned serious. "But unlike you, I agreed from the start that I was only leading the way."

He Lingxiu said, "So you do not dare?"

Wang Li said with utmost seriousness, "You need to pay more."

"Then I will add another four million spirit sand. By your rules, I will pay half in advance." He Lingxiu directly produced four spirit sources brimming with spiritual energy. "If we encounter people from the Immortal Toad Palace or the Immortal Capital Sect... whatever we obtain from them, we split equally."

"Baoji Spirit Sources again?"

Wang Li caught the four spirit sources. He froze slightly, then immediately reacted. "Fellow Daoist Hehe, you originally withheld four million spirit sand, didn't you? Now that you have added these four million spirit sand, this is the actual price of the deal, right?"

He Lingxiu chuckled and shook her head. "The actual price is ten million spirit sand. The deal we have settled now is actually one million spirit sand more. That one million spirit sand is extra from me."

"You are giving me an extra one million spirit sand?" Wang Li looked into her eyes and suddenly felt a sense of foreboding. "Why give more?"

He Lingxiu said leisurely, "You will know soon enough."