The Book Pavilion knew the full chain of cause and effect behind the matter. They simply had not objected, because there was no need to, nor was it their place.
That was generally how detached powers conducted themselves. There were too many injustices in the world—could they possibly handle them all? Tianyu True Immortal had merely acted somewhat forcefully. Wasn't that how major powers usually behaved? Besides, he had done it to curry favor with the Book Pavilion.
Still, since Qu Jianlei had asked, Jade Forest Matron hesitated briefly before answering frankly.
Did that count as betrayal? She had not even considered it. The Book Pavilion had always stressed that "nothing should be kept from others," and this had never been much of a matter to begin with.
"You don't know where it came from..." Qu Jianlei's expression darkened. "Didn't you capture that Golden Core Realm cultivator?"
Jade Forest True Immortal was not in a position to answer that question, so she could only look toward Tianyu True Immortal.
Tianyu True Immortal spread his hands, looking utterly innocent. "That bastard's mouth was harder than steel. There's a ninety-nine percent chance that Stone came from an improper source."
After a pause, he added, "But with the Heavenly Demon invasion imminent, it was inconvenient for me to be too harsh."
This was him showing off his broad-mindedness—sure, he acted somewhat domineeringly, but he had the bigger picture in mind. He was a good man.
Qu Jianlei glanced at him but could not be bothered to respond. Instead, he looked again at Jade Forest True Immortal.
"After all that, the Book Pavilion doesn't have any similar Rule Items available for trade?"
"My Book Pavilion possesses countless treasures," Jade Forest True Immortal answered seriously. "But a trade... for your side's techniques?"
The Book Pavilion