Commercial Mutual Trust

"Brother Niu, how many Restriction Breaking Pill do you estimate you can get from the Immortal Realm?" Yin Baikang asked through gritted teeth.

"You old bastard! You finally figured it out?" Yue Qianchou chuckled inwardly. He pondered, "We can definitely get tens of thousands! Getting too many might be too conspicuous and attract the attention of others in the Immortal Realm, which would be unsafe. But then again, getting tens of thousands at once is unlikely, and I wouldn't dare to be so ostentatious. I estimate that quietly smuggling around ten thousand in the first batch shouldn't be a problem. As for the rest, we'll have to wait a year or two. Safety comes first. However, we have limited Spirit Stone on hand; even getting ten thousand would be difficult. We can only get around a thousand for now and smuggle them around several times."

"Tens of thousands?" Yin Baikang was quite surprised, his face darkening. After hesitating for a while, he suddenly looked up and said, "Brother Niu, I've already eaten all ten thousand of them."

"Uh..." Yue Qianchou was laughing his head off, but on the surface he asked with a look of surprise, "Brother Yin, you must be joking. Ten thousand Restriction Breaking Pill are worth 10 billion high-grade Spirit Stones. Can you really eat that many?"

"Don't worry, Brother Niu, I'll find a way. You won't be shortchanged. Besides, I'll take all the remaining tens of thousands of pills," Yin Baikang said in a deep voice. His face revealed a decisive and ruthless aura, as if he had made some major decision.

Yue Qianchou's eyes narrowed; he was genuinely astonished, extremely astonished. Yin Baikang actually wanted to consume tens of thousands of Restriction Breaking Pill —his boast was outrageous! If it were fifty thousand Restriction Breaking Pill, wouldn't he have to come up with fifty billion high-grade Spirit Stones? Was the World Commerce Association really that wealthy?

"Brother Yin, you're not joking, are you? That's several hundred billion! Don't tease me." Yue Qianchou's expression was somewhat cold.

"I'll pay first and then take the goods. What do you have to worry about, Brother Niu?" Yin Baikang's expression didn't seem like he was joking.

Yue Qianchou's heart pounded, already imagining himself rolling around on hundreds of billions of high-grade Spirit Stones. But then he heard Yin Baikang say, "However, I have a condition, and I hope Brother Niu can agree to it."

Damn it! There's no such thing as a free lunch! Yue Qianchou asked inwardly, "What are the conditions? Why don't you tell me first?"

"Let's be business as it is, so I'll be frank," Yin Baikang said solemnly. "I'll take as many Restriction Breaking Pill as you have, and it'll all be upfront payment before delivery. But Brother Niu, you must guarantee that you won't sell them to anyone else, only to me."

There's a conspiracy, definitely a conspiracy! Yue Qianchou racked his brains several times, but still couldn't figure out what Yin Baikang was up to. He chuckled and said, "Brother Yin, forgive my bluntness, but you probably can't use tens of thousands of Restriction Breaking Pills. Of course, it's not that you can't afford them. There's something you might not know, and I have to remind you, so you won't feel bad later."

Yin Baikang looked as if he had already made up his mind. He nodded calmly and said, "Brother Niu, please speak freely. Since it is advice, I am all ears."

Yue Qianchou carefully observed the changes in his facial expression and slowly said, "The effect of the Restriction Breaking Pill can only help a person raise their cultivation to the early Tribulation stage; it's useless after that. If a cultivator is at the Foundation Establishment Early Stage, they need one Restriction Breaking Pill for each level of cultivation advancement, up to the early Tribulation stage, requiring nine Restriction Breaking Pills. However, along with the Spirit Stone consumed, from the Foundation Establishment Early Stage to the early Tribulation stage, it requires about 1.2 million high-grade Spirit Stones. Adding the nine Restriction Breaking Pills, each worth 9 million high-grade Spirit Stones, the total cost is over 10 million high-grade Spirit Stones. Brother Yin, tens of thousands of Restriction Breaking Pills! Can you really handle that?"

To be honest, Yue Qianchou believed that even the wealthiest World Commerce Association couldn't possibly come up with that much money. He knew that of his nearly ten thousand subordinates, more than half were still unable to break through to the early Tribulation stage Realm, mainly due to the exorbitant consumption of Spirit Stone. This was even with the Restriction Breaking Pill being self-produced and completely free. If it were the vast number of disciples in the World Commerce Association, and each Restriction Breaking Pill cost one million high-grade Spirit Stones, simply raising half of the World Commerce Association's disciples to the early Tribulation stage Realm would likely consume at least a hundred billion high-grade Spirit Stones —and that's a conservative estimate.

Yin Baikang pondered silently for a moment. Then he looked up and declared again, "I'll pay first, then take the goods." The meaning was clear: don't worry, I won't shortchange you.

"Holy crap! The World Commerce Association is that rich?" Yue Qianchou frowned slightly and said, "Since we are sincerely cooperating, I can't do a business that only cares about the present and not the future. After all, there will definitely be opportunities to cooperate in the future. There's something I need to tell you. It's true that the Restriction Breaking Pill can help people improve their cultivation, but it can't help them break through cultivation bottlenecks. For example, when breaking through from the late Foundation Establishment stage to the early Core Formation stage, similar bottlenecks cannot be broken through."

"Ah..." Yin Baikang was taken aback, then exclaimed, "That's not right! I heard that when Brother Niu was in the Ghost Manor, he helped two Rogue Cultivator advance from the Foundation Establishment Realm to the early Tribulation stage in one fell swoop. Could the rumors be wrong?"

"No, no, no, the rumors are true." Yue Qianchou waved his hand, then took out a spirit pill surrounded by a seven-colored halo from his Storage Bag and tossed it to Yin Baikang, saying, "This pill is called the 'Seven Treasures Pill'..."

Before he could finish speaking, Yin Baikang exclaimed in surprise, "This is the legendary Seven Treasures Pill that can help people break through cultivation bottlenecks? But is the Seven Treasures Pill whose main ingredient is the Seven-Colored Spirit Ganoderma?"

"Indeed," Yue Qianchou laughed. "Brother Yin is indeed knowledgeable, but this thing, like the Restriction Breaking Pill, is quite common in the Immortal Realm. I used this thing in the Ghost Manor to help those two Rogue Cultivator break through to the early Tribulation stage. However, its effects only extend to the Tribulation Transcendence stage; it has no effect on Spirit Transformation stage. Brother Yin, why don't you find someone to test the effects of the Seven Treasures Pill?"

"The Immortal Realm truly lives up to its name," Yin Baikang exclaimed, then immediately summoned Sikong Jue was waiting at the foot of the mountain. Soon after, Sikong Jue brought over another disciple who met the requirements. With so many disciples in the World Commerce Association, finding a suitable one was incredibly easy.

This disciple had been stuck at the late Nascent Soul for a long time, unable to break through, and had been very distressed. Unexpectedly, he encountered such good fortune—the Grandmaster and Senior Niu, two unparalleled masters, personally bestowed upon him a spiritual elixir...

Upon seeing the seven-colored, swirling Seven Treasures Pill, Sikong Jue looked at his smiling, silent master with delight. He thought to himself, "It seems I've done a great service by getting Niu Youde to the World Commerce Association this time. My master's spirits are quite high!"

After a while, the disciple who was sitting cross-legged suddenly trembled, and white steam rose from his body. As soon as he opened his eyes, he immediately kowtowed to Yin Baikang and Yue Qianchou, saying, "Thank you for your help, Ancestor Master. Thank you, Senior Niu..." Just kidding, the Nascent Soul Realm and the Tribulation Transcendence stage are completely different concepts. It would be strange if he was not happy after breaking through.

Sikong Jue quickly checked his physical condition and then said happily, "Not bad, you are in good health and have successfully broken through to the early Tribulation stage. It is indeed worthy of the Seven Treasures Spirit Pill."

"You all go down first. Brother Niu and I have important matters to discuss. No one is allowed to come up and disturb us without my summons. Sikong, you personally guard the foot of the mountain. Remember, no one is allowed to come up and disturb us..." Yin Baikang repeatedly instructed.

"Yes!" Sikong Jue bowed respectfully to the two men. At this moment, Niu Youde had become extremely important to him. Every matter discussed with his master had to be classified as the top secret of the World Commerce Association, and absolutely no one was allowed to disturb him.

After descending the mountain, he immediately mobilized dozens of late Tribulation Transcendence stage experts. Each of them brought seven or eight Tribulation Transcendence stage disciples, and they surrounded the foot of God of Wealth Peak at the highest level of alert. He issued a strict order: no one is allowed to approach; anyone who dares to disobey will be killed without mercy!

Such a tense and paranoid atmosphere immediately attracted the attention of many people, who wondered what had happened on God of Wealth Peak. All they knew was that there were two experts at the late Spirit Transformation stage on God of Wealth Peak at that moment.

Jing Yuankong was quite displeased with his senior brother's statement that "no one is allowed to approach," as "no one" included him. This significantly impacted his prestige within the Treasure Gathering Basin. Although he didn't say anything, he found an excuse to go up the mountain to report to his master. Unexpectedly, the disciples guarding the mountain actually stopped him, preventing him from going up. This immediately enraged him.

The disciples guarding the mountain dared not offend him, yet they dared not let him pass either, so they Sikong Jue. Upon arriving and understanding the situation, Sikong Jue coldly said, "It's not that I don't want you to go up the mountain, junior brother, but Master has issued a decree that he has important matters to discuss with Senior Niu, and no one is allowed to come up the mountain to disturb him. Including myself, without Master's summons, no one can go up. Junior brother, please return for now!"

Having brought up Yin Baikang, what could Jing Yuankong say? He could only return with a sullen face. This was just a small incident at the foot of the mountain, but it illustrated a problem: although the World Commerce Association was wealthy and powerful, this very power inevitably led to power struggles. And since these two brothers had the same cultivation level, and Yin Baikang couldn't be immortal, in the end only one could control the World Commerce Association. Who would it be? Who would win and who would lose remained to be seen!

The two people on the mountain were naturally unaware of what was happening down below. When Yin Baikang learned that in addition to the Restriction Breaking Pill, the Seven Treasures Pill was also needed to improve his cultivation, he showed no sign of displeasure; on the contrary, a hint of excitement could be seen in his eyes.

Yue Qianchou was even more confused. He said calmly, "Brother Yin, although I am not exactly a gentleman, I really have to advise you to think twice for the sake of smooth cooperation in the future."

Yin Baikang smiled slightly at these words. Niu Youde's repeated attempts to dissuade him only strengthened his resolve. At least one thing was certain: Niu Youde was a genuinely sincere businessman, not the type to make a quick buck and leave. He felt much more at ease. Establishing a foundation of mutual trust with this merchant from the celestial realm was extremely important; it meant a future flow of wealth...

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