Carelessness

Yan Zhuixing's gaze turned slightly cold as he said in a deep voice, "Brother Yue, you can eat whatever you want, but you can't say whatever you want. This matter has already been proven to be completely unfounded. It's best not to bring up hearsay again to avoid misunderstandings."

"Oh! This matter has caused quite a stir. I was just curious and asked casually." Yue Qianchou waved his hand dismissively, then asked, "I wonder how many Blood Orchids Brother Yan would like to buy?"

When the conversation turned to business, Yan Zhuixing stopped arguing with him and said seriously, "It depends on whether Brother Yue can be lenient with the price. If it's cheap, we'll buy more; if it's expensive, we'll buy less."

"Since Brother Yan has spoken, out of consideration for our old friendship, I will naturally offer a discount." Yue Qianchou stroked his chin and thought for a moment before saying, "The original price is two hundred million high-grade Spirit Stones per plant. If Brother Yan is sincere in his desire to buy, I can offer a discount of one thousand high-grade Spirit Stones per plant."

Man Hu spat on the spot and said, "You can't even say something worth ten billion is cheaper by a thousand?"

Yan Zhuixing gestured to him with a forced smile and said, "Brother Yue really thinks highly of me. I am grateful for your kindness. To make a long story short, I need seven Blood Orchids. I wonder if Brother Yue has brought them?"

Yue Qianchou chuckled and said, "Seven Blood Orchids are worth 1.4 billion high-grade Spirit Stones. Brother Yan, do you have enough money on you?"

Yan Zhuixing knew this guy was like a stubborn mule, and there was no point in pestering him any further, so he simply took out two Storage Bags and handed them to him generously.

Yue Qianchou took the bag and inspected it on the spot. After counting it, he found it to be 1.4 billion high-grade Spirit Stones. It seemed that the other party had already prepared to buy seven plants. After putting away the Storage Bag and rummaging through it for a while, he returned another Storage Bag and said, "Here are seven thousand high-grade Spirit Stones. Count them."

Yan Zhuixing didn't mind the small amount; he took the bag and put it away without even looking at it. Yue Qianchou chuckled and laid out seven pots of blood orchids on the ground, saying, "Seven pots of blood orchids, please inspect the goods, Brother Yan."

As soon as the seven pots of blood orchids were displayed, Yan Zhuixing's eyes turned as cold as icy stars, and a murderous intent rose within him. Man Hu immediately roared, "Yue Qianchou, are you playing us?"

"Man Hu Imperial Preceptor Manhu, what are you saying?" Yue Qianchou pointed at the seven pots of blood orchids on the ground and asked in surprise, "These are genuine Seven Star Blood Orchids. Don't you know their value?"

The Seven Star Blood Orchid on the ground looked as if it hadn't even opened its eyes yet, with only a few dozen thin, elongated leaves scattered about like a pile of weeds. If it weren't for its bright red color and faint bloody smell, it would be hard to associate it with the Seven Star Blood Orchid. What was most disgusting was that there wasn't even a hint of an orchid in sight. To be precise, it wasn't that there wasn't any, but rather that it hadn't even sprouted yet. Compared to the ones he had previously sold at his stall, it was clearly just a seedling.

Yan Zhuixing stared at the blood orchids on the ground and said indifferently, "The Seven Star Blood Orchid has ten leaves as a seedling, and it grows one leaf every year thereafter. It takes a hundred years for it to flower and bear fruit, and another hundred years for the fruit to ripen and fall from the stem. These seven pots of blood orchids are at most thirty years old, which is far too different from the hundred-year-old blood orchids that Brother Yue sold before!" He stared coldly at Yue Qianchou and said, "Brother Yue, aren't you going too far by doing this?"

"Brother Yan, please don't misunderstand." Yue Qianchou waved his hands repeatedly and explained, "The ten pots of blood orchids you saw earlier have already been bought. The remaining ones are indeed not very good, but these seven are considered the best among the rest. If Brother Yan is not satisfied, you can return them without hesitation."

He had no intention of selling the Blood Orchid to Yan Zhuixing. He came purely to see if Yan Zhuixing would buy it. That's why he brought a few inferior pots; if the other party didn't buy, so be it—he wasn't going to give them anything good. He wasn't the kind of person who would leave potential trouble for the future just to make money; he simply wanted to find an excuse to ruin the deal.

Man Hu sneered, "You're spouting nonsense. I don't think you're being sincere at all."

"No need to return them." Yan Zhuixing put away all seven pots of blood orchids. Man Hu immediately transmitted his voice, "Eighth Junior Brother, what are you doing? These blood orchids haven't even fully grown..."

Before he could finish speaking, Yan Zhuixing replied telepathically, "Senior Brother, you know this guy has no intention of selling to us at all. But I'm not stupid either, hmph! The Demon Codex has Secret Method to accelerate the ripening of the Blood Orchid."

Yue Qianchou was stunned. He hadn't expected that the other party would still buy it despite his deliberate provocation. A sense of unease crept into his heart, but he couldn't help but laugh and say, "Brother Yan, you're making me feel bad. How about this? I'm an honest man and can't stand seeing others suffer losses. You return the goods first, and I'll definitely find you seven mature Blood Orchids within three days." Once he got the Blood Orchids back, he'd have plenty of excuses not to sell them again.

Yan Zhuixing smiled faintly, "That's too much trouble. If you really feel bad, you might as well return the Spirit Stones to me!"

"What do you mean?" Yue Qianchou asked in astonishment.

"Look into my eyes, and you'll understand." Yan Zhuixing's faint smile turned cold, and he uttered each word clearly. "Demon Eye **!"

Yue Qianchou was completely bewildered, not understanding what he was saying, and subconsciously looked at him. Suddenly, the other man's two cold eyes turned blood red, eerily so, blindingly red, flashing with a crimson light that pierced the heart and lungs, and a "boom" resounded in his head...

Yue Qianchou immediately sensed something was wrong and tried to look away, but found himself becoming unresponsive, his consciousness blurring instantly. When he came to his senses again, he found himself in a raging sea of blood, his limbs tightly bound by blood vines extending from the sea, unable to move at all.

"*** Yan Zhuixing, how dare you trick your grandpa, you bastard, just you wait!" Yue Qianchou cursed. Seeing that he couldn't move his limbs, he immediately tried to use his Divine Sense to contact Utopia, intending to teleport away and settle accounts with Yan Zhuixing later.

To his horror, he discovered he couldn't use his Divine Sense to contact Utopia, and even his internal True Essence couldn't circulate. He quickly surveyed his surroundings, utterly shocked. How could such a boundless sea of blood exist within the Treasure Gathering Basin? Clearly, this wasn't reality. Was his consciousness trapped by this sea of blood?

"Brother Yan, let's talk this out. There's no need to get angry over a few pots of blood orchids. Just let me out, and I'll give you as many blood orchids as you want, quality guaranteed!" Yue Qianchou, trapped in the sea of blood, shook his head and shouted. He had been cursing before, but now that he realized he had no choice, he immediately backed down. In his words, a wise man doesn't fight a losing battle; as long as the green hills remain, there's always firewood to burn.

The Man Hu in the room was stunned to see Yan Zhuixing use his demonic eye to control Yue Qianchou. Then, he burst into laughter, saying, "Yue Qianchou, I never thought you'd have this day! Second junior brother, you've finally avenged yourself!"

Man Hu couldn't hear Yue Qianchou's shouts from within his mind, but Yan Zhuixing, whose eyes were glowing red, could. He sneered, "Brother Yue, don't you think it's too late for you to say these things now?"

Trapped, Yue Qianchou immediately heard a rumbling sound coming from the sea of blood, coming from all directions, though he couldn't pinpoint its exact origin. He cursed inwardly, "You despicable beast! I knew it! You've been practicing some kind of evil, heretical Method Formula!"

"It's not too late, it's not too late. We can talk things out slowly, and you can name your conditions. I guarantee you'll be satisfied," Yue Qianchou laughed heartily. His eyes, however, were darting around, trying to find a way out of the predicament.

"I do need to have a good talk with you, Brother Yue, but only after you become my puppet. Otherwise, Brother Yue's endless tricks are really worrying me." The eerie red light in Yan Zhuixing's eyes suddenly brightened a few more times, and he spoke in a voice like a demonic whisper, "Yue Qianchou, from today onwards, I Yan Zhuixing, am your master. From now on, you will obey my every command."

Suddenly, seven blood snakes emerged from the vast sea of blood, their tongues spitting out menacingly. They raised their slender bodies, each letting out a long hiss, and then quickly broke through the blood waves to swim towards the source.

"What the hell?! Yan Zhuixing, stop right now, or I'll make you..." Yue Qianchou's words were cut short as the seven blood snakes' heads thinned and burrowed into his seven orifices. He twisted slightly and then remained still. The blood vines binding his limbs loosened and retreated back into the sea of blood. Now, the bodies of the seven blood snakes connected his seven orifices to the sea of blood.

Yan Zhuixing's eerie red light quickly subsided, and he nodded and smiled at Man Hu, "He has been controlled by me and will obey my orders from now on." Yue Qianchou, on the other side, stood there motionless with a blank look in his eyes.

"Kill him to avenge my second junior brother," the Savage Man Hu cackled, his laughter filled with glee.

Yan Zhuixing frowned and quickly stepped in front of him, saying in a deep voice, "Senior Brother, don't act rashly. It's not the right time to kill him. Wen Lanfeng and the others must know he's here. If we don't see him return, they'll definitely come after us. Don't cause trouble for Master."

Man Hu was taken aback and reluctantly abandoned his revenge plan. Although he was eager for revenge, he also knew that Yan Zhuixing's words made sense. Now was not the time to act rashly, as Wen Lanfeng's strength was far beyond what his master could handle.

Just then, a golden light suddenly pierced through the boundless sea of blood, and a golden sun rose. In the instant it rose, it immediately suppressed the surging sea of blood, rendering it immobile.

A golden beam of light shot from the sun, illuminating Yue Qianchou's head, where the seven orifices were sealed by seven blood snakes. The seven blood snakes instantly turned to ashes and vanished. Black smoke began to rise from Yue Qianchou's seven orifices, gradually fading until it disappeared without a trace. Yue Qianchou's nostrils twitched, his eyes opened, and his gaze gradually became lively and alert...

As the golden beam receded, the entire sun suddenly erupted with a blinding golden light, rendering the endless sea of blood utterly vulnerable. Bathed in this Vast Righteous Qi surveyed the world, leaving no place for demons and evil Evil Dao to hide. They wailed and surrendered, and the endless sea of blood quickly rose and dissipated into black smoke. With the sea of blood gone, what remained was the vast and boundless universe, adorned with ancient stars...

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