Negotiation

Li Qi sat with the Demon Dragon 'Long Shiwu' and the Asura who could be called 'Ada'.

The Potisha had come to greet Li Qi earlier was pouring water for Li Qi, but Li Qi didn't even look at her.

The four sat facing the sea, the water rippling gently, the trees and water clear and bright, fish, birds and algae, the transparent water and the transparent open space combined, as if floating in the air, the scenery was extremely elegant.

Blue waters and clear waves, light clouds and thin mist, frost and ice, a beautiful scene, bright and clear inside and out, the clear light seems to shine on the Crystal Palace. If Li Qi didn't know that the guys in front of him were Demon Dragon and Asura, Li Qi would have thought they were from Penglai.

However, it's likely that the decoration was done this way to please Li Qi.

Hearing what Long Shiwu said, Li Qi naturally smiled and said, "What you say is true. Ordinary people can't trust such a huge sum of money even with a life-or-death friendship. If you and I want to make this deal, then we naturally need to have absolute trust in each other."

This is like playing Tai Chi.

Long Shiwu told Li Qi that the fact that they were doing this business meant they had a good relationship, so he wanted to use this opportunity to build rapport through conversation.

However, Li Qi's reply meant, "Indeed, you're right, so we need to have a more in-depth conversation. I want to confirm whether you are really that close to me."

Saying this out loud actually makes us seem less 'close'.

Sure enough, after Li Qi said those words, Long Shiwu remained expressionless, but the Asura Woman Potisha next to him suddenly stiffened.

The male Asura 'Ada' glared at him with a slightly angry expression.

Potisha trembled slightly.

The Asura race is inherently irritable and belligerent, so don't mistake them for a bunch of good-natured people. They are just not as purely evil as those in the Hell Path.

Their irritability and belligerence are more a matter of personality, while they are basically indifferent to doing bad things themselves. They feel no burden in doing evil, but they don't feel any pleasure in it either, and they don't deliberately do bad things.

Therefore, in the Six Paths of Reincarnation, the Asura Path is classified as one of the 'three good realms'.

This classification mainly depends on 'evil karma'.

Among the three evil realms, the Hell Path is for those who commit the highest level of the ten evil deeds, the Hungry Ghost Path is for those who commit the middle level of the ten evil deeds, and the Animal Path is for those who commit the lowest level of the ten evil deeds.

The so-called "superior ten evils" refer to those who plan and carry out the great evils of greed, anger, lust, and sexual misconduct, and who have no remorse before or after committing these evils.

The Asura could not meet this requirement, so they were assigned to the three good realms.

Li Qi also noticed the other party's anger, but he also realized that this anger was not directed at him, but at the Asura Woman beside him.

Hmm... In other words, this woman was sent here in the first place to increase my favorability.

However, the other party had clearly miscalculated. They did not expect that Li Qi had not even given the woman a second glance from beginning to end, since he was more interested in the Hell Path and those interesting stories.

So, at this moment, Li Qi, realizing this, took a step back, coughed twice, and said to Long Shiwu, "Ahem, however, a good relationship is indeed very important. Women are really insignificant here. This has nothing to do with gender itself. It's just that anything that exists as a 'plaything' should not stand in the way of such friendship."

"So, I would prefer a friend to be sitting here, rather than a 'plaything.' That would show more sincerity, wouldn't it?" Li Qi said to Long Shiwu.

The meaning of this statement is quite clear.

Stop with these formalities, they don't do any good for the relationship. What about my brother Elder Li?

Long Shiwu relaxed his tone and said casually, "Haha, I see. I was being presumptuous. Step aside and bring Young Master Li's friend here."

Potisha quickly stood up and took her leave, but Li Qi sensed another kind of anger.

Hmm... it seems to be coming from Potisha, she must be angry with herself.

That's strange, does Asura get angry all the time?

But Li Qi ignored those matters and simply said, "Senior Long Shiwu, let's get down to business, about the ingredients I requested..."

"Of course, the ingredients are all prepared, but as you know, they are all secret and precious items, and may even offend some powerful forces, so it's not appropriate to display them publicly. If you want to inspect the goods, you can inspect a portion first. The other portion will be discussed after the deal is finalized," Long Shiwu said.

"I understand, but those that are less sensitive..." Li Qi said.

"Bring it up," Long Shiwu said to Ada.

This male Asura seemed to follow Long Shiwu's lead blindly, and left immediately upon hearing this.

Then Long Shiwu looked at Li Qi and said apologetically, "It will probably take a quarter of an hour, please wait a moment, young master."

"It's alright," Li Qi smiled, indicating that he didn't mind.

At this moment, Long Shiwu started talking to Li Qi: "I see that you don't seem very nervous, young master. How do you manage to remain calm while holding such a large sum of money?"

"What's there to be nervous about? It's not my money. If you want to take this money, someone will come after you. I just need to report the facts then," Li Qi said.

If Li Qi's poor judgment or lack of discernment led to the product not matching the description, Li Qi might feel guilty, but that would only be self-blame. In reality, he wouldn't bear any responsibility. Sea Cooking Pot would most likely not blame him; at most, he would simply stop entrusting important matters to Li Qi in the future.

As for robbery, or any act of eating the goods, that's not his fault at all.

If the people in front of me dare to do that, Sea Cooking Pot will have a word with them.

Therefore, in Li Qi's view, there was no need for him to worry at all.

"It's really not nice to say that you've accepted this money. We are all legitimate businessmen. My organization, the Paoqiu Association, is a well-known and influential business guild in the vicinity of Duoshuo Mountain. You can ask this underworld official if you don't believe me," Long Shiwu said.

Li Qi was stunned to hear this.

Then he looked again and found that Elder Li had unknowingly sat in the spot where Potisha had been before.

Such a bizarre appearance went unnoticed even by True Knowledge Dao Charm!

Not to mention Li Qi, even Elder Li himself looked completely bewildered.

"Wait... Shaman, how could you... no... how could I!? Wasn't I just in the car?" Elder Li suddenly stood up, stunned.

He himself was unaware of how the surrounding scenery had changed.

Li Qi was also quite surprised. He had seen many amazing Technique Method, and he was very familiar with spatial transformations or transitions between different worlds.

Like the classrooms of the Imperial Academy in Chang'an, each building leads to a different world, creating a unique experience of changing scenery with every step.

But without exception, all of them had 'signs'. Li Qi could see the transformations and fluctuations in this space, and the connections between the nested spaces had clear and distinct characteristics.

Now, the information flow perspective indicates that no additional information has appeared, and True Knowledge Dao Charm has not changed at all, which means that the space itself has not actually changed.

How did that person appear out of thin air?

Li Qi glanced at Long Shiwu, the Demon Dragon still coiled up in the chair, holding a cup of tea in its claws, looking calm and collected, seemingly unprepared to explain anything to Li Qi.

"Calm down, sit down." Li Qi placed a hand on Elder Li's shoulder, gesturing for him to sit down.

Elder Li immediately realized his lapse in composure, nodded to Li Qi, and sat down, though he still seemed somewhat uneasy.

There's no way to feel at ease. If the opponent uses a technique, you can see it and feel the fluctuations. Even if you don't understand it, you can't actually deal with it. In the end, you can still comfort yourself by saying that it's a ' Technique Method you don't understand'.

But this kind of thing, which happened without any warning, is terrifying for cultivators.

What is beyond our comprehension is the most terrifying.

Li Qi frowned slightly, but he still said to Elder Li, "Thank you for introducing me to the Paoqiu Association, but I don't know much about this chamber yet. Elder Li enlighten me."

"That's how it should be. I originally wanted to go directly to Shaman and tell you what happened, but unfortunately there are experts in the Paoqiu Association who are faster, so they went to inform Shaman. I'm still in the car, and I'm worried about how to contact you!" Elder Li said immediately.

Upon hearing this, Li Qi nodded slightly.

Elder Li's meaning was quite clear: the Paoqiu Association did not want Elder Li to appear beforehand, so they sent Potisha to pick up Li Qi.

What happened in between, Elder Li certainly wouldn't say, but he had already given Li Qi enough hints. "Contacting you urgently" itself indicated that the Paoqiu Association did not treat Elder Li as an honored guest.

If Li Qi hadn't taken the initiative and made a strong demand of Long Shiwu to drive away Potisha and bring back Elder Li probably wouldn't have appeared at the negotiation.

Why did the Paoqiu Association do this?

Moreover, right after Elder Li arrived, the methods used by the Paoqiu Association were clearly similar to a show of force, the kind of method that suddenly reveals a skill to make you feel ignorant, thereby arousing your vigilance and awe.

And it was very useful, because Li Qi really didn't understand how the other party did it, so this deterrent was quite successful.

"The name 'Shaman Paoqiu Association' is derived from the story of 'cannon shattering the Dragon Pool.' In the East Sea, there is a pool called the Dragon Pool. Beside the pool are three very deep caves from which water flows, forming two waterfalls. Above is a cave with countless stone pillars that rise from top to bottom and then rise again, resembling a grand hall. There are also five or six small waterfalls that connect with the waters on the peaks to form a large water curtain. A small spring spouts from the waist, gushing out, hence the name 'Dragon Saliva.' Therefore, people believe this to be a relic of the Dragon King."

"This Paoqiu Association is the one that smashed the Dragon Pool. In the past, they directly smashed the water of the Dragon Pool and extracted the Dragon Lord's Dragon Saliva from it. They are arguably the most powerful merchant association in the vicinity, and they are also my first choice to recommend to Shaman. When Shaman wants to do business, they are the first people I think of!" On the other hand, Elder Li told Li Qi about the deeds and background of the Paoqiu Association while praising the Paoqiu Association in a boastful tone.

He's very good at handling people. He solidified his position that he was brought by Li Qi, but he was unwilling to offend the Paoqiu Association. He also realized that the Paoqiu Association seemed to have some issues with Li Qi, and had even resorted to demonstrations.

Perhaps it's because Li Qi insisted on bringing him along?

After all, Elder Li felt that his identity was that of a ghost messenger. Li Qi forcibly dragged him over, probably not only because he was worried about his safety, but also because he intended to have a ghost messenger witness the business.

In this way, the Paoqiu Association naturally feel that they were not trusted, so they made a slight gesture, using this method to express to Li Qi their strength, that they had supernatural means that could make even the underworld officials unable to see or hear them.

This is the result that Elder Li himself witnessed.

After listening to Elder Li's explanation and reminder, Li Qi pondered for a moment and then understood.

He suddenly realized that his actions had provoked the Paoqiu Association, but he hadn't really thought that much about it. At first, he simply wanted to find Elder Li, since he had no interest in the Asura Woman.

But after realizing this, Li Qi found it rather boring.

These people seem to genuinely believe this is a huge deal, as if they're playing some kind of tense and exciting negotiation game with me, testing my limits little by little. They might even be hiding something behind my back, trying to ascertain my whereabouts in the East China Sea.

However, Art of Divination is basically useless to me. The great shaman Yun Fang personally covered up the secrets of Heavenly Mechanism, and given my strange origins, there shouldn't be any problems.

Thinking about this, Li Qi felt only boredom.

So he simply pulled a Mustard Seed Bag from his waist, tossed it forward, and gently slammed it onto the table.

Seeing Li Qi's actions, Long Shiwu seemed somewhat puzzled. He didn't rush to take the Mustard Seed Bag, but instead looked at Li Qi: "Young Master, your expression and actions, I wonder...?"

"Nothing special, I'm just feeling tired. Bring me the items on the list, and you can take the things in the Mustard Seed Bag. I'm getting a bit weary, so let's finish this quickly," Li Qi waved his hand and said casually.

This behavior, however, left Long Shiwu somewhat at a loss.

In his understanding, doing business is about testing each other, figuring out each other's secrets, and striving for maximum profit before the other party's bottom line, just like what he is doing now.

Li Qi seemed annoyed by this. After chatting with him for a while, he thought the other party was trying to use the underworld messengers to control him, but unexpectedly, Li Qi paid the payment directly.

"He probably doesn't have enough money for the goods, and he's trying to bluff," Long Shiwu guessed to himself.

"That must be it," he said with a smile, picking up the Mustard Seed Bag. "Then I'll examine it and see what your handwriting is like, young master."

He said this to pave the way for pressuring Li Qi to raise the price later. He was flattering him, saying, "Young master, you can't be stingy, can you?"

Then he opened the Mustard Seed Bag.

He heard a thud, and his heart skipped a beat.

Holy crap! That's a lot of money!

Sea Cooking Pot felt that it might not be easy for Li Qi to travel around and negotiate business for him, so he prepared a little more funds for Li Qi in case Li Qi's cultivation level was too low and he had to spend more money when he helped him run errands. He would feel bad if Li Qi had to pay out of his own pocket.

When Long Shiwu saw these extra things he had prepared, he was immediately terrified.

He stared blankly at Li Qi...

No wonder this young master said he was tired.

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