Qin He rubbed the high-grade spirit stone in his palm with his fingertips, his expression momentarily stilling.
It was not that he could not afford forty Supreme-grade Spirit Stones, but spending that much was simply not worth it.
Most importantly, he was still far short of what he needed. Even after spending such a fortune, he might not succeed in the end. He might still have to resort to robbery.
As he weighed his options, heavy footsteps suddenly sounded outside the trading house.
These were not the airborne strides cultivators usually favored, but deliberate footfalls that stirred the merit law. With every step, fleeting gilded runes appeared on the blue-gold stone floor tiles, and even the dense spiritual energy inside the shop was forcibly suppressed, its flow growing sluggish.
The shopkeeper's lean face instantly tightened. He hurried to his feet, bowing so low he nearly touched the counter, and put on a cautious, ingratiating smile. "Greetings, Lord Jun Hao."
Three men entered, all wearing the Merit Department's standard gilded soft armor, with flecks of golden light flowing between its seams. Their leader was a tall, middle-aged man with swordlike brows. His face was expressionless, yet he commanded awe without anger. His gaze swept through the shop like a tangible force. Wherever it passed, the cultivators who had been conversing quietly fell silent, instinctively concealed their auras, and did not even dare lift their heads.
Such was the confidence of Divine Court cultivators. Backed by the order of heaven and earth, they carried the pressure of laws with them, enough to intimidate ordinary cultivators without lifting a finger.
Divine Envoy Jun Hao strode forward, his gaze settling on Qin He with a trace of surprise. His voice carried the weight of the merit law, without the slightest emotion. "Everyone else avoids