(This is the second update today, making up for yesterday's missed update.)
Of course, Lei Dong wasn't taking the materials other than the Chaos Essence Iron for free. The shipment was worth over a hundred million once it reached Kang Prefecture. He directly allocated a batch of his stored pills—worth thirty million in Kang Prefecture—to the Earth Giant Tribe. He also made it clear to the Stone Clan Leader that the transaction accounted for the dangers of transportation and the costs of selling the goods in Kang Prefecture, as well as the interests of Lei Dong and his subordinates. It also factored in the costs, risks, and profits involved in buying pills in return and transporting them to the Earth Giants' territory. It was an extremely fair deal.
Lei Dong wasn't trying to cheat the Earth Giant Tribe; the deal really was fair. Given the "kindness" Lei Dong had shown them, the generous Stone Clan Leader had been willing to give him all those resources outright. But Lei Dong had refused and proposed a trade instead. First, kindness could only go so far, while shared interests made for the most lasting and reliable alliance. Second, the Earth Giant Tribe was also in urgent need of pills to improve its people's fighting strength. The Stone Clan Leader in particular needed to break through to Nascent Soul level as soon as possible if he was to establish a firm foothold. In every way, Lei Dong had to make the trade. The Earth Giant Tribe might not be very clever, but they weren't fools.
With long-term, substantial benefits at stake, even if Lei Dong's methods for winning the Earth Giants' favor were exposed one day, it wouldn't change the big picture. As for the Chaos Essence Iron, Lei Dong had openly explained that