Ransom

After hearing Emperor Qing Ming's demands, Shen Fan was a little surprised. But after thinking it over, he decided they were reasonable.

However, he didn't agree outright. Instead, he said coldly, "Feather Emperor is in my hands, but a True Realm powerhouse can't be bought with just one Seven-Colored Primordial Stone!

"If you want to 'redeem' him, you'll have to pay more!"

Emperor Qing Ming clearly hadn't expected that answer. For a moment, he simply stood there, stunned.

After a good while, he cautiously asked, "You mean we can negotiate, but you want us to pay in treasures?"

"Ransom? I haven't heard that word in years. You really are a witty one, fellow daoist!"

Although Shen Fan might as well have written the word "kidnapper" across his forehead, Emperor Qing Ming pretended not to notice. They were both True Realm powerhouses, after all, and he still cared about keeping up appearances.

"You can put it that way. I won't make things difficult for you. Just give me three more treasures of the same grade as this Seven-Colored Primordial Stone, and I'll return Feather Emperor to you!"

Shen Fan stated his bottom line.

But Emperor Qing Ming clearly didn't want to agree, so he began to haggle. "Three? Fellow daoist, aren't you being a little greedy?

"Although the Seven-Colored Primordial Stone isn't a finished treasure and must be forged into a weapon before it can be used, it's still a True Realm-grade material. It's incredibly rare!"

"Mm, I know. But a living True Realm powerhouse is worth a lot, too!"

By now, his meaning was perfectly clear: Shen Fan wasn't going to lower the price!

Emperor Qing Ming frowned and fell silent for a while. Then he slowly said, "I understand your terms, fellow daoist. But this is a serious matter,