Faced with the Earth Spirit's plea, Feng Jun answered bluntly, "No! I tried to reason with you, but you didn't know how to cherish it."
"I know I was wrong," the Earth Spirit begged bitterly. "Give me a chance to make amends. I'm still young."
It had already been tormented to the point of wishing for death by the Redwood Essence, and that was merely a case of "wood overcoming earth."
If it had merely been enslaved and exploited back then, falling into the hands of metal-element cultivators would mean having its bones picked clean and its marrow sucked dry.
It had previously refused to admit this to Feng Jun because it feared he would use it to threaten it. But now that it was about to be sold to Swordforging Peak, it could no longer hide it. "Just this once. There won't be a next time, all right?"
Seeing it like this, Feng Jun was quite surprised. Was Swordforging Peak really that terrifying to an Earth Spirit?
But upon further thought, he understood. Swordforging Peak itself was not frightening; what was frightening was that earth generated metal!
The reason he had insisted on selling the Earth Spirit was that he had been angered. He had been ready to spend 3.6 million, such a massive commitment, yet that thing had only cared about its own growth—did it really think he owed it something?
Now that the other party had something it feared, he felt he could try saving it again. After pondering for a moment, he asked, "You said it yourself. There won't be a next time!"
The Earth Spirit had long been terrified. "I said it. There definitely won't be a next time. Otherwise, you can sell me."
"Fine," Feng Jun agreed. "If there really is a next time,