Taking the Bait

Business was nothing more than asking a sky-high price, then haggling on the spot.

Had Ye Xiu expected the price to reach three thousand five hundred spirit stones?

Of course not.

At the end of the day, this thing was merely an ordinary industrial product from the Apocalypse World. No matter how much trouble its raw materials took to procure, its cost was only a few hundred spirit stones.

But would Ye Xiu refuse to sell it for a higher price?

Of course not.

"Senior Brother, three thousand five hundred is truly too much."

A smile hung on his face. "This thing is a defective product, after all. Once this one is dealt with, the rest will need handling too. If you offer this price now, what will the other senior brothers and junior brothers think of me?"

Damn it, then lower the price!

Xie Xun felt the smile on his face growing stiff.

Of course he understood Ye Xiu's hidden meaning.

There was more than one of these guns. Ye Xiu controlled the entire trade. It was no problem for Xie Xun to buy one, but others could buy them too.

And the lower the price set now, the easier it would be for those who came later to get their hands on one.

In other words, the harder it would be for him to rely on this thing as a trump card in the advancement competition.

After all, if everyone had one, then it naturally could no longer count as a trump card.

"Five thousand spirit stones!"

Thinking of how he had already exposed so many of his trump cards today, and how the consequences would be unbearable if he returned empty-handed, Xie Xun gritted his teeth and forced out a number that made even his heart tremble.

Five thousand spirit stones were undoubtedly his entire fortune. As an outer sect disciple, he could not own territory of his own. Without reaching Foundation Establishment, his family could not possibly offer him much support either.

To offer this price, Xie Xun had calculated everything on him that could be converted into value, and would even need to borrow extra to reach that amount.

If Ye Xiu still refused to yield, Xie Xun would truly have to consider murder and robbery.

"How could I possibly accept that?"

Ye Xiu smiled until his eyes narrowed into slits, then coughed twice.

"Let's go upstairs and discuss this in detail."

Seeing Ye Xiu finally relent, Xie Xun could not help letting out a long breath.

Thank goodness this final gamble had finally reached Ye Xiu's desired price. Though the loss was considerable, as long as he could obtain that secret treasure, it would not be a loss.

Seeing the two preparing to leave, the disciples watching nearby were naturally deeply dissatisfied.

But this was, after all, a transaction involving several thousand spirit stones. It was only natural for Xie Xun and Ye Xiu to avoid prying eyes, and no one else could say much.

Yet at the outer edge of the crowd, people immediately hurried away.

The matter of Xie Xun obtaining a secret treasure was also valuable intelligence. They might not be able to afford it themselves, but someone would surely be interested in the news.

Inside the private room.

Once Ye Xiu had taken his seat, Xie Xun immediately leaned closer, barely able to wait.

"Junior Brother, are you sure this treasure can reach the level you displayed earlier?"

There was no other reason. The new gun Ye Xiu had taken out was clearly much cruder than the one in his hands.

Not only that, the new gun's appearance was different as well, leaving Xie Xun feeling extremely uncertain.

Ye Xiu secretly laughed.

Naturally, that was impossible.

This new gun had come from a Wildfire Gang factory. Whether in materials or standards, how could it possibly compare with the third-generation weapon Xu Xiao had used to curry favor with him?

"Senior Brother, I already said before that this batch consists of defective products. More or less, they will all have some flaws, no?"

Leisurely lifting his teacup for a sip, Ye Xiu was in no hurry at all.

After all, Xie Xun was the one begging to buy his gun. Ye Xiu held the initiative, so he had no fear of the other party throwing a tantrum.

"Though these two weapons are fundamentally of the same kind, their categories are still somewhat different."

Gesturing for Xie Xun to move aside, Ye Xiu casually picked up the rifle and pulled the trigger.

Gunshots rang out, dinging and thudding like muffled thunder. A row of armor prepared in front of them was blasted straight through.

"But I believe this power should still satisfy Senior Brother."

Seeing the mess before him, Xie Xun's heart skipped a beat.

With such power, at close range, even he at his peak might find it difficult to withstand.

If someone else fought him until their spiritual power was exhausted, then suddenly pulled out something like this at that very moment, the consequences...

At the thought, Xie Xun felt a chill run down his back.

At the same time, Xie Xun became even more determined not to make an enemy of Ye Xiu.

Seeing Ye Xiu's half-smiling expression, Xie Xun practically snatched up the gun and hugged it to his chest.

What weapon was this? It was practically his life.

"Junior Brother must be joking. With such power, what could Senior Brother possibly find unsatisfactory?"

"This weapon requires soul crystals to operate, and after being used for a while, it must be stopped and allowed to cool down."

Watching Xie Xun excitedly take the gun and examine it in detail, Ye Xiu explained several precautions to him.

Afraid that the other party might have trouble getting started, Ye Xiu even gave him the training manual he had obtained from the apocalypse.

Knowledge was expensive, and knowledge of how to use guns was naturally not cheap.

That thing was worth at least several dozen soul crystals on the black market, yet Ye Xiu gave it away for free without the slightest heartache.

On the contrary, he even secretly wanted to print it into booklets and spread it widely throughout the outer sect.

The reason was simple.

Though the techniques for handling guns were precious, even if one possessed the skill to slay dragons, one still needed dragons to put it to use.

Just imagine it: everyone in the outer sect now knew there was such a fine weapon, capable of unleashing tremendous power without spiritual power, and its method of use was common knowledge.

Who would not want to find a way to get a gun, so they could make this skill acquired from others shine and flourish?

Ye Xiu even hoped that not only the outer sect disciples of the Yin Harmony Sect, but cultivators from other sects, from the Tianhe Domain, and even from regions farther beyond, would all have a gun in hand.

If that happened, how much profit could he, the one and only designated arms dealer, earn from it?

Just thinking about that grand prospect made Ye Xiu's blood surge with excitement.

"So, Senior Brother, this thing really is useful, isn't it?"

Watching Xie Xun quickly master the technique and stroke the gun with such fondness that he could not bear to put it down, Ye Xiu wore a gentle smile.

Ye Xiu's words jolted Xie Xun, who had been immersed in it, back to his senses.

He coughed lightly, forcibly suppressing the excitement in his heart.

"Junior Brother, this truly is an exceptionally fine treasure."

A glint of resolve flashed through his eyes as Xie Xun suddenly stepped forward and grabbed Ye Xiu's hand.

"How many more do you have? Senior Brother will take the entire lot!"

Quite ambitious. But that was exactly what I was waiting for.

Ye Xiu secretly laughed, but his face showed several hints of doubt.

"Senior Brother, you?"

He coolly shook off Xie Xun's hand. "It is not that Junior Brother looks down on you, but just this one gun will drain your entire fortune, won't it?"

"You want to buy the entire lot? Do you even know how much stock I have?"

"Or does Senior Brother want to try robbing the robber?"

By the time he reached those final words, the smile had vanished entirely from Ye Xiu's face, leaving behind only endless mockery.