Gu Te glanced at the tightly shut door, then looked at Xiao Yun before him. "Tell me, what do you want to trade with me? Don't think I'll go easy on you just because you're a Fifth-Tier Alchemist. If you can't produce something that satisfies me, don't even think about getting a single treasure from me!"
"Of course. I, Xiao, am no bandit or robber. Naturally, I'll follow the rules of trade and won't use my strength to bully others," Xiao Yun said with a smile. He brushed his Storage Ring, and a jade bottle appeared in his hand.
Seated in his chair, Gu Te stared intently at the jade bottle in Xiao Yun's hand and asked curiously, "What's inside that jade bottle? Let me make this clear first: I'm not lacking in pills, cultivation methods, or Dou Techniques. I only like all kinds of rare natural treasures."
With a Sixth-Tier Alchemist for an older brother, Gu Te naturally lacked neither pills nor cultivation methods and Dou Techniques. Though he knew Xiao Yun, as a Fifth-Tier Alchemist, would surely have some good things on him, he was also worried Xiao Yun would use a Fifth-Tier Pill to trade for his treasures.
"Master Gu Te, wouldn't you know if you looked for yourself?" Xiao Yun smiled as he placed the jade bottle on the table for Gu Te to inspect. He was not afraid Gu Te would dare to steal it. If Gu Te truly dared do that, Xiao Yun would have to thank him.
Hearing Xiao Yun's words, Gu Te hurriedly picked up the jade bottle and gently removed its cap.
The next second, an earthy fragrance seeped out of the jade bottle and spread throughout the room.
"This..." Gu Te frowned as he looked at the milky-white liquid inside the bottle. Despite having collected countless treasures, he failed to recognize it for a moment. Yet from the refreshing fragrance alone, he knew it was an exceptionally rare treasure.
"This is Earth Core Tempering Milk," Xiao Yun softly reminded him. After breaking through to the Dou Wang realm, he and Zi Yan had gone to the back mountain and seized the Earth Core Tempering Milk guarded by the Snow Demon Sky Ape. He had only obtained four bottles back then. Xiao Yun used one during cultivation, gave one to Fire Elder, and now had to use another to trade with Gu Te. Only the final bottle remained on him.
In terms of rarity alone, Earth Core Tempering Milk was actually slightly more valuable than Ice Spirit Cold Spring. The latter could only be used as a material for collecting Heavenly Flames, while Earth Core Tempering Milk could not only raise one's cultivation but also improve one's aptitude for cultivation.
But Xiao Yun needed Ice Spirit Cold Spring right now. Besides this, Gu Te probably would not care for anything else he possessed, so he could only suffer a small loss.
"Earth Core Tempering Milk?" Gu Te's pupils widened. He suddenly turned around and pulled a thick book from behind a concealed stone slab. Opening it, he rapidly flipped through the pages, searching for information on Earth Core Tempering Milk.
"Found it! It really is Earth Core Tempering Milk!" A moment later, Gu Te, who had been constantly turning pages, suddenly stopped and shouted excitedly.
He gazed at the jade bottle on the table as though entranced and nearly went mad. "A hundred years to become mist, a thousand years to become liquid—it must even evolve in quality before it can become Earth Core Tempering Milk. I never thought that in my lifetime, I, Gu Te, would get to see such a treasure."
"Master Xiao, what treasure do you wish to exchange with me for this?" After a while, Gu Te finally calmed down from his excitement at seeing the treasure and asked. No matter how good it was, it would only become his after the trade.
"Ice Spirit Cold Spring," Xiao Yun said with a smile.
"Impossible!"
Without the slightest hesitation, Gu Te immediately shook his head in refusal.
"Master Xiao, Ice Spirit Cold Spring can only be obtained by luck in an extremely dangerous Extreme Cold Land, and even then only in tiny amounts. Such a precious treasure, and you want to trade for it with just one bottle of Earth Core Tempering Milk?" Holding the jade bottle, Gu Te shook his head.
"Oh? Is that so? Then give it back to me." Xiao Yun had not expected Gu Te to be so greedy. He really took him for a child and actually dared to swindle him!
Xiao Yun rose to his feet and reached for the jade bottle. Seeing this, Gu Te hurriedly backed away and hugged the bottle to his chest, looking at Xiao Yun with a wronged expression.
"Hmm? Master Gu Te, are you planning to rob me?"
Xiao Yun looked at Gu Te with an unreadable smile and said in a low voice, "Do you think I became a Fifth-Tier Alchemist by picking it up off the ground? You're deliberately belittling Earth Core Tempering Milk only to raise the price on the spot. Do you take me for an idiot?" As he finished speaking, a powerful aura burst forth and enveloped Gu Te.
Drip!
As he felt that powerful aura, Gu Te felt as though he had been locked onto by a ferocious beast. A cold sweat trickled down his forehead and fell onto the floor with a crisp sound.
"I wouldn't dare, I wouldn't dare! Master Xiao, my head wasn't working right. One bottle of Earth Core Tempering Milk is more than enough to exchange for Ice Spirit Cold Spring." Gu Te wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and hurriedly spoke.
"Hmph. Then bring it out!" Xiao Yun snorted as he withdrew his aura.
If he did not show his claws, some people really dared to mistake him for a sickly cat!
Hearing this, Gu Te turned and randomly knocked against a section of the wall. "Rumble!" With a muffled sound, a hidden door appeared in the wall.
"Master Xiao, please wait here a moment. I'll be right back." Gu Te turned to Xiao Yun, then bent down and slipped through the hidden door.
A moment later, Gu Te emerged from the hidden door with something cradled in his hands.
After sealing the hidden door in the wall again, Gu Te turned and placed a white jade box as large as a washbasin on the table.
Gu Te reluctantly patted the jade box, then carefully lifted its sealed lid. At once, an icy mist curled out from within, and the temperature in the room plummeted in an instant.
Ignoring the falling temperature, Xiao Yun looked into the jade box. Inside, blocks of solid ice had been neatly arranged, and at their center sat a small jade bottle.
"Master Xiao, this is the Ice Spirit Cold Spring you wanted. Please inspect it." Gu Te let out an extremely reluctant sigh as he pushed the jade box toward Xiao Yun.
Xiao Yun accepted the jade box and inspected it. Once he confirmed it was Ice Spirit Cold Spring, he quickly sealed the box again. With a wave of his hand, he stored it in his Storage Ring.
"You've been honest enough. You didn't try to fool me with a fake," Xiao Yun said with a smile.
Ice Spirit Cold Spring was finally in his hands. Now he could go directly to find and subdue the Green Lotus Core Flame.
"I wouldn't dare. Master Xiao must be joking." Gu Te shrank his neck and gave a dry laugh.
"Since the transaction is complete, I won't stay any longer. Farewell!" Xiao Yun clasped his fists toward Gu Te, then turned and left.
"That fiend has finally left. He nearly scared this old man to death." Only after his Soul Power could no longer sense Xiao Yun did Gu Te finally draw a deep breath and collapse limply into his chair. He had truly feared Xiao Yun would simply attack and seize all his treasures.
"Still, becoming a Fifth-Tier Alchemist at such a young age... what force raised such a monster?"
Inside the room, Gu Te tugged at his graying hair in frustration, lost in thought.
After leaving Gu Te's home, Xiao Yun found Otto still waiting outside.
Because Otto had helped introduce him to Gu Te, Xiao Yun taught Otto a few alchemy techniques. Amid Otto's thanks, he summoned his Dou Qi wings and transformed into a crimson streak of light that vanished into the horizon.
If he could subdue the Green Lotus Core Flame, Xiao Yun might be able to break through the barrier of a Fifth-Tier Alchemist and become a Sixth-Tier Alchemist. With such a great temptation before him, he did not wish to wait another moment and flew straight toward the Tagor Desert.
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