Ice Spirit Cold Spring in Hand

Glancing at the tightly shut door, Gu Te looked at Xiao Yun before him and said, "Go on, what do you want to trade with me? Don't think I'll yield 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 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 don't lack pills, cultivation methods, or Dou Techniques. I only like all kinds of rare natural treasures."

With a Sixth-Tier Alchemist for an elder brother, Gu Te naturally lacked neither pills nor cultivation methods and Dou Techniques. Although he knew that Xiao Yun, as a Fifth-Tier Alchemist, surely possessed some good items, he was worried Xiao Yun would use a fifth-tier pill to trade for his treasures.

"Master Gu Te, why not take a look for yourself?" Xiao Yun said with a smile, placing the jade bottle on the table for Gu Te to inspect. He was not afraid that Gu Te would dare steal it. If Gu Te truly did such a thing, Xiao Yun would actually have to thank him.

Hearing Xiao Yun's words, Gu Te hurriedly picked up the jade bottle and gently removed its cap.

The next instant, an earthy fragrance seeped out from the jade bottle and spread throughout the entire room.

"This..." Gu Te frowned tightly as he looked at the milky-white liquid within the jade bottle. Despite having collected countless treasures, he failed to recognize it at first glance. 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 had gone with Zi Yan 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. He had consumed one during cultivation, given one to Fire Elder, and now had to use another to trade with Gu Te. Only one 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 increase one's cultivation but also improve a person's cultivation aptitude.

However, Xiao Yun needed Ice Spirit Cold Spring right now. Other than this, Gu Te probably would not care for anything else he possessed, so he could only accept a slight loss.

"Earth Core Tempering Milk?" Gu Te's pupils widened. He suddenly turned around and retrieved a thick book from behind a concealed stone slab. Opening it, he rapidly flipped through its pages in search of information on Earth Core Tempering Milk.

"Found it! It really is Earth Core Tempering Milk!" A moment later, Gu Te, who had been frantically turning pages, abruptly stopped and cried out excitedly.

His gaze fixed on the jade bottle on the table as though entranced, Gu Te nearly went mad. "It takes a hundred years to become mist, a thousand years to become liquid, and it must further evolve in quality before it can become Earth Core Tempering Milk. I never thought that in my lifetime, I would be able to see such a treasure."

"Master Xiao, what treasure do you wish to exchange for this?" After a long while, Gu Te finally calmed down from the excitement of seeing the treasure and asked. No matter how good it was, it would only be his after the trade was complete.

"Ice Spirit Cold Spring," Xiao Yun replied with a smile.

"Impossible!"

Without the slightest hesitation, Gu Te directly shook his head in refusal.

"Master Xiao, Ice Spirit Cold Spring can only be obtained in unimaginably dangerous freezing lands, and even then, only by luck and in tiny amounts. Such a rare 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? In that case, give it back to me." Xiao Yun had not expected Gu Te to be so greedy. He truly treated him like 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 retreated and clutched the bottle to his chest, looking at Xiao Yun with a wronged expression.

"Hm? Does Master Gu Te intend to rob me?"

Xiao Yun looked at Gu Te with a faint smile and said in a low voice, "Do you think I became a Fifth-Tier Alchemist by picking the title up from the sky? You're deliberately belittling Earth Core Tempering Milk just to raise the price. Do you take me for an idiot?" As he spoke the final words, a powerful aura burst forth and enveloped Gu Te.

Drip!

Feeling that powerful aura, Gu Te felt as though he were being watched by a savage beast. A cold bead of sweat slid down his forehead and fell onto the floor with a crisp sound.

"I wouldn't dare, I wouldn't dare! Master Xiao, my head was not thinking clearly. In truth, 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 back into his body.

If he did not show his might, some people truly dared to treat him like a sickly cat!

Upon hearing this, Gu Te turned around and randomly knocked against a section of the wall. Rumble! Accompanied by a muffled sound, a hidden door appeared in the wall.

"Master Xiao, please wait here for a moment. I'll be right back," Gu Te said as he turned to Xiao Yun, then bent over and slipped through the hidden door.

A moment later, Gu Te emerged from the hidden door, holding something in his hands.

After sealing the hidden door in the wall again, Gu Te turned around and placed the white jade box in his hands, large enough to hold a washbasin, onto the table.

With some reluctance, Gu Te patted the jade box before carefully lifting its sealed lid. Instantly, an icy mist curled out from within, and the room's temperature plummeted in an instant.

Ignoring the drop in temperature, Xiao Yun looked into the jade box. Inside, blocks of solid ice had been neatly arranged, and at the center of the ice sat a small jade bottle.

"Master Xiao, this is the Ice Spirit Cold Spring you wanted. Please inspect it," Gu Te said with an extremely reluctant sigh as he pushed the jade box toward Xiao Yun.

Xiao Yun took the jade box and inspected it. Once he confirmed it was Ice Spirit Cold Spring, he immediately covered and sealed the box again. With a wave of his hand, he stored it in his Storage Ring.

"You've been fairly honest. You didn't try to deceive me with a fake," Xiao Yun said with a smile.

The Ice Spirit Cold Spring was finally in hand. Now, he could directly seek out and subdue the Green Lotus Core Flame.

"I wouldn't dare. Master Xiao must be joking," Gu Te said with a dry laugh, sheepishly shrinking his neck.

"Since the trade is complete, I won't stay any longer. Farewell!" Xiao Yun cupped his fist toward Gu Te, then directly turned and left.

"That fiend 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 let out a deep breath and collapse limply into his chair. Just now, he had truly feared Xiao Yun would directly seize all of his treasures by force.

"Still, becoming a Fifth-Tier Alchemist at such a young age... what faction could have raised such a monster?"

Inside the room, Gu Te tugged at his graying hair in frustration, lost in deep thought.

After leaving Gu Te's home, Xiao Yun found Otto still waiting outside.

In return for Otto helping introduce him to Gu Te, Xiao Yun gave Otto a few pointers on alchemy. Amid Otto's grateful thanks, Xiao Yun 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 even a moment longer and flew directly toward the Tagor Desert.