Buying Things Requires Doing the Math!

Su Heng nodded slightly and thanked the maid.

He then slowly unfurled the golden scroll. The bright gold surface bore the complete contents of the Dou Technique in cinnabar-red script.

At the beginning of the scroll were five large characters: "Four Spirits Profound Astral Formation."

According to the introduction in the preceding sections, the Four Spirits Profound Astral Formation was a High-Profound Tier formation-type Dou Technique. Its characteristics could be simply summarized as: excellent offense and defense, capable of killing opponents above one's rank.

The formation required its users to possess Dou Qi of the four attributes: metal, wood, water, and fire.

In other words, four people cultivating the corresponding attribute Dou Qi were needed to form the Four Spirits Profound Astral Formation.

More than a hundred years ago, four Five-Star Dou Kings had joined forces to form this formation and killed a Three-Star Dou Emperor above their rank. Although all four Dou Kings had been severely injured afterward, none of them had died.

Seeing this, Su Heng could not help frowning.

After all, five ordinary Dou Kings from the Snake-People Tribe had been enough to force the Three-Star Dou Emperor Yun Yun into a desperate situation, nearly killing her.

If four Five-Star Dou Kings surrounded and attacked a Three-Star Dou Emperor, they might be able to kill their opponent even without the support of a formation...

Did the Four Spirits Profound Astral Formation boost combat strength? It did seem to provide some boost...

But even at best, it seemed to increase strength by less than thirty percent. The requirements for forming the formation were also extremely strict. No wonder it had failed to sell and ended up being pushed on people everywhere.

Recently, Su Heng had felt that High-Profound Tier Dou Techniques were all things that looked rather intimidating but delivered barely satisfactory results in actual combat.

As long as one had a broader perspective and could see higher levels, Profound Tier Dou Techniques would seem ordinary, even somewhat lousy.

Of course, perhaps this was because Su Heng had lived two lives, giving him an inherently higher perspective. To the people of the Jia Ma Empire, High-Profound Tier Dou Techniques were already priceless treasures.

The only question now was whether the fire beasts he condensed from Beast Flame with his Dou Master cultivation could replace a Dou Master who possessed a Dou Technique and form the formation.

And after the formation was completed, how much combat strength would remain?

Magical beasts formed from flame possessed no Dou Techniques at all. They could only engage in close-quarters combat or breathe fire from afar, while defensively, they could only use their flaming bodies to withstand attacks head-on.

The difference between flame magical beasts and humans could be said to be as vast as the difference between mongrel dogs and humans.

For Su Heng, this was a huge gamble!

This High-Profound Tier Dou Technique scroll was priced at one million gold coins.

If he bought it and found that its effects were terrible, or even practically nonexistent, then that one million gold coins would have gone down the drain.

But if Dou Master-level flame magical beasts could successfully replace Dou Masters in forming the formation and retain half the strength of a formation formed by Dou Masters, then the one million would be more than worth it.

Su Heng pondered for a long time before finally deciding to take the gamble!

Trial and error required a cost. Innovation required a cost as well. Regardless of success or failure, this line of thinking was worth trying.

Su Heng had no Dou Venerable-level mentor, nor did he have sufficient inheritance or fortuitous opportunities. Everything depended on himself.

In fact, everything Su Heng had obtained until now had come through his own exploration and research. It was experience he had accumulated through thousands of attempts.

Only after the humiliating failures of blowing up three cauldrons a day had he been able to refine Ironwood Spirit Leaves to "ten out of ten."

Of course, without Qing Lin, all of this would have been nothing but empty fantasy. Heaven had given Su Heng the chance to meet Qing Lin, and that had created the Su Heng of today.

Thinking of this, Su Heng could not help turning his gaze toward Qing Lin, who was watching him, and gently taking her soft little hand.

Usually, in formal settings like this, Qing Lin would restrain her urge to play around, sit properly, and watch Su Heng.

Their eyes met. Su Heng's eyes were filled with gratitude and affection, while Qing Lin shyly lowered her head.

Sometimes, Su Heng truly wanted Qing Lin to grow up quickly, so that he could properly express his feelings to her. The current Qing Lin was simply too young.

Though both of them understood each other's feelings, the way they interacted still resembled that of siblings more than anything else.

"Miss Ya Fei, I'll take this Dou Technique."

Su Heng slowly turned his gaze back to Ya Fei and made his final decision.

"Mr. Su is certainly straightforward!"

Ya Fei's smile remained as enchanting and seductive as ever, but Su Heng now seemed no longer affected by it.

"Miss Ya Fei, there's one more thing I'd like to ask. Does your auction house have any Beast Flames for sale?"

Previously, Su Heng had possessed the Snake Emperor's Mysterious Flame, so he had never paid attention to whether the Mittel Auction House sold Beast Flames.

Now that he had the Four Spirits Profound Astral Formation, even if he merely wanted to experiment, he would have to invest another sum of money.

The Four Spirits Profound Astral Formation required four different Dou Qi attributes, while Su Heng currently had only two.

Theoretically, the Snake Emperor's Mysterious Flame contained a faint metal attribute and could replace a cultivator of metal-attribute Dou Qi.

There was no need to worry about the fire attribute with the Purple Crystal Winged Lion Flame. Moreover, Su Heng specialized in fire-control Dou Techniques, so the fire-attribute magical beasts he condensed were also the strongest.

As for Beast Flames for wood-attribute and water-attribute magical beasts, he would need to purchase them from the Mittel Auction House.

Su Heng planned to first buy two low-level Beast Flames to practice the formation. Once he could successfully form it, he would upgrade the Beast Flames of the corresponding attributes.

If he failed, buying two low-level Beast Flames would not cost him much anyway.

As for where to find better Beast Flames after succeeding, Su Heng had actually already made arrangements.

For a metal-attribute Beast Flame, he could go to Jia Nan Academy and trade with that person who possessed the Illusory Gold Flame. Unfortunately, Su Heng could not remember his name.

A Beast Flame from a water-attribute magical beast would be easiest to obtain. The guardian magical beast of the Jia Ma Empire's Imperial Family, the Raging Tide Dragon Beast, was a Sixth Rank water-attribute magical beast. Its Beast Flame, the Dry Blue Water Flame, was just right.

Su Heng remembered that this magical beast was gravely injured and near death. If he could heal it, the Dry Blue Water Flame would be his for the taking.

As for a wood-attribute Beast Flame, the one available in the Jia Ma Empire was the Peach Blossom Flame of the Fifth-Order Magical Beast, the Kui Wood Beast. Though its grade was a little low, it would still suffice.

As long as the Four Spirits Profound Astral Formation experiment succeeded, the future would be smooth sailing. If it failed, he could only accept the loss.

Originally, Su Heng had planned to buy Beast Flames from two Fourth-Order Magical Beasts and make do with those.

But when Ya Fei had a group of maids bring over more than ten types of Beast Flames, Su Heng was deeply shocked by the Mite'er Family's formidable resources and meticulous, thoughtful service.

All of these dozen or so Beast Flames actually came from Fifth-Order Magical Beasts, and the wood-attribute Peach Blossom Flame was conspicuously among them.

Su Heng vaguely remembered that Xue Mei had bought the Peach Blossom Flame while shopping during the Alchemist Competition a few months later. Now that she possessed the Sixth-tier Snake Emperor's Mysterious Flame, she no longer had any use for the Peach Blossom Flame.

It seemed that the butterfly effect brought about by Su Heng would not merely affect others. It would affect himself as well.

Su Heng first selected the Peach Blossom Flame, which possessed a distinctive peach hue and resembled brilliant flowers, then carefully examined all the other Beast Flames.

In the end, he selected the Beast Flame of the Fifth-Order Magical Beast Profound Water Turtle. It was also the only Beast Flame among the dozen or so that came from a water-attribute magical beast.

Compared to humans, magical beasts had more complex soul attributes. Even attributes as incompatible as water and fire could produce Beast Flames in their bodies where the two merged together.

The world truly was vast and full of wonders!

One cultivation method and two Beast Flames—just these alone already made for an enormous order at the Mittel Auction House today.

These three items were worth around 3.4 million gold coins, while the medicinal cauldron and pill formulas Su Heng had promised earlier were even more exorbitantly priced.

When Ya Fei instructed her subordinates to carry the Flame Phoenix Cauldron before Su Heng, even he was dumbfounded.

This medicinal cauldron stood as tall as a person. Its entire body was crimson, and five fire vents had been polished into its base. It was a genuine Fifth Rank medicinal cauldron!

Two lifelike fire phoenixes were carved onto the cauldron's surface, spiraling counterclockwise through the air. Their sharp beaks met precisely at the lid of the cauldron.

It was said that when the Flame Phoenix Cauldron was used for alchemy, phoenix cries would sound from within it, an extremely strange phenomenon.

This Fifth Rank medicinal cauldron alone was worth four million gold coins, equivalent to half of Su Heng's family fortune.

As for the dozen or so Third-grade Pill Formulas, Su Heng did not spend much on them, purchasing them all for a little over one million gold coins.

After Ya Fei finished calculating, the pills Su Heng had consigned to the Mittel Auction House were valued at 9.2 million gold coins. The cultivation method, medicinal cauldron, Beast Flames, toys Qing Lin had chosen, and everything else he purchased came to 9.15 million gold coins, leaving a balance of fifty thousand gold coins.

After including the five-percent handling fee deducted from the consigned pills, Su Heng ultimately owed the Mittel Auction House 410,000 gold coins.

When Su Heng received the bill, his jaw practically dropped through the first floor of the basement. He had truly learned what it meant to be a chief auctioneer. This woman Ya Fei was simply formidable!

Thoughtful service, along with recommending the most expensive items whenever possible—and those items just so happened to be genuine, top-quality goods.

Under the dual assault of beauty and treasures, even a millionaire would leave owing hundreds of thousands.

Someone like Su Heng, who bought things without doing the math, had fallen into her hands without any suspense.

Left with no choice, Su Heng added three top-quality Windstride Pills before finally settling the bill.

Speaking of which, ever since Su Heng had used a Windstride Pill to escape pursuit successfully, he had developed an extremely deep affection for them.

Among all the Third-grade Pills he refined, the Windstride Pills crushed all the others in both quality and quantity.

Anyone unaware of the truth might have thought he was a long-distance running enthusiast...

"Mr. Su Heng, I heard that you have been searching desperately for a movement-type Dou Technique. Today, I can provide you with a Mid-Profound Tier movement-type Dou Technique. Would you be interested?"

Ya Fei smiled as she handed Su Heng the blue-gold savings card that contained only the remaining change after the settlement.

Looking at Ya Fei's expression, Su Heng felt a chill run down his spine. Every time she smiled like this, nothing good ever happened to him!

For Su Heng, a movement-type Dou Technique was something he dreamed of obtaining. Especially for an Alchemist like him who was not skilled in close combat, a movement-type Dou Technique that could quickly widen the distance or allow him to flee was an absolute necessity for both battle and survival.

However, Su Heng now had only a little over thirty Third-grade Pills in his Storage Ring, along with a small bottle of Snake Emperor's Mysterious Flame that he could use as bargaining chips.

He had kept those pills to save his own life and would not easily trade them away. As for the Snake Emperor's Mysterious Flame, it was a Sixth-tier Beast Flame. Trading it for a Mid-Profound Tier Dou Technique? Su Heng was not muddleheaded!

"Miss Ya Fei, I'll be frank with you. I very much want a movement-type Dou Technique, but the bargaining chip I can offer is a bottle of Sixth-tier magical beast Beast Flame. A mere Mid-Profound Tier Dou Technique is not worth the value of this bottle of Beast Flame."

Back then, Su Heng had divided the Snake Emperor's Mysterious Flame into three portions. He had given one to Master Otto, donated one to the Alchemist Guild, and kept the final portion for a trade at the right time. Clearly, Su Heng did not think this was the right time.

"Mr. Su is right. A Mid-Profound Tier Dou Technique truly cannot match the value of a Sixth-tier Beast Flame, but..."

Ya Fei's beautiful eyes shifted. After a brief moment of thought, she gently leaned close to Su Heng's ear and offered an extremely tempting condition.

"Our Mittel Auction House can also add a Fifth-grade Pill Formula for the Dou Spirit Pill!"

"The Misty Cloud Sect's Mid-Profound Tier Dou Technique, the Drifting Willow Body Technique, plus a Fifth-grade Pill Formula for the Dou Spirit Pill. What do you think?"

It had to be said that Ya Fei truly understood the attraction her beauty held for men.

At this moment, Ya Fei was practically pressed against Su Heng. Her seductive figure and alluring fragrance enveloped him. Any other man would likely have been incapable of thinking clearly and could only let her manipulate him as she pleased.

But Su Heng was different, because Ya Fei's offer immediately made him think of one person: Pill King Gu He!

Someone who possessed both a movement-type Dou Technique from the Misty Cloud Sect and a Fifth-grade Pill Formula for the Dou Spirit Pill, and could produce both at once—there was only one such person.

Moreover, as soon as Ya Fei learned that Su Heng intended to use Beast Flame for the trade, she immediately increased the stakes without hesitation. Her motives were too obvious, allowing Su Heng to spot the issue at once.

"These two items came from Pill King Gu He, didn't they? Where is he now? If he's in Black Rock City, I'd like to meet him and discuss things face-to-face."

The moment she heard the words "Pill King Gu He," Ya Fei froze. Her expression changed drastically. She immediately composed herself, slowly rose to her feet, and said,

"Mr. Su truly has sharp eyes. You saw through it at once. All of this was indeed consigned in Black Rock City through our Mittel Auction House at the request of Pill King Gu He. His target truly is the Sixth-tier Beast Flame in your possession."

One could only conceal things from those who did not understand. They were all intelligent people, so there was naturally no need to beat around the bush.

"I heard that Master Gu He ventured deep into the desert in search of Heavenly Flames. It seems he failed..."

At this moment, Su Heng felt rather relieved and delighted. It seemed Brother Xiao Yan had still successfully obtained the Green Lotus Core Flame and should now be evolving his Flame Mantra.

"I heard about that as well. The Heavenly Flames were obtained by another Dou Emperor of unknown identity. It's a pity that Master Gu He's years of planning came to nothing."

"Additionally, I heard that Queen Medusa of the Snake-People Tribe forcibly swallowed the Heavenly Flames in an attempt to evolve, only to perish regretfully. The Tagor Desert has truly been lively lately."

The Mite'er Family's intelligence-gathering ability was unparalleled in the Jia Ma Empire. Even without an omniscient perspective, they had understood the situation so clearly that Su Heng could not help admiring them.

It seemed Su Heng's spending of ten million gold coins in one go had also been the result of Ya Fei's arrangements, as she had guided him step by step into this "shopping trap."

And it had even been tailored specifically for him, determined to squeeze out his last copper coin!

Su Heng looked at Ya Fei with some admiration. If a woman like her possessed exceptional cultivation talent, she would probably become the leader of the largest trading power on the Dou Qi Continent.

Sure enough, Heaven was still fair. It had given her beauty capable of toppling kingdoms and supreme intelligence, then taken away her cultivation talent.

"I believe Senior Gu He learned that his disciple Liu Ling had suffered a crushing defeat at my hands and deduced that I possessed a high-grade Beast Flame."

"Then he conspired with your Mittel Auction House, intending to use you to facilitate this trade and obtain Beast Flame that could let him challenge the rank of Seventh-grade Alchemist. Am I right?"

Su Heng's analysis was practically the truth. Ya Fei neither denied nor admitted it, merely remaining silent.

"Humph! This trade is indeed reasonable, but I find this feeling of being toyed with in the palm of someone else's hand extremely unpleasant!"

"Unless you produce a Fourth-grade Pill Formula as well, I'll make this trade. If you refuse, then Su will take his leave!"

Su Heng did not waste words with Ya Fei. He stood up directly and prepared to leave the private room.

"Please wait, Mr. Su! We agree to the trade and will add a Fourth-grade Pill Formula for Qi-Gathering Powder!"

Seeing that Su Heng had already reached the door, Ya Fei's delicate brows knitted together as she fell into thought. Su Heng did not give her much time, and she could only compromise in the end.

"Ha! I knew it. What you made from me before is one thing, but I won't give you another chance now!"

Su Heng snorted. Looking at the somewhat disappointed Ya Fei, he smiled smugly.