A Deal Means Paying Extra!

Upon hearing Wang Chen's second request, Hai Bodong fell silent.

The half- Fragmented Map in Wang Chen's hand was a Fragmented Map he had obtained by chance.

He studied it for a long time, and although he didn't figure anything out, he was very certain that it was an extremely valuable treasure.

Relying on his years of honed drafting skills, he divided the Fragmented Map in two.

I'll put half of it on the map shelf and fish for it, hoping to meet someone who knows the Fragmented Map.

The other half was secretly hidden by him.

If he happens to encounter a master who understands the value of the Fragmented Map and is someone he cannot defeat, then the remaining small half of the Fragmented Map can still serve as a bargaining chip.

To be honest, Hai Bodong had already sensed Wang Chen's strength.

He is definitely a formidable expert.

Even without the seal, let alone his current sealed form, he wasn't very confident he could defeat Wang Chen.

However, he was somewhat reluctant to hand over the remaining small Fragmented Map.

This thing is arguably his most valuable asset right now.

Once it's handed over, the chances of him breaking the seal become extremely slim.

"Since you want this Fragmented Map, I'm afraid I know its value."

"I'd rather give it away for free, that's definitely not an option."

After thinking for a moment, Hai Bodong decided not to hand over the map directly.

"However, we can make a deal."

"If you can help me refine one pill, I will not only give you the Fragmented Map, but also the Zhang Dan formula."

After careful consideration, Ice Emperor Hai Bodong finally voiced his thoughts.

Wang Chen's strength has been recognized by him, and he also happens to have something that Wang Chen needs.

That would make the transaction much safer.

Whether Wang Chen is Alchemist or not is completely unimportant to Hai Bodong.

After all, given Wang Chen's abilities, even if he wasn't Alchemist, he should have been able to contact one to help him Alchemist pills.

That's why Hai Bodong took the opportunity to propose this deal.

Trading with Wang Chen is much safer than directly seeking out Alchemist to trade with.

After all, his current strength doesn't allow him to go out and have fun at will.

Wang Chen smiled upon hearing Hai Bodong's words.

"You want me to concoct medicine? You should know the rules for Alchemist, right?"

"Give me the three sets of medicinal herbs and the prescription, and I might agree to the deal."

As a time traveler, Wang Chen naturally knew about Hai Bodong's situation.

The reason I'm saying this is simply because I don't want to end up like Xiao Yan in the original story, helping others obtain the Sand Mandala for nothing.

After all, Wang Chen wanted this Fragmented Map only so that he could better exchange it for the alchemy inheritance from Yao Lao.

Simply put, this is just a bargaining chip, not a necessity.

Wang Chen certainly wouldn't do what Huohuo did in the original story—effortlessly try to seize the Sand Mandala.

Although Wang Chen did want to go to the Snake People Tribe, that didn't mean he was willing to work for free.

You can get the Sand Mandala, but you'll have to pay extra!

Hearing Wang Chen's words, Hai Bodong felt a little embarrassed.

He did manage to collect other auxiliary materials.

The vast majority are portions of two to three servings.

However, the most crucial ingredient— Sand Mandala— was not present.

It's absolutely unrealistic to expect him to go to the Snake People Tribe and seize the Sand Mandala right now.

Back when he was still at the Dou Emperor level, he was directly sealed away by Queen Medusa.

If anyone dares to enter the territory of the Snake People Tribe now, Queen Medusa will immediately sense it.

Then he would truly have become someone who traveled a thousand miles to deliver a head, a small gift but a great sentiment.

"I've collected all the other medicinal herbs, but I haven't yet found the most important one— the Sand Mandala."

In the end, Hai Bodong stammered out the truth.

After all, there's no way to hide this; it concerns whether he can break through the seal, so he can't choose to conceal it.

Otherwise, you'll be the one who suffers.

"No main ingredient? Then how do you plan to refine the medicine?"

Could it be that the remaining pills can also be refined into the one you desire?

Wang Chen didn't even respond to the question; instead, he directly asked a counter-question.

"Because I am sealed by Queen Medusa, I will inevitably be discovered by the Snake People Tribe if I get close to them."

Therefore, I have no way of going to the Snake People Tribe to find the Sand Mandala."

"I hope you can help me get one."

Ice Emperor Hai Bodong had no choice but to express his thoughts.

"Even someone as famous as Ice Emperor Hai Bodong was sealed away by Queen Medusa when he went to the Snake People Tribe."

"If someone as insignificant as me went there, wouldn't that be a free kill?"

Hearing Wang Chen's slightly sarcastic words, Hai Bodong knew that it was impossible to avoid paying a price.

"Of course, I won't let you White Gang."

"As long as you can retrieve the Sand Mandala, I will give you anything you need as payment."

Hai Bodong directly mentioned a seemingly very large reward, but upon closer inspection, it was actually just empty promises.

After all, how could Wang Chen possibly know how much he possessed?

How much they give will ultimately be up to Hai Bodong to decide.

Even if Wang Chen wanted more, he could simply say no; he couldn't just conjure it up out of thin air.

However, this method might succeed in fooling unsuspecting natives.

As a time traveler, Wang Chen was very familiar with this kind of empty promise tactic from his previous life.

"The Snake People Tribe is so terrifying, I risked my life to seize Snake People Tribe treasure— the Sand Mandala— for you."

"This will cost extra!"

Wang Chen didn't waste any words and directly stated his purpose.

Anyway, he was going to visit the Snake People Tribe anyway, and taking on a job while he was there to earn some extra money would be a pretty good deal.

Upon hearing the first half of Wang Chen's sentence, Hai Bodong assumed that Wang Chen was going to refuse.

But to everyone's surprise, Wang Chen's refusal to change course was so sudden.

However, for Ice Emperor Hai Bodong, it was fine as long as Wang Chen agreed.

As long as he can recover to his Dou Emperor strength, even if it comes at a price, it will still be worth it.

"Okay. Except for the previous conditions."

I can also make the decisions; whatever you need, I can arrange for someone to collect it for you.

And it's 30% off.

"I imagine you've heard of the Mittel Family of the Jia Ma Empire."

To get Wang Chen to help, Ice Emperor Hai Bodong offered all the bargaining chips he could.

After all, he really doesn't have many bargaining chips left to offer.

After being sealed away by Queen Medusa, he secretly hid in this small desert town.

Most of his belongings were exchanged for materials to refine the Po'e Pill.

Most importantly, the value of the elixir is even greater.

He used almost everything he had to exchange for these two items.

Naturally, they couldn't offer any more treasures to entice Wang Chen.

They could only use the Mittel Family's reputation as their last bargaining chip.

"This is the Supreme Elder Token of the Mittel Family."

To convince Wang Chen of his words, Ice Emperor Hai Bodong even took out a token.

Wang Chen glanced at it casually, without examining it carefully.

After all, Wang Chen knew very well about Ice Emperor Hai Bodong's background.

There is no need for a thorough inspection.

Wang Chen was relatively satisfied with the price Hai Bodong had paid.

After all, the opponent's strength is only so high, and they have been sealed for so many years, so the maximum amount of bargaining chips they can offer is limited.

Press it down a little longer; a little more oil might come out.

But it's unnecessary.

Getting the other person to help you wholeheartedly is far more important.

Having an established force helping to collect various Exotic Metal would definitely make things much easier for Wang Chen than if he tried to collect them all by himself.

Wang Chen's demand for Exotic Metal is enormous.

After all, each special Heavenly Demon Puppet requires a considerable amount of Exotic Metal.

This concerns the combat power of the Heavenly Demon Puppet, so Wang Chen naturally couldn't skimp on it.

If cutting costs doesn't work, then the only option is to increase revenue.

Only in this way can more Heavenly Demon Puppet be created.

These long-established families, who have been in the auction business for countless years, naturally have their own channels for collecting all kinds of goods.

This is far more efficient than having outsiders collect things haphazardly.

As the saying goes, snakes have their paths, and rats have theirs.

Professional tasks should be left to professionals.

After agreeing on the payment, Wang Chen left with the map.

He knew the approximate location of the Green Lotus Core Flame, and now these maps confirmed it.

Wang Chen naturally didn't need to search for each marker point one by one like Huohuo.

Wang Chen headed straight for the location of Shi Mo City.

With a clear destination and Wang Chen traveling at full speed, his pace was naturally very fast.

In less than a day, Wang Chen had already arrived near Shi Mo City.

This Shi Mo City can be considered the human city closest to the Snake People Tribe.

Smuggling gangs frequently operate in the surrounding areas, secretly heading to the Snake People Tribe to poach and sell their catch.

While the male Snake-People in the Snake People Tribe are not good-looking, the female Snake-People are indeed very beautiful.

In addition, it has a snake tail, which makes it very popular with some old-school XP users who have a particular fondness for it.

Where there is profit, there will naturally be trade.

Many smuggling gangs risk their lives to sneak into the outskirts of the Snake People Tribe and abduct the beautiful female Snake-People.

The reason they only trafficked Snake People Tribe on the outskirts of the tribe is that if they went deeper into the tribe, those smuggling gangs would never come back alive.

The smuggling gang went to the Snake People Tribe to make money, not to risk their lives.

It was precisely the rampant smuggling gangs that enabled Shi Mo City, the small city closest to the Snake People Tribe, to grow and prosper.

However, no smuggling gangs Headquarters in Shi Mo City.

After all, this place is too close to the Snake People Tribe. If the smuggling gang's intelligence is exposed, the Snake People Tribe might come knocking on their door, and their losses would be too great.

This is precisely why Wang Chen's idea of "acting on behalf of Heaven" was shattered.

As a time traveler, Wang Chen could say he deeply hated human traffickers.

Because one of his best friends from his past life was kidnapped by human traffickers.

Moreover, as I grew up, I saw on television and the internet many families torn apart by human traffickers.

Now that he has transmigrated to this world and has the power to do so, Wang Chen would absolutely not mind killing a few human traffickers if he happened to encounter one and it was within his power.

Unfortunately, those guys didn't give Wang Chen that chance.

Upon entering Shi Mo City, Wang Chen went straight to the restaurant.

Although the continuous travel wasn't particularly tiring, we were still quite travel-worn.

Let's have a meal first, then rest for a night. It's not too late to search for the Heavenly Flames tomorrow.

Anyway, Wang Chen remembered that the location of the Heavenly Flames seemed to be in the eastern part of Shi Mo City.

Although there was no specific location, Wang Chen remembered that the place wasn't too far from Shi Mo City.

With Wang Chen's current powerful soul perception ability, he would definitely be able to detect anything unusual as long as he passed through that area.

After enjoying the delicious food, Wang Chen also heard some news.

For example, the Sand Mercenary Group that appeared in the original story still exists, and it is still the largest force in Shi Mo City besides the City Lord's Mansion.

As for the Mo Tie Mercenary Group founded by Huohuo's two older brothers, it had not yet appeared at this time.

As for whether they will continue to establish mercenary groups in Shi Mo City, Wang Chen couldn't be sure.

After all, the current situation of the Xiao Clan is quite different from the original plot.

Because of Wang Chen's rise to prominence, he has made a name for himself at the Jia Nan Academy. As a result, most of the talented members of the Xiao Clan choose to the Jia Nan Academy.

After all, there was Wang Chen, a "big brother," to help him out there, which was much better than going out on his own.

However, Huohuo's two older brothers did not choose to the Jia Nan Academy like most members of the Xiao Clan.

After all, when Wang Chen left Jia Nan Academy time, the names of Huohuo's two older brothers were not on the list.

Xiao Ding and Xiao Li's talents, while not as exaggerated as Huohuo's, are still considered above average.

They are fully qualified to the Jia Nan Academy.

Wang Chen didn't see their names last time, so it's clear they didn't Jia Nan Academy.

This is most likely because of the Huohuo.

However, this has little to do with Wang Chen.

After all, he had already done more than enough to provide the Xiao Clan with some assistance within the Jia Nan Academy.

He couldn't force all members of the Xiao Clan to accept his help.

As for Huohuo's two older brothers, they will most likely follow the same path as in the original story, essentially leaving Huohuo a way out.

The next day, Wang Chen had a good night's sleep and felt very refreshed.

Without wasting any time, he quickly washed up and headed directly east of Shi Mo City.

Wang Chen didn't need to make a big fuss like the Mo Tie Mercenary Group in the original story, slowly searching with multiple people.

He only needs to fly there and search the place one by one using his own soul perception ability.

Moreover, relying on the intimidating power of his Battle Qi Wings, Wang Chen wasn't worried about any fools bothering him.

After all, those who can possess Battle Qi Wings are at least Dou Wang.

The forces within Shi Mo City neither dared nor had the strength to provoke a Dou Wang.

After all, not everyone is like Huohuo, daring to join in the chaos when they see various Dou Wang or even Dou Emperor fighting over treasures.

Huohuo Huo's talent is innate, and she also has the protection of the Yao Lao.

Without these guarantees, others would naturally be unlikely to do something so Huohuo.

The treasure is important, but my life is more important.

After Wang Chen flew out of Shi Mo City, the entire Shi Mo City was shocked.

In Shi Mo City, where even a Da Dou Shi is usually considered a top expert, the sudden appearance of a Dou Wang or higher expert is naturally very shocking.

However, the people in Shi Mo City only dared to discuss it in private; none of them were fearless enough to chase after Wang Chen's flying path.

"Yes! This is it!"

Wang Chen flew for about half an hour before finally stopping.

He sensed the surroundings as he flew, so his speed naturally slowed down.

Otherwise, given the distance between this location and Shi Mo City, he could probably fly over in less than half a minute.

With Wang Chen's powerful Soul Power, he clearly sensed the unexpectedly active fire-attribute energy in this place.

Wang Chen stopped in mid-air, carefully observing what was below.

Below is a desert plain.

It looks quite ordinary; in the Tagor Desert, there are at least eight hundred, if not a thousand, places like this.

However, Wang Chen did not pay attention to these appearances.

His soul perception ability quickly penetrated beneath the ground, probing for the passage leading to the Green Lotus Core Flame.

However, the very active fire-attribute energy around him did interfere with Wang Chen's senses to some extent.

"Forget it, let's just use the benzene method."

Wang Chen did not continue to investigate, but instead withdrew his Soul Power.

He took out four Heavenly Demon Puppet at the Dou Zun level from his Storage Ring, each in a different direction, and they rushed directly downwards.

With the power of the Heavenly Demon Puppet at the Dou Zun level, opening up the passage would be extremely simple.

Furthermore, the Heavenly Demon Puppet is a painless puppet that does not need to breathe, so there is no need to worry about it being buried under the desert and causing problems.

As for whether they could find the passage by attacking so hard, Wang Chen wasn't worried.

After all, the passage in the original story wasn't a straight, unobstructed passage.

Instead, they are all sorts of crooked and twisted passages.

Wang Chen's arrangement of having the four Heavenly Demon Puppet dig straight down would definitely lead them to the passage from the original story.

Once the location of the passage is determined, Wang Chen's soul perception ability will naturally come in handy.

Having a specific target consumes far less resources than aimless exploration.

"Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!"

Heavenly Demon Puppet at the Dou Zun level is naturally extraordinary when it fights.

A rumbling sound began all around.

"Huh? I found it!"

In less than half a minute, a Heavenly Demon Puppet dug to the passage from the original story.

"Receive!"

Wang Chen directly ordered the other three Heavenly Demon Puppet to return.

After storing the three Heavenly Demon Puppet in his Storage Ring, he headed towards the Heavenly Demon Puppet that had dug the passage.

Relying on his Dou Qi for protection, Wang Chen quickly descended into the underground.

After reuniting with the Heavenly Demon Puppet, Wang Chen immediately ordered it to lead the way, with Wang Chen following closely behind.

With his ability to sense Soul Power, Wang Chen wasn't worried about getting lost or being ambushed.