I Want Ten Million

"This thing won't be easy to find."

Ye Xingchen spoke frankly.

"If it were easy to find, we wouldn't have come looking for you."

Zuo Xiaoqing cut in from the side, her voice crisp. "Innate Spiritual Milk doesn't grow in the outside world. It is nurtured within supreme-grade Source Stones that are more than ten thousand years old."

"Wrapped in a stone skin, its aura is completely sealed off. Divine sense cannot penetrate it at all. Even Azure Cloud City's finest source masters can only make a rough guess from the patterns on the stone skin. There is no certainty whatsoever."

Zuo Tianhe took over. "Over the past year, I have hired no fewer than ten masters. The Source Stones cut to waste were worth more than ten million Spirit Stones, yet we did not even find a single hair."

As he said this, even this great Golden Core cultivator showed a trace of heartache.

"So you set your sights on me?" Ye Xingchen pointed at himself. "You think these eyes of mine, which can see through worthless stones, can help you find it?"

"Correct."

Zuo Tianhe's gaze burned brightly, a sharp gleam shining through his cloudy eyes.

"I saw the original stone that yielded your Red Sun Fire Essence. It was covered in cracks and devoid of spiritual qi—a textbook piece of waste rock."

"That moss-covered stone containing Earthvein Yellow Essence was known as Ghost's Grief, yet you managed to cut a profit from both."

"There cannot be so many coincidences in this world."

Zuo Tianhe leaned forward, his oppressive presence rushing at him head-on.

"Young brother, you possess a set of Blazing Insight that others do not understand. Those are the eyes I wish to borrow."

Ye Xingchen fell silent.

He truly could see.

Under the Source Heaven Eye, the origins of all things had nowhere to hide.

But this job was not easy to accept.

A treasure on the level of Innate Spiritual Milk would certainly be hidden within an extremely high-grade Source Stone.

Such stones were often accompanied by immense danger, perhaps even heaven-and-earth killing intent.

"Ten days from now."

Seeing his hesitation, Zuo Xiaoqing dropped a bombshell.

"Myriad Treasures Pavilion will hold its once-in-a-decade Stone Gambling Convention. This time, a batch of Heaven-Grade Source Stones has been shipped over from Central Province. Several of them were excavated from the edge of the Primordial Ancient Mine."

"According to the joint deductions of several masters, Innate Spiritual Milk is highly likely to be nurtured inside them."

The Primordial Ancient Mine.

It was a forbidden land of the cultivation world. Even a tiny fragment of stone from there would be tainted with The Weird and misfortune, yet it often contained earth-shattering hidden treasures.

"The Left Clan hopes to hire you as our chief consultant, to represent the Left Clan in the competition," Zuo Tianhe said in a deep voice. "There is only one goal: obtain those Source Stones suspected of containing Innate Spiritual Milk."

The great hall sank into dead silence.

Ye Xingchen lifted the cup of spiritual tea, now slightly cool, and took a sip.

Bitter at first, sweet afterward.

If they cut it out, everyone would be happy.

If they failed to cut it out, or cut open some vicious thing, the Left Clan's loss of ten million Spirit Stones might very well be pinned on his head.

Moreover, once he became entangled in a contest of this level, a little Qi Refining Stage shrimp like him could easily be crushed into powder.

But...

High risk, high reward.

Fortune was sought amid danger.

What did he lack the most right now?

Resources.

That bottomless pit called One Qi, Three Purities was still waiting to be filled, and the resources needed for his future cultivation were even more vast.

Relying solely on picking up bargains at Myriad Treasures Pavilion was too slow, and it would also easily draw the attention of those with ulterior motives.

Since the Left Clan had come knocking as a backer, there was no reason not to use them.

Ye Xingchen set down his teacup. Porcelain struck the tabletop with a crisp sound.

He raised his head, his face bearing that trademark smile with a hint of roguishness. The cautious, timid air he had worn before vanished without a trace.

"Innate Spiritual Milk is buried deep. Ordinary methods really won't cut it."

Ye Xingchen leaned back against his chair, his gaze level with Zuo Tianhe's.

"I can help with this. I can even issue a military pledge: as long as that batch of stones truly contains the thing, I can dig it out for you."

"But—"

Ye Xingchen abruptly changed the subject, lightly rubbing his fingers together.

"Clan Head Zuo, let's discuss the price. After all, I'm not running a charity."

Zuo Tianhe froze for a moment, then burst into loud laughter.

"Ha ha ha ha! Good! I like clear-minded people like you—daring to speak and daring to act, without hiding anything!"

Zuo Tianhe swept out a hand. "As long as you can cut out the Innate Spiritual Milk, everything remaining inside that Source Stone, no matter its value, will belong to you!"

"On top of that, I will give you one million Spirit Stones as compensation for your efforts!"

A lavish offer.

That one million Spirit Stones alone was enough to drive ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivators mad.

Yet Ye Xingchen shook his head.

"Not enough."

Zuo Xiaoqing's eyes widened as she looked at him as though he were insane.

"Have you gone mad? If this price were announced, source masters from Central Province would fight until their heads cracked for it!"

"That's them, not me."

"I don't want what is inside the Source Stones. Things from the Primordial Ancient Mine can burn the hand holding them—I'm afraid of them too."

Ye Xingchen raised one finger and waved it in the air.

"One price. Ten million Spirit Stones."

The great hall was empty, and the echoes faded away.

The air seemed to freeze solid.

Ten million Low-Grade Spirit Stones.

"You really dare to name a price!?"

Zuo Xiaoqing's willow brows shot up, and she could not help taking a step forward.

"Ten million is the total income of a small family in Azure Cloud City for ten years! You want to take away that much just by moving your lips?"

Ye Xingchen ignored her bristling anger and merely looked calmly at Zuo Tianhe.

He was gambling.

Gambling on the Left Clan's desperation, and on the resolve of this great Golden Core cultivator.

Zuo Tianhe did not fly into a rage. Instead, a weight almost tangible settled into his cloudy old eyes. He stared at Ye Xingchen for a long time, trying to find even the slightest trace of guilt on the young man's face.

But he was disappointed.

If he were a swindler, he would have thanked heaven and earth and fled with one million long ago.

Daring to ask for ten million meant that this brat was either a madman or... truly confident.

"Father, he is clearly taking advantage of our crisis..."

Zuo Tianhe raised a hand, cutting off his daughter's words.

"Deal."

The two words struck the ground with resounding force.

Zuo Xiaoqing turned her head in astonishment, only to see that her father's face held not anger, but an extra measure of appreciation.

"Wealth is but something outside the body. If this can truly save our ancestor, forget ten million—even twenty million, my Left Clan can afford it." Zuo Tianhe lightly tapped his fingers against the table, producing a steady knock. "Some things cannot be bought even with money."

The scope had opened up.

Ye Xingchen smiled, picked up his teacup again, and drained it in one gulp.

"Refreshing. I like doing business with people of understanding like Clan Head Zuo."

After setting down the cup, Ye Xingchen did not rise in a hurry. Instead, he shifted into a more comfortable position, his fingers unconsciously rubbing the armrest.

"However, since Clan Head Zuo is willing to pay such a sky-high price, this task cannot be so simple." Ye Xingchen lifted his eyelids slightly, his gaze sharp as a blade. "Such a major matter concerns the Left Clan's fortunes. You wouldn't place all your bets on a blind cat like me, would you?"

Zuo Xiaoqing had just been about to retort when Zuo Tianhe stopped her with a look.

The atmosphere congealed subtly for a moment.

Zuo Xiaoqing bit her lip and nodded somewhat unwillingly.

"You are indeed not the only candidate."

"To ensure nothing goes wrong, Father used his connections to hire three long-famous masters of Source Arts from Central Province at great expense."

"Oh?"

Ye Xingchen raised a brow, his interest piqued.

"What kind of immortals are they?"