Bargaining

The Iron Eater Ancestor looked at Gu Yuanqing and snorted, "Human Race brat, don't try any tricks. I know you're all cunning. When dealing with you, you have to follow the rules. Don't think about anything else. Today, either you pay your rent, or you take this mountain and leave this place."

Gu Yuanqing fell silent for a moment. This Iron Eater Beast seemed stubborn and unyielding. Judging from its words, he wondered if it had been tricked before. He sighed, "Senior's cultivation is profound, and you are so cautious even as a bear. I admire you. You also follow the rules, which should be a model for us juniors. However, I am new here, and there really isn't enough bamboo in the Mountain. I only started raising some after this bear came to collect rent some time ago, but they haven't grown yet. How about this, I'll owe you this year's rent and pay it all next year."

At first, the Iron Eater Ancestor was all smiles as Gu Yuanqing praised him, even glancing back at the Great Gong Venerable, as if to say, "Listen carefully and learn a lot." But as he heard the last part, his eyes widened, and he immediately said, "No way! My Iron Eater Tribe never allows rent arrears."

Gu Yuanqing smiled and said, "Senior, please don't be in such a hurry to refuse. The bamboo I cultivate is different from the bamboo outside. Why don't you try some first?"

As he spoke, he raised his hand, and a bamboo stalk flew over. However, the bamboo stalk was very short, only about two meters long, and with the Object Control Power, it flew away again.

The Iron Eater Ancestor was somewhat disdainful of the bamboo's thinness, but when Gu Yuanqing spread his Divine Sense, the bamboo's aura immediately became apparent. This bamboo was clearly not yet of high quality, but its aura was purer than anything it had ever seen. Its two furry ears twitched, and it felt a strong urge to put its index finger in its mouth. With a few crunches, it swallowed it.

The Great Gong Venerable next to it also smelled the aroma and swallowed hard.

Savoring the aroma of the bamboo, his eyes lit up, and he said, "Not bad... well, it's barely edible. I'll accept this bamboo as rent, but since it's not of high quality, then 100,000 catties a year will suffice."

Gu Yuanqing's lips twitched slightly.

The Iron Eater Tribe Ancestor said, "Don't think it's too much. Grade-grade bamboo is Spirit Materials, which needs to be nurtured with Demonic Spirit Stone and watered with precious blood. It takes at least several decades, or even hundreds of years, to grow. Eating it is beneficial to cultivation. Ordinary bamboo, on the other hand, can be found everywhere and is not worth anything. Ten thousand catties of ordinary bamboo are not as good as one catty of grade-grade bamboo. Your bamboo tastes good, so I made an exception and agreed to give it to you."

Gu Yuanqing was clearly very satisfied with the meal, and was now blatantly lying. Although if it were irrigated with Spirit Spring Water and aided in its growth with the Object Control Art, 100,000 catties of bamboo would be nothing, he didn't want to be fooled by this Iron Eater Beast. Besides, he had other plans!

He quickly changed his mind, sighed, and said, "Ten thousand catties is too much. Even if I didn't cultivate every day and devoted all my time to cultivating this bamboo, I still couldn't produce that many in a year. Well, it seems I have no affinity with nobles, so I can only withdraw from your territory and find another place to settle down."

Xiong Ba was taken aback. He hadn't expected Gu Yuanqing to leave without even haggling. He remembered that Human Race usually asked for exorbitant prices and then negotiated down. He quickly said, "Don't rush off. Since you think you can't afford it, we can discuss it. How about this: 50,000 catties a year?"

Gu Yuanqing shook his head and smiled bitterly, "Forget it, I'll find a way to leave today."

Iron Eater Ancestor gritted his teeth and said, "Ten thousand catties? This bamboo is still not up to standard."

Gu Yuanqing explained, "Senior, you collect a lot of high-grade bamboo from various tribes every year. Have you ever seen any bamboo with a purer aura than this?"

"Five thousand catties, no less!" The Iron Eater Ancestor's words were firm and resolute, as if no further reduction was allowed.

"Leaving aside the rarity of this bamboo variety, does the senior know how to cultivate it? I need to use Array Formation to remove the malevolent energy from the Demonic Qi, and condense Spirit Water with my Divine Sense every day to water it. The effort and resources required are considerable. It is no less than that of cultivating bamboo to a higher grade."

The Iron Eater Ancestor hesitated for a long time, seemingly having made a great decision. "Five thousand catties every year, and all the land within a three-hundred-mile radius will be yours."

Gu Yuanqing held up one finger. "A thousand catties a year, and all the land within a thousand miles around will belong to me."

"No, no matter how good the bamboo tastes, it's still not top-grade and not worth the price."

Gu Yuanqing smiled slightly, "Since you understand the Human Race so well, you should know that there is a saying among Human Race: 'Things are valued for their rarity.' Even if this item is not as good as top-grade bamboo, its scarcity makes it worth the price."

The Iron Eater Ancestor was clearly dissatisfied. "Didn't you say you didn't need such a large territory?"

Gu Yuanqing smiled calmly, "Then I'll give you a hundred catties of this bamboo every year, and I won't need this land."

The Iron Eater Ancestor shook his head repeatedly. "A hundred catties won't do, it's not even enough for one bite of my food."

Gu Yuanqing smiled and said, "That's why I made this suggestion. I really don't need this land, but a trade must be fair. The thousand-mile land is just a bonus. And senior, please don't feel like you're losing out. I haven't been cultivating this bamboo for very long. If it were several decades later, even if it couldn't reach the highest grade, it would still be far superior to what it is now. And to be honest, senior, I'm a bit short on funds. I was thinking that if I cultivated this bamboo well, I could exchange it with the nobles for some items for Divine Platform Foundation Establishment."

Xiong Ba looked at Gu Yuanqing suspiciously. "You haven't achieved the Divine Platform yet?"

Gu Yuanqing naturally didn't want to reveal his true intentions. With a thought, the Cloudmist swirling around North Spring Mountain dispersed slightly, revealing Xing Fei, Lu Jianqiu, Zhang Xuanlin, Ji Qingyun, and others who were looking up at him from within the Mountain. He then said, "It's just for exchanging for some juniors. If they achieve success in their cultivation, I can save some effort for my own cultivation."

Xiong Ba glanced at the person in the Mountain, then didn't think much of it. After hesitating for a long time, he said reluctantly, "Alright, you're new here, and my Iron Eater Tribe is kind to people, so we'll suffer a little loss as a favor. Let's start with a thousand catties, but in fifty years, it won't be this amount. Now, bring me this year's rent." Thinking of the taste in his mouth, he smacked his lips, unable to resist.

Gu Yuanqing saw this and knew that the bamboo from before couldn't possibly be this delicious. However, when he presented this bamboo, he used a bit of the Heavenly Fishing Bait Transformation Technique and added a wisp of Dao Resonance to it.

Although it's far inferior to bait formed from genuine Dao Resonance, it's still enough to attract a bear.

He shook his head and smiled wryly, "This is actually the second thing I wanted to tell you, senior. I've just started cultivating this bamboo, so I don't have this much yet. Could you collect the rent together next year?"

The Iron Eater Ancestor was naturally unwilling and was about to speak.

Gu Yuanqing interjected, "However, I can give you a hundred catties, and next year I will still offer two thousand, not a bit less. It's not that I'm stingy, but this bamboo has just been cultivated, and the bamboo variety is rare. If too much is harvested, it will damage the roots, and the loss will outweigh the gain. If you don't believe me, you can come to the Mountain and see for yourself."

Upon hearing this, the Iron Eater Ancestor probed the mountain again with his Divine Sense. After hesitating for a moment, he said, "Never mind. My Iron-Eating Tribe Innate Divine Ability ability to sense the Human Heart. I think you're a fairly honest kid, unlike other Human Race are cunning. So I won't go into the mountain. Just bring me the hundred catties of this bamboo first."

Gu Yuanqing secretly sighed in regret. He had actually wanted to test whether North Spring Mountain could suppress a true Heavenly Human Realm, but then he thought it was for the best. If the bear really came in and they couldn't suppress it, then they would be in big trouble.

He raised his hand and summoned over a hundred catties of bamboo, adding a touch of Dao Resonance before sending it away. Then he reminded him, "Senior, please note that this bamboo is not easy to preserve. The longer it's kept, the less flavorful it will be. The fresher it is, the more delicious it will be."

Upon seeing this bamboo, the Iron Eater Ancestor could no longer resist. With a broad smile, he plucked a bamboo stalk, sniffed it, and said, "No need for you to say more, this old ancestor naturally knows that bamboo is best when it's fresh."

The bamboo was very small, only a few pounds per stalk. It ate it up in a few bites, leaves and all. Looking at the bundle in its hand, which was so small, it felt it had to be used sparingly.

Standing behind, the Great Gong Venerable kept swallowing hard, Iron Eater Ancestor pulled out a stick and gave it to him.

It happily took the food and started eating, its entire bear face relaxing, its ears tilting back almost like airplane ears, clearly enjoying itself immensely.

Reluctantly, the Iron Eater Ancestor put the bundle of bamboo into the storage bracelet on his bear arm, and shouted, "Human Race boy, don't forget next year at this time. You can't be late with the rent again."

Gu Yuanqing smiled and cupped his hands in greeting, "Senior, rest assured. You can also bring some items for Divine Platform Foundation Establishment. I will definitely cultivate diligently this year, and perhaps there will be extra bamboo to replace some later."

The Iron Eater Ancestor gave a soft hum in agreement, and before leaving, he turned back and asked, "By the way, what is the name of this bamboo?"

This bamboo is nothing more than the most common Water Bamboo in the Floating World, but he certainly couldn't say its name now. He smiled and said, "Zen Heart Demonic Bamboo."

"Zen Mind? That's not a good name, it sounds unpleasant. Change it later!"

Then, with a wave of its bear paw, it carried the Great Gong Venerable deity away on a cloud.

Hundreds of miles away, it slowed down, straightened its body, put its hands behind its back, and said to the Great Gong Venerable deity, "Little San, did you learn anything today?"

The Great Gong Venerable nodded repeatedly, praising, "Every word the Ancestor spoke just now seemed to have profound meaning!"

"Of course, that's how you deal with Human Race. You have to start with a high price, leaving room for negotiation. If I had asked for a thousand catties right away, I would have been lucky to get a hundred catties later. Also, when bargaining, your words, demeanor, and actions all need to be coordinated. You need to carefully understand this. Don't just think about eating and sleeping all day..."

In North Spring Mountain.

Zhang Xuanlin and Ji Qingyun watched the two bears disappear into the distance.

Ji Qingyun said, "Sect Master, Gu Yuanqing's feigned politeness suggests that both beasts are Great Demon at the Void Heaven Realm."

Zhang Xuanlin's gaze turned slightly grave. "I'm afraid it's not just that. No wonder the Cultivation World has always been so wary of the Demon Realm. If the two realms were connected, the Cultivation World would be in grave danger."

In another Courtyard, quite far away.

Xing Fei and Lu Jianqiu also looked up.

"Was that Xiong Ba just now the ancestor of the Iron-Eating Tribe?"

Xing Fei nodded and said, "That should be true. I didn't expect to see a Celestial Being so soon after entering these Ten Thousand Mountains. Moreover, they seem to be different from other demonic beasts, getting along so well with our human race. It seems that the Sect Master's choice to enter Lanting City this time was correct. It's a pity about the journey... Alas!"

Gu Yuanqing withdrew his gaze, a smile playing on his lips. Today's gains were quite good, and more importantly, it seemed he had indeed found a way to exchange for items needed for the Divine Platform Foundation Establishment.

In this Demon Realm, he has very few valuable possessions. If he could exchange some bamboo for these heavenly materials and earthly treasures, it would be a huge profit. His only worry is whether these treasures in the Demon Realm will be corrupted by Demonic Qi. If so, he would have to go through a lot of trouble to acquire them.

The Floating World, outside North Spring Mountain.

Kuang Tongyi stood on the mountaintop for a whole day, gazing at North Spring Mountain. He had complete trust in the Sect Master of the Upper Realm, but even now, he still hadn't heard the Sect Master come down the mountain, and his heart slowly began to tremble with anxiety.

As evening approached, he finally couldn't resist arriving at the gate of North Spring Mountain, cupping his hands in greeting and calling out loudly, "Daoist Friend, please show yourself!"