(Third Update)
"Yes! Would you be interested, Senior?" Li Xiaoya nodded firmly, then hurriedly added, "We're not giving up the Heavenly Starstone entirely. We only want enough for our own use! What do you think, Senior?"
"Is that so?" the Whale-Swallowing Beast murmured, its six huge eyes rolling about as though it were weighing the proposal. (!)
"...!" Li Xiaoya waited patiently, nodding to Blue Ice and Dong Santong to signal that they need not worry. He was not afraid the Whale-Swallowing Beast would refuse; this bargain offered it a hundred benefits and not a single disadvantage. First, it could keep most of the Heavenly Starstone for itself. Second, it would not have to fight them and risk its life. Third, once it sent them away, it would no longer have to worry about Li Xiaoya lingering in the Ten-Thousand-Zhang Sea like a danger at its side, coveting the Heavenly Starstone. Of course, returning to the Great Illusion Continent was what mattered most to Li Xiaoya and the others. With such an enormous piece of Heavenly Starstone, a portion would be more than enough for them. What use did they have for so much? Getting out of the Ten-Thousand-Zhang Sea mattered most. After all, once they were dead, even the finest treasures would be useless.
"Fine! I agree!" Sure enough, the Whale-Swallowing Beast accepted without hesitation, but then paused and added, "But I have one condition!"
"A condition? Let's hear it!" Li Xiaoya was taken aback, but his expression remained unchanged.
"You won't give me that damned sea snake's inner core! But you must give me its hide and skeleton!" the Whale-Swallowing Beast said.
"Its hide and skeleton? What do you want those for?" Li Xiaoya asked curiously, startled but not refusing. He understood perfectly well why it wanted the