Inside a lavishly decorated room on the top floor of the Fengle Auction House.
Nearly every corner of the room was adorned with coral, gold, and jade, lending it an air of dazzling opulence.
At one side of the room, a finely crafted incense burner stood on a long table made from superior spirit wood. Wisps of pale smoke rose from it, filling the air with a faint, elegant fragrance, fresh and lingering, neither heavy nor sharp, hovering almost imperceptibly beneath the nose. As Elder Liu entered the room and caught its scent, his spirits lifted instantly, and the frustration in his heart seemed to be swept away.
After drawing a deep breath, Elder Liu approached a slightly stout, middle-aged man in luxurious robes who was meditating with his eyes closed. He bowed respectfully. "Elder Chen."
Elder Chen opened his eyes and glanced at Elder Liu. "How did it go? He still refused, I take it?"
Elder Liu bowed, smiling bitterly. "Yes. He brushed me off again."
He had just delivered another batch of Demon Cores to Lin Yun and taken the opportunity to request an exchange for the method of refining Spell Pellets, only to be fobbed off once more.
Elder Liu paused, then added hesitantly, "Also, Fellow Daoist Wang, who serves under Elder Ye, seems to have been asking around about the source of the Spell Pellets."
Elder Chen narrowed his eyes at this. "Hah! You needn't worry about Elder Ye's subordinate. Let him ask around. What does it matter if he discovers their source? We all belong to the Fengle Merchant Alliance, after all. For now, our interests align."
Then he chuckled. "As for our young friend Lin... hah! Young people truly don't know how high the heavens are or how deep the earth runs."
But a