The meeting with the American cultivators had been scheduled for that afternoon.
The venue was a manor.
It was one of the properties in Tokyo owned by the Smith Family, a major cultivation family from North America.
Deep within the manor stood a waterside pavilion.
At that moment, three people from the two parties sat around a tea table in the pavilion, chatting over tea.
After a little conversation and a few more sips of tea, the other party got straight to the point and proposed a deal:
"Xia, I know that besides your Talisman Way Inheritance, the Peninsula Li Family also has a tradition of using the Talisman Way to contract Shikigami! You had your clansmen buy soul-nourishing wood in Tokyo, most likely to make high-quality shrines, didn't you? As it happens, I have an exceptionally rare, precious piece of soul-nourishing wood.
"Originally, I intended to trade it with another friend from your Li Family's main line. But as far as I'm concerned, dealing with the main line is no different from dealing with someone from a branch line like you.
"So if you show some sincerity and offer a suitable price, I'd naturally rather avoid making a special trip to the peninsula..."
Javier Smith was a gifted young man from the Smith Family's main line.
He happened to be visiting Tokyo in the Island Nation.
Beside him sat a young man from a branch line of the Smith Family, who also managed this manor. His name was Glenn Smith.
"This piece of soul-nourishing wood is four hundred years old. It's exceedingly rare on the market, the finest of the fine! With this as the primary material, you could easily make two shrines.
"Xia, name your price.
"Oh, and please show some sincerity. If your offer falls too far short of our expectations, we'll have to turn you down."
Business negotiations might not draw blood, but pressure lurked at every turn.
Li Xia fell into thought.
He knew these two from the Smith Family were after the Li Family's talismans.
Although the Li Family sold some talismans each year, most were auctioned off at high prices. In other words, not every cultivator could get their hands on the Li Family's talismans. Anyone who wanted more could only obtain them from members of the family.
Whether they belonged to the main line or a branch line, powerful oaths made it highly unlikely that the talisman inheritance would leak. But the finished talismans made by family members could be traded privately, allowing both sides to get what they needed through barter.
That was precisely the kind of transaction taking place between Li Xia and the two Smith Family members.
"There's no denying that four-hundred-year-old soul-nourishing wood is quite rare, but that doesn't mean I have no other way of obtaining it. Given enough time, I could use certain family channels to procure wood of even better quality than this piece."
Li Xia was simply trying to drive down the price.
He could not let the two men demand whatever exorbitant price they pleased.
"Really? Xia, isn't it interesting that someone from a branch line like you is buying soul-nourishing wood?"
Glenn Smith spoke with a genial smile.
Collecting high-quality soul-nourishing wood to make shrines already revealed a great deal, albeit indirectly.
First, the buyer had either successfully captured a Demon Wraith with supernatural abilities, or knew of one and had a good chance of capturing it. In other words, collecting soul-nourishing wood was advance preparation for forming a contract.
Second, despite belonging to a branch line, Li Xia actually possessed the means to contract Demon Wraiths as Shikigami, something only members of the main line were entitled to learn!
For a branch-line member to gain access to one of the family's core inheritances, he must have rendered a great service!
And what sort of service would an ancient family of spellcasters consider great?
Thus...
This, in turn, confirmed that the young man before them most likely had information on a Demon Wraith, or already had one in his possession.
"Gentlemen, let's keep business to business. Prying into everything isn't very polite."
Li Xia spoke calmly.
Inside, however, he was on full alert.
He had not expected members of a North American cultivation family to be so difficult to handle.
In such a short time, these two had pieced together his general circumstances from a handful of clues.
In truth, they had only reached that conclusion after gathering information for over half a day and discussing it at length.
It was not a conclusion drawn from a few words after meeting him.
"All right, Xia. We'll stick to business and leave everything else aside..."
"Hmph!"
In the end, Li Xia handed over three self-made premium low-tier talismans comparable to Intermediate Talismans, along with twenty-two inferior low-tier talismans, before finally obtaining the precious piece of soul-nourishing wood.
In cultivation circles, barter naturally could not use mundane money as currency. Finished talismans served as a form of hard currency. Many other similar products, such as magical artifacts, pills, and spirit fluid, also qualified.
Once the transaction was complete, both sides also reached a simple agreement.
Namely:
All three were to keep that day's transaction secret.
Li Xia wanted to hurry back, make the shrine, and complete his Shikigami contract with the Flesh-Bodied Human Face! He had no interest in lingering for idle pleasures with these two people from the United States! Besides, the longer he stayed and the more he said, the easier it would be to make a mistake.
He no longer dared underestimate any young member of a cultivation family.
Take this United States Smith Family, for instance. Its system for training family members appeared considerably more mature than that of the Peninsula Li Family. Young men who had only just reached adulthood were already capable of handling matters independently.
What Li Xia did not know was that, moments after he left, a convoy arrived at the Smith Family's manor from another direction.
A middle-aged man stepped out of the convoy and stared intently in the direction Li Xia had gone for a long time.
"What's wrong, Uncle?"
Javier Smith approached and asked.
The middle-aged man standing at the manor gates narrowed his eyes. He seemed about to speak, but held his tongue. Only after entering a room inside the manor did he ask his nephew:
"Which family did the man who just left belong to? Does he have powerful backing?"
The middle-aged man was Sean Smith, an expert of the Smith Family's middle generation.
Although born into a branch line, he had earned a place in the main line by helping the family find a supreme treasure, gaining access to many ancient inheritances the family had accumulated.
"He's from a branch line of the Peninsula Li Family. He probably rendered some service to the family and won the favor of its higher-ups, who granted him the Li Family's inheritance for contracting Shikigami! His father's generation is fairly average in cultivation, so their strength probably doesn't amount to much. Why do you ask, Uncle? Do you have something in mind for him?"
Javier raised his eyebrows, his face full of surprise and confusion.
Beside him, Glenn was equally bewildered and uncertain.
"A branch-line member? And like me, he earned the higher-ups' recognition by rendering a great service to his family!
"Well, well. Then perhaps what my pet Hardy and I sensed earlier was right!"
The middle-aged man stroked his chin and chuckled.
There was something distinctly unusual about his smile.
The two young Smith Family members beside him were even more baffled.
But Sean, who had begun forming other plans, offered no further explanation. Instead, he found the room's landline and called the United States, informing the leader of his faction within the family about the unusual sensation he had experienced and some of his suspicions.
"You're saying that both you and your contracted spirit sensed the aura of that kind of supreme treasure? Sean, are you certain you weren't mistaken?"
A voice filled with surprise and delight came through the receiver.
The middle-aged man answered with absolute certainty:
"Elder, there's no mistake! Handing over that very thing all those years ago was what brought me the success and standing I enjoy today!"
"Besides, better to kill the wrong person than let the right one slip away!
"We're now in the End of Dharma Age. The immortal path was severed long ago, and the vast majority of divine objects have lost the wondrous powers they possessed in ancient times. Only that kind of supreme treasure still retains its miraculous power!
"It can not only strengthen individuals, but even help cultivators like us prolong our lives or obtain undying bodies..."
Hearing his prized protégé's firm assurances, and recalling the many marvelous powers attributed to that supreme treasure in ancient texts, the person on the other end grew even more delighted and excited.
"Good. Keep a close eye on the target!
"I'll send people over to help you immediately!
"And remember, don't get greedy for credit, rush ahead, and alert him! Wait until the reinforcements arrive!"
"Elder, I think it would be best to approach the Peninsula Li Family first. For instance, we could invite this young man named Li Xia to our Smith Family in the United States for an academic exchange! Once he's on our turf, everything will be easy to handle! And I doubt the Li Family would refuse an academic exchange!"
The so-called academic exchange was really an opportunity for adolescent boys and girls to spend more time together.
If these hormone-fueled young people took a liking to one another, getting together would be only natural.
The insignificant Li Family had no reason to refuse the "goodwill" of a behemoth like the Smith Family.
"If the Li Family on the peninsula refuses, then they clearly don't know what's good for them!"
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