A Rare Treasure Held for a Higher Price, Might Used to Crush Others

Flowing Light Immortal City, Free Trade Zone.

Although this place is nominally a "free" place to set up stalls, those who can occupy a place here are all formidable characters with some skills. The ground is not covered with rags, but with animal hides that can block divine sense from probing. The goods on display are dazzling, and there are even rare treasures that are hard to find in the outside world.

Following the intense heat of the laws, Dongfang Yueming passed through the bustling crowd and finally stopped in front of a stall that was completely surrounded by people.

The stall owner was a middle-aged man dressed in a gray robe, with a weathered face and slightly graying temples. His cultivation level was at the peak of the Immortal Lord Perfection.

But his expression was unusually tense at this moment, as he tightly guarded a jade box in the center of the stall.

The jade box was open, revealing a crystal no bigger than a thumb, its entire body as red as blood, with what appeared to be a fiery lotus slowly blooming inside, radiating a heart-palpitating fluctuation of laws.

[Mid-Level Law Crystal - Fire]!

"It really is good stuff."

Dongfang Yueming stood on the outskirts of the crowd, his eyes slightly brightening.

He is now only missing one final piece of the Fire Law puzzle, and to complete this final piece, he needs three intermediate pieces.

Although he could use three lower-grade crystals to synthesize a mid-grade crystal, that would be too complicated. Now that there's a ready-made mid-grade crystal in front of him, there's no reason to let it go.

At this moment, the one making the bid is an elderly man in the Early Immortal King, dressed in fine clothes.

"Fellow Daoist, although this crystal is of good quality, it is only of mid-grade."

The old man stroked his beard and held up five fingers. "Five million low-grade immortal stones. That price is already top-tier in the market. What do you think?"

Five million low-grade immortal stones are enough to buy a decent third-tier immortal artifact.

However, the stall owner firmly shook his head.

"Not for sale."

"Hmm?" The old man frowned, clearly displeased. "Fellow Daoist, do you perhaps think it's too little? Then I'll add another two million! Seven million low-grade immortal stones! This is my bottom line; don't be too greedy!"

The surrounding onlookers erupted in an uproar.

"Seven million? That price is almost enough to buy half a fourth-tier immortal artifact!"

"What's this stall owner thinking? Why isn't he selling?"

Faced with the crowd's discussion and the old man's pressure, the stall owner took a deep breath and gritted his teeth, saying:

"I don't lack immortal stones."

"I only need... fourth-tier immortal gold!"

He held up three fingers, his gaze fixed intently on the crowd. "Give me three pieces of fourth-tier immortal gold, and I'll offer this crystal with both hands!"

"What?!"

"Fourth-tier Immortal Gold? And three more pieces?!"

These words immediately caused an uproar in the room.

Even the old man who made the offer was amused and exasperated. "Fellow Daoist, are you out of your mind because you're so poor?"

"What kind of treasure is fourth-tier immortal gold? It's the main material for refining Immortal Immortal Artifact at the Immortal King level! A single piece is priceless, often with no market available! The value of three pieces of fourth-tier immortal gold far exceeds seven million immortal stones!"

"You want to exchange a Mid-Level Law Crystal for three pieces of fourth-tier immortal gold? That's utterly delusional!"

The stall owner's face flushed red, but a hint of stubbornness and helplessness flashed in his eyes.

I know this is a bit unreasonable.

"But I've been stuck at the Immortal Lord Perfection for thousands of years. If I don't rebuild my physical body with fourth-tier immortal gold, I'll have no hope of breaking through to the Immortal King in this lifetime!"

This is my only chance!

Upon hearing this, although everyone understood his predicament, they still shook their heads.

Fourth-tier immortal gold is too precious. Who would carry such a strategic resource with them? Even if they did, they wouldn't exchange it for a Mid-Level Law Crystal. No matter how you look at it, this deal would be a loss.

Just as the light in the stall owner's eyes began to dim, and he thought that he was destined not to make a sale today.

"Get out of my way! All of you, get out of my way!"

A harsh shout suddenly came from behind the crowd.

Immediately afterwards, a powerful gust of wind swept in, forcefully pushing the crowd of onlookers to their sides and squeezing out a passage.

A young master dressed in a purple robe with dragon patterns swaggered in, surrounded by a group of wicked servants.

Half a step behind him was a middle-aged guard in black armor with a stern face.

Although the guard did not deliberately release any pressure, the faint yet terrifying aura made all the Immortal Lord present feel breathless!

Immortal King Realm!

"It's... it's Jiao Yan, the young master of the Crimson Flood Dragon Manor Jiao Yan?!"

"Oh my god, why is he here?"

Someone recognized the young master's identity, turned pale with fright, and quickly lowered their head, not daring to meet his gaze.

The Crimson Flood Dragon Manor is a powerful force within the Flowing Light Immortal City. It is said that its lord is a powerful Immortal Emperor Realm, and he can be said to have absolute power in this border region.

Jiao Yan walked up to the stall, glanced at the crystal in the jade box with his narrow, triangular eyes, and a hint of greed flashed in his eyes.

"Excellent, of excellent quality."

He snapped his folding fan shut, pointed at the crystal, and said, "This young master is about to comprehend the Fire Law; I want this."

The stall owner, seeing this display, instinctively trembled, but still forced himself to say, "Young master... you've heard the rules, three pieces of fourth-grade immortal gold..."

"Fourth-tier Immortal Metal?"

Jiao Yan chuckled as if he had heard a joke.

"You actually dare to ask?"

He casually tossed a storage bag onto the stall.

"There are three million low-grade immortal stones inside."

"I've taken the things, but keep the money."

"Consider this a reward from me."

Having said that, he didn't give the stall owner a chance to react and reached out to grab the jade box.

"What?! Three... three million?!"

The stall owner panicked, frantically reaching out to protect the jade box, shouting in grief and indignation, "This is less than half the market price! I won't sell! I won't sell!"

"Um?"

Jiao Yan paused, his face instantly darkening.

"You're asking for it, aren't you?"

"In this Flowing Light Immortal City, no one dares to refuse my business!"

He hadn't finished speaking.

The black- Immortal King guard behind him suddenly let out a cold snort.

"Boom--!"

A terrifying pressure belonging to the Late-stage Immortal King, like a mountain, crashed down on the stall owner who was only at the peak of Immortal Lord Perfection!

"Puff!"

The stall owner was struck dumb, spitting out a mouthful of blood. He was pinned to the ground on his stall, unable to move!

"If you refuse a toast, you'll have to drink a forfeit."

Jiao Yan sneered and forcibly pried the jade box out of the stall owner's trembling hand.

Three million? That's giving you a lot of credit.

"If you dare utter another word, you might lose your life!"

The surrounding cultivators watched this scene with indignation, but none of them dared to utter a sound.

That's the young master of the Crimson Flood Dragon Manor, protected by Immortal King! Who would dare to cross him?

The stall owner was filled with despair, watching helplessly as his hopes for promotion were snatched away. Tears mingled with blood as they streamed down his face.

Jiao Yan triumphantly played with the crystal, just as he was about to turn and leave.

Just then...

"This thing..."

A calm, somewhat untimely voice suddenly rang out from the silent crowd.

"... I've got my eye on it."