Wouldn't It Be Wonderful to Make a Killing While the Li Household Was Weak?

Observing Brightness Terrace.

Luo Yongying could neither sit nor stand at ease. They had already waited a long time, and being deep inside this Purple Mansion grand array made him feel ill at ease.

Moreover, they had come with ill intentions, and a True Person possessing a Life Divine Ability was watching over White Jade Mountain.

He could hold back no longer. Turning sideways, he whispered:

"Fellow Daoist Chen, what do you think happened to the Li Household to make Li Zhengchen lose his composure like that?"

Chen Po, however, remained perfectly calm. He was an old hand at the Immortal Foundation stage and had undertaken diplomatic missions and negotiations countless times, long since mastering the art of remaining unruffled in the face of upheaval.

Hearing this, he merely smiled and said unhurriedly:

"Don't be impatient, Fellow Daoist Luo. The Li Household governs many territories and guards the Chu Kingdom's border. They have countless affairs to attend to, so it's perfectly normal for the Household Head to step away on short notice. We need only wait patiently. In any case, they've already responded to our asking price. We can take our time negotiating from here, so what's the hurry?"

His final sentence carried a deeper meaning, reminding him not to forget the true purpose of their visit.

Only then did Chen Po calm down and quietly reflect:

That's true. With our True Person behind me, what could the Li Household do to me even if negotiations fell apart? I only need to keep raising the stakes and applying pressure, probing the Li Household's bottom line layer by layer and drawing out as much information as possible. Then I'll have completed this mission satisfactorily.

The Luo Household and the Hundred Fei Sect had come together this time with the intention of testing the Li Household.

They were certain that the Li Household was desperately short of Frozen Water spiritual items and intended to loot a burning house.

Despite the few cultivators among these factions who practiced this Dao, Frozen Water spiritual items were just as important to them.

Every kind of spiritual item in the Yuyu Realm was precious. Only by selling Frozen Water spiritual items for spirit crystals could they raise the funds to purchase the cultivation resources they needed.

And bartering was the least profitable kind of trade. Apart from the Li Household, no other faction in the entire Chu Kingdom would buy Frozen Water spiritual items in such large quantities.

Now that natural disasters and man-made calamities had piled up together, wouldn't it be wonderful if they could push the price a little higher and make a killing while the Li Household was weak?

More importantly, from the Li Household's response to the price, they could glimpse the true state of its Frozen Water Dao Path and work backward to deduce True Person Yuhong's actual condition. That was where the true intelligence value of this visit lay.

Luo Yongying in particular intended to use this trip to take spirit crystals and intelligence back with him and bolster his prestige, preparing to assume the position of Peak Master in his clan.

Seeing Li Zhengchen leave in a hurry, the two knew that something major must have happened again in the Li Household. Without needing to say it aloud, both had resolved to hold firm on the price.

The other factions were all minor sects, sandwiched between several Purple Mansion powers as buffers.

Over the years, True Person Yuhong's weakness had become plain for all to see. Those factions had all begun to entertain other ideas and had been dealing more and more frequently with the Luo Household and the Hundred Fei Sect.

They had come this time both to seek shelter beneath those two great trees and to take the opportunity to pledge their loyalty, while also getting a share of the spoils from the price increase.

As they were thinking, a sound came from outside the hall. Everyone perked up, immediately sitting upright and changing their expressions.

Li Zhengchen strode in with another person behind him. They went straight to the head of the hall and sat down together.

The eight people below all froze, guessing at the young man's identity.

Li Zhengchen's expression remained unchanged as he raised a hand and introduced him:

"This is my younger clansman, Li Zhengjun. He previously served as a steward at the Lesser Cold River."

The others knew nothing of how Li Zhengjun had secured the Thawing Ice Bright Jade, but Chen Po raised an eyebrow slightly, understanding at once.

In the recent battle at the Lesser Cold River, when the situation had seemed hopeless, Li Chenwei had taken a desperate gamble. He had entrusted a Purple Mansion spiritual item to a lowly Fetal Breath cultivator, then sacrificed his own life to draw the Devil Cultivators' attention and had been brutally dismembered.

After word got out, the surrounding Purple Mansion powers had thoroughly investigated Li Zhengjun's background and reached remarkably similar conclusions.

He was a pampered scion of middling aptitude and an unstable Dao heart.

All of Li Zhengjun's amorous escapades over the years had been dug up. Most people concluded that wine and women had long since hollowed out his body, and that his survival of the Devil Cultivators' invasion had been sheer luck.

Of course, some cautious people held a different view, believing there might be more to Li Zhengjun's survival. They would wait and see how the Li Household treated him afterward. If he vanished from sight, that would indeed be suspicious, and the True Persons would have to put him on their watchlists.

And now that lucky survivor had appeared before everyone without any attempt at concealment.

Chen Po swept a dispassionate gaze over Li Zhengjun and reached a judgment:

He really is just a minor Fetal Breath cultivator. His Qi is ordinary, with nothing remarkable about it. It seems the sect elders worried too much. This boy survived purely by luck.

Li Zhengjun openly bowed to everyone, a smile on his face. "Greetings, seniors."

Chen Po pretended to know nothing of the Lesser Cold River and replied indifferently:

"Greetings, Steward."

He then turned the conversation directly to Li Zhengchen, paying the Fetal Breath junior no regard at all.

The others did much the same, taking Li Zhengjun for an ordinary young clansman who had come to listen and gain experience under his family's protection.

When Chen Po looked at Li Zhengchen, however, he put on a concerned expression and said with feigned sympathy:

"Household Head Li, have matters in your clan been settled? We can't afford to delay the matter of these Frozen Water spiritual items. Harvest time is almost upon us, so we must reach a decision soon."

Li Zhengchen shook his head, his expression calm.

"There's nothing serious at home. Let's discuss the price, then."

Luo Yongying seized the opening and probed:

"Earlier, Household Head Li said you couldn't accept double the price. How much are you willing to pay?"

Li Zhengchen was in no hurry. He first answered with a question:

"How about this? Our households have worked together for decades, so why don't you name a price first? If it's suitable, we'll continue. If not, we'll have to let the matter rest. Even if a deal fails, goodwill remains. My Li Household never forces anyone's hand."

He was telling the truth. With Jade Wave Island, where the Ning Kingdom was located, in the family's possession, they were no longer short of Frozen Water spiritual items. Now that Zhengjun had returned to the Great Scarlet Realm, he could begin gathering them.

Daoist Lu and the other Devil Cultivators had not previously known the wondrous uses of these Frozen Water spiritual items, so they had not gathered many. The amount that had accumulated on Jade Wave Island over the years was now quite considerable.

Thus, Li Zhengchen did not care at all about the threat posed by the eight factions. He deftly passed the question back to them, intending to reject whatever price they named as too high.

Chen Po and Luo Yongying exchanged a glance, thinking that Li Zhengchen was feigning retreat to advance, bluffing to drive down the price.

Good. It seems he does care a great deal. We'll make the Li Household pay more.

All smiles, Chen Po slowly delivered the words he had prepared:

"We've just discussed it. Everyone agreed that the Li Household has dealt with us for decades, and now that you've fallen on hard times, it would hardly be loyal of us to haggle over every little thing. So we've decided to make those few Frozen Water juniors in our clans bear the hardship and give Household Head Li a straightforward price: an increase of only eighty percent. How about it?"

He spoke with such sincerity that one might have thought he had truly cut off a great chunk of his own flesh.

Li Zhengchen's expression remained unchanged. He did not even frown, merely saying two words in an indifferent tone:

"No deal."

Chen Po's smile faltered. He forced himself to continue appealing to sentiment and reason, speaking at length about everything from the poor year to the difficulties of the juniors' cultivation, from their long friendship to weathering hardship in the same boat. But Li Zhengchen remained unmoved, quietly watching the various factions put on their performance.

Chen Po could no longer maintain his smile. "Household Head Li, if that's your attitude, we really can't continue these talks."

Luo Yongying played the harsh role at this point and continued:

"Household Head Li, your young steward is here too. You know better than anyone what really happened when calamity struck the Lesser Cold River. If gathering the spiritual items is delayed, how will the Frozen Water cultivators in your clan practice for the entire coming year? This is no joking matter."

Instead of seeing Li Zhengchen relent, he was met with a decisive reply.

"In that case, there's no need to talk."

This took everyone by surprise. They had not expected Li Zhengchen to be so resolute.

That can't be... Li Zhengchen must be bluffing! He's led the Li Household for years and has always been cautious and restrained. How could he really be willing to go without Frozen Water spiritual items?

Chen Po glanced at Luo Yongying, who was just as shocked, then played the conciliator and tried to smooth things over.

"Why go this far? Why go this far? Let's not let this spoil the harmony between us. If we part on bad terms like this, the ones who suffer in the end will be the juniors waiting for the spiritual items to cultivate. Household Head Li, we understand your difficulties too. How about this? We'll make another concession: an increase of only seventy percent. What do you say?"

Seventy percent?

Li Zhengchen and Li Zhengjun both laughed. These people really thought they had the Li Household at their mercy, certain they would have to swallow this bitter loss in silence.

"That's still too high."

Li Zhengchen shook his head. His tone subtly changed, becoming somewhat firmer.

"To tell you the truth, the Devil Cultivators' invasion caused severe damage this time. Many facilities at the Lesser Cold River urgently need rebuilding, and that will require a great many spirit crystals. Your price is too high. We may wish to pay it, but we simply lack the means."

Seeing that neither soft nor hard tactics could make him budge, Luo Yongying gritted his teeth and decided to bring out his final trump card.

Saying this would mean tearing off all pretense of cordiality, but with profit before him and the position of Peak Master still undecided, he could no longer worry about that. He steeled himself and said:

"Household Head Li, you know that the Radiant Bright Blessed Land has already manifested and will open in about three months. Since this is its first opening, its Dao laws will be strict. It will reveal only a small opening, permitting cultivators at Early Qi Ingestion and below to enter. As I understand it, most of your clan's younger generation now practice Frozen Water, while those of your clansmen who were at Early Qi Ingestion have either advanced already or are of somewhat lesser aptitude and have long been unable to make any progress. As for the garrison at the Lesser Cold River... I'm afraid it suffered heavy losses too, didn't it?"

"Without this batch of Frozen Water spiritual items, you won't be able to nurture new Qi Ingestion disciples. Your clan will suffer a truly heavy loss on the coming expedition to the blessed land, and you might not even be able to gather enough people. When the time comes, heh heh, I'm afraid you'll be a laughingstock."