199: Losing money business

Amidst the clinking of glasses, Qin Tianxing drained his wine in one gulp and rose to take his leave.

As the newly appointed Grand Elder of his Sect, he had a mountain of matters to attend to. He simply made an appointment with Chen Xuan, saying, "See you tomorrow at the Cloud Sea Sect," before hurrying away.

Why the Cloud Sea Sect? Qin Tianxing had provided an explanation.

The Lesser Exquisite Grotto-Heaven was originally shared by the Four Great Sects. The previous Heavenly Selection Grand Ceremony was hosted by the Yin Shen Sect, who had the first pick of the prodigies. The role of the next host happened to fall to the Cloud Sea Sect, so the Lesser Exquisite Grotto-Heaven was currently being kept there.

That lad Wang Er found an excuse to stay at the Dao Seeking Sect to leech some Spiritual Qi.

Chen Xuan didn't mind much and casually ordered him to go to the Sect square to share some cultivation insights with the ordinary Disciples of the Dao Seeking Sect. It was a way to make the best use of him, reaping the benefits from both sides.

Although this kid lacked presence while following Qin Tianxing, he was at least a powerhouse at the Fourth Level of Soul Out-of-Body Stage.

In the current Dao Seeking Sect, besides Chen Xuan, the one with the highest Realm was Qi Yue, who was only at the Nascent Soul Realm.

She also needed to find time for her own secluded cultivation, so she naturally didn't have much interest in looking after the ordinary Sect Disciples.

Just as he returned to his resting quarters, Chen Xuan sensed a familiar and mysterious fluctuation; it was a resonance coming from the Chaos Void Jade.

He walked to the table and sat down, taking out the ink-colored fragment of Chaos Void Jade. With a thought, his consciousness sank into it.

The surrounding scenery shifted abruptly. The grand Sect Main Hall vanished, replaced by a field of greyish currents of air. Eight seats floated in the void, but only three were occupied at the moment.

Besides Number Three, whose strength was unfathomable and who could exchange Divine Abilities for god-rank pills, and Number Eight, who was well-informed and seemed to have a powerful organization backing them, there was also a figure he had never met before—Number Four.

"How rare, that fellow Number Two actually didn't show up?" Number Three spoke first, his gaze sweeping over the empty seats as if speculating on the reason.

Number Four fixed his gaze on Chen Xuan, his voice sounding somewhat blurred through the layer of air currents: "It seems everyone is finally here."

This time, Chen Xuan did not introduce himself as 'Bai Tang of the Heavenly Secret Pavilion' as he had before.

He still remembered when he first met Number Two, who had given him a cryptic warning to "be careful of Number Four." Although he didn't know if those words were true or false, the Chaos Space within the Chaos Void Jade was different from the Flame Continent; a bit of extra caution was never wrong.

"So, have you all entered this time because there are important matters to discuss?" Number Eight broke the silence with a smile, her gaze circling the faces of the other three.

Number Four looked around and finally fixed his sight on Chen Xuan, speaking slowly: "Fellow Daoists, meeting like this is a form of fate. I have come in this time primarily because I wish to make a trade with you all."

"A trade?"

Number Eight raised an eyebrow, clearly surprised by this answer.

"What kind of trade? Why don't you tell us about it first?" Number Three leaned forward slightly, his finger lightly tapping the void in front of him.

Chen Xuan chose to remain silent, listening for information. Either they could treat him as if he didn't exist, or they could set up a private chat if they had the ability.

Number Four waved his hand, and three flashes of spiritual light appeared as three items floated before everyone.

A palm-sized stone mirror with a faint, eerie glow on its surface; a heavy-looking longsword with spiritual power faintly flowing through its blade; and a bracelet carved with a fire dragon, its scales so lifelike that it seemed it might break free and soar away at any moment.

"Good stuff!"

Number Eight's eyes lit up as she praised, "All three are top-quality heaven-rank magic treasures. You certainly have good luck, Fellow Daoist."

Number Three only took one look before withdrawing his gaze, appearing somewhat dismissive of them.

"I won't hide it from you all," Number Four's voice held a hint of helplessness, "this Junior was fortunate enough to obtain these three Magic Treasures while following a Sect Elder into a Secret Realm for trial some time ago. It's just... these are items hidden away from my Sect Elders after all, so I'm sure you all can understand the difficulty."

Chen Xuan understood immediately: he had struck it rich behind his Sect's back but didn't dare to use the items openly.

If he used them in public, it would surely trigger an investigation by the Elders or even result in them being forcibly seized. But if he kept them hidden, these three heaven-rank magic treasures would just be showy but useless ornaments.

"These three Magic Treasures do not match my cultivation path, and given my current Realm, it is difficult to unleash their true power."

Number Four paused, his tone becoming even more sincere, "That is why I thought of coming into the Chaos Void Jade to make a trade with you all, which can also be considered as forming a good connection."

His current Realm isn't suitable?

Chen Xuan caught the key point in that sentence. heaven-rank magic treasures were generally accessible to those in the Soul Transformation or Void Refining Realm, though lucky individuals in the Soul Emergence or Nascent Soul Realm could also possess them.

Could he be below the Nascent Soul Stage!

No... he couldn't trust his words too much.

Number Two had even warned him to be careful of Number Four. If Number Two really was an old monster who had lived for over a thousand years, he might have already discovered something about Number Four.

Chen Xuan frowned slightly, still intending to wait and see.

Number Three and Number Eight were clearly also pondering those words, their gazes occasionally sweeping over Number Four's blurred figure as if trying to judge the truth of what he said.

Number Three was the first to ask, "Then I wonder what you wish to exchange them for?"

Number Four smiled and said, "This Junior wants the eighth-grade elixir, the soul refining primordial pill, or perhaps five bottles of the seventh-grade elixir, the Soul Gathering Pill. Either can be traded for one heaven-rank magic treasure of your choice. Additionally, if there are other eighth-grade elixirs that can aid cultivation, they can also be exchanged for one Magic Treasure."

"Exchanging heaven-rank magic treasures for eighth-grade elixirs?" Number Eight couldn't help but tease, "This trade of yours is quite a loss, Fellow Daoist."

Number Four gave a bitter laugh: "If there were any other way, this Junior would not be willing to bring out such Magic Treasures. It's just that current circumstances are pressing, and exchanging them for Medicinal Pills is the most urgent matter at hand."

Chen Xuan narrowed his eyes slightly and continued his deductions. Both the soul refining primordial pill and the Soul Gathering Pill were Medicinal Pills used to repair the Divine Soul.

Could this Number Four have injured his Divine Soul in that Secret Realm, and quite severely at that? Otherwise, why would he trade heaven-rank magic treasures for such pills?

One must know that, normally, a heaven-rank magic treasure should at least correspond to a saint-grade pill!

Number Three paused, his gaze once again landing on that heavy-looking longsword. "I really don't have such trifles as eighth-grade elixirs here. Fine then, I'll have my subordinates look for some over the next few days. If they can be found, I'll consider it helping you out once."

"This Junior thanks you in advance, Fellow Daoist!" Number Four hurriedly cupped his hands upon hearing this.

Number Eight, however, shook her head: "I don't have much interest in this trade."

Was she truly uninterested, did she look down on heaven-rank magic treasures, or could she simply not produce an eighth-grade elixir? Chen Xuan speculated privately.

Chen Xuan happened to have a bottle of soul refining primordial pills on him, which he had obtained by spending over ten thousand reputation points. If he used them to exchange for a heaven-rank magic treasure, it would indeed be a very good deal.

"Fellow Daoist Number Six, do you have any interest in a trade?" Seeing that Number Three had agreed and Number Eight had declined, Number Four's gaze finally fell upon Chen Xuan, who had remained silent from beginning to end.

Chen Xuan slowly shook his head and said in a flat tone, "Thank you for the invitation, Fellow Daoist. If I have any thoughts on it later, I will certainly come to bother you again."

Seeing this, Number Four could only sigh softly and wave his hand to take back the three heaven-rank magic treasures.

Without knowing whether Number Two's warning to "be careful of Number Four" was true or false, Chen Xuan still intended to play it safe.

After all, for him, heaven-rank magic treasures were not the most important thing; the most important thing was still those sect prestige points. As long as he had enough of those, what could he not buy?