Chapter 18 The Princess Wants to See Me?

After waiting a moment longer, the black-haired girl took a closer look at the two—Dong Chou the Immortal and Shaoyan Xiushui—then declared in a loud voice, “Fine, five million catties of primal liquid, the Peacock Feather goes to Daoist Ji Ning!”

With this announcement, the ownership of the Peacock Feather was finally decided.

“Hoo.” Shaoyan Xiushui let out a long breath.

He had hesitated just now, but reason had made him hold back.

Mu Chuan the True Person, standing beside him, glanced at Shaoyan Xiushui and took a sip of wine.

“Father, why didn’t you buy it?” Shaoyan Jun couldn’t help asking. “The Peacock Feather is of great use to you for your tribulation, and Ji Ning was stubbornly competing with us. Whether to vent your anger or for your tribulation, you should have bought it.”

“What do you know? Five million catties of primal liquid—do you know how much that is?” Shaoyan Xiushui looked at his son.

Shaoyan Jun was taken aback.

His status in the clan was far inferior to Shaoyan Nong’s; whether it was two million catties or five million catties of primal liquid, they were numbers far beyond his reach.

“With that much primal liquid, I could buy a decent Immortal-ranked magic treasure!” Shaoyan Xiushui said. “There are many kinds of Immortal-ranked magic treasures for tribulation transcendence; why must it be the Peacock Feather? Beyond five million catties of primal liquid, it’s not worth it. This is a fortune that could affect my path of cultivation; I can’t just bid recklessly out of spite.”

Shaoyan Jun nodded obediently.

“That Ji Ning is an idiot too,” Shaoyan Xiushui said with a cold glance. “What use is the Peacock Feather to him, a mere Wanxiang Adept?”

“Kill Ji Ning, and the Peacock Feather will still be ours.” Shaoyan Jun’s eyes held a glint of desire.

“Who will do the killing?” Shaoyan Xiushui shook his head. “That’s not for you to worry about.”

…

“Five million catties of primal liquid.” Dong Chou the Immortal also shook his head. “That Wanxiang kid is truly crazy.”

…

“Five million catties of primal liquid—my little brother is… impressive indeed.” Xiyue the Princess gazed at Ji Ning from afar, a smile on her face.

…

“Hmph, getting the Peacock Feather won’t help your strength at all. Once you leave Tianbao Mountain, that will be your moment of death.” Fu Yun the Immortal sat silently drinking wine, watching from afar.

…

Ji Ning, however, was ecstatic.

He had got it!

The Peacock Feather was in hand. Immortal-ranked treasures and curios were all nonsense. What his second true spirit needed was a large number of flying swords, and his true body followed the divine demon body-tempering path—the most important thing was divine abilities!

“With this, the second and third rotations of the divine ability ‘Star Picking Hand’ will be no trouble at all.” Ji Ning felt boundless joy.

…

Time passed.

Because there were over a thousand treasures, the treasure-gathering meeting lasted an entire day. However, Ji Ning left after about three hours, because at that point the ‘Green Silk Divine Fire Lamp’ was brought out.

The Green Silk Divine Fire Lamp was an Immortal-ranked magic treasure.

And it was a finished product!

Immediately, it caused a stir. The Green Silk Divine Fire Lamp was different from the Peacock Feather; few needed the Peacock Feather, but many needed the Green Silk Divine Fire Lamp. It could nurture and elevate ‘heavenly fire’ to the first grade. Though it consumed a great deal each use and required a long time to recover, once recovered, it could be used again.

It could be used again and again!

But because the Green Silk Divine Fire Lamp needed time to absorb the power of heaven and earth to recover, no major clan would ever think they had too many.

The base price was three million catties of primal liquid, and the price shot up rapidly! It was bought at four million nine hundred thousand catties of primal liquid.

Immortal-ranked treasures like the Green Silk Divine Fire Lamp were relatively common, so their prices were relatively fixed and wouldn’t rise too absurdly.

…

“He’s leaving?” Fu Yun the Immortal saw Ji Ning withdraw and frowned, then began to leave as well.

Soon.

Fu Yun the Daoist arrived at the street outside the Tianbao Mountain headquarters. It was early morning; the Golden Crow had just risen, casting rays of light in all directions.

“Senior.” As soon as Fu Yun the Immortal came out, someone from the Shaoyan clan who had been lurking nearby approached him.

“Ji Ning should come out soon. Keep watch inside Tianbao Mountain and report to me at once.” Fu Yun the Immortal gave the order, then waited silently. He was waiting for the final battle of his life! In this battle, he would do his utmost to kill a peerless genius, a Wanxiang Adept, within the Grand Xia imperial capital.

…

“He’s gone?” Xiyue the Princess saw Ji Ning leave his seat and immediately stood up, a hint of anxiety in her eyes. She felt her heartbeat quicken. She said to Qingliu the Immortal beside her, “Qingliu, arrange for me to meet Ji Ning alone.”

“Meet Ji Ning?” Qingliu the Immortal was startled, then nodded. “I’ll arrange it.”

“Thank you.” Xiyue the Princess hadn’t been so nervous while watching Ji Ning before, but now, thinking of meeting him soon, she became extremely tense.

“Hoo.”

Xiyue the Princess let out a long breath and murmured, “Little brother, we’ll meet soon.”

Xiyue the Princess also withdrew from the meeting.

In fact, the treasure-gathering meeting lasted a full day, so people were constantly leaving.

…

Ji Ning paid the additional primal liquid and received the formation diagram and the Peacock Feather.

“Daoist Ji Ning, if you have any more treasures in the future, you can also send them to Tianbao Mountain. Whether you sell them directly to us or put them up at a treasure-gathering meeting,” said the white-robed, bald woman Yichen with a smile.

“Treasures don’t fall from the sky,” Ji Ning sighed. “I’ve already given you my Green Silk Divine Fire Lamp.”

Yichen smiled and withdrew.

Ji Ning, the Whitewater Marsh, and Xiaoqing all looked at the purple-robed Yu Qi.

“Daoist Yu Qi, I want to buy some flying swords,” Ji Ning said.

“Flying swords?” Yu Qi was delighted. He knew that Ji Ning still had over two million catties of primal liquid on him—a big customer. He quickly said, “What kind of flying swords? Just say the word. We have precious flying swords refined by Celestial Immortal ancestors, even those containing powerful formations.”

Ji Ning shook his head. “Standard flying swords will do.”

“Standard…” Yu Qi’s face stiffened. Standard flying swords had the lowest profit margins, since Ji Ning could buy them at a 40% discount.

“I need seven hundred and twenty Earth-ranked top-grade flying swords,” Ji Ning said.

Yu Qi’s facial muscles twitched. My heavens, Earth-ranked flying swords? Seven hundred and twenty? Was he joking? Many loose immortals and earth immortals used only Earth-ranked treasures, usually just a few powerful ones. Even those who favored quantity would consider a few dozen Earth-ranked treasures impressive.

Seven hundred and twenty Earth-ranked treasures?

The sheer number alone would be terrifying, but the price was equally high.

“Daoist Ji Ning, are you sure about seven hundred and twenty? Can you afford it?” Yu Qi couldn’t help asking. “An Earth-ranked top-grade flying sword usually costs ten thousand catties of primal liquid per sword. Over seven hundred would be over seven million catties of primal liquid.”

Ji Ning frowned.

Alas!

He had just felt rich, but thinking about buying over seven hundred Earth-ranked flying swords made his heart ache.

“Show me the catalog of standard Earth-ranked flying swords,” Ji Ning said.

“Alright, follow me.” Yu Qi quickly said. For Ji Ning, the purchase and sale of standard treasures from Tianbao Mountain were both at a 40% discount. It seemed like no profit, but in reality, these standard treasures were mass-produced by the Grand Xia royal family behind Tianbao Mountain.

The cost for the Grand Xia royal family to refine these standard treasures was actually less than 40% off. It might be only 60% or 70% off.

Publicly offering a 40% discount for both buying and selling was just to attract more customers. After all, cultivators who bought life-saving treasures rarely sold them again.

So, even for standard treasures, seven hundred Earth-ranked ones would bring Yu Qi considerable benefits.

…

Ji Ning sat under a pavilion, watching the rising sun, in a good mood. He had no idea that outside on the street, a loose immortal, Fu Yun the Immortal, was waiting bitterly.

“This is the summary of standard Earth-ranked flying swords.” Yu Qi handed Ji Ning a thick beast-hide book.

Ji Ning opened it and looked.

The Whitewater Marsh and Xiaoqing also helped look.

Standard flying swords were relatively cheap because they only met basic standards in sharpness and hardness, while other aspects were poor.

“Earth-ranked low-grade flying swords, one thousand catties of primal liquid each? At 40% off, that’s only six hundred catties.” Ji Ning muttered as he looked. “Medium-grade is more expensive, three thousand catties each.”

There were nearly a hundred types of Earth-ranked low-grade.

Nearly two hundred types of Earth-ranked medium-grade.

Earth-ranked top-grade were far fewer, only eighteen types.

As for Earth-ranked supreme-grade? There were no supreme-grade standard flying swords; Earth-ranked top-grade was the limit for standard ones.

“Earth-ranked top-grade are all around ten thousand catties of primal liquid.” Ji Ning frowned. What to do?

This purchase of Earth-ranked flying swords was for his second true spirit. The ‘Lesser Thousand Swords Formation’ grew more powerful with higher-grade and more numerous swords. However, controlling a large number of flying swords placed a heavy burden on the soul. Ji Ning had spent over a year cultivating in the water mansion, and his second true spirit’s soul, nurtured by the primordial spirit and aided by the Nüwa Diagram visualization method, had improved greatly.

Now, he could control all seven hundred and twenty-nine Earth-ranked flying swords.

Switching to Earth-ranked flying swords?

He estimated it would be hard to control many in a short time.

“One hundred and ninety-eight of these Red Sun Swords!” Ji Ning pointed at the book. “And one hundred and ninety-eight of these Azure Firmament Swords!”

“The Red Sun Sword costs eleven thousand catties of primal liquid each, and the Azure Firmament Sword costs nine thousand catties each,” Yu Qi said with a smile. “That totals three million nine hundred and sixty thousand catties of primal liquid. At 40% off, that’s two million three hundred and seventy-six thousand catties.”

Ji Ning was helpless.

Counting all expenses, his previous two million six hundred thousand catties of primal liquid would be completely used up, and he’d still be a bit short. Moreover, his second true spirit needed primal liquid for cultivation.

“Here!” Ji Ning waved his hand, and the black dragon chariot appeared on the ground beside him.

“Sell this chariot to your Tianbao Mountain.”

Ji Ning said boldly.

…

This black dragon puppet had combat power at the primordial spirit level. Shaoyan Nong often rode it in and out of the Grand Xia imperial capital, so it was naturally valuable. In the end, Ji Ning obtained three hundred and ninety-six Earth-ranked flying swords and one hundred and twenty thousand catties of primal liquid.

“Daoist Ji Ning, there’s one more thing.” Yu Qi, beaming after the transaction, said, “Xiyue the Princess wishes to meet you.”

“The princess wants to see me?” Ji Ning was surprised.