Immortal of the Nine Realms

Xu Dongjiang looked at the reception hall, where aside from himself and the old ancestor, there was no one else present, and he couldn’t help but feel uneasy. Azure Cloud Sect clearly knew that Xu Guangyuan had come in person, yet no one was arranged to receive them. From beginning to end, only the Sect Leader of Azure Cloud Sect, Li Daoye, had made a brief appearance before leaving hastily.

Could this be a deliberate attitude? And over the past few months, he hadn’t seen Elder Fang. Was the other party deliberately avoiding them?

Thinking of this, he looked at Xu Guangyuan, whose face remained calm, giving no hint of emotion.

After a while, he quietly sent a voice transmission, “Ancestor, could it be that Azure Cloud Sect... intends to move against our Guangyuan Hall?”

Xu Guangyuan glanced at him and replied calmly, “You’re still too young. The pressure caused by external factors makes you unable to see the situation clearly. If that one from Azure Cloud Sect really wanted to move against us, they wouldn’t have waited two whole months. You also said earlier that they informed us in advance that for the spiritual materials we provided, they would pay the corresponding amount of spirit stones. What does that mean? It means they don’t want to owe us a favor. If they planned to strike against us, would they still worry about owing us? They’d just use any means necessary to drain the foundation of Guangyuan Hall.”

“Yes, yes, you’re right!” Xu Dongjiang finally let out a sigh of relief, and his face regained some color.

Xu Guangyuan then sent another voice transmission, light as a feather. “A sect that fears owing favors clearly values relationships and won’t act too ruthlessly. He might not have wanted to meet you because he felt Guangyuan Hall lacked sincerity or perhaps because you were previously aligned with Duan Feizhan in attempting to harm Azure Cloud Sect, so he still holds some resentment.”

“But, but at the time I...”

“You really thought with just a few words you could fool them, and they wouldn’t see your true intentions?” A faint trace of mockery flashed in Xu Guangyuan’s eyes.

Xu Dongjiang gave an awkward laugh. He hadn’t really believed it either and was simply deceiving himself.

“I’ve already been here for half an hour today. That senior hasn’t shown himself, which means I’m not qualified to see him. But if nothing goes wrong, that young friend Fang will still make an appearance. Just wait patiently.”

At that moment, Fang Chen happened to return from the Three Thousand Dao Realms. Upon learning that Xu Guangyuan had come with Xu Dongjiang in person, he headed straight for the reception hall.

As soon as he entered, Fang Chen cupped his fists and smiled. “Apologies to you both. I was in seclusion recently, which is why I couldn’t meet you earlier.”

Xu Dongjiang looked at Xu Guangyuan with admiration. Sure enough, the old ancestor had predicted it correctly. Fang Chen did indeed appear when they came in person.

Xu Guangyuan examined Fang Chen for a brief moment, then showed a smile that he only reserved for fellow Loose Immortals. Laughing heartily, he said, “You’re too polite. If anyone should apologize, it should be us. Back then, Duan Feizhan acted arrogantly because he was serving as a guest elder in our Guangyuan Hall. I hope you can forgive him.”

A Loose Immortal apologizing to a junior was a show of genuine respect and sincerity.

Xu Dongjiang once again felt a wave of admiration. If he were a Loose Immortal, could he be as composed and gracious as the old ancestor when facing a junior? Most likely, it would be very difficult.

Fang Chen smiled and got straight to the point, ”Senior Xu, you’re too courteous. Let’s not bring up the past. Last time, I asked Daoist Xu Dongjiang to help find some spiritual herbs, any news?”

Seeing how calm and composed Fang Chen was, Xu Guangyuan realized that this young man must have met many Loose Immortals before to develop such a poised demeanor. He couldn’t help but feel a tinge of admiration. There probably wasn’t anyone in the entire Xu Family who could match this level of presence.

Xu Guangyuan said. ”The list you provided earlier had a total of 318 herbs. During this time, I personally went out to collect them and even made a round through the major marketplaces. Unfortunately, I could only gather 300. As for the remaining 18 herbs, I’ve never even heard of them. But don’t worry, Guangyuan Hall will continue to help look for them. If there’s any news, I’ll have Dongjiang deliver the message personally. How does that sound?”

Fang Chen glanced at the 300 herbs and nodded slightly. Gathering that many in just two months indeed showed considerable capability. As for the remaining 18 herbs, they were the core components from the list. He hadn’t expected to find them in Qingyuan Market or even anywhere in the entire Daotai Mountain region. It was fine to let Guangyuan Hall continue looking.

Fang Chen smiled as he spoke, “Much appreciated, Senior Xu. How many spirit stones did all these herbs cost in total? For convenience, would it be acceptable to settle using immortal crystals?”

Using immortal crystals for payment!?

Even the ever-composed Xu Guangyuan couldn’t help but show a slight change in expression. Xu Dongjiang instinctively widened his eyes.

Who offers to pay with immortal crystals?

Even though Guangyuan Hall had over a hundred shops in Qingyuan Market and business connections throughout various trade hubs, after accounting for costs, their net profit over two or three years was barely one immortal crystal.

This batch of 300 herbs included many highly valuable items. All together, they had cost Guangyuan Hall the equivalent of several decades’ profit and was around ten immortal crystals.

They had assumed Azure Cloud Sect would only offer some symbolic high-grade spirit stones in return. Never did they expect the other party to voluntarily offer to pay in immortal crystals.

Fang Chen said, “Senior Xu, there’s no need to stand on ceremony with Azure Cloud Sect. Whatever these herbs are worth, that’s what I’ll pay.”

Xu Guangyuan composed himself, masking his surprise, and after a few moments of silence, he slowly said, “If calculated in immortal crystals, these herbs should be worth about ten...”

Before he could finish, Fang Chen directly took out ten immortal crystals and handed them over.

Xu Guangyuan reached out and took them, glancing at the stack of ten immortal crystals. Really.

“He just casually handed over ten immortal crystals???”

Xu Dongjiang felt his mouth go dry. These casually offered crystals were equal to decades of Guangyuan Hall’s total profit...

Suddenly, it hit him. If Azure Cloud Sect had such terrifying wealth, then... they really had no interest in Guangyuan Hall at all.

“By the way, would it be possible to exchange immortal crystals for high-grade spirit stones at Guangyuan Hall? Azure Cloud Sect’s disciples need them for cultivation, but we’ve nearly used up our supply in recent years, and we don’t have other sources of income,” added Fang Chen with a smile.

Using immortal crystals to trade for high-grade spirit stones for disciples’ cultivation...

Xu Guangyuan took a deep breath and said in a solemn tone, “If you truly wish to exchange, we can offer one thousand high-grade spirit stones for one immortal crystal.”

Worried that Fang Chen might misunderstand, he added, “This is the standard exchange rate across Daotai Mountain.”

That was true but few people actually made the exchange. For Guangyuan Hall, converting profits into immortal crystals had always been a headache. Yet today, a windfall had landed in their lap...

Fang Chen said after some thought, “Then... let’s exchange ten immortal crystals for now,” Xu Guangyuan nodded calmly and agreed. After a few more words of small talk, he took Xu Dongjiang and left.

Once they had exited Azure Cloud Sect, Xu Guangyuan turned to Xu Dongjiang and said, “Withdraw all the high grade spirit stones we’ve accumulated over the years. No, leave some for procurement. Then contact the other merchant guilds and borrow as many high-grade spirit stones as you can. As many as possible. We’ll repay them later. These ten immortal crystals... I don’t care what it takes, we’re taking all of them! This time, Guangyuan Hall may have truly encountered a benefactor.”

Xu Dongjiang straightened his back slightly. “Understood!”