The Brocade Harp Palace, Splendor Year Hall.

Ji Qingfeng sat at the highest seat, and down below were all the higher-ups of the Seven Absolutions Sect, with Tang Jie seated as the guest of honor.

This treatment was on the level of a Violet Palace cultivator, and one who was at least at Deification. Nobody would believe it if they were told that this was all for a Soul Transformation cultivator.

But the Seven Absolutions Sect seemed to not be satisfied yet, inviting Tang Jie to sit directly next to Ji Qingfeng. This was because Tang Jie had said that he could help with the Dao Seeking Yellow Springs Scripture.

From this, one could see that while Ji Qingfeng had let Wang Juemie go and said that he no longer cared about whether he lived or died, deep down, he was still very worried about his disciple. However, the hope for the ascendance of the sect overcame his concern for Wang Juemie. No matter how many people died, for the Seven Absolutions Sect, it was all worth it if a single hero could be produced.

After being seated, Tang Jie didn’t keep everyone in suspense, calling out Little Three.

Little Three had spent so long with Xu Miaoran that it had essentially become her pet, so Tang Jie hadn’t asked for it back after his return, only calling for it when he needed its help.

This little guy passed through the Nether Domain to directly appear here, and when everyone understood what had happened, there was a great uproar.

Ji Qingfeng said in a trembling voice, “It can pass through the barrier between the domains! Such a ghost is extremely, extremely rare.”

Of course it was rare! Tang Jie had basically emptied the Verdant Cloud Domain of Space treasures in order to get this ability. How could a Hunter Ghost raised on the resources of an entire domain not be strong?

Tang Jie asked for a portrait of Wang Juemie and gave it to Little Three. “Find this person, protect him, and bring him back.”

“Mm!” Little Three nodded and jumped through the spatial barrier, disappearing.

Seeing this, Ji Qingfeng rose and bowed. “Young Master, thank you for your generosity!”

“You’re welcome,” Tang Jie replied. “Brother Juemie is a peerless talent, and I don’t want to see him die in such a place. As a fellow hero, I’m sure that he would do the same for me if the positions were switched.”

“Of course!” everyone replied.

Once this matter was settled, the conversation became much livelier.

The matter of Heavenly Balance Mountain went more smoothly than expected. In any case, Tang Jie was only borrowing it, not taking it, so the Seven Absolutions Sect just let him borrow it, even giving him a generous discount on the price. In truth, so long as Tang Jie could save Wang Juemie, he wouldn’t even need to pay. However, since the Basking Moon Sect was paying, Tang Jie had no reason to use up all his favor here.

After discussing Heavenly Balance Mountain, they moved on to the matter of the Martial Lord’s hidden realm.

The Seven Absolutions Sect had wanted to meet him all those years ago precisely for the resources of this hidden realm.

Over the years, the Seven Absolutions Sect had gone to great lengths to nurture their own experts. They cared not about the quantity of spirit herbs in the hidden realm, but about the quality. If possible, the Seven Absolutions Sect was willing to trade tons of resources for a single ten-thousand-year spirit plant, and this was the primary reason Tang Jie was here.

Since Tang Jie was here, Ji Qingfeng got straight to business. After exchanging some courteous phrases, he said, “Brother Tang, what sort of resources can be found in the hidden realm under your control?”

Because of Wang Juemie, Ji Qingfeng had stopped referring to him as Young Master or True Person and was calling him Brother. Of course, this also had some relation to the nature of the sect. As a sect that specialized in the auxiliary fields, the Seven Absolutions Sect was very commercial in nature, and they mostly used their real names over their Daoist names. Of the six major sects, it was the one with the most secularity about it.

Other great powerhouses would frequently speak of the Seven Absolutions Sect with scorn, saying that they found it hard to achieve ascendancy because they were too secular and stubborn in their fantasy that they could produce experts by just pouring resources into people.

Putting aside whether this was right or wrong, it was true that the people of the Seven Absolutions Sect were much more secular.

Given that the Martial Lord’s hidden realm was becoming less and less of a secret, and Tang Jie was no longer the same Tang Jie of the past, he was very open about it, saying, “It’s a ten-thousand-year hidden realm. The resources inside include Violet Sandalwood, Whitefiend Lotuses, Heavenly Secret Stones, Yellow Rebirth Fruit, Jade Return Grass, Jade Feather Red Treasures, God Giant Blood Fruits…”

Tang Jie didn’t hide much besides the Nine Heavens Luan Grass, listing out all the other spirit plants. Every name he stated drew an intense reaction from the crowd.

Wine Immortal Lu in particular could barely control himself.

“Yellow Rebirth Fruit! This is a superb herb for clearing the mind and stabilizing the soul. It can be used as the main ingredient for the Heart Cleansing Pill and Mind Stabilizing Pill, and depending on the age of the fruit, it can increase the medicinal effect from ten percent to several times over. In the Rosecloud Domain, a Yellow Rebirth Fruit that’s only a hundred years old can go for hundreds of thousands of spirit coins, but there’s not even enough product to supply the market. I hear that there are millions of people seeking them out. A ten-thousand-year Yellow Rebirth Fruit is simply beyond imagination! And Jade Feather Red Treasure! That’s an ingredient that’s used in pills that can condense the Violet Palace, able to raise the chances of reaching Violet Palace by five percent. A ten-thousand-year one could increase by as much as ten percent! God Giant Blood Fruit! There’s even God Giant Blood Fruit? If Juemie is able to get this fruit, his strength is bound to soar…”

As he described the effects of the various Immortal plants, he stomped his chest and pounded his feet as if he had lost out on a great fortune.

Even Ji Qingfeng was tempted by the God Giant Blood Fruit.

But Tang Jie explained that there had been only three of these fruits, and he had already eaten one. He currently had no plans on letting the other two go, as he was a body refiner.

The Seven Absolutions Sect could only sigh, in response to which Tang Jie inwardly smiled.

While a body refiner did need the God Giant Blood Fruit, it wasn’t irreplaceable.

The Parting Classic’s way of refining the body allowed for any spirit plant to be converted into energy that strengthened the body, making it possible to convert quantity into quality.

The God Giant Blood Fruit would be nice to have, but it wasn’t something that couldn’t be replaced by a large amount of spirit plants. On the other hand, the Horn Dragon Demon Body and Vajra Battle Will that Wang Juemie cultivated required the best spirit plants one could get, so he had a much greater need for the fruit.

Thus, so long as the Seven Absolutions Sect was willing to pay the proper price, he could be persuaded to let them go. Saying that certain goods were not for sale was just a means of raising the price. The real items that weren’t for sale, like the Nine Heavens Luan Grass, were never going to be mentioned in the first place.

The Seven Absolutions Sect didn’t know this, and frantically asked Tang Jie what price he was willing to sell at.

Thanks to all the skills they possessed, the Seven Absolutions Sect lacked for anything but money.

Tang Jie had come to pilfer their pockets, so he was in no rush to bargain. He smoothly took out a sheet of paper and gave it to Ji Qingfeng. “The items I’ve described are what I can provide, and on this paper is what I need.”

As Ji Qingfeng looked at the list, he gasped.

He gave the list to his junior brother, True Lord Shen Beiwang, who similarly gasped and passed it on to the next person. Just like this, the list was passed around, and everyone who saw it gasped and looked at Tang Jie in confusion.

It wasn’t because Tang Jie was being very greedy, but rather, he was asking for very ordinary things, like various kinds of spirit grains, seeds of spirit grass, immature spirit saplings, juvenile fiend beasts, and so on.

They weren’t worth a lot of money, but it was a very comprehensive list, covering almost every spirit plant and fiend in the Rosecloud Domain, and he was asking for huge numbers of them. For example, he was asking for five hundred catties of Painted Eyebrow seeds, seven hundred catties of Red Tear seeds, eight hundred catties of Violet Millet, and so on, and this was only the spirit grains. He was asking for even more when it came to other types of plants.

It was like Tang Jie wanted to perform a great migration, taking all of the plants and animals of the Rosecloud Domain with him, so the Seven Absolutions Sect’s shock was understandable.

Ji Qingfeng in a shaky voice, “These things—isn’t this too much?”

Tang Jie casually replied, “The Seven Absolutions Sect wants quality, and I want quantity. We both get what we want.”

Shen Beiwang thought it over and said, “If you want all this, then is Little Brother Tang thinking of establishing a blessed land or paradise?”

These things definitely weren’t for his personal use. If Tang Jie wanted to eat them, he could go ten thousand years and not run out. The only explanation was that he was establishing a paradise.

But as the Basking Moon Young Lord, and one who had the special privilege of freely going in and out of the Water Moon Paradise, and as someone who also possessed a ten-thousand-year hidden realm, what did he want to establish a paradise for?

After some thought, Tang Jie decided to show them the Mountain River State Diagram.

The Seven Absolutions Sect had sold him this item, so they were naturally familiar with it. The moment they saw it, they realized that something wasn’t right.

Ji Qingfeng had to repeatedly look it over before finding out what was so strange about it. He remarked in surprise, “It’s turned into a small world? How did that happen?”

Tang Jie frankly said, “As everyone knows, my Basking Moon Sect has a divine item called the Space Crystal.”

Everyone immediately understood, Shen Beiwang nodding and saying, “The Space Crystal is a Space treasure that can make a mustard seed hold a world. With this item, it’s not strange for the Mountain River State Diagram to be turned into a small world. Since Little Brother Tang has this treasure, it makes sense you want to use it. But while a small world has many uses, it also takes a lot of investment before you can actually put it to use, not something a single person can bear!”

“Which is why I need everyone’s help. I will provide your honored sect top-class herbs, and your honored sect will provide basic resources. What do you think?” Tang Jie said as he put away the diagram.

“This…” Everyone was hesitant.

While Tang Jie was only asking for ordinary spirit items, he was asking for far too much in both quantity and variety. Gathering it all would come at an immense cost.

Considering this aspect, Tang Jie had actually stated an astronomical price. The manpower and resources required would be enough to keep the Seven Absolutions Sect busy for a while.

But having a price was better than no price at all. After all, Tang Jie could offer what simply couldn’t be found in the Rosecloud Domain. So long as there was a price, there was room to negotiate that price.

Thus, the two sides began to argue over the price. Tang Jie’s offerings were of fixed quantity, so the offers were coming from the Seven Absolutions Sect’s side. The subject of their negotiation was the goods demanded, and the Seven Absolutions Sect immediately asked for the quantity of each resource provided to be cut by two thirds. Tang Jie immediately refused, holding up five fingers, saying that he would only cut down each amount by five catties.

For a time, Splendor Year Hall was filled with the sounds of haggling, the headquarters of a major sect turning into a marketplace. It was probably only in such a heavily commercial sect as this that such a thing could happen.

At the same time, outside Splendor Year Hall.

“What? Tang Jie killed my disciple, along with the entire Jade Spring Sect?” A middle-aged cultivator paled. “Are you sure?”

“It’s already been confirmed beyond doubt!” the disciple replied.

The middle-aged cultivator looked toward the hall. “Tang Jie, you go too far!”

He strode into the hall.

The middle-aged cultivator went up to Ji Qingfeng and whispered into his ear.

“Oh? Did that happen?” Ji Qingfeng slightly frowned, but then he relaxed and said in a serious tone to Tang Jie, “Little Brother Tang, there’s something this old man would like to ask. I heard that when you were on your way here, you annihilated a sect under the protection of my Seven Absolutions Sect and killed one of our disciples?”

“Oh, are you talking about the Jade Spring Sect? I killed them. They were going around robbing and plundering as if they were bandits, even colluding with a disciple of your sect to continue their evil ways. I was infuriated by their unjust actions and uprooted them. There’s no need to thank me,” Tang Jie casually replied.

Ji Qingfeng frowned. “But they were still a disciple of my sect and a sect under our administration.”

Tang Jie leisurely said, “Where did we stop just now?”

“Three hundred Sunset Trees is too much. These trees are very rare in Rosecloud.”

“Fine, two hundred then.”

“One hundred at most. And we also have to cut down the number of Weaver Ducks to one hundred pairs. This bird only nests on Sunset Trees. Since we’re already decreasing the number of trees, what do you need three hundred pairs of birds for?”

“Deal.”

The haggling continued, and nobody brought up the deceased disciple or the Jade Spring Sect anymore, as if they had never existed.

After a long while, the middle-aged cultivator awoke from his stupor and realized that this case had already been closed.

———————————

Author’s Note: Regarding what I said yesterday about the resources needed to make the formation, there are still some people who don’t quite understand.

I notice that this is actually a problem of perspective, so please permit me to say a little more. Of course, I’m just clearing things up, not arguing.

Firstly, don’t compare storehouses to accumulation. Storehouses are used to store resources that aren’t consumed, but making the formation consumes resources.

Does a sect that has existed for several thousand years have more non-consumed resources or consumed resources?

Say you live until sixty. What is greater: the resources you consumed up until sixty, or the resources you’ve saved up at sixty?

Any major sect wouldn’t just let a large quantity of resources sit idle.

They’re like an operating business. Nobody runs a business for several thousand years just so they can stockpile more and more resources. Warehouses are for holding reserves, and saving up for a few decades is enough. There’s no reason to save several thousand years’ worth. And the formation takes several thousand years to make. This isn’t a plothole I’m mending, but something I decided when I designed the setting. A true top-class formation can’t instantly be built by a sect, but requires thousands of years of constant gathering and construction, building it up little by little as one would develop a country. This is how you show the value of an old sect, where age carries real meaning.

Our national defense, our industrial base, what we’ve already used, is a true manifestation of our power and resources, not what we haven’t used and put in our warehouses.

Additionally, in my calculations, things like magic treasures count as assets and not resources, so they’re not considered here.