The Grand Sale and the Hidden Sister

Just then, a knock came at the door. “Daoist Ji Ning, may I enter?”

“Mm?” Yu Qi’s brow furrowed. The voice was familiar.

The door opened.

Another short, fat old man in purple robes walked in. He first bowed to Ji Ning. “Ying Hua greets Daoist Ji Ning.” Then he smiled at Yu Qi. “Yu Qi, you got here quite fast.”

“Daoist Ying, I’m surprised you discovered Daoist Ji Ning so quickly,” Yu Qi said coldly. Both of them were in charge of treasure acquisitions, after all. But who didn’t like treasures? Whenever a rare, even one-of-a-kind treasure appeared, the headquarters of Heavenly Treasures Mountain would directly collect it and offer it to the Grand Xia imperial clan; it would no longer be sold to the public. Thus, many of the great tribes and sects also purchased all sorts of treasures to prevent the truly precious ones from being completely monopolized by the imperial clan.

Anchan’s Beishan clan, for example, openly had the ‘Wuyou Caverns’ but also engaged in secret acquisitions.

Thus, Heavenly Treasures Mountain had a group of people who specialized in cultivating relationships with powerful experts from all sides, trying to get their hands on treasures.

“I didn’t discover Daoist Ji Ning at all. It was only because Daoist Ji Ning wished to sell treasures that I became aware of him,” the purple-robed old man said.

Yu Qi was startled.

Ji Ning sat there, speaking calmly. “The reason I came to Heavenly Treasures Mountain was indeed to sell some treasures. So I told the attendant… it should have been the attendant who notified Daoist Ying Hua.”

Yu Qi understood. The short, fat old man took the initiative to say, “If Daoist Ji Ning sells the treasures to me, I will definitely give you a satisfactory price.”

“Selling to either of you is a trivial matter as far as I’m concerned.” Ji Ning looked at the two men. Ever since he had become opposed to the Shaoyan clan, his Dao-heart had also improved considerably. These two before him could not sway Ji Ning in the slightest. “I am well aware that for the most common treasures, your Heavenly Treasures Mountain’s acquisition price is always sixty percent of the listed retail price.”

Yu Qi and the short, fat old man both nodded.

“Let’s go somewhere more spacious.” Ji Ning rose to his feet. “As for who gets the treasures, we’ll discuss that slowly.”

“Please.”

“Please.” Yu Qi and the short, fat old man both said eagerly.

Shortly thereafter, they arrived at a large garden estate. Within the garden were only a few maids and servants.

“All of you, leave.”

Yu Qi and the short, fat old man, both in purple robes, entered. The maids and servants obediently departed.

“What do you think of this garden, Daoist Ji Ning? Is it large enough?” Yu Qi pointed around. “This is the kind of place where we normally transact business with Loose Immortals and Earth Immortals.”

Ji Ning swept his gaze across the area. In the center of the garden was a pavilion, and beside it was a stone plaza nearly a hundred zhang in size. Beyond the stone plaza were all sorts of rare flowers and plants.

“It’s acceptable.” Ji Ning nodded, then waved his hand. Instantly, a vast pile of magic treasures appeared on the ground: over a hundred thousand Human-ranked treasures, over ten thousand Earth-ranked treasures, and over a hundred Heaven-ranked treasures. “First, appraise these treasures and give me an idea of their total price.”

“Whoosh.”

Yu Qi and the short, fat old man both sucked in a cold breath.

So many treasures?

“This is only part of it,” Ji Ning said calmly. “Whoever offers the higher price gets them. Oh, right. I recall that as long as the total transaction reaches five hundred thousand catties of Primordial Liquid, I can obtain the ‘Xia’-character medallion?”

“Correct.” Yu Qi and the short, fat old man both answered without hesitation. “Daoist Ji Ning, rest assured, the Xia-character medallion will definitely be yours.”

From their rough estimation, the treasures before them were absolutely worth more than five hundred thousand catties of Primordial Liquid.

Ji Ning, the Whitewater Hound, and Qingqing all sat in the pavilion, casually drinking and chatting.

“Rustle, rustle, rustle.”

The treasures were quickly sorted.

Yu Qi and the short, fat old man carefully examined each treasure. As individuals responsible for treasure acquisitions at Heavenly Treasures Mountain’s headquarters, they were naturally not ordinary Wanxiang Adepts. Each of them had memorized the prices, properties, and countless other details of treasures numbering in the hundreds of millions, with memories that were tens of thousands of times greater than a mortal’s.

Even so, it took them a full half-hour before they finished, one after the other.

“For the Human-ranked treasures, rounding down, the total is eighty-one thousand two hundred catties of Primordial Liquid. For the Earth-ranked treasures, the total is roughly five hundred five thousand catties. The Heaven-ranked treasures are the most valuable, roughly one million twenty thousand catties.” Yu Qi spoke out. “The total is one million six hundred five thousand two hundred catties of Primordial Liquid.”

“I can offer one million six hundred ten thousand catties,” the short, fat old man said.

“I can match that.” Yu Qi quickly added.

Ji Ning smiled. “Any higher offers?”

Yu Qi and the short, fat old man looked at each other, both secretly frustrated. Ji Ning, however, was amused. The truth was, most of these treasures were standard-issue manufactured items, so their acquisition price was completely fixed. Only a few of the hundred-plus Heaven-ranked treasures, which were likely crafted by Immortals themselves and weren’t standard models, had some price flexibility.

But overall, the difference wouldn’t be too large.

“That price works for the treasures.” Ji Ning waved his hand again. “I also have quite a few other treasures here. Calculate their value. Whoever gives me the best price gets both the magic treasures and these oddities.”

The ground was suddenly covered in a large pile of immortal herbs, spirit-pills, life-saving curios, and other items.

These life-saving treasures had been useful against Shaoyan Nong, but Ji Ning now had a Primaltwin whose own strength was comparable to an Earth Immortal or Loose Immortal. Some of these treasures were now useless to him.

“Mm?” Yu Qi and the short, fat old man’s eyes both lit up.

Immortal herbs, spirit-pills, life-saving oddities?

The prices of items that could not be mass-produced were always fluctuating. The benefits they could reap from these were substantial. As for the magic treasures… even though the total value was very high, the commission they could extract from them was very small.

“Good heavens, he’s really brought out all of Shaoyan Nong’s treasures.” Yu Qi muttered to himself.

“It’s been ages since I’ve seen so many good things.” The short, fat old man’s eyes were shining.

The two of them began calculating rapidly, weighing their options internally.

“For the magic treasures and all these oddities together, I can offer two million six hundred thousand catties of Primordial Liquid!” Yu Qi said through gritted teeth. “If this old bastard offers more than me, I’m out.”

The short, fat old man was stunned. He looked at Yu Qi in astonishment. “Have you gone mad?”

Ji Ning was also shocked.

Among these treasures were Immortal-grade spirit herbs obtained from the Wu Jiang Immortal Estate, as well as many other treasures. Ji Ning had a pretty good idea of their total value.

“Can you even afford it?” Yu Qi looked at the short, fat old man, a wild look in his eyes.

“Getting old, getting old.” The short, fat old man shook his head with emotion. “I don’t dare go crazy with you. Daoist Ji Ning, I take my leave. Yu Qi, my lifespan is almost up. I’ll give you a piece of advice: don’t be too reckless. If you gamble too hard, be careful not to lose everything.” The short, fat old man turned and left.

Ji Ning looked at Yu Qi. “Two million six hundred thousand catties of Primordial Liquid?”

“Yes.” Yu Qi nodded.

“Alright.” Ji Ning smiled.

Ji Ning couldn’t be bothered with anything else. What mattered was getting the Primordial Liquid in hand.

Shortly after, the two completed the transaction.

The treasures now belonged to Yu Qi, and Ji Ning received two million six hundred thousand catties of Primordial Liquid and a single ‘Xia’-character medallion. This meant that, like many Loose Immortals and Earth Immortals, he would now get a forty percent discount on all purchases here.

“Daoist Ji Ning.” Having completed the transaction, Yu Qi’s face was flushed with excitement. “Night will fall soon. When midnight comes, the monthly Treasure Competition Assembly will begin.”

“Treasure Competition Assembly?” Ji Ning nodded, but he didn’t seem particularly interested.

“This is the Treasure Competition Assembly at Heavenly Treasures Mountain’s headquarters! The major powers of this entire major world, and even some wandering Loose Immortals and Earth Immortals, send their treasures here for this assembly.” Yu Qi lowered his voice. “Even Immortal-ranked treasures have appeared on occasion. There are many treasures that are hard to find in regular shops but sometimes show up at the assembly.”

Ji Ning’s heart stirred. It might be worth a look. Perhaps he could find some Five Elements Essence. He asked, “Will the Shaoyan clan be sending anyone?”

“The Shaoyan clan? They’re a major tribe. They always send people to the monthly assembly.” Yu Qi said.

“Fine. I’ll take a look tonight.” Ji Ning nodded.

Within the Yan Estate of the Grand Xia Imperial Capital.

Only members of the Grand Xia imperial clan, the Xiamang clan, who held truly high status could be enfeoffed as kings. The Xiamang clan had existed for endless ages. As the rulers of this major world, how many descendants did they have? Very few could become kings.

“Your Highness, Your Highness.” A female soldier in armor rushed to the outside of a pavilion.

“Come up.”

On the second floor of the pavilion, a woman in green was leaning against the railing, looking out at the garden. The garden had rocks, sandy beaches, and a massive lake that resembled a seaside shore.

“Your Highness.” The female soldier knelt on one knee.

The woman in green had a frail appearance, but her gaze was enough to make the female soldier wary. She said calmly, “Speak. What is it?”

“Intelligence has arrived from Heavenly Treasures Mountain,” the female soldier quickly replied.

“Heavenly Treasures Mountain?” The woman in green was startled, then quickly said, “Bring it here.”

“Yes.” The female soldier immediately handed the intelligence report up.

After receiving it, the woman opened it and looked at the name and its contents recorded on the scroll. She couldn’t help but tremble. She murmured to herself, “Ji Ning? He’s come to the Grand Xia Imperial Capital? He’s at Heavenly Treasures Mountain right now?”

“Plop.”

A single teardrop suddenly fell onto the scroll.

The woman seemed to snap out of it.

“Hahahaha…” The woman in green suddenly laughed. She immediately rose to her feet and shouted, “Transmit my order! Have the Gold-Armored Imperial Guard prepare to accompany me to Heavenly Treasures Mountain!”

“You want to mobilize the Gold-Armored Imperial Guard?” The female soldier was taken aback.

“Go now!” the woman in green snapped.

“Yes!” The female soldier didn’t dare hesitate and quickly withdrew.

The woman in green paced excitedly within the pavilion, her body trembling faintly. She murmured to herself, “The only bloodline left by Aunt… my little brother, my only little brother, you’ve finally come. Your sister is coming to see you, to see you. I will absolutely not let the Shaoyan clan harm a single hair on your head. Absolutely not!”

“Your Highness.” A female soldier called out from a distance.

The woman in green turned, then her figure flickered as she gracefully flew over.

Soon.

A carriage wreathed in golden flames, pulled by two massive azure qingluan birds, was surrounded front and back by a group of Gold-Armored Imperial Guards. Each guard’s aura was powerful, as if they were one entity, and clouds naturally formed around them as they all trod upon the mist.

“Qingluan, head to Heavenly Treasures Mountain,” the woman in green said from her seat in the carriage.

“Yes, Your Highness.” One of the qingluan birds spoke in human tongue. The two birds pulled the carriage, and escorted by the Gold-Armored Imperial Guards, they flew directly towards the headquarters of Heavenly Treasures Mountain.