Might

Biyou Immortal Market. Penglai Pavilion. This was the largest merchant guild in Biyou Immortal Market, widely regarded as the industry benchmark. Ye Hongyu led Yaoguang straight into a VIP chamber. To prevent any misunderstanding, she explained, "Even though Biyou Immortal Market has been developing for decades and many merchant guilds and sects from across the world have opened branches here, the vast distances mean their establishments aren't particularly large. When it comes to transactions involving millions of Pure Yang Great Pills, it is still best to conduct them at Penglai Pavilion." She then added, "Of course, if you wish to sell them elsewhere, Fellow Daoist Yaoguang, I will gladly assist you the entire way. However, many shops lack the capacity to absorb so many supplies all at once, so I fear it would take far more time..." "This is fine," Yaoguang said. "Naturally, I trust Fellow Daoist Ye." Hearing this, Ye Hongyu let out a quiet sigh of relief. Before long, a middle-aged man walked in from outside, accompanied by several attendants. "True Disciple Ye." The middle-aged man greeted Ye Hongyu, then cupped his hands to Yaoguang. "Perfected Yaoguang, I am Qing Qiu, master of Penglai Pavilion. Please rest assured, Perfected, Penglai Pavilion will certainly offer you a fair price." Yaoguang looked slightly surprised at what the man said. The master of Penglai Pavilion—the public face of the Penglai Immortal Sect in Biyou Immortal Market—only possessed the cultivation of an Incandescent White Golden Core?! With an annual turnover in the millions, even if a Void Piercing elder were not put directly in charge, they should at least have had a Void Piercing Battle Immortal watch over the place. And yet... An Incandescent White Golden Core? This cultivation realm was surprisingly low. However, he showed none of this outwardly and directly produced a prepared storage treasure weapon. "Please, take a look." "Thank you for your trust, Perfected." Taking the storage artifact, Qing Qiu retrieved the items one by one, directing the attendants behind him to inspect and price each of them. The process was by no means swift. Yaoguang waited patiently by the side. It took a full day before Qing Qiu and the rest of the staff completed the appraisal of all the materials. After a brief calculation, the pavilion master looked up at Yaoguang. "If the Perfected entrusts all these goods to our Penglai Pavilion, we are willing to acquire them for 1.42 million. What do you think?" "1.42 million..." The batch of supplies Yaoguang had brought out to sell was naturally not the entirety of the spoils seized from the Xi family and Xuan Shuang. Some of the items were useful to him, so he intended to keep them. The true value of this batch was likely around 1.5 to 1.55 million pills. Considering that Penglai Pavilion needed a profit margin, an offer roughly ten percent lower was reasonable enough, and he was not inclined to refuse. Yet before he could speak, Ye Hongyu spoke up first: "Pavilion Master Qing Qiu, Perfected Yaoguang saved my life. The sect master often teaches us that kindness must be repaid. Therefore, I would like to exercise my privileges as a true disciple. How about we consider this batch of goods as being sold to Penglai Pavilion by me?" Qing Qiu was momentarily taken aback, looking slightly put on the spot. Soon, however, something seemed to occur to him, and he said, "Since True Disciple Ye wishes to repay a debt of gratitude, Penglai Pavilion is more than willing to help fulfill such a noble wish. Even on the open market, purchasing these goods would cost around 1.53 million pills. We shall acquire this batch from Perfected Yaoguang at that exact price. How does that sound?" To gain an additional 110,000 Pure Yang Great Pills was something Yaoguang naturally would not decline. In the Nine Cauldrons Sect, that many pills could nurture several Radiant Sun Golden Cores. He immediately agreed, "Then we shall do as Pavilion Master Qing Qiu says." At the same time, he smiled and nodded toward Ye Hongyu. With Yaoguang's assent, Qing Qiu quickly began mobilizing resources from various quarters. 1.53 million Pure Yang Great Pills was no small sum; even Penglai Pavilion could not produce it all at once and needed to report the transaction to the sect. "By the way," Yaoguang said, "the security of Biyou Immortal Market is renowned far and wide. I intend to lease a cave dwelling here for secluded cultivation. Would that be convenient?" "Of course," Qing Qiu smiled faintly. "As long as you have not offended a Dao Lord-level figure, our Biyou Immortal Market can guarantee the safety of every guest within our borders." Ye Hongyu added from the side, "Pills are sometimes sold in the market, and cultivators often refine them right here upon purchase. We do indeed have cave dwellings specifically prepared for such occasions. However, the rental fee depends on cultivation realm and duration... With Fellow Daoist Yaoguang's cultivation at the ninth layer of the Golden Core Realm, renting for one year costs 10,000 Pure Yang Great Pills; three years costs 20,000; and ten years costs 50,000." She then supplemented, "Ordinarily, one can only lease a dwelling for up to ten years at a time. After ten years, a new agreement must be signed." Hearing this, Yaoguang understood what she meant. Backed by the Penglai Immortal Sect, Biyou Immortal Market offered this sort of veiled protection service. Yet the sect had not made the arrangement absolute. They would only shelter a cultivator for ten years at most. Re-leasing after ten years... That introduced a problem. If an opposing faction was determined to kill the fugitive, they could simply lease every single cave dwelling in advance. The leasing system operated on a waiting list, and dwellings approaching expiration were also open for advance reservations. Of course, if the cultivator possessed immense wealth and chose to lease two or three cave dwellings simultaneously, they could easily extend their stay for decades or even centuries. Yet the pills required during that time... would run into millions, or even tens of millions. "Please arrange a cave dwelling for a ten-year term first," Yaoguang said. "I will have someone see to it immediately. Because there is a background verification process, it will take several days." Ye Hongyu added gravely, "Please rest assured, Fellow Daoist Yaoguang. Even if Xi Liu of the Xi family comes to our Biyou Immortal Market, he wouldn't dare act brazenly in the slightest." Evidently, she assumed Yaoguang was renting the cave dwelling to hide from the Xi family's Void Piercing expert. Yaoguang nodded and was about to say something when brilliant light suddenly erupted above the market as grand formations activated. Immediately after, four vast auras powerful enough to shake the void came rolling in. This abrupt shock caused the expressions of Ye Hongyu, Qing Qiu, Yaoguang, and the others to shift simultaneously. This was... Top-tier experts rapidly approaching?! Yet to approach Biyou Immortal Market without restraining their auras in the least—did they intend to attack the market?! Did they have no regard whatsoever for the rules established by the Penglai Immortal Sect?! The next instant, a beam of clear light soared straight into the clouds from within Biyou Immortal Market. Accompanying it was a solemn, stern reprimand delivered through divine mind: "Who dares run wild in my Biyou Immortal Market?!" Sensing this divine mind, both Ye Hongyu and Qing Qiu looked relieved and delighted. "It's Elder Lu Li." "Our Biyou Immortal Market's guardian elder has intervened!" ... Outside Biyou Immortal Market! The four Void Piercing experts—Tushan, Hou Feng, Tongming, and Mo Shan—hauling the deadweight Jiang Tianzun, had rushed relentlessly and finally caught up shortly after Yaoguang arrived at the market. However, upon sensing that their target had entered Biyou Immortal Market, the four experts' expressions turned sour. Tushan, who had only been responsible for tracking the trail, felt an urge to retreat and declared, "Gentlemen, the villain Yaoguang knows he committed a grave offense and has hidden inside Biyou Immortal Market. I have found your man; how you bring him out is entirely up to you." With that, he pulled away from their ranks. Meanwhile, Hou Feng, Tongming, and Mo Shan, the three Void Piercing experts, felt a headache coming on as they recalled the domineering nature of the Penglai Immortal Sect's worldly Dao Lord and the ironclad rules she had laid down for Biyou Immortal Market. As for Jiang Tianzun, his face darkened visibly. "Damn it... If we could just pin him down, this Su Yaoguang would be slapped to death the instant we crossed paths. But he scampers all over the place like a maggot, doing nothing but finding every way to disgust people!" Jiang Tianzun fumed coldly. The Void Piercing cultivators nodded in silent agreement. Of all places to hide, Yaoguang had chosen Biyou Immortal Market. The methods that Dao Lord had used against Tianhai Sword Pavilion back then... Even though they had achieved the Void Piercing Realm, recalling them still made their scalps prickle with dread. "What do we do?" Tongming asked. "When all is said and done, this Yaoguang is the murderer of our Heavenly Dao Sect's true disciple! No matter how overbearing Penglai's Dao Lord may be, she cannot be entirely unreasonable. Let us go forward and explain the stakes to the market's guardian. Surely they will not offend our Heavenly Dao Sect over a traitor before they have even finished off Tianhai Sword Pavilion," Hou Feng said. "And our Taiyi Immortal Sect as well," Jiang Tianzun chimed in at an opportune moment. Beside him, Mo Shan glanced at him... Jiang Tianzun had no authority to represent the Taiyi Immortal Sect. Still, given Jiang Tianzun's status as a true disciple, Mo Shan would not stop him from borrowing the sect's prestigious banner. Knowing how to leverage one's backing was itself part of the tests his master set for disciples. "Very well. With Void Piercing cultivators from both our sects arriving together, Penglai's Lu Li surely won't clash to the death with us over a mere Golden Core disciple who hasn't even reached the Void Piercing Realm." "Indeed. Let us display the might befitting Void Piercing elders of the Ten Immortal Sects." "Let's go." Having reached an agreement, the three Void Piercing experts unleashed the full might of their realm in unison and headed straight for Biyou Immortal Market. However... They had clearly underestimated how much the Penglai Immortal Sect valued Biyou Immortal Market. The Penglai Immortal Sect was founded recently, and its heritage and wealth were nowhere near those of the older, premier sects. To make matters worse, many resource-rich areas in the Deep Blue Sea were overrun by demon beasts, requiring tremendous risk to exploit. Under these circumstances, another industry of Biyou Immortal Market—leasing cave dwellings, selling the most precious commodity on Beihai Star: 'security'—had become a vital pillar of revenue. From the cave dwellings alone, Biyou Immortal Market funneled millions of Pure Yang Great Pills into the sect's coffers each year. Consequently, the Penglai Immortal Sect took the rules of Biyou Immortal Market with the utmost seriousness. Sensing the aggressive approach of the three Void Piercing cultivators—Hou Feng, Tongming, and Mo Shan—Lu Li showed not the slightest hint of retreat, despite standing alone. The Penglai Immortal Sect Void Piercing expert let out a resounding cry and intercepted them directly, positioning himself before the elders of the Heavenly Dao Sect and the Taiyi Immortal Sect. "Either rein in your auras to avoid harming low-realm cultivators and abide by the rules of my Penglai Immortal Sect, or... get out of the Deep Blue Sea!" he thundered. His flying sword resolved into a streak of flowing light, pointing directly at the three who arrived bearing the oppressive weight of the Void Piercing Realm. "The Penglai Immortal Sect's territory welcomes no one who flouts our rules!"