King of Creation-Chapter 1636 - 1621: Has the Bounty Been Answered?
"Let’s hear the good news first. No matter what kind of bad news follows, at least we can be happy for a moment," Ye Zhen said, sipping the spiritual tea brewed by Mountain God Yi Xun.
"I thought you would prefer to hear the bad news first," Mountain God Yi Xun said, holding the Jade Pot high as he refilled Ye Zhen’s cup. "Actually, the bad news is tied to the good news."
"Your tea is quite good, Elder. Tell me, what is the news?" Ye Zhen asked.
"Do you still remember the reward you announced at the annual auction?" Mountain God Yi Xun suddenly mentioned.
Ye Zhen’s expression paused, and he sat up straight, his eyes fixed on Mountain God Yi Xun. "Elder Yi, has there been news on my reward so soon?"
It had only been half a year, and someone coming forward to fulfill the reward was indeed beyond Ye Zhen’s expectations.
The reward Ye Zhen announced was for a Heaven and Earth Spiritual Object that could replenish origin power, specifically of the Water or Wood element, which was very challenging.
"That’s right, there is indeed news, and it’s considered good news for you. However, speaking of the news itself, it’s actually bad news," Mountain God Yi Xun said.
"How so?" Ye Zhen asked, his gaze steady on Mountain God Yi Xun.
"About a month ago, a martial artist came to the Five Immortals Hall claiming he wanted to accept your reward. Our reception personnel followed the standard procedure of our hall, questioning and registering details.
Unfortunately, they only verbally stated that they had found a Heaven and Earth Spiritual Object of the Wood attribute that could replenish origin power, but did not disclose what it was, the environment it was found in, or the difficulty of picking it.
They could not even provide the Spirit Shadow of the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Object, which was the minimum requirement for the reward.
Hence, we temporarily shelved his request to claim the reward." Yi Xun’s tone shifted, "With our Five Immortals Hall’s experience in handling various rewards over the years, a person like this is usually someone attempting to deceive and fraudulently claim the reward.
But the bizarre part is, after we shelved his claim request, this person showed surprising sincerity.
He repeatedly expressed, if you or we suspected him of being a fraud, you could personally discuss the matter with him.
He insisted that even if he didn’t want the reward, he wanted to meet with you and talk about this matter, to clear our suspicions." Mountain God Yi Xun habitually tapped his fingers rhythmically on the table, "The stewards in charge of rewards at Five Immortals Hall studied this person’s actions carefully and deduced his true intentions."
"True intentions?"
"Exactly, they deduced that this person’s true intent was to meet you. In other words, he has ulterior motives regarding you," Mountain God Yi Xun stated.
"Then what do they want from me?" Ye Zhen asked.
"Aside from the Spirit Void Fruit, what else could it be?" Mountain God Yi Xun straightforwardly replied.
"This year’s yield of Spirit Void Fruit drastically reduced, causing the price to skyrocket. Since the annual auction, the price of Spirit Void Fruit has more than tripled, and it keeps rising.
Even the sporadic appearances of Spirit Void Fruit on the market are merely single pieces or pairs; no more than five have been seen, let alone thirty.
Your reward offered thirty at once, which likely attracted attention from interested parties who assumed you had a sizeable stock of Spirit Void Fruit, hence their attempt to claim the reward!" Mountain God Yi Xun finished, looking intently at Ye Zhen.
Ye Zhen’s eyes shifted, "Elder Yi, you wouldn’t believe that too, would you?"
"It’s not just me thinking this way; even the stewards in charge of rewards think the same. They even persuaded me, if I could reach out to you, their ’old friend,’ to advise you to take advantage of the situation by selling the remaining Spirit Void Fruits at a high price and make a fortune.
Otherwise, once the temporary shortage ends and the supply of Spirit Void Fruit restores, its price will drop rapidly, causing huge losses." Yi Xun advised, looking at Ye Zhen.
"You wouldn’t sell me out, would you?" Ye Zhen smirked. In fact, Ye Zhen wanted to tell Yi Xun that the supply restoration of Spirit Void Fruit was practically impossible.
Because the Spirit Void Orchard, one of the largest suppliers of Spirit Void Fruits owned by the Three-eyed Demon Clan, had already been wiped out by Ye Zhen.
When Ye Zhen attended the annual auction, he originally wanted to anonymously offer the reward of thirty Spirit Void Fruits but hesitated after learning about some internal issues of Five Immortals Hall.
Thirty Spirit Void Fruits were valuable even previously, and as the supply dwindles, they become increasingly valuable.
Anonymously, who knows if Five Immortals Hall might fraudulently claim the reward?
If thirty Spirit Void Fruits were lost due to fraud, Ye Zhen wouldn’t mind, but the crucial part was the reward itself, as Ye Zhen needed it to find Heaven and Earth Spiritual Objects to awaken the Little Demon.
After contemplating, Ye Zhen didn’t want to expose his wealth in Spirit Void Fruits nor did he want the reward to be neglected. Thus, he sought Mountain God Yi Xun’s assistance.
After all, Ye Zhen was also a part of the Five Immortals Heavenly Destiny Hall, and having witnessed the Heavenly Fortune Divine Ability of the hall’s venerable, Ye Zhen believed Yi Xun could be trusted.
Ultimately, Ye Zhen approached Mountain God Yi Xun to publish the reward under the guise of Yi Xun’s long-time friend, leading to the situation today.
"Of course not," Mountain God Yi Xun laughed, "How could I, a man of my word, betray anyone, let alone you, young man?" Yi Xun replied meaningfully.
"I do indeed have some Spirit Void Fruit left, but not much. I keep it for my own cultivation. Approximately this many." Ye Zhen held up two fingers.
Ye Zhen trusts Yi Xun, but he still needs to reassure him.
"Twenty pieces? Not many, but for most martial artists, it’s not few either."
Ye Zhen blinked a few times and didn’t speak. Actually, Ye Zhen wanted to say two hundred pieces, but since Yi Xun misunderstood it as twenty pieces, Ye Zhen decided not to explain further.
Smiling, Ye Zhen took out two Spirit Void Fruits and placed them in front of Mountain God Yi Xun.
Mountain God Yi Xun raised an eyebrow, "What do you mean by this? What kind of person do you take me for?"
"Elder Yi, it’s a small gesture from this young man. I’ve troubled you with so many things. If you don’t accept them, how can I ask for anything more? Also, regarding my Market of Dulong Island, if possible, could you send a few more elites there? The number of experts I can provide is quite limited." Ye Zhen said.
"As for the Market of Dulong Island, I will naturally give it serious attention. Besides the experts currently sent there, I have already asked a few hidden cultivator brothers from Tianyun Hall to, when allowed, cultivate near the Market of Dulong Island. Should anything happen, immediate support will be available." Yi Xun said.
"Hidden cultivator brothers?"
Ye Zhen’s pupils suddenly shrank. The information contained in Mountain God Yi Xun’s words was significant. What is Mountain God Yi Xun’s cultivation level? Peak of Ninth Stage Realm King Realm, one step further, and he would reach Half-step Dao Realm.
Then what kind of existence would those referred to as brothers by Mountain God Yi Xun be?
Their power, at the very least, would be Half-step Dao Realm, and more likely Dao Realm.
In other words, Ye Zhen’s Market of Dulong Island was no longer as fragile as before.
With the Five Immortals Hall experts on the island, if a major incident happens, it can buy time for Senior Sister Liao Feibai and others to retreat.
"If that’s the case, then you must accept them. This young man has many troubles. If you don’t... "
After Ye Zhen’s praising and persuading, Mountain God Yi Xun reluctantly accepted the two Spirit Void Fruits.
"Ye, this favor, I will remember. I don’t lack money, but I really need Spirit Void Fruit. These two, at a crucial moment, might allow me to touch the threshold of Dao Realm. This favor, I will remember." Yi Xun said.
"Elder Yi, I still have eighteen pieces here. If you need more, I can give you a few more?" Ye Zhen offered on the spot.
Mountain God Yi Xun became impatient since accepting the two pieces from Ye Zhen already made him uneasy. Taking more would be truly shameless.
Actually, Ye Zhen didn’t know why Mountain God Yi Xun was so favorable to him. There was always a sense of unease. 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂
Therefore, Ye Zhen wanted to give Yi Xun some benefits as thanks, and also as a form of connection.
With Ye Zhen’s current assets, giving a hundred and eighty Spirit Void Fruits would be like playing. After all, the Cloud Winged Tiger King Kitten now consumes several hundred Spirit Void Fruits a day. Giving Yi Xun one or two hundred wouldn’t be much.
But the problem is, Ye Zhen didn’t dare to give too many.
Yi Xun is not foolish. If too many were given, he would quickly realize Ye Zhen had much more Spirit Void Fruit.
Who knows if Yi Xun might become greedy.
Even if Yi Xun isn’t greedy, if word accidentally gets out, it could bring Ye Zhen massive trouble.
"Alright, let’s get down to business. Regarding your reward for the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Objects, based on our judgment, there’s an eighty to ninety percent chance of a problem. It’s best to reject it as not meeting the requirements to avoid being manipulated." Yi Xun said.
Ye Zhen furrowed his brow, "But Elder Yi, what if they really have clues? You understand, these clues are very important to me."
"Hmm..."
"It’s very unlikely, but it can’t be completely ruled out. So, I’ll instruct those in charge of the reward to respond to that mysterious person like this:
Say that the reward reviewer found their response too simple, with no valuable clues, and the reward was not recognized.
Additionally, ask them to provide more details: what type of Heaven and Earth Spiritual Objects, with spiritual shadows of these objects along with their location, the difficulty of extraction, and any potential dangers they might encounter.
Only if these are provided can they receive the due reward."
"With this, if they truly have the clues you need regarding Heaven and Earth Spiritual Objects, then it won’t be missed." Mountain God Yi Xun said slowly.
After careful consideration, Ye Zhen originally wanted to take a risk and meet them, but recalling the previous instances of being lured into traps, including being drawn into the Blue-scaled Dragon King’s ambush over Caiyi’s whereabouts, Ye Zhen felt that Mountain God Yi Xun’s cautious decision made sense.
"If that’s the case, let’s proceed as Elder Yi suggested."
"Good!"
Mountain God Yi Xun nodded, his expression turning somewhat solemn, "Now then, young one, tell me honestly, how confident are you in tomorrow night’s battle?"
