Ye Xuan sneered. "Do you really think your business in the Sky Empire is worth continuing?"

"Young Master Ye, what do you mean by that?"

"Elder Ye should know better than I do. Even without offending the Qin family, your Divine Walk Commerce Association’s business is plummeting. Within ten years, I’m afraid you’ll have to close up shop."

A worried look flickered across Elder Ye’s face. Ye Xuan was right. He had just reviewed the accounts from the past few years, and the Sky Empire branch’s business was indeed shrinking by the day. Even if they didn’t offend the Qin family, they would likely be unable to avoid the fate of shutting down.

However, that didn’t mean they could afford to offend the Qin family.

Dongfang Ye said in a low voice, "Young Master Ye has a sharp eye, and I admire that. But you must understand, Young Master Ye, that if we don’t offend the Qin family, the Divine Walk Commerce Association can simply continue to cut expenses for the Sky Empire branch. Although we might go out of business in a few years, we can definitely still turn a profit. If something changes in the meantime, there’s even a chance for a turnaround. But once we offend the Qin family, not only will we lose that profit, we’ll suffer heavy losses. The difference between those two outcomes is not a small sum."

Ye Xuan was growing impatient.

’They’re a major power, one of the biggest commerce associations in the Dream Realm Plain, and I’m just trying to buy some materials. Why are they being so indecisive?’

"Elder Ye, let’s be blunt. One word: are you selling these materials or not? If not, I’ll turn around and leave right now, and I’ll never come back. If you are selling, then we can talk. In fact, I might even bring your Divine Walk Commerce Association a heaven-defying business opportunity."

Ye Xuan was getting straight to the point.

"Oh? What kind of business opportunity?" Dongfang Ye’s eyes lit up instantly.

"I can’t tell you what this great opportunity is just yet. I can only tell you, Elder Ye, that I plan to enter the pill market. With the Luo family’s financial strength, we can at most support the Sky Empire’s market. As for the other regions in the Dream Realm Plain, we might have to cooperate with your Divine Walk Commerce Association. We won’t discuss how to cooperate for now. Everything hinges on you selling us the materials first. It’s that simple."

Ye Xuan said domineeringly.

"Enter the pill market?" Dongfang Ye frowned slightly. "If I may ask, what kind of pill is it?"

The Divine Walk Commerce Association’s primary business was the pill market, so Dongfang Ye naturally knew it wasn’t an easy market to crack.

Every region had its own overlords. The Sky Empire, for example, was controlled by four great Alchemy Dao magnates, including the Qin family. Although the Divine Walk Commerce Association was quite powerful, they had never been able to penetrate this market and could only conduct minor business.

Therefore, the pill market wasn’t something one could just enter on a whim.

"Fine, I’ll reveal a little more. I have several pill recipes—ancient, long-lost recipes," Ye Xuan said, enunciating each word. "I won’t sell these recipes. We’ll only do a profit split, fifty-fifty. You will be responsible for the cost of the medicinal ingredients and the refining process. The Luo family will handle a portion of the core techniques, and you will be responsible for sales and distribution throughout the Dream Realm Plain. We will only take a dry share."

Taking a dry share and still demanding a fifty-fifty split, on top of the Divine Walk Commerce Association being responsible for materials, refining, distribution, and sales... this was an outrageous demand.

The Divine Walk Commerce Association had been in the pill business for over a thousand years. They had seen exclusive pill recipes before. Ye Xuan’s asking price was just too ruthless.

This wasn’t a partnership; it was a robbery.

Not only did Wu Zun find it hard to accept, but even Patriarch Luo Min was dumbfounded.

"What exactly is this pill recipe? Would you be able to reveal a little about it?" To Wu Zun’s surprise, Dongfang Ye asked in a solemn voice.

Ye Xuan smiled and waved his hand. "Elder Ye, as for the recipe, don’t even ask. I won’t tell you. The profit split is also non-negotiable. I won’t back down. Whether you do this or not depends on your answer. If you don’t, I’ll leave immediately."

"The only thing I can tell you is that your Divine Walk Commerce Association will definitely be getting the better end of this deal."

Ye Xuan’s audacious tone left Wu Zun and the others speechless.

After saying this, Ye Xuan picked up his teacup and began to sip his tea leisurely.

He didn’t reveal all his cards, nor did he tell them what kind of pill it was.

Because he knew that if he revealed everything, not only would he expose his secrets, but any power with a discerning eye would be unable to refuse.

The market profits for appearance-enhancing pills were something that any Alchemy Dao power understood very well.

An opportunity this good... forget the Divine Walk Commerce Association, even the Tianya Commerce Association would agree to it.

No one would turn their back on the market, and no one would turn their back on money.

Ye Xuan wanted to see what kind of character the Divine Walk Commerce Association had.

Although the matter of the Seven-Colored Chaos Soil was just a business transaction, it had, at the very least, solved some difficult problems for the Divine Walk Commerce Association.

If the Divine Walk Commerce Association had any integrity, they should agree to Ye Xuan’s request to purchase the materials, regardless of whether their future business partnership worked out.

He wanted to see now if the Divine Walk Commerce Association had that integrity, that sense of responsibility.

If they continued to be indecisive and still refused, then the Divine Walk Commerce Association would be no better than an ungrateful wolf, and there would be no need to cooperate with them at all.

Although Ye Xuan urgently needed the materials, it wasn’t as if he was completely helpless without the Divine Walk Commerce Association.

At worst, he could just send Jin Lin directly to Black Stone City to collect the materials. With Jin Lin’s speed, a round trip would only take a few days and wouldn’t cause too much of a delay.

Ye Xuan remained calm and composed.

Inside, however, Dongfang Ye was in the midst of a fierce internal battle.

He understood that, from a moral standpoint alone, he had to agree to Ye Xuan’s request.

But this decision was directly related to the future of the Divine Walk Commerce Association in the Sky Empire; he couldn’t make it lightly.

Because a single decision from him could directly cause the association to suffer losses of at least several hundred million, or even lose an entire market.

Dongfang Ye struggled intensely.

An unknown amount of time passed. Just as the tea was about to go cold, Dongfang Ye suddenly sighed. "Young Master Ye, I agree."

"Elder Ye, you..." Wu Zun began, shocked. He clearly hadn’t expected Dongfang Ye to make such a decision.

Dongfang Ye waved his hand. "Wu Zun, go and prepare the materials on Young Master Ye’s list immediately. I want this batch delivered to the Luo family in two days."

Since Dongfang Ye had agreed, he naturally acted with swift and decisive force.

"Good, very good." Ye Xuan also stood up, pleased. "Patriarch Luo, please give the deposit for these materials to Elder Ye immediately."

Dongfang Ye smiled. "Young Master Ye, there’s no need for a deposit. This batch of materials isn’t worth much anyway; you can pay for it all at once later. I, Dongfang Ye, still trust your character, Young Master Ye. I only hope that your pill doesn’t disappoint my Divine Walk Commerce Association."

Ye Xuan smiled faintly. "Elder Ye, believe me, you have just seized an opportunity that will change the fate of your Divine Walk Commerce Association. Because of this deal, your future will be completely different. Who knows, becoming the number one commerce association in the Dream Realm Plain might just be around the corner."

Wu Zun’s expression was vacant. ’This Young Master Ye sure is full of himself.’

Making the Divine Walk Commerce Association the number one in the Dream Realm Plain? Even the top major powers wouldn’t dare make such a claim.

Dongfang Ye gave a bitter smile. "I wouldn’t dare dream of that. I only hope that our Divine Walk Commerce Association can restore its former glory. That would be good enough."

After discussing a few more details, the two parties took their leave.

"Elder Ye, I hope you’ll keep the matter of the cooperation between the Luo family and the Divine Walk Commerce Association strictly confidential," Ye Xuan added as a final reminder.

He didn’t want the Qin family and the Qu family to know too much about his movements.

"You can rest assured. The Divine Walk Commerce Association wants to keep this under wraps even more than your Luo family does."

Dongfang Ye also felt that it was best to keep the cooperation with the Luo family a secret for as long as possible, which would also give the association some time to adjust.

"By the way, the Profound Mystery Sect’s Crazy Battle Elder went to Black Stone City looking for you and Jin Lin. I hear that Crazy Battle Elder is also in the Imperial Capital now, so you should be careful."

Just before he left, Dongfang Ye suddenly sent a voice transmission to Ye Xuan.

Ye Xuan gave him a meaningful look, then turned and left.

"Elder Ye, why did you agree to his demands?" As soon as Ye Xuan was gone, Wu Zun asked anxiously. "If the Qin family finds out, our Divine Walk Commerce Association will be in for it."

"In for it? What’s there to be in for?" Elder Ye glanced at Wu Zun and said calmly, "The worst-case scenario is simply losing the Sky Empire market, that’s all."

"Right now, our Divine Walk Commerce Association’s market share is in sharp decline, and our operations are spread too thin. Leaving the Sky Empire market isn’t necessarily a bad thing. On the other hand, if this cooperation with the Luo family can bring about a turnaround for us, it would be an unexpected blessing."

Wu Zun gave a bitter smile. "Elder Ye, you haven’t been here long, so you don’t understand the Sky Empire’s market. The Luo family runs their own pill business and used to have two exclusive pill recipes. But not long ago, the Qin family got ahold of both of those recipes. Now, the Luo family can barely protect themselves, let alone try to make a new push into the pill market. It’ll be difficult!"

Since Dongfang Ye was his superior, Wu Zun didn’t make his words too harsh.

Elder Ye glanced at Wu Zun and said softly, "Do you think I’m cooperating with them because I see potential in the Luo family? What I see potential in is Young Master Ye!"

"Young Master Ye? Him?" Wu Zun murmured. He was no stranger to Ye Xuan; due to his relationship with the Artifact Refining Workshop, Ye Xuan had already become a prominent figure in the Imperial Capital.

"Mm," Elder Ye nodded but said no more.

He didn’t tell Wu Zun about what had happened in Black Stone City.

After Ye Xuan’s visit to Black Stone City, the notorious Black Stone City of today was completely different from before. The Mo family and two other major families had taken complete control of the city, and their influence was beginning to spread to other cities in Wukong Ridge.

Originally, the Mo family and the other two families didn’t have the strength to expand like this.

But in the last two months, the strength of the three major families of Black Stone City had advanced by leaps and bounds. The three Clan Leaders, including Mo Chengtian, who were all originally Tier Six Second Layer Martial Venerables, had successively broken through to the Tier Six Third Layer.

And most importantly, all these changes in the Mo family and the other two major families had happened after Ye Xuan appeared.