Stepping into his room at the restaurant, Qin Yu found the room quite spacious, with three rooms, a great hall, and a reception hall.

"Wan’er, you go back to your room and rest. Don’t disturb me unless it’s something important, in which case, use your thoughts to remind me," Qin Yu said with a smile, then pushed open the door and entered his own room.

"Yes, Young Master."

Wan’er bowed slightly with a pout, then muttered softly after seeing Qin Yu enter his room, "It’s such a rare opportunity to be chosen to serve the master, and yet he often leaves to cultivate in his own room. It’s so boring to death."

While grumbling to herself, Wan’er also withdrew to her own room.

...

Qin Yu drew back the curtains and looked down at the crowd below from the high building, occasionally catching sight of some haughty experts flying through the sky.

Watching everything before him, his mind raced like lightning.

"Emperor Yu probably knows my background, and will surely continue searching. But my current strength is still nowhere near enough, far from Uncle Lan’s expectations. I couldn’t even open the first layer of the ’Jiang Lan Realm,’ let alone use it to its full extent."

Qin Yu reached behind and took out the small green tower.

"When you are able to completely harness the ’Jiang Lan Realm,’ that will be the time for you to meet Li’er," Uncle Lan’s words echoed vaguely in his ears.

Qin Yu tried to pour his energy into the ’Jiang Lan Realm,’ which immediately began to emit bursts of green light. The glow gradually brightened, and beads of sweat seeped from Qin Yu’s forehead.

After a while, Qin Yu gave up.

"Still no good, it seems I am far from reaching the strength of a fifth or sixth level Golden Immortal." Qin Yu put away the ’Jiang Lan Realm’ with a backward flip of his hand. The ’Jiang Lan Realm’ tested his power, not the attack power that he could unleash in combination with a weapon during battle.

To fully open the three layers of the ’Jiang Lan Realm’ would prove he was qualified to see Li’er.

What level of power would that take?

"The road is long and its end unknown, but as long as there is hope, I will never give up." Determination flashed in Qin Yu’s eyes, his heart as steadfast as a boulder, unshakable.

As Qin Yu closed his eyes, familiar faces arose in his mind.

"I wonder how long it will take for Father and the others to cultivate until they ascend." Qin Yu shook his head with a smile. "I don’t know how Little Black and Feifei are doing in the Demon World, it seems it will be a while before I see them."

The last image that appeared in Qin Yu’s mind was of his only disciple, ’Liu Hanshu.’

Deep down, Qin Yu was very fond of Liu Hanshu.

It could be their similar dispositions, or perhaps their mutual sacrifices.

Regardless, Liu Hanshu’s death caused Qin Yu great pain—perhaps it had eased somewhat now, but whenever he recalled the scene of Liu Hanshu’s death, Qin Yu felt an uncontrollable wash of regret, guilt, and anger.

"The only regret I have in this life is her..." Hanshu’s last words before her death, Qin Yu would never forget.

In the days before her death, Hanshu mentioned that she had fallen for a girl.

But that love would never bear fruit.

"Mysterious, Qin Yu, all you know is how to be mysterious! If you had told your disciple everything earlier, told him about the Qingyu Immortal Mansion, about the Sword Immortal Puppet, about the Ten Thousand Beasts List, would the outcome have been different?"

Qin Yu always believed that Hanshu died because of him.

Everything was because of him.

"Emperor Yu, Hanshu’s death may not have much to do with you directly, but it was caused by your subordinates. I also owe a promise to Immortal Emperor Ni Yang. Regardless of whether it’s because of my foolish disciple or Immortal Emperor Ni Yang, both lead to the same conclusion."

Qin Yu’s face turned icy cold, and he vanished into thin air within the room.

On the bed, a speck of invisible dust was actually the Qingyu Immortal Mansion transformed, and Qin Yu entered it to commence the ’Three Souls Nine Refinements.’ For Qin Yu, this was the fastest way to cultivate his soul.

The soul is divided into three major spaces: Human Soul, Earth Soul, Heavenly Soul. Qin Yu had finally stepped into the first level of the Earth Soul Space, and the mystical Hand Seal in his hand was different from the Hand Seal of the ’Human Soul’ space.

As soon as he formed the first Hand Seal, Qin Yu felt a huge drain of Soul Power, but at the same time, a stream of air flowed from the Meteor Tear and merged into the ’Earth Soul’ space of his soul.

Clearly...

Upon entering the Earth Soul Space, Qin Yu’s absorption rate of the special energy from Meteor Tear had increased significantly.

×

Half a month later.

In the guest hall of Qin Yu’s room, Wan’er stood obediently to the side, while Qin Yu had already taken a seat.

"Please take a seat, Manager Qing Yan."

Qin Yu spoke with a calm smile. Qing Yan immediately sat opposite him, excitement on his face: "Young Master Xi, through some old friends of mine in recent days, I’ve finally contacted an important figure who is willing to exchange a hundred Top-Grade Primordial Spirit Stones with you. The condition is that Young Master Xi must provide ten thousand Upper-Grade Elemental Spirit Stones, as he has no need for Middle Grade or Low Grade ones."

"Oh, that was rather quick," Qin Yu said with a smile and a nod. "Very well, I agree to this deal."

Qin Yu’s most valuable possession in terms of Upper-Grade Elemental Spirit Stones probably stemmed from his and the Ten Thousand Beasts Army’s numerous killings of Golden Immortals who mostly used Upper-Grade Elemental Spirit Stones for cultivation. Hence most of their Elemental Spirit Stones were of the Upper Grade.

Top-Grade Elemental Spirit Stones, they would hardly ever use, perhaps just one or two on occasion. As for Middle Grade Elemental Spirit Stones, they couldn’t be bothered to use them.

"May I know when Young Master Xi can provide the ten thousand Upper-Grade Elemental Spirit Stones?" Qing Yan asked with a smile.

With a wave of his hand, Qin Yu caused a vast pile of Upper-Grade Elemental Spirit Stones to appear in the living room, filling a third of the area with a mountain of Upper-Grade Elemental Spirit Stones.

Qing Yan gasped in shock.

"Here are ten thousand five hundred Upper-Grade Elemental Spirit Stones. Ten thousand of which are for you to exchange for me, and the remaining five hundred are yours to keep," Qin Yu said nonchalantly.

Originally, Qin Yu and Qing Yan had agreed that for every Top-Grade Primordial Spirit Stone exchanged, Qing Yan would receive five Upper-Grade Elemental Spirit Stones.

Qing Yan struggled to contain his excitement.

My heavens, to have never seen such a pile of a ten-thousand Upper-Grade Elemental Spirit Stones!

"Young Master Xi, aren’t you afraid that I’ll run away with all this wealth?" Qing Yan inquired, looking at Qin Yu.

One thousand Upper-Grade Elemental Spirit Stones amount to a billion.

One hundred million, enough to drive anyone mad.

"You?" Qin Yu glanced at Qing Yan, "Take only as much wealth as your power can handle; if you take too much, it might burn you. You might even end up... losing your life." Qin Yu lifted the teacup and gently took a sip.

Qing Yan clenched and unclenched his fists several times: "Qing Yan, stay sober, stay sober. If I take that thing, I won’t have a life to use it!" He repeated this to himself a few times, finally managing to remain clear-headed.

"Young Master Xi, rest assured, I will handle this matter neatly and perfectly," Qing Yan said confidently.

"I am of course at ease with Boss Qing Yan handling matters," Qin Yu changed the subject, "By the way, Boss Qing Yan, about the transaction between Emperor Yu and the Blood Demon Emperor, when was the latest one held?"

Qing Yan pondered for a moment, glanced at Qin Yu, then said with a smile, "This, I am not quite sure at the moment, but there is one thing I can tell Young Master Xi. Both Emperor Yu and the Blood Demon Emperor are big shots, their trades are always public and aboveboard, not sneaky or hidden. You will naturally know when the transaction occurs."

"Public and aboveboard?"

Qin Yu slightly pondered and understood.

Such huge transactions would definitely involve the deployment of their own experts.

What does it matter if they are public and aboveboard? Ordinary people and forces who know the news have no power to seize it, while powers like the Green Emperor, Emperor Xuan, and the Black Demon Emperor, even if Emperor Yu and the Blood Demon Emperor operate secretly, will get the news. Moreover, both Emperor Yu and the Blood Demon Emperor are conscious of their reputation and would not operate underhandedly.

"Young Master Xi, rest assured, a few days before the transaction, both parties of Emperor Yu and the Blood Demon Emperor will announce it to the outside world, even the location of the trade will be openly disclosed... However, with so many experts on both sides, they are not afraid of people trying to snatch or disrupt," Qing Yan said in a low voice.

Qin Yu felt a surge of joy in his heart.

Emperor Yu and the Blood Demon Emperor were audacious enough to publicly announce the time and place of their transaction in advance.

"Young Master Xi, let me tell you, the experts that are publicly deployed for Emperor Yu and the Blood Demon Emperor’s trade are formidable Immortal Emperors, and there are probably even more powerful experts hidden in the dark. Who could possibly snatch successfully?"

Qing Yan implied meaningfully.

Qing Yan always felt that Xi Shuang was too mysterious, and he might be aiming at Emperor Yu and the Blood Demon Emperor. Qing Yan was now just reminding Qin Yu: stepping into these muddy waters is very difficult, and it might even cost your life!

"As soon as the news of the transaction’s date and place is out, inform me immediately," Qin Yu said indifferently. "I am indeed very interested in this transaction. It would be nice to go and see it."

"Of course, Young Master Xi," Qing Yan said with a smile, yet he doubted within, "Just to take a look?"

...

Time flew by swiftly, and before long, Qing Yan delivered the one hundred Top-Grade Elemental Spirit Stones to Qin Yu, who then spent the following three months quietly cultivating. During these three months, Qin Yu made considerable progress with his soul.

×

On the second floor of the Haoyue Restaurant.

"Have you heard? The transaction between His Majesty Emperor Yu and the Blood Demon Emperor will take place at the ’Blue Fire Cloud Tower’ in seven days. We must absolutely go see it. Last time there was a trade, someone took action to disrupt it, but sadly, I missed seeing it."

"I saw it, though you didn’t. The one who took action intending to disrupt the proceedings was very powerful, at least at the Immortal Emperor level. It was a fierce battle. And towards the end, several people joined the fray, some died, and some escaped."

Two Golden Immortals discussed this over drinks.

Such discussions were spreading throughout Blue Mars. Because this news wasn’t really a secret, the higher-level Immortals and Demon Path masters talked about it without any concern.

Similarly, Qin Yu had learned of this news two days earlier.

And at that moment, Qin Yu was drinking wine by the window.

"Blue Fire Cloud Tower, seven days from now... I wonder how many people will make a move." Qin Yu pondered to himself, then he tilted his head back and drained the wine in his glass, his gaze toward the clouds above, "No matter what, I will definitely take action!"

By his side, Wan’er immediately and obediently refilled Qin Yu’s glass with wine.

×

Blue Fire Cloud Tower is a palace built within the clouds, consisting of three levels and bathed in blue, with its top designed to resemble flames. Although the Blue Fire Cloud Tower has only three floors, it is quite spacious, measuring hundreds of meters in both length and width.

High among the vast clouds, a magnificent and grandiose palace stood— the Blue Fire Cloud Tower.

Inside an inconspicuous room on the third floor of the Blue Fire Cloud Tower, two people were present.

One dressed in green, with a long sword on his back, was clearly garbed as a Sword Immortal. The other, in a dark red robe, had a mane of snow-white hair and eyes that emitted an utter chill.

The man in green clothing, the Green-clothed Sword Immortal, was none other than the leader of the Eighteen Immortal Emperors under Emperor Yu— Green Blood Sword Immortal Zhi Bai.

As a Seventh Level Profound Immortal of the Sword Immortal caliber, his strength was so formidable that it was likely ranked within the top ten in the entire Immortal Realm. His presence in Blue Fire Cloud Tower was bound to surprise many, as even for the sake of guarding merchandise, the appearance of a Seventh Level Profound Immortal seemed overkill.

The other, the man with the cold and snow-white hair, was also a character of extraordinary standing.

Known as the foremost individual of the Blood Demon Demon Path, and the second only to the infamous ’White-haired Blood Demon’—Xue Yileng! He was likewise a supreme expert at the level of a Seventh Level Demon Emperor.

Two such supreme experts gathered here.

Both were men of indifference, yet at this moment, they were smiling and engaged in conversation.

If those who knew them had been aware that Green Blood Sword Immortal Zhi Bai and the White-haired Blood Demon Xue Yileng could be so amiable, it would have shocked everyone, as both were seldom seen smiling.

"Brother Zhi Bai, how many years has it been since we last met?" Xue Yileng asked with a smile.

"It’s been... over a million years, I’d wager." Green Blood Sword Immortal Zhi Bai also wore a smile, "I still remember the scenes of us delving into the Demon World for battle. If it weren’t for you... I would’ve probably been killed long ago. Recalling those moments, I still feel my blood boiling."

Xue Yileng laughed and said, "Yeah... I thought I was a goner that time. Who would have thought that, just when I was about to give up hope, I would meet you, another person being hunted down. I really didn’t expect that both of us would survive."

Zhi Bai sighed, "Back then, I was only a Ninth-level Golden Immortal, and you were not much different. After that encounter, I finally broke through to become a First Level Immortal Emperor and also killed a Third-level Demon Emperor, two First Level Demon Emperors, and countless Demon Kings!"

Both men were lost in their reminiscence.

The battle for survival all those years ago, the fierceness of their skirmishes, and the countless times they hovered on the brink of death were moments neither could forget in a lifetime. It was these experiences that forged their bond as brothers in arms.

It was also because of these two that Emperor Yu was able to establish a good relationship with the Blood Demon Emperor.

"This time, the two of us are joining forces again. However, it is unclear which experts the Black Demon Emperor, Asura Demon Emperor, Green Emperor, Emperor Xuan, and other various powers will send. I wonder if they will be enough for us to kill!"

Xue Yileng declared with a laugh, and Zhi Bai joined in with a smile.

(End of Chapter One~~~)

(To be continued... For the sequel, please visit WWW.CMFU.COM. There are more Chapters available. Support the author and read the licensed version!)