46: Chapter 46 Transactions

The queuing Loose Cultivators gaped in shock. The hand of the Law Enforcement Disciple holding his sword froze in mid-air.

Yuan Tong turned around. He bowed deeply to Su Qianxue, his waist bent at a ninety-degree angle.

"Yuan Tong, Third Elder of Baicao Valley, respectfully welcomes our honored guest. My subordinates were blind and offended you; this old man apologizes on behalf of Baicao Valley."

Silence. One could hear a pin drop.

Everyone's minds were buzzing. The dignified Third Elder of Baicao Valley, a Nascent Soul Late Stage expert, was bowing and apologizing to a Loose Cultivator at the Foundation Establishment Stage?

What on earth was that piece of rotten wood?

Su Qianxue put away the wooden token. "Lead the way. I want to see the Valley Master."

"Honored guest, please follow me." Yuan Tong stepped aside, clearing a path. His posture was extremely humble.

Su Qianxue stepped through the archway, leaving hundreds of Loose Cultivators and Disciples outside, stunned in place.

Inside Baicao Valley, the fragrance of medicine was more than ten times stronger than outside. The mountains and plains were covered with exotic flowers and herbs.

Yuan Tong led Su Qianxue, avoiding the crowded main roads, and walked onto a quiet path leading to the Forbidden Ground in the back mountain.

"Honored guest." Yao Chen walked in front and lowered his voice. "The Valley Master... his condition is not very good."

Su Qianxue did not respond. Danqingzi, inside the ring, let out a long sigh.

At the end of the path was a bamboo building built over a hot spring.

Yuan Tong stopped outside the bamboo building. "The Valley Master is inside. Without the Valley Master's order, no one is allowed to enter. This old man can only accompany you to here."

Su Qianxue pushed open the bamboo door.

A thick, oppressive Death Qi rushed towards her. This Death Qi even overwhelmed the medicinal fragrance in the valley.

On the wooden couch in the center of the bamboo building lay an emaciated old man. His hair had fallen out, and his skin clung tightly to his bones, presenting an eerie, grayish color.

The old man's eyes were closed. His chest rose and fell only very weakly.

Su Qianxue walked to the wooden couch.

"Old Man Mu, it has been three hundred years. How did you get yourself into this ghostly state?"

A translucent Soul drifted out from the ring. Danqingzi floated in mid-air, looking at the old man on the bed.

The old man on the bed moved his finger slightly. He opened his eyes with difficulty. There was not a glimmer of light in his cloudy eyes.

His gaze focused on Danqingzi in mid-air. The old man's body trembled violently. A wheezing sound like a broken bellows came from his throat. He tried to struggle to sit up, but he couldn't muster any strength at all.

"Dan... Brother Dan..." The old man's shriveled lips parted, spitting out weak syllables.

"Alright, stop moving." Danqingzi floated over. "The Extreme Cold Ice Poison has entered your body, damaging your Dao Foundation. It is a miracle that your old bones have lasted three hundred years."

A line of cloudy tears flowed from the corner of Mu Qingteng's eyes. "I thought... you had died in that catastrophe."

"Almost." Danqingzi snorted coldly. "I have a tough life. This time I returned just to settle scores with those grandsons. But before that, I must first save your half-life."

Danqingzi turned to look at Su Qianxue. "Girl, take out the 'Taiyi Divine Needle' set I taught you. Use this old thing to practice today."

Su Qianxue nodded. She took out a set of silver needles from her Storage Pouch.

Mu Qingteng looked at Su Qianxue. "This is... your successor?"

"My closing Disciple. Su Qianxue." Danqingzi's tone carried a hint of pride. "Not only has she inherited my mantle, but her talent is also several times stronger than mine was back then."

Mu Qingteng twitched his face. "Good... good. Baicao Valley... now has a successor."

"Don't rush to give your last words." Danqingzi interrupted him. "What is the situation in Baicao Valley now? That Elder named Yao Chen—the way he looked at you didn't seem right."

Mu Qingteng sighed. "After I was poisoned by the ice poison, my cultivation fell, and I can no longer suppress the people below. The Grand Elder and Second Elder have colluded with outside forces, attempting to seize control of Baicao Valley. I can only hide in this Forbidden Ground at the back mountain, lingering on."

"Outside forces?" Danqingzi asked.

"Great Xia Dynasty." Mu Qingteng spat out the four words.

Su Qianxue's hand holding the silver needle paused. Great Xia Dynasty. One of the four great overlords of the Central Plains.

"A prince of the Great Xia Imperial Dynasty has taken a fancy to the Spirit Medicine resources of Baicao Valley. The Grand Elder has already agreed that as long as he becomes the Valley Master, Baicao Valley will completely submit to Great Xia." Mu Qingteng's voice was weak. "Tomorrow... is the Ancestral Worship Ceremony of Baicao Valley. The Grand Elder will cause trouble at the ceremony to force me to abdicate."

Danqingzi sneered. "The Great Xia Dynasty's hands reach quite far. Since when was it their turn to point fingers at my Sect?"

"Girl, apply the needles. Seal his heart meridian. I want to see who dares to run wild in this Baicao Valley tomorrow."

Su Qianxue pinched a silver needle. Spiritual power wrapped around the tip. She aimed at the Acupoints on Mu Qingteng's chest and pierced it in.

Mu Qingteng convulsed all over. Black frost oozed out from his pores. Su Qianxue's spiritual power consumption was huge, and sweat broke out on her forehead.

"Twist and lift-thrust. Force the poison to his left arm." Danqingzi instructed from the side.

Su Qianxue did as told. Mu Qingteng's left arm quickly turned purplish-black. The Death Qi was forcibly suppressed in one place.

Outside the bamboo building. Yuan Tong stood at the end of the path. A gray messenger Spirit Bird landed on his shoulder.

He removed the letter tube from the Spirit Bird's leg and unfolded the note. "The Second Prince of Great Xia arrives tomorrow. Proceed according to plan."

Yao Chen crushed the note into powder and glanced in the direction of the bamboo building. A yellow-haired girl holding a shennong order could not change anything. The sky of Baicao Valley would change tomorrow.

At the same time. Heavenly Saint City. The top floor of the Star-Plucking Tower. Gu Sheng sat by the window, holding a cup of Tianshan Snow Mist Tea.

Below, the streets were bustling with traffic. Xuan Kong stood behind him.

"Young Lord, the Crown Prince of Great Xia, Xia Qingyue, has arrived." Xuan Kong reported in a low voice.

Gu Sheng put down his teacup. The carved wooden door of the private room was pushed open from the outside. Xia Qingyue, wearing a bright yellow four-clawed python robe, stepped over the threshold.

Xia Qingyue stepped over the threshold. The bright yellow four-clawed python robe looked particularly eye-catching in the shadow of the door frame. Her gaze crossed the rosewood round table and fell on the young man sitting in the main seat.

Golden Core Great Perfection.

Xia Qingyue frowned slightly. The master behind the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion had an unreasonably low cultivation level. But she did not make a scene. The old servant squatting in the corner smoking a dry pipe didn't even glance at her, yet he made her hair stand on end.

Creation Realm Peak.

"Sit." Gu Sheng held the Tianshan Snow Mist Tea and pointed to the red wooden chair opposite.

Xia Qingyue pulled out the chair and sat down. The python robe spread out on the chair surface. She placed a storage ring on the tabletop and pushed it forward.

"Five million Top-Grade Spirit Stones. To buy the details of the other princes of the Great Xia Imperial Dynasty." Xia Qingyue got straight to the point.

Gu Sheng pressed his two fingers on the storage ring. With a probe of his spiritual power, the amount was correct.

"The Crown Prince of Great Xia is generous." Gu Sheng put the ring into his sleeve. "The intelligence you want will be delivered to the East Palace by the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion tonight. It will even clearly state how old your third brother was when he was still bedwetting."

Xia Qingyue did not smile. She looked straight into Gu Sheng's eyes.

"Shopkeeper Su said that you can unlock the Seal of the Supreme Forgetfulness Body."

Gu Sheng put down his teacup. The porcelain clinked against the wooden table with a crisp sound.

"I can." Gu Sheng leaned back in his chair. "But the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion does business based on equivalent exchange. Five million Top-Grade Spirit Stones are only enough to buy intelligence. It is not enough to buy your life."

"What do you want?" Xia Qingyue asked.

Gu Sheng called up the System interface. "System, check how to unlock the Supreme Forgetfulness Body."

[Only one Supreme Forget-Me-Not Pill is needed. Price: two million exchange points.]

Gu Sheng spent the money to buy it. A white jade porcelain bottle appeared in his palm. He pushed the bottle in front of Xia Qingyue.

"Eat it, and the Seal will break on its own. Your cultivation will directly Breakthrough to the Soul Transformation Late Stage." Gu Sheng interlaced his fingers. "The price I want is very simple. The Everlasting Gu Family needs a foothold in the Central Plains and requires an obedient spokesperson. You become the Empress of Great Xia, and the Gu Family will be your backing. Twenty percent of the annual national treasury revenue of the Great Xia Imperial Dynasty will belong to the Gu Family."

Xia Qingyue stared at the white jade porcelain bottle. Twenty percent of the national treasury. This was equivalent to handing over the economic lifeline of Great Xia.

"What makes you think I can become the Empress?" Xia Qingyue asked back. "If my female identity is exposed, there will be resistance throughout the court. My Imperial Father will be the first to depose me."

"Because you have this." Gu Sheng pointed to the porcelain bottle. "And also because you have the Everlasting Gu Family. What do you think your good brother Xia Qingfeng is doing right now?"

Xia Qingyue paused.

"He is in the Baicao Valley of the Hundred Thousand Mountains." Gu Sheng tapped the table. "He has joined forces with the Grand Elder of Baicao Valley, Yuan Tong, and is preparing to force the palace and seize power. Once the Spirit Medicine resources of Baicao Valley fall into his hands, he will have the confidence to recruit soldiers and horses. By then, what will you use to fight him?"

Xia Qingyue stood up and grabbed the porcelain bottle on the table. "I accept this transaction."

"A smart person." Gu Sheng picked up his teacup. "Walk slowly. I wish Your Highness the Crown Prince an early ascension to the throne."

Xia Qingyue performed a bow of equals and turned to leave the private room.

[Ding. Changed Xia Qingyue's decision-making route. Obtained 15,000 destiny points.]

The System notification sounded. Gu Sheng looked at his account balance. 65,000 destiny points. He was in a great mood.

"Young Lord, can this girl be trusted?" Xuan Kong knocked off the cigarette ash.

"Even if she can't be trusted, she must be relied upon. She has no other choice now but us." Gu Sheng walked to the window. "Only when Great Xia becomes chaotic can the business of the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion thrive."