"My name is Gong Hou. If things truly unfold as you say, I won't disappoint you. Now, tell me your price." When Mo Wuji mentioned one hundred thousand or eighty thousand black stones, Gong Hou changed his mindset. He sat down again, his tone becoming calmer.

It would be easy to find a substitute like Hong Axe in Half Immortal Domain, but to find a substitute like Mo Wuji, it would probably be impossible.

Mo Wuji waved his hand, and a sizable rock flew over and landed beside him. He sat down. Gong Hou was already seated; he wasn't accustomed to standing before Gong Hou.

Seeing Mo Wuji seating himself without asking, Gong Hou's narrow eyes flashed with a sharp light again, then lowered. This time, he didn't fly into a rage. He wanted to know how many cards Mo Wuji held and if he truly had the right to be so arrogant in front of him.

Mo Wuji said unhurriedly, "Before the transaction, I have a few questions I'd like to ask Gong Daoyou."

"Speak. As long as it's related to the transaction, I'll tell you," Gong Hou said. The agitation from before was gone, replaced by greater composure.

"Good. My first question is, what is the purpose of black stones?" Mo Wuji asked, staring at Gong Hou. He suspected that Gong Hou wouldn't answer this question, but he still asked with a glimmer of hope.

Gong Hou looked at Mo Wuji with a mocking expression. "Mo Wuji, you are a smart person. Ask questions I can answer."

Mo Wuji didn't mind and asked again, "My second question is, what exactly are those 'broken spirit stones'? Are they waste from immortal mines?"

Gong Hou chuckled. "I can answer that question. Your guess is correct. Immortal crystals are the currency of the Immortal Realm. So, immortal crystals are generally cut into equally sized blocks for cultivation and trade. The leftover scraps after cutting, naturally, are of different sizes. These scraps are then compressed into blocks again and divided into roughly similar 'Half Immortal Stones,' what you call 'broken spirit stones.'"

Mo Wuji had pioneered the meridian cultivation method and was truly a founding patriarch. Upon hearing Gong Hou's words, he immediately understood the principle. Although broken spirit stones still had spiritual energy more concentrated and abundant than that of the cultivation world, because they were crushed and divided from fragmented immortal crystals, they lacked the natural Dao rhyme aura of naturally formed immortal crystals. It was certain that even if an equally sized broken spirit stone and a complete immortal crystal were compared, the cultivation effect would differ greatly, perhaps by several levels.

"Thank you. My third question is, are these broken spirit stones scraps from the lowest grade of immortal crystals? If so, are there even better immortal crystals?" At this moment, Mo Wuji already had a vague calculation.

Gong Hou looked at Mo Wuji and said calmly, "You are indeed very clever and extrapolate well. That's right, broken spirit stones are just scraps from the lowest grade of immortal crystals. Besides low-grade immortal crystals, there are also medium-grade immortal crystals, high-grade immortal crystals, and even top-grade immortal crystals."

As expected, Mo Wuji clasped his fist at Gong Hou and said, "Gong Daoyou, can you provide me with low-grade, medium-grade, or high-grade immortal crystals?"

Gong Hou, hearing Mo Wuji's words, opened his mouth slightly. He was amused by Mo Wuji's words. To immediately ask for medium-grade and high-grade immortal crystals—was this guy crazy?

"Mo Daoyou, I hope you can be rational. I haven't even seen a high-grade immortal crystal, let alone you. As for medium-grade immortal crystals, I have seen them, and even possessed them, but they are rare. I do have low-grade immortal crystals, but I can't trade them with you. I can only trade broken immortal crystal stones with you, nothing more. At most, I'll throw in a little low-grade immortal crystal," Gong Hou said with a mocking tone, finding Mo Wuji completely unreasonable.

Mo Wuji's emotions didn't even fluctuate. He just held out a palm and said, "I can give you five thousand black stones a year. How many broken spirit stones can that buy?"

Gong Hou suddenly stood up again, staring coldly at Mo Wuji, and said, "Mo Wuji, do you think that just because you have the Wind Escape Technique, you can trifle with me, Gong Hou?"

Mo Wuji remained seated and didn't move. "Gong Hou, tell me, where am I trifling with you?"

"You were talking to me about ten thousand, twenty thousand, even one hundred and eighty thousand black stones, and now you're telling me five thousand black stones a year. You're very bold," Gong Hou said, his body exuding killing intent, causing the surrounding space to rustle.

Mo Wuji said with equal sarcasm, "Gong Hou, do you want to rely on your higher cultivation to forcibly demand my black stones? Otherwise, how can you be so shameless as to try to exchange my tens of thousands of black stones with broken spirit stones? Although I only have Earth Immortal cultivation, I won't be blackmailed like this. Do you know where my black stones come from? I earned them by trading my petrified spiritual meridians."

Hearing Mo Wuji call his trade of broken immortal crystal stones for black stones blackmail, Gong Hou was instantly furious. If Mo Wuji hadn't said that he could trade tens of thousands of black stones, he would have attacked immediately.

"Mo Wuji, you need to understand one thing. Not just the trade between you and me, but even the trade between Immortal Domain and Guang Quan is done with broken immortal crystal stones," Gong Hou said, forcing down his anger, word by word.

Mo Wuji, however, remained calm. "Even Guang Quan may not be able to come up with as many black stones as I can. Also, if you don't have better trading conditions, why should I trade with you? Can't I trade directly with Immortal Domain? Guang Quan can't do anything to me. As for five thousand black stones a year, I believe that Hong Axe, who traded with you before, couldn't come up with that amount."

Mo Wuji's words instantly calmed Gong Hou down. What Mo Wuji said was true. If he couldn't offer better conditions, why would Mo Wuji trade with him? When he traded with Hong Axe, he was the boss, and Hong Axe was like an ant. Now, when discussing a trade with Mo Wuji, he felt that Mo Wuji was the boss, and he seemed very passive.

"If I want twenty thousand black stones a year, what do you need to give me?" Gong Hou set aside his displeasure. Black stones were the most important thing.

"One million low-grade immortal crystals," Mo Wuji said, demanding a high price.

Gong Hou was amused. "Mo Wuji, do you think I would use one million low-grade immortal crystals to exchange for your twenty thousand black stones?"

Mo Wuji guessed that Gong Hou was telling the truth. He was also very helpless. Although he knew that the value of twenty thousand black stones was definitely more than one million low-grade immortal crystals, perhaps even a hundred times more, what could he do? Unless he could take the black stones to Immortal Domain to sell…

As soon as this thought arose, Mo Wuji couldn't suppress it. Although he had over a million black stones, that number was far from enough. He wanted more black stones so that he could take them to Immortal Domain in the future and slowly get rich.

Thinking of this, Mo Wuji felt that taking a slight loss now was acceptable.

"Twenty thousand black stones, I'll give you one million broken immortal crystal stones and also ten thousand low-grade immortal crystals. This price is already much higher than what I gave Hong Axe," Gong Hou said, settling his mind. Although Mo Wuji's outrageous price still meant he would make a huge profit, the underground trade he was doing involved many relationships, and not all the profits belonged to him.

"So Gong Daoyou only wants twenty thousand black stones?" Mo Wuji didn't agree or disagree. He really didn't care for the trade of twenty thousand black stones. However, Gong Hou's promise of ten thousand low-grade immortal crystals improved his mood. Since Gong Hou was willing to offer ten thousand low-grade immortal crystals, it was possible that he could offer one hundred thousand. And if he could offer one hundred thousand, he might be able to offer one million. It was just a matter of time.

It was like a drug addict: the first time, they might just want to try it, but after the first time, there would be a second, and then more and more until they couldn't control themselves.

"I want any amount of black stones. If it's truly one hundred thousand black stones, I'll give you ten million broken immortal crystal stones and one hundred thousand low-grade immortal crystals," Gong Hou said without hesitation. This price was several times higher than his previous offer.

"I don't want broken immortal crystal stones. One hundred thousand black stones, you give me three million low-grade immortal crystals. No bargaining, or the deal's off," Mo Wuji also stood up. He was sure that black stones were extremely profitable. He had lowered his initial price significantly, and he didn't believe that Gong Hou would be willing to give up this profit.

Master Pu had said that ten million broken spirit stones could power a Crossing Immortal Ship to Immortal Domain. If he obtained three million low-grade immortal crystals, he should be able to power the Crossing Immortal Ship even better. The spiritual energy of three million low-grade immortal crystals should be more than that of hundreds of millions of broken spirit stones.

Gong Hou clenched his fist, not out of anger, but to weigh the benefits. The more black stones there were, the more valuable they were. If Mo Wuji could produce one hundred thousand black stones at once, his profits would be higher than the public trades in Immortal Domain. This deal absolutely could not be known by the people above. The main reason he could come along with the people who traded with Immortal Domain was that his underground black stone trade didn't receive much attention; to the entire Immortal Domain, it was just scraps.

Once he acquired ten thousand black stones each time, the nature of the deal would be completely different.

"Mo Daoyou, three million low-grade immortal crystals is too much. It's dozens of times higher than the price I traded with Hong Axe," Gong Hou became more and more composed. He had to make this deal with Mo Wuji. One year was one hundred thousand black stones, what about ten years? He didn't know that Mo Wuji was only giving him one year to trade.

This was the first time he had called Mo Wuji "Daoyou."

Mo Wuji said indifferently, "My black stones are more than ten times what Hong Axe has."

Gong Hou thought to himself, if it was truly one hundred thousand black stones, it was more than ten times—it was equivalent to a hundred times.

"Okay, three million it is. Where are your black stones?" Gong Hou gritted his teeth and directly agreed to Mo Wuji's price.

Mo Wuji smiled. "Gong Daoyou, you also know that I can't carry black stones with me. In fact, my savings with me are only a little over twenty thousand, and several tens of thousands more need to be dug up. I believe you can't carry three million low-grade immortal crystals with you either."

(Today's update ends here. Good night, friends! Also, please support with monthly votes and recommendation tickets!)

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