Ever since Xiao Qingfeng had advanced to become a seventh-grade alchemist, his status had been revered and exalted.
He had never suffered such indignation before!
Whoever met him across the Nine Provinces always treated him with the utmost respect.
If she didn’t have powerful backing, how would a mere young girl dare to offend him?
Rong Zhuofan’s voice was gruff. “I wish I were in cahoots with her, but unfortunately, I don’t know her at all.”
“Where did the ‘five hundred million’ you bid for the half-step immortal-grade technique come from?” Xiao Qingfeng stared intently at Rong Zhuofan, not missing a single flicker of his expression.
The Beast Taming Sect had already spent two hundred million; how could they possibly produce another five hundred million? Something was very fishy.
Rong Zhuofan’s thick eyebrows knitted together. “Why do you care where I got it? Are you the only one allowed to have trump cards? Can’t our Beast Taming Sect have a few of our own?”
Naturally, Rong Zhuofan wouldn’t tell them about pawning his sect’s treasure to get the spirit stones.
“I can’t be bothered to argue with an old fool like you over this. Let me make this clear: from now on… don’t even think about buying a single pill from me!” A vicious glint flashed in Xiao Qingfeng’s eyes.
Disciples of the Beast Taming Sect were the most prone to injuries, given the many risks involved in taming mystical beasts.
“You think I give a damn? Fine, we won’t buy them! I didn’t want to buy your Huoyun Sect’s pills anyway!” Rong Zhuofan retorted, looking utterly unconcerned.
A look of surprise crossed Xiao Qingfeng’s face. In the past, whenever he threatened to cut off pill supplies, Rong Zhuofan would always back down…
Xiao Qingfeng was skeptical. “Rong Zhuofan, what new trick are you trying to pull?”
Rong Zhuofan snorted coldly. “Hmph! As if your Huoyun Sect hasn’t pulled enough tricks! A single batch of third-grade spirit herbs can yield ten Serenity Pills, yet you only give us one!”
“And you charge us several times the normal fee for every alchemy service! You even pass off low-grade pills as high-grade ones! Every single time, you treat our Beast Taming Sect like we’re your cash cows…”
Rong Zhuofan’s eyes reddened slightly as he spoke. Most of his disciples had to take on missions outside the sect as early as the Qi Refining stage, just to afford pills.
Many of his beast-taming disciples wore ordinary mortal clothes, without even a decent sect uniform.
Some disciples, lacking the spirit stones for Fasting Pills, had even resorted to digging up tree roots in the back mountains…
Even rogue cultivators probably didn’t have it this rough!
“Rong Zhuofan, how dare you spout such nonsense! Our Huoyun Sect has always been trustworthy! How could we possibly do such things?!” Xiao Qingfeng roared.
Fearing the two might come to blows, Xiao Hongyu quickly changed the subject. “We are here to discuss the matter of that technique and the Ruomu Tea. Let’s set personal matters aside for now.”
Xiao Qingfeng sat down, a cold light flickering in his downcast eyes.
We’ll see how the Beast Taming Sect manages without our pills from now on.
Rong Zhuofan’s eyes held mockery. Of course. As long as the knife doesn’t cut them, they never stand up for us.
He thought of Ye Wentian. If Xiao Qingfeng had dared to cheat him like that, Ye Wentian would have surely torn the Huoyun Sect apart.
Unfortunately, he was tied to these three sects…
If he truly started a fight with the Huoyun Sect, Xiao Hongyu and Baili Xuanqing would undoubtedly side with Xiao Qingfeng.
Rong Zhuofan took a deep breath. He could not put the Beast Taming Sect in danger.
Seeing both men had calmed down, Xiao Hongyu spoke again. “Xuanqing, what are your thoughts?”
Baili Xuanqing’s hawk-like eyes were sharp, his slightly gaunt face showing a flash of shrewdness. “There was more than one person in room ninety-nine. That young girl was just the one calling out bids. The power behind her is formidable. I suspect it’s the Baili Family…”
“The Baili Family, the number one clan in the Nine Provinces continent?” Xiao Hongyu’s face darkened.
The Baili Family was like a colossal dragon, looming over the heads of every sect and power.
The Nine Provinces continent might appear to be composed of independent states, but there was a hidden manipulator behind it all: the Baili Family.
It was rumored that the Baili Family had at least a hundred Void God experts, one Saint-level Mystic, and one Saint-level Array Master.
Furthermore, there are rumors that the Baili family worships a divine beast!
Furthermore, the Baili Family controlled the teleportation arrays connecting the various provinces.
After the incident with Lady Miaoyin all those years ago, it was the Baili Family who gave the order to shut down the inter-provincial arrays, forbidding cultivators from traveling freely between provinces.
Any power that opposed the Baili Family…
Whether it was a sect with intricate, deep-rooted connections, or an ancient clan with millennia of heritage, would be utterly annihilated by the Baili Family.
“A question,” Xiao Qingfeng said, his eyes gloomy. “If it was the Baili Family, and they wanted the half-step immortal-grade technique and the Ruomu Tea, would the Calligraphy and Ink Pavilion dare to even put those items up for auction?”
Baili Xuanqing replied, “In the Qingyun Province, the Calligraphy and Ink Pavilion’s room ninety-nine has remained empty since the hall first opened. It’s a private room none of us are qualified to enter. Besides the Baili Family, who else do you think it could be?”
A thought flashed through Rong Zhuofan’s mind, but he failed to grasp it.
Xiao Hongyu added, “Sect Leader Baili makes a valid point. I tried to probe room ninety-nine during the auction and found it protected by an extremely powerful restriction. Moreover, shortly after they acquired their winning bids, their presence vanished completely from the room.”
“There was no trace of them within a thousand li. They must have used a Teleportation Talisman. To teleport beyond a thousand li requires a ninth-grade talisman, something our Qingyun Province simply doesn’t possess.”
After Xiao Hongyu’s analysis, the other three fell into deep thought.
“Sect Leader Baili, you share the surname Baili… You’re not from the Baili Family, are you?” Rong Zhuofan suddenly asked, looking curiously at Baili Xuanqing.
“I am not,” Baili Xuanqing replied, his gaze sharp as a blade and cold as ice.
A sudden chill ran down Rong Zhuofan’s spine, and he didn’t press further.
Xiao Hongyu and Xiao Qingfeng exchanged a glance, their thoughts hidden.
“We must cease any further investigation into the whereabouts of the technique and the Ruomu Tea,” Xiao Hongyu stated solemnly.
Rong Zhuofan nodded, deciding not to mention that he had seen Baili Yuanmo heading to the third floor just before the auction ended.
