Chapter 43: Compromise and Transaction

  The surroundings were quiet. A hint of anger flashed across Baoli's eyes, and he said: "I don't believe that relying on some trivial earth escape techniques, you can hold out for long. This place doesn't seem to be too far from Longyuan City either. Since you refuse to drink the wine, you'll have to drink the penalty wine instead! I'll go kill all the Taoists in your sect and the villagers within a fifty-mile radius of Cloud Platform Mountain right now, and then come back to deal with you!"

  This time, from the ground below, a buzzing sound came out: "You dog, if you dare to kill one of my Taoist priests in Guan Zhong, I will go to Yuding Mountain and kill two of your Ice Seal Valley cultivators. Let's see who wins! Otherwise, come down to earth and have a great battle with me for 300 rounds!"

  Baili Mu let out a furious roar, his right hand clenched into a fist as he slammed it down towards the source of the sound. A deafening crash followed, and when the dust settled, a massive crater dozens of meters deep had appeared on the ground. Amidst the flying mud and rocks, not a single trace of Wumu Dao Ren could be seen.

  "Hundreds of feet away, another underground location transmitted the buzzing sound again: "Dog rubbish, Daoist master's humble earth escape technique is still okay? Thank you for reminding me, Daoist master will now go to Yuding Mountain to take a stroll!"

  Baili Mu had been chasing Wumudao for seven whole days, but Wumudao refused to engage with him. As soon as he sensed that Baili Mu was about to catch up, he would use his exquisite earth escape technique and dive into the ground. Not only was Wumudao's spiritual awareness almost on par with Baili Mu's, but also his movements underground were unpredictable, traversing hundreds of feet in an instant, making his earth-traversing technique truly divine.

  Every time Baili Mu came to chase, he clearly knew that Wumeng had just escaped into the ground not far away. He probed his divine sense to the bottom of the earth, but still couldn't find any trace of Wumeng Dao's whereabouts. It seemed that when Wumeng Dao used the Earth Escape Technique, there was a secret technique that could avoid being detected by divine sense. In this way, Baili Mu was also unable to kill or injure him.

  Within seven days, the two of them chased each other in a big circle. Although Bai Li Mu could also escape to the ground, he didn't have the skill to move freely underground. He could only watch as Wu Mu Dao escaped time and again.

  Although the Golden Elixir and Primordial Infant stages differ by only one major boundary, their magical powers are worlds apart. Generally speaking, a Golden Elixir stage cultivator would be utterly unable to defend themselves against a Primordial Infant stage cultivator. Yet now, Wu Mu Dao Ren, a mid-stage Golden Elixir cultivator, not only managed to escape multiple times from the hands of a Primordial Infant stage cultivator but even dared to counter with verbal threats, enraging Bai Li Mu to the point of fury, yet leaving him at a loss for what to do.

  "Weng Mu, Tie Yi saved your life back then, but today he lost his own life for you. Don't you feel even a little bit of guilt in your heart? Now, his daughter has been captured by the Ice Seal Valley cultivators. I will go and kill Tie Xin Tang and your other four favorite disciples. Let's see how this fake benevolent ruler like you can abandon your own disciples for the sake of treasure and eliminate the Heart Demon Disaster." Ba Li Mu said coldly with a sneer.

  The Qian Kun Four Treasures are right in front of him, but Bai Li Mu can't get his hands on them. Unexpectedly, Qin Zheng and Mei Ji also found out about this news, and while they were urging him to return to Yu Ding Shan as soon as possible, they were also saying some sarcastic and mocking words that made Bai Li Mu even more furious. However, Bai Li Mu also learned from Qin Zheng that Shui Sheng and Tie Xin Tang had been forced to join Mei Ji's sect, and combined with the previous search for Tie Yi's soul, Bai Li Mu was certain that Wu Mu Dao Ren would not ignore Tie Xin Tang and Shui Sheng, which is why he spoke out in anger!

  As expected, the voice of Wumuwu Daoist came from underground again: "Dog miscellaneous fragments, what's the big deal about taking out a few children to vent? Besides, why should I believe that you will let go of the treasure for the Daoist?"

  Although Wu Mu Dao's tone still carried a hint of arrogance and excitement, his voice had relaxed considerably. Bai Li Mou couldn't help but feel a glimmer of hope in her heart, saying: "As a dignified Yuan Ying period cultivator, how could I not keep my word? As long as you hand over the treasure, I can make an oath with my Heart Demon to never harm a single hair on your head. Moreover, I will return your five disciples unharmed."

  Once a master enters the Yuanying realm, when impacting higher realms, there will be heart demon disasters. Although these heart demon oaths have little restrictive effect on masters below the Yuanying stage, they can have a significant restrictive effect on Yuanying-stage masters.

  After hearing this, the ground below was silent for half a day. After a long time, Wu Mu Dao Ren's voice came from under the ground again: "Heart Demon's oath? I'm not interested in this! If you really want the Four Treasures of the Universe, it's better to come up with something more practical. My current cultivation is only one-tenth of what it used to be. Why don't you give me a few bottles of elixir and a few high-grade spirit stones to supplement my body first?" This time, the humming sound from under the ground seemed much clearer, and Wu Mu Dao Ren's tone was also much more gentle. He didn't use the "dog trash" phrase, and even changed his usual "Dao Master" title to "I".

  Baili Mu stared intently at the spot on the ground where the sound came from, forcing himself to suppress his urge to strike out. He took a few deep breaths to calm down and adjust his mood before saying, "High-grade spirit stone? What a big mouth you have! I don't have such an item in my possession! As for the restorative medicine for spiritual energy, I do indeed have some. Since Wu Mu doesn't believe me, why would I give it to him for nothing?"

  "It's pointless to talk, I'm not your opponent. If you want to kill people, then so be it. You killed those five people today, and I'll go back and kill ten times more in two days. A monk doesn't engage in idle chatter, just go ahead and kill whoever you want, I'll rest here underground for three days and three nights before doing anything!" The voice appeared again from another location hundreds of feet away, beneath the ground.

  At this point, Baili Mu admired Wu Mu Dao Ren's earth-traveling technique even more and was even more tempted by the Qian Kun Four Treasures. Obviously, the various magical techniques that Wu Mu Dao Ren is now displaying must have been obtained from the legacy of the old man of Qian Kun.

  Baili Mu's heart was racing wildly, but his eyes grew even colder as he said: "To be honest with you, the Grand Elder of Bingfeng Valley is about to enter the Huashen realm. Within a hundred years, not only will Yuding Gate, but the entire Zhongzhou will fall into the hands of my Di tribe. This is something that no one can stop. If you really hand over the treasure in your possession, I can guarantee that you will be unharmed in the future conflicts. Of course, if you want to join Bingfeng Valley, I can also introduce you and do my best to help you advance to the Yuanying realm!"

  "Hmph! No need to threaten me! If you can't even bear to take out a single bottle of elixir, how can you talk about helping me in the future? Let alone Zhongzhou, even if all nine states were under your Ice Seal Valley's control, what would it matter? I am just a lone cultivator, and the world is vast - where can't I go? With the Four Treasures of the Heavens in hand, given time, I might be able to reach the same level as you. At that time, what grudge couldn't I repay? Farewell!" This time, the voice came from thousands of feet underground, and it grew fainter and fainter until it was almost inaudible.

  "Slow down! I'll grant your request. Here's a bottle of 'Snow Ginseng Elixir', made from the thousand-year-old snow ginseng on Mount Tai as its main ingredient. Not only can it help you, a Golden Elixir middle-stage cultivator, recover your spiritual energy at the fastest speed, but even Nascent Soul cultivators can do so." Bai Li Mu shouted loudly.

  "Haha, why not do it this way from the start? You put down the elixir first, then retreat ten miles back. Wait for me to verify the authenticity of the elixir before we discuss the next step in our transaction. At such a close distance, with your divine powers, you should naturally be able to sense whether I've gone far or not. Of course, I won't take your elixir for nothing. To show my sincerity, I'll first give you a look at an ice-attribute cultivation method personally revised by the Old Man of Heaven and Earth!"

  As soon as the voice fell, a cluster of yellow light the size of a human head burst out from the ground and flew rapidly into the sky. Bai Li Mu raised his hand, and the cluster of yellow light suddenly shattered, and a thin book flew out from inside it.

  Baili Mu opened the book, had just finished reading the first three pages, his eyes suddenly lit up, took a deep breath, closed the book, carefully put it away and said: "Good, I'll trust you, this is a bottle of 'Snow Ginseng Pill', there are thirty pills in total, you take care of them."

  Having said that, he took out a three-inch-high white jade bottle and gently tossed it onto the ground. The jade bottle was still three feet away from the ground when it suddenly stopped falling, enveloped in a ball of white light, quietly suspended in mid-air. Bai Li Mu's body moved slightly as he headed off in another direction, and in the blink of an eye, he had retreated to over ten miles away.

  A yellowish light burst out from under the ground, wrapped around the small bottle and disappeared into the earth.

  Baili Mu grasped the jade pendant that contained Wumuwu's divine consciousness seal, released his spiritual sense, and quietly sensed the direction where Wumuwu was. Half a time later, Baili Mu's figure moved again, flying towards the chaotic stone valley once more.

  A low, muffled voice came from beneath the ground, "This bottle of elixir is not bad, it seems you haven't deceived me. Since that's the case, I'm willing to make this deal with you. Listen carefully, among the Four Treasures of the Universe, the 'Qian Kun Divine Escape Symbol' only has three copies, and I've already used them up. If not, I wouldn't be in such a sorry state being chased by you, and would have escaped without a trace long ago. As for the other three treasures, they are indeed on me, but I won't easily hand them over to you. For now, I can only give you one of them. When I see my five disciples return safely to Longyang City, I'll give you the second one. As for the third one...I haven't thought it through yet, it depends on your sincerity in our previous deal."

  Baili Mugou said without thinking: "Alright, I'll grant your request!"

  "Slow down, I almost lost my life to get these treasures back then, and was even expelled from the Jade Cauldron Sect. The preciousness of the Four Treasures of the Universe doesn't need to be explained by me. If you want one of them, you must exchange it with two decent magical artifacts, and those two artifacts must be handed over to me first."

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