Chapter 972: Persuading Young Master He

"What could possibly cost so much?" He Lingchuan genuinely couldn't understand. "Eighty thousand taels! That's enough for me to buy the Yangshan Archipelago!"

"If you want to compare like that," Dong Rui said, pointing in the direction where Fang Canran's back had disappeared, "then someone's broken sword hilt could sell for eight hundred thousand. That's worth ten of your archipelagos, isn't it?"

The sword hilt of the True Immortal of Shouran Shore was successfully auctioned off at Dunyuan, which Fang Canran oversaw.

"My research has been stalled for a long time due to lack of funds and materials," Dong Rui said, rubbing his hands together. "Once these eighty thousand taels worth of materials arrive, I'll be set for a long time."

"..." He Lingchuan's face was stern. "What exactly are you researching?!"

"Remember the child-devouring ghoul beast you gave me? The one that wouldn't hatch?"

"I regret it," He Lingchuan mumbled. He should have thrown that thing away back in the Coiled Dragon Desert!

"It's a good thing, a truly good thing!" Dong Rui's face was filled with regret. "This is the first time I've gotten my hands on a living young ghoul beast. From its insatiable demands, it's very likely an ancient demonic species."

"What kind of species?"

"The renowned great demons of ancient times, most of which have since disappeared, such as Flood Dragons and Phoenixes. The spiritual energy of the current world cannot sustain their needs," Dong Rui explained casually. "But this child-devouring ghoul beast you gave me, modified by who knows whom, actually survived. However, to force it into a human body, the Heavenly Palace tormented it, making it extremely weak and prone to early death."

He Lingchuan frowned. "Is that ghoul beast a Flood Dragon or a Phoenix? Otherwise, how could it be worth eighty thousand taels of my silver?"

Dong Rui scoffed. "Are Flood Dragons and Phoenixes your only imagination of great demons? How barren, truly barren!"

"Then what is it?"

"Currently, it's in a regressed juvenile stage, so its characteristics aren't clear. I can only confirm it's a terrestrial scaly demon."

He Lingchuan frowned. "Back then, no matter how much Heavenly Palace's Viceroy He Jing urged it, it refused to leave its host and join the fight. Are you sure this thing will obey you in the future?"

"Is He Jing its feeder?"

"I don't know." Would a Viceroy personally raise a ghoul beast? This knowledge wasn't within He Lingchuan's grasp.

"Then he probably didn't know that this ghoul beast is inherently weak and has extremely high demands for food and spiritual energy. Being summoned out at that time would have led to its death, which is why it refused."

"I heard ghoul beasts are difficult to control."

"Difficult? They're almost uncontrollable! Almost!" Dong Rui glared at him. "Only my demonic puppets can command them with such ease."

He Lingchuan scoffed. "Then what about Shenyuan?"

The colossal beast Shenyuan, which fought with Zu Ju in Xu Mountain, showed great tactical awareness in its later stages, clearly indicating it was controlled.

Dong Rui choked. "'Almost' means there are occasional exceptions. Given the Heavenly Palace's immense capabilities, is it strange for them to create a few obedient ones?"

"But the little ghoul beast you gave me is too weak. Furthermore, after the Heavenly Palace's nonsensical modifications, it would immediately grow into its full form upon birth to assist the Lamp Keepers in battle. However, this process is like pulling up seedlings to help them grow; it would exhaust all its life force in a short time, leading to its rapid death after birth, regardless of whether it fought or not!"

He Lingchuan let out an "Oh." So, the so-called child-devouring ghoul beast was essentially a single-use combat consumable.

The Heavenly Palace forces brought them out with no intention of taking them back.

"This little creature is very intelligent, so it instinctively refused He Jing's summons," Dong Rui explained. "But the nurturing I'm undertaking can replenish its vital energy and rectify its congenital deficiencies, allowing it to emerge naturally at the right time. Heh heh, it's fortunate for this little guy to have met me!"

Fortunate? He Lingchuan didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Despite the fellow's righteous expression, surely his process of researching and creating demonic puppets involved no less torment?

"Of course, I'll also perform some modifications to make it even stronger!"

That's right, this was the Dong Rui He Lingchuan knew, always talking about his craft.

"But my demonic puppet research has been stalled for a long time due to lack of funds and materials!" Dong Rui stated self-righteously. "And you won't let me go out and earn money myself!"

So naturally, he had no choice but to ask for it.

He Lingchuan sighed helplessly. "What exactly will these eighty thousand achieve? What effect will they have?"

As the boss, having paid the money, he naturally expected to see results!

"Let me put it this way," Dong Rui said with a serious expression, knowing this concerned his future research funding. "A ghoul beast that Viceroy He Jing would bring to fight a decisive battle wouldn't be an ordinary one. It only became a child-devouring ghoul beast because the little creature itself had a flaw; otherwise, it shouldn't have developed that way. If this ghoul beast can be successfully cultivated, its initial combat power will be at least five or six times that of a Brutal Ape—and I mean 'initial'—and its future growth will be limitless, provided it's properly nurtured!"

He was very meticulous, even adding "initial."

Even so, He Lingchuan glared at him ominously. "Are you just bragging?"

"Not bragging!" Dong Rui said earnestly. "Is this something to joke about? The growth of demonic puppets doesn't necessarily depend on spiritual energy."

"I think you're just trying to scam funds. You don't even know what species this ghoul beast is."

"Ghoul beasts and demonic puppets are inherently monsters created from nothing; each one is different, so what's the point of talking about species?" Dong Rui retorted, not to be outdone. "Each one is a species unto itself; they can't be categorized!"

As the two were locked in a verbal sparring match, Fang Canran returned and cleared his throat from the side.

Dong Rui immediately shifted his attention. "Well, is it feasible?"

Fang Canran hesitated for a rare moment before saying, "Do you need these three materials urgently?"

"Not urgently, but I'll definitely need them in a few months."

He Lingchuan interjected, "Aren't they for the ghoul beast?"

Dong Rui glanced at him. "Yes, they are. They're for research into stabilizing demonic puppet mutations. Both ghoul beasts and demonic puppets are products of mutation, inherently unstable, prone to collapse or going berserk. Even the Heavenly Palace hasn't fully mastered them yet. As for ours, there are no signs of it emerging for now."

"Acquiring these three materials is very difficult and not entirely legitimate," Fang Canran said slowly. "I can find someone to figure it out; there's an eighty percent chance of getting them, but half the deposit needs to be paid upfront, which is—"

"—one hundred thousand taels!"

Twenty thousand taels just for these three materials? And that's not even counting the other eighty thousand taels for the remaining materials on the list. He Lingchuan's vision went black.

Seeing this, Dong Rui immediately tried to persuade him: "Creating a Golden Armored Bronze General also costs a fortune, and it's not as useful as my demonic puppet, right?"

Upgrading He Lingchuan's Golden Armored Bronze General to a Divine General would also be an astronomical sum, and it has summoning time limitations. Demonic puppets are different; as long as Dong Rui commands them properly, they can operate for long periods, like the Snail Toad that carried them for tens of thousands of miles.

Dong Rui continued, "If spending several hundred thousand taels can get you a powerful great demon capable of fighting, and it might even continue to grow in the future, wouldn't you do it?"