Chapter 2775: Inspection

The family stewards quickly understood Lu Ye’s intention.

If there was only one item, surely more than one family would be interested. However, at such a critical juncture, major families wouldn’t fiercely compete for a soul-bound treasure that would only become useful much later. This made striking a deal difficult.

But with three items, the situation changed. Selling all three simultaneously might cause Lu Ye a slight loss, but it would allow him to quickly raise a large sum of Dao Fish.

“Daoist Lu,” Steward Liu asked, his face showing inquiry, “might you allow us a moment to discuss?”

“Please, feel free to proceed!” Lu Ye gestured with his hand.

Over a dozen stewards immediately began communicating telepathically, exchanging whispered messages. Their gazes met, some nodding, others shaking their heads repeatedly, indicating considerable disagreement.

“Aren’t you worried they’ll collude to drive down the price?” Chu Li’s voice entered Lu Ye’s ears.

Lu Ye turned his head to look, seeing the commander’s expression unchanged, facing away towards the sea, his gaze fixed and solemn.

He couldn’t help but smile, transmitting a message back: “When you need something from others, you ultimately have to pay a price.”

They would certainly try to drive down the price, but Lu Ye was new to this place and had no other way to raise Dao Fish besides this method.

“You’re quite open-minded,” Chu Li snorted lightly.

The stewards clearly expended great effort to reach a consensus. After a full incense stick of time, most of them bid farewell and departed after a word with Chu Li, leaving only three, led by Steward Liu.

Steward Liu looked at Lu Ye and said, “Daoist Lu, we just discussed, and our three families can jointly purchase these three soul-bound treasures. We propose a price of 1.8 million Dao Fish per item. What do you think?”

Lu Ye fell silent, pondering.

Frankly, he wasn’t sure about the prices in the Source Realm or what a soul-bound treasure should normally be worth, but 1.8 million was undoubtedly too low.

In the Inner Realm, let alone over a million, even several million wouldn’t buy a single soul-bound treasure. Such items had a price but no market, making them virtually unobtainable.

Earlier, when Lu Ye wanted Qin Feng to help him acquire soul-bound treasures in the Gladiator Arena, even Qin Feng had no connections. This clearly showed their rarity.

Just as Lu Ye was still contemplating, Chu Li’s voice came from the side: “Round it up! Your three families aren’t short on Dao Fish, and this deal is already profitable enough!”

Hearing this, Steward Liu exchanged a glance with the other two, then promptly nodded and said, “Since Commander Chu Li has spoken, we’ll round it up! What do you say, Daoist Lu?”

Lu Ye nodded, “Agreed!”

Rounding it up meant 2 million per item, totaling 6 million Dao Fish for the three treasures. This was more than enough for him to cultivate his Inner World Secret Art to the seventh complete stage.

A certain plan he had in mind could now be put into action.

Although this transaction was certainly a loss, the three soul-bound treasures were originally spoils of war, seized after defeating enemies. Rather than letting them sit idle and gather dust, it was better to sell them for Dao Fish to meet urgent needs.

No matter what kind of treasure, if it can fulfill its intended purpose, then it truly is a treasure; otherwise, it’s just trash.

“Then, Daoist, please wait a moment while we have our families gather and send over the Dao Fish,” Steward Liu said, a smile appearing on his face as he saw Lu Ye agree.

During the wait, the three stewards made an effort to get closer to Lu Ye, engaging him in extensive conversation.

After all, a cultivator who could possess three soul-bound treasures as spoils of war was a rare sight in the entire Source Realm. Whether it was a manifestation of luck or strength, it was certainly worth their respective families forming connections with him.

Not to mention, Chu Li was also calling him ‘brother’.

Lu Ye also wished to communicate more with them, and for a time, their conversation flowed with pleasant laughter.

Before long, cultivators from each of the three families delivered the Dao Fish. After Lu Ye finished counting them, Steward Liu and the other two took their chosen soul-bound treasures and departed.

Lu Ye took out a storage ring, separated 200,000 Dao Fish from it, and handed them to Chu Li.

Chu Li tilted his head and looked at him, a half-smile on his face: “What is this for?”

Lu Ye replied, “This matter proceeded so smoothly, thanks to you, Brother Chu Li. This small gesture expresses my gratitude.” Chu Li’s single remark had gained him an extra 600,000 Dao Fish, and since Chu Li had also helped facilitate the deal, now that it was done, Lu Ye naturally had to express his appreciation. Furthermore, the plan he intended to implement later might require Chu Li’s approval, so maintaining a good relationship with him was certainly beneficial.

After all, Chu Li was currently his superior.

Chu Li raised a hand to push it away. “I’ve introduced such a good deal to them; they’ll naturally show their gratitude later. As long as you feel you haven’t lost out, that’s all that matters.”

“What others do is their business; this is from me, Brother Chu Li, please don’t refuse,” Lu Ye insisted, taking Chu Li’s hand and pressing the storage ring into it.

Chu Li smiled, poking him with a finger. “You’re quite generous, young man. In that case, I won’t stand on ceremony.”

No one ever complains about having too many Dao Fish. Since Lu Ye insisted on expressing his gratitude, refusing further would seem ungracious. Chu Li also had considerable curiosity and regard for Lu Ye. With battle imminent, he certainly didn’t want any rift to form with such a powerful subordinate.

“Brother Chu Li,” Lu Ye said, “the battle hasn’t started yet, and it seems there’s still some time. I’m new here; would it be permissible for me to look around?”

Chu Li frowned. “Although the battle hasn’t begun, the entire Long Cloud Island is in a state of defense. Unless there’s an urgent matter, everyone must remain at their defensive lines, prepared for combat, and are not permitted to move around freely.”

Hearing this, Lu Ye felt a pang of disappointment. If that were the case, his plan would be difficult to implement.

Seeing his expression, Chu Li said again, “Tell you what, wait a moment.”

As he spoke, he took out a sound-transmitting talisman and sent a message.

Seeing this, Lu Ye’s eyebrow twitched upward; he knew the 200,000 Dao Fish he had just given were having an effect. Without that payment, Chu Li certainly wouldn’t have bothered with this matter.

After a moment’s wait, a figure swiftly flew over, arriving before Chu Li and cupping his fist in a salute: “Commander Chu Li, here is the inspection token!”

Chu Li took it, and the cultivator immediately flew away again.

Chu Li turned and handed the so-called inspection token to Lu Ye. “I requested an inspection token from the Island Lord. With this token, you will be an inspector during wartime, responsible for patrolling Long Cloud Island and overseeing all defensive lines for any vulnerabilities or oversights.”

Lu Ye was delighted to hear this, and happily took the inspection token. “Thank you, Brother Chu Li.”

Chu Li said, “You’re unfamiliar with this island, so just walk around and observe. Don’t interfere arbitrarily with the situation at the various defensive lines; other inspectors will be responsible for overseeing those.”

“I understand,” Lu Ye nodded.

“Go on,” Chu Li waved his hand.

Lu Ye immediately hung the inspection token prominently on his waist and swept off in one direction.

A moment later, he found an uninhabited spot on the island and sat down cross-legged.

Currently, most cultivators capable of combat on Long Cloud Island were gathered at the island’s edge, while those with little combat strength were moved to the inner parts of the island. Thus, finding such a secluded, uninhabited spot was quite easy.

Once he confirmed no one was around, Lu Ye immediately took out a large quantity of Dao Fish, spread them beside him, and then activated the power of his Talent Tree to begin absorbing them.

Invisible roots spread out, burrowing into the Dao Fish. Visibly, the Dao Fish turned into fine powder, piece by piece.

After the Talent Tree’s latest transformation, its efficiency in both daily cultivation and absorbing Dao Fish had greatly increased. Thus, the scene of Lu Ye absorbing Dao Fish now resembled large patches of snow melting beside him under intense heat.

If anyone else were to witness this extraordinary sight, they would surely be astonished, perhaps even deeming him a celestial being.

Never before had any cultivator refined Dao Fish so rapidly.

The Talent Tree’s inherent Dao power reserves were not extensive. After his previous cultivation session, Lu Ye had only kept less than 100,000 Dao power, and after a series of battles, only tens of thousands remained.

Now, his Dao power reserves were increasing at an incredibly rapid pace. The most obvious sign was the vast golden glow on the Talent Tree becoming increasingly dazzling and vibrant.

200,000, 500,000, 1,000,000…

Before its transformation, the Talent Tree’s Dao power reserve limit was 1,000,000, but now that limit had undoubtedly been broken.

2,000,000…

3,000,000…

Until it reached 10,000,000!

Lu Ye still detected no sign of the Talent Tree’s Dao power reserves nearing saturation, which undoubtedly meant that 10,000,000 Dao power was not the limit!

However, this amount should be sufficient for the short term. Comparatively, his greatest consumption of Dao power was undoubtedly for cultivating his Inner World Secret Art.

Each additional Dao mark consumed tens of thousands of Dao power.

Looking at the entire Talent Tree now, it appeared as a brilliant golden glow, like a fiercely burning golden flame, with even the three fruits on the tree illuminated golden.

Lu Ye slowly rose, dividing his attention: he simultaneously engraved Dao marks within his Inner World and flew towards the island’s edge.

A moment later, he reached a defensive line at the island’s edge. The cultivators stationed there, upon seeing his arrival, merely glanced at his waist, confirmed his inspector status, and then paid him no further mind.

Lu Ye was not the only wartime inspector; there were nearly twenty individuals with this status across Long Cloud Island. These inspectors would move around, examining the situation at various defensive lines, so the cultivators were not surprised by Lu Ye’s arrival.

However, something that soon puzzled them occurred.

Other inspectors, upon arriving, would inspect their defensive arrangements, identify weaknesses, and reprimand anyone found slacking off.

Lu Ye, however, paid no attention to these matters. Instead, he gazed out beyond the island and slowly drew the Pan Mountain Blade from his waist.

Under the perplexed gazes of the numerous cultivators, he suddenly swung his blade forward, unleashing a massive saber gleam that swept out like a crescent moon. It pierced directly through the island’s protective grand formation and crashed into the Blood River surrounding the island.

Protective grand formations were always designed to defend against external threats, not internal attacks.

External attacks would be blocked by the solid light barrier, but internal attacks would pass through without any hindrance. This was a common characteristic of all protective grand formations, and only in this way could the various array formations set up on the island function effectively when resisting incoming enemies.

However, with no enemies in sight, no one was willing to waste their strength on such a thankless task.

The Blood River surged, with numerous enemies hidden within. Such an attack would have no effect.

Yet, after Lu Ye’s first saber strike, the saber gleams continued in an unending stream.