Chapter 989: Gu Xing'er’s Enlightenment Teaching

Two pills aren't enough?

The woman in palace attire stiffened slightly, saying, "Fellow Daoist, two pills are already a lot. Any more, and I can't afford it."

Jiang Fan picked up his identity token and, without hesitation, began sending out messages with it.

Seeing this, the woman in palace attire quickly grabbed Jiang Fan's hand and exclaimed, "Wait! Three pills it is then! This is the price set by the old Soul Transformation Venerables. Any more than that, and I truly can't give it!"

Three pills?

Jiang Fan mentally counted. Liu Qingxian would get one, Yue Mingzhu one, Xia Chaoge one, but Liang Feiyan, Ren Guhong, Ye Banxia, and Nangong Xiaoyun would have none.

"Nine pills then," Jiang Fan demanded greedily.

The woman in palace attire nearly fainted from anger. "Even Soul Transformation Venerables can't produce that many Lingtian Pills!"

But then she remembered that the Spacetime Dust could grant an additional sixty years of life. Perhaps it was the key for her to achieve Soul Transformation. And even if she didn't need it, she could sell it to recoup some of the cost. It seemed... she wouldn't necessarily lose too much.

She immediately began to haggle. "Four pills! I'd have to borrow some."

"Then eight pills."

"Five pills! I'll exchange all my merits from the past ten years!"

"Seven pills."

"Six pills! That's my absolute limit; I'll have to beg everyone to borrow Lingtian Pills!"

"Deal!"

Jiang Fan smiled, "When can you gather all the Lingtian Pills?"

The woman in palace attire felt her heart bleeding. When she named six pills, she didn't know where she found the courage to offer such a high price. Six Lingtian Pills—it would shorten her lifespan!

"You're truly ruthless!" the woman in palace attire gritted her teeth, glaring at the tyrant. "No one in the Jiangshan First-Rank Pavilion is more unscrupulous than you, right?"

Jiang Fan rubbed his nose, awkwardly saying, "If you're going to put it that way, I might as well make the information public."

The woman in palace attire said resentfully, "Since I've named a price, I naturally won't go back on my word! But I have two in my possession that I can give you now. For the remaining four, I'll need to figure out how to gather them. Before that, could you please give me the Spacetime Dust?"

She was truly worried that this unscrupulous tyrant would turn around and spread the news. By the time she gathered all the Lingtian Pills, the Spacetime Dust might be gone.

Jiang Fan scoffed, "If you run off, where would I find you?"

The woman in palace attire immediately found the situation tricky. Suddenly, spotting her disciple, she pushed her in front of Jiang Fan. "I'll use my disciple as collateral first! Once I've gathered the remaining four Lingtian Pills, I'll redeem her. This should work, right?"

The young girl blinked her innocent large eyes. "No, Master, are you insane?" Terrified, she asked, "Master, what if you can't borrow the Lingtian Pills?"

The woman in palace attire patted her chest, "What kind of reputation and status do I have? And I can't borrow a mere four Lingtian Pills? Rest assured completely. Tyrant, I only have this one disciple in my entire life; I absolutely won't abandon her."

Jiang Fan was speechless. So disciples, besides inheriting one's legacy, could also be used as collateral? He was even a little tempted. Should he also take on a few disciples? If he ever ran short of money, he could just randomly pick a lucky disciple as collateral?

He looked at the young girl, then at the woman in palace attire. This woman, despite her formidable cultivation, chose to trade rather than forcibly seize the item. Her character shouldn't be too problematic, right?

After a moment's thought, he nodded and said, "Alright, I'll make this a credit transaction. But let me be clear: If you default on the debt, this female disciple will be at my mercy."

The woman in palace attire confidently took out two Lingtian Pills and a communication jade pendant. "The word 'default' will never be associated with me! Here, take them. When I have news, I'll send you a message immediately."

Jiang Fan reluctantly took out a particle of Spacetime Dust but didn't hand it over to her.

The woman in palace attire frowned. "Are you trying to go back on our agreement?"

Jiang Fan unhappily stretched out a hand. "Aren't you going to write an IOU?"

"Oh, oh, oh." Only then did the woman in palace attire remember. She immediately took out paper and a brush, pressed her handprint, and signed her name.

Jiang Fan took it and read, "Song Lingyu, Daoist Tingyu." He looked back at the young girl, confirming the name was genuine. Only then did he toss the Spacetime Dust to her.

The woman in palace attire was immediately overjoyed. "I'll have someone refine it into a spirit pill right away. Then I'll be leaving." She leaped up, ready to depart. Just before leaving, she remembered her precious disciple. She flew back and patted the young girl's shoulder. "Huaying, Master will be back soon, don't be afraid."

The young girl said with a hint of a whimper, "Master, please come back soon." She had heard that in the eyes of the Jiangshan First-Rank Pavilion, everything was a commodity and could be sold. She was so beautiful; she might be sold to some old monsters as a concubine, or even broken down and sold as components.

The woman in palace attire smiled confidently and transformed into a long rainbow, soaring away.

Beside them, Gu Xin'er watched, her eyes sparkling with unusual light. She exclaimed excitedly in her mind, "Master, Master, did you see that? A single particle of Spacetime Dust, which is worth one Lingtian Pill, was sold by the tyrant for the price of six! My goodness, was I too honest when doing business before?"

Fine black lines appeared on the forehead of the hairpin's remnant soul. Gu Xin'er didn't realize it, but how could she not see that this so-called tyrant was none other than Jiang Fan? She couldn't help but mutter, "You little rascal, I told you to teach Xin'er how to conduct herself, not how to be a crooked merchant!"

The transaction was complete. Jiang Fan looked at the young girl and said coldly, "You are now my collateral for the time being, so don't even think about running away."

The young girl was on the verge of tears. "Senior, I won't run. You must wait for my Master to return. I believe she won't forget me, her disciple."

Jiang Fan nodded, then summoned a gentle breeze that swept her up into the air with him. Finally, he cupped his hands towards Gu Xin'er, "Vice Pavilion Master Gu, farewell."

Gu Xin'er waved her hand, then, with an eager expression, looked around and said, "Who should I try to do business with next?"

Above the clouds, the Pavilion Master of the Heavenly Secret Pavilion watched Jiang Fan return with a young girl, surprised. "This is...?" Jiang Fan, annoyed, recounted what had just happened.

The Pavilion Master of the Heavenly Secret Pavilion was repeatedly astonished. "She could just casually take out two Lingtian Pills? There aren't many individuals like that in Taicang Great State. You didn't happen to encounter a top elder from the Three Divine Sects or Seven Great Teachings, did you? Won't extorting her like this offend her?"

Upon hearing this, Jiang Fan realized that the woman in white palace attire was an even more formidable senior than he had imagined. He looked suspiciously at the young girl. "What is your Master's cultivation level?"

The young girl obediently knelt on the ground and replied, "My Master is an Eight-Aperture Nascent Soul cultivator. As for her background..." The mist on her face flickered, and she said guiltily, "My Master and I left secretly, so it's not convenient to disclose our origins. Please forgive us, Senior."

An Eight-Aperture Nascent Soul? Jiang Fan gasped. Lingyin had mentioned that Eight-Aperture Nascent Soul cultivators occasionally went mad! He had actually been haggling with such a dangerous person for a long time? If she got angry and went crazy, a single slap could kill him—that would be quite amusing!

He shivered slightly and said, "Fortunately, she doesn't know my identity for now. Moreover, Taicang Great State is enormous, more than ten times the size of the continent. She might not be able to find us again."

Upon hearing it was an Eight-Aperture Nascent Soul, the Pavilion Master of the Heavenly Secret Pavilion's expression also changed. He said, "For the remaining four Lingtian Pills, it's best if you don't meet her in person for the exchange."

Jiang Fan strongly agreed, immediately feeling unsafe in their surroundings. He said, "Let's go, let's go. It would be quite entertaining if she came back. Let's hurry to the Myriad Tribulations Sacred Palace to attend to our main business."

"Go where? Myriad Tribulations Sacred Palace?" A trace of astonishment appeared on the young girl's pretty face, veiled by mist. After regaining her composure, a faint smile played on her lips. Suddenly, she wasn't nervous at all!