Chapter 113

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Chapter 113: Divine Skill in Hand

For cultivators, especially those with promising futures, divine skills proved more practical than treasures during their early stages.

Early-stage treasures rarely exceeded third or fourth rank, becoming nearly useless once one reached the Immortal realm. Divine skills differed entirely—when properly mastered, even those acquired at the Qi Sea realm remained formidable weapons at the Thunder Tribulation Immortal stage, potentially evolving into lethal trump cards!

Given identical functions, no cultivator would ever choose treasures over divine skills.

This Earth Eye Divine Skill stood as exceptionally rare and valuable. Crafting its foundational seed required slaying three adult Earth Crawlers—ancient beasts surpassing a millennium in age, each matching Purple Palace realm cultivators in strength. These creatures lived solitary lives and proved exceedingly scarce. Finding even one presented immense difficulty, let alone three!

Thus, the Earth Eye Divine Skill’s worth rivaled fifth-rank treasures. Yet fifth-rank treasures belonged solely to Immortals, their value transcending mere spirit stones.

Though Fang Lie had become a Great Pill Master recently, refining spirit pills daily to amass mountains of gold, even emptying his coffers couldn’t purchase this divine skill.

Frowning, Fang Lie asked, "This must be the Earth Eye Divine Skill’s seed catalyst?"

The Old Shopkeeper gaped in astonishment. "Young brother possesses remarkable discernment! Most Golden Pool realm cultivators wouldn’t recognize this!"

Fang Lie smiled bitterly, privately thinking, *Not my knowledge—that damned old bird deserves credit.* Aloud, he maintained solemnity: "A precious item indeed, but beyond my means."

"True," the Old Shopkeeper nodded. "This commands prices matching top-grade fifth-rank treasures. Your Great Pill Master status brings wealth, yet accumulating sufficient funds requires decades."

"Then why display it?" Fang Lie’s tone sharpened, suspecting mockery.

"Patience, young friend!" The Old Shopkeeper chuckled. "I’ll speak plainly—recent events weigh on my conscience. The scheme against you came from higher authorities, not my will."

Fang Lie nodded curtly, waiting.

"Superiors now seek reconciliation," the Old Shopkeeper sighed. "Yet I know Fang Family members never tolerate sand in their eyes. Friendship becomes impossible."

"Correct." Fang Lie’s voice turned flinty. "Even gifting this Earth Eye Divine Skill wouldn’t make us allies."

"Your bluntness honors your lineage." The Old Shopkeeper spread his hands. "A mere pretense of friendship could claim this skill freely. Why refuse?"

"The Fang Family doesn’t barter integrity for treasures." Fang Lie’s pride rang clear.

"Stubborn as legends claim!" The Old Shopkeeper shook his head. "Must we become enemies? Can’t simple transactions continue?"

"Given alternatives, I’d avoid dealings with you."

"Yet you leave room!" The Old Shopkeeper’s eyes gleamed. "Does this mean exceptional goods like Earth Eye might tempt you?"

"Necessity permits limited transactions," Fang Lie conceded. "No friendship, but no blood feud either."

"Excellent!" The Old Shopkeeper leaned forward. "Ten thousand spirit pills for this divine skill!"

"Outrageous!" Fang Lie’s fist slammed the table. "The third-rank top-grade Soul-Settling Bell cost thirty pills! Ten thousand? Highway robbery!"

"Fair exchange, I assure you." The Old Shopkeeper maintained his smile. "Shall I demonstrate?"

"By all means," Fang Lie growled. "Enlighten me."

"Hehe," the Old Shopkeeper smiled and said, "A top-grade third-rank treasure costs ten times less than a top-grade fourth-rank one, right?"

"Right," Fang Lie nodded. This was common knowledge he couldn’t dispute.

"Then by your pricing, a top-grade third-rank treasure is 30 spirit pills, so a top-grade fourth-rank one should be 300, correct?" The Old Shopkeeper chuckled. "Similarly, a top-grade fourth-rank treasure is ten times less valuable than a fifth-rank top-quality one, meaning the fifth-rank treasure equals 3,000 spirit pills. Am I right?"

"Yes!" Fang Lie replied. "Your math checks out, but that’s still only 3,000. That’s three times short of your 10,000!"

"Three reasons," the Old Shopkeeper said. "First, the Earth Eye Divine Skill isn’t a treasure—it’s a rare divine skill. You can buy a fifth-rank top-quality treasure with money, but the Earth Eye? No amount of gold gets you that!"

"Second, we demand payment upfront but give you a hundred years to deliver the 10,000 pills. Such generous terms mean we deserve extra compensation!"

"Third, your pills use cheap herbs. Since your costs are low, giving more is fair!" the Old Shopkeeper explained patiently.

"Hmph!" Fang Lie scoffed. "My pills work as well as any! Why lower the price? Don’t think you can lowball me just because my costs are low. Remember—these pills sell themselves. If you won’t pay, others will!"

"True," the Old Shopkeeper grinned, "but we hold the cards here. Let’s be practical. Don’t forget your life-and-death battle in a few months! The Earth Eye Divine Skill boosts your odds by thirty percent. Now’s not the time to haggle!"

"You’re exploiting me!" Fang Lie snapped.

"That’s business. We’re not friends," the Old Shopkeeper leaned closer, smirking. "But I could slash the price—or give it free—if you’d treat Baibao Zhai as an ally!"

"Never!" Fang Lie growled. "You backstabbers sold me out once—you’ll do it again. Only a fool trusts you for coin!"

"Wait! Last time, I had no choice—" the Old Shopkeeper pleaded.

"Enough!" Fang Lie cut him off. "No excuses will make me trust you. I’ll take the loss rather than repeat past mistakes! Ten thousand pills, none stronger than Purple Palace Pills. That’s my limit."

He snatched the Earth Eye Divine Skill and stormed out.

Watching Fang Lie leave, the Old Shopkeeper sighed. "One misstep, eternal regret! That boy will shake the world someday. Our masters have no idea how much this betrayal will cost them…"

After leaving Gentle Breeze Tower, Fang Lie returned home in high spirits.

His whole family was gathered for dinner. Dozens of children filled the dining hall, chatting loudly over their meals.

They swarmed Fang Lie the moment he entered, pulling him to join. Hungry, he sat and ate the hearty stew Fang Huo had cooked. The dish used low-tier demon beast meat, rich in Spiritual Energy. Though mildly beneficial to cultivators, it greatly strengthened mortals. Each pound cost a spirit stone—a luxury they’d once struggled to afford but now enjoyed daily.

After dinner, Fang Lie gathered Ice and Fire Poison Dragon in a private room. Mao Mao served tea before quietly taking her seat.

"Big Brother," Ice Second Brother sighed, "we found nothing these past days."

"Same here," Longxing Tianxia added. "With Cannon Experts nearly extinct, Mechanical Cannons are scarce. Only the Fang Family still uses them."

"Nonsense," Fang Lie snorted. "High-tier puppets also use Mechanical Cannons. They’re not *that* rare. Someone’s blocking us—they don’t want me armed in the Secret Realm."

"You’re right!" Ice Second Brother slammed the table. "When I asked, merchants didn’t even check their stock! Just said ‘sold out.’ They were lying!"

"Exactly," Longxing Tianxia said. "What now, Big Brother?"

Fang Lie stroked his chin. "Find desperate buyers. Check who urgently needs spirit pills and approach them discreetly."

"Brilliant!" Ice Second Brother perked up. "Rumors say a Purple Palace level cultivator’s Dao magic backfired. He needs special pills to survive. I’ll track him down!"

"Do it," Fang Lie ordered. "If we control his cure, he’ll fetch cannons for us. Easier than us begging!"

"On it!" Ice Second Brother thumped his chest. "Expect good news soon!"