Against the Gods - Volume 07 - Heaven Smiting Shakes the World

by Mars Gravity

  “Hohoho.” Zi Ji gave a tepid laugh and allowed Yun Che to continue. Even though he held an extremely exalted position within one of the Sacred Grounds of the profound world, when he dealt with profound practitioners, he would always rather identify himself as a merchant. And a merchant would definitely never easily reveal his “true valuation” of an item. Once he had found out about the effects of the Overlord Pellet, he was entirely sure that the price of one pellet would definitely not only be one kilogram of Purple Veined Divine Crystal… especially if they were talking about the Sacred Grounds, it was definitely not going to be as low as that.

  The Sacred Grounds would never have enough of resources that could directly increase their power, so a medicinal pellet like the Overlord Pellet that could forcibly break through high-level bottlenecks was an item that the Sacred Grounds yearned for even in their dreams.

  Yun Che reached into the Sky Poison Pearl and took out twenty Overlord Pellets. The rich, thick and intense aura of medicine instantly pervaded the entire Ocean Imperial Palace, causing the atmosphere within the Ocean Imperial Palace to change precipitously, despite being enveloped by an extremely strong profound formation.

  The gazes of Zi Ji and the Sovereign of the Seas fell on the twenty Overlord Pellets simultaneously… and even though she was the Sovereign of the Seas, she could not help but be shaken when confronted with a medicinal aura that she acknowledged as being able to shake the heavens and the earth.

  “Originally, my desire was to hand over twenty of these precious pellets to Senior Zi so he could auction them off. But now, I have changed my mind.”

  “Oh? Could it be that you decided not to sell them?” Zi Ji asked.

  “No! I have only decided to change the way they are going to be sold.” Yun Che made a gesture with his arm, but he did not withdraw these twenty Overlord Pellets. Instead he continued speaking with an extremely sincere expression, “I decided that I would rather sell these twenty Overlord Pellets for twenty kilograms of Purple Veined Divine Crystals directly to the Supreme Ocean Palace before I venture into the Moon Slaughter Devil Nest. After that, whatever you get from auctioning off these twenty precious pellets will all belong to you, it will have nothing to do with me!”

  “…” The Sovereign of the Seas’ and Zi Ji’s eyebrows very clearly twitched at those words.

  “Why have you come to this decision?” Zi Ji asked in a composed manner, “If you auctioned these pellets to the Four Sacred Grounds, their price will definitely not only be twenty kilograms of Purple Veined Divine Crystal. I can frankly and honestly tell you that the price of one kilogram for one pellet is indeed the most conservative estimate. And for medicine that would allow a person to break through the bottleneck of the Tyrant Profound Realm, even if it was one and a half kilograms for one pellet, the Four Sacred Grounds would still fight tooth and nail with each other to obtain these pellets.”

  “I know.” Yun Che said with a bland smile, “If not, given Senior Zi’s mental state which is akin to a thousand year old dead tree, he would not have been so anxious to buy ten of these pellets.”

  Zi Ji, “…”

  “I am not a greedy person.” Yun Che continued, “And the price of one kilogram of Purple Veined Divine Crystal for one pellet had already exceeded my initial expectations. Even though the price I could fetch for twenty of these precious pellets through an auction is far higher than twenty kilograms of Purple Veined Divine Crystal, this amount already satisfies my requirements, and I have no real need for any more than that. For me, if I can obtain this amount early on, it would give me greater peace of mind.”

  Zi Ji fell silent for a brief period of time before replying, “In another three days, the Devil Sword Conference will commence. Once the Devil Sword Conference ends, I will personally arrange for an auction to be held before all the heroes of the realm depart. Added altogether, this should take place in a mere four to five days. At that time, the price you can get from the auction will at least surpass twenty five kilograms of Purple Veined Divine Crystal! But for the sake of getting these Divine Crystals a few days earlier, you are willing to forego at least five to ten kilograms of Purple Veined Divine Crystals!?”

  “Yes!” Yun Che said as he nodded his head, “Of course, this is just my own personal desire. If the Sovereign of the Seas and Senior Zi are not amenable to this suggestion, then I won’t try to force the issue.”

  Zi Ji and the Sovereign of the Seas exchanged a glance before he replied with a wide smile, “How could our Ocean Palace miss out on this great opportunity? If you are truly willing to do as you said… Sovereign of the Seas, we will need to use a part of those Divine Crystals.”

  “Indeed, we must.” The Sovereign of the Seas said with a faint nod as she gazed into Yun Che’s eyes before replying, “Purple Veined Divine Crystals are the most valuable and rare resources in the entire Profound Sky Continent! And it is extremely hard for anyone to be able to use twenty kilograms of it in a single transaction.”

  “Oh?” Yun Che said as he raised his eyebrows, “The Four Great Sacred Grounds definitely have resources that are far more vast than the common man can imagine. Moreover, the Supreme Ocean Palace also has the support of the Black Moon Merchant Guild. While twenty kilograms of Purple Veined Divine Crystal is an astronomical sum to the other powers, for your Supreme Ocean Palace, it shouldn’t be too big of a request, correct?”

  “It seems that you do not have a clear understanding of just how precious and rare Purple Veined Divine Crystals are.” The Sovereign of the Seas said as she shot Yun Che a glance, “When it comes to the abundance of resources, our Supreme Ocean Palace is the first amongst the Four Great Sacred Grounds. But do you know how many Divine Crystals our Ocean Palace distributes to our most talented disciples every five years?”

  Yun Che, “…”

  The Sovereign of the Seas slowly extended one finger, “It is fifty grams! Moreover, only the most talented, high-status disciples in our Sacred Ground will receive this amount, and that includes this sovereign as well!”

  “That is also to say that even if it was this sovereign’s son, he would only be able to obtain half a kilogram of Purple Veined Divine Crystal after fifty years! As for Absolute Monarch Sanctuary, Sun Moon Divine Hall and Mighty Heavenly Sword Region, they will definitely distribute a lesser amount than we do! Even for the other powers within the Profound Sky Continent, obtaining a Divine Crystal that is as small as a grain of sand could be said to be the highlight of a lifetime! Yet you are willing to forego such a huge amount of Divine Crystals just for those few days of ‘peace of mind’. This ‘magnanimity and open-mindedness’ has truly expanded my horizons!”

  Yun Che’s expression did not change. “This junior definitely understands the value of the Purple Veined Divine Crystals. But since your Ocean Palace is unable to retrieve twenty kilograms of Purple Veined Divine Crystal, then you can treat it as if this junior had never mentioned this matter in the first place. Senior Zi, I will have to trouble you to escort this junior to the Moon Slaughter Devil Nest.”

  Yun Che was calm and collected and there was an air about him that showed that he did not really care whether it was a few days early or a few days late or how much more or less Purple Veined Divine Crystals he could obtain from this deal.

  “Twenty kilograms of Purple Veined Divine Crystal is indeed an astronomical sum, but that does not mean that our Ocean Palace is unable to foot the bill.”

  Zi Ji continued speaking as a merry smile spread across his face, “The last time we expended ten kilograms of Purple Veined Divine Crystal in order to buy those ten pellets from you, using up nearly half of the Divine Crystals that our Ocean Palace had allotted for use. That is to say that the amount of Divine Crystals that our Ocean Palace is currently free to use only amounts to about ten kilograms of Purple Veined Divine Crystal. But other than this amount, we still have a stash of Divine Crystals that we are not allowed to touch.”

  “Not allowed to touch? Could it be that it is bein
g held in reserve in case disaster strikes?” Yun Che asked after he thought about it briefly.

  “Hoho, you are indeed intelligent.” Zi Ji said as he nodded his head, “Our Supreme Ocean Palace has stashed away twenty five kilograms of Purple Veined Divine Crystal for the longest time. And this stash of Divine Crystals are only to be used to activate a sect-wide protective profound formation when the Ocean Palace encounters a great crisis. So we were given a strict order that has been passed down for generations, that we were not to use these Divine Crystals unless we encountered such a crisis. The truth of the matter is that these twenty five kilograms of Divine Crystals have been stored in reserve for the past eight thousand years or so, but we have yet to find the occasion to use it.”

  Because within the Profound Sky Continent, there was nothing that could threaten the extermination of Supreme Ocean Palace.

  Chapter 771: Mighty Heavenly Sword Master

  “Even though using these divine crystals violates our ancestor’s prohibition, a transaction like this with such tremendous earnings yet is so low-risk, I can’t find any reason to refuse. This could be said to be the most profitable transaction I’ve done in my entire life. If I miss out, I wouldn’t deserve to call myself a merchant.”

  As his voice fell, a spatial ring that flashed with purple light appeared in Zi Ji’s hand. He put the purple crystal spatial ring before Yun Che’s eyes. “In here, are precisely twenty kilograms of Purple Veined Divine Crystals. If you want to back out, there’s still time to do so right now.”

  Yun Che didn’t answer. With a push of his hand, twenty Overlord Pellets flew over to Zi Ji. Simultaneously the purple crystal spatial ring in Zi Ji’s hand was drawn over into his hands. He used his conscious to look inside and found twenty kilograms of Purple Veined Divine Crystals stored inside with not a gram more or less.

  “Making a transaction with Senior Zi is sure delightful.” Yun Che withdrew the purple crystal spatial ring. “I hope Senior Zi will not forget that these twenty precious pellets can only be used for auction and not pocketed privately.”

  With these twenty kilograms of Purple Veined Divine Crystal now in hand added to the twenty five kilograms inside the Sky Poison Pearl… Jasmine’s required thirty five kilograms of Purple Veined Divine Crystals had thus been met!

  He had two profound cores already in hand and they were Sovereign Profound Cores, far above Jasmine’s needed Emperor Profound Cores.

  The only thing missing was now only the Netherworld Udumbara Flower!

  “Hoho, that is a matter of course.” Zi Ji’s profound energy also swept across every Overlord Pellet, then carefully withdrew them with a face full of smiles… This was indeed the most profitable transaction he had made in his entire life. Not only was it easy, Yun Che had obtained more than ten kilograms of Purple Veined Divine Crystals and the entire process only took a short, few days.

  The “sum” of the exchange between the two was enormous, yet was easily completed in but a few words and left both sides extremely satisfied.

  He was in possession of forty five kilograms of Purple Veined Divine Crystals, an amount that was astronomical whether it was in the Illusory Demon Realm or the Profound Sky Continent and definitely surpassed any Sacred Ground’s reserves! Yun Che knew that him being able to obtain this many Purple Veined Divine Crystals definitely was not based on his own strength, but rather the Sky Poison Pearl’s unrivaled heaven defying power.

  But that was merely in terms of reserves. The current Yun Che wasn’t actually in possession of the highest number within the Profound Sky Continent… the ones with the most Purple Veined Divine Crystals were actually the Divine Phoenix Sect!

  The death of the Phoenix God and having fifty kilograms of Purple Veined Divine Crystal were two secrets the Divine Phoenix Sect had to protect with their lives! Either being leaked out could attract a huge catastrophe. In order to cover up those secrets the Divine Phoenix Sect spared no effort in pursuing their cruel war with the Blue Wind Nation.

  “Well done!” The Sovereign of the Seas was also evidently pleased about this transaction. Her face that was always stiff had even smoothed somewhat. “Asgard Master Yun, you are indeed an extraordinary person of talent. Since this transaction is complete, Zi Ji, you can now take Yun Che to Moon Slaughter Devil Nest.”

  “However, Asgard Master Yun, this sovereign must still remind you again that Moon Slaughter Devil Nest’s seal will only be open for one hundred breaths! After a hundred breaths of time, the seal will automatically close and definitely can’t be forced open again. Thus, after entering Moon Slaughter Devil Nest, you must leave within a hundred breaths regardless of the outcome or else you will die inside, eternally trapped! Furthermore, the yin energy in the Moon Slaughter Devil Nest is extremely strong. Not only will it substantially suppress profound energy, it will also decrease one’s life essence. Forget about you at your current strength, even this sovereign would not last a day before dying as a cripple if trapped inside. Being able to stay in there for a five hundred years before leaving at its next opening is complete nonsense.”

  “Don’t worry, when we get there, I will go inside the devil nest along with him. No need to wait for a hundred breaths, once fifty breaths have passed, I will forcibly bring him out.” Zi Ji said as he chuckled.

  “That’s for the best, you may go!”

  ……………………

  Together, Yun Che and Zi Ji left Ocean Imperial Palace. Feng Xue’er, who was waiting outside quickly walked to Yun Che’s side. “Big Brother Yun, are you alright?”

  “Of course I’m alright.” Yun Che smiled as he held Feng Xue’er’s hand then extended the other one, gesturing toward Zi Ji, “This is Supreme Ocean Palace’s Senior Zi Ji.”

  “Divine Phoenix Sect’s Feng Xue’er greets Senior Zi.”

  Zi Ji smiled as he nodded with a peculiar expression in his eyes. “Princess Snow’s name has long passed through my ears. To have met you in person is a great fortune.”

  “Xue’er, I’m going to enter the Moon Slaughter Devil Nest with Senior Zi. Go accompany your royal father first, I will be back before you know it.” Yun Che said to Feng Xue’er.

  “You’re going in now?” Feng Xue’er knew that the main objective for Yun Che’s visit to Supreme Ocean Palace was to enter the Moon Slaughter Devil Nest, she just did not expect it to happen so quickly. She automatically replied, “Then I am definitely going to be accompanying Big Brother Yun as well. After all, I already promised all the Junior and Senior Masters that I would definitely be keeping watch over you at all times.”

  “Alright then.” Yun Che had expected such a reply so he did not try to talk her out of it. He gripped Feng Xue’er’s tiny hand even tighter than before and said sincerely, “It is very likely that there will be unforeseen dangers that lurk in that place, so you must definitely listen to my every word while we are inside. You must definitely not endanger your own life trying to protect me.”

  “I know! I’ve always been really obedient to Big Brother Yun you know.” Feng Xue’er said with a sweet smile.

  The intimacy shared between the two of them caused Zi Ji’s mood to immediately grow complex. He raised his hand and spoke, “The Moon Slaughter Devil Nest is extremely close to our Ocean Palace. If you travel seventy-five kilometers south in a straight line, you will reach your destination. So Yun Che, unless you have any other things to settle, let us make haste.”

  “Alright! I’ll have to trouble Senior Zi to lead the way then!”

  Just as the three people took to the sky, they saw a faraway figure rushing towards them at an extremely fast speed, as if that person was really eager to catch up to them. Yun Che halted in mid-air before letting out a low yell, “Yuanba! What are you doing here?”

  Whoosh!

  A rush of wild wind blew in Xia Yuanba’s wake as he rushed over. He bent over to catch his breath as he gasped for air. He said, “My teacher has already settled in, so since I have nothing better to do, I went to look for Brother-in
-law. Ah? Mister Zi? You… are going somewhere?”

  During the last Seven Nation Ranking Tournament, Ancient Blue had brought Xia Yuanba to the Divine Phoenix City, and the first place they had paid a visit to was the Black Moon Merchant Guild. The purpose of that visit was to see Zi Ji. So even though Xia Yuanba had never been to Supreme Ocean Palace before, he still recognized Zi Ji.

  “We are going to the Moon Slaughter Devil Nest. Yuanba, do you want to come with us?” Yun Che knew that the reason Xia Yuanba had rushed over in such a hurry was because he was worried for Yun Che’s safety. Now that they were going to enter the Moon Slaughter Devil Nest, Xia Yuanba would definitely want to come along, and they could forget about chasing him away.

  “Ah? We’re going now? Of course, I’m coming along! I’m actually also very curious to see what that place is like.” Xia Yuanba said with much excitement.

  “Sigh.” Zi Ji laughed as he shook his head as he simply let out a sigh, “Let’s be off then. Once we reach that place, remember to always be on your guard.”

  Standing guard over the Moon Slaughter Devil Nest was the reason behind the existence of Supreme Ocean Palace in the first place, so it was natural that they would not be located too far apart. And to the four of them, seventy-five kilometers could be said to be a short stroll in the park.

  Before long, they had reached the southern border of Supreme Ocean Palace.

  A human figure appeared in their path.

  Even though they were still several kilometers away from that person, Yun Che, Feng Xue’er, Xia Yuanba and Zi Ji all began to slow down simultaneously as the look in their eyes subtly changed.