Chapter 1578: Demon-Suppressing King
"I wish to purchase a Saint King-level dragon soul and a Saint King-level elephant soul. Does the Hundred Flowers Palace have such goods?"
As soon as Zhang Ruochen spoke, he stunned Demon-Suppressing King.
Demon-Suppressing King's shock was considerable, but with his cultivation and experience, he naturally would not show such a loss of composure. Instead, he straightened his expression and asked, "Young friend, are you serious, or joking?"
Zhang Ruochen's fingers brushed across his Space Ring, and then he took out a storage pouch, placed it on the table, and pushed it toward Demon-Suppressing King.
Seeing Zhang Ruochen's Space Ring, Demon-Suppressing King's eyes lit up, knowing it was a valuable space treasure.
A hint of anticipation arose in Demon-Suppressing King's heart. He opened the storage pouch and saw that it was filled entirely with Sacred Stones. Roughly estimating, the amount was between one million and two million pieces—a considerable fortune, not something an ordinary Half-Saint King could produce.
"It seems those girls stumbled upon a dead rat by blind luck. He really is a big client."
Demon-Suppressing King felt a secret delight, but his face remained calm, even showing a cautious expression. He said, "Saint-level dragon and elephant souls are easy enough to obtain; they can be hunted without causing much commotion. However, hunting Saint King-level dragon and elephant souls is a hundred or a thousand times more difficult. One misstep, and you could lose your own life."
"Therefore, only those at the Seven-Step Saint King level or above can act to ensure success while hunting Saint King-level dragons and elephants and extracting their Sacred Souls."
"But to hire someone at the Seven-Step Saint King level or above, the Sacred Stones you need to spend are no small amount."
Zhang Ruochen was mentally prepared and asked, "How many Sacred Stones are needed?"
"One Saint King-level dragon soul costs ten million Sacred Stones. One Saint King-level elephant soul costs eight million Sacred Stones," Demon-Suppressing King said seriously.
Zhang Ruochen frowned. This price was higher than he had imagined.
Some weaker Saint Kings might not even have ten million Sacred Stones in total wealth.
And what did a Saint King represent?
In the Kunlun Realm, a Saint King could become the leader of an ancient sect, commanding hundreds of millions of disciples, controlling millions of miles of territory, with assets spread across the land.
Of course, Saint King-level dragon and elephant souls were not something ordinary forces could hunt. The high price was only natural.
Seeing Zhang Ruochen hesitate, Demon-Suppressing King feared losing this big client and quickly added, "Saint King-level beings are significant figures in any major world. The Dragon Clan, in particular, has a vast population and has produced many powerful existences. Killing one triggers a chain reaction that could easily provoke a Great Saint-level Dragon Emperor, Dragon King, or even a Divine Dragon's investigation. It can be said that sacred shops willing to quote a price are few and far between."
"Let me think it over."
As the saying goes, compare prices among three vendors. Zhang Ruochen naturally would not only ask the Hundred Flowers Palace for a quote. He decided to check other sacred shops.
Demon-Suppressing King saw through Zhang Ruochen's intention and smiled, "In the entire Heavenly Capital Sacred Market, only a few dozen sacred shops dare to take on such a big order. In the past hundred years, the Hundred Flowers Palace has been seeking development and building more business friendships, so our quoted prices are generally the bottom line. If you go to other sacred shops, the prices they tell you will only be higher."
"I have here a list of the major sacred shops in the Heavenly Capital Sacred Market, which I will give to you for free. If, after inquiring, you find the Hundred Flowers Palace's price reasonable, you are welcome to return."
Zhang Ruochen did not stand on ceremony. He took the booklet from Demon-Suppressing King's hand, picked up the storage pouch from the table, and walked straight out of the Hundred Flowers Palace.
"Who is he? Young but powerful, with a steady mind and a large fortune. Could he be some low-key Divine Son or Divine Grandson?"
Demon-Suppressing King stared at the young human man's back. He had used various methods but could not see through Zhang Ruochen at all. Clearly, the other party carried some extraordinary secret treasure that could conceal his aura.
After pondering for a long time without reaching a conclusion, Demon-Suppressing King finally shook his head and retreated back into the shop.
Zhang Ruochen did not use the list Demon-Suppressing King had given him. Instead, he went directly to the sacred shops opened by the top ten major worlds on the Myriad Realms Merit Ranking, inquiring about prices one by one.
The stronger the major world, the better its reputation would likely be.
The prices quoted by the top ten sacred shops varied.
In some shops, a dragon soul cost as much as twenty million Sacred Stones, and an elephant soul cost fifteen million Sacred Stones.
The sacred shop opened by the Western Buddha Realm refused to sell dragon and elephant souls altogether.
One sacred shop quoted a price similar to the Hundred Flowers Palace's, but it was still two million Sacred Stones more expensive.
"The price Demon-Suppressing King offered is indeed very low."
After various comparisons, Zhang Ruochen eventually returned to the Hundred Flowers Palace.
Demon-Suppressing King seemed to have anticipated Zhang Ruochen's return. He had already prepared a pot of hot, fragrant Sacred Flower petal tea and welcomed him with a beaming smile into an antique VIP room. "Well, I didn't just make up a price, did I?"
Zhang Ruochen took a sip of the tea, which was rich with the scent of flowers. The dense fragrance actually lifted his somewhat gloomy mood, as if he had swallowed a spoonful of spiritual honey.
"It can affect a cultivator's mood—quite a good tea."
Zhang Ruochen praised it inwardly, then got straight to the point. "How soon can the dragon soul and elephant soul be delivered to me?"
Demon-Suppressing King became serious and said, "No sacred shop in the Heavenly Capital Sacred Market has ready-made Saint King-level dragon and elephant souls. I must first send word back to the Thousand Stamen Realm. If there is stock in the Thousand Stamen Realm, you can get the dragon and elephant souls within half a month. If there is no stock, we will have to dispatch experts to hunt them. That will take a bit longer, but within a month, they will definitely be delivered to the Hundred Flowers Palace."
Such confidence—able to hunt Saint King-level dragons and elephants.
"It seems the Hundred Flowers Palace's status in the Thousand Stamen Realm is equivalent to the Martial Market in the Kunlun Realm, controlling the economic lifeline of the entire major world. It must be teeming with experts," Zhang Ruochen thought to himself.
Zhang Ruochen said, "I don't have that many Sacred Stones on me. Can I use other treasures to exchange for Sacred Stones?"
"Of course."
Demon-Suppressing King smiled. "Who carries that many Sacred Stones around? In fact, the Hundred Flowers Palace prefers cultivators to trade treasures for treasures. May I ask, young friend, what treasures do you intend to use to exchange for Sacred Stones?"
Zhang Ruochen had many treasures on him, but most were still useful to him and could not be sold.
"I have collected quite a few treasures. This place probably can't hold them all. We'll need a larger venue," Zhang Ruochen said, preparing to dispose of the treasury of the Azure Dragon Dynasty and the spoils he had seized from the Ancestral Spirit Realm.
Those treasures were vast in quantity but low in grade, no longer useful to Zhang Ruochen. They were like waste, sitting in his Space Ring.
Demon-Suppressing King was momentarily stunned. Such a large VIP room couldn't hold them? How many treasures were there?
Seeing that Zhang Ruochen did not seem like someone who liked to joke, Demon-Suppressing King directly led him deeper into the Hundred Flowers Palace, arriving at a Sacred Martial Arena.
Demon-Suppressing King also specially summoned a treasure appraiser, who was already waiting at the edge of the Sacred Martial Arena.
The treasure appraiser looked quite old, wearing a jade crown, but his hair was a mass of green leaves, clearly a plant-type cultivator.
The appraiser's Spiritual Power was strong. Zhang Ruochen exchanged a glance with him but could not discern his depth.
Zhang Ruochen took out the Golden Light Storage Pouch and infused it with Saint Qi. The pouch flew up and hovered dozens of zhang in the air.
"Clatter, clatter."
One treasure after another flew out of the Golden Light Storage Pouch and landed in the Sacred Martial Arena. Among them were talismans, translucent Sacred Jade, bottles of unknown pills, various barbarian beast skins, bones, blood, and other miscellaneous items.
Soon, the Sacred Martial Arena, dozens of zhang in length and width, was piled high with these treasures.
Demon-Suppressing King and the treasure appraiser were both stunned. They had not expected Zhang Ruochen to have collected so many low-grade treasures—hundreds of thousands of pieces in total.
Had he looted the treasury of some ancient sect?
Zhang Ruochen himself had not realized that dumping these items would create such a spectacle. He cleared his throat and said, "This is only about a third. Calculate how many Sacred Stones these can sell for first."
Demon-Suppressing King asked himself again in his heart, "What exactly is this human cultivator's identity?"
While the treasure appraiser calculated the value of the treasures, Demon-Suppressing King observed the low-grade items, trying to find clues to deduce Zhang Ruochen's identity.
A young, wealthy figure appearing out of nowhere was highly unusual.
Only the outermost area of the Hundred Flowers Palace was built with dense halls for trading.
The deeper one went into the grounds, the denser the Saint Qi became. The soil turned into Sacred Light Red Earth, planted with patches of Sacred Flowers, resembling a beautiful sea of blossoms.
The Truth Path engravings left by the Mandala Flower God were located deep within the flower sea. Most of the proud talents of the Thousand Stamen Realm stayed there to meditate and cultivate.
The personnel in the trading area were either temporary experts like Demon-Suppressing King stationed in the Truth Heaven Domain or low-level servants.
The Hundred Flowers Fairy, Ji Fanxin, had entered the Truth Heaven Domain to comprehend the Truth Path. She had already passed the sixth sea region and reached the seventh. As the leader of the Thousand Stamen Realm's current generation, she naturally became the master of the Hundred Flowers Palace.
At that moment, the noble Ji Fanxin was carrying a bamboo basket woven from Purple Cloud Bamboo, walking through the flower sea to pick Sacred Flower petals. Wisps of white Sacred Mist swirled around her delicate body, making her look like a flower fairy who did not eat mortal food.
With every step Ji Fanxin took, specks of light flew from her footprints, and from those specks, Sacred Flower seedlings grew. It was extraordinarily magical, as if she could control the life of plants and trees.
A group of Heavenly Fire Demon Butterflies and Demon Emperor Bees flew around her, helping her collect petals while greedily absorbing those specks of light. Their cultivations were steadily increasing.
"It's so good to follow Fairy Sister. We can improve our cultivation without even training."
"Fairy Sister, I want to follow you forever."
...
Suddenly, a Heavenly Fire Demon Butterfly flying high exclaimed, "Come look! What is that? The Sacred Martial Arena is emitting multicolored light, as if piled with many treasures."
The Heavenly Fire Demon Butterflies and Demon Emperor Bees all rushed over, vying to fly into the air and look toward the Sacred Martial Arena.
"Heavens, so many treasures piled up! Has the Hundred Flowers Palace gotten a big client?"
"Uncle Demon is there too, and Grandpa Qian. That human man... isn't he the one we dragged back?"
"It really is the one we dragged back."
"It was me, I dragged him back. It has nothing to do with you."
The nine Heavenly Fire Demon Butterflies started arguing again, each claiming credit.