Luo Chen was led by Ah Qing to the side hall. The moment he entered, he sensed a sharp gaze fixed on him, but his expression remained unchanged as he took a seat. The person sitting next to him also continued sizing him up. "I am Shang Junshu, young master of the Four Seas Trade Alliance. May I know your name?"

The Four Seas Trade Alliance was a major force in the Northern Sea, with a Sage at its helm. After joining the Righteous Blue Sea Alliance, its influence had only grown. Among trading powers in the Northern Sea, it ranked just below the Heaven Origin Trade Alliance. If Shang Junshu called himself the young master, then Sage Four Seas was probably his father.

Luo Chen frowned slightly. "I'm just a random rogue cultivator. My name is not worth knowing."

Shang Junshu did not mind. Rogue cultivators were always like this, hiding their backgrounds and unwilling to reveal their names. He said seriously, "This Soul-Nurturing Wood is something I'm purchasing on behalf of a friend of my father's. I hope you can be accommodating, Fellow Daoist. If you only need Soul-Nurturing Wood, our alliance has pieces aged eight to nine hundred years. As long as they are used with the proper methods, they are not inferior to a thousand-year piece."

Luo Chen countered, "Then why don't you use those methods yourselves?"

Shang Junshu suppressed his irritation and replied patiently, "That kind of wood is only suitable for Adepts like us. My father's friend is a Sage and only true millenial Soul-Nurturing Wood will do. Fellow Daoist... can you really not accommodate us?"

Luo Chen shook his head. "Let's wait until we meet the owner."

Shang Junshu clenched his fist and stared at him for a long moment. "Fine. Then we'll settle it with our own means when the time comes."

They did not have to wait long. Before long, heavy footsteps echoed from outside the hall. The two looked up as an Adept with a belly round as a pot stepped into the side hall.

At a glance, both Luo Chen and Shang Junshu were surprised. This guy?!

Many had already seen the owner: He was the rogue Adept who had spent seven million spirit stones at the start of the auction to secure the Black-Green Treasure Basin Fish King. The man was extremely odd-looking. From a distance, he looked like a big ball of flesh. Yet his face was quite normal, even somewhat lean, with a prominent hooked nose. The contrast between his thin face and bloated body left a strong impression.

As soon as he entered, he smiled. "I am Ding Yi. So... you two wanted to see me?"

Shang Junshu introduced himself first. "I am Shang Junshu, young master of the Four Seas Trade Alliance."

This time, Luo Chen also gave his alias, out of courtesy. "I am a rogue cultivator, Luo Hai. Greetings, Fellow Daoist Ding."

Ding Yi gave a small nod. "Since you asked to see me, I take it you're confident you can meet my conditions?"

Shang Junshu replied with confidence, "I believe so. I oversee the Four Seas Trade Alliance, and I also hold considerable authority within the Blue Sea Alliance founded by Ascendant Li. With the resources of both alliances, meeting your requirements shouldn't be a problem."

"Confident, aren't you?" Ding Yi chuckled, then continued, "My situation is simple. Years ago, I stumbled into a secret realm and I ended up consuming an unknown heavenly spirit herb. It boosted my cultivation, but it also left me with... well, you can see for yourselves."

He glanced down at himself.

"So my conditions aren't complicated—just two. The first is simple: Help me lose weight."

"Uhhhhh......"

Faced with this condition, both Luo Chen and Shang Junshu were stunned for a moment. Lose weight? What difficulty was there in that? For cultivators, refining vital essence into qi was the most basic method. With a few qi cycles, excess flesh would be consumed like it had never been there. But although they thought this, neither voiced any doubt. If the man was unable to lose weight, perhaps there were some other issues he did not wish to reveal.

After a brief moment of consideration, Shang Junshu took out a jade scroll from the storage belt at his waist. "It contains a third-tier technique. It allows you to refine away excess vital essence, qi, and flesh."

Ding Yi took it with a smile and glanced at the title. "Blood Transformation Devil Art? A technique from the Primordial Devil Sect?"

Shang Junshu nodded. "That's right. It does originate from the devil sect."

Ding Yi did not agree immediately and instead looked toward Luo Chen. After a brief hesitation, Luo Chen took out a pill and a manual from his storage ring. Ding Yi accepted them, gave them a quick glance, and frowned. "An alchemical formula?"

"Indeed. It's called the Dustfall Pill. I picked it up years ago from an alchemy sect. The idea behind it is fairly simple and doesn't really have any restrictions. Basically, it consumes your blood essence and converts it into refined mana. As for this Dustfall Pill, I refined it myself back then. You can try it if you like."

Ding Yi nodded. He gave no clear response, but he seemed to be leaning more toward the Blood Transformation Devil Art offered by Shang Junshu. After all, the flesh dissolved by that technique could even be used to attack enemies.

Shang Junshu caught the shift and felt a surge of confidence. As long as he met the second condition, the Soul-Nurturing Wood would be his. What could a rogue cultivator like Luo Hai use to compete with him?

"And your second condition, Fellow Daoist Ding?"

Ding Yi tapped his temple. "Years ago, I got my hands on that Soul-Nurturing Wood. I was tempted by its rumored effects and tried to use it to nourish my divine soul. But I ended up being tainted by the dark energy attached to it, and it damaged my soul instead. My cultivation improved, yes, but my divine soul foundation hasn't progressed at all for years. So what I need now are resources that can strengthen my divine soul."

Soul-Nurturing Trees generally grew where wandering souls gathered. Once they reached a thousand years of age, their core naturally gained the ability to nourish the divine soul, making them treasures in the eyes of any cultivator. Ding Yi had been injured by the dark energy after acting rashly in the face of such a prize, which was understandable. But hearing this, Shang Junshu felt troubled. Resources that could strengthen the divine soul were rare anywhere. He did have a suitable thing on hand, but handing it over to an outsider was not something he could do so easily.

As he hesitated, the black-robed Daoist beside him produced a jade bottle. Ding Yi took it and gave it a light sniff. His expression brightened at once. When Luo Chen's voice transmission then reached his ears, he nodded without hesitation. "As long as you give me nine more bottles of these supreme-grade Spirit Passage Pills, the Soul-Nurturing Wood is yours!"

Luo Chen felt a pang of reluctance. The Spirit Passage Pills were not easy to refine, especially since his version was an improved second-tier variant. Even with the resources of the Flying Swallow Archipelago, he had only managed to gather a small batch of ingredients. After refining them, he had set some aside for Cheng Haixin and Xu Muxian, leaving himself with barely a dozen bottles. He had not expected the man to be so greedy. Yet with Han Zhan's assurance, he gritted his teeth and handed over all his remaining stock.

Shang Junshu stared blankly as Ding Yi returned to him the jade scroll containing the Blood Transformation Devil Art. He knew he was out of options, but still protested, "Fellow Daoist, we can still discuss this!" 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

Ding Yi smiled. "Do you have a better offer?"

Shang Junshu opened his mouth but found himself speechless. In the end, he shot Luo Chen a fierce glare and left a harsh warning. "Luo Hai, you've offended more than just me!"

Luo Chen's expression darkened. Shang Junshu's father was a Sage, and any senior who could befriend such a figure was likely of the same level.

Inside the Primordial Unity Cauldron, Han Zhan spoke with satisfaction, "Don't overthink it. I may not be able to match a Sage, but protecting you in the Northern Sea will not be a problem."

Luo Chen forced a smile. The deed was already done anyway, and there was nothing else he could say. Seeing the uncertainty on his face, Ding Yi seemed to guess what he was thinking. "Brother, don't dwell on it. That's just how it is for rogue cultivators. Resources are hard to come by, and it's all too easy to offend people with powerful backing. Just keep a low profile from now on and steer clear of them. The Northern Sea is vast. If you avoid them, there's not much they can do to you."

Luo Chen nodded reluctantly. "Thank you for the reassurance, Fellow Daoist."

Ding Yi laughed, and a hint of flattery appeared on his thin face. "Fellow Daoist Luo... you're an alchemist, aren't you?"

Luo Chen's heart tightened. It seemed that was the true reason Ding Yi had agreed so readily to sell him the Soul-Nurturing Wood. Those ten bottles of Spirit Passage Pills were only a temporary gain and would be gone once used. Forming a connection with Luo Chen, however, meant a steady supply of pills for future cultivation.

Luo Chen said quietly, "I do have some skill in alchemy, but it's nothing special. Don't think too highly of me, Fellow Daoist."

Ding Yi smiled. "An alchemist who can refine supreme-grade second-tier pills can hardly be called mediocre. At the very least, ordinary low-grade third-tier pills should be well within your reach, no?"

Luo Chen shrugged and did not respond much. Ding Yi did not press further either and changed the topic. "Since we still have some time, why don't you give me a few pointers on refining the Dustfall Pill? I've dabbled in alchemy myself, but I can only handle some basic first-tier and second-tier pills, and even those are just low-grade. Even with the formula in hand, refining enough supreme-grade Dustfall Pills for my use would be quite a challenge."

Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day; teach him to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime. Clearly, his intention was the big catch. But since it was only a random low-level pill, and there was no way Green Pin Valley would take him to task for it, Luo Chen saw no need to keep it to himself. He began explaining the key steps in refining the Dustfall Pill. It was not particularly difficult. Back at Green Pill Valley's competition, this pill had been used as a test precisely because it was easy to pick up, apart from a few quirks. It also generally offered no benefit to cultivation. Luo Chen had only made it useful by pairing it with the Blood-Boosting Pill. But if it was just for weight loss, it suited Ding Yi perfectly.

***

It took Luo Chen nearly half a day to teach Ding Yi the refining method. The man was simply too easygoing, learning as he went while deliberately trying to build connection. Since the Soul-Nurturing Wood was not yet in hand, Luo Chen had no choice but to play along. Half a day later, he finally made an excuse about having items to bid on and broke free, hurrying back to his private room.

The auction was, unsurprisingly, still ongoing. At this scale, it was common for an auction to run day and night for three straight days. For Adepts and even Initiates, going without rest for a few days meant nothing.

The moment Luo Chen returned, a surge of noise crashed into his ears. He was momentarily at a loss. Thus, he spread out his divine consciousness and heard constant discussions about "spirit treasure," "sword spirit," and "chance to reach the Divine Transformation Realm."

After listening for a moment, he already had a vague guess. Sure enough, when he saw Leng Ruolan carefully present a blood-colored sword, all his suspicions were confirmed.

Inside the Primordial Unity Cauldron, Han Zhan blurted out, "A spirit treasure!"