How much is a single sacred artifact worth? That’s a treasure you can’t even buy if you have the money.
After the disaster in the Archaic Mountains, more than half of the sacred artifacts in the cultivation world were lost, making their value skyrocket to the point where it’s impossible to put a concrete price on them.
If you tried to convert the jade slip Bao Gu had—which was worth the same as sixteen sacred artifacts—into spirit stones, refining materials, rare treasures, or precious medicines, no one could even come up with a number!
So after Bao Gu was invited out of the Golden Throne Hall by Prime Minister Song Yi and Minister of Revenue Cheng Fu, she was taken straight to the Central Hall, where the core of Yue Country’s government and all the officials met.
There, they politely served her tea and wanted to negotiate the price, using the value of sixteen sacred artifacts as the baseline.
But even with that as a reference, the actual price could swing wildly.
The Ministry of Revenue controlled the nation’s finances and taxes, and as the head of the household registry, the Minister was the one holding Yue Country’s purse strings.
Even if the Empress herself wanted to use money from the treasury, she’d have to haggle with the Minister of Revenue—let alone someone like Bao Gu.
Bao Gu had learned business from her father since she was a child, but back then she was too young to actually negotiate.
Later, when her father fell gravely ill and a drought hit Qing Shan County, by the time he passed away and she took over the family business, there was no business left to do.
After that, when she entered the cultivation world, she’d never met anyone like Cheng Fu, who would split a single spirit stone into three if he could.
Cheng Fu was a smooth talker, leaving Bao Gu with nothing to say.
Since Bao Gu had already set the price at the value of sixteen sacred artifacts, she had a number in mind.
If Cheng Fu’s offer wasn’t good enough, she simply wouldn’t agree.
After all, the jade slip was still in her oversized storage bag—if the deal fell through, she’d just walk away.
She could afford to walk away, but if Cheng Fu dared to do the same, Si Ruo would probably have his head.
Seeing that Bao Gu was as stubborn as a dead pig in boiling water and wouldn’t budge no matter what he said, Cheng Fu finally gave up and said, “Lingzhu, just name your lowest price.
We’ll take it or leave it.”
Bao Gu handed over a jade slip she’d quietly inscribed during their negotiations and said, “This is the price—not a single half of a low-grade spirit stone less.”
Cheng Fu scanned the jade slip with his divine sense, veins bulging on his forehead.
He almost couldn’t stop himself from roaring, “Why don’t you just rob us!” But he swallowed the words, pushed the jade slip back to Bao Gu, and said, “Lingzhu, forgive me, but Yue Country really can’t afford such an astronomical price.
I have a suggestion: for the next hundred years, all your business in Yue Country will be tax-free.
If you cut your price in half, how about it?”
Bao Gu replied coolly, “Business is business.
That’s the price.
If you think it’s too high, why don’t I go talk to Si Ruo instead? Or you could just give me sixteen sacred artifacts, and I’ll auction them off myself at the gang’s auction house!”
Cheng Fu was so angry he was practically spitting fire! Sacred artifacts—she just opened her mouth and asked for sixteen! Why not just chop him up instead? Yue Country supposedly had over forty sacred artifacts, but they were all in the hands of noble families, royal relatives, or being used as the core of great formations.
Bao Gu wanted sacred artifacts, but there wasn’t a single one they could actually hand over! There wasn’t even a broken one in the treasury! As far as Cheng Fu was concerned, Yue Country was poor—really poor.
Cheng Fu sighed heavily and said, “Lingzhu, at your price, we’d have to empty the entire national treasury! And even if we did, we still couldn’t pay you! Yue Country just doesn’t have that kind of money!”
Bao Gu didn’t believe a word of it.
Seeing that it was already past noon and she’d been haggling with Cheng Fu for an hour with no agreement, she said, “If you think the price isn’t right, let’s talk another day—when you’re ready to meet my price.” With that, she set down her teacup and got up to leave.
Cheng Fu let out another heavy sigh and said, “Half in refining materials, converted into rare treasures, and half in spirit stones, converted into Nascent Soul-level magic weapons.
How about that? You have to understand, Yue Country is at war right now.
If you take away that much refining material, we won’t even be able to make weapons or armor.”
Bao Gu reluctantly agreed, “Fine!” For her, it was all free money anyway.
She and Yue Country were allies, helping each other out.
If things really got desperate, she wouldn’t just stand by and watch them die—she’d have to hand over the jade slip anyway.
So being able to cash in now was more than enough for her.
Bao Gu was satisfied, but Cheng Fu’s heart was bleeding.
Yue Country was at war, and cultivation resources were being burned through like water.
Letting Bao Gu walk away with so much at once meant there wouldn’t be enough for the war effort, and he’d have to go scrambling for more.
The total value of what Bao Gu was taking was a quarter of the treasury’s reserves! Cheng Fu couldn’t understand the symbols or blueprints on the jade slip, but he knew that just the sixteen jade slips were costing a quarter of the treasury—this was daylight robbery! But the Empress agreed, the old princes agreed, the Prime Minister agreed, the Ministry of Works agreed—what could a money man like him say?
Cheng Fu’s heart was bleeding, and his face was ashen.
Prime Minister Song Yi patted Cheng Fu on the shoulder and comforted him, “Old Cheng, if you think sixteen jade slips aren’t worth the price, what about a slim chance to avoid national or even world destruction? You’ve never been to the Archaic Mountains, so you don’t know how terrifying the drought demons are.” These sixteen jade slips were selling a chance at survival under the threat of the drought demons.
Box after box of spirit stones, rare treasures, and refining materials were carried into Bao Gu’s courtyard.
Bao Gu had an oversized storage bag, so moving them wasn’t a problem, but she still had to check the numbers with Cheng Fu.
If she put everything in her bag and counted later, Cheng Fu could just deny it if there was a mistake.
There was so much stuff that she had to scan each box with her divine sense, and it took her until dusk to finish counting.
She nodded to Cheng Fu and said, “The numbers are correct.” Then, using her mountain-moving technique, she swept everything into her storage bag in an instant—the treasures that had filled the courtyard, stacked higher than the little building inside, were all gone in a flash!
Prime Minister Song Yi, worried that Bao Gu might get robbed on the way, asked if she needed an escort back.
Bao Gu politely declined Song Yi’s offer, handed the sixteen jade slips to Cheng Fu, and left the Yue Country palace.
She didn’t take the carriage the gang had prepared for her.
Instead, she concealed her aura, put on a veil, and used her shrinking-the-ground technique to leave the palace.
After ducking into a side alley, she suppressed her wood aura and released her fire aura, disguising herself as a fire-element cultivator as she headed for the nearest gang inn.
When she turned out of the main street, she saw that Yue Country’s streets were even busier than usual, packed with people.
Not only had the city patrols doubled, but every street was heavily guarded, and there were so many itinerant cultivators that the streets were almost bursting.
Shops selling pills, spirit wine, and magic tools were all packed with people lining up to buy.
At the head of every street, there were notices posted, and government officials were banging gongs and shouting about conscription.
They were recruiting cultivators at the Golden Core, Nascent Soul, and above.
If you thought you were strong enough, you could go to the selection arenas in the east, south, west, or north districts to compete, and those with outstanding combat power could be chosen as generals!
With all the major powers closing in on Yue Country, they were short on troops and had to conscript.
Before long, Bao Gu arrived at the gang inn and saw that the main hall was packed to the brim, every table full.
The line to buy discounted spirit wine and pills stretched from inside the inn all the way out to the street! She glanced at the inn’s bulletin board and saw that the top notice was the gang’s declaration of war against more than seventy cultivation factions, with open bounties on their members’ heads.
The price depended on cultivation level, and some powerful individuals were listed separately with clear prices.
It also stated that gang members could exchange bounties not just for spirit stones, but also for battle merits.
One Golden Core head was worth one merit, Nascent Soul heads were worth five, Soul Transformation heads a hundred, and Void Tearing heads a thousand.
Merits could be exchanged at the inn for spirit wine, pills, cultivation techniques, magic weapons, and more.
As far as Bao Gu knew, usually only a small number of itinerant cultivators staying at the gang inn would sit in the main hall to drink and gather news—most would just hole up in the free rooms to cultivate.
The crowd today was clearly because of the war in the cultivation world.
She stopped a harried inn attendant and asked, “Why are there so many people in the main hall today?”
The attendant was swamped and didn’t look happy about being stopped, but when he saw it was a woman with a pleasant voice, his annoyance faded a bit.
He said, “It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, don’t you know! The gang and Yue Country are both about to go to war, Yue Country’s already conscripting, and the gang can’t be far behind.
Everyone’s waiting here for the gang’s inner hall to start recruiting!”
Bao Gu asked in surprise, “Yue Country is stronger than the gang.
Why not join their army instead?”
The attendant replied, “Sure, Yue Country’s stronger, but if you join them, you have to compete with the nobles for resources and status.
With the gang, everyone’s a rogue cultivator—if you want to rise, it’s all about strength! And the best part is, if you serve in the gang’s inner hall, everyone gets a magic treasure that can hold a Nascent Soul.
If you die in battle but your Nascent Soul or soul isn’t destroyed on the spot, you can escape into the treasure and get a huge opportunity! The upper realm’s techniques, tons of resources, and the risk-free fusion technique—if you succeed, you’ll come out as a commander of a thousand!” The more he talked, the more excited he got, wishing he could join himself, but he was only at Foundation Establishment, so no one wanted him—he could only keep serving tea.
Bao Gu wanted to ask more, but the attendant had already squeezed back into the crowd.
She stood there as another group of people pushed in behind her, clearly together.
With so many people, they had to force their way in, and since Bao Gu was already near the door, she got shoved right up against the wall!
Bao Gu had thought that when rogue cultivators heard about the gang going to war, they’d all flee the inn to avoid getting caught in the crossfire.
She never expected them all to crowd into the inn instead, squishing her—the gang’s own leader—against the wall until she was almost flattened.
She wanted to push her way out, but more and more people kept coming in, and she couldn’t move at all.
It wasn’t until she heard the innkeeper shout, “There’s still space in the back courtyard! Move to the back! Don’t all crowd the door! You’re going to crush someone! Move to the back, or you’ll collapse the inn!”
Those with seats didn’t budge.
The ones in the corridors and on the stairs all surged toward the back, and the newcomers did too.
Bao Gu tried to edge her way to the door, but everyone was pushing in, so every step forward pushed her three steps back.
She had to cling to the wall by the door just to avoid being shoved deeper inside.
What Bao Gu didn’t expect was that there were even pickpockets taking advantage of the chaos.
As someone squeezed past her, they tried to snatch her ring and bracelet.
She glared at the thief, who glared right back.
As a Nascent Soul cultivator, he wasn’t afraid of a peak Golden Core woman like her.
The thief grabbed her bracelet, but the crowd pushed him forward.
He wouldn’t let go, and Bao Gu’s wrist hurt from the pressure.
She had no choice but to let him take the defensive bracelet that concealed her divine light.
It was only after the thief got away that Bao Gu realized she could have grabbed his wrist, broken his arm, or used her inner strength to shake him off.
But by then it was too late—the thief waved the bracelet at her triumphantly and disappeared into the crowd heading for the back courtyard.
Bao Gu quietly took out another similar defensive bracelet and put it on, pretending nothing had happened.
The gang leader getting robbed by a rookie Nascent Soul pickpocket in her own inn—she couldn’t let anyone know!
She also noticed that most of the cultivators coming to the inn were Golden Core and Nascent Soul, with the majority being late Golden Core and early-to-mid Nascent Soul.
Whenever a Soul Transformation rogue cultivator showed up, the staff would immediately welcome them in, and the surrounding Nascent Soul cultivators would make way.
Stuck in the inn, Bao Gu gradually increased her aura, no longer keeping it so weak that people would step on her without noticing.
She raised it to about Nascent Soul level—no one paid her any mind.
When she cranked it up to Soul Transformation, everyone nearby turned to look at her.
Seeing that she was only at Golden Core but had such a powerful aura, they figured she must have some serious treasures on her.
While no one dared to rob her openly in the inn, plenty of people eyed her jewelry and edged closer, clearly planning to “steal” from her.
Sensing trouble, Bao Gu’s heart skipped a beat.
She lost control of her aura for a moment, and a sharp sword intent burst out, releasing a pressure on par with a Void Tearing cultivator.
Instantly, the thousands of people in the inn’s main hall fell silent and stared at her.
Many of those pressed up against her couldn’t withstand the pressure and collapsed to the floor, while others quickly backed away.
The innkeeper, seeing a powerhouse arrive, squeezed through the crowd and cupped his fists from afar.
“Friend, are you here to join our gang…”
With the space around her suddenly clear, Bao Gu seized the chance to dash out of the inn and disappeared as fast as she could.
The innkeeper, seeing her suspicious behavior, quickly notified the Shadow Pavilion spies stationed at the inn to follow her.
The spy tailed Bao Gu all the way to the gang’s branch hall and saw her being greeted with a deep bow before entering.
Clearly, she was someone from the top, so he didn’t dare investigate further.
By the time Bao Gu got back to the gang’s inn, it was already dark!
Yu Mi was pacing back and forth at the entrance to the gang’s branch hall, arms crossed, glancing outside every so often.
When she finally saw Bao Gu return, her face lit up with a bright smile.
But then she noticed Bao Gu’s slightly disheveled clothes, a sheen of sweat on her forehead, and a hint of haste and panic in her expression.
She asked, “What happened?”
Bao Gu blinked.
“What do you mean, what happened?”
Yu Mi glanced outside, saw nothing unusual, and asked, “Why are you back so late? I heard you left the palace an hour ago.”
Bao Gu said, “I was wandering around.” Then she realized and grinned, “Were you worried about me?”
Seeing Bao Gu was fine, Yu Mi relaxed.
She said, “I heard you sold the jade slip for the price of sixteen sacred artifacts.”
Bao Gu’s eyes flickered.
“News travels fast.
Who told you?”
Yu Mi replied, “Wang Ding.
He’s got spies in the Yue Country court.
Chief Qu just contacted Holy Aunt—she’s on her way.
The price of that jade slip scared her so much she came out of seclusion!”
The jade slip worth sixteen sacred artifacts was given to Jade Shura for free, but she couldn’t take it and had to call her master out of seclusion to come in person.
Around midnight, Soul Chasing Pavilion Master Qu Yirou finally came out of the teleportation gate.
After a brief talk with Wang Ding, he took her straight to see Bao Gu.
Qu Yirou entered the courtyard and immediately saw Bao Gu, Zi Yunshu, and the Demon Saint sitting around a round table inscribing jade slips.
Her precious disciple was at a separate long table, drawing talismans.
Yu Mi was sitting by the window, reading a jade slip and making hand seals.
When Bao Gu, Zi Yunshu, and the Demon Saint saw Qu Yirou arrive, they all stood up to greet her.
Qu Yirou smiled gracefully.
“Sorry I’m late.”
Hearing her master’s voice, Jade Shura’s hand shook and her carving knife clattered onto the table.
She dove under the table almost instantly.
Qu Yirou shot Jade Shura a look.
“Useless! I told you to study talismans and you never did.
Now you’re embarrassed?”
Wang Ding, who’d brought Qu Yirou over, had the good sense to have someone serve top-grade spirit tea.
Qu Yirou saw Jade Shura still hiding under the table, rubbed her forehead, and pulled her out, saying helplessly to the others, “Sorry for the embarrassment.”
Jade Shura hung her head and stammered, “M-Master, I… I lost your carriage!”
Qu Yirou froze, then whipped her head around to stare at Jade Shura.
Jade Shura quickly said, “Bao Gu already promised to help me get it back! We’ll set out in the next couple of days!”
Qu Yirou gave Jade Shura a long look, then sat down and said, “I heard something big happened in the cultivation world? The Grand Elder mentioned it before I left.
Soul Chasing Pavilion has agreed to join forces with the gang—thirty thousand disciples are on standby and can come through the gate at any time.”
