Chapter 19: Such a Treasure-Bearing Child Deserves Careful Treatment

"Not bad, not bad," Chen Yang said with a mocking smile. "However..." He swept his gaze over the two men. "One portion of spirit medicine isn’t enough to buy two lives. Which of you will live, and which will die?"

Having accepted the Nine-Leaf Spiritual Ginseng, Chen Yang’s expression remained playful as he toyed with the black-and-white scissor-shaped energies of Yin and Yang in his hand.

"A peerless demon," the two men wailed inwardly, "a supreme killer." How could they have been so blinded by greed as to provoke such a lawless monster?

Though the powerful Daoist magic disguised as Yin-Yang energy no longer hovered threateningly above their heads, the sense of danger in their hearts only grew more acute. They wanted nothing more than to send this murderous deity away as quickly as possible.

Any thought of subduing Chen Yang with the spiritual medicine for the benefit of the Four Seas Trading Guild had long since vanished from their minds.

"The spirit medicine our sect leader requires is truly precious," the scholarly middle-aged man pleaded, his face twisted in misery. "Even this Nine-Leaf Ginseng was acquired only at great cost during this grand assembly. We beg you, Sect Leader, have mercy and spare us this once."

Chen Yang merely shook his head. "Spare you once? Would that not make my words worthless? Who do you think you are, that I should go back on what I've said for your sake? Speak! Which of you lives, and which of you dies?"

"This... this..." Under Chen Yang’s relentless pressure, neither man could summon the slightest will to fight for his life. It wasn’t just Chen Yang’s overwhelming power that cowed them. More importantly, his mastery of magic had, in the course of their brief encounter, already seized hold of their innermost thoughts.

Their minds raced. In desperation, they blurted out the names of several treasures comparable in value to the Nine-Leaf Ginseng, including one of the Four Seas Trading Guild’s most prized supreme artifacts.

But Chen Yang shook his head at each offer. "Since your bond is so deep and your decision so difficult," he sighed, "let me choose for you."

With that, he tossed the black-and-white scissors into the air. They transformed into two streams of strange light, entangling each other as they descended toward the two men.

At last, their composure shattered. In unison, they cried out, "Sect Leader, wait! We have one more piece of information that may be worth our lives!"

This was what Chen Yang had been waiting for. He had already sensed the fluctuations in their thoughts, realizing that they were hiding something of great importance—though whether it was a treasure or something else, he hadn't known. Now it seemed their most valuable possession was this very information.

Halting the Yin-Yang energies in midair, Chen Yang assumed a posture of attentive listening.

The two men exchanged a dispirited glance. The other Nascent Soul cultivator forced a bitter smile. "This secret is the greatest one held by our Four Seas Trading Guild. In fact, it’s part of the reason we invited you here, Sect Leader."

Chen Yang nodded, encouraging him to continue.

"We are called the Four Seas Trading Guild because our founder was not a native of Baohua Continent, but a Foundation Establishment cultivator from the Eastern Sea. A thousand years ago, when the Eastern Sea beasts ran amok, President Yu and his companions fled to Dongsheng Continent to escape the chaos. But on their journey, they were engulfed by an immense force and dragged to the ocean depths..."

The Nascent Soul cultivator was quite the storyteller—or perhaps he only wanted to make his tale more convincing. He recounted how President Yu escaped from the Eastern Sea, encountered strange celestial phenomena, was swept into the sea’s depths, entered an ancient immortal’s abode, and gained immense fortune.

He then described how Yu inexplicably ended up on Baohua Continent on the western side of the realm, founded the Four Seas Trading Guild, achieved the rank of a late-stage great cultivator, and later returned to the Dragon Palace’s original location, whereupon all trace of him vanished—leaving behind only the method for refining the supreme artifact known as the Sea-Calming Pearl.

"We suspect that President Yu obtained yet another great opportunity and ascended after achieving the Divine Transformation stage. That Sea-Calming Pearl must be the treasure he used to resist the ocean's pull."

"Sea Eye?" Chen Yang’s eyes glinted. The bumpkins from the Four Seas Trading Guild might not know what such a place was, but Chen Yang recognized it instantly—the Sea Eye, where the waters of the four seas converge, swallowing and spitting out the essence of countless waters and nurturing infinite life.

He cared little for so-called immortal abodes. But if he could pinpoint the location of the Sea Eye and harness its wondrous ability to condense Supreme True Water, the result would be unparalleled—whether for pill refinement or sword tempering.

Such a place was coveted even by the great Xuanmen sects like Emei.

"There’s no rush," Chen Yang mused to himself. "The Sea Eye isn’t going anywhere. The Sea-Calming Pearl is interesting, though—shouldn’t it be used to cultivate the second Nascent Soul?"

In the Shu Mountains, both the Nascent Soul and the second Nascent Soul methods were forms of external avatars.

Whichever path one chose, achieving a perfect incarnation of spirit and form was extremely difficult. First, the treasures required to house the Nascent Soul or cultivate the second Nascent Soul were hard to find. Second, the process demanded profound cultivation—at best, loose immortals could barely get started.

To achieve the perfection attained by the Blissful Immortal, who could roam the mortal world in the guise of a Nascent Soul, one needed at least the attainment of a Heavenly Immortal.

As for Lu Rongbo, whose body had been destroyed but who ascended by means of her Nascent Soul alone—without the backing of a Golden Immortal ancestor like the Blissful Immortal, what right did she have to ascend to the Immortal Realm on her own?

Seeing Chen Yang’s blazing gaze, the scholarly middle-aged man was left with no choice but to present, one by one, the materials needed to refine the Sea-Calming Pearl.

"This Four Seas Trading Guild truly is my good luck charm," Chen Yang thought with amusement. "Nangong Yan handed over his entire family to help me refine the Supreme Heavenly Demon Banner. Now they’ve given me not only news of the Sea Eye, but also the treasures needed to cultivate my second Nascent Soul. With benefactors like these, I really should treat them well."

Accepting the materials, Chen Yang’s demeanor changed abruptly. Smiling warmly, he stepped forward and helped the two men to their feet.

"You two," he said cheerfully, "if you’d shared all this from the start, I’d never have been so angry. Rest assured, I’ll accept your challenge against the Seven Immortals Alliance on your behalf. When the Sea-Calming Pearl is refined, I’ll bring you along to the Eastern Sea Immortal Abode. As for those rare spirit medicines you mentioned earlier..."

The two men were so taken aback by Chen Yang’s sudden change of attitude that they stared at him in dumbfounded silence.

"What’s wrong? Reluctant?" Chen Yang’s expression turned cold once more. "Since you’ve asked for my help, you must give what is owed. Otherwise..."

"Please, Sect Leader, calm your anger! All the spirit medicines are in our treasury. We’ll deliver them to you shortly," they stammered, trembling with a mix of dread and frustration.

The original wager with the Seven Immortals Alliance had been because the Alliance possessed a key material for refining the Sea-Calming Pearl. Now, having surrendered all the materials they’d gathered over centuries to Chen Yang, what was left to bet with?

"Excellent," Chen Yang replied. "By the way, I’ll also require some Supreme Primordial Gold, and Celestial River Star Sand..." He proceeded to recite a list of the nine finest sword-forging materials in all the realm.

The two men could only force bitter smiles, unable to utter a word of protest as they wiped the cold sweat from their brows and murmured, "We will do our utmost, we promise."

"Very good. From this day forth, the Four Seas Trading Guild is my dearest friend. We must keep in close touch from now on," Chen Yang said, patting them both on the shoulder with a satisfied grin before finally waving his hand and collecting the Supreme Spirit Banner.