Heavenly Dao Engine
Chapter 695 - 695 0443 No Principles_2

Chapter 695: Chapter 0443: No Principles_2 Chapter 695: Chapter 0443: No Principles_2 Qi Tian tried once more to stow the flower umbrella in his Storage Bag. It was a lot smoother this time around. That consciousness that had been obstinately defying him disappeared along with the thunder. He wasn’t sure why: maybe it never had a consciousness, ran on spirit stones for fuel, or was frightened into hiding.

Regardless of the reason, it was a positive turn of events. He slapped his Storage Bag, cheerily looked up, and smiled at the female cultivator who was currently trapped by Gao Jinmei and Jin Jin.

The female cultivator had witnessed Qi Tian effortlessly finding the actual Storage Array on the umbrella. He even easily removed the spirit stones from within it. His deftness and skills were so stunning; she felt a bit scared. She had never met someone like him in her life. So young, yet so capable, like a demonic prodigy.

The female cultivator feebly said, “Stop, I have something to say.”

Gao Jinmei scoffed, “Who do you think you are? To fight when you wish and talk when you want?”

Gao Jinmei was simmering with anger. Her clash with the female cultivator had induced significant losses. Just the potential-releasing pill she had swallowed was worth a fortune. She hoped to kill the female cultivator to partly compensate for her losses.

Jin Jin didn’t want to stop either. He was worried that the female cultivator was using a delaying tactic, urging them to stop fighting only to regain her strength. Then, when she had recovered enough or taken out more valuable items from her Storage Bag, they would have to cease their offensive.

The female cultivator indeed didn’t want to continue the fight. She wasn’t a combat maniac and certainly wasn’t reckless with her life. Qi Tian had proven he was capable of fighting her head-on, she might end up severely injured if she insisted on breaking through Gao Jinmei and Jin Jin’s combined attack to challenge Qi Tian.

“I genuinely want to negotiate with you all. After the exchange of blows just now, we all had our wins and losses. I won’t mention anything else, but I’m willing to compensate for the losses you’ve incurred,” she said.

Upon hearing the female cultivator’s willingness to compensate, Gao Jinmei and Jin Jin hesitated. They had realized this was no ordinary female cultivator. She looked younger, yet she had cultivated to the Gold Core Realm Third Level. Her strength was formidable and she possessed numerous treasures. She wasn’t a baseless female cultivator; she likely had a powerful cultivating force backing her. They couldn’t invite colossal trouble for themselves and Qi Tian in a fit of temporary satisfaction.

Qi Tian furrowed his brows but soon relaxed and signaled Gao Jinmei and Jin Jin to stop. They understood and backed off, clearing the path to Qi Tian.

Qi Tian watched the female cultivator, who stared back at him. Her eyes were clear, and the skin visible under her clothes was delicate and smooth. Subconsciously, they both concluded that she must be quite young.

Qi Tian asked, “My name is Qi Tian, may I ask your name?”

Qi Tian indeed looked quite young, not even twenty years old. He was genuinely young and not just young-looking due to cultivation.

Hearing such mature words coming from a young man like Qi Tian gave the female cultivator a feeling of being in a different era. She would never have believed such a prodigious person existed if she hadn’t met him.

The female cultivator bowed respectfully and said, “My name is Wu Shenglian, and I’m from Wanjie City.”

Wu Shenglian kept it concise, only revealing her name and place of origin. To those unfamiliar with Wanjie City, she would appear modest. However, having visited Wanjie City multiple times, Qi Tian knew the grandiosity of the city. By stating she was from Wanjie City, Wu Shenglian was essentially saying next to nothing. If he tried relying solely on “Wanjie City” to find Wu Shenglian, it would be like looking for a needle in a haystack. It was virtually hopeless.

Qi Tian smiled, not bothering to delve deeper into the matter. He didn’t believe in Wu Shenglian’s sincerity towards him for a second; he even doubted that “Wu Shenglian” was her real name.

Qi Tian said, “Go ahead, how do you propose we settle this?”

Wu Shenglian replied, “It’s simple. You return the umbrella you took from me, and I not only walk away, but I also ensure that the silver owed to you is paid back.”

“Just like that?” Qi Tian asked in surprise.

Wu Shenglian simply nodded. In her opinion, she was trying to be as sincere as possible. If she insisted on a fight to the death with Qi Tian, she seemed certain she would be the last one standing.

Gao Jinmei said indignantly, “You’re really quite generous.”

Qi Tian gave Gao Jinmei a glance, signaling her not to stir up pointless disputes with Wu Shenglian. He then looked at Wu Shenglian and said, “Since we’re both cultivators, let’s settle this according to our rules. Apart from other things, the floral umbrella is my spoils of war. No matter how you argue, if you want to get the umbrella back, you need to pay a ransom. One million top-grade spirit stones will do.”

Wu Shenglian almost spat out blood. Did Qi Tian really think that top-grade spirit stones were as common as cabbages to pluck at will? Moreover, when she acquired the floral umbrella, she had paid in low-grade spirit stones, totaling not more than two hundred thousand. There’s middle-grade spirit stones yet between low-grade and top-grade. Qi Tian asking for one million top-grade spirit stones was absolutely exorbitant.

“One million top-grade spirit stones are out of the question. If you insist on a ransom, the most I can give you is 150,000 low-grade spirit stones. Any more, and I would be helpless.”

Qi Tian was carefully observing every move of Wu Shenglian. Her statement seemed highly plausible—perhaps she truly didn’t carry that many low-grade spirit stones. But, even if she lacked low-grade spirit stones, weren’t there still middle-grade spirit stones?”

Qi Tian chuckled and said, “Let’s compromise then, give me one million middle-grade spirit stones.”

If Wu Shenglian wasn’t wearing a mask right now, she would’ve liked to spit right on Qi Tian’s face. Did reducing from one million top-grade spirit stones to one million middle-grade spirit stones count as “compromise”? It was a slash of nearly nineteen-tenths, completely without principles. What made her apprehensive was that Qi Tian’s quote was cunning, very close to the total number of the middle-grade spirit stones she carried.

Wu Shenglian looked at Qi Tian and said, “I can’t afford it.”

Qi Tian laughed, “Think carefully about each sentence you say. You need to be responsible for every word. If I find you lying and attempting to deceive me, there will be no need to continue this conversation. Let’s return to fighting then. Once you are down, I can find out exactly how many spirit stones are in your storage bag.”

Upon hearing these remarks, Wu Shenglian’s eyes widened. However, seeing Qi Tian’s relaxed and smiley face, she reigned in her rage. She lost the confidence to best Qi Tian the moment she decided to negotiate. It was now impossible for her to boost her confidence again. She understood the principle—the initial momentum once lost is hard to recover.

Wu Shenglian gritted her teeth and said, “I’ll make a final concession. I’ll raise the ransom for getting the flower umbrella back. Didn’t I just say one hundred and sixty thousand? I can make them all middle-grade spirit stones, a total of one hundred and sixty thousand. If you agree, then this will be the price. If not, keep it. I really don’t want it anymore.”