The Purgatory Calamity
Chapter 181 - 166 A 400,000 Transaction!_1

Chapter 181: Chapter 166 A 400,000 Transaction!_1

In the marketplace.

"Eighty thousand."

Looking at the new, eye-catching figure below the Grand Creation Sacred Body, Pang Jian’s face twitched.

"You really have no shame!"

Han Ting couldn’t stand it any longer, anger flashing in her almond eyes as she couldn’t help but scornfully retort in a cold voice.

The shifty-eyed stall owner was neither a famous Individual Cultivator like Lian Feng, nor did he wear the robes of any of the five great Sects.

Han Ting felt that this man’s cultivation level was only slightly higher than her own, which is why she dared to mock him, "You’re clearly jacking up the price on the spot!"

"Haha!"

The man shamelessly laughed, not angry in the slightest, and nodded, "You’re right, I am jacking up the price. All our items can be re-priced at will before they’re sold. Little brother here is loaded, a mere eighty thousand Spirit Stones are but a drop in the ocean for him, so there’s no need for you, girl, to feel pained on his behalf."

"I am Huang Qi. I specifically reserved this fragment of the Grand Creation Sacred Body for little brother here; it’s normal for the price to be higher."

He winked and gave Pang Jian an odd smile.

"Fifty thousand Spirit Stones, that’s the normal price for this fragmentary scripture. Even without you, little brother, there would be others who could afford it."

"But you see, I need to sell the horns of a seventh-level Ice Crystal Beast first, and to ensure that this scripture isn’t snapped up by someone else while you’re selling the horns, I had to raise its price."

"Because only such a steep price can deter many people."

"And if you truly are keen on this scripture, I feel you wouldn’t mind the extra thirty thousand Spirit Stones."

After Huang Qi’s lengthy spiel, the anger on Han Ting’s face gradually faded away.

— She thought that what Huang Qi said actually made some sense.

Pang Jian carefully thought about it and also felt there was nothing inappropriate, thus he said, "All right, wait for me a moment."

"Haha, the reason I raised the price was precisely to wait for you,"

Huang Qi laughed even more heartily.

Afterward.

Pang Jian patiently waited for a while, letting the people of the marketplace stare at him, and also covertly watched for glances from those wearing the robes of the Blood Moon and Yin Spirit Temple.

The sect members present were just some ordinary disciples and did not include Elders like Jiuyuan.

He couldn’t tell anything was amiss from those people’s expressions.

The horns of the seventh-level Ice Crystal Beast were priced at four hundred thousand Spirit Stones, not something everyone could afford. Pang Jian waited a while but nobody approached to strike up a conversation.

Just when Pang Jian was growing impatient.

"Whoosh!"

Madam Hua, who oversaw the trading conference, gave a charming smile before gracefully descending from the elevated platform.

She didn’t beat around the bush. Upon reaching Pang Jian’s stall, she smiled and said directly, "Young man, let me take that seventh-level Ice Crystal Beast horn, shall I?"

"Madam Hua, have you already thought about a buyer?"

Huang Qi asked with a grin.

Madam Hua frowned, glancing at Huang Qi and finding him somewhat unfamiliar, she responded displeasedly, "Whether I’ve thought of one or not is none of your business."

Turning back to Pang Jian, she smiled again and said, "Let’s go with a price of four hundred thousand Spirit Stones!"

Pang Jian promptly replied, "Deal."

"Whoosh!"

Blocks of Spirit Jade, radiating a soft luster, were suddenly piled up in front of Pang Jian’s wooden platform. When there was no more room on the platform, they began to appear one by one on the cushion in front of him.

"Four thousand Spirit Jade—each can be exchanged for a hundred Spirit Stones, making up exactly four hundred thousand. Please count them carefully," Madam Hua pointed to the Spirit Jade and said with a smile.

"Alright."

Pang Jian immediately stood up, ready to count when—

Han Ting quickly said, "Pang Jian, no need to count them meticulously, the amount will definitely be correct."

"Haha, little brother, rest assured, Madam Hua has a good reputation," Huang Qi also chimed in with a laugh.

"Oh."

Pang Jian nodded and first handed over the horn to Madam Hua, then began transferring the blocks of Spirit Jade to his storage ring, casually asking, "Do I have to pay a commission, by the way?"

"Not when trading with me."

Madam Hua gestured with her hands, her voice warm, "You see, by me buying your beast horn, you’ve saved a full forty thousand."

"Hmm, indeed quite a savings."

As they spoke, Pang Jian first approached Huang Qi, handed over eight hundred pieces of Spirit Jade, and obtained the Grand Creation Saint Body Fragmentary Scripture.

"And the commission for trading with him?"

Pang Jian looked towards Madam Hua.

Madam Hua appeared surprised, then said seriously, "One thing at a time—you still have to pay a ten percent commission when buying his Spirit Spell."

"Oh."

Pang Jian conscientiously counted out eighty Spirit Jade.

After thinking for a bit, he took another fifty Spirit Jade and stacked them on top of his wooden platform, saying, "I have another transaction to make, I’ll pay the commission for both deals to you now."

He had already spotted Lian Feng waving a Soul Nourishing Pill and a new wooden token in the distance.

Madam Hua smiled, "I like those who go by the rules."

She watched as Pang Jian found Individual Cultivator Lian Feng and handed over five hundred Spirit Jade in exchange for a bottle of Soul Nourishing Pill.

"You, and you..."

Madam Hua pointed at Huang Qi and the distant Lian Feng, speaking leisurely, "Remember to pay the ten percent commission."

"Whoosh!"

She gracefully returned to the platform, clutching the horn of the seventh-level Ice Crystal Beast, inwardly rejoicing, "Old Ghost Dongye has been asking us to find higher-tier cold beast tips. This horn of the seventh-level Ice Crystal Beast can at least double in value with one sale!"

As she thought this and looked back at Pang Jian, she found him more and more pleasing to the eye.

Having obtained what he needed, Pang Jian found several people he had been quietly observing earlier, quickly bought some items like Nine Heavens Mysterious Thunder and Poison Ghost Poisonous Fog—items effective for underhanded tactics—and left without any lingering thoughts.

Not yet having her fill of the market, Han Ting hesitated for a moment before saying, "Pang Jian, I’m going to browse some more, we can meet up later."

"Hmm."

Pang Jian responded indifferently.

"It seems we don’t need to wait until tonight. We’ll go visit him now."

At the other end of the trading venue, Zhao Yuanqi, watching Pang Jian’s departure, said to Jiang Li, "Let’s go, Sister Jiang."

Jiang Li nodded gently.

Moments later.

Pang Jian had just returned to cave dwelling No. 56 and was about to start contemplating the Great Creation Sacred Body when he heard a knock at the door.

Upon opening it, he saw the silver-haired Zhao Yuanqi, carrying a huge wine-red gourd on her back.

Jiang Li was standing beside her.

"Zhao, Zhao Yuanqi!"

Gao Yuan from the neighboring cave dwelling, hearing the noise of Pang Jian’s return, had just opened his stone door to check on the situation when he caught sight of Red Mountain’s Zhao Yuanqi standing in front of Pang Jian’s abode.

Gao Yuan, utterly confused, stared blankly at Zhao Yuanqi, his face filled with disbelief.

"Come in."

Pang Jian called out lightly from inside the cave.

Zhao Yuanqi and Jiang Li immediately stepped in.

Gao Yuan stood in the corridor, looking at the stone door that closed from the inside, his mind in complete disarray.

"Pang Jian..."

Jiang Li pursed her lips.

She bowed lightly in the cave dwelling, sincerely saying, "Thank you for everything you did for Zhou and me in Bagua City."

"After Zhou returned, he was depressed for a long time and had no heart for cultivation. I, Han Duping, were also worried about you and Sister Luo."

"But my abilities are limited, and I didn’t know how to help you. Zhou, he heard a while ago that Dong Tianze was headed to Three Immortal Islands and left me behind to go, but along the way..."

She whispered about the events that had taken place with her and Zhou Qingchen after their separation.

Pang Jian thus learned that Zhou Qingchen and Han Duping had once planned to ambush Dong Tianze on the Three Immortal Islands.

They had hastily returned to the Fourth Realm only after hearing that a terrible disaster had struck the Lower Realm.

"Where is Sister Luo?"

Jiang Li looked around, noticing that there was no one else in the cave and said in confusion, "Qi Qingsong told me that Sister Luo had possessed the Miss of the Ning Family. She was the one who really took care of Su Meng and me."

"Pang Jian, I want to see Sister Luo, to personally express my gratitude to her."

Jiang Li pleaded.

Sitting on the meditation cushion, Pang Jian glanced at Jiang Li, then turned to Zhao Yuanqi.

"Sister Jiang’s concerns are my concerns."

The proud and aloof young girl immediately took a stance.

In recent months, listening to Jiang Li and Zhou Qingchen’s stories about Pang Jian, she began to admire the young man from the Lower Realm who had dared to attempt assassination on Sword Tower’s Qi Qingsong for the sake of Zhou Qingchen.

This is why she was willing to help for Jiang Li’s sake.

"On the first day I entered Yuanmang, I settled into the cave dwelling first, and she went up to exchange for the entrance token. On the way back, she disappeared, and some individual cultivators saw her leaving the first peak of Yuanmang," Pang Jian hesitated for a bit before adding, "We have some grudges with Blood Moon and Yin Spirit Temple, so I suspect it’s their doing."

"Sister..."

Jiang Li looked at Zhao Yuanqi with hopeful eyes.

"You two talk, I’ll go ask around."

The girl with the huge gourd on her back stepped out of the cave cleanly and went to inquire using her own channels and network of relationships.

"Pang Jian, don’t look at her young age, my sister is quite powerful. The elders of Red Mountain all listen to her..." Jiang Li said earnestly.

"Hmm, I’ve heard many people talk about her."

Pang Jian nodded faintly, also feeling some anticipation.

Zhao Yuanqi’s status and influence were clear, and her connections weren’t something he could compare to. The situation he couldn’t fathom might very well be pierced through by this proud daughter of Red Mountain.

Afterward, he and Jiang Li chatted casually.

He was careful with his words, only saying that he had also come from the Third Realm’s Mirror Tunnel with Luo Hongyan, and before that, they had been wandering through various Fragment Lands in the Third Realm.

Hearing that Cao’s gathering was so splendid, they both took the Cloud Sail here.

Outside the cave dwelling, in the corridor.

Gao Yuan steadied his emotions and looked at Pang Jian’s cave with a complex expression, whispering, "Zhao Yuanqi was actually in his cave so long before leaving. There is also a girl from Red Mountain currently in his dwelling, I wonder what the two are talking about."

Suddenly.

"Fifty-three, fifty-four, fifty-five..."

Gao Yuan heard someone counting out loud as they slowly walked over from a distance.

When they arrived in front of his dwelling, the person stopped, looked at Pang Jian’s cave dwelling, and brightened with a smile, "Cave No. 56!"

"Are you also here to see Pang?" Gao Yuan asked tentatively.

The lazily composed young man in blue, with handsome features, nodded with a smile, "Yes, I’m here to see my... good friend Pang Jian."

When he said the word "friend," his eyes revealed a hint of pain, as if recalling some unbearable past events.

Gao Yuan didn’t notice and thought to himself that it must be so.

Just as he was about to mention that there was someone inside, he suddenly noticed an embroidery on the blue-clothed young man’s chest, depicting a building resembling a sword.

The tower hung in midair, like nine sections of a downward-pointing sharp sword, each section a different floor.

"Sword Tower! Qi Qingsong!"

Gao Yuan cried out in surprise.

Qi Qingsong smiled coolly, touched his face, and arrogantly said, "It seems my reputation for handsomeness has spread throughout the Third Realm, even an individual cultivator like you knows it."

"Pang Jian!"

With that, he knocked on the door with a series of "thuds."

...