Chapter 527 - 527: 1000 to 1

The Ten Thousand Spirits Sacred Form!

At the sound of that name, everyone's heart—aside from Chu Qingyun and his two companions—jolted.

'It's that Secret Technique!'

The Blood Sect had been destroyed more than two thousand years ago.

Even so, legends of the power of the Ten Thousand Spirits Sacred Form Secret Technique were still told throughout the Blood-soaked Land and the sect territories.

This alone was a testament to the Secret Technique's incredible power!

After snapping back to their senses, Zhou Qian and the three Inner Sect Elders, including Elder Fang, instantly swarmed the blood-red Secret Technique manual, flipping through it to inspect it.

At this moment, even Pill Institute Master Zhou Qian's hands were trembling slightly.

Previously, when faced with nearly forty-five million Primordial Spirit Liquid, Zhou Qian had been calm and composed.

As the Pill Institute Master and an Emperor Realm Alchemist at the pinnacle of the Northern Domain, Zhou Qian had accumulated wealth and weathered storms far beyond anything Elder Fang and the other two could imagine.

But now, things were different. This was the Ten Thousand Spirits Sacred Form, after all!

After a brief inspection, Elder Fang and the other two elders looked up at Zhou Qian. "Dean," Elder Fang said, trailing off, "this Secret Technique... what do you think?"

The three of them were only Earth Emperor Realm experts. Their strength and experience paled in comparison to Zhou Qian's.

So at critical moments, they had to defer to his judgment.

Zhou Qian examined it carefully once more. He even cross-referenced it with ancient records and found several of the Blood Sect's unique markings on the manual.

Finally, he snapped the Secret Manual shut. With a grave expression, he nodded. "There's no mistake. This is the Ten Thousand Spirits Sacred Form!"

By now, none of the four men had noticed that they each had a hand pressed firmly on the Secret Technique manual, as if afraid it might suddenly fly away.

"Dean, the... the price..."

Elder Fang stammered.

He had already driven the price down significantly for the other Emperor Realm Secret Manuals and Secret Techniques.

But the Ten Thousand Spirits Sacred Form was practically priceless.

'If this were a normal submission to the sect, it would be simple enough. We could bestow honors or titles like "Outstanding Disciple" or a "Major Contribution Award" to offset part of the material reward.'

But this situation was tricky.

The problem was Chu Qingyun's prior agreement with Zhou Qian: the Saint Extreme Sect was to purchase his Secret Manuals and Secret Techniques at a fair price.

Zhou Qian pondered for a moment before looking at Chu Qingyun. He asked in a low voice, "Chu Qingyun, fifty million Primordial Spirit Liquid for the Ten Thousand Spirits Sacred Form. What do you say?"

The stakes were too high, so Zhou Qian had to intervene personally rather than just inspect the manual.

Chu Qingyun glanced, exasperated, at the four hands clamped tightly onto the manual. 'Looks like I'm selling this whether I want to or not,' he thought wryly.

After a moment's thought, Chu Qingyun said, "Fifty million Primordial Spirit Liquid, plus one other condition."

"What? Fifty million!? And another condition on top of that?" Elder Fang's eyes widened in disbelief.

But Zhou Qian shot him a sharp look before saying, "Done. Fifty million. And feel free to state your condition. As long as it's within our power, we will satisfy it."

"Besides," he added, "the sect will not forget your contribution in bringing us a Secret Technique like the Ten Thousand Spirits Sacred Form."

Zhou Qian knew that fifty million was, if anything, shortchanging Chu Qingyun.

Chu Qingyun nodded in agreement. "I'm looking for an Elder who cultivates Thunder Intent to guide my training," he said. "I seem to have hit a bottleneck with my Sword Intent comprehension."

"That's simple. Inner Sect Elder Zhu Zhijing cultivates Thunder Intent. Although he doesn't use a sword, his guidance should be more than enough for you. I'll have Qi Hao take you to him later."

Zhou Qian settled the matter on the spot.

He then promptly stowed the Ten Thousand Spirits Sacred Form Secret Technique manual in his Storage Ring.

"Elders," he said to the other three, "this Secret Technique will not be going to the Secret Technique Hall for now. I must present it to the Sect Leader personally so we can discuss the matter further."

Elder Fang and the other two elders could do nothing but accept this.

Acquiring the Ten Thousand Spirits Sacred Form was, without a doubt, a monumental achievement.

But with Zhou Qian present, he would surely take the lion's share of the credit—especially since he was the one who had invited Chu Qingyun to the sect in the first place.

Once everything was tallied up, the faces of Elder Fang and the other two elders soured.

The grand total for all the Secret Manuals and Secret Techniques came to ninety-four million, four hundred thousand Primordial Spirit Liquid, and that didn't even include the odds and ends from the Spirit Level items.

Nearly one hundred million Primordial Spirit Liquid!

And that was after significantly lowballing the prices and barely factoring in the true value of the Ten Thousand Spirits Sacred Form!

A thought suddenly occurred to Chu Qingyun.

'Is there anything more profitable than robbing a sect?'

Meanwhile, Zhou Jianxiong, who had been standing to the side all this time, had bloodshot eyes.

He was consumed by an overwhelming sense of regret.

'If I'd known Chu Qingyun was carrying this much wealth back in Celestial Martial City,' he lamented internally, 'I would've risked another beating to snatch his Storage Ring!'

'But it was too late now.'

It was as if Zhou Jianxiong could see an endless river of Primordial Spirit Liquid slipping through his fingers.

The pain was so sharp it felt like his heart was bleeding drop by drop.

"Elder Fang," Zhou Qian said, "I suggest you pay the ninety-plus million in Primordial Spirit Liquid with Saint Extreme Points. Let's use a conversion rate of one thousand to one."

"One thousand to one..." Elder Fang frowned. "Dean, while a Saint Extreme Point is nominally worth one thousand Primordial Spirit Liquid, its actual market value is often two thousand, or even more..."

The other two Inner Sect Elders also hesitated.

"Hmph. Then by all means, pay in Primordial Spirit Liquid. Go ahead and cough up ninety-four million, four hundred thousand units!" Zhou Qian retorted irritably.

Chu Qingyun remained silent throughout this exchange.

He could see that Zhou Qian was trying to get him a better deal, likely as a reward for turning over the Ten Thousand Spirits Sacred Form.

As for the Saint Extreme Points, Chu Qingyun still wasn't sure what they were for, but judging from the elders' discussion and Zhou Jianxiong's earlier reaction, they were clearly something of immense value.

In the end, after a brief discussion among themselves, Elder Fang and the other two elders decided to pay with Saint Extreme Points.

The Inner Sect could, of course, produce over ninety million Primordial Spirit Liquid.

However, for a behemoth like the Saint Extreme Sect, maintaining a reserve of Primordial Spirit Liquid—in other words, cash flow—was essential for normal operations.

They could muster the ninety-plus million Primordial Spirit Liquid, but spending it would undoubtedly impact many other things.

If not handled properly, it could even trigger a chain reaction of negative consequences.

Having to ask the Outer Sect or the Pill Institute for aid would be a small matter, but the loss of face for them as Inner Sect Elders would be unbearable.

At the one-thousand-to-one ratio, Chu Qingyun's ninety-four million, four hundred thousand Primordial Spirit Liquid was converted into a total of ninety-four thousand, four hundred Saint Extreme Points!