Martial Arts: I Have a Wilderness World

Chapter 599: Chapter 311: Procurement Connection, Part 2

Li Yihuo offered a serious analysis. "Judging by what happened to that man earlier, it’s common to be targeted when major transactions are involved. That Foundation Establishment Pill must be an incredibly valuable item. If we work with a Commerce Association, I’m afraid we can’t use such Elixirs for regular trade. The risk of something happening would be far too high."

He was clearly aware of the potential risks.

Cheng Zongyang nodded in agreement. "You have a point. We don’t have that many Spirit Stones, and we still need to supply the Cheng Clan Commerce Association."

Li Yihuo smiled freely. "Sir, isn’t earning Spirit Stones for the Immortal City the very reason I’m here?"

His smile was filled with confidence and determination, as if no obstacle could stand in his way.

Cheng Zongyang paused, then cracked a smile of his own. "Well said. This is a Universal Storage Pouch."

As he spoke, he tossed the Storage Pouch to Li Yihuo. "There are twenty-five thousand Spirit Stones inside. We aren’t Cultivators, so we can only take things out, not put them in."

Li Yihuo took the Storage Pouch, feeling a surge of responsibility. He knew these Spirit Stones were vital capital for their next move.

However, Cheng Zongyang then added, "Don’t worry about the Spirit Stones, either. I’ll leave you a large sum to use later. Zongwen should have already told you what the Cheng Clan Commerce Association needs, right?"

Upon hearing this, Li Yihuo nodded. "He did."

"Then let me tell you about our background here," Cheng Zongyang said, his expression serious. "We come from..."

Cheng Zongyang explained the prepared cover story to Li Yihuo in detail, further refining it as he went.

A certain amount of bluffing was necessary to keep the Cyan Dragon Commerce Association from getting any funny ideas. Whether the bluff would work, however, depended on if they prioritized long-term or short-term gains. This approach, however, also risked putting Li Yihuo and the others in danger.

「In the days that followed」 Li Yihuo, with an introduction from Cheng Zongyang, began actively meeting with Baili Xi, the Steward of the Cyan Dragon Commerce Association.

Cheng Zongyang planned to have him handle all their procurement needs: purchasing Ice and Fire Spirits, buying more Spirit Rice, and acquiring Talisman Materials like talisman pens and Talisman Paper, as well as Basic Materials for Alchemy, such as a Magical Artifact Alchemy Tripod and Pill Fire Talismans.

Li Yihuo, for his part, did his due diligence, using various channels to gain a comprehensive understanding of the Cyan Dragon Commerce Association’s scope of business, reputation, and partnership models. This way, he would have a solid overall impression and not be going in completely blind.

As a result, during his initial negotiations with Baili Xi, the Steward of the Cyan Dragon Commerce Association, Li Yihuo demonstrated impressive professionalism and business acumen.

He laid out in detail the resources they required and their plans for future collaboration, while also proposing several reasonable terms for the partnership.

Baili Xi showed great interest in Li Yihuo’s proposal, but he was, of course, even more interested in the power behind "Luo Dingran."

Baili Xi believed that establishing a long-term, stable cooperative relationship with them would be a great opportunity for him. If nothing else, his cut of the Spirit Stone profits would be much larger.

Of course, his main concern was whether there were more Foundation Establishment Pills!

Li Yihuo patiently listened to Baili Xi’s points and addressed them one by one. He also promised to adjust prices reasonably according to market conditions to ensure a mutually beneficial outcome. After multiple rounds of negotiation and discussion over each and every item, Li Yihuo finally reached a preliminary cooperation agreement with the Cyan Dragon Commerce Association.

Future transactions for Spirit Rice would involve no less than five hundred thousand jin, sold at a price of 83 Spirit Crystals. They would also acquire 50,000 each of Ice and Fire Spirits at a price of 2.5 Spirit Stones per unit.

The agreement also covered a wide range of other items: various Talisman Materials, Finished Talismans, Alchemy Materials, Spirit Medicines, Spirit Tree Seeds, Spiritual Object Fertilizer, second-hand Magical Treasure Spaces, and both extra-large and small-scale Spirit Gathering Arrays.

The Spiritual Object Fertilizer, for instance, could be used to cultivate Spiritual Soil, much like how compost is used to create nutrient-rich earth. This was one of the materials Cheng Zongyang was experimentally purchasing, with the future goal of attempting to transform the ordinary land outside the Immortal City.

Magical Treasure Spaces were items typically found in Immortal Sects. However, large Commerce Associations like this one would often acquire damaged ones, repair them, and sell them second-hand. Although they weren’t as expensive as ones directly from an Immortal Sect, the repaired spaces were smaller and had a shorter lifespan, but there was still a strong market for them. Cheng Zongyang had heard of this before, so he planned to purchase a few to test them out.

As for the extra-large Spirit Gathering Array, it was a special Array designed to cover the entire Immortal City region. Its sole purpose was to gather external Spiritual Qi into the area of the Immortal City that was already encompassed by their territorial Array.

However, this gathered Spiritual Qi would only stay in the zone between the territorial Array and the Immortal City itself. It couldn’t be absorbed by the city’s interior. Conversely, because the Immortal City had its own Five Elements Formation, its internal Spiritual Qi couldn’t be siphoned away by the Spirit Gathering Array.

In other words, the Spirit Gathering Array would only affect the zone between the larger territorial Array and the exterior of the Immortal City.

Although the Martial Arts Realm had very little Spiritual Qi—it was absurdly thin—it was still possible to gather a decent amount over many years by letting small amounts accumulate, especially with the potential existence of underground Spiritual Qi.

Of course, the primary purpose was to prevent Spiritual Qi from escaping the area when they eventually began creating Spiritual Soil. When they used spiritual waste materials to transform the land, Spiritual Qi would inevitably dissipate. With the Spirit Gathering Array in place, however, the dissipated Qi would not escape the formation’s boundary. It would remain circulating within the system.

It was safe to say that for Baili Xi, the sheer scale of this transaction was absolutely mind-boggling!

Finally, he leaned in close to Cheng Zongyang and asked in a hushed voice, "Will this time be like the last?"

Cheng Zongyang’s expression remained calm as he responded with a question of his own: "You want one?"