Crow Immortal: I Can Duplicate Infinite Resources

Chapter 197: Determination to Destroy

Inside Room Jia, the Traveling Merchant’s puppet avatar placed a jade slip on the table.

“As a lowly merchant, I wouldn’t dare pry into the internal secrets of the great sects of the Central Heaven Domain,” the puppet said, its wooden face arranging itself into a humble expression. “However, I have gathered intelligence relevant to the Southern Domain, enough to piece together the context of your current predicament.”

The puppet tapped the jade slip. “This contains a comprehensive report on the geography, major powers, and recent upheavals of the Central Heaven Domain. Some of it comes from my own travels; some I purchased from information brokers in the great markets.”

“My price,” the merchant smiled, “is ten Purple Yang Fruits.”

“Ten?!” Elder Wen snapped before Sect Leader Qi could speak. “For a map and some gossip? Do you know how difficult it is to cultivate a single Purple Yang Fruit?”

“I have heard,” the merchant replied smoothly. “However, my intelligence was also hard-won. Furthermore, I have a buyer for these fruits. Wanchun Valley has supply; I have demand. It is a convenient arrangement for both of us.”

“Convenient for you to rob us blind,” Elder Wen muttered.

The puppet laughed, unfazed. Despite being a Foundation Establishment construct, its demeanor remained painfully polite. It treated Han Yu, a Qi Condensation disciple, with the same courtesy it showed Elder Wen.

“Not robbery, Elder. Value,” the merchant countered. “This jade slip details the internal chaos of the great sects and the specific threats Wanchun Valley faces from the ‘Three Sects Alliance.’ Ten fruits is a bargain for survival.”

Sect Leader Qi remained silent, his gaze shifting to Elder Wen.

“Do we have enough inventory?” he asked via Divine Sense.

Elder Wen gave a microscopic nod.

Sect Leader Qi turned back to the merchant. “Ten is too many. Can we negotiate?”

“Sect Leader Qi,” the puppet said, placing a hand over the jade slip as if to withdraw it. “There is no need to test me. My price is fair. If Wanchun Valley is unwilling, I will not force the sale.”

Sect Leader Qi raised a hand. “Wait.”

“Oh?” The puppet paused. “Have you reconsidered?”

“I have a counter-offer,” Qi said slowly. “Does your inventory include Foundation Establishment Pills or Spirit Condensing Golden Pills?”

The merchant shook his head. “The Spirit Condensing Golden Pill is a strategic resource for Golden Core breakthroughs. It is too rare for a humble merchant like me. As for the Foundation Establishment Pill… I have one in reserve, but I do not intend to sell it. And certainly not as part of a package deal for ten fruits.”

Sect Leader Qi smiled thinly. With a flip of his hand, a jade box appeared on the table. He opened it to reveal a crimson pill marked with purple veins.

“We also have a Foundation Establishment Pill.”

The merchant puppet blinked, genuinely surprised. “I am confused. Are you offering this pill in addition to the fruits because you value my information that highly?”

“No,” Qi said. “I propose a swap. My pill for yours. And ten Purple Yang Fruits for your intelligence. Two separate transactions.”

“If you agree, we do both. If you refuse, we do neither.”

The merchant fell silent. The wooden face seemed to frown.

“Sect Leader Qi has a good plan,” the merchant said, his voice tinged with sarcasm. “You wish to trade the Foundation Establishment Pill given to you by the Little Sky Net Sect—a pill you dare not feed to your own disciples—for my safe, verified stock.”

“Is this not the definition of ’empty hand traps white wolf’?”

“I will be frank,” Sect Leader Qi replied, his expression calm. “Wanchun Valley has been isolated in the Southern Domain for too long. If there is a trap hidden in this pill, we lack the expertise to find it. You, however, travel between the domains. You have the knowledge and the means. If there is a hidden mechanism, you will find it.”

“Absolutely not,” the merchant rejected flatly. “If it were merely a trap set by the Little Sky Net Sect, I might risk it. But if a Nascent Soul ancestor from the Myriad Phenomena Sect tampered with it personally? No one in the Southern Domain could detect it. I will not risk my life for a single pill.”

Sect Leader Qi fell silent.

He had considered the possibility, of course. He had scanned the pill repeatedly with his Divine Sense and found nothing. He had kept it, hoping to reverse-engineer the formula. But if even the worldly merchant refused to touch it…

It is too dangerous to keep.

Qi turned to Han Yu. “Han Yu. This pill was your prize from the competition. I have been holding it for you.”

“However,” Qi continued gravely, “the risk is too great. I intend to destroy it. I will find another way to compensate you in the future. Do you agree?”

“Sect Leader,” Han Yu said without hesitation. “For the safety of the sect, destroy it. I require no compensation.”

Sect Leader Qi nodded approvingly. Good lad. But the sect would compensate him regardless.

He turned back to the merchant. “Fine. What is your price for your Foundation Establishment Pill?”

The merchant’s mercantile grin returned instantly. “Well… as I said, it is a reserve item. Not for sale.”

He paused for effect. “But… if Wanchun Valley were willing to add another fifteen Purple Yang Fruits…”

“Impossible,” Qi snapped. “Five. Maximum.”

“Five?!” The merchant threw up his hands. “For a breakthrough pill? I would rather eat it myself!”

“Then don’t sell,” Qi said coldly. “And I won’t buy your intelligence report either. Ten fruits is already an overpayment. We can simply cancel the entire meeting.”

“Ah, Sect Leader Qi! You drive a hard bargain!” The puppet sighed dramatically. “If everyone were as stingy as you, I would starve! Fine, fine. Let’s meet in the middle.”

“Twenty-three fruits. For the intelligence and the pill.”

Qi stared at him.

“Twenty-one?”

Qi remained silent.

“Twenty!” The merchant cried, clutching his chest. “Twenty Purple Yang Fruits! I cannot go lower! I am practically giving it away!”

Sect Leader Qi glanced at Elder Wen. She nodded.

“Done. Twenty fruits.”

The merchant laughed dryly. “And the tainted pill? Since you plan to destroy it anyway… throw it in.”

“You accuse me of ‘trapping the white wolf,’ yet you try the same?” Qi raised an eyebrow. “If you want the tainted pill, I value it at eight fruits.”

“Five,” the merchant countered. “It’s a ticking time bomb. Five is generous.”

Seeing Qi’s stony expression, the merchant sighed. “Fine. I will add three stalks of Spirit Taming Iron Wood. A gift from the Great Zhou Crown Prince.”

Spirit Taming Iron Wood?

That was a rare material, useful for artifact refining and beast taming.

Sect Leader Qi considered it. “Agreed.”

The deal was struck.

Wanchun Valley traded fifteen Purple Yang Fruits (having already committed five in value for the tainted pill) and the suspicious Little Sky Net Sect pill.

In return, they received the intelligence report, a clean Foundation Establishment Pill, and three stalks of Spirit Taming Iron Wood.

Sect Leader Qi handed over the tainted pill first. He then reviewed the jade slip. The intelligence was comprehensive and verified—worth every fruit.

Elder Wen counted out the fifteen Purple Yang Fruits and completed the exchange.

Just as the items changed hands, a chaotic uproar exploded from the corridor outside.

“Your Highness!”

“Crown Prince! Wake up! You cannot die!”