"Mm." Upon hearing his elder's question, the martial artist surnamed Deng nodded helplessly.
"Oh?" The Void Returning Realm martial artist's expression brightened. "Since you know him, this should be easy. Deng Ning, explain to this young fellow in detail about the mysterious gold that Elder Jinshi needs. See if he'd be willing to part with it."
This Demon Blood Sect disciple was none other than Deng Ning, whom Yang Kai had encountered before. When leaving the Flowing Flame Sand Region, Yang Kai had stumbled upon him being chased by two fellow disciples and had lent a hand. The Demon Blood Thread secret technique had been obtained from Deng Ning, and that powerful art had served Yang Kai well on more than one occasion.
Deng Ning, for his part, had been grateful for the favor. He'd led Yang Kai into Demon Blood City and pulled some strings to get him access to the spatial teleportation array there, allowing Yang Kai to teleport to another city and make his way back to Tianyun City.
Judging from this alone, Yang Kai's impression of Deng Ning had been fairly good. Though the Demon Blood Sect he belonged to wasn't exactly reputable, there was nothing wrong with maintaining a casual friendship.
What Yang Kai hadn't expected was that Deng Ning would also show up near Tianyun City, ordered by the Demon Blood Sect to shadow him alongside the others. Yang Kai understood he was acting under duress and certainly bore no grudge.
Besides, while he and Deng Ning had some rapport, it wasn't deep enough for this sort of thing to matter.
After acknowledging the order, Deng Ning looked at Yang Kai helplessly. Before he could open his mouth, Yang Kai raised a hand: "Brother Deng, no need for explanation. Since the mysterious gold has come into my hands, there's no way I'm handing it over. I'm afraid I'll have to disappoint you all. Please, be on your way!"
The Void Returning Realm expert from the Demon Blood Sect's face darkened, and he was just about to speak when a burly man from Ten Thousand Beast Mountain burst out laughing on the other side: "Young man, don't be so hasty to refuse! Hear what Ten Thousand Beast Mountain has to offer before you make up your mind. We may not rival the Battle Heaven Alliance or the Thunder Platform Sect, but we're still a first-tier sect, and we won't let you come out at a loss. When someone's making you a fair offer, there's no one who'd refuse."
His words sounded casual enough, but carried an unmistakable undertone of threat.
The Demon Blood Sect's Void Returning Realm expert immediately shot back: "That's quite the bluster, friend. What could you possibly offer? If you had the capital, why did you back down at the auction?"
The burly man from Ten Thousand Beast Mountain snorted coldly and paid him no mind. Instead, he fixed his gaze on Yang Kai, his lips moving as he transmitted his voice via divine sense: "Young man, I can tell you're not lacking in saint crystals—otherwise you wouldn't have bid so high at the auction. But you know what our Ten Thousand Beast Mountain does. Here's my offer: I can personally authorize thirty seventh-grade demon beasts and ten eighth-grade demon beasts, plus instruction in the beast-taming art—all yours in exchange for that mysterious gold. Your little mountain here doesn't cover much ground. With these demon beasts standing guard, it'd be as good as a fortress. I can't promise the world, but no ordinary troublemakers would dare set foot here. What do you say?"
To be honest, the price wasn't high, but it wasn't exactly low either—though it certainly didn't compare to the saint crystals Yang Kai had paid. After all, seventh-grade demon beasts were only equivalent to Entering Saint Realm cultivators, and eighth-grade ones only to Saint King Realm.
Ten Thousand Beast Mountain was clearly trying to get a bargain. And Dragon Cave Mountain was already protected by layers of grand formations—what would he need demon beasts for?
So even though the offer showed some sincerity, Yang Kai shook his head without hesitation.
The man from Ten Thousand Beast Mountain frowned and continued: "I'll throw in five more eighth-grade demon beasts. That's the absolute maximum Ten Thousand Beast Mountain can offer. Think carefully before you answer!"
"I told you—now that the mysterious gold is in my hands, it's not going back. I'd ask you to leave too," Yang Kai replied evenly, regarding the man.
"You brat, don't you dare refuse a toast only to drink a forfeit! A pathetic little mountain—believe me, I'll flatten it right now!" The burly man's rage erupted. Yang Kai's attitude of spurning his generosity put him over the edge.
Hearing this, Yang Kai broke into a grin: "Fine. I'd love to see you try flattening my Dragon Cave Mountain!"
"You're looking for death!" Killing intent flashed in the burly man's eyes, but almost immediately, as though recalling something, he cast a wary glance to the side. The Demon Blood Sect people were watching with keen interest, practically hoping he'd start a fight with the young man on the spot.
His heart lurched. He realized that if he made a move, it would only benefit the Demon Blood Sect crowd. He quickly reined in his fury, let out a cold laugh, and stepped aside with his arms folded, settling in to watch the show.
If he couldn't get the mysterious gold, he certainly wasn't going to let the Demon Blood Sect people have it—otherwise, he'd have no way to answer to Elder Feng upon his return.
Moreover, this was near Tianyun City, and he didn't dare act rashly and kill anyone. If it weren't for that, this matter wouldn't have fallen to the likes of them. Old Woman Feng and Jinshi would have come to confront Yang Kai personally long ago.
The reason two Void Returning Stage Three powerhouses had sent their own disciples to negotiate with Yang Kai about the mysterious gold was precisely because, within Tianyun City's territory, they didn't want to earn a reputation for bullying the weak.
The Demon Blood Sect's Void Returning Realm expert saw the Ten Thousand Beast Mountain people glancing his way and didn't shy from speaking up: "I don't know what price this Ten Thousand Beast Mountain friend offered you, but our Demon Blood Sect is willing to offer twenty peerlessly beautiful, pure Blood Servants. How does that sound, young fellow?"
Having said this, he regarded Yang Kai with supreme confidence, as though no one could possibly refuse.
The Ten Thousand Beast Mountain contingent's expressions changed drastically at these words. The burly man sucked in a sharp breath: "Twenty pure Blood Servants—quite the show of generosity from your sect!"
After that, he eyed Yang Kai with visible unease, terrified the young man would agree on the spot. After all, the temptation of twenty peerlessly beautiful, pure Blood Servants was simply too great for any ordinary person to resist.