The four of them from the First Inn left the auction house under the proprietress's lead, bidding farewell to the old man from the Danxia Auction House.
Walking down the street, Yang Kai was in a buoyant mood, struggling to contain the excitement welling up inside him.
Old Bai glanced back at him. "If you want to laugh, just laugh. Why torture yourself holding it in?"
Yang Kai immediately burst into loud laughter, drawing frequent looks from passersby who figured the man had to be out of his mind.
The proprietress pursed her lips. "I'm quite curious—what was that last thing you added that made Ye Jian so delighted he agreed to the exchange right away?"
Yang Kai wagged his head with a grin. "The proprietress is as perceptive as ever. Why don't you take a guess?"
The proprietress reached out and flicked his forehead. "Are you trying to test me?"
Yang Kai pulled a face. "Proprietress, I'm a grown man. If you want to talk, go ahead and talk—would it kill you to keep your hands to yourself?"
The words had barely left his mouth when a foot shot out from beneath the proprietress's skirt and caught him squarely on the calf, sending him stumbling.
Yang Kai grimaced, clutching his leg and hopping on one foot.
The proprietress chuckled softly. "At first, you won Ye Jian over with that Heavenly Origin True Seal Pill, which is why he chose you. That tells me he cherishes his son, Ye Ziying, immensely—otherwise he wouldn't have turned down the Danxia Auction House's offer. So I'd wager the thing you added at the end must also be something useful for Ye Ziying."
Yang Kai exchanged a glance with Yue He and gave her a thumbs-up.
"Ye Ziying's problem is straightforward enough. His aptitude is lacking, yet he forcibly condensed a Sixth-Order power, which has left his Dao Seal unstable and poses enormous risk to his advancement. The Heavenly Origin True Seal Pill can alleviate that to some degree, but it can't absolutely guarantee his success. In that case, the last thing you produced must also be capable of increasing his chances of advancing?"
The proprietress said this with a faint smile. "But across this vast expanse of heaven and earth, treasures that can boost an Open Heaven cultivator's chances of advancement are exceedingly rare and nearly impossible to find. However, you happen to have something in your possession, so I'd guess it was Heaven and Earth Source Liquid."
She paused, then frowned. "Wait, that doesn't add up. The Heavenly Origin True Seal Pill is actually refined from Heaven and Earth Source Liquid—anything the Source Liquid can do, the Pill can do too, and more powerfully at that. If I were Ye Jian and already had the Heavenly Origin True Seal Pill in hand, I wouldn't choose the Source Liquid on top of it. After all, for a cultivator, more isn't always better. With the Pill already doing its work, the Source Liquid wouldn't further increase Ye Ziying's chances."
Yang Kai nodded. "It wasn't Heaven and Earth Source Liquid. I wonder whether the proprietress has heard of Dao One Divine Water?"
"Dao One Divine Water?" The proprietress's eyes widened in surprise. "You actually have Dao One Divine Water?"
The proprietress was well-traveled and knowledgeable—she naturally knew of Dao One Divine Water.
The Dao One Divine Water in Yang Kai's possession was something Zhu Jiuyin had given him back in the Grand Ancient Ruins, meant for reinforcing one's own Dao Seal. Yang Kai had used a dozen or so drops to fortify his Dao Seal to its absolute limit, and plenty remained—just right for trading with Ye Jian for that Primordial Yang Mystic Ginseng.
"Ye Ziying's Dao Seal is unstable. Compared to the Heavenly Origin True Seal Pill, Dao One Divine Water is far more targeted to his condition," the proprietress realized. "No wonder Ye Jian was grinning like that. Now it makes sense."
She shot Yang Kai a sidelong look. "You've come into quite a few good things from the Grand Ancient Ruins, haven't you?"
Yang Kai let out a sheepish laugh.
Old Bai sighed wistfully. "With Dao One Divine Water to reinforce Ye Ziying's Dao Seal, his troubles are done for, and he has the Heavenly Origin True Seal Pill to help him advance into the Open Heaven Realm. It seems Thunderbolt Hall will soon have another Sixth-Order Open Heaven cultivator!"
The proprietress nodded. "Thunderbolt Hall is already a top-tier second-rate force. Once Ye Ziying achieves Sixth-Order, their strength will increase dramatically. And… unlike his father, Ye Ziying will be advancing directly to Sixth-Order, which means he could very well grow into an Eighth-Order Open Heaven cultivator down the line—far surpassing his old man."
Old Bai was thoroughly envious. "Thunderbolt Hall has really struck it rich. Ye Jian drove a hard bargain."
Yang Kai was equally envious. Thanks to his intervention, Ye Ziying now had a smooth road ahead. As for himself—when would he ever advance to the Open Heaven Realm? Today he had fortuitously obtained a Primordial Yang Mystic Ginseng, which solved his Yang-element cultivation resources problem, but what about the remaining Yin-element and Metal-element resources?
The Metal-element ones could perhaps be pursued at the Golden Antelope Blessed Land.
When he had first arrived in the Three Thousand Worlds, Zhang Ruoxi had told him that the Golden Antelope Blessed Land was the only Blessed Land in all the world open to every cultivator. Inside the Blessed Land there was a secret realm that any warrior could enter by paying a fee, and it was quite possible to find Sharp Metal Primordial Essence within.
Sharp Metal Primordial Essence was a Fifth-Order Metal-element resource, but Zhang Ruoxi had said that with sufficient luck, one might even find Seventh-Order Metal Essence in there!
Zhang Ruoxi knew all this because she had inherited the will of her ancestors. As for how much the entry fee to that secret realm was, she hadn't said—though it probably wouldn't come cheap.
But Yin-element resources were the real headache…
Yin and Yang attribute resources had always been rarer and more valuable than the other Five Elements.
Take the Primordial Yang Mystic Ginseng Yang Kai had just traded for. His initial bid had been two hundred and twenty million Open Heaven Pills, plus a Heavenly Origin True Seal Pill.
He had spent fifty million to acquire the Heavenly Origin True Seal Pill and its formula at auction. The pill alone certainly wasn't worth that much, but judging from the bidding war between Ye Jian and that Teng Wang, the Heavenly Origin True Seal Pill's value couldn't have been less than twenty million.