"Absolutely right!" The surnamed Chang's face had turned green, yet he forced a smile and nodded. Pressed like this by Du Wan, in front of a junior, how could he possibly deny it? Through gritted teeth, he said, "I, Chang, am a very generous man."
As he spoke, his facial muscles twitched, as if he wished he could beat Du Wan senseless right then.
"Then these two it is." Yang Kai immediately took out two types of herbs from his Cosmos Bag.
The surnamed Chang glanced at them, his expression instantly relaxing. He snatched the Cosmos Bag back from Yang Kai and said magnanimously, "Take them, take them!"
Seeing him like this, it was clear he was much relieved because the items he cared about most hadn't been taken by Yang Kai.
Yang Kai naturally wouldn't be that ruthless. He had already gained a huge advantage this time, and being able to select two saint-grade materials from this Cosmos Bag made him very satisfied.
With these two saint-grade herbs as catalysts, Yang Kai could refine two saint-grade pills.
After dealing with the first Cosmos Bag, Yang Kai began inspecting the second. His Divine Sense swept over it, and his eyes lit up instantly.
Inside this Cosmos Bag, he found a material he desperately needed—Dew Condensing Grass!
On the list Li Rong had given him, Dew Condensing Grass was also an essential ingredient. Its growing conditions were extremely harsh; while it might exist anywhere on the continent, due to those harsh conditions, it was rarely able to grow.
And the Dew Condensing Grass in this Cosmos Bag, both in form and age, had reached its limit. It was clearly a supreme-grade herb.
Yang Kai accepted it without the slightest courtesy, and incidentally picked another saint-grade herb from this Cosmos Bag.
The third Cosmos Bag, the fourth Cosmos Bag, didn't yield much. He only obtained two herbs from each, just like before.
When he reached the final Cosmos Bag, Yang Kai inspected it carefully.
After a moment, a hint of disappointment crossed his face. He discovered that this Cosmos Bag also didn't contain the materials he wanted. Just as he was about to casually pick two items, his expression suddenly shifted, and he stared blankly at something within the Cosmos Bag.
After quite a while, he finally smiled slightly. "These two, then."
As he spoke, he took out two items.
Everyone looked closely, unable to suppress a peculiar expression. The two items Yang Kai had chosen this time were different from before. One was a saint-grade herb, much like the previous ones, but the other was a pitch-black, round stone.
"What's this?" Du Wan's gaze fell upon it, his voice tinged with suspicion.
The other elders all peered in turn, shaking their heads in confusion.
None of them recognized what this black, round stone actually was.
The owner of the Cosmos Bag also shook his head continuously. "Don't look at me, I don't know either. I just thought this stone was peculiar, so I kept it in my Cosmos Bag. It's been in there for several decades, but I never figured out its use. Does young friend know?"
As he asked, he looked at Yang Kai, seeking confirmation.
"I don't know either. I just thought it seemed strange, that's why I picked it out."
"Oh. Then it's yours. After all, I haven't figured out its composition in all these decades." The owner of the Cosmos Bag said magnanimously.
"Thank you, seniors," Yang Kai chuckled, storing the pitch-black round stone in his own Black Book space.
The wager was complete. Yang Kai offered his apologies and then jumped down from the high platform.
Those old fellows wanted to try persuading him further, but found themselves unable to speak up, so they could only let him leave.
"Du Wan, you must not let him go astray. He definitely has to achieve something in the Alchemy Dao. It's rare to find such a good seedling; I hate to see him ruined just like this."
"Indeed, Du Wan. When you get back, you must give him a proper talk. If you can't manage it, I'll just bring him back to Three Rivers City."
"This old man will do his best," Du Wan said with a bitter smile, somewhat perplexed in his heart. Why was Yang Kai so obsessed with the Martial Dao? In this world, eighty percent of people cultivated and could be called martial artists.
But alchemists were exceedingly rare. Among ten thousand martial artists, not necessarily one would be an alchemist. Those with talent in alchemy were even scarcer.
A talented alchemist with superb skills was a figure revered wherever they went. This kid couldn't possibly fail to see the gap between a martial artist and an alchemist.
...
After returning from the plaza with Fei Yu, Yang Kai immediately reported the results of his discussion with Zhai Yao to Cang Yan and the others.
Hearing this, Cang Yan nodded slightly. "If that's the case, our chances of success have undoubtedly increased greatly. Since that kid is Ougu's distinguished guest, Ougu will certainly not treat him lightly. When the time comes, the bodyguards assigned to him will include at least one at the third level of the Transcendent Realm. That's a conservative estimate."
"Uncle-Master, how long until the Millennium Demon Flower blooms?"
"Exactly how long, even I don't know. But according to the records, strange phenomena will appear before the Millennium Demon Flower blooms. Then we'll know."
"Right now, many people are already stationed on that peak, waiting for the Millennium Demon Flower to bloom. Some have even gone to Cliff Gazing Heaven to wait. But the closer we get to the goal, the more dangerous it becomes, so we don't need to rush either," Li Wan chuckled. "Little martial nephew, take this time to rest well. When the time comes, we'll take you there."
"Mm," Yang Kai acknowledged.
Back in his own room, Yang Kai sat cross-legged, channeling his energy to cultivate, while simultaneously retrieving two pitch-black round stones from his Black Book space.
"Hey, aren't these the stones you got from that predecessor's cave dwelling last time?" Fei Yu exclaimed in surprise. "How come there's another one?"
"I just found this one from an elder alchemist's Cosmos Bag," Yang Kai explained. It was precisely because he recognized that the material and size of the two stones were identical that he had chosen the black round stone. "Uncle-Master, what exactly are these used for?"