"You have a way to capture the Gold Marrow Crystal Worms alive?"
"Indeed. Our Radiant Beast clan is naturally able to distinguish these crystal worms from among countless ores, once our powers have developed to a certain degree. Moreover, we know a method to prevent the worms from transforming back into crystal." The small beast declared proudly.
"Good, very good. For this alone, I can let bygones be bygones regarding the trouble you caused me. I'll give you the Wood Bells!" Han Li suddenly smiled, his expression actually softening.
"Such good fortune! What conditions do you have?" The small beast was remarkably clever — first delighted, but it quickly caught on.
"It's simple. You can have as many Wood Bells as you want. But in exchange, for every ten Wood Bells, you must give me a pair of Gold Marrow Crystal Worms. Additionally, I'm also very interested in the Gold Mother Coral Sand from your tribute. One tael of that sand can likewise be exchanged for one Wood Bell." Han Li said with a light laugh.
"The crystal worms are tribute items, and we don't have many to begin with. Besides, ten pairs have already been promised to Lord Baoguang." The bull-headed small beast's eyes darted around, and it suddenly spoke thus.
"Lord Baoguang? Nothing but a sea beast that has just achieved humanoid form. Since I want these spirit worms, I'll naturally deal with him. I'll give you seven days to prepare. Come to my cave dwelling in three days to exchange for the Wood Bells. If you don't come, heh heh..." Han Li smiled coldly, flicked his sleeve, and a light breeze suddenly arose nearby before he vanished into thin air.
The bull-headed small beast and the three-headed giant serpent were startled. Only then did they realize that the red threads that had been binding them tightly had also disappeared.
The two beasts regained their freedom and couldn't help exchanging glances.
After a long moment, the three-headed giant serpent looked around with all three heads. The middle serpent head blinked its green eyes and suddenly whispered to the small beast:
"Has that person truly left?"
The bull-headed small beast hesitated momentarily upon hearing this, but immediately opened its mouth and spat out a faintly green jade bead.
The bead spun in the air, releasing a layer of green light that enveloped both beasts within it.
"There should be no problems now. With this sound-isolating barrier formed from my inner core, if that person tried to eavesdrop on our conversation with his spiritual sense, I would certainly have detected it." The small beast blinked and said.
The three-headed serpent relaxed at this, but then asked:
"Should we really go through with the exchange for the Wood Bells?"
"The tribute is not just a matter for the two of us — we need to discuss it with a few of the other fellows. But if we want to get through this tribute collection, I'm afraid this is the only way." The small beast smiled bitterly.
"Gold Marrow Crystal Worms and Gold Mother Coral Sand are both extremely rare. If we trade them away, we won't necessarily be able to gather this many again next time." The giant serpent cautioned.
"We can't worry about that much. The crystal worms and Gold Mother Coral Sand are certainly extremely difficult to find. But given enough time, we can eventually locate them again. The Wood Bells, however, are needed in vast quantities by the Heavenly Peng Tribe. They've already been depleted everywhere else — only on this mountain where that person resides can we gather enough for this tribute." The bull-headed small beast said with some helplessness.
"If that's the case, why not wait until the Heavenly Peng Tribe comes to collect the tribute and tell them about this? Let them deal with this strange person." The three-headed serpent swayed its three heads and suddenly proposed.
"Hmph, don't even dream of that. Have you forgotten the lesson from last time? Even if the Heavenly Peng Tribe could kill that person, they would still take every last Wood Bell on this mountain, and the tribute we owe them would not be reduced by a single one. And if we tell them the truth — that the Wood Bells on Black Hidden Mountain are nearly exhausted — do you think the Heavenly Peng Tribe would keep us around? Every time they come to collect tribute, as long as the Wood Bells are sufficient, they'll let it slide if the other tribute materials are a bit short. But conversely, if the Wood Bells are lacking, no matter how much other tribute material we provide, we'll be in serious trouble. Those Wood Bells seem to be extremely important to the Heavenly Peng Tribe. If it weren't for the fact that they greatly fear the Black Nether Mist and wouldn't dare linger here too long, they might have stationed someone here permanently long ago." The bull-headed small beast said coldly.
"But if things continue like this, even if we scrape through this time, we won't be able to produce the tribute next time either. It'll be the same outcome. Remember, we've all been branded with Slave Marks by the Heavenly Peng Tribe — the moment we stray more than ten thousand li from this place, we'll immediately self-destruct and die." The three-headed giant serpent said urgently.
"I know that well enough. But there's no need to worry about that. Have you forgotten the promise that the Lord in the Black Nether Mist made to us? As long as we keep secretly sending him spirit stones for another hundred years, he should be able to complete his cultivation and remove our Slave Marks. When that time comes, we'll be able to flee without any worries." The bull-headed small beast's voice suddenly turned solemn.
"But is that Lord truly reliable? Don't forget, even though he was the only surviving senior from our Black Hidden Mountain, after he fled into the Black Nether Mist, he devoured the crystal core of an ancient giant ghost and is now half-ghost, half-demon. What if something changes when the time comes..." The three-headed serpent wavered.
"What, are you worried the Lord won't keep his promise? You can put your mind at ease on that score — this senior is also of the Radiant Beast clan and bears a deep grudge against the Heavenly Peng Tribe. There's no way he would act against us. Besides, we've been secretly sending him spirit stones for centuries to support his cultivation. Now that success is finally within sight, do we have any other choice?" The small beast shook its head repeatedly.
"Perhaps I've been overthinking it. But what exactly is inside that Black Nether Mist that makes the Heavenly Peng Tribe so terrified of it? Has that Lord ever managed to find out?" The serpent asked out of curiosity.