Twenty-six stalks of Eight-Treasure Spirit Bug Grass were laid out before Jiang Chen, creating an immense visual impact.
Though these weren't as rare as the Heaven and Earth Lingyun Lingzhi, gathering so many at once was nearly an impossible feat.
It was much like the situation with the Celestial Crystal Grass before — when Liu Zhen had produced so many stalks at once, Jiang Chen had been utterly stunned. By the same token, the Eight-Treasure Spirit Bug Grass was, to a certain degree, even more precious than the Celestial Crystal Grass. And far harder to cultivate.
The Celestial Crystal Grass was, after all, still a spirit herb. In the ancient era, there were those capable of growing it. But the Eight-Treasure Spirit Bug Grass required eight extraordinary rare insects to parasitize and form — extremely difficult to cultivate. So in terms of rarity, this item was roughly on par with a Heaven-grade Spiritual Medicine.
It was just that the Divine Abyss Continent had never uncovered the true uses of the Eight-Treasure Spirit Bug Grass. In the classification of Spiritual Medicine grades, it was merely categorized as a quasi-Heaven-grade — not a true Heaven-grade Spiritual Medicine.
Jiang Chen gazed at the twenty-six stalks, his heart quite shaken.
"Not bad — every last one of them is the genuine Eight-Treasure Spirit Bug Grass. My four friends, what a grand gesture," Jiang Chen praised, his eyes making no effort to conceal his admiration.
Jiang Chen's attitude immediately set the Four Heroes of Peach Mountain at ease.
The reason they had held off from approaching Jiang Chen was that they'd feared he would try to drive a hard bargain. Only after the storm surrounding the Heaven and Earth Lingyun Lingzhi had died down had they finally found the courage to come forward.
"Young Lord Zhen, does this Eight-Treasure Spirit Bug Grass meet your standards?" The white-eyed leader fixed his gaze on Jiang Chen.
"You intend to trade all of them?" Jiang Chen asked.
"We won't sell our goods to two different buyers. We came to you, Young Lord Zhen, because we trust you. Please give us a fair appraisal."
"Why don't you name your price instead? As long as it's reasonable, I won't haggle — I'll take the lot." Jiang Chen was just as straightforward.
The Four Heroes of Peach Mountain exchanged glances, each wearing a somewhat troubled expression.
The white-eyed leader paused, then said with some embarrassment, "Young Lord Zhen, to be honest, we did try to have the Eight-Treasure Spirit Bug Grass appraised at Pill Fire City. They lowballed us badly. Over there, they valued it at the price of an ordinary Earth-grade Spiritual Medicine. But this is still a quasi-Heaven-grade product. We heard that you were purchasing these at a generous price, so…"
Jiang Chen understood their concerns and smiled. "Rest assured, I won't lowball you. I'll pay you the Heaven-grade Spiritual Medicine price for this Eight-Treasure Spirit Bug Grass."
"Truly?" All four of the Heroes were stunned. They had never imagined this Young Lord Zhen would be so easy to deal with.
For a moment, every last one of them was thoroughly astonished.
"Under normal market prices, an average Heaven-grade Spiritual Medicine goes for fifty million to one hundred and twenty million. At auction, rare items can fetch two or even three hundred million."
Jiang Chen smiled as he looked over the twenty-six stalks. "However, with such a large quantity, it'll be hard to create a scarcity premium. So, how about I purchase the Eight-Treasure Spirit Bug Grass at one hundred million per stalk? Do you find that acceptable?"
The Four Heroes of Peach Mountain's expressions shifted dramatically upon hearing this.
They exchanged looks, disbelief written all over their faces.
One hundred million per stalk? This was practically a windfall from the heavens. After all, the lowest price for a single ordinary Heaven-grade Spiritual Medicine might be thirty million. And the Eight-Treasure Spirit Bug Grass was merely a quasi-Heaven-grade product. Their psychological expectation had been around twenty million per stalk.
Most critically, Pill Fire City had offered them a paltry ten million — which was precisely why they had refused to sell. Their floor had been twenty million, and had Young Lord Zhen been amenable, they'd even have been willing to let go at fifteen million per stalk.
But Young Lord Zhen had gone straight to one hundred million per stalk. That was several times beyond their wildest expectations.
"Young Lord Zhen, is… is this for real?" The white-eyed leader was no stranger to the wider world, but even he felt his mind buzzing, as though his thoughts had short-circuited.
"As long as all of you agree, the deal is done. My offer is already more than fair. I'm certain no one else out there would match this price — they probably wouldn't even reach half of it." Though Jiang Chen had never done any market research, he knew this to be true. The people of the Divine Abyss Continent simply hadn't unlocked the true potential of the Eight-Treasure Spirit Bug Grass.
"Yes, yes — Young Lord Zhen, to be perfectly honest, our expectations were nowhere near this high. Your offer has genuinely shocked us." The white-eyed leader flushed with embarrassment.
"Young Lord Zhen, you're being far too generous. Since you've dealt with us so fairly, we Four Heroes of Peach Mountain aren't the kind to take advantage of someone. For all the Eight-Treasure Spirit Bug Grass, let's call it two billion. They're all yours."
The other three nodded in agreement.
"That's right — Young Lord Zhen has been straightforward with us, and we can't just take that for granted."
"Young Lord Zhen, we brothers have traveled across most of the Upper Eight Territories. We've been to nearly every place, but we've never met a buyer as generous as you."
"From now on, whenever Glazed Royal City hosts a gathering like this, the Four Heroes of Peach Mountain will absolutely be here to show our support."
Jiang Chen had actually seen right through these fellows' psychology. He knew that if he had wanted to drive a harder bargain, he could have pushed the price even lower.