Without a second thought, the man in the yellow robe swallowed the pill.
A surge of scorching energy spread through his Sea of Consciousness, and he was thrilled to discover that the damage he had suffered for years was finally starting to heal.
Not only was his Sea of Consciousness being restored, he could also sense his spiritual sense growing stronger, even showing signs of becoming more substantial.
This is a superb pill—absolutely extraordinary. I must obtain more of it.
"Emperor Di, I am Eugene Young, the Island Lord of Two Marks Isle on Thunder Court Immortal Continent. The pill you provided is extremely valuable to me, but the quantity is a bit lacking. If you can give me thirty of these Mindweave Pills, and I give you the Azure Lotus Banner, then we have a deal." Eugene Young could see how much Joe Di valued the Cosmic Cauldron, and knowing that Joe Di was an Alchemy Emperor, he suddenly felt hopeful about making this exchange.
Joe Di replied calmly, "Island Lord Young, there's no way I'd trade the Azure Lotus Banner with you, let alone add thirty Mindweave Pills. What I can offer for trade is thirty Mindweave Pills, plus ten top-grade Immortal Spirit Veins, five hundred million top-grade Immortal Crystals, fifty million Liberty Points from Cauldron Haven Immortal City, and, of course, this massive piece of Yanlight Divine Iron. If you agree to the deal, we trade. If not, then forget it."
As he spoke, Joe Di took out a piece of Yanlight Divine Iron the size of a millstone and placed it on the table.
"Is that Yanlight Divine Iron?" Several Immortal Emperors cried out in shock. Even a piece the size of a fist would be priceless, but Joe Di had brought out one as large as a millstone. Some even wondered if he had gathered all the Yanlight Divine Iron in the Immortal Realm.
Yanlight Divine Iron is the ideal material for forging top-grade immortal weapons. With the right Immortal Weapon Emperor, it can be crafted into supreme offensive immortal artifacts. In short, Yanlight Divine Iron is desperately sought after by every cultivator.
In fact, Joe Di didn't need to bring out such a large piece of Yanlight Divine Iron. Even one-tenth the size of a millstone would have been astonishing enough.
Eugene Young immediately hesitated. What Joe Di offered was undeniably generous, especially the millstone-sized Yanlight Divine Iron, which would tempt more than ninety percent of the cultivators present. However, he knew that despite their value, Joe Di's items still couldn't compare to the Cosmic Cauldron.
If the Cosmic Cauldron were of any use to him right now, and if he didn't so desperately want the Azure Lotus Banner, he would never have considered trading such a treasure.
"Friend Di, you've offered many things, but none are truly valuable treasures. I hope you can add one more item of real worth..." Eugene Young said, looking at Joe Di expectantly.
What truly attracted him was not the millstone-sized Yanlight Divine Iron, nor the ten top-grade Spirit Veins, nor even the five hundred million Immortal Crystals and countless Liberty Points, but the thirty Mindweave Pills.
"Sorry, that's the most I can offer. If Island Lord Young still isn't willing to trade, then I'll have to give up." Joe Di had no intention of adding anything more.
The reason he brought out such a large piece of Yanlight Divine Iron was because he understood the Cosmic Cauldron's immense value. Offering less would seem insincere, but he wouldn't trade anything of truly equal worth. It wasn't that he didn't have such treasures—it's just that anything equal to the Cosmic Cauldron was a supreme treasure.
For example, the Primordial Thunderstone or the Cosmic Membrane Fragment.
Nate Shee had no intention of letting Joe Di obtain the Cosmic Cauldron, so he took the initiative and said, "Since Island Lord Young isn't willing to trade, I'll put away the Azure Lotus Banner. Fellow cultivators, please bring out new items for the next round of exchanges."
"Emperor Di, may I purchase your Mindweave Pills separately?" Eugene Young suddenly sent a voice transmission to Joe Di.
Joe Di replied indifferently, "I know Island Lord Young is very wealthy, but my Mindweave Pills are extremely expensive. I'm afraid you can't afford them."
Even if the recipe for the Mindweave Pill were made public, Joe Di figured that hardly anyone could actually refine it.
It was only because he had grasped the Law of Time and was a Pill Sovereign capable of refining Nine-Mark, eighth-grade immortal pills that he could create the Mindweave Pill.
Although its value was far less than the Cosmic Cauldron, Joe Di wasn't exaggerating when he said the other party couldn't afford it.
Eugene Young's heart sank when he heard Joe Di's words, hesitating once again. He understood perfectly what Joe Di meant—he simply didn't want to sell to him.
Joe Di's voice suddenly sounded again, "Island Lord Young, I know your cauldron may be worth even more than what I'm offering. But it seems you've forgotten the true meaning of cultivation. If the path to the Dao is blocked, and you cling to something that is useless to you, then you're not pursuing the Dao—you're hindering your own progress. In other words, if I weren't an alchemist, I wouldn't have offered even a tenth of what I just did."
Perhaps moved by Joe Di's words, Eugene Young suddenly said, "Deal."
He then proactively took out the Cosmic Cauldron and approached Joe Di, making it clear to everyone present that the Cosmic Cauldron was no longer in his possession.
Joe Di was overjoyed and immediately handed Eugene Young a ring. "Island Lord Young, here are your items. Since this pill cauldron is so important to me, I've given you fifty Mindweave Pills. Only I can make this pill—no one else can."
"Thank you, thank you..." Eugene Young eagerly accepted the ring and handed the Cosmic Cauldron to Joe Di.
Although he had asked for thirty Mindweave Pills, Eugene Young would have been satisfied with half that number. Now that the deal was made and Joe Di had given him twenty extra pills, it was truly generous.
Seeing that Joe Di had ultimately completed the deal with Eugene Young, Nate Shee snorted coldly. Once he took care of Joe Di, he would deal with Eugene Young at his leisure.
After seeing Joe Di trade away the Yanlight Divine Iron, several Immortal Emperors cupped their fists and asked, "Emperor Di, do you still have any more Yanlight Divine Iron?"
Joe Di had plenty of Yanlight Divine Iron, but he wasn't planning to trade it. He intended to use it to forge a blade formation.
Now that people were asking, he simply said, "I've already traded all my Yanlight Divine Iron to Island Lord Young. If anyone needs it, just deal with Island Lord Young directly."
Upon hearing that Joe Di had no more Yanlight Divine Iron, the other cultivators could only turn to Eugene Young. Some also brought out treasures they wished to exchange. Joe Di scanned them with his spiritual sense—there were many good items, but none that he particularly desired.
Joe Di planned to challenge Nate Shee if he remained silent after everyone finished trading. Just then, a sudden voice transmission reached Joe Di's ear: "Emperor Di, may I ask if the pill you traded to Island Lord Young can repair the Sea of Consciousness?"
Joe Di felt a bit puzzled—the person sending the transmission was a sixth-level Immortal Emperor. Although the Mindweave Pill's effects could be sensed if held in hand, otherwise, one would need a very strong spiritual sense to detect it.
This sixth-level Immortal Emperor was quite far from Eugene Young, yet he could feel that the Mindweave Pill could repair spiritual sense without even holding it. That meant his spiritual sense was much stronger than Joe Di's.
Whether his spiritual sense was much stronger or not, Joe Di didn't plan to respond. He was about to send a voice transmission saying he had no pills for now, when suddenly he remembered something.
After Nate Shee presented the fake Azure Lotus Banner, his gaze seemed to linger on the long-bearded cultivator. Could it be that this man possessed something Nate Shee needed? Even now, Nate Shee ignored the other cultivators' offerings, his eyes occasionally drifting back to the long-bearded man.
Just as Joe Di was about to give a definite answer, the long-bearded Immortal Emperor sent another voice transmission: "Emperor Di, I am Elder Jie Ke from Changqian Dao of Demonic Robe Immortal Continent. I knew that Island Lord Young's Sea of Consciousness had been injured, and his Cosmic Cauldron is famous. If he didn't desperately need the pill, he wouldn't have traded it."
"Now that Island Lord Young was so eager to trade with Emperor Di, I suspect the pill you offered is one that repairs the Sea of Consciousness—only such a pill would make him so desperate. If you truly have such a pill, just tell me what you want. Even if I don't have it, I'll find a way to get it for you."
So that's how it was—Joe Di suddenly understood and sent a voice transmission back, "Elder Jie, your guess is correct. I do have such a pill."
Nate Shee's spiritual sense constantly circled around Jie Ke and Joe Di. Now that the spiritual waves between Joe Di and Jie Ke were intermittent, he immediately realized they were communicating via voice transmission.
He absolutely couldn't let Jie Ke and Joe Di complete another trade, so he quickly said, "Elder Jie, I heard you recently obtained a Void Flower in the outer void. I urgently need it—would you be willing to part with it?"
Joe Di was shocked when he heard this—Void Flower was exactly what he had been dreaming of. His Dao Eyes urgently needed the Void Flower to advance to Immortal Dao Eyes, so there was no way he could let Nate Shee have it.
He also understood why Nate Shee wanted the Void Flower—if Nate Shee had Dao Eyes, he would need the Void Flower to advance as well.
Without hesitation, Joe Di cupped his fists and said, "Elder Jie, what I need is precisely the Void Flower."
Nate Shee abruptly stood up and stared coldly at Joe Di. "Emperor Di, there were some matters I intended to settle with you later so as not to disturb the other guests. But if you think I'm easy to bully, you're mistaken."
Originally, he had planned to wait until the Void Flower was traded before making trouble for Joe Di. Now he couldn't hold back any longer. The Cosmic Cauldron, once taken by Joe Di, would eventually return to him, but the Void Flower was different. If Joe Di consumed it, Nate Shee would have no way to get it.
To be honest, a big part of the reason for this Immortal Fruit Gathering was because of Elder Jie's Void Flower. But he wasn't even sure if Elder Jie really had it.
(Regular updates will resume tomorrow. It's the end of the year, and sometimes I have events to attend, so updates may be irregular. Thank you for your understanding. That's all for today—good night, friends!)