Jason Silentwood glared coldly at Gou Zibi and snorted, saying nothing. Several Genesis Realm Saint Emperors looked at Gou Zibi with strange expressions, making Gou Zibi wish he could crush Joe Di with a single punch. How dare a mere Dao Yuan brat try to scheme against him, Gou Zibi.
The second person to step forward for the exchange was Colin Frost from Surging Alchemy Hall. This fellow was at the early Genesis Realm, and apart from Joe Di, truly had the weakest cultivation here. He was offering a semi-supreme offensive artifact—the Twin-Blade Divine Halberd.
Joe Di had no interest in this item, and it was quickly traded away to another Genesis Realm Saint Emperor in exchange for divine crystals. A mere semi-supreme offensive artifact was worth a hundred million top-grade divine crystals, which made Joe Di think that artifact refinement was no less promising than alchemy.
The third to step up for the exchange was Tammy Tang. In Joe Di's eyes, although Tammy Tang was also at the early Genesis Realm, she was by no means the third weakest here. Her strength was even greater than some mid-stage Genesis Realm cultivators—at least in Joe Di's opinion.
Joe Di was also curious about what Tammy Tang wanted to exchange for. He guessed that whatever she was offering was no ordinary item—otherwise, she wouldn't have come alone, even trying to recruit him, a Dao Yuan cultivator, to bolster her courage. What did this mean? It meant Tammy Tang was worried someone might try to snatch it from her.
Suppressing her inner excitement, Tammy Tang placed a jade box before her and said, "I have here a Genesis Wood Crystal, infused with the breath of world creation. I can confirm that this is a Genesis Wood Crystal..."
When the cultivators in the grand hall heard that Tammy Tang was offering a Genesis Wood Crystal, their breathing grew rapid. The Genesis Wood Crystal was extremely useful to anyone—not only those with wood spiritual roots or wood-based cultivation methods. Moreover, Tammy Tang had said it was a Genesis Wood Crystal from world creation.
In terms of pure value, Tammy Tang's Genesis Wood Crystal was even more precious than the half bottle of Chaos Essence Joe Di had offered earlier.
Joe Di coveted the Genesis Wood Crystal as well. Not only was it useful to him, but even if he didn't use it, it would be invaluable to Sprout or the Jianmu Sapling.
The hall fell silent. Everyone watched Tammy Tang, waiting to hear what price she would ask.
Joe Di had a premonition that he wouldn't be able to obtain the Genesis Wood Crystal. Tammy Tang hadn't come here to search for some innate treasure with the others—she was here for this exchange. Since she came with a specific purpose, it meant she already had her eye on something.
Tammy Tang's gaze fell upon a man whose face resembled tree bark. She spoke slowly, "I only wish to trade for at least one drop of Seven-Colored Divine Phoenix Blood."
As expected, she had a special need. Joe Di's gaze also landed on the bark-faced man. Not only was his skin like tree bark, but it even had lines like tree rings.
Upon hearing Tammy Tang's request, many cultivators who had hoped for the Genesis Wood Crystal could only sigh in disappointment. This item was now beyond their reach. Tammy Tang was of the Phoenix Clan—naturally, she desired the blood of the Seven-Colored Divine Phoenix.
The bark-faced man chuckled, "Tammy, you really are well-informed. My Heavenly Dew Clan only just obtained a drop of Seven-Colored Divine Phoenix Blood, and you already know about it."
Tammy Tang replied coolly, "Guang Mingzi, just tell me—are you willing to trade or not?"
Although her strength was greater than most early Genesis Realm cultivators and she could handle some weaker mid-stage ones, she was still far from matching the true mid-stage experts. The bark-faced man from the Heavenly Dew Clan was a genuine mid-stage Genesis Realm powerhouse.
Joe Di could hear the helplessness in Tammy Tang's tone. She knew that Guang Mingzi of the Heavenly Dew Clan had the Seven-Colored Divine Phoenix Blood, yet she couldn't negotiate with him alone. With her current strength, approaching Guang Mingzi by herself would be suicide. Clearly, Guang Mingzi was no benevolent soul.
Guang Mingzi laughed heartily, "Whether I trade or not makes little difference to me, but since you need it, I don't mind making the exchange. However, your item isn't valuable enough. You should know, the drop of Seven-Colored Divine Phoenix Blood I possess was left on the Void God Tree by a third-step Phoenix Clan powerhouse years ago."
Joe Di sneered inwardly. This bark-faced man was truly shameless. He didn't know exactly how powerful a 'third step' cultivator was, but he was certain Tammy Tang's Genesis Wood Crystal was far more precious than Guang Mingzi's Seven-Colored Divine Phoenix Blood. Besides, Guang Mingzi clearly wanted the Genesis Wood Crystal, despite his calm facade. Joe Di had noticed the rules around Guang Mingzi had fluctuated the moment Tammy Tang revealed the crystal—he didn't just want it, he craved it.
Tammy Tang bit her lip, about to speak, when suddenly a voice sounded in her ear, "Senior Sister Tang, if you trust me, don't add anything else. Trade with me now, and I guarantee I will get you the Seven-Colored Divine Phoenix Blood."
Tammy Tang quickly looked around, but no one seemed to notice anything unusual. She was even more astonished—she had guessed Joe Di was strong, but for him to transmit a message to her without anyone noticing, that was another level entirely. Remembering how Joe Di had secretly schemed against Gou Zibi earlier, Tammy Tang suddenly felt a glimmer of hope.
At that moment, Joe Di suddenly produced a jade box and said, "Senior Sister Tang, I have something I'd like to trade with you. Would you be interested?"
Tammy Tang said, "Brother Di, all trades here must be made openly for everyone to see. Private exchanges are not allowed."
Joe Di finally understood—no wonder Tammy Tang had openly revealed the Genesis Wood Crystal. That was the rule of this exchange meeting.
Unbothered, Joe Di opened the jade box and said, "My item is a Five Elements Escape Technique divine art."
This Five Elements Escape Technique divine art had belonged to Jiang Dai. Joe Di knew there were some issues with it, and he had a rough idea what those were. But now his Divine Sense Escape and Rule Escape techniques far surpassed the Five Elements Escape, so he couldn't be bothered to modify it. He'd rather trade it away.
Of course, although Joe Di was trading it to Tammy Tang on the surface, he didn't actually intend for her to learn the Five Elements Escape. He figured she wouldn't study it anyway—the Phoenix Clan's escape techniques were already incredibly powerful, no weaker than the Five Elements Escape.
Tammy Tang might not need it, but others certainly did. The Five Elements Escape was a grand divine art, and aside from a select few, most cultivators desperately wanted it.
"Joe Di, I'll trade three Dao Yuan Dao Fruits and a top-grade divine spirit vein for your Five Elements Escape Technique. What do you think?" As expected, the moment Joe Di brought out the Five Elements Escape, someone immediately made an offer.
Those who hadn't spoken up were clearly preparing to bid as well—the Five Elements Escape was no ordinary technique.
"I'll trade!" To everyone's surprise, Tammy Tang, who seemed interested only in the Seven-Colored Divine Phoenix Blood, immediately agreed to the deal as soon as Joe Di produced the Five Elements Escape.
"Haha, excellent! I have a beast companion with a wood attribute—actually, two. This Genesis Wood Crystal will surely help them advance further..." Joe Di laughed heartily, ready to toss the Five Elements Escape to Tammy Tang.
"Wait! I agree to trade for the Genesis Wood Crystal." Just as Joe Di and Tammy Tang were about to complete the exchange, Guang Mingzi suddenly spoke up.
Originally, it didn't matter if the Genesis Wood Crystal was traded to Joe Di first—he could always retrieve it later. But Joe Di's next words drove him mad. If Joe Di gave the Genesis Wood Crystal to his beast companion to consume, Guang Mingzi would have nowhere to vent his frustration.
For the Heavenly Dew Clan, the Genesis Wood Crystal was a once-in-a-lifetime treasure. He had planned to have Tammy Tang add a Phoenix Flame to the deal, but Joe Di's unexpected intervention changed everything.
Even though he suspected Joe Di and Tammy Tang were putting on an act, Guang Mingzi couldn't afford to take the risk.
Joe Di was just about to send a voice transmission to Tammy Tang, telling her not to trade yet and to make Guang Mingzi increase his offer. But before he could, Tammy Tang moved too quickly—she had already agreed to the deal and tossed her item to Guang Mingzi.
(End of chapter)