Chapter 1109: It"s Fate
"Really?"
Zhang Han was slightly taken aback.
He never thought that the person who owned the Thunder Yang Sand would make such a decision.
"That person has remained calm and collected in the face of such a huge deal. He will surely get ahead in the world.
"Or perhaps that person is just worried that I wouldn"t let him go if he ripped me off?
Zhang Han simmered with laughter. He casually waved, and a large number of crystal stones materialized.
"There"s no need to give me a discount. I"ll pay the full price. This is his good fortune."
Zhang Han shook his head slightly.
Normally speaking, the price of 500,000 medium-grade crystal stones was already quite high, even though the item to be sold was the Thunder Yang Sand.
But this time, someone strived to outbid him. As a result, the final price became several times higher than the normal price. Such a thing might happen occasionally in places like the Heavenly Dragon Star Province. But in the Sea Dragon Star Area, it was still relatively rare, because the people here didn"t have many crystal stones and so could not afford to raise prices like that.
Since such a thing already happened, Zhang Han did not intend to ask for any discount. After all, a million medium-grade crystal stones were nothing to him now.
He had possessed more than 200 million low-grade crystal stones and more than 20,000 top-grade crystal stones. Thus, this price was just a chump change for him.
Mengmeng was the Heavenly Lord. Besides, the King"s Domain was constantly mining the crystal stones and delivering Zhang Han his share. Thus, he could afford such a high price.
Hearing this, the First Elder of the Koro Sect looked astounded.
His heart began to beat wildly.
He even considered if he could secretly pocket the price difference of one million...
"Alas, it"s a pity that I"m carrying my old friend"s sensor. He can see and hear what happens here.
"Forget it, this is indeed his good fortune."
The First Elder of the Koro Sect pondered for moments before readily accepting the crystal stones.
Then, he cupped his hands before his chest and said, "Then I will take my leave. There will be a dinner party at our sect later tonight. Your Excellencies, you"re welcome to attend if you are interested."
After saying that, he slowly backed out of the room.
"Let"s go."
Li Hao stood up and said, "Let"s return to the Cloud Shadow Sky. There is still some treasured liquor there. We can drink more in the next few days. Roughly three days from now, fresh batches of wine will be delivered there. Brother Guangyou, you can take the wine with you and enjoy it when you get back."
"Oh my. Thank you so much, Sect Leader Li."
"You flatter me. Just call me Brother Li."
Zhang Han was speechless.
"Why does my father like to be bros with others? Then would I have many new "uncles"?
"Well, it doesn"t matter as long as he is happy."
Li Mu was also quite speechless. "When did my father become so enthusiastic about being other people"s junior bro?
"Sure enough, in terms of b.u.t.tering up people, my father is more experience than I.
"I gotta do more research on this aspect when I get back."
The King of Elves watched enviously from the side. He wondered, "Why can"t I be part of their group?"
Well, he should really look at the mirror and reflect on what kind of person he was first.
"Then let"s go back."
Zi Yan also cast a glance at Zhang Han.
It was not a big deal to have competed with others in wealth.
But Zi Yan didn"t want to muddy the issue. She was not afraid of fighting, but she didn"t want these trivial things to affect their good mood during the trip.
But just as they were about to leave, Yue Wuwei raised his eyebrows slightly.
"Eh?
"How dare he come over again?
"Does he really think I"m good-tempered?
"Seems that he hasn"t fully grasped my horrifying power when I gave him that little shock wave earlier."
Lorry walked to the door of Room 9. She cupped her hands before her chest and said in a low voice, "Lorry is here to visit."
She and her group did not rush in. Instead, they stood at the door. Still, they attracted countless gazes.
"The people in Room 400 from the Heavenly Dragon Star Province have gone to Room 9. Are they going to fight?"
In an instant, everyone on the scene looked over to see what was going to happen.
"Why visit us?" Yue Wuwei said flatly, showing no respect at all.
However, Lyu Qi, the red-haired man, and Loron didn"t show anger or other emotion on their faces.
This was a typical example of the rule that the weak had to bow their heads to the strong.
"Lorry requests a visit," Lorry said in a trembling voice.
She looked quite young, perhaps only a few years older than Yue Xiaonao. Seeing her pitiful look, Yue Wuwei hesitated.
Eventually, he said, "Come in."
If Loron and the others had come without Lorry, Yue Wuwei wouldn"t even bother to pay attention to them.
But after he saw Lorry, he agreed to let them come in so that he could hear what she was going to say.
The group walked into the room.
"It"s, it"s you people?"
Loron was slightly dazed.
Lyu Qi, the red-haired man, and the others were also a bit dumbfounded.
"Holy c.r.a.p!"
The red-haired man"s face turned from green to red.
"I even attempted to gamble them that day!
"What was I thinking?
"Even if I sold myself, my fortune couldn"t compare with a fraction of theirs!
"These people are too well off!"
Lorry seemed slightly stunned when she saw Mengmeng,
Mengmeng had left her a deep impression, for this little girl was a person who could afford to pay more than 2,000 top-grade crystal stones for a game.
"Which one is Zhang Hanyang?"
Lorry"s mood had picked an upturn. She took a few glances and eventually fixed her eyes on Zhang Han.
She had keenly sensed that Zhang Han was different.
"It"s you guys!"
Mengmeng looked at the group carefully. Her large clear eyes lingered on the red-haired man longer. "Are you the ones who competed against us for the Thunder Yang Sand?"
This question rendered Loron and his people speechless.
"You"re competing against us, okay?"
The crux of the matter was that this was an auction. The one with more crystal stones would get the item. If the other party was weak in strength, Loron could fix the issue by intimidating them. However, the other party was also very strong. It was unjustified to ask the highest bidder to give the item to him in the first place. Now the other part was also strong, Loron felt more awkward to make such a request.
"Excuse me, I-I just want to ask, if we can exchange things for your Thunder Yang Sand? I really need the Thunder Yang Sand. I have to get it now. I can pay you the final price, no, double the price. I can also give you medicinal pellets and spirit treasures," Lorry said bitterly.
"Little girl, we also need the Thunder Yang Sand."
Liu Qingfeng said, "Besides, do you think you are richer than us? We want nothing but the Thunder Yang Sand, so we won"t agree to your request."
"Are you sure you won"t consider my offer?"
Larry"s face was slightly pale and despondent.
"Sorry to have disturbed you." Loron sighed deeply. He looked at Lorry and said, "Let"s go."
"No, no."
Lorry bit her lip and shook her head slightly, her eyes revealing a hint of persistence.
At the sight of her expression, Zhang Han, Yue Wuwei, Mengmeng, Zi Yan, and the others couldn"t help feeling a little strange.
"Why is she bent on getting the Thunder Yang Sand?
"Without the other four treasures, the Thunder Yang Sand could not conjure up a treasure land alone. According to Zhang Han, each of the Five Thunder Yang Treasures is not of much use if without the other four. But if the five kinds are gathered together to form a Thunder Yang Treasure Land, the overall benefit would be greatly increased.
"Does she also have the other four kinds of Thunder Yang treasures?"
They were all suspicious.
But even if she did have the other four kinds of Thunder Yang Treasures, she didn"t have to beg us with such a miserable face.
"You..."
Yue Wuwei"s eyes glinted slightly. He was ready to drive them away.
.
Just then, Lorry spoke in a pained, shaky voice, "My mother is suffering from a strange illness and is on her deathbed. I need the Thunder Yang Sand to refine a pellet. I"ve had all the other ingredients, except for the Thunder Yang Sand. This is my last chance. I"m begging you. Can you please let me have the Thunder Yang Sand?"
While speaking, Lorry"s eyes were slightly red around the rims.
But she didn"t want to cry in front of so many people, so she kept suppressing her emotions.
Her pale face registered stubbornness.
The dusk sunlight fluttered through the window and shone on her profile, dyeing it in a bleak color.
"You, you..." Mengmeng looked conflicted. After thinking for a while, she decided not to speak.
She didn"t know what was going on either. However, Lorry was pleading because she wanted to save her mother. That was quite touching.
Mengmeng"s determination wavered. She was very kind-hearted, so she couldn"t stand watching others suffering.
However, the Mount New Moon needed nothing but the Thunder Yang Sand.
"Is there no other way?" Mengmeng asked anyway.
"No."
Loron sighed deeply and said, "Actually, even if we have the Thunder Yang Sand, Lorry only has a very slim chance of successfully refining the medicinal pellet. But she doesn"t want to give up, so we came here."
"Refining a pellet?"
Zhang Han raised his eyebrows slightly and said, "The Thunder Yang Sand can usually be used to refine 40 to 50 kinds of pellets. Among those, more than 20 kinds of pellets are healing pellets. You should be able to refine most of such pellets. But you said the one you need is very difficult to refine but has unique effects. It should be a Soul-pacifying Pellet, right? Now you want to refine a Soul-pacifying Pellet, the strange illness your mother has ought to be a soul injury."
As for what the injury was exactly, Zhang Han had no idea. There were thousands of kinds of bizarre injuries in the world. Thus, it was already amazing that he had narrowed it down to a soul injury.
At this moment, Loron looked lost.
"What"s going on?
"How did he know this? Did he also come from the Heaven Dragon Star Province?"
"How, how... how can you be so clear about it?" Lorry was stunned, but she quickly came back to her senses. "He just said that there were 40 to 50 kinds of pellets that needed the Thunder Yang Sand to be refined. Oh my G.o.d, I thought there were only less than 20 kinds."
"Are you a pellet-refining master?" Lorry asked with an excited look on her face.
In the Heavenly Dragon Star Province, there were many cultivators who were proficient in pellet refining. The top ones were a few sects, including the Dragnet Academy. The dean of Lorry"s school had talked to the headmaster of the Dragnet Academy and asked him to contact several prestigious pellet-refining masters in the Heavenly Dragon Star Province.
Those masters also went to the Luo family to check on Lorry"s mother, but none of them had a solution.
They even held a seminar on this. The formula of the Soul-pacifying Pellet was quite strange. Very few people had heard of it. The person who mentioned this formula was the old patriarch of a renowned family specializing in pellet refining.
He also said that the Soul-pacifying Pellet might cure Lorry"s mother.
In fact, he didn"t sound very certain when he made that suggestion.
But Lorry kept this possible cure in mind. Her family and the academy had helped her gather all the other ingredients that the formula required. Now, all she needed was the Thunder Yang Sand.
She looked everywhere and inquired everyone about the Thunder Yang Sand. Her hope gradually dimmed and turned into a numb feeling. The news of the Koro Sect"s auction reignited her hope. However, at the auction, she was outbid by someone else and failed to get the Thunder Yang Sand. Thus, she had fallen into despair.
The ups and downs of the search for the Thunder Yang Sand had almost pushed Lorry to the brink of a nervous breakdown.
When she heard Zhang Han casually talk about all the information about Thunder Yang Sand and accurately describe Soul-pacifying Pellet, she was completely stunned and suddenly became nervous.
"Since he knows about the Soul-pacifying Pellet, he must also know how difficult it"s to refine. Would he give the Thunder Yang Sand to me?"
"No, I am not a pellet-refining master."
Zhang Han shook his head slightly.
Calling him a pellet-refining master would be belittling him.
"Dad, why don"t we help her?" Mengmeng couldn"t help asking.
Everyone, including Zhang Mu, Zhang Guangyou, Li Hao, and the others, knew that as soon as Mengmeng spoke, the whole thing was pretty much settled.
Although the Cultivation World was a relatively indifferent place, many people here were still good-natured and willing to help others out.
"You"re in luck today."
Yue Wuwei chuckled.
He looked a bit emotional. "They"ve really come to the right person. What are the odds? Still, she made it. This is fate, perhaps?"
Lorry said, "Senior, please help me. I can offer you anything in exchange for the Thunder Yang Sand. Though I know I can never fully repay your grace, I..."
However, Zhang Han waved at her and said, "I"m not saying I"ll give you the Thunder Yang Sand. Tell me what your mother"s soul injury is first."
Loron thought for a moment before responding, "It"s the Dark Fiend Source. Her mother has been plagued by the Dark Fiend Source, which only..."
Before he could finish, Zhang Han said in a bewildered tone, "The Dark Fiend Source can only be found in extremely adverse environments. Most of it exists in secret realms. It is very rare. The Dark Fiend Source can be used to cultivate the soul only in some special circ.u.mstances. If you overuse it, your soul sense sea will not be able to bear it. Then, it will poison your Divine Soul."
The Dark Fiend Source was a tonic used in cultivating the Divine Soul. Now Lorry"s mother was cultivating her Divine Soul, it meant that she was in the G.o.d Transformation Realm.
Cultivators at that level should be fully aware of their own condition. Thus, no such thing could happen even if they were cultivating in seclusion.
It was the same with eating tonics. If one had too many tonics, it would make one sick.
"She fell into a trap." Loron took a deep breath. "I prefer not to discuss my family scandals. Her current condition... is very grave. She has been unconscious for 40 days, and her aura is getting weaker and weaker. If there is no cure, her soul will disperse in the world. The Soul-pacifying Pellet might be able to alleviate the situation, so... We"re aware that we"ve offended you before. Please pardon us. But we sincerely wish to exchange other treasures for the Thunder Yang Sand. I hope you can grant us this chance."
"How can the Soul-pacifying Pellet undo the Dark Evil Source?"
Zhang Han shook his head and sighed softly. "Though feeding the Soul-pacifying Pellet to someone who"s overdosed with the Dark Fiend Source can wake her up, the effect can only last for a couple of hours. Don"t you know that? It"s like the momentary recovery of consciousness just before one dies."
The quack doctor could really destroy lives.
How could that ignorant person make such a stupid suggestion?
"So the Soul-pacifying Pellet won"t work?" Lorry"s expression altered drastically.
"I"ve been searching for the Thunder Yang Sand for so long, but it turns out that it"s useless?
"Is what he said true?"
"There are hundreds of common ways to lift the poison of the Dark Fiend Source. You can refine the Heavenly Evil-undoing Pellet, the Supreme Soul-gathering Pellet, the Great Beard Pellet, or the Cold Scale Spirit-refining Pellet. There are many solutions. n.o.body in your place knows that? The Heavenly Dragon Star Province is a vast place after all. How come you can"t find any qualified pellet-refining master there?" Zhang Han frowned.
In his memories, there were also two families in the Heavenly Dragon Star Province who specialized in pellet refining. They were quite good in this field. With their knowledge, they should have no difficulty lifting the poison of the Dark Fiend Source.
"Wh-What pellets did you say?"
Lorry was dumbstruck at once.
"The Heavenly Evil-undoing Pellet, the Supreme Soul-gathering Pellet, the Great Beard Pellet, and the Cold Scale Spirit-refining Pellet?
"What the heck are these? I"ve never heard any of them.
"Is what he said true?"
Lorry doubted Zhang Han"s words for the second time.
But now, she didn"t know what to do at all. She just stood there with a confused look.
At the end of the day, she was still too young. Even though she was an elite in pellet refining, due to her young age and limited experience, she couldn"t even follow Old Freak Zhan"s train of thought.
"Gulp."
Loron was an elder after all. He quickly cottoned on. He swallowed and said dryly, "Senior, please enlighten me!"
"Don"t call me senior."
Zhang Han waved in a hurry.
"You"re much older than me. Why call me senior?"
"Then, Fellow Taoist, please enlighten me. To repay your great kindness, my Luo family, my Luo family will..." Loron wanted to promise Zhang Han some benefits.
"Your Luo family has nothing to do with me." Zhang Han shook his head.
As soon as he said that, Zi Yan and Mengmeng were both slightly stunned.
"What"s going on?"
The others were puzzled as well.
Zhang Han was a free and casual man.
Sometimes, it was hard to guess what he was thinking. Now was such a time.
Usually, as long as Mengmeng asked Zhang Han to help others, he would certainly do it. But this time, he didn"t agree to help the other party directly. Then, what was he getting at?
"He is waiting for the other party to offer him benefits!"
Dong Chen appeared to be sure about that.
"Young Lord Zhang is good at ripping people off. And his means are so subtle that the target wouldn"t even realize they have been tricked. He will definitely take them to the cleaners."
"My mother still has, still one month to live. Senior, I"m begging you," Lorry said tearfully.
She had a meltdown.
She could no longer hold back the emotions that she had suppressed for so many days.
Filial piety was the most important virtue.
Seeing Lorry"s desperate expression, everyone present, especially Zi Yan, Lisa, Zhou Fei, and Chen Changqing who had already become parents, felt sorry for her.
Zhang Mu, Zhang Guangyou, and the others who were chivalrous sympathized with her even more.
"Little girl, don"t cry."
Zhang Guangyou said, "Since my son has told you there are many solutions, he will tell you what to do."
"Yes. Daddy, please help her," Mengmeng said, tugging at Zhang Han"s palm.
"Alas."
Zhang Han sighed softly and said, "I"ve never given others pellet formulas for no reason. I don"t like this kind of thing. But since my daughter has asked me to help, I"ll give you a helping hand. We"ll probably spend another five days in the Sea Dragon Star Region for sightseeing. During these five days..."
While speaking, Zhang Han glanced at Lorry and continued, "I have some spiritual herbs. I want you to refine 20 pellets for me. If you succeed, I will give you the formula of the Supreme Soul-gathering Pellet."
"Sure. Sure. Thank you, Senior."
Lorry blinked. She wanted to wipe her tears off, but more tears kept coming out.
It was dusk.
The sunlight that came from the distant horizon was still soft and dim.
But at this moment, Lorry no longer felt cold and despondent.
The trace of hope inside her had been amplified numerous times, which now filled her heart.
Seeing Lorry shed tears, Lyu Qi and the others showed complicated looks.
Lolita was an outstanding student from the Dragnet Academy. In the pellet-refining school, she was even comparable to those in the third grade. Because she was very pretty, she had many pursuers. Lyu Qi was one of them.
In school, she was somewhat lofty and not very talkative.
But now, after she came across this group of weird people in the Sea Dragon Star Area, she completely let them lead her by the nose. In Zhang Hanyang"s eyes, the Heavenly Dragon Star Province seemed to be nothing special. His detached vibe really made him seem quite unfathomable.
"He wants her to refine pellets?"
Zi Yan turned to look at Zhang Han.
After pondering for a moment, she still could not figure out what Zhang Han was playing at.
"Could it be that this little girl is so beautiful that he wants to accept her as his female disciple?"
If Zhang Han hadn"t taken Zhao Feng as his first disciple, who then turned out to be his only male disciple so far, Zi Yan might really ask him about his standards of accepting disciples.
Even Zi Yan couldn"t figure it out, let alone the others.
Loron, on the other hand, heaved a sigh of relief. Still, he felt as if sitting on tenterhooks.
"Will this work or not?
"What on earth is the Supreme Soul-gathering Pellet?"
He was a little skeptical.
However, as matters stood, he could only give it a try.
"Where, where shall I refine the pellets?"
Lorry dabbed her tears off and then looked at Zhang Han. With a delicate temperament, she took the initiative to ask, "What are the 20 medicinal pellets you want me to refine?"
She figured she could refine 20 pellets in a day.
After all, she desperately wanted to get that formula as soon as possible.
"You can refine the pellets on our s.p.a.ces.h.i.+p. Let"s see how your work is when we arrive at our destination."
After Zhang Han said that, the others began to board the aircraft.
At the sight of the Blue b.u.t.terfly on Mengmeng"s side, Lyu Qi"s and his companions" lips trembled.
"That"s very expensive!
"He is rich indeed."
They were also impressed when they saw the Thunder King. Even in the Heavenly Dragon Star Province, this kind of main vessel was very high-end.
After seeing the dark s.p.a.ces.h.i.+p parked on the other side, Zhang Han and Yue Wuwei looked at each other.
"It"s a king vessel."
It was obvious that the Luo family was quite powerful in Heavenly Dragon Star Province since they were able to travel in a king vessel.
Lorry and Loron boarded the Blue b.u.t.terfly and flew into the Thunder King. Lyu Qi and the others returned to their own king vessel that had brought them here.
"Did you bring a pellet-refining furnace?" Zhang Han glanced at Lorry and asked.
"Yes."
"Which tier is it at?"
"Fifth tier."
"Let"s go to the pellet-refining room."
Zhang Han led the way to the pellet-refining rooms.