“I don’t have the Divine Spring, but I have something else…”
Zhang Ruochen took out a piece of gauze from a dress, held it in his hand, and took a deep sniff. A faint fragrance wafted into his nose.
It was the marriage contract he and Princess Qianxing had written together.
Princess Qianxing’s phoenix-like eyes immediately shone with a dazzling light, and strands of Origin Power flowed between her fingers. “You dare threaten me?”
The big-bearded man and the blind man moved, positioning themselves on either side of Zhang Ruochen.
The three of them formed a pincer formation.
Zhang Ruochen remained calm and composed. Quietly, he took out the *Temporal Scripture* and opened it.
Outside the courtyard, Xiang Chunan and Feng Yan sensed the tense atmosphere and immediately activated the attack formation. The entire Kongling Island began to rotate slowly.
Xiang Chunan leaped onto the courtyard wall, summoning his Metal Demon Crown. A faint aura of supreme power erupted, causing the saintly energy in the air to tremble violently.
Princess Qianxing’s delicate brows furrowed slightly. She realized that directly attacking Zhang Ruochen would be difficult and carried significant risks. She waved her hand, signaling the big-bearded man and the blind man to retreat.
This was deterrence!
For both sides to sit at the negotiation table, they needed to have equal strength.
If Zhang Ruochen were still at his previous cultivation level and didn’t have Feng Yan and Xiang Chunan to assist him, Princess Qianxing wouldn’t have hesitated. She would have directly attacked to seize the Divine Spring and the marriage contract, rather than showing restraint as she did now.
Princess Qianxing still carried an air of arrogance, tilting her snow-white chin upward. “Name your price. Sell me the Divine Spring and the marriage contract.”
Zhang Ruochen smiled. “Your Highness, name your price as well. Sell me Saint Monk Xumi’s long beard.”
“Can you afford it?” Princess Qianxing asked.
Zhang Ruochen replied, “You haven’t named a price yet. How do you know I can’t afford it?”
“One hundred million saint stones,” Princess Qianxing stated.
Zhang Ruochen fell silent for a moment. “Your Highness is really asking for the moon. A single drop of divine blood is worth about ten saint stones. Yet you want to sell a single beard for the price of ten million drops of divine blood.”
Even a Nine-Step Saint King who had lived for over a thousand years might not be able to gather one hundred million saint stones. This price was enough to buy a life-bearing planet with plenty to spare.
Princess Qianxing smiled. “You asked me to name a price. Now that you can’t afford it, who can you blame?”
In Princess Qianxing’s eyes, both the Guanghan Realm and the Kunlun Realm were weak worlds on the brink of destruction. One hundred million saint stones was an astronomical sum, and Zhang Ruochen couldn’t possibly afford it.
Princess Qianxing added, “That silver book of yours is a treasure of time and space. If you sell it to me, you might be able to gather one hundred million saint stones. Or, you could trade it for the Divine Spring.”
Zhang Ruochen said, “Your Highness, you keep your word, don’t you?”
Princess Qianxing thought Zhang Ruochen was planning to trade the Divine Spring for the beard, and she secretly rejoiced. “As the future Empress of a civilization, I naturally keep my word.”
Zhang Ruochen nodded, then took out a storage bag and placed it on the stone table.
Princess Qianxing quickly picked up the storage bag and opened it to inspect its contents. Her smile vanished, replaced by a look of shock and disbelief.
It wasn’t the Divine Spring.
It was one hundred million saint stones.
One hundred million saint stones was indeed a vast fortune, but Princess Qianxing didn’t lack saint stones. What she needed were things that couldn’t be bought with saint stones, like the Divine Spring.
Princess Qianxing clenched the storage bag tightly, her voice icy. “I underestimated you. I didn’t expect you to be so wealthy.”
After capturing the Yin-Yang Palace, Zhang Ruochen had obtained over three hundred million saint stones, becoming fabulously wealthy overnight.
Spending one hundred million saint stones to purchase a relic of Saint Monk Xumi was undoubtedly worth it.
Zhang Ruochen extended his hand. “Your Highness, you can now hand over the beard.”
Princess Qianxing was unwilling. What she wanted wasn’t one hundred million saint stones.
Zhang Ruochen added, “If I’m not mistaken, the ancestor of your Thousand Stars Civilization gave you the beard in the hopes that you would pass it on to me, right? After all, this beard holds no value for your civilization.”
Princess Qianxing indeed didn’t place much importance on the beard, treating it merely as a relic.
No matter how powerful a god was, what value could a single strand of their beard hold?
However, this woman was extremely clever. She noticed how much Zhang Ruochen valued the beard and thus didn’t hand it over immediately. “Why should I give it to you? It’s now the only relic left by Saint Monk Xumi. Countless time and space cultivators would kill to obtain it. One hundred million saint stones is still too low a price.”
Zhang Ruochen’s expression darkened. “Your Highness, are you planning to go back on your word? If so, I’ll have to do the same.”
Princess Qianxing glared at the marriage contract in Zhang Ruochen’s hand, gritting her teeth.
As long as the marriage contract remained in Zhang Ruochen’s possession, she would always be at his mercy.
Zhang Ruochen continued, “If Your Highness hands over the beard, I can guide you on a path to improve your cultivation.”
“Do I need you to…”
Princess Qianxing stopped mid-sentence, falling silent.
Zhang Ruochen’s words had struck a nerve, bringing to the surface a deep-seated worry she had been harboring.
A flaw in her mental state.
Princess Qianxing had pondered this issue and had to admit that Zhang Ruochen was right. A flaw in one’s mental state could be fatal, potentially ruining her path to godhood.
On the other hand, Zhang Ruochen’s mental state seemed unshakable. He might genuinely be able to help her overcome this flaw.
Because Princess Qianxing had realized something she couldn’t accept:
There were things Zhang Ruochen could do that she couldn’t.
For example, when seizing the Divine Spring, Zhang Ruochen had risked his life to get within four hundred meters of it. This required not only strength but also a calm, fearless, and determined heart.
And she couldn’t do that.
After a long silence, Princess Qianxing finally spoke. “Tell me first. If it truly helps me, I won’t take your saint stones, and I’ll give you Saint Monk Xumi’s beard.”
Zhang Ruochen spoke seriously, his lips moving as he transmitted a message to Princess Qianxing.
At first, Princess Qianxing’s eyes showed a cold smile, and she seemed dismissive, thinking Zhang Ruochen was trying to manipulate her.
But as Zhang Ruochen finished speaking, she fell into deep thought once more.
After an unknown amount of time, Princess Qianxing took out a starry iron box and placed it on the stone table. “I can give you the beard, but if you want to know the location of Saint Monk Xumi’s resting place, you’ll have to trade it for either one hundred thousand drops of Divine Spring or the marriage contract.”
Clearly, in Princess Qianxing’s eyes, the information about Saint Monk Xumi’s resting place was far more valuable than the beard.
Zhang Ruochen opened the iron box, confirmed that it contained Saint Monk Xumi’s beard, and let out a slight sigh of relief before quickly storing it away.
To Zhang Ruochen, this beard was priceless.
As for the information about Saint Monk Xumi’s resting place, he didn’t necessarily need to obtain it from Princess Qianxing. If he could unlock the secrets of the Sundial, he might also be able to find the resting place.
After all, the Icefire Phoenix had once visited Saint Monk Xumi’s resting place.
Princess Qianxing seemed to recall something, her expression turning strange. She smiled and said, “Zhang Ruochen, what exactly are you and Sister Luo Ji hiding about what happened at the Divine Sky Platform?”
Zhang Ruochen asked, “What about her?”
“Over the past year, she’s used a lot of resources to search for Lin Yue. She even came to me, asking about Lin Yue’s identity and background. I’ve never seen her so interested in a man before. It’s very unusual,” Princess Qianxing said.
Zhang Ruochen said, “You didn’t tell her my true identity, did you?”
“Of course not.”
Princess Qianxing also had her own concerns, fearing that the Tianchu Fairy might use this against her.
The various civilizations of the Ancient Civilization Alliance appeared united, but there was competition among them. They weren’t a monolithic bloc.
Zhang Ruochen knew that Princess Qianxing was highly suspicious. If he didn’t give her some information, she would likely investigate thoroughly. So, he chose his words carefully. “It’s not really a secret. It’s just that she and I killed Wang Tian, the leader of the Ruya Realm, as well as Yan Wang and Lian Hou of the Yin-Yang Realm. She’s probably looking for me to silence me.”
“So that’s why you two were acting so strangely. So Wang Tian, Yan Wang, and Lian Hou died at your hands,” Princess Qianxing said, finally understanding. She laughed, her voice as melodious as a nightingale’s song in a valley.
Now, she had leverage over the Tianchu Fairy, which might come in handy in the future.
The reason Zhang Ruochen revealed this secret was that Princess Rakshasa had escaped.
With Princess Rakshasa’s methods, she would undoubtedly choose the right moment to spread this information, inciting conflict between the Tianchu Civilization and the Ruya Realm, the Yin-Yang Realm, and even between the Celestial Court faction and the Ancient Civilization Alliance.
Even though Wang Tian, Yan Wang, and Lian Hou had died at Zhang Ruochen’s hands, Princess Rakshasa would likely pin the blame on the Tianchu Fairy.
Princess Qianxing, accompanied by the big-bearded man and the blind man, walked out of the pavilion.
Just as she was about to leave the courtyard, Princess Qianxing suddenly stopped and said, “Zhang Ruochen, I’ll carefully consider the path you suggested. To be honest, you’re quite cunning. From today onward, you are my greatest competitor. I will do everything in my power to surpass you in every aspect.”
As Princess Qianxing left the courtyard, Zhang Ruochen’s lips curled into a faint smile. He muttered to himself, “She’s clever, but the smarter one is, the more likely they are to outsmart themselves.”
Zhang Ruochen looked at the storage bag containing one hundred million saint stones on the stone table, his smile growing wider.
This was one hundred million saint stones, and she had actually left them behind.
How proud must her heart be?
