……

"Hehe, you don't need to say more." Cai Youdao squinted his eyes with a smile, "With my keen sense of smell, the 'spiritual stone scent' of a super-rich person like you is already unmistakable."

Wang Shouzhe raised an eyebrow slightly, "Senior, are you perhaps asking to borrow money?"

"Would you lend me money?" Cai Youdao's squinted eyes widened instantly, filled with anticipation.

Wang Shouzhe shook his head decisively, "No, I wouldn't."

"If you don't want to lend money, why bring it up? Are you messing with me..." Cai Youdao rolled his eyes at him in anger, "However, out of respect and courtesy for the wealthy, I will forgive you."

"In that case, farewell."

Wang Shouzhe cupped his hands in a gesture of farewell and immediately pulled Yun Tiange to leave, clearly not wanting to get too entangled with him.

"Wait!" Cai Youdao hurriedly stopped them, showing a flattering smile to Shouzhe, "It's like this, Girl Lici said if I'm willing to serve, I can find her Fourth Uncle Wang Shouzhe, and they'll provide food and lodging with generous conditions."

"Our family doesn't lack servants." Wang Shouzhe turned to leave again.

Cai Youdao hurriedly stopped him again, "Young man, don't rush. Give me a chance to talk. If you don't need servants, do you need a worker?"

Wang Shouzhe, feeling helpless, had to stop and casually asked, "Senior, you're doing well with your stall, free and easy, why work for someone?"

"Stall? Free and easy? Sigh, don't mention it." Cai Youdao's face was full of bitterness, sighing, "These days, the economy is bad, even stall competition is getting fiercer. Take my stone gambling stall, for instance, setting up in the market means losing a lot of profit, and by the end of the month, I earn nothing. Setting up randomly on the street, I get chased away like a dog. It's all for a few bucks. If I'm unlucky and run into a jinx like Girl Lici, I lose even my underwear..."

"Running a stall is not as good as working. Finding a wealthy boss who provides food and lodging with a stable income is better than anything..."

Wang Shouzhe pondered slightly and asked, "Senior, since you're sincerely looking to work, do you have any special skills?"

"I'm in the True Immortal Realm, isn't that a special skill?" Cai Youdao rolled up his sleeves, proudly patting his chest, "Though I'm old and not strong in combat, I can easily sweep away those below the True Immortal Realm."

"Ha! Such arrogance." Yun Tiange spat at him disdainfully, "Do you think you can beat a Void Realm Saint with a sacred weapon?"

She couldn't help but think to herself, this old man probably hasn't encountered a genius like Sister Ruolan, unaware that there's always someone better.

Listening to his tone, not to mention Sister Ruolan, he might not even be able to beat Shouzhe.

"I can't beat them, but I can outrun them." Cai Youdao was not bothered by the criticism, looking sly, "I'm best at reading the room and escaping when necessary."

"With a useless True Immortal like you, what use are you?" Yun Tiange said discontentedly, "Young Master, let's go."

"Wait! I can also refine pills and forge artifacts." Cai Youdao hurriedly stopped Wang Shouzhe and Yun Tiange again, "Young Master Shouzhe, give me another chance."

"Refining pills and forging artifacts?" Wang Shouzhe frowned, looking him over, "Can you refine ninth-grade pills? Can you forge Dao artifacts? If you can refine pills and forge artifacts, why are you so destitute?"

"Well... I'm not a professional alchemist..." Cai Youdao laughed dryly, feeling a bit guilty, "I've just lived long enough to know a bit of everything. I can refine sixth-grade pills without losing money and can even refine Divine Spirit Artifacts at a loss..."

Sixth-grade pills? Loss-making Divine Spirit Artifacts?

Doesn't that mean his pill refining is inferior to Wang Shouye, and his artifact forging is inferior to Wang Ningxi? And he's not good in a fight...

Wang Shouzhe looked at Cai Youdao meaningfully, "No wonder you're a True Immortal but can only run a stall to get by."

"Well... refining pills and forging artifacts can be improved with practice." Cai Youdao swallowed, inexplicably feeling guilty, "If Young Master is willing to invest in me, I will strive to become a master alchemist and artifact forger."

"It's too late." Wang Shouzhe shook his head, "At your age, by the time your skills in pill refining and artifact forging improve, there won't be many years left to profit, it's too much of a loss."

Moreover, even if we were to invest, there are plenty of people in the family to cultivate, why cultivate an outsider with an unclear background?

Seeing Cai Youdao getting anxious, Wang Shouzhe thought of Girl Lici and finally relented, "Fine, fine, since Lici introduced you, I'll reluctantly take you in for now. Tell me, how much do you want annually?"

As soon as the topic of remuneration was brought up, Cai Youdao perked up.

He rubbed his fingers together, his long eyes filled with hope, "Actually, my requirements aren't high, as long as I have seventh-grade spiritual rice to eat every day, a bit of dragon claw and phoenix leg, and one or two Immortal Spirit Stones a year... preferably without being disturbed..."

As he spoke, he noticed Wang Shouzhe and Yun Tiange were walking further away.

He hurriedly wiped his mouth, waved his hand to pack up his stone gambling stall, and chased after them, "Young Master Shouzhe, don't go, the terms can be negotiated! Thirty top-grade spiritual stones a year, no, just twenty... twenty should be fine, right? I won't ask for seventh-grade spiritual rice, sixth-grade, sixth-grade won't be too much, right?"

Sixth-grade!

Wang Shouzhe and Yun Tiange walked even faster.

Sixth-grade spiritual rice is not ordinary spiritual rice.

In the Shenwu World, the grades of some spiritual farmlands and spiritual rice, such as Sacred Spirit Rice and Immortal Spirit Rice, are self-created naming systems.

In the Holy Domain World, however, the naming of spiritual veins and spiritual rice follows a standardized system of first-grade, second-grade, etc.

What is sixth-grade spiritual rice? It's the Immortal Spirit Rice planted around Wang's Stay Immortal Valley! The kind Emperor Longchang dreams of having for every meal!

As for seventh-grade spiritual rice, it hasn't appeared in the Shenwu World yet, nor are there corresponding spiritual veins or spiritual farmland for seventh-grade spiritual rice seeds.

To be honest, Wang Shouzhe himself hasn't even tasted seventh-grade spiritual rice yet~

While Cai Youdao was entangled with Wang Shouzhe and the others outside, on the other side, Crown Prince Yuan Zheng and Ji Yue'er were engaged in intense commercial negotiations.

"Your Highness Yuan Zheng, are you satisfied with our 'White Jade Spiritual Rice No. 79'?" Ji Yue'er leisurely sipped spiritual tea, her gaze not even directed at Crown Prince Yuan Zheng, clearly confident in the quality of the White Jade Spiritual Rice.

The sample of spiritual rice had been cooked into rice, now being tasted by the "servants" brought by Crown Prince Yuan Zheng.

These "servants" were not randomly chosen but were the lowest-level cleaning servants or laborers drawn from the royal family, all at the Qi Refining Realm, representing the vast majority of the population in the Immortal Dynasty.

The White Jade Spiritual Rice series, in the Holy Domain, is classified as "first-grade spiritual rice," the most common type.

Crown Prince Yuan Zheng, having never eaten such low-grade ordinary spiritual rice since birth, naturally couldn't distinguish its quality.

"Delicious! So delicious~"

The dozens of servants, upon tasting the rice, were all pleasantly surprised, praising it unanimously.

The spiritual rice was glossy and fragrant, far superior to the same grade of spiritual rice from the Xianwu Immortal Dynasty.

Crown Prince Yuan Zheng nodded, saying nothing, and had the Lingtai Realm cultivators he had prepared in advance come in to taste it as well.

For ordinary Qi Refining Realm cultivators, first-grade spiritual rice is a relatively luxurious consumption, and most Lingtai Realm cultivators' daily staple is just first-grade spiritual rice.

After tasting, it was naturally unanimously praised.

"Fairy Ji," Yuan Zheng said with great satisfaction, "To be honest, this 'White Jade Spiritual Rice No. 79' is indeed of high quality. However, what quantity and price can you offer?"

The demand for staple food used by the lower levels is naturally large, given the population base.

Like first-grade spiritual rice, the main user groups are wealthy Qi Refining Realm cultivators, ordinary Lingtai Realm cultivators, and poor Celestial Realm cultivators. These three levels of cultivators form the grassroots of the New Luo Immortal Dynasty, occupying the vast majority of the population, with the largest annual demand gap for spiritual rice.

If there is a significant shortage, it will inevitably damage the foundation of the Immortal Dynasty, leading to its rapid decline.

After Ji Yue'er and Yuan Zheng unified their measurement standards, she said, "According to our standard, 'one warehouse' is two hundred thousand jin, which is one hundred tons."

'Ton,' now a standard unit of the Wang's Clan, has gradually been adopted throughout the Shenwu World.

"Every hundred warehouses make a ship, referring to the standard-sized cargo ship. The first-grade White Jade Spiritual Rice No. 79, we sell at a delivered price of 180,000 Immortal Crystals per ship."

The unit of Immortal Crystal originally came from the Holy Domain, borrowed during the Shenwu period, and has been passed down. Each Immortal Crystal is roughly equivalent to a lower-grade spiritual stone and can theoretically be exchanged for one at the official bank.

Of course, Immortal Crystals are a currency for measuring prices, while the latter is actual cultivation material.

Although seemingly linked in price, the issuance of Immortal Crystals in any country far exceeds the actual stock of lower-grade spiritual stones, due to the existence of a large number of Immortal Crystal notes.

"180,000 Immortal Crystals?" Yuan Zheng's expression turned slightly serious, "Fairy Ji, isn't this price a bit high?"

"High? I heard the Xianwu Immortal Dynasty offers you first-grade spiritual rice at 250,000 Immortal Crystals per ship, and the quality is far inferior to our White Jade Spiritual Rice No. 79..." Ji Yue'er said leisurely, "Our Young Master is helping you out, these spiritual rice are transported from afar, so the delivery price is naturally a bit higher."

"This..." Yuan Zheng hesitated slightly, "Can we use various grades of ore powder or metal ingots to offset the price? Of course, it must be at our Immortal Dynasty's normal price... no arbitrary price cuts."

"Our Young Master said your ore powder prices are quite reasonable, not 'inflated,' and can be used for offsetting." Ji Yue'er smiled, "Selling them back can even yield a 'small profit,' just enough to cover 'shipping costs.'"

In fact, without Yuan Zheng saying so, Ji Yue'er would have purchased a large amount of various grades of ore powder or metal ingots.

According to the family head, metal minerals are non-renewable resources, and they should be purchased whenever possible. Moreover, the prices of metal minerals here are much lower than in the Shenwu World.

Thus, Yuan Zheng's expression turned joyful, "In that case, this deal can be made and can be long-term. According to your measurement, our New Luo needs two thousand 'ships'!"

"Only two thousand ships?" Ji Yue'er frowned slightly, "Is your New Luo Immortal Dynasty that small?"

In the Shenwu World, over the past hundred years or so, the Wang's Clan, Immortal Dynasty, and Demon Dynasty have made numerous preparations to open the Holy Domain, with spiritual rice being one of them.

Over the years, the three major forces have continuously expanded the scale of spiritual farmlands, engaged in large-scale cultivation, and vigorously promoted the Wang's Clan's high-yield White Jade Spiritual Rice No. 79. With the Wang's Clan also owning a large amount of spiritual farmland in the Zhenmo Protectorate, the annual total production of White Jade Spiritual Rice No. 79 in the Shenwu World has steadily increased, reaching over twelve thousand ships.

Excluding the nearly eight thousand ships consumed by the Shenwu human race itself, the annual surplus has reached four thousand ships. Most importantly, over the years, the accumulated surplus inventory in the Shenwu World has reached a total of two hundred thousand ships...

A mere two thousand ships can't satisfy the Shenwu World's sales appetite~

Yuan Zheng's expression froze.

Is Young Master Shouzhe that formidable? Such a massive grain production...

He dared not offend, quickly saying, "Our New Luo's spiritual farmlands are few, with a self-production capacity of about eight, eight hundred ships. However, the grain price is quite reasonable, so perhaps there will be more sales by then, and even if there's a surplus, we can store it for emergencies... then we'll need three thousand ships annually. We'll increase as needed in the future~"

"Three thousand ships... it's passable." Ji Yue'er, slightly disdainful, put down the tea cup, "Then this contract price will be 540 million Immortal Crystals."

Yuan Zheng was overjoyed, "Deal! But at least eighty percent must be offset with minerals~"

Although he bought an additional thousand ships of spiritual rice, this deal wasn't a loss, and he and the royal family could earn a substantial transit fee from it.

What Yuan Zheng didn't know was that while he was delighted, Ji Yue'er was also secretly amazed.

My goodness~ no wonder they say bulk commodity trading is profitable.

To "hide wealth among the people" and encourage planting enthusiasm, the Shenwu World has currently raised the purchase price, but the acquisition cost is only 60,000 Immortal Crystals per ship, totaling 180 million Immortal Crystals for three thousand ships!

Just on this first-grade spiritual rice, the gross profit reached 360 million Immortal Crystals, equivalent to three or four Immortal Spirit Stones. And this is the annual transaction volume... over the years, this amounts to a huge fortune.

Back when she was in the True Demon Hall, she probably never dreamed that one day she would handle or even oversee such a large-scale transaction.

"Since the first-grade spiritual rice is settled, let's discuss the second-grade spiritual rice." Ji Yue'er refocused, casually taking out the second sample from the storage ring, "This is our 'Condensed Essence Spiritual Rice No. 58.' Check the quality, and if satisfied, the price per ship is 1.7 million Immortal Crystals."

"Alright."

Crown Prince Yuan Zheng agreed and immediately confirmed the sample quality as before.

In a short while, the results came out, and Crown Prince Yuan Zheng, not daring to lie, said, "The quality is better than Xianwu's equivalent, and the price is quite reasonable. We'll take three hundred, no, three hundred and fifty ships!"

In the Shenwu World, second-grade spiritual rice was originally called medium-grade spiritual rice, requiring medium-grade spiritual veins to nurture medium-grade spiritual farmlands for cultivation. However, to align with the Holy Domain World, the Shenwu World has now unified the terminology to second-grade spiritual rice, second-grade spiritual veins, second-grade spiritual farmlands, etc.

This type of spiritual rice is most suitable for wealthy Lingtai Realm cultivators, ordinary Celestial Realm cultivators, and impoverished Purple Mansion Realm cultivators. The spiritual energy within the rice is balanced and harmonious, suitable for most people, so naturally, the price isn't cheap.

Three hundred and fifty ships?

Ji Yue'er understood the other party's digestion capacity and immediately decided, "Alright, let's go with that, totaling 595 million Immortal Crystals."

Naturally, the gross profit here is astonishing.

The total production of the second-grade Condensed Essence Spiritual Rice in the Shenwu World has reached eight hundred ships! And it's still expanding annually.

Next.

The two sides also negotiated the third-grade spiritual rice—'Purple Paste Spiritual Rice No. 33.'

This rice, originally called 'superior-grade spiritual rice' in the Shenwu World, has now been expanded for large-scale production. It was originally the staple food for the upper class, with the main customer groups being wealthy Celestial Realm cultivators, ordinary Purple Mansion Realm cultivators, and impoverished Divine Realm cultivators.

This time, Crown Prince Yuan Zheng was extremely excited, "This Purple Paste Spiritual Rice is really good stuff, we'll take thirty ships!"

"Thirty ships? No, the production of Purple Paste Spiritual Rice is too low, we can only give you twenty ships." Ji Yue'er immediately rejected.

Currently, the total production of Purple Paste Spiritual Rice in the Shenwu World is only sixty ships, and the self-consumption is very high, with little inventory.

However, this also shows that the proportion of talents in the Celestial and Purple Mansion Realm in the New Luo Immortal Dynasty may exceed that of the Shenwu World, but the total population is much smaller.

After all, the New Luo Immortal Dynasty is just one of the Immortal Dynasties in this world, unlike the Shenwu World, where the two dynasties have united, with a total population far exceeding that of the New Luo Immortal Dynasty.

"Twenty ships it is, but Fairy Ji, if there's any surplus production in the future, please consider our New Luo Immortal Dynasty." Yuan Zheng became increasingly respectful towards Ji Yue'er.

"Naturally, we'll consider it. The price for Purple Paste Spiritual Rice is 21 million Immortal Crystals per ship, totaling 420 million Immortal Crystals for twenty ships. Let's sign this contract."

After the third-grade Purple Paste Spiritual Rice, it was the fourth-grade spiritual rice, known as 'top-grade spiritual rice' in the Shenwu World—'Snow Marrow Spiritual Rice No. 28.'

This spiritual rice is very expensive, with low production, and is generally only eaten by wealthy Purple Mansion Realm cultivators, ordinary Divine Realm cultivators, and impoverished Void Realm cultivators.

Incidentally, before meeting Wang Shouzhe, Emperor Longchang's daily staple was this grade of spiritual rice. Nowadays, within the Wang's Clan, the consumption of this spiritual rice is also very high, but it's mainly eaten by particularly wealthy Celestial Realm cultivators and wealthy Purple Mansion Realm cultivators.

As for the Wang's Clan's Divine Realm cultivators, they currently eat even higher-grade spiritual rice.

"Snow Marrow Spiritual Rice is priced at 32 million Immortal Crystals per ship, and we can only give you one ship," Ji Yue'er said.

In fact, the total production of Snow Marrow Spiritual Rice in the Shenwu World has reached five ships, but the internal consumption is too high.

"One ship? That's a bit too little, how about an additional fifty warehouses, which is half a ship's worth." Yuan Zheng said eagerly, "Our New Luo's fourth-grade spiritual rice production is too low, not enough to go around."

Ji Yue'er hesitated slightly but still decided, "At most, half a ship, no more. This order totals 480 million Immortal Crystals."

This is already the limit of what can be allocated from Snow Marrow Spiritual Rice. After this wave of transactions, she must get more fourth-grade spiritual veins back to expand the number of fourth-grade spiritual farmlands.

The production of Snow Marrow Spiritual Rice is still too low~

Crown Prince Yuan Zheng, afraid Ji Yue'er would change her mind, quickly signed the order and then eagerly asked, "How much fifth-grade spiritual rice is there?"

"Our fifth-grade spiritual rice is called 'Five Aggregates Spiritual Rice No. 19,' priced at 3.5 billion Immortal Crystals per ship, and the production hasn't caught up yet..."

Before Ji Yue'er could finish, Crown Prince Yuan Zheng interrupted eagerly, "We'll take fifty warehouses, the price can be negotiated~"

Such high-grade spiritual rice was originally called 'Sacred Spirit Rice' in the Shenwu World.

This grade of spiritual rice is naturally for wealthy Divine Realm cultivators, ordinary Void Realm cultivators, and impoverished True Immortal Realm cultivators.

It's undeniable that before cooperating with the Wang's Clan, the Immortal Sovereign and Immortal Emperor mostly ate this, occasionally enjoying something better.

Emperor Longchang, even more so, had only a dozen or so acres of fifth-grade spiritual farmland in the Great Qian royal family, and the Sacred Spirit Rice produced was ultimately offered to the Immortal Emperor in exchange for other resources.

"No, at most twenty warehouses."

Ji Yue'er shook her head, her tone firm.

After all, the total production in the Shenwu World is only seventy warehouses, with no inventory.

Pausing for a moment, she added, "We don't have much of this grade of spiritual rice on hand, but we can gradually increase the supply in the future."

"Too little, too little." Yuan Zheng lamented, "Getting it through other channels is too expensive and troublesome."

"Expensive and troublesome, you'll have to overcome it yourself." Ji Yue'er remained unmoved, "Twenty warehouses of Five Aggregates Spiritual Rice, priced at 700 million Immortal Crystals, Crown Prince, come sign a contract."

"Alright~"

Crown Prince Yuan Zheng, resigned, could only agree.

After signing, Ji Yue'er took out the last sample of spiritual rice, "This is our sixth-grade spiritual rice—'Clear Origin Spiritual Rice No. 7,' with limited production, we can only allocate one warehouse!"

"One warehouse isn't enough?" Crown Prince Yuan Zheng was anxious, "At least five warehouses."

No wonder he was anxious; this grade of spiritual rice was extremely beneficial to him, something he couldn't usually eat, only occasionally tasting.

Such spiritual rice was originally called 'Immortal Spirit Rice' in the Shenwu World, the 'Immortal Rice' Emperor Longchang would throw tantrums to eat.

But this sixth-grade spiritual rice is generally only eaten by True Immortal Realm experts and some destitute Da Luo Holy Sovereigns. Void Realm experts, unless extremely wealthy or with special status, generally can't eat it.

"Five warehouses, dream on, only one warehouse." Ji Yue'er directly refused.

She loves eating sixth-grade spiritual rice, but this grade of spiritual rice requires a massive amount of family contribution points to exchange, only occasionally tasting it.

It's said that the total production of sixth-grade spiritual rice in the Shenwu World is only five warehouses!

With such limited production, even their own consumption isn't enough, taking out one warehouse is already the limit, how could there be more?

No matter how Crown Prince Yuan Zheng threw tantrums, Ji Yue'er remained unmoved.

Until production significantly increases, this is a strategic resource. This one warehouse is just to keep the New Luo Immortal Dynasty hooked.

"One warehouse is better than none." Crown Prince Yuan Zheng, seeing Ji Yue'er was determined not to agree, had to reluctantly give up.

New Luo's sixth-grade spiritual rice production is also very low, and although Xianwu has a surplus, they simply don't sell it to them, preferring to offer it as tribute!

"One warehouse is priced at 300 million Immortal Crystals, come sign a contract." Ji Yue'er's lips curled into a victorious smile.

So expensive!

But Crown Prince Yuan Zheng didn't hesitate, signing the contract directly.

No matter how expensive, he had to buy it; he wanted to eat more sixth-grade spiritual rice to advance to the True Immortal Realm sooner~

"Is there any seventh-grade spiritual rice?" Crown Prince Yuan Zheng asked eagerly.

"Get lost! There's none, and even if there were, it wouldn't be for sale." Ji Yue'er glared at him, retorting.

Not to mention that the Shenwu World currently has no seventh-grade spiritual rice, even if there were, it wouldn't be sold to the New Luo Immortal Dynasty.

Seventh-grade spiritual rice is mainly for Holy Sovereigns, and besides them, only some poor Dao Lords would eat it. Even True Immortal Realm experts, unless they're like the Cave Heaven Saint Child, generally can't afford it.

Still thinking about buying seventh-grade spiritual rice, do you even consider if your New Luo Immortal Dynasty can afford it?

Yuan Zheng retreated speechlessly, realizing he was being unreasonable.

Ji Yue'er sorted through the contracts.

In the spiritual rice trade, a total of 3.35 billion Immortal Crystals worth of contracts were reached, with an estimated gross profit of over 2 billion.

This is an astronomical gross profit, equivalent to twenty Immortal Spirit Stones!

And this is the annual trade volume.

Annually!

Twenty Immortal Spirit Stones a year, saving up for two years is enough to buy an Immortal Artifact.

As long as the New Luo Immortal Dynasty still needs grain, this spiritual rice trade can continue indefinitely, accumulating massive profits over time.

With this income, the Shenwu World can accomplish many things.

Whether it's purchasing elixirs to improve qualifications, nurturing more talents for the future, or buying Immortal Artifacts, Immortal Scriptures, etc., it can greatly enhance the foundation of the Shenwu World, accumulating more advantages for the human race facing the future.

Next, the foundation of the Shenwu World is likely to usher in a new wave of prosperity!

"Let's discuss the procurement plans for raw ores, ore powder, metal ingots, and some spiritual herbs." Ji Yue'er was as excited as if she had been injected with adrenaline.

This wave was a huge win.

And Crown Prince Yuan Zheng was equally excited.

Although this batch of spiritual rice was costly, slightly more expensive than previous imports from the Xianwu Immortal Dynasty, the quality was better, enough to solve the urgent crisis, allowing the New Luo Immortal Dynasty to emerge from the quagmire!

With the grain crisis in the New Luo Immortal Dynasty resolved, they could take the initiative against the Xianwu Immortal Dynasty, responding calmly. Next, he wanted to see how the Xianwu Immortal Dynasty would solve the problem of metal ore imports.

The Xianwu Immortal Dynasty's annual metal consumption is significant, previously imported from the New Luo Immortal Dynasty with tax benefits, at a very low import price. Importing from elsewhere wouldn't offer such benefits.

The Emperor Ancestor would surely be very pleased to know this.

Having handled this matter so beautifully, he might even receive some rewards~

He must quickly inform the Emperor Ancestor of this good news, to bring him joy as well.

……

Meanwhile.

In a street-facing private room at the Yikang Dining Palace.

Phoenix wings, dragon liver, immortal brew... a table full of delicious dishes was steaming, looking extremely sumptuous and tempting.

It was evident that the managers and chefs at Yikang Dining Palace had been tipped off. Compared to the last time, this table of delicacies was noticeably more refined and exquisite, with some even being non-sale items, likely custom-made for Wang Shouzhe and his companions.

No wonder.

A month had passed, and although no one dared to speak openly about what happened at the auction, the rumors had spread in private. Situ Xuejia naturally got the news, so when Wang Shouzhe and Yun Tiange returned, he would naturally try to leave a good impression.

Wang Shouzhe sat at the table, holding chopsticks, several times wanting to reach for the dishes but ultimately giving up, finally placing the chopsticks down with a helpless expression, leaning back in his chair to look to the other side.

And where he was looking, Cai Youdao, looking sloppy and unkempt, was holding a braised phoenix wing, shamelessly eating and drinking, clearly intent on sticking with Wang Shouzhe.

While eating, he continued to promote himself to Wang Shouzhe, "For the sake of this meal you're treating me to, I'll only charge two top-grade spiritual stones a year for you to have a True Immortal."

Wang Shouzhe was speechless.

Your price drop is so fast, it caught me off guard.

Yun Tiange, sitting on the other side of Wang Shouzhe, was also very displeased seeing Cai Youdao's behavior, "Old man, aren't you done yet? Didn't we tell you it wouldn't work, why are you still following us? And did we allow you to eat here, yet you're freeloading?""Don't be so absolute~ Even though I'm an old man, I've lived many more years than you. My skills in alchemy and crafting might not be top-notch, but I've got plenty of experience. Hiring me won't be a loss for you," Cai Youdao chuckled. "I've traveled all over the Dongxia Divine Continent looking for disciples. You newcomers will definitely find my services useful. Besides, that girl Lici promised to treat me to a meal. Since you're her Fourth Uncle, consider it as you treating me on her behalf."

Just as he was speaking, there was a knock on the private room door.

It turned out to be Ji Yue'er and Jiang Yuling, who had finished their business and came to meet up with Shouzhe.

In fact, if it weren't for the agreement to meet Ji Yue'er and the others here, Wang Shouzhe and Yun Tiange wouldn't have stayed so long. They would have left as soon as Cai Youdao started pestering them.

Once inside the room, Ji Yue'er pulled out a stack of contracts. Seeing others in the room, she hesitated on whether to report the situation immediately.

Suddenly.

Jiang Yuling bypassed her and plopped herself onto Wang Shouzhe's lap, wrapping her arms around his neck. "Shouzhe, I knew you were rich, but I didn't expect you to be this wealthy."

"Just one Immortal Spirit Stone, only one a year, and you can have a beautiful, voluptuous, and powerful mid-Void Realm girlfriend," Jiang Yuling said, her usually aloof face now full of flattery. She patted her chest with a resounding thump, batting her eyes coquettishly at Wang Shouzhe. "Most importantly, you don't even have to marry me. If you get tired of me, you can give me some compensation and dump me. I promise I won't cling to you or disrupt your family harmony!"

"So, what do you think? Consider it?"