Chapter 457: Xu Xiaoshou Business Really Makes Money, Huh?

"Pfft!"

Lao Du immediately spat out a mouthful of blood.

It wasn't entirely due to anger; it was also because all his existing injuries had flared up simultaneously.

That formidable Jian Zong sword intent had somehow pierced through his body from a distance, a feat he had never anticipated.

"Is this the power of Jian Zong?"

Gazing at Xu Xiaoshou's hand as it returned to its original position, Lao Du felt a surge of irritation once more.

However, considering that he was currently within this person's reach, and that both close combat and long-range attacks seemed disadvantageous, he knew he was at a distinct disadvantage.

As for this person's range...

Lao Du fell silent.

"If I provoke him again, I might actually die, right?"

"But if I don't escape..."

"Twenty million!"

Lao Du's lips twisted into a bitter smile. He had lived for so long, and this was the first time he felt utterly defeated.

Twenty million per Linglong Shi, and he had to purchase them all at once – that meant a total expenditure of sixty million?

That amount practically represented his life's savings.

He recalled the three Linglong Shi he had sold earlier; together, they had only fetched less than thirty million!

This was a significant loss, pure and simple.

"I..."

Lao Du hesitated, his gaze fixed on the masked figure in the straw hat. The person's eyes showed no emotion, only a hint of a smile. A shiver ran down his spine.

"Forget it, sixty million for a lesson, plus my life as a bonus."

Clenching his teeth, Lao Du suddenly closed his eyes and shouted to everyone present.

"Twenty million per Linglong Shi – I'll buy them all!"

"Oh my kidneys..."

At the entrance of Ba Gong Li town, everyone – whether they were Lao Du's subordinates or not – gasped in astonishment.

Because they were familiar with the goods and the previous selling price of Linglong Shi, their surprise was even greater.

"Has Lao Du lost his mind? Twenty million each?"

"Even if he sold his wife, he couldn't afford that!"

"What the heck? I thought this was supposed to be a sheep being slaughtered, but somehow, the hunter and the prey switched places?"

"Lao Du is finished. After this, he'll have lost his money, and how will he ever hold his head up in Ba Gong Li?"

"Hold his head up? Are you kidding?"

Someone immediately retorted, "If he wasn't paying twenty million to save his life, do you think Lao Du would even be alive to hold his head up?"

Everyone fell silent.

After a long pause, someone finally murmured.

"Sixty million."

"Received admiration, passive value +450."

"Received fear, passive value +456."

"Received respect, passive value +411."

Luo Qinglang stood nearby, speechless.

Twenty million.

Even if he sold himself, he probably couldn't afford a single Linglong Shi.

He quietly retreated into the Qinggang Ling Palace group, keeping a low profile.

"Brother Wolf?"

The white-robed swordsman quickly stepped forward to support him.

He was concerned that if he was even a step slower, Brother Wolf's injuries might cause him to collapse on the spot.

"Are your injuries... okay?"

Luo Qinglang glanced at his blood-soaked clothes and grimaced.

"No problem."

This was supposed to be his moment to shine, so why had it turned out like this?

He desperately scratched his head, his eyes fixed on the masked person in the straw hat.

Was all of this because of this person's arrival?

"Huff..."

Taking a deep breath, Luo Qinglang decided that while he was in Ba Gong Li, he would not have any further dealings with this person.

He glanced sideways and saw Yu Zhiwen's gaze, tinged with worry.

Luo Qinglang lowered his eyes and avoided it.

He was too embarrassed to speak.

His gaze fell upon the slightly panicked Qinggang Ling Palace disciples.

Luo Qinglang fell silent once more.

"Twenty million..."

The lingering thought of twenty million made him feel agitated.

"So, the lives of all my junior brothers and sisters add up to two hundred million?"

At this moment, not only the troublemakers in Ba Gong Li, but even Luo Qinglang himself felt an urge to make a move on this group of sheep.

"Brother Wolf!"

"Senior Brother!"

With the shaking of his arm, Luo Qinglang finally snapped back to reality.

The white-robed swordsman asked with concern, "Brother Wolf, what are you looking at... That guy is over there."

He pointed a trembling finger towards Xu Xiaoshou.

Just now, the killing intent in Brother Wolf's eyes had almost made him wonder if he had done something wrong last night...

He had been caught!

"I'm fine, really." Luo Qinglang waved his hand and finally turned his body to look towards Xu Xiaoshou.

"Received envy, passive value +1."

"Come here!"

Xu Xiaoshou beckoned to Lao Du, who hesitated but ultimately did not dare resist and stepped forward to the shattered town entrance.

"Twenty million per one, and you'll buy them all?" Xu Xiaoshou confirmed.

"Yes."

Lao Du thought to himself that he would have to swallow the broken teeth himself.

It was tough to chew, but if he endured it, everything would pass.

"You said it."

Xu Xiaoshou nodded and said to the crowd behind, "Everyone heard that, right?"

No one responded.

"Good, as long as you heard."

"Received curse, passive value +1."

Xu Xiaoshou spoke as he pulled out the small wooden table from earlier.

"Tap, tap, tap."

He placed three Linglong Shi on it. Lao Du closed his eyes deeply.

"Fine."

When he opened his eyes again, the Linglong Shi on the table had become six.

Lao Du: ???

"What is this..."

He asked in confusion, but before he could get a response, his pupils suddenly constricted.

"Six Linglong Shi?"

Lao Du recoiled in shock, looking up in astonishment. "You have six Linglong Shi?"

"Mm-hmm." Xu Xiaoshou gave a nasal hum.

"This..."

"You said to buy them all, and with that sincerity, I couldn't possibly deceive you. So, I brought out all my stock." Xu Xiaoshou smiled warmly.

This...

Lao Du's state of mind exploded on the spot.

No, please!

Deceive me!

Please deceive me!

If you do this... do you know what "a cornered dog will jump" means?

If someone with a weaker heart saw this, they might drop dead on the spot!

Lao Du panted heavily, his mind racing with thoughts, but he couldn't utter a single word.

"Would 'a cornered dog will jump' even help?"

"Facing this person..."

"If I say one more word, I'm completely finished, right?"

"Received curse, passive value +1."

"So, six of them?"

The onlookers behind couldn't see clearly because of Xu Xiaoshou's obstruction, but Lao Du's voice had everyone perking up.

They extended their spiritual senses.

Indeed, on the masked person in the straw hat's table, there were clearly six blurry objects.

"What the heck? Who is this guy? Did he rob an entire Ling Palace team?"

"Or maybe he looted all the geniuses from a major clan?"

"But I recall that major clans usually have a maximum of five Linglong Shi. Even two or three is considered top-tier among the most powerful forces. This..."

"This guy..."

"I'm speechless. There are so many Linglong Shi in the world – couldn't you share one with me?"

At the shattered entrance of Ba Gong Li town, it was as if two bombs had been dropped, causing an instant uproar.

Greed flashed in everyone's eyes like oil, but their feet were rooted firmly to the ground, not daring to move an inch.

Restrain yourself – life comes first!

Luo Qinglang's eyes immediately widened.

"This is insane?"

"Six Linglong Shi?" The white-robed swordsman beside him murmured in disbelief.

"No."

"That's not Linglong Shi." Luo Qinglang was stunned.

"What is it then?"

"That's one hundred twenty million Ling Jing!"

"A total of one hundred twenty million, and I'll round it up for you – let's say four goes into five, make it two hundred million."

Xu Xiaoshou spread his hands expectantly.

"Thud!"

Lao Du's fists weakly slammed onto the table.

He went limp all over.

"Two hundred million?"

"No... one hundred twenty million?"

He wasn't foolish enough to take the other person's joke seriously.

But the problem was...

"I don't have that much money!" Lao Du wanted to cry but had no tears.

"You've lived this long and don't even have a hundred million?"

Xu Xiaoshou looked shocked. "What's your... uh, cultivation level?"

"Xing Si Jing..."

"Early stage?"

"Yes."

"You're already a master in Xing Si Jing, and you haven't even achieved a small goal like that?"

Xu Xiaoshou was speechless. It seemed assassins made more money after all.

These people who just robbed to get by were far too poor.

"So, how much do you have on you right now?"

"I..." Lao Du hesitated, not daring to lie. "Seventy million."

"A seventy-million rich guy isn't bad."

Xu Xiaoshou figured that amount was already an astronomical sum for others, so he didn't dwell on it.

"Since you don't have enough, I can't sell you all the Linglong Shi."

"So, give me the seventy million first, and as for the rest, I'll come to you later."

"I'll give you three Linglong Shi now, and once you have the money, you can get the rest."

As Xu Xiaoshou spoke, he tapped the man's forehead without waiting for a response.

"What are you spacing out for? Your card?"

"Hand it over."

With a wave of his hand, Lao Du dazedly pulled out a golden card.

"A Duo Jin Merchant card? Perfect."

Xu Xiaoshou nodded in satisfaction. This way, he could just transfer it directly.

He casually took out the card he had used to buy a house in Tian Sang City, swiped it, and the amount on the other card dropped from eight digits to three.

"Wait, no!"

Lao Du stared at the pitiful three-digit balance and suddenly came to his senses.

This wasn't right!

"Linglong Shi at twenty million each, three of them is sixty million! How did you take all of it?"

Xu Xiaoshou calmly put away the card and said, "You didn't stop me with your spiritual sense, so that's basically agreement, right?"

"You..."

Lao Du's eyes bulged, and he almost drew his weapon on the spot.

"Give me back ten million!"

"Here you go."

Xu Xiaoshou casually scooped up the three Linglong Shi from the table and tossed them into his Yuan Fu.

Without hesitation, he stuffed the remaining ones into the other man's arms.

Lao Du was pushed back, his body – much bulkier than Xu Xiaoshou's – stumbled several steps and nearly fell on his backside.

Xu Xiaoshou packed up the small wooden table and turned to leave.

"When you gather the funds, come find me. That ten million can serve as the deposit for now."

"Don't worry, I'm all about integrity in business. I'll keep your Linglong Shi safe."

Lao Du couldn't stand anymore and plopped down on his butt.

He stared blankly at Xu Xiaoshou's retreating figure.

"Integrity?"

"Is that what you call integrity?"

He lowered his head silently.

Those three Linglong Shi...

That was his entire fortune!

Seventy million!

"Received curse, passive value +1."

"Received resentment, passive value +1."

"Received obsession, passive value +1."

"Let's go."

Xu Xiaoshou waved to the three masked people behind him.

But apart from A Jie, the other two didn't move for a long time.

"What's the holdup? Let's go."

"And take down the banner."

"Leaving it up like that is embarrassing."

Xin Gugu's eyes finally lit up.

One moment he was marveling at Xu Xiaoshou's tactics, and the next, he was annoyed by the person's words.

You're the one who told us to hold up the banner, right?

It wasn't up before, and you weren't happy.

Now that it's up, you think it's embarrassing.

Mu Zixi was more straightforward.

"Received curse, passive value +1, +1, +1, +1..."

"Where to?"

She tossed the banner to Xin Gugu and hurried to catch up.

"This spot's harvest is complete. Theoretically, no one here is richer than Lao Du."

"Time to change locations."

Xu Xiaoshou stepped towards the town entrance ruins.

Suddenly, he turned back and spotted Luo Qinglang.

"Received fear, passive value +1."

Luo Qinglang instinctively shrank his head and hid behind the white-robed swordsman.

But remembering he was the senior brother, he had to force himself out again.

Xu Xiaoshou just looked at him without speaking.

Luo Qinglang froze for a moment, then couldn't hold back.

"What do you want?"

"Figured it out?" Xu Xiaoshou said cheerfully.

Luo Qinglang: ...

"Received curse, passive value +1."

"I have no money!"

He spread his hands openly. "Even if you sold me right now, I couldn't scrape together twenty million for you."

"How do you know you're not worth that?" Xu Xiaoshou asked.

Luo Qinglang was stunned, and his face turned green.

You sneaky bastard.

Are you really planning to sell me?

"I really have no money."

His tone softened.

"I can see that."

Xu Xiaoshou had decided to let Luo Qinglang off since he knew a Linglong Shi was worth twenty million.

"But you have Linglong Shi, don't you?"

"And your junior brothers and sisters probably do too."

Xu Xiaoshou smiled. "If you won't buy... how about selling? I buy Linglong Shi too."

The entire Qinggang Ling Palace team tensed up, everyone on high alert.

Some even drew their swords on the spot.

"Don't misunderstand – I'm just doing business."

Xu Xiaoshou quickly waved his hands. "If you won't buy, you can sell."

"You all heard it earlier – Lao Du is the local expert, and his information is accurate. The market price for Linglong Shi is ten million each."

"So, I'll buy at eleven million per one. You'd make a cool million profit, no loss at all."

"What do you say?"

Not just Qinggang Ling Palace, but everyone – including Lao Du – was shocked.

Wow.

Your nerve!

You just sold them for twenty million each, and now you're buying at eleven million?

"Received admiration, passive value +498."

"Received curse, passive value +11."

The color that had barely returned to Lao Du's face drained away again.

He felt like he was being subtly mocked.

The previous market price was indeed ten million, but you had single-handedly doubled it!

Luo Qinglang felt even worse, his face bitter.

"Bro, I admit defeat. I spoke out of turn earlier, so let's not play around."

"We really have no money, and there's no way we would sell the Linglong Shi."

The Qinggang Ling Palace crowd nodded repeatedly.

At this point, no one thought Luo Qinglang was losing face by backing down.

It felt completely normal.

Stubbornness would be suicidal.

Literally "suicidal"!

Xu Xiaoshou sensed their bitterness but still asked.

"Really not selling?"

"Not selling!" Luo Qinglang said firmly.

"Bai Ku might open soon, and if you don't sell, what if someone robs you?" Xu Xiaoshou said with concern.

The whole Qinggang Ling Palace team shuddered.

Even Cheng Xingchu couldn't take it anymore.

Xu Xiaoshou's mouth was probably going to give nightmares to everyone in the palace tonight.

No one would dare sleep.

"Is it you who wants to rob us?" Cheng Xingchu said gruffly.

"Who are you, buddy? That's going too far. I'm just a businessman – don't spread lies."

Xu Xiaoshou glanced at him with a half-smile.

Cheng Xingchu immediately felt a twinge at the back of his head.

This guy was definitely mocking him!

"Received curse, passive value +1."

Xu Xiaoshou didn't bother arguing. He walked past the crowd and stopped in front of that familiar girl.

He fell silent for a moment.

Those Xing Tong eyes that he couldn't see through before were still incomprehensible now.

Not only that, as his own perspective grew, he even felt a heart-pounding power emanating from those eyes.

Xu Xiaoshou knew this was because his "perception" had reached the master level, allowing for deeper insight.

He didn't believe in such vague feelings in the past.

But after multiple verifications, he had to.

"Even ghost beasts don't give off this kind of pressure!"

Xu Xiaoshou mused to himself.

What could it be?

Those eyes...

"They look really good, your eyes." Xu Xiaoshou complimented.

"Received curse, passive value +1, +1, +1, +1..."

Yu Zhiwen's face turned red.

With just that one line, she was sure this person was Xu Xiaoshou.

Because back when they first met, he had said the same straightforward thing.

She parted her lips slightly, about to speak, but Xu Xiaoshou had already turned and left without stopping.

Yu Zhiwen: ...

So, he only likes my eyes and doesn't want to talk to me?

"Received doubt, passive value +1."

Xu Xiaoshou led the three masked people in straw hats.

This "Straw Hat" organization, formed less than half a day ago, strutted openly past the ruins of Ba Gong Li town entrance.

At that moment, everyone slowly backed away, as if eager to avoid them.

"Received respect, passive value +455."

"Received fear, passive value +421."

"Received admiration, passive value +395."

Xu Xiaoshou walked slowly on purpose.

In the end, it was only after Xin Gugu's impatient shove that he finished shearing the last of the wool and vanished from sight.

"Passive value: 37,511."

"Wow, that's easy money – over thirty thousand passive value in one go?"

Xu Xiaoshou checked his info panel and nearly grinned from ear to ear.

How many hours had it been?

Just a short interlude, and he had almost earned enough for a ten-draw.

People were definitely the way to go.

Especially these naive ones experiencing their first shearing...

They had the most wool!

"Seventy million..."

Xu Xiaoshou murmured.

With assets nearing a hundred million, he had to admit he was feeling a bit cocky.

Originally, when he encountered crowds, his goal was just to casually earn some passive value.

But he had accidentally discovered the value of Linglong Shi.

"One is twenty million, so my sixteen would be... how many billion?"

"This business really rakes in the cash!"

Xu Xiaoshou had lost count. He turned back. "Junior sister, can you give me one of your Linglong Shi?"

Mu Zixi: ...

"Received curse, passive value +1."

"You already gave me one!"

"Oh, right, but you could give me another."

"Xu Xiaoshou, say that again?"

Seeing Mu Zixi's fierce look, Xu Xiaoshou decided to drop it.

He had sixteen Linglong Shi, which was plenty.

Giving her two for self-defense wasn't a bad idea.

Even if she might not need them when she was around him, what if?

Xu Xiaoshou hated "what ifs" the most in life.

"These damn stones are too valuable – I have to sell them before Bai Ku opens."

"But according to Elder Qiao, the dean said Bai Ku would open soon?"

"How long is 'soon'..."

He pondered.

He started thinking about how to make the most of this short time to sell the Linglong Shi.

When you had little Ling Jing, it didn't seem useful.

After all, small amounts were pointless.

But as the mainland's universal currency, once you had a lot, you could exchange for almost anything.

At worst, smash a hundred million into Duo Jin Merchant.

Xu Xiaoshou figured his Yuan Fu could become a top-tier spiritual herb paradise on the continent.

Not the absolute best, but still very top-notch!

Plus, with his Life Spiritual Seal.

Under constant nourishment, maybe all the spiritual herbs he needed for alchemy could be self-sufficient.

This was every high-level alchemist's dream!

Endless herbs, and he could speed up their growth as needed.

Most importantly, with the Life Spiritual Seal, everything grew quickly.

Once Yuan Fu was fully formed, one day would equal years of growth for the herbs, and a year...

"Tsk, tsk."

Xu Xiaoshou's mouth watered.

Make money!

Not just passive value – cash was never enough!

"The few hundred people there will probably spread my name fast."

"So next, I just need to find another crowded spot and set out more Linglong Shi."

Xu Xiaoshou was still happily planning.

Suddenly, Xin Gugu looked up at the void cracks and his pupils constricted.

"It's here."

"What's here?" Xu Xiaoshou instinctively followed his gaze.

He saw the sky above, where the void cracks buzzed and intertwined, finally merging into a massive rift.

A terrifying suction force emerged, cracking the Ba Gong Li stone floors.

Not only that, even the old spiritual trees that had stood for years on the roadside were uprooted.

"Ah—"

Mu Zixi screamed as she was lifted into the air.

Xu Xiaoshou quickly reached out and grabbed her shoe.

"Received curse, passive value +1."

He jumped up, caught the girl's foot, and pulled her back from the sky.

"Has Bai Ku opened?"

Ignoring Mu Zixi's panic, Xu Xiaoshou looked at the endless black dots being sucked into the spatial rift.

"Yes."

Xin Gugu nodded solemnly.

The opening of a different-dimensional rift was something no one could mistake, and he wouldn't get it wrong.

"What about those people..."

There were too many being sucked up from the horizon.

This wave would catch anyone below innate or upper Ling realm off guard, or without special techniques – they would struggle.

Especially those wandering the streets without spiritual array protection.

"Dead."

"Or lucky enough to enter Bai Ku, get randomly teleported, and then killed by different-dimensional creatures."

Xin Gugu shook his head indifferently. "Anyone who gets sucked up is too weak. It depends on whether Hong Yi wants to save them."

He didn't see himself as a saint, so he wouldn't rescue these underpowered risk-takers.