Chapter 655: Void Order

“Not bad at all…”

Xu Xiaoshou replied perfunctorily.

He had only known that Tian Sang City had a wealthy trading house. But it wasn't until he arrived in Dong Tian Royal City that he truly grasped the power of these major trading houses.

According to Xiao Lian, just from selling Red Gold Leaf alone, the trading house's monthly revenue was conservatively estimated to exceed ten billion. And that was just for one type of elixir, sold only in Dong Tian Royal City. If you looked at the entire Multi-Gold Trading House's various channels and all product lines…

The profits were simply unimaginable.

“Making a killing!”

Xu Xiaoshou sighed.

An individual's power could never match the true force of capital. While marveling at the trading house's wealth, he was also shocked by the number of Spirit Array Masters mentioned in Xiao Lian’s words.

From the time he left White Cave until now, in just over half a month, he had passed through many cities. In those places, Spirit Array Masters were still seen as gods by ordinary people. Even if some lived in the same city, there was a clear divide, though the connections between them were never truly severed.

But in Dong Tian Royal City, it was completely different.

The entry threshold was being a Spirit Array Master. Those who could enter as ordinary people likely had wealth and status that surpassed even average Spirit Array Masters. In such a place, Spirit Array Masters, who were like immortals or gods to ordinary folks, were everywhere you looked.

“The real world of Spirit Array Masters…”

Xu Xiaoshou knew that places like this were where he should head in the future. Not for any other reason, but for his passive values, he needed to strive toward the larger centers of the Spirit Array world.

“It’s here!”

As he was pondering, Elder Qiu excitedly burst through the door with a contract in hand.

Xu Xiaoshou took it and scanned it quickly, feeling a bit surprised. In their earlier discussion, he had only mentioned needing at least three sets of materials. Yet, before even specifying what they were, the contract guaranteed at least ten sets!

Three had turned into ten. It might seem insignificant, but scaling it up, to refine ten million portions of Red Gold Leaf, Multi-Gold Trading House would have to provide at least one billion sets of materials. Perhaps they were accounting for failure rates, but even the most ordinary alchemist wouldn’t have just a ten percent success rate.

Seeing Xu Xiaoshou’s gaze pause on that section, Elder Qiu chuckled and said:

“Honestly, a fifty-fifty split is something our trading house never even considered.”

“By giving up so much of the share without any extra demands, we should show some initiative on our end.”

“For alchemists, materials are the best reward.”

“With extra materials on hand, you can use them for practice, experiments, or even developing more advanced elixirs.”

“That’s our hope, but not a requirement. Just that.”

Xu Xiaoshou nodded thoughtfully.

He knew Elder Qiu hadn’t said everything. With a fifty-fifty split and no special conditions, Multi-Gold Trading House was probably worried about some hidden trap, so they were offering more than three times the materials to make up for it. This way, the partnership would be more solid, and any potential issues of favor or obligation would be nipped in the bud.

“Alright.”

Xu Xiaoshou nodded without dwelling on it further. He pointed to the part about thirty thousand cauldrons and said: “The cauldrons I want might be a bit special. First, they need to be large; second, they need to be sturdy. Ideally, their quality should meet the standards of defensive spirit tools.”

“Defensive spirit tools?”

Elder Qiu paused for a moment, then agreed: “Okay.”

He agreed first, then looked puzzled. Cauldrons that met the quality of defensive spirit tools and were large… That would basically make them heavy weapons themselves. Xu Xiaoshou’s requirements didn’t sound like they were for alchemy; it was more like they were meant for smashing people!

Of course, he didn’t plan to ask for details. He just inquired about the size and required grade, nodded after getting the response, and promised to handle it.

Seeing no issues, Xu Xiaoshou signed his name casually.

This marked the preliminary completion of the deal!

Elder Qiu excitedly took the contract, but his eyes froze on the signature in the bottom right corner.

The three bold, flamboyant characters—Xu Deyu!

“Suspected, passive value +1.”

“Xu… Young Master Xu… Is that really your name?” Elder Qiu fell silent for a moment before asking.

A contract didn’t rely on names; it depended on the parties involved. Even a false name wouldn’t matter, because any breach would affect Xu Xiaoshou himself. So, there was no need to use a fake name.

In that case, this name “Xu Deyu”…

Elder Qiu took a deep breath and silently marveled in his heart: Impressive!

“Admired, passive value +1.”

Xiao Lian leaned in for a closer look and was also stunned by the name.

Earlier, at the entrance of Multi-Gold Trading House, everyone had seen the confrontation between the Jiang family and the Xu family. They all assumed that “Xu Deyu” was just a name Xu Xiaoshou used to mock Jiang Xian.

But now, it seemed that wasn’t the case?

“This is my name.”

Xu Xiaoshou noticed their reactions, and a subtle displeasure flashed in his eyes. “What’s the problem?”

Elder Qiu and Xiao Lian quickly caught on.

This young master had probably been bothered by his name countless times growing up.

Elder Qiu waved his hands hastily.

“No problem, no problem at all.”

After a brief thought, he pulled out a finely crafted purple gold card from his ring, infused it with spiritual essence to inscribe “Xu Deyu,” and handed it over.

“Young Master Xu, this is our Multi-Gold Trading House’s most prestigious purple gold card. There are fewer than a hundred issued across the entire Eastern Territory. Consider it a token of our sincerity. Please take it.”

Purple gold card… Xu Xiaoshou accepted the card and could see at a glance that it was far superior to his previous gold card.

With a probe of his spiritual sense, he saw the number: one hundred.

One hundred spirit tokens?

Xu Xiaoshou was startled, and soon noticed the unit on the back: “token.”

Spirit token?

He realized it then.

Spirit token was another high-level currency circulating among the elite on this continent. Wild spirit token mineral veins were rare in the Five Domains. The spirit tokens available now were refined from large amounts of spirit crystals, with spiritual energy several times purer than that in elixirs.

The refining process was extremely complex, requiring many spirit formation grandmasters to oversee it, making it time-consuming and laborious.

Yet, spirit token was not only a precious resource for cultivation at the Throne King level and above but also a hard currency.

Simply put, one spirit token was roughly equivalent to one billion spirit crystals.

“One hundred billion?” Xu Xiaoshou looked at the amount on the purple gold card and was momentarily stunned.

“Yes.”

Elder Qiu nodded with a smile: “For our distinguished guests, Multi-Gold Trading House never skimps. This purple gold card includes one hundred spirit tokens, and it’s not part of the transaction—it’s a gift from us upfront.”

Xu Xiaoshou showed a look of surprise.

Handing over one hundred billion just like that?

“Shocked, passive value +1.”

At this point, Xu Xiaoshou understood.

A mere Red Gold Leaf wasn’t enough to make Multi-Gold Trading House go to such lengths. What they really wanted to befriend was the illusory Half-Saint… or perhaps the Saint Emperor family behind him!

“Good!”

Realizing this, Xu Xiaoshou clapped his hands together and tucked away the purple gold card. “I, Xu, will consider Multi-Gold Trading House a friend!”

Xu… Elder Qiu finally smiled with a sense of accomplishment.

He knew this young man was sharp and understood Multi-Gold Trading House’s intentions. With that statement, their partnership was truly solidified.

The deal was mostly done, and Xu Xiaoshou couldn’t sit still any longer. He stood up and headed toward the door.

“Once the items are ready, just deliver them to my ‘Heavenly Trading First Tower.’ Since the transaction is complete, I won’t linger…”

“Wait a moment.”

Elder Qiu hurried to the door and blocked it just as Xu Xiaoshou was about to open it. “There’s something I forgot to mention, Young Master Xu. You might find it interesting.”

“What is it?” Xu Xiaoshou stopped.

“In three days, at midnight, there’s a spirit token trading event organized by Night Cat in the black market. Only those with sufficient status, wealth, and an invitation can attend.”

Clearly, with Xu Xiaoshou’s current worth of one hundred spirit tokens and the backing of a Half-Saint family, he was fully qualified to participate.

So, Elder Qiu continued, pulling a black invitation from his ring.

“This is a black invitation issued on behalf of Multi-Gold Trading House—it’s one of the most prestigious ones.”

Night Cat… Xu Xiaoshou took the invitation.

He had heard of this organization. Liu Lu at the entrance of Multi-Gold Trading House had mentioned it; he was just an outsider member, a minor figure. To spread his message, Xu Xiaoshou still needed to wait for Night Cat’s higher-ups to approach him personally.

“A spirit token trading event?” Xu Xiaoshou asked, not quite understanding.

“Yes.”

Elder Qiu said with a knowing expression: “I don’t know the other details, but there’s one thing you’ll definitely be interested in, Young Master Xu.”

“How so?” Xu Xiaoshou raised an eyebrow.

“According to the information from Night Cat, there will be a ‘Void Token’ at this event.”

“Void Token?”

Xu Xiaoshou’s heart tightened.

He hadn’t heard of this term before, but the word “void” left a deep impression.

Elder Qiu hadn’t even started explaining, and Xu Xiaoshou could already infer a lot from those three words.

“Tell me more.”

Xu Xiaoshou was genuinely interested. He let go of the door handle and leaned against the door.

Elder Qiu said: “Whether you know it or not, I don’t mind sharing this intelligence with you, Young Master Xu. The truth is, this trial in Dong Tian Royal City isn’t just related to the White Cave battles; there are other reasons…”

“The Sacred Secret Realm, Heavenly Void City.” Xu Xiaoshou said calmly.

“You know about it?”

Elder Qiu was surprised, but then he nodded as if it made sense. “Of course, it’s normal for you to know, Young Master Xu.”

He continued: “But you probably don’t know that Heavenly Void City drifts through the fragments of space and time, making it hard to track.”

“Yet, this time, its location is known only to a very few top forces—and it’s right here!” Elder Qiu pointed emphatically at the ground.

Xu Xiaoshou remained unfazed: “I came here for that very reason.”

Elder Qiu was taken aback.

It turned out not only the higher-ups in Dong Tian Royal City knew; even someone from as far as Northern Territory had accurate information?

Wait, no!

Elder Qiu dismissed his own thought.

He recalled Jiang Xian from Northern Territory. The Multi-Gold Trading House’s leadership had probed his intentions, and they had nothing to do with Heavenly Void City; he was here for other matters.

Apart from Jiang Xian and Xu Xiaoshou, Dong Tian Royal City hadn’t seen many other outside forces lately.

Those younger generations couldn’t get involved in the battles for Heavenly Void City. The only thing that interested them was the Royal City trial.

Xu Xiaoshou, however, casually hinted: “The start of the White Cave war was just a vague rumor about the ‘Silent Sword.’”

Elder Qiu and Xiao Lian both froze for a moment, then quickly grasped the implication.

Indeed, the current situation was strikingly similar to the early stages of the White Cave incident.

Back then, it was just a vague rumor about the “Silent Sword,” but in the end, it drew a completely different crowd. The White Cave war turned into a clash between the Red Clothes against the Ghost Beasts, and the White Clothes against the Saintesses.

In the end, who got the Silent Sword became almost irrelevant.

After that war, even the Royal City trial was affected and held ahead of schedule.

And now, the news about Heavenly Void City was quietly spreading at just the right time…

“Is there a connection?”

“Or will Heavenly Void City turn into another White Cave war?”

Elder Qiu pondered and quickly pieced together many things.

Regardless of the outcome, they needed to prepare.

Even though Heavenly Void City was known as the “Floating Sacred Realm,” with many legendary tales like the “Saint Dao Foundation” and “Innate Elixir Dew”…

Before entering, there would likely be plenty of bloodshed.

“Thank you.”

Elder Qiu expressed his gratitude, then got straight to the point without any more beating around the bush: “To enter Heavenly Void City, you must have a ‘Void Token’ to guide you.”

“This Night Cat trading event has clues about it, so you can try your luck there, Young Master Xu.”

“That’s all we know.”

“The rest is up to fate!”

With that, Elder Qiu eagerly opened the door and said to Xiao Lian: “See Young Master Xu out. I have matters to attend to, so I’ll take my leave first.”

He then bowed to Xu Xiaoshou and hurried away.

Xu Xiaoshou returned the bow, watching the elder’s retreating figure, feeling a bit surprised in his heart.

Multi-Gold Trading House seemed to have the same overly positive view of “Heavenly Void City” as Liu Lu did.

As a result, these people hadn’t even considered the possibilities of conflict, accidents, or deception.

“Why?”

Xu Xiaoshou didn’t know how many people in the world were aware of the true concept of the “Void Dao.”

But from Elder Qiu’s reaction, even a colossal entity like Multi-Gold Trading House only knew part of the story, not the whole.

He turned to Xiao Lian, about to ask, “Do you know about the Void Dao?”

But seeing the girl’s innocent and clueless expression, he sighed and answered himself inwardly: “If you knew, that would be a miracle.”

If even Elder Qiu didn’t know, what could this girl possibly know?

Only by being among the Saintesses could he slightly lift the veil of this world’s mysteries.

Those living outside that veil, constrained by their habitual thinking, would never question it.

“The spirit token trading event…”

Xu Xiaoshou twirled the purple gold card in his hand, murmuring softly as if deep in thought.

Footsteps sounded behind him.

Xiao Lian caught up, and Xu Xiaoshou snapped out of it. Without waiting, he stepped out the door and waved the purple gold card.

“I’m off. No need to see me out.”