kvmb Chapter 394 Barter
Chapter 394 Barter
"Flame Flower...a top-grade herb aged three thousand years...this..."
Shi Na was initially delighted, but then her expression froze, and she couldn't help but look embarrassed.
Even Shi Yihao and Shi Tian, who were in the same lobby, had completely different expressions.
Mo Hei couldn't help but blurt out:
"Does it have to be a thousand-year-old, low-grade herb?"
Shi Na shook her head slightly, meeting Mo Hei's slightly questioning gaze, but did not ask:
"May I ask Fellow Daoist Mo, what is your asking price for this three-thousand-year-old top-grade herb, the Flame Flower? I... I, Shi Na, am willing to sell everything I own to purchase it."
It wasn't until he heard the last, hesitant yet firm words that Mo Hei suddenly realized that the saying "rarity makes things valuable" was indeed true.
In such a barren and desolate place as this, even a low-grade herb that is only a thousand years old is already priceless, let alone a high-grade herb.
Thinking of this, Mo Hei pondered for a moment and said:
"Very well! We cultivators should help those in distress and relieve their urgent needs. If we were to price it solely in spirit stones, I'm afraid Chief Shi wouldn't be able to come up with tens of thousands of low-grade spirit stones to buy it right now."
Shi Na quickly nodded and replied:
“Fellow Daoist Mo is right. As you can see, the Great Northern Wilderness is inherently barren of resources and lacks supplies. Let alone tens of thousands of low-grade spirit stones, we probably can’t even gather a hundred.”
Mo Hei suddenly understood, tapped his fingers lightly on the chair, and said calmly:
"Therefore, the only option is to barter. As one of the five major tribes in the Great Northern Wilderness, the nobles must possess many rare treasures."
"This……"
Shi Na was troubled. Although she had temporarily taken over the position of clan leader in place of her seriously ill father, she did not have much personal wealth, especially not enough to be worth the price of top-grade herbs.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have made such a statement about going bankrupt in a fit of emotion.
Upon hearing this, Shi Tian immediately stood up and said:
"In that case, young friend Mo, why don't you enter the treasure vault of my Stone Mountain tribe and choose three items to exchange?"
"can."
Having learned from the example of the volcano tribe chief, Mo Hei readily agreed, with the little evil dragon's approval.
Faced with Shi Tian's unauthorized decision, Shi Na couldn't help but worry:
“Uncle Shi Tian, the treasure vault is the common property of all members of my Shishan tribe. Unauthorized misappropriation will surely cause dissatisfaction among the tribe members.”
As the young clan leader, Shi Yihao was well aware of the intricate web of interests within the clan, and quickly stood up, saying:
"Uncle Shi Tian, why don't we talk to the other three elders in the clan first?"
Shi Tian then stopped and said:
"The outsiders are about to arrive again. Only when the old patriarch recovers can he take charge of the situation. Moreover, this young friend Mo probably cannot stay here for long. I suppose the patriarch has already heard the news and sent an envoy to invite him."
"Elder Shi Tian, why didn't you inform us of your arrival? Are you afraid that we old folks are not polite and will neglect our guests?"
Just then, three elderly men dressed in gray robes walked straight into the hall. The one who spoke first was an old woman, who looked to be about seventy or eighty years old.
The remaining two elderly men were both over sixty years old; one was slightly thin, while the other was rather short and stout.
In Mo Hei's eyes, following the sound, the three people's cultivation aura should be at the Foundation Establishment stage, which is equivalent to his own.
"What are you saying, Elder Yun? The reason Shi Na invited this Fellow Daoist Mo here was mainly to ask for medicine for her father, which is why she didn't disturb the three elders."
Shi Na forced herself to remain calm. After saying this, she paused, then continued:
"Right now, Fellow Daoist Mo does indeed possess a three-thousand-year-old top-grade herb, the Flame Flower, which can be used as a medicinal ingredient to cure my father's Yin Sha poison."
"Oh! The Flame Flower, a top-grade herb that's three thousand years old?"
The three elders of the Shishan tribe, who had clearly come upon hearing the news, were all startled and turned their gazes toward Mo Hei, who was sitting calmly.
The old woman, referred to as Elder Yun, nodded slightly after examining Mo Hei for a moment:
"Indeed, judging from his cultivation aura, his spiritual energy is pure and unmixed. This young friend Mo must have come from beyond the realm. I wonder if he came from the Spirit Realm or the Immortal Realm?"
Mo Hei replied humbly and politely:
"I come from the Earthly Spirit Realm."
One of the shorter, stouter elderly men stroked his white beard and said with a smile:
"Since you've come from the Earthly Spirit Realm, I'm sure you're not lying. You might actually possess a top-grade herb, the Flame Flower. Would you please show it to me?"
Mo Hei understood the unspoken meaning and couldn't help but sneer inwardly. At the same time, he became wary that these guys might be tempted by the money and try to rob him.
Seeing that Mo Hei remained unmoved and still sat upright, the thin old man who had come with him asked with a hint of anger in his voice:
"What do you mean by this, young friend Mo? Are you just talking nonsense? If so, I'll have to ask you for your advice, lest you underestimate my Shishan tribe."
Shi Tian, who had been standing silently, couldn't help but speak up:
"Elder Shi Xing, this young friend Mo is a distinguished guest personally invited by this old man. How can you say that he is being looked down upon?"
"Cough cough."
To ease the tense atmosphere, Elder Yun cleared his throat and coughed lightly, saying:
"Just now, didn't Chief Shi Na keep saying that this young friend Mo does indeed possess a three-thousand-year-old top-grade herb, the Flame Flower? She even said that she obtained it to treat the old chief who was poisoned by Yin Sha, as a medicinal ingredient? Young friend Mo wouldn't really be so generous as to give away such a gift, would he?"
Seeing that Mo Hei was about to answer, Shi Na immediately interrupted and said:
"It is truly remarkable that Fellow Daoist Mo is willing to offer such a precious item in exchange for its equivalent value. Therefore, on behalf of my father, I implore the three elders to make an exception and allow this young Fellow Daoist Mo to go to the clan's treasury and select three items to exchange for this superior-grade herb, the Flame Flower."
Before the three elders could respond, Shi Na continued:
"Shi Na will not keep this top-grade herb, the Flame Flower, for herself. She will only use a portion of it as a medicinal ingredient to heal her father's wounds. The rest will be stored in the clan's treasury. If the three elders need it, they can exchange it for her."
After listening, the three elders' tense expressions gradually eased. They looked at each other, having already made their decisions. Then, the thin old man called Elder Shi Xing smiled warmly at Mo Hei:
"I apologize for my impetuous words just now, young friend Mo. However, to verify its authenticity, would you be so kind as to bring out this three-thousand-year-old Flame Flower for me to examine?"
Looking around in the darkness, seeing that no one raised any objections and focused their attention on him, he immediately understood the situation clearly. Before taking it out, he made his stance clear:
"Very well! Fair trade requires inspection of the goods. In that case, if what I have brought is indeed genuine, and if there is nothing in your treasury that catches my eye, then I will have no choice but to wait for the best price."
Originally, Mo Hei only intended to randomly select three items to do a favor, exchanging the three-thousand-year-old top-grade herb, the Flame Flower, for the other party to heal his father's injuries.
Now that these three clan elders had interfered so rudely, Mo Hei, filled with rage, saw no need to be kind to anyone. He decided to handle things officially, so that no one would suffer a loss.
After all, if it weren't for the butterfly, Mo Hei would have been a ruthless person who would always take advantage of others and never do anything that would lose money.
"This……"
The three clan elders who heard this had lived most of their lives, so how could they not understand the meaning behind these words?
But now, by repeatedly pressing and demanding that the other party reveal their true intentions, isn't that just judging a gentleman by the standards of a petty person?
Faced with Shi Na's resentful gaze, the three clan elders, after some deliberation, could only bite the bullet and answer.
After receiving the reply, Mo Hei didn't mince words. With a thought, he took out a complete Flame Flower from his storage ring.
"This...this really is...a three-thousand-year-old...top-grade herb, the Flame Flower..."
"Indeed...especially...the scorching heat it exudes...it's absolutely genuine..."
“Look at these...look at these complete roots...and this...the complete petals that resemble flames…”
"..."
As Mo Hei took out the Flame Flower and displayed it to everyone, Shi Na, Shi Yihao, Shi Tian, and the three elders of the Shishan tribe all had their eyes gleaming with shock.
Shi Tian, equally amazed by the flame flower, immediately invited Mo Hei with a warm expression:
“Very good, young friend Mo is indeed sincere. Please come to the treasure vault of my Shishan tribe and choose three treasures as an exchange.”
The elder of the Yun clan, beaming with joy, echoed:
"Young friend Mo's Flame Flower can be considered genuine and well-preserved. In particular, the scorching aura it emits is indeed three thousand years old."
Mo Hei remained completely unfazed by honor or disgrace, putting it away and simply saying:
"Please lead the way."
"please."
Shi Na could not hide her joy. It was exactly as described in the records. She immediately asked for permission and the group of seven headed straight for the Shishan tribe's treasure vault.
On the way to the treasure vault, the little evil dragon, hidden in the Dragon Pill Cave, did not forget to send a telepathic message to remind them:
"Young Mo, you should always be wary of people. If these guys are up to no good, you'd better be prepared for both possibilities."
"Old friend, you're worrying too much. First of all, Mo was invited here from the Volcano Tribe by these guys. Besides, the Lord of the Great Northern Wilderness will definitely send people here after hearing the news, so how could these guys dare to take the risk of murder for money?"
The Candle Dragon Spirit Fire, also hidden in the Dragon Pill Cave, paused after analyzing the situation via divine sense transmission before continuing:
"If these guys are really blind and want to do something bad, and if we are really no match for them, we can still take refuge in this Dragon Pill Cave."
Mo Hei was not oblivious. He carefully observed the surroundings and saw that after passing several stone corridors, he entered a hidden stone path that wound its way deeper and deeper. He knew that this was the location of the Stone Mountain Tribe's ancestral treasure trove.
With Shi Na leading the way, Mo Hei stayed close to Shi Yihao, so that even if something unexpected happened, he could take him hostage immediately.
As for Shi Tian, who was traveling with him, and the three clan elders, Mo Hei was fully confident that he could avoid being ambushed, especially with the Little Evil Dragon and the Candle Dragon Spirit Fire.
"Rumble..."
Upon reaching the end of the stone path, a gigantic stone gate loomed before them. With the combined efforts of Shi Na, Shi Tian, and the three clan elders, it slowly opened with a thunderous roar.