Chapter 1050 – A Massive Commercial Play

Qin Xiao gripped his chair’s armrest and stared at Li Guanqi. After a long silence, he asked, “How much did the Hundred Treasures Pavilion lend you?”

Li Guanqi shook his head. “It wasn’t the Hundred Treasures Pavilion, just the Tang family. Two billion.”

Qin Xiao’s eyes flickered. He closed them and sat in silence for another long moment before asking, “What are your chances?”

Li Guanqi smiled as he recalled a line Ye Feng used to repeat. He headed for the door; he still had to visit the Nine Dragon Immortal Sect.

“Gambling always comes down to winning or losing. Fifty-fifty,” Li Guanqi said as he walked away. “The question is whether you can stomach the risk.”

Qin Wushang swallowed hard. He’d never seen anyone speak to his father like that.

Li Guanqi left and headed for the Nine Dragon Immortal Sect. The visit felt less like business and more like calling on an elder he knew well. Ye Xuan personally showed him to the study, where Ye Bingxin sat to one side and poured tea for them both.

Li Guanqi gave the beautiful Ye Bingxin a small nod of thanks. She studied him with evident curiosity. Everything she’d heard about his exploits sounded unbelievable, yet he’d accomplished it all. While she’d had little contact with him, she owed him her thanks too. When some mysterious person had taken control of her body and robbed her of consciousness, she might have died if not for Li Guanqi.

“I have no spirit stones,” Ye Xuan said plainly.

Li Guanqi’s jaw dropped. Finally, he simply muttered, “Then let’s just have tea.”

Ye Xuan couldn’t help laughing. He raised his teacup with a grin. “You’re giving up that easily?”

Li Guanqi shrugged. “Uncle Ye, you already said you had no spirit stones. What else can I say?”

Ye Xuan studied him, unable to contain his curiosity. “How much did you ask the Qin family for?”

“Five billion.”

“Five billion? Qin Xiao lent it to you?”

Li Guanqi pursed his lips. “Nope.”

Ye Xuan’s expression cleared. “I knew it. Even the Qin family would struggle to produce five billion at once.”

Suddenly, a deep, booming voice erupted from thin air. “I’ll take the gamble!”

Space rippled as a man in black robes embroidered with golden serpents stepped forward, lugging a massive spatial chest across his shoulder.

Boom!

The chest slammed into the ground, gouging a deep crater into the floor. Qin Xiao planted a foot firmly atop it, his eyes blazing as he stared at Li Guanqi. “Hahaha! I loved a good gamble when I was young. It’s been years since I played for stakes this high. Don’t let me down, kid!”

Ye Bingxin froze. Thinking back over the conversation, she looked at the chest beneath Qin Xiao’s foot and swallowed. “There are... five billion high-grade spirit stones in there?”

Ye Xuan was just as stunned. Hadn’t Li Guanqi said Qin Xiao hadn’t lent him anything?

Ye Xuan turned to Li Guanqi and muttered, “You little bastard. You knew this would happen, didn’t you?”

Qin Xiao paused and glanced from Ye Xuan to Li Guanqi. “He didn’t lend you anything? Tsk. You’re a stingy coward, Old Ye.”

Ye Xuan’s mouth twitched. “Qin Xiao, this kid asked for four billion! He’s trying to bleed me dry!”

Qin Xiao pursed his lips and sent him a voice transmission. “Compared to what it’ll cost to enter the Seventh Territory, what’s a few billion spirit stones on a bet?”

Ye Xuan and Qin Xiao rarely saw eye to eye, but they were in complete agreement about reaching the Seventh Territory.

Ye Xuan gritted his teeth. “Fine! Count me in. I’ll have my people put the funds together.”

Li Guanqi rose and bowed to both men. “This is a personal favor. Thank you both for putting your trust in me.”

He looked up with a broad grin. “Since you’re both in, do me one more favor.”

Neither man said a word. They simply accepted the teleportation jade pendants he handed them.

Li Guanqi left the Ethereal Immortal Territory and quietly returned to Yunding Auction House. The auction was only three days away, and preparations were going smoothly under Tang Wei’s direction.

Alongside the Profound Origin Sacred Soul Pill, the auction would feature signature pills from three leading tier-eight alchemists, an abundance of precious spirit herbs, and plenty of high-quality weapons. The Guanyun Pavilion would also offer three Paradise Realm fragments from the collection it had built over the years, each capable of strengthening a clan’s foundation. The Six Gates Holy Sect had even contributed an Enlightenment Stone.

The promotional campaign for the Guanyun Pavilion’s auction was unprecedented. Cultivators from across all Six Territories flocked to Flying Cloud City, some driven by a genuine interest in the items, others by mere curiosity.

With so many different people pouring in, Yu Hua was under enough pressure to push her to the brink of collapse. She had vast amounts of intelligence to sift through while keeping watch on the Heavenly Intelligence Pavilion’s agents who had infiltrated the city.

Qian Qiusui had yet to break through, but she would succeed within the next two days.

Xi Yunhuai hadn’t rested in days either. Still, watching Yu Hua in the distance take pills to keep pushing her divine consciousness, he felt he had it easy. She was like a machine pushed far beyond its capacity. Hundreds of jade slips hovered in a dense cloud around her. Her foxlike eyes were dry and bloodshot, darting from one slip to another. Almost as soon as one lit up, she issued an order. Even Xi Yunhuai was impressed.

Yu Hua no longer trusted anyone else. Only by keeping everything in her own hands could she feel at ease. Li Guanqi had placed his trust in her, and after those repeated setbacks, she refused to make another mistake.

Xi Yunhuai handed her a vial of spirit liquid to restore her divine consciousness. “Take a break. Just half an hour.”

Yu Hua seemed not to hear him. She took the vial, tilted her head back, and drained it in one gulp. Brushing the stray strands of hair from her face with slender, pale fingers, she said quietly, “No need. We only have two days left. Pavilion Master Li’s plan is nearing its conclusion. I can’t afford to slip up.”

Xi Yunhuai sighed. The Guanyun Pavilion’s domain was covered in bloodstains. Everyone was on edge, and quite a few members had already quit under the pressure.

Ironically, the mid-level operatives who had initially been threatened were the ones who’d stayed. The Heavenly Intelligence Pavilion had penetrated the Guanyun Pavilion’s lower and middle ranks so deeply that it had met with almost no resistance.

Tang Wei had handled more spirit stones in the past two days than in his entire career. His eyes were bloodshot, and his task was even more complicated than Yu Hua’s. He had to coordinate everyone in the commerce divisions across the Six Territories, keeping the plan on track while concealing it all from the Heavenly Intelligence Pavilion.

Tang Wei murmured, “What a way to cut off their lifeline. If this works, the Heavenly Intelligence Pavilion’s foundations are ruined!”