Star Odyssey

Chapter 1765: Takeaway

Attendant Yi knew that Lu Yin would definitely want the sourcebox. If Lu Yin would pay for it, everything would be fine and it would not matter. However, Lu Yin was paying on the emperor’s credit!

This was no different from saying that anything that Lu Yin bought would be a total loss for Attendant Yi.

Attendant Yi sent word again to tell Cai Lai to not show Lu Yin anything truly valuable, hoping the message would be delivered quickly.

Instead, Attendant Yi learned that Cai Lai had brought out Samaritan Tears.

Attendant Yi's face turned pale.

Back on Yi's Emporium’s ninth floor, Lu Yin was puzzled, "Samaritan Tears?"

Cai Lai glanced over at the shop owner, and the man spoke up right on cue. He had been in business for many years, so he was quite discerning of people’s desires. "Samaritan Tears is one of my Divine Venom Dynasty’s most toxic poisons. Legends state that even a single drop is enough to kill an Envoy.”

Lu Yin arched a brow. "Are your Envoys that worthless? First, there was that worm, and now you’re saying that even this Samaritan Tears is able to kill an Envoy."

The shop owner had no understanding of the power of an Envoy, so he had no way to answer Lu Yin’s question this time.

Instead, Cai Lai replied, "Alliance Leader Lu, Envoys are incredibly powerful, and the only Envoy in my Divine Venom Dynasty is Emperor Qing himself. However, there are records of Envoys being poisoned by both the worm you saw earlier and the Samaritan Tears. This is the truth, and in fact, it was not even an ordinary Envoy who was poisoned by the Samaritan Tears." Wonder glowed in the man’s eyes as he continued. “It was an Envoy with a power level that exceeded 700,000, according to the legends."

"Impossible." Lu Yin emphatically stated. "Aside from Qing Shaohuang himself, no one from your Divine Venom Dynasty has ever managed to achieve a power level of more than 700,000 throughout your entire history."

"That’s simply what the records state. As for whether or not they’re true, I can’t say. Still, Samaritan Tears is absolutely the most toxic poison in my Divine Venom Dynasty. Except for my Yi's Emporium and the imperial palace, Samaritan Tears cannot be found anywhere else at all."

Lu Yin started to think. Could Qing Shaohuang be thinking of using Samaritan Tears to deal with Lu Yin?

"This poison is colorless and scentless?" Lu Yin asked.

Cai Lai regretfully denied this, "While the Samaritan Tears are incredibly potent, the poison can be detected. It’s a colorless liquid, but it can easily be seen by the naked eye. Because of this, so long as proper precautions are taken, it is unusual for someone to be poisoned. This is the biggest flaw of Samaritan Tears."

Lu Yin nodded. While Transience was nowhere close to being as toxic as the Samaritan Tears, it was a much more deadly poison because it could not be seen or tasted, and it did not even possess any runes. On the other hand, Samaritan Tears was easily noticeable. There were pros and cons to each, which was only natural.

"I want this, too." Lu Yin looked up. No matter what flaws the poison might have, its toxicity was the real deal. Besides, Lu Yin had frequently used poisons in the middle of his battles without trying to be sneaky about it, and if Samaritan Tears could also be Enhanced, he could not imagine how powerful it might become.

Cai Lai laughed; he had sold another treasure! The Samaritan Tears was extremely expensive, and it was considered to be one of Yi's Emporium’s top treasures. If Cai Lai had not come across such a big spendthrift like Lu Yin, the Samaritan Tears would never have appeared.

"Next!" Lu Yin shouted. It looked like he still was not hurting for funds.

At this moment, a Yi's Emporium maid entered, clearly wanting to say something to Cai Lai. Lu Yin's eyes flickered. "Is your Yi's Emporium so casual with the conduct of your employees? I just became interested in your goods, and I have no desire to be disturbed."

Cai Lai frowned and turned to glare at the maid. "Why are you not gone yet?"

The maid was desperate. "Manager Cai-"𝚏𝘳e𝒆𝙬e𝘣𝗻𝒐v𝒆l.𝑐𝑐𝙤𝒎

Lu Yin gave a derisive snort and released a burst of spiritual force that he directed at the maid. It was far more than the woman could withstand, and she instantly fainted.

Cai Lai felt rather puzzled, as he had not been able to sense any sort of energy fluctuations at all.

"Hurry up and bring out the next one. I have something else I need to be doing," Lu Yin showed his impatience.

Cai Lai did not think much of what had happened, and simply assumed the maid must have had some issue of her own. "Alliance Leader Lu, the next treasure is a poison."

Lu Yin frowned.

Cai Lai quickly explained himself. "This poison is different from others, as it is not something that is stored within the body, but coats the skin. It works to replace death."

"Life-Prolonging Butterfly?" the shop owner exclaimed in disbelief.

Cai Lai shot another admiring gaze towards the shop owner. This support was just too perfect and too perfectly timed. Cai Lai was seeing this man in a more and more positive light as time went on.

"Life-Prolonging Butterfly?" Lu Yin was completely confused. He had come across so many strange items in the Divine Venom Dynasty.

This time, the next thing for sale was not a physical object. Cai Lai clapped his hands, and Lu Yin saw the sky change. They were suddenly surrounded by a sea of extremely beautiful flowers. At the center of the sea was a beautiful butterfly flapping its wings and slowly flying about. It had colors that seemed to come from a dream, and it left a strange and beautiful trail in its wake that only slowly disappeared.

Lu Yin blinked; where did it go?

"Life-Prolonging Butterfly, as the name suggests, can give a person an extra life, so long as it is engraved on the surface of their body. No matter how powerful the attack, it will only destroy the butterfly and will leave the person completely unharmed. One understanding of this ability is that the butterfly pushes the human’s body into a parallel time and space," Cai Lai explained as he gazed with envy at the beautiful trail that was disappearing.

Anyone who knew of Life-Prolonging Butterflies would want one, but just who could qualify for such a thing? There were very few throughout the entire empire, such as Qing Shaohuang, Attendant Yi, Qing Li, and such.

Lu Yin's face instantly grew serious. This was a very big deal.

How had the outside world not learned that the Divine Venom Dynasty possessed such a treasure? This should be impossible. Wouldn’t at least the Hall of Honor know of such a thing? A treasure that could grant one an extra life was far more important than anything like the giants’ technology.

"Anyone can use a Life-Prolonging Butterfly?" Lu Yin asked.

Cai Lai nodded. "Anyone. However, Life-Prolonging Butterflies have a distinct flaw: once one has been used, a person will never be able to improve their cultivation for the rest of their life."

Lu Yin was taken aback. "You just mentioned that Qing Shaohuang has used a Life-Prolonging Butterfly, so how has he continued to improve his cultivation?"

Cai Lai explained, "His Majesty Qing Emperor did not use it to improve his cultivation, but his poison. People in my Divine Venom Dynasty use poison in combat, so as long as their poison is improved, it’s almost no different from improving one’s cultivation. Cultivation is not quite so important to us."

Lu Yin finally understood. Even if the Hall of Honor did have Life-Prolonging Butterflies, who would willingly use one? Arch-Elder Zen? Impossible. That old man clearly still had his eyes set on becoming a Progenitor. The First Protector? Also impossible. Everyone wanted to continue to improve their strength.

Only people born in the Divine Venom Dynasty would treat the Life-Prolonging Butterflies as invaluable treasures. This was also why there were no Life-Prolonging Butterflies outside of Venom Flowzone; this flaw instantly erased most of the treasure’s value.

"Life-Prolonging Butterflies are exceptionally rare in my Divine Venom Dynasty, and they can even be counted on one hand. Even if not many people in the empire are aware that such a thing exists, this is one of the treasures my Yi's Emporium possesses," Cai Lai proudly declared.

Lu Yin smiled. "I want it."

Cai Lai's eyes lit up brighter than ever. "Alliance Leader Lu is generous."

"Next!" Lu Yin loudly called out. Yi's Emporium really did have a lot of great things.

At this moment, another maid rushed in. Her face was pale, and she immediately opened her mouth to speak, but Lu Yin just glared at her and she crumpled to the ground. "Your Yi's Emporium’s maids are too rude! How can they be so casual about disturbing your guests? This is disappointing."

Cai Lai's expression changed. Naturally, Yi's Emporium's maids were all familiar with the rules. It was impossible not to realize that something big had happened, and Cai Lai also realized that the first maid had fallen unconscious because she had been attacked by Lu Yin. Cai Lai was not an idiot.

"Next," Lu Yin told Cai Lai.

Cai Lai's expression changed a bit, but he tried to show a friendly smile. "Alliance Leader Lu, there isn’t any more."

Lu Yin glared at the man. "What was that? No more? This is Yi's Emporium’s ninth floor, and yet you’re saying there’s nothing else left?"

Cai Lai felt offended. "There is nothing at all wrong with Yi's Emporium’s ninth floor! Even the first princess can’t afford the treasures here! Any one of these treasures is something that countless people in the Divine Venom Dynasty would fight for, and there truly is nothing more."

Lu Yin snorted disdainfully. "This is so disappointing. Is this all there is to Yi's Emporium? Any region within my Great Eastern Alliance possesses more treasures than you’ve shown me."

Cai Lai offered a respectful bow, but remained silent.

Lu Yin regretted that there was no more, but Cai Lai ran this Yi's Emporium, and he was a very shrewd person. "Alright then, that’s enough shopping for now. Pack up everything I said I like, and also everything on the eighth floor."

Cai Lai was startled and felt that he must not have heard correctly. "Alliance Leader Lu, what was that?"

Lu Yin repeated, "Pack everything on the eighth floor. I’m buying it all."

Cai Lai’s mouth fell open; pack everything up? This was the first time he had seen someone who spent money so casually. How could Lu Yin possibly still have enough to buy more?

"Why don't they just pack up everything in the whole Yi's Emporium?" Lu Yin muttered to himself. Cai Lai's body went limp, and he almost fell to the floor.

"That- Alliance Leader Lu, there are simply too many items that are needed for the regular operations of Yi's Emporium. And, well, you said to pack up everything on the eighth floor, but this lowly one must check with the owner," Cai Lai said.

Lu Yin retorted, "How stupid! You’ve managed this business for hundreds of years, and yet you still need to ask your boss? Why are you even the manager?"

No matter what Lu Yin said, Cai Lai remained unmoved. No matter what, he would not sell Lu Yin another item before finding out what was happening.

Lu Yin pursed his lips. This was the end. If he tried to buy anything more, he would force that old man Yi out into the open, as well as Qing Shaohuang. "Fine, but first pack up what I just ordered."

Cai Lai wiped his forehead. "About that; might I ask how Alliance Leader Lu intends to settle his bill?"

Lu Yin smiled and patted Cai Lai’s shoulder. "Are you looking down on me? Get everything ready for me first, and after I’ve checked that you have it all ready, then I’ll pay. Or could it be that you’re worried that I’ll leave without paying?"

Of course Cai Lai would not dare say such a thing, which left him with no choice but follow Lu Yin’s request and package all of the goods that Lu Yin had requested: the sourcebox, the Samaritan Tears, and the Life-Prolonging Butterfly. The butterfly was a living creature, but since it was sealed away, it was able to be stored in a cosmic ring like an inanimate object.

It was at this moment that Lu Yin felt that he had bought far too little.

"Alliance Leader Lu, your purchases have been prepared. Your total comes-”

Just as Cai Lai was talking, Lu Yin raised a hand to interrupt, "Go and talk to Attendant Yi. Everything that I spend on your Divine Venom Continent is being covered by Qing Shaohuang.

“Alright, thanks for everything!”

As soon as Lu Yin finished speaking, he grabbed the shop owner and vanished.

Cai Lai stood where he was, staring blankly into space and completely unresponsive for a long time.

When he did react, his body collapsed to the ground. He felt like he was being crushed by the sky.

Elsewhere, within the empire’s imperial palace, Attendant Yi was feeling the same way. When he had been informed that Cai Lai had taken out the Life-Prolonging Butterfly, Attendant Yi had almost lost his mind, and he had not been able to maintain his composure in front of Qing Shaohuang.

Both the five-star Boundless Advanced sourcebox and the Samaritan Tears were invaluable, but the Life-Prolonging Butterfly was literally a priceless treasure. Not one of the three treasures was anything an average Enlighter could afford, and Attendant Yi was sure that even Qing Li did not possess the wealth to buy more than one of the three items. As for Qing Longlong, she did not even qualify to step onto the ninth floor of Yi's Emporium.