"I dare to say it, but do you dare to listen?"
The other customers in the shop realized something was wrong and quickly slipped away, leaving only Xiao Xue and Hai Bodong in the map shop.
Xiao Xue toyed with the fragment in her hand and said indifferently, "Do you know what price this fragment could fetch if it were taken to an auction house in the Central Plains?"
Xiao Xue paused for a moment and then said calmly, "Enough to buy the entire Northwest Continent."
The final fragment of the Purification Lotus Demon Flame once fetched the price of an eighth-tier Medicinal Pill with nine-colored Pill Lightning at a Central Plains auction!
That single Pill Beast would be enough to tempt even a Half-Saint expert; buying the entire Northwest Continent would be more than enough!
Hearing this, Hai Bodong's eyelids couldn't help but twitch as he slowly sized up Xiao Xue.
He wasn't sure if she was just being alarmist or if she truly knew the value of the fragment.
However, Hai Bodong currently only had the strength of a Three-Star Dou Ling, and his Soul Power could not compare to Xiao Xue's, which was comparable to a Sixth-Rank Alchemist.
As for Xiao Xue, not to mention having the System, she also had the remnant soul of Ah Li, whose Soul Power had recovered to the Spirit Realm Initial Stage, as a cover.
Thus, he actually couldn't see through Xiao Xue's true strength right now.
Because of this, he felt that Xiao Xue's words held some degree of credibility.
After all, back then, this fragment had even attracted an expert at the Peak Dou Huang level like Queen Medusa.
However, the greater the value behind this fragment, the less he could easily hand it over to someone else.
Hai Bodong sized up Xiao Xue calmly, calculating the possibility of forcing her to stay.
"What is your purpose?" After hesitating for a moment, Hai Bodong spoke up and asked.
If an ordinary person wanted this fragment, they certainly wouldn't inflate its value; instead, they would try every means to drive the price down.
However, Xiao Xue had openly stated the fragment's value, even elevating it by more than just a notch, which left Hai Bodong somewhat bewildered.
Xiao Xue smiled slightly, "No purpose, I'm just stating the facts."
"So, could I ask the Old Mister to sell this fragment to me? This Junior can offer a high price."
Hai Bodong was an old fox and naturally understood Xiao Xue's meaning quickly:
—You can't handle this thing!
Furthermore, she had expressed a willingness to buy it at a high price, which was essentially giving him a way out, hoping he would take it.
This was clearly showing that she didn't take him, a Dou Ling, seriously at all.
After a moment of silence, Hai Bodong said indifferently, "This fragment is not for sale. Don't set your sights on it."
"And don't even think about taking it by force; that won't do you any good."
As soon as he finished speaking, Hai Bodong slowly lowered his head, focusing his mind once again on the still-unfinished map.
Although his tone was flat, it carried an unquestionable attitude.
Even though his current strength was only at the Dou Ling level, he wasn't someone a little brat could push around.
Some random little girl makes up a dubious Alchemist identity, spins a few lies, and thinks she can take something from his hands?
I'm simply not selling this fragment; what can you do?
Hearing this, Xiao Xue sighed softly, feeling a slight headache.
Having read the original work, she knew that if things followed the normal process, Hai Bodong would not sell this fragment to her.
As for the poe pill to break Medusa's Seal, not only was it a sixth-grade pill, but it also required a Heavenly Flame to refine, which she simply couldn't produce.
A sixth-grade pill, and one that required a Heavenly Flame at that, cost a significant amount of experience points in the System, and Xiao Xue couldn't afford it yet.
In other words, right now, she didn't have any valuable bargaining chips in her hand.
That was why she intended to use intimidation to make Hai Bodong back down.
From the looks of it, this move seemed to have failed.
However, thinking about how the other party was Old Hai, who was known for fighting top-tier battles above his level, Xiao Xue felt relieved.
For someone like him, only by demonstrating strength superior to his could one have enough of a say.
The fragment of the Purification Lotus Demon Flame lay quietly in the palm of Xiao Xue's hand.
After a long silence, Xiao Xue smiled indifferently, her fingers slowly closing to grip the fragment of the Purification Lotus Demon Flame in her palm.
She was determined to have this fragment! Even if Jesus came, he couldn't stop her!
Not convinced? Then... I'll beat you until you are!
The moment Xiao Xue's fingers closed, the door slammed shut abruptly.
A powerful force of ice erupted from all around Hai Bodong, and icy Dou Qi burst forth from his body.
An extremely cold chill instantly submerged Xiao Xue; in just one second, she was turned into an ice sculpture.
The old man's eyes were indifferent, showing no emotional change whatsoever from supposedly killing someone: "I told you, this won't do you any good."
Sizzle sizzle!!!
Suddenly, a sound came from within the ice sculpture, and a terrifying surge of fire attribute energy seemed to be awakening.
The ice, which should have been impossible to melt with ordinary flames, was melting rapidly, with clouds of white steam rising!
Ah Li was, after all, a powerful fire attribute demon.
Although ice is also water, trying to manipulate ice reinforced by Hai Bodong's Dou Qi was still quite difficult for Xiao Xue.
However, once the ice turned into water, things were different.
Moreover, the ability to control ice and snow was essentially just a degraded version of water manipulation.
In truth, with Xiao Xue's strength as a nine-star Great Dou Master, facing off against the Three-Star Dou Ling Hai Bodong wasn't that difficult.
She could easily break free from an ice Seal of this level.
However, upon seeing Xiao Xue frozen, Ah Li took the initiative to help her dissolve the ice layer.
[Nobody touches my meal ticket.jpg]
She hadn't noticed before, but this silly fox was quite protective of its food.
With a booming explosion, countless ice shards splattered, and Xiao Xue's calm voice followed:
"My apologies, Old Mister. If you only have the strength of a Dou Ling, then I'm afraid I'll be taking this fragment."
At the same time, she soothed the restless Ah Li in her heart, "Ah Li, leave him be. Let me handle it."
Hearing this, Ah Li obediently withdrew her power and curled up inside the storage ring to watch the show.
[Whatever the master says goes.jpg]
This little silly thing was gradually being molded by Xiao Xue.
As Ah Li's power vanished, the pink flames on Xiao Xue's body dissipated, turning into a set of blue Dou Qi Armor.
"Great Dou Master? No, wait, why does your Aura feel a bit like a Demonic Beast... and that flame just now was..."
Hai Bodong's expression was grave. His original strength was that of a five-star Dou Huang, but because his Dou Qi was sealed, his strength had dropped to that of a Three-Star Dou Ling.
However, though his Dou Qi was sealed, his Soul Power and Dou Techniques were still at the genuine Dou Huang level.
His Cultivation Technique was a Black Rank High-Grade ice attribute technique, and he had a whole basketful of Profound Rank Dou Techniques.
Yet his ice Seal was actually broken so effortlessly by a little girl?!
"Who exactly are you? In the Jia Ma Empire, not even the Imperial Family or the Cloud Mist Sect could produce a talent like you!"
Hai Bodong stared at Xiao Xue with sharp eyes as a cold and powerful Aura spread out from within his body.
But when the icy Dou Qi from his body reached within three meters of Xiao Xue, it could not advance a single inch further.
Xiao Xue smiled faintly, "I am merely an Alchemist passing through this place to visit relatives. If not for this map, I would not have come to disturb the Old Mister."
Xiao Xue spoke very gently, like a spring breeze, but the overbearing nature beneath her words was clear to anyone.
She was clearly committing a home invasion and robbery, yet she made it sound as if she were being forced into it.
Hearing Xiao Xue's crooked logic, Hai Bodong suddenly burst into laughter, which gradually turned into a wild roar: "Hahaha! Interesting!"
"Having been sealed by Queen Medusa for over twenty years, I, Ice Emperor Hai Bodong, have actually fallen to the point of being bullied at my own doorstep by a Great Dou Master! Interesting!"
"You want that fragment? Then let me see if you have the ability!"
------------------------
I've posted 40+ chapters in advance on Patreon.
Webnovel updates will still be daily, as usual.
It might not seem tempting right now but who knows what the future holds?
[email protected]/DaoistRoeoNQ
"And If you're enjoying it, drop a Power Stone for me!"