A guest arrived at Black Flood Dragon Island. The arrival of a guest itself was nothing special, but this time, the visitor was not human, but of the demon races. Moreover, they were no ordinary members of the demon races, but Great Spirit Beasts, and there were not one, but four of them.
"Welcome."
After several repairs, renovations, and even a complete reconstruction, the Black Flood Dragon Palace was much larger than before. The interior space, in particular, was so vast that Jaekyung, who had grown even larger after another molting, could move about with ease. Yet now, that vast space felt completely filled.
It was due to the presence and energy emanating from the five Great Spirit Beasts. Jaekyung glanced at each of the four Great Spirit Beasts he had summoned. The Great Spirit Beast in the form of a giant fish, Dae-yeong.
The Great Spirit Beast with a form like a combination of a crustacean and a cephalopod, Seon-gu. The Great Spirit Beast that resembled a large boulder but concealed dozens of legs and eyes within, Ha Son-seo.
The Great Spirit Beast whose upper body was that of a giant with rough features, but whose lower body consisted of dozens of tentacles, Jang-yeong. These were the ones Jaekyung had chosen after careful consideration.
They were not overly ferocious, so one could reason with them; they were clever enough to calculate gains and losses; and finally, their strength was not so great as to be a burden. Finding those who satisfied one or two conditions might have been possible, but finding those who met all three was not easy.
In particular, there were almost none who satisfied the second condition. Those who were not ferocious were usually timid, and among them, those who were clever enough to weigh pros and cons were exceedingly rare. To know how to weigh pros and cons meant knowing how to pursue advantage, which in turn meant they possessed greed.
For a cultivator, having greed was akin to having a heart that seeks the Dao. Thus, their gathering here was not just because of a few words from Jaekyung, but because of an attraction that arose from within their own hearts.
"Since such esteemed guests have answered my invitation and come all this way, I suppose I should start by thanking you."
"There's no need for that. We all came here because we want something."
"Ah, of course."
Dae-yeong's small eyes darted around. He cautiously looked up at the overwhelmingly large Jaekyung and began to speak.
"Dao Friend Jaekyung. Let's not drag this out and get started. We all know why we're gathered here."
Great Spirit Beasts are generally impatient. One could say they lack patience, or that they are honest about their desires. For the most part, they do not deliberate or try to read the room.
In Jaekyung's view, as trading partners, they were in some ways better than humans. Of course, this was because he was of the demon races, just like them. For only one of their own kind could truly control the ferocious nature of the demon races.
"If you wish, let's do that. As I said, I have some items."
At those words, the Great Spirit Beasts flinched. As if they might charge forward and snatch the items at any moment. But their instincts were quelled by the sight of the intimidating behemoth before them.
They too were Great Spirit Beasts, and even the smallest, Jang-yeong, was over ten meters in size. But a frame of that size was no different from a child's before Jaekyung. Even with his body half-coiled, Jaekyung's head was far above them, and his gaze was as condescending as if he were looking down at ants.
Of course, they were undeniably Great Spirit Beasts, so they were not intimidated simply by an opponent's size. But Jaekyung's extremely 'flood dragon-like' appearance made them shrink back instinctively.
When that was combined with his massive frame, which made them look like ordinary aquatic spirit beasts, even those who acted like kings in their own territories had no choice but to be docile.
"My items are genuine, but I'm not so sure about yours."
"I brought everything I have."
"I also brought plenty of good things. The gift Dao Friend Jaekyung gave me was very useful."
The Great Spirit Beasts took out their storage pouches one by one. All of them were items that Jaekyung had distributed, or rather, gifted through Hyeon-gu. So that they could bring their treasures here safely.
It wasn't a grand gift, but these Great Spirit Beasts were pleased. Seeing the satisfied expressions of the Great Spirit Beasts, Jaekyung too was pleased. It was because he could confirm once again that they had never had contact with human cultivators.
If they had previously had contact with human cultivators, they would not be handling such low-grade storage pouches as if they were treasures. 'Purple Miasma Herb, Bugamsa-yeong.
What's that?'
Jaekyung examined the items they began to take out from their storage pouches one by one. Among them were some that could be called spiritual objects, some that were not spiritual objects but were reasonably rare spiritual herbs, and some that only looked impressive but were in fact completely useless.
Jaekyung's mind contained information on all sorts of spiritual objects and spiritual herbs from the pamphlets of the Prosperous Treasure Guild, so he could recognize the items the Great Spirit Beasts laid out at a single glance.
'Not bad.'
There was nothing useful for Jaekyung himself, but there were quite a few items that could be sold to humans. There were also a few items that would be fine to give to Cheong-o or the humans under his command.
"Bring them."
Having quickly finished checking the items, Jaekyung instructed Hyeon-gu, who was waiting at a distance. These beings called Great Spirit Beasts were certainly foolish in some respects, but they were by no means idiots, and in some ways, they were even superior to humans.
For example, they had an innate sense for what they needed and what was beneficial to them. One could tell just by looking at them now.
Gulp!
When Hyeon-gu dragged in the restrained human cultivators, the Great Spirit Beasts could hardly tear their eyes away. Some licked their lips, and one even drooled profusely. They knew not with their heads, but with their instincts.
That swallowing those things would bring them great benefit. The cultivation of the demon races is a blood feast, and this is no exception even for Great Spirit Beasts with bloodlines. Swallowing and swallowing again to fatten oneself is a simple but effective method of cultivation.
However, there is nothing in the world that is only good; the more one accumulates cultivation through blood feasts, the more turbid one's spirit and flesh, including one's spiritual nature, become. Spirit beasts do not know about such problems, nor do they need to.
But by the time one becomes a Great Spirit Beast, those with good instincts begin to gradually feel the drawbacks of the blood feast. And around the time they reach the mid, and then late, Great Spirit stage and begin to look toward the Demon King realm, the wise ones finally realize.
That on their turbid and utterly unstable foundation, they cannot hope for a higher realm. If they attempt to forcibly break through to the Demon King realm without resolving these drawbacks, nine out of ten will die a miserable death. Even if by a stroke of luck they survive, most will succumb to their inner demons and forget even themselves.
The ones gathered here did not know any of this, nor could they predict their future end. They were merely shifting their eyes according to the instincts of a Great Spirit Beast.
"Three human Foundation Establishment cultivators. Four roots of Sea Salt Flame Flower, two bottles of Earth Vein Oil."
The Great Spirit Beasts' gazes swept over the three types of items in turn. Their eyes lingered first and longest on the Foundation Establishment cultivators, but they also showed greed in their eyes when they looked at the Sea Salt Flame Flower and the Earth Vein Oil. Jaekyung observed their reactions and was inwardly pleased.
These were all items he had obtained from the Prosperous Treasure Guild after paying a considerable price. First, the three early-stage Foundation Establishment demonic cultivators were a matter of course.
No matter how low the demand, Foundation Establishment cultivators were still Foundation Establishment cultivators, so the spirit stones Jaekyung paid to acquire them were similar to what he spent to obtain the Sea Salt Flame Flower and Earth Vein Oil.
Although Sea Salt Flame Flower and Earth Vein Oil are used as ingredients for some medicinal pills, their uses are not many, so not many people grow or gather them, making them difficult to obtain. That's what Gwak Jeong-shin had said. However, Jaekyung thought that was just an excuse.
He too would not be unaware of what effects these spiritual herbs had, so he must have had a rough idea of how Jaekyung intended to use them. 'That fellow probably thought I intended to use them myself.' Jaekyung guessed Gwak Jeong-shin's inner thoughts but didn't bother to correct his misunderstanding.
Why would he? If he was going to misunderstand like that, it was all the better for him. Jaekyung did not want Gwak Jeong-shin to know that he was doing business with the demon races.
He didn't think it would be a huge problem even if he did find out, but wasn't there always a one-in-a-million chance? The more beneficial secrets one has, the better.
"Since you all have discerning eyes, I trust you can guess the value of these items. Now, let's begin."
The ones gathered here were those who had experience trading with Jaekyung in an exchange format before. It was the first time for so many to trade at once, but because they had experience, there was no confusion.
In any case, the items they wanted were right before their eyes, and they knew what they had to do to obtain them, so all that was left was to raise their voices.
"I'll give you all of this! Give me those humans in return!"
The impatient Dae-yeong shouted, shaking his fish head violently. Jaekyung looked at the items he offered and shook his head.
"Not enough."
"Not enough?"
"That's right. These are no ordinary humans. They are Foundation Establishment cultivators. In terms of cultivation realm, they are on the same level as us."
"Ugh."
Dae-yeong, who had momentarily shown his anger, faltered at those words, his momentum broken. Then, Seon-gu swung its massive tentacle like a hand and spoke.
"I will give you all my items... In exchange, two humans. And that... Sea Salt Flame Flower, was it? Give me those."
"Not enough."
Jaekyung refused once again. It wasn't even worth considering. By his standards, more than half of Seon-gu's items were trash.
No sooner had Seon-gu dejectedly lowered its tentacles than Jang-yeong opened its mouth.
"Can I trade four of my items for two roots of Purple Miasma Flower and one bottle of Earth Vein Oil?"
"Not enough."
"What about five items?"
"......."
After a moment's thought, Jaekyung nodded, and the first trade was finally made. At that, Dae-yeong, Seon-gu, and Ha Son-seo, growing anxious, began to call out their prices more aggressively. Dae-yeong, who had started by boldly demanding all three humans, was later struggling to get even one.
It was the same for Seon-gu. On the other hand, Ha Son-seo, who had maintained a weighty demeanor befitting its appearance throughout the exchange meeting, asked Jaekyung directly.
"Dao Friend Jaekyung. With my items, how many can I get?"
Jaekyung, who had never experienced this kind of negotiation-that-wasn't-a-negotiation before, was slightly taken aback but soon collected his thoughts.
"Two."
In his view, among the four Great Spirit Beasts, the items Ha Son-seo had brought were the finest, and their value was slightly higher than two Foundation Establishment cultivators. So the price Jaekyung named was not excessive.
"Very well. Let's trade for two."
As two Foundation Establishment cultivators fell into Ha Son-seo's hands, the eyes of Dae-yeong and Seon-gu turned red. They competed over the remaining one, and in the end, Seon-gu, who had poured out all its assets, became the winner who was not quite a winner.
Dae-yeong also ended up getting two roots of Purple Miasma Flower, but he seemed not at all satisfied with that, constantly smacking his lips.
"Dao Friend. One human, what will you trade it for?"
Unable to let go of his lingering desire, Dae-yeong began to pester Ha Son-seo, but Ha Son-seo did not budge.
"Dao Friend. I like this stone, name your price."
The major trades were over, but there were still many items left. The Great Spirit Beasts' eyes gleamed as they looked at the items each other had put out. In the midst of it all, Dae-yeong continued to stick to Ha Son-seo, but when the fed-up Ha Son-seo reacted fiercely, he flinched and backed away.
And this time, he approached Jang-yeong to see if he could get even one Purple Miasma Flower or some Earth Vein Oil. 'What a frank fellow.' Watching Dae-yeong, Jaekyung quietly curled the corners of his lips.