485 Negotiating A Deal

Tina's world view was thus completely broken down, and she too broke down in tears.

Tears flowed down her cheeks like a string of tiny pearls glowing under the light of the sun.

An Lin stowed away all the blinding treasures in the air and rubbed Tina's tiny head with his finger in consolation. "Alright, don't cry. It's just a little bigger than your world, what is there to cry about?"

Tina wiped her tears as she continued to sob. "But… but it's not just a little bit, it's countless times bigger than my world, and I ignorantly believed this lie for over ten thousand years. Waah… I'm weeping at my own stupidity…"

An Lin: "…"

An Lin felt like it was best to remain silent and wait for her to release all her emotions.

Anyone would have negative emotions after finding out their world was actually just a pathetic little cage. This rang even more true for the proud Holy Fairy Maiden who had finally managed to reach the pinnacle of this world after ten thousand years of hard work, only to find that it was all just a joke. This was like a scholar slaving away for years to reach the pinnacle of their field, only to have it revealed to them that they had actually only become the top student in their kindergarten.

"We have an ancestral decree passed down from generation, which states that we fairies must make it our duty to maintain the order of the entire Tai Chu Continent. We have been following this decree for generation after generation and referring to ourselves as the guardians of the Tai Chu Continent. Thinking about it now, what a sick joke all this has been…" Tina wept.

"It's not a joke. You were at least able to maintain order and protect this continent. You can be proud of your title as the guardian of the Tai Chu Continent," An Lin said as he consoled her.

Tina stared up at An Lin before suddenly conceding. "I'm willing to negotiate a deal for the Holy Spirit Towers with you."

An Lin's eyes lit up after hearing this. "You've made up your mind?"

Tina nodded. "There aren't any rules that state that these Holy Spirit Towers cannot be traded. On top of that, they don't have any function other than to maintain the Divine Lake. The Divine Lake isn't really all that useful in itself and can be replaced by many other forbidden areas. If I can make the central city a better place, then it wouldn't matter if I swap them off."

"Alright then, you've seen all the treasures that I have. What do you need?" An Lin asked with a smile.

"I want five holy pills imbued with extremely potent life-force energy, three small and nimble holy rank weapons, and their crimson tree with the long roots. Is that ok?" Tina's voice became quieter as she spoke; it was as if she felt like she was asking for too much.

But this was how all negotiations started off. One side proposed some lofty demands, and the equilibrium would then slowly be found through bartering.

An Lin stroked his chin as he considered her conditions. Five spirit pills, three spirit tools, and the Fire Blood Divine Tree… These weren't really lofty demands, and it was within his acceptable range.

Tina was a little uneasy and embarrassed as she looked at An Lin's furrowed brows. She quickly amended her conditions. "That crimson tree can be planted to become a new cultivation paradise that can replace the Holy Spirit Towers. Hence, I don't want to back down on that tree, but all the other items are negotiable…"

"There's no need for further negotiations. I accept your terms!" An Lin smiled.

"Huh?" Tina stared at An Lin with disbelief in her eyes.

A deal was reached just like that? Without any bartering?

An Lin had saved her life, for which she was very thankful, so she was willing to exchange the Holy Spirit Towers even if it was just for that divine tree, but she didn't expect An Lin to agree to her conditions without any further bartering.

Thus, the deal was made.

Tina began to evacuate the people within the Holy Spirit Towers before An Lin pulled the four towers out from the ground and broke through the exterior structures to reveal the dazzling core inside.

The golden Realm Essence Crystals glowed brightly and were around one meter each in length. They looked like spirit stones, but they gave off an extremely unique energy fluctuation, which made the space around them more viscous.

All the people gathered around the Divine Lake were all dumbstruck by the scenes unfolding before their eyes.

The Giant Godfiend pulled out all the Holy Spirit Towers! And the Holy Maiden was helping him out in the process!

However, they soon realized what was going on.

The Giant Godfiend brought out five holy pills, three huge holy tools, and a strange-looking crimson tree; all of which he offered to the Holy Maiden before she stored them away in her storage tool.

"So… they were negotiating a deal?"

"This Giant Godfiend is different from all the Giant Godfiends we've encountered before. Not only is his appearance very close to a human's, but he also possesses extremely high intelligence, combat prowess, as well as a horde of powerful treasures. Not even the Holy Maiden was able to defeat him in battle, so a peaceful resolution is the best result for us."

"That tree looks like an extraordinary item, and he brought out so many holy pills and holy tools too. Why do I feel like the Giant Godfiend was swindled?"

"That's because you weren't here when the Giant Godfiend released all his treasures. All those extraordinary treasures earlier made me doubt my life!"

…

Just as everyone was discussing among themselves, An Lin's deal with the Holy Maiden had already concluded.

The three spirit tools he gave her were the ice shard, snowflake spike, and the frost pin; all of which were small and nimble spirit tools An Lin was averse to using but were extremely suitable for someone as tiny as Tina, so it was a win-win situation.

Tina held the two snowflake spikes in her hands with a joyful expression. The spikes were even taller than herself. They came in a set of two—one was blue while the other was white. Basically, it was the equivalent of getting two holy tools for the price of one.

"Hmm… I'll give these to Manel and Harris. They are the most powerful guardians of the central city, after all, and these weapons would be perfect for them." Tina decided.

She then began to look around before her expression shifted drastically. "Mandel! Harris! What are you two still doing in those craters?!"

Tears instantly flowed down both their faces.

My God… Her Majesty finally noticed us!

…

An Lin needed a quiet place at which he could absorb the Realm Essence Crystals.

Tina led him to an evergreen forbidden area where life-force energy was particularly rich. There were also guards outside who barred others from entry.

An Lin sat down on the grass before bringing out the four Realm Essence Crystals.

The system mission stipulated that he had to obtain and absorb ten golden Realm Essence Crystals within a month.

After that, he would receive the embryonic body of the War God.

He didn't know what that was, but he could tell it was definitely going to be some ultra-hacks just from its name alone.

An Lin released his two Gundams from his storage ring as his personal guardians before beginning to activate his cultivation method in order to absorb the energy within the Realm Essence Crystals. An unfathomable power flowed from the crystals into his body before fusing into his blood, his organs, his skeletal structure, as well as his meridians…

He was a little shocked. Maybe his constitution really was special.

He felt that normal people would be completely unable to absorb the energy within the Realm Essence Crystals, but the cultivation method he was using allowed him to absorb the energy within with ease…

The process wasn't a very fast one, and he required around an hour to absorb each golden Realm Essence Crystal.

Tina rallied the guardians of the central city together to distribute the holy pills and holy tools as well as to plant the Fire Blood Divine Tree.

When An Lin finished absorbing the four crystals, the mission taskbar reached forty percent completion.

There was no change within his body, so he didn't know what effect the absorbed energy had.

An Lin took a deep breath before slowly opening his eyes, upon which he discovered Tina sitting on a rock across from him.

Her white dress fluttered like cloud and mist in the wind as specks of golden light sprinkled down from her wings. She supported her chin with her hands as she fixed her dainty gaze on An Lin.