1289 Being Thorough

Seeing how smooth and easy Tang Xiu hunted the Firecloud Cicada shocked Darknorth Immortal, but he couldn't help but pout inwardly after hearing it. Firecloud Cicada may be very expensive, but in no way is the total value of that huge order compared to the value of these tens of insects!

Tang Xiu took out 10 jade bottles, handed them to Darknorth Immortal and chuckled. "Well, I still have other uses for the rest of the Firecloud Cicadas, but these 10 should be part of the Immortal Crystals I'll pay you! Estimate the price of these ten Firecloud Cicadas and reduce it from the total I have to pay. How many Immortal Crystals must I pay you, exactly?"

Darknorth Immortal carefully calculated it and thought for a long while. Then, he slowly said, "400,000 Immortal Crystals. Even if we don't take a penny more, we're likely going to need 400,000. Besides, aside from those immortal swords and battle armors, you also want other weapons, so in terms of price…"

Tang Xiu nodded in response and said, "I can't take out 400,000 Immortal Crystals right now, but I can give you 100,000. Added to these 10 Firecloud Cicadas, consider it as an advance payment from me. I'll pay the rest of the money when I come to pick up the immortal swords and battle armors a year later. How about it?"

Darknorth Immortal wiped the cold sweat on his face and forced a wry smile. "Great Tang Immortal friend, it's not like I'm pretending to be poor here. My Aurelian Artificer Sect may have a lot of assets, but we're not particularly rich. 400,000 Immortal Crystals can be said to be all the wealth of a large sect. My sect… Ugh… we just can't afford to take out so many Immortal Crystal, either!"

Tang Xiu rolled his eyes secretly. He didn't expect that the sects and clans in this region were so poor. He robbed those 3 big clans, yet the total number of Immortal Crystals he got was less than 100,000. Added with the gains he obtained in the last few days, the number was just barely over 100,000.

After thinking for a while, Tang Xiu decided to take all the resources Gu Yan'er had hoarded and then added them with his own. He then gave all of them to Darknorth Immortal and said, "The total value of all these things should be around 300,000 Immortal Crystals along with those 10 Firecloud Cicadas, so I still owe you 100,000 Immortal Crystals, right?"

Darknorth Immortal took the interspatial ring and calculated the price of all the resources and wealth in it. He then nodded and said, "All these things should be worth 310,000 Immortal Crystals."

"Let's do it like this, then. I owe you 200,000 Immortal Crystals. But you gotta hurry to help me refine those immortal weapons and battle armors first. The other 100,000 is payment for a batch of weapons you're good at manufacturing. I'll bring the 200,000 Immortal Crystals to your sect 6 months later and send you the supplies you need at that time."

Darknorth Immortal finally felt relieved and smilingly nodded. "I believe you, Great Tang Fellow Immortal. It's a deal, then."

Tang Xiu shook his head and forced a smile. "I've been breaking my back for a long while, yet it only took a flash to make me into a poor bloke again. Well, I'm taking my leave now. I shall visit you in person within 2 years."

"Alright!"

Darknorth Immortal cupped his fists. But as he and Darknorth Everblithe were about to leave, he suddenly turned to Tang Xiu and smilingly said, "Great Tang Fellow Immortal, I suggest to visit the Clearwater Clan if you have time. The Clearwater Clan's two ancestors have been killed and they only have one Golden Immortal ancestor left. As far as wealth is concerned, the Clearwater Clan is much richer than my sect."

Tang Xiu's eyes lit up and he asked with a smile, "Be that as it may, don't you want to get revenge yourself?"

"My sect definitely won't let the Clearwater Clan off scot-free if we haven't received your order," Darknorth Immortal replied. "But you're short of money now, so I'm willing to hand over this benefit to you. The Clearwater Clan should have enough wealth to pay the remaining 200,000 Immortal Crystals."

"I see." Tang Xiu slightly smiled in response.

After Darknorth Immortal and Darknorth Everblithe left, Tang Xiu took out another ring from his interspatial ring. He then fiddled with it and bitterly smiled. "We've been breaking our backs for a long time, yet the only things remaining are just this million Immortal Stones and 5,000 Immortal Crystals. We're really dirt poor!"

Gu Yan'er held back her laughter and said, "Uh-huh… Master, where shall we head next now that we have the Firecloud Cicadas?"

Tang Xiu glanced at You Zhong, threw him a jade bottle containing a Firecloud Cicada and lightly smiled. "Well, let's head directly to that Immortal Domain that has the Auric Profusion Source then. If I can get that Auric Profusion Source, I should be able to contend with a Profound Immortal expert within several years."

Gu Yan'er nodded with a smile and said, "Then we must get this Auric Profusion Source even if we have to go all out. If we can obtain it, even my power will improve sharply, and I can restore my peak power without any issues."

You Zhong, who followed them from the side, had a strange expression. Tang Xiu and Gu Yan'er conversed without concealing anything from him, so he immediately heard some sensitive issues such as recovering their power.

As of right now, this female had a late-stage Golden Immortal cultivation level. Yet it was actually not her peak state at all. What exactly was her peak cultivation level? Was it the Perfected Golden Immortal Stage?

Further, this fella, who just advanced to the Immortal Stage, actually said that it would only take him several years and he would be able to fight against Profound Immortal Stage experts. Was he joking?

You Zhong touched his nose. But then, he suddenly recalled the scene where Tang Xiu slaughtered those Celestial Immortals previously. He suddenly realized that this fella was likely not boasting. Perhaps he really had what it took to take on a Profound Immortal.

They are freakish monsters—very terrifying ones…

After defining Tang Xiu and Gu Yan'er and giving them the new label inwardly, an impulse birthed in his heart to always follow Tang Xiu and Gu Yan'er everywhere. After all, he could also get some chances to become stronger and go further by following such powerhouses.

****

Chaotic Asteroid Sea.

Under You Zhong's lead, Tang Xiu and Gu Yan'er spent more than 2 months to reach the Chaotic Asteroid Sea where the said Auric Profusion Source existed. The place itself was very desolate. The trio still ran into some Immortals on the way at first, but after the fourth day, they no longer bumped into any Immortals anymore.

Meteorites and asteroids were hovering in the boundless void. The number was in the hundreds of millions, and they had formed an asteroid belt here. Those with weak strength could only succumb to their deaths getting hit by the moving meteorites. Nearly all the immortals regarded this region as a garbage dump. Some celestial bodies or asteroids here may occasionally contain some treasures, but the quantity was few and far between.

Therefore, no Immortals would try their luck for treasure hunting in the region as it would undoubtedly become a chore of rummaging this garbage dump.

As they advanced, You Zhong stared into the distance and pointed to a dark planet in front. "The Cyclone Belt is ahead of us, we need to cross it to get on that dark planet. There's an ancient teleportation array on that planet, but I have no idea where it can teleport us. I can only confirm that the Heavenly Abode is at the other end of another teleportation array."

"What about our way back? And how to return?" Tang Xiu frowned.

"We just need to step on the teleportation array at the other end and we'll be sent back automatically," You Zhong said. "That's what I did last time."

"Alright, let's go then!" Tang Xiu made a decision inwardly after giving it a thought. No way can one catch a tiger cub without entering its den first, no?

Taking a risk was inevitable to get such a heaven-defying treasure such as the Auric Profusion Source. Even You Zhong was able to escape that place alive and obtained this treasure, so he was confident that he and Gu Yan'er could also obtain it smoothly.

The Cyclone Belt itself posed no big danger to Celestial Immortals, so they were able to pass through smoothly with Gu Yan'er and finally landed on the dark planet. To Tang Xiu's surprise, the soil of this planet was black, yet it was very fertile. But the anomaly here was that there was no life on this planet.

"It's over there!"

You Zhong thought for a while and then led the other two to fly there quickly. After two hours, they came to the said teleportation array. The array looked dilapidated. Some traces in one corner seemed like someone once tried to destroy it. From Tang Xiu's perspective, however, all those didn't affect this teleportation array whatsoever. This array could still operate normally, though one would need to put some Immortal Stones in the concave spots.

"Let's place some Immortal Crystals."

To prevent accidents, Tang Xiu immediately took out 8 Immortal Crystals and set them in the concave spots. Afterward, he exchanged glances with Gu Yan'er before the three of them immediately stepped into the teleportation array.

Buzz…

A mysterious aura suddenly enveloped the three of them. Along with a dizzy feeling as though the world was revolving, the three of them felt like a moment of time felt like a century. As their sight returned and they sobered up, they suddenly found themselves in a spacious space.

There was no white cloud in the blue sky, nor was there any soil-like land here.

What their feet stepped on was a kind of material resembling gold and appeared like jadeites but was unlike one. Luminescent insects that looked like fireflies if magnified by 100 times radiated lights in the surroundings and slightly illuminated this space.

Clack, clack…

Mechanical sounds came from all directions.

You Zhong looked around with a dumbstruck expression, looking bewildered, and his lips wriggled for a while before he dryly spoke, "I swear that I definitely did not end up in this space the last time I used the teleportation array. But it's strange, though. What the hell is this place, exactly?"

Tang Xiu and Gu Yan'er looked at each other and both frowned. Then, Tang Xiu said, "You mean, of those seven floors you mentioned, none of them were like this environment?"

"Yeah, none of them were like this one," You Zhong replied with all seriousness.

Tang Xiu took a deep breath and said in a deep voice, "No matter what, we are already here. We'll take it easy. Besides, this place has the Auric Profusion Source, so we gotta explore it. Let's take a look around, we'll go back if we find nothing."

Half a day later, the trio stopped in front of a vortex portal.

You Zhong stared at the vortex portal in front and finally looked happy. "The space I went into before had this same type of portal. We can reach the next space after entering it."

Tang Xiu released his spiritual sense to check the portal. But he felt like he was sinking, like a stone thrown into the sea, and was unable to see the situation inside. After a moment of hesitation, he exchanged glances with Gu Yan'er, nodded at each other and then flew towards the portal.

"Hey, you guys…" You Zhong knew the dangers stored in this kind of space. But when he saw Tang Xiu and Gu Yan'er entering the vortex portal, he hesitated a bit before gritting his teeth and going inside.