Extreme Almightiest Young Master

Chapter 2230 - 2212: No Room for Compromise?

Upon hearing this, Fang Yan immediately smiled and looked at Li Xing, whose expression at that moment was quite remarkable, filled with extreme awkwardness. Both of their space bags were similar, yet he had sold his for only two million. Not to mention Fang Yan, even he felt frustrated.

Seeing Li Xing’s demeanor, Fang Yan decided not to tease him any further and turned to the shopkeeper, replying, "Alright."

Upon hearing Fang Yan’s words, the shopkeeper’s face lit up with joy, feeling very pleased. He promptly asked, "I wonder whether the two of you would prefer settling with spirit stones or exchanging for other items? To be honest, if it’s spirit stones, our auction house cannot produce that amount. It’s simply too much. We currently have about one hundred million spirit stones at most."

As he spoke, the shopkeeper’s face showed a hint of embarrassment. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to give them, but who would have expected to encounter such a large volume of goods? Ordinarily, even ten million spirit stones would be sufficient for a typical auction.

"We’d like to exchange for some materials. Here is a list; see if you have any of these in stock, and then we can discuss the price." Fang Yan had clearly anticipated this outcome. He wasn’t interested in carrying such an amount of spirit stones; he needed various materials to deal with the people from the Holy Soul Sect.

The shopkeeper took the list and glanced over it, noticing several items he recognized, but many others he did not. A bead of sweat appeared on his forehead.

"Dear customer, many items on your list are unfamiliar to me. You see..." The shopkeeper trailed off, but the implication was evident: he wondered if Fang Yan’s list was correct, or if there were other issues.

Upon hearing this, Fang Yan remembered the issue at hand. The spiritual medicines and materials were named according to those in the Eternal Joy Immortal Realm, which might have different names here. Realizing this, he turned to the shopkeeper with a smile and said, "Here’s an idea: if you’re convenient, could you take us to your warehouse of spiritual medicines and materials? If I see anything I need, we’ll discuss the price on the spot. How about that?"

Fang Yan didn’t bother explaining but shifted the topic to the warehouse, avoiding the shopkeeper’s speculations. After saying this, he retrieved the list and with a slight move of Gang Qi, turned it into a pile of paper shreds.

"Please follow me." Upon hearing Fang Yan’s suggestion, the shopkeeper immediately nodded. The spiritual medicine and material warehouse wasn’t particularly secretive. Although customers weren’t usually allowed in, the value of Fang Yan’s goods was too high; the auction house wouldn’t be able to afford them otherwise. The profit from these goods could be thrice the worth, and the shopkeeper couldn’t refuse such a deal.

Soon, led by the shopkeeper, the three of them entered the auction house’s underground, passing through a long corridor until they reached a remarkable jade stone door. The shopkeeper produced a jade-like cylinder, inserting it into a round hole in the center of the door.

"Creak..."

As the cylinder was inserted, the stone door automatically opened to both sides.

"Please, enter." With the door opened, the shopkeeper smiled and invited Fang Yan and Li Xing in. Without hesitation, Fang Yan and Li Xing stepped through.

They walked about several dozen yards through the jade stone corridor, then pushed open another jade door, revealing an enormous space entirely constructed of jade stone. The stone walls around them were filled with grids, each grid orderly holding jade boxes, containing numerous spiritual medicines.

Besides the stone walls, there were also jade display cabinets within this immense space, akin to those in herbal pharmacies. The spiritual medicines stored inside were not visible from the outside, only a labeled name was seen.

"Shopkeeper, I didn’t expect your auction house to have such a scale of a spiritual medicine warehouse; truly impressive!" Fang Yan praised sincerely, noting that jade boxes were typically used to preserve the efficacy of spiritual medicines. The auction house went even further, constructing the entire warehouse of jade, an extravagance that made him view them with newfound respect.

"This customer jests; it was pure chance. When establishing the auction house, we didn’t realize there was a massive jade stone underground. We only discovered it when excavating to set up various storerooms. Thanks to this jade stone spiritual medicine warehouse, our auction house has reached where it is today." The shopkeeper explained with a smile, responding to Fang Yan’s compliments.

Fang Yan nodded and began walking forward, suddenly pointing to a spiritual medicine in a wall grid. "Shopkeeper, how much of this spiritual medicine do you have, and what is the price?"

Finding Fang Yan had quickly identified a target, the shopkeeper moved to the entrance, retrieving a ledger, and approached Fang Yan. Looking at the spiritual medicine and finding the relevant information, he informed Fang Yan, "This is the Purple Vine Heart Grass, currently with a stock of nineteen plants, priced at twenty spirit stones each."

"I’ll take them all," Fang Yan responded without bargaining.

"Alright!" The shopkeeper agreed cheerfully, delighted by Fang Yan’s lack of haggling, recognizing a wealthy customer.

"How much is this spiritual medicine in stock and what price?"

"King Heaven Snake Transformation Vein, with three hundred and twenty plants in stock, priced at thirty spirit stones per plant."

"I’ll take them all!"

...

Fang Yan and Li Xing circled around the space’s walls, selecting several hundred types of spiritual medicines, totaling tens of thousands of plants. Their generous purchases came without bargaining, knowing full well these were mid-to-low-end spiritual medicines readily available in the market, albeit requiring some effort to acquire.

The shopkeeper was quite pleased with these transactions, combining these spiritual medicines amounted to over thirty million spirit stones. Such items circulated quickly, and even if all were sold, they would readily be replenished. Already, this deal had brought great profits.

After completing a circuit, Fang Yan and the other two stood by the display cabinets in the center of the space. Looking at them, Fang Yan smiled and asked, "Shopkeeper, if I’m not mistaken, the spiritual medicines within these cabinets are all rare items, correct?"

The shopkeeper smiled and confirmed, "The customer is correct. The spiritual medicines in these cabinets are indeed rare, generally starting from several thousand spirit stones, with some prized items going for tens of thousands of spirit stones."

"Shopkeeper, may I look at them one by one?" Fang Yan casually asked, looking at the shopkeeper.

"Of course, but please look quickly to prevent the loss of the spiritual medicines’ efficacy," the shopkeeper responded thoughtfully to Fang Yan’s inquiry.

"Certainly, no problem." Fang Yan agreed, then proceeded toward the display cabinets.

...

After four hours, Fang Yan had browsed through the display cabinets, selecting nearly a hundred types of spiritual medicines, amounting to over a thousand plants. The value of these was extraordinary, totaling eighty million spirit stones, illustrating their exorbitant prices. Nonetheless, Fang Yan remained nonchalant; whatever the shopkeeper quoted, he purchased without bargaining.

Once these selections were complete, Fang Yan asked the shopkeeper, "How many spirit stones in total for the spiritual medicines I just picked?"

"Altogether, one billion one hundred thirty-five million four hundred sixty spirit stones!" Hearing Fang Yan’s question, the shopkeeper promptly reported the current tally. He was stunned, not comprehending why Fang Yan required so many spiritual medicines, enough to supply a large sect for considerable time.

Hearing the shopkeeper’s report, Fang Yan nodded and then asked the shopkeeper, "You should have some premium goods here, right?"

"Indeed, but those are reserved for auction..." The shopkeeper answered with some hesitation upon hearing Fang Yan’s inquiry. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to sell to Fang Yan, but these spiritual medicines were set for auction, making them difficult to release.

"Shopkeeper, if I take interest, money will not be an issue. I’m sure your auction house won’t refuse to sell. Don’t you agree?" Fang Yan smiled, implying that if the price was right, they wouldn’t possibly refuse.

"Shopkeeper, you’ve seen we never haggle. Do you think we can’t afford them?" Li Xing interjected brusquely, for they had bought so much already and questioned what could be unaffordable to them when the auction house still owed them over a billion!

"You’ve misunderstood, esteemed guests. I truly don’t mean that. The auction items have been advertised, and failing to provide them would harm our auction house’s reputation..." The shopkeeper hastily explained, hoping Fang Yan and Li Xing wouldn’t misunderstand—he was indeed in a bind.

Fang Yan nodded, understanding the shopkeeper’s predicament. After a moment’s thought, he asked, "Shopkeeper, auctioneers merely seek a fair price, and if the price is right, this shouldn’t be an issue. Moreover, I can’t possibly take all auction items—I’m only interested in selecting what I need. Could we not find a compromise?"

The shopkeeper hesitated upon hearing Fang Yan’s reasoning. What Fang Yan said was true; he was aware of the likely auction prices, and if Fang Yan offered enough, he could pay the auctioneers directly. Moreover, with the auction house as a guarantor, they could delay the spirit stone payment, causing no harm to the auction house.