"Sister Ji, come in, come in! There are still fifteen minutes left before the two-and-a-half-hour deadline," Ja Sun opened the door with a pleased smile while holding an entirely drenched Greeny whose feathers still stuck to its plump body. Ja Sun's own condition wasn't any better. His silver hair, now wet, was more tame and pulled back slickly while the silver fur around his body fully soaked as instead of pants, Ja Sun only had a towel draping his waist.

However, as if unaware of his intent at distracting her, Bi Ji smiled equally pleasantly and nodded, "I managed to collect a wonderful haul. If it is a variety in quality and attributes of material that you require, I have it right here. Of course, the storage ring by itself is quite valuable to us spirit beasts so I will only trade the materials within and not the package itself," she raised her right hand with a storage ring around her middle finger.

Ja Sun nodded, "It is understandable. Maybe, our next trade can be regarding supply of storage rings itself." His words, on the other hand, did manage to distract Bi Ji as she nodded, "It would be quite beneficial. But let's conclude our current trade first. Every second lost is a possible material left unchecked."

'Heh... so are all spirit beasts as material as Ah Yin?' Ja Sun wondered while he led Bi Ji inside. He didn't mind the passive-aggressive figure that stayed a bit away from the hut. In fact, the figure only revealed aggressive intent once Ja Sun stepped out in a towel.

So maybe his charm was dangerous enough to put various beasts on guard after all.

Still, Ja Sun led Bi Ji into a wider room where she began to unload many materials from different spirit beasts.

"Here is a hide of a 1000-year-old Spice Giraffe."

"Here are the feathers of a 100-year-old wind eagle."

"Here is the..."

Bi Ji continued to set aside many materials to the point that Ja Sun felt on cloud nine. After all, the sweet woman saved him a lot of grind and almost pushed his project's completion to 90%!

Even if the materials were of lower quality, the fact remained that Bi Ji seemed to have quite a reputation within the groups of sentient but also non-sentient spirit beasts that acted on their instincts of survival and growing strong alone. While Ja Sun would have to act by force, he sensed that spirit beasts around Bi Ji were willing to go above and beyond for her.

From the regular quality of 1000-year-old spirit beasts to the extraordinary quality of 10000-year-old hides of spirit beasts that even the royal families of the two empires would salivate over, Bi Ji had it all.

What truly attracted Ja Sun was what came afterward.

"These are my feathers. Instead of twice the amount, I kept it just the regular amount present in my body since the value is only usable once." Bi Ji replied as Ja Sun saw a small hill made of Emerald Feathers that glistened with darker, gorgeous vein-shaped patterns within.

"Your feathers are magnificent, Sister Ji," Ja Sun wasn't short of compliments when it came to carrying favors just as he wasn't short of insults when it came to forming one-sided rivals.

Sensing the genuine praise in his voice, Bi Ji nodded with a trace of satisfaction. In fact, she had hordes of her feather remaining, and every time she regrew her feathers, they would be better than the last one. This process of shedding and growing feathers was an Emerald Swan's weakness but also their mark of growth and cultivation. In fact, this bundle of feathers was her first shedding and thus, of the poorest 100000-year-old quality.

However, what surprised Ja Sun was the next mound of purplish-black gem-like flat scales that looked like ink given a resplendent form. The sheer magnitude of darkness attribute roiling within the scales surprised Ja Sun.

"These are the—" Before Bi Ji could complete, Ja Sun completed the introduction for her, "Scales of Abyss Demon Dragon... of quality surpassing 400000 years."

Bi Ji's eyelids jumped in surprise.

"True Dragons are a rare sight in the continent, Brother Sun. How did you know about the scales?"

"Dragons weren't rare back then... many clues indicate that the race of true dragons was once prominent," Ja Sun recalled how many tomes were actually written by so-called dragons and how the supposed Bringers of Pain caused some war that is not to be viewed according to Asura's divine intent that he chanced upon through the memories of the Death Spider Emperor.

"Do you also research history?" Bi Ji frowned.

"Sometimes, when it interests me," Ja Sun replied. The mysterious war was of great interest but it had already occurred and it wasn't a priority for Ja Sun. It would have been his priority if he had happened to live in that era itself.

"Right... well, these are all the materials I could find in the given time," Bi Ji remarked with a hint of impatience in her tone as she looked at Ja Sun eagerly.

"The scales of the Abyss Demon Dragon is surely a surprise, Sister Ji, so I will double the value for the scales just to make sure that I'm not taking advantage of you."

This certainly came as a surprise to Bi Ji but if Xie Xan was here, he would instantly pull back from the trade. Ja Sun was simply a man who would either scam or trade based on profits and not emotions. Even rarer is the sight of him gifting things.

"If it is your intention, then I am very grateful," Bi Ji nodded with a genuine smile.

"Yes. There are a total of 123 hides of species that have the cultivation of 100 years and above. 123 hides that belong to species with the cultivation of 1000 years and above. 65 hides of species with the cultivation of 10000 years and above. Finally, feathers and scales of 2 species with cultivation above 100000 years. The total value comes to... 69.453 grams of Life Gold."

Hearing the number, a hint of selfish greed and indulgence couldn't help but emerge within Bi Ji as she inquired, "Brother Sun, wouldn't it be fair to add more Life Gold the stronger the spirit beasts are in the 100000 years category?"

"The price was agreed upon Sister Ji, and the more time we waste doing negotiations, the less time you will have to complete the deal." Ja Sun pointed out as the woman couldn't help but adjust her glasses and pout. However, similar to how Ja Sun's questionable attire couldn't do anything to Bi Ji, her cute expression barely fazed Ja Sun. If he wanted a cute pout, he'd slap Bibi Dong's ass and see her stutter for half a day.

"... Fine," Bi Ji groaned as Ja Sun flipped his hand and revealed a small emerald gem in his left hand. Bi Ji was surprised that Ja Sun's left gauntlet actually receded into his skin as he smiled awkwardly, "Life Gold tends to devour the metals it comes into contact with. My Gauntlets are a precious tool so I can't have them destroyed."

Bi Ji nodded, well aware of the Life Gold's properties. While it was a godsend opportunity for many spirit masters and spirit beasts full of vitality, it was a horror to any user of weapons.

Ja Sun stretched his hand out and the life gold began to fold. Bi Ji sensed Ja Sun's spirit energy wrapped around the life gold and helping it float towards her.

It felt too slow.

Bi Ji suddenly extended her hands and caught the Life Gold before gasping in embarrassment, "I'm sorry... I couldn't control it..."

"I tend to have such an effect on women," Ja Sun smiled cordially, making Bi Ji blush further in embarrassment while recalling how many girls back at the Fortress couldn't control their urge to beat him to the ground.

Not saying anything further, Bi Ji properly inspected the Life Gold.

"Just for security, I added a masking array in this room so that the aura of Life Gold doesn't attract others," Ja Sun added as Bi Ji nodded in a hurry, "That is actually helpful, thank you."

Once Bi Ji inspected the Life Gold to her heart's content, she looked at Ja Sun with a smile, "It is exactly what I wanted. Let's conclude the trade, Brother Sun."

It was quite easy this time. Bi Ji eagerly stored the Life Gold in her storage ring after transferring to materials to Ja Sun as he also handed Greeny back to her who chirped with dissatisfaction, unwilling to leave with his monarch.

However, holding him with a firm grasp, she looked at Ja Sun, "I will ask others to not disturb you, Brother Sun, but I also need your promise that you won't act ruthlessly against spirit beasts of King's Lair. Unlike the outer region that is called the Star Dou Great Forest, we rarely interact with humans and those who act in selfish interests are met with repercussions from the entire region."

"Of course, I promise," Ja Sun nodded without a thought.

Bi Ji nodded, "After I absorb Life Gold... let's talk again, Brother Sun. You really aren't like other humans."

"Give it some time," Ja Sun nodded, "After all, I'm here to study for a long time. Oh, and... could you... ehm, help me meet that true dragon if it's not too much trouble? I have never seen one... well, I know someone with a Martial Soul at least."

"Do you mean the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragons?" Bi Ji's gaze turned dark for a moment.

"Those bozos?" Ja Sun suddenly chuckled, "No, I mean, her martial soul is a level or two stronger than theirs so I wanted to see what a true Dragon looks like."

"I can try. Maybe that would be our next point of trade," Bi Ji's expression turned sly as she walked out of the doors. Once closed, Ja Sun began laughing and quickly pumped his fist while heaving a sigh of relief.

"Good thing she didn't bring a true dragon... those bitches are highly resistant to illusions and their resistance against Yin-Yang True Illusion is unknown," Ja Sun's forehead brightened to reveal his skull bone that grew faint and was called back.

The space around his forehead brightened and he checked the quest panel again.

[Objective: Scam the Emerald Swan Monarch Bi Ji and pump your fist in an enclosed location privately.

Mission Rank: S

Rewards: Emerald Swan Monarch Core

Time Limit: 3 hours]

Holding the beautiful core in his hands and the fact that he got materials related to darkness attribute at the cost of close to nothing... Ja Sun couldn't help but hum in satisfaction.

"Adequate... now let's skedaddle." Ja Sun smirked while he finally used his divine intent to cleanse himself off of the scent of Life Gold.

---

"Oh... so that's what was going on... but Sister Ji, stay away from that human. He actually appeared in front of you... in a towel! That unscrupulous beast! How dare he reveal his bare chest to a woman?!"

Bi Ji innocently blinked, "Why does it matter? His fur was beautiful to look at so I didn't mind."

"Just... stay away. Humans have vile notions in their heads when they see our human forms," the woman with the dark purple hair snorted coldly before looking at Greeny cowering behind a tree and finally reigning in her intent.

"Anyway, did you really get Life Gold? I... shouldn't say this but I've known you for a long time. You shouldn't reveal this to... him. He would want it for the Lake in the core of the Lair."

"Hee~" Bi Ji leaned forward, "I never expected you to sneak around the King."

"Well..." Zi Ji blushed, "He just doesn't care for anything else but the lake... so screw that lake. I want you to get stronger, too. You help us all in our tribulations. This forest depends on you."

Bi Ji's smile turned brilliant as she sent her intent within the spirit ring but her thoughts and smile crumpled into a deep frown.

"Eh?"

Bi Ji gasped as she took out a cracked... pebble. From within the crack glowed a tiny wisp of green light.

Instantly feeling something wrong, Bi Ji pulled open the pebble and found only a speckle of a shard within the pebble...

A speckle of Life Gold...

Bi Ji was in a daze.

*Chirp*

A green shadow suddenly flew in and gulped down the shard.

But the two monstrous existence simply ignored Greeny at this point who instantly closed his eyes while the two looked at one another.

"Let me do it!" Zi Ji growled, her aura rising gradually as Bi Ji waved her hands, "Let's both go... I want to know what's happening."

"I told you humans are vile and have evil notions," Zi Ji scoffed as the two instantly shot towards the hut only to find the location emptied with a piece of old and cheap parchment nailed into the nearest tree.

—So? Should we just meet here for that appointment with the Abyss Demon Dragon? Let's say in a week, right? I have some important studies that I must attend to.—

A trace of anger filled Bi Ji for the first time in ever but she had to stay calm... after all, in a group of two, both of the members must never lose control of their emotions.

"Let's just bring in the King and have this Unscrupulous Beast chased!" Zi Ji hissed.

"No... I can't let them know..." Bi Ji stated with a worried expression, "Zi, you can't let others know... let's search for him on our own. If the king found out that I tried to make a deal with a human and ended up getting scammed... I might not be allowed to even visit the lake anymore."

Zi Ji frowned with a troubled expression, "Fine... but only if I stay with you. That beast uses illusions and I'm impervious to most of them. There's no way his mental energy is greater than a Titled Douluo so he won't be able to make a fool out of you with me around."

"He did not make a fool out of me!" Bi Ji blushed only to receive a side-long glance from Zi Ji, "Well... that's what it looks like."

"Sigh, let's get Greeny back with others. He would be breaking through soon enough."

"Sister Ji, you should teach that greedy chicken a lesson. How could he just swoop in and take that tiny shard, too?"

"It's more useful to him than me... let's just forget about it," Bi Ji's shoulders slumped slightly.

"Oh, come on. It isn't that bad. Now you have a reason to hunt that human, no? Let's just plunder him off of all his wealth this time! And my scales!"

Zi Ji grinned.

***

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