The Star Jade Spirit Gold was one of the rare Gold Immortal crafting materials which could be produced artificially. In order to make one, some special metal minerals were placed in an environment where the power of the stars was extremely abundant, while the temperature and the pressure were high. After going through hundreds of millions of years of incineration and quenching, there was a chance for the special metal minerals to transform into one small piece of the Star Jade Spirit Gold.
Those Primordial Immortals and Gold Immortals who had lived long enough had plenty of time to waste in producing some crafting materials using artificial means. However, for those Gold Immortals and Heaven Immortals who were younger and with lesser experiences, it was unacceptable to wait hundreds of millions of years just for the forming of a crafting material.
It was a peculiar metal which could absorb the power of the stars and turn them into the Starlight Auroral Beam to attack the enemy, making it an excellent material for the crafting of immortal swords. Therefore, the Star Jade Spirit Gold was extremely expensive in the world of cultivators. It was worth one hundred lower-grade immortal stones per fifty grams.
Wu Qi hefted the piece of Star Jade Spirit Gold in his hand. It weighed several hundred kilograms at the least. He stared at the rabbit demon, who was so scared that she almost bent her knees to kneel on the ground. "How much are you selling this thing for?"
Wu Qi had briefly calculated what he got right now, and he did not have enough to pay for it. He did not know where the rabbit demon had found this rare metal, but since she had put it on sale, it meant she did not know of its real value. As long as she could name her price and Wu Qi was able to fulfill it, this precious treasure would be his.
The rabbit demon pricked her ears as she stared at Wu Qi. Her eyes welled with tears, yet she was smiling, "Oh, so Senior is not robbing me?"
Wu Qi shook his head and said, "No, I will not rob from you. Name your price. What do you want in exchange for this thing?"
The rabbit demon gave the Star Jade Spirit Gold a quick glance, then her ears trembled a little as she said bluntly, "I've found this in the wilderness, and I have no idea about its actual value. If Senior does like it, maybe Senior can give me..." gingerly, she crooked her fingers to calculate, then looked back at Wu Qi and asked, "Three lower-grade energy stones! Am I too greedy?"
Three lower-grade energy stones? Wu Qi was rendered speechless. Should this piece of Star Jade Spirit Gold be presented to a Gold Immortal who knew of its actual value, it would be valued at several hundreds of thousands of lower-grade immortal stones at the least! For a Gold Immortal, immortal stones were merely consumable supplies like energy stones to ordinary cultivators. However, with a fine Gold Immortal item, he would be able to establish his might as well as protect his own life. Its value was way greater than some immortal stones!
While touching his storage ring, Wu Qi turned to look at Luo Hao with a hint of embarrassment on his face as he said, "Give this little demon ten upper-grade energy stones!"
At one glance, Luo Hao knew Wu Qi did not bring any energy stones. He hurried up and fished out ten upper-grade energy stones, giving them to the rabbit demon. If it were in the past, he would feel a pain in the heart when he was asked to pay ten upper-grade energy stones. But now, with the three hundred immortal stones which Wu Qi had given them, Luo Clan had become extremely wealthy overnight. So, paying ten energy stones on behalf of Wu Qi was nothing to him.
The rabbit demon had her ears perked straight up, and they were trembling violently. She received the energy stones with both hands, clenching them tightly in her palms, as if she feared they would be gone in the next moment. She stared fixedly at Wu Qi with a bright gleam flickering in her eyes and asked, "Senior, I still have plenty of treasures. Do you want them? I can sell them all to you at the price of ten... No, you can buy all of them with just one upper-grade energy stone!"
She danced with joy and said, "I can sell myself to Senior as well for one... No, I'll be yours with just three upper-grade energy stones! I can guard your immortal abode and serve you tea. Aye, I am the most hardworking demon you can ever find! Please, Senior, please buy me!"
The offer had stunned Wu Qi, making him wonder why would someone want to sell herself so eagerly?
But, he briefly studied the rabbit demon. She only had a cultivation base of early-stage Gold Core realm, and still looked very much like a rabbit. Then he thought of the suppression that the Great Yu had on all the demons, and thought of the ancient Banyan tree in the Greenwood Mountain which the Great Oracle of Directorate of Celestials had personally suppressed, and had its innate sentience wiped out. He realized the struggle in it for these little demons to live on the territory governed by the Great Yu.
Everything on this rabbit demon was made clear through Wu Qi's Chaotic Divine Eyes. She had a shabby flying dagger which could barely be considered as a magical treasure, and nothing else. She did not even have a decent cultivation technique. She was just a rabbit who had absorbed the essence of sun and moon based on her instinct, and was fortunate enough to form her demon body with the help of the natural energy!
It was no wonder that she was so eager to sell herself to Wu Qi. Apparently, she had realized that it was tough to survive in the world of cultivators on her own, and was trying to find herself a strong backing!
Wu Qi hesitated for a moment, pondering whether he should buy this rabbit demon or not. She stood about four feet tall, and just her ears alone measured nearly one foot long, while her fair and plump appearance made her look cute. 'Perhaps I can give her to Zhang Le as a present,' thought Wu Qi.
Wu Qi's heart was softened at the thought of Princess Zhang Le, and he decided to buy the rabbit demon.
However, before he could tell the rabbit demon about his decision, two youths had pushed through the crowd and came to them, their eyes fixed on the Star Jade Spirit Gold which he was holding in his hand. "Rabbit, sell this thing to us," yelled one of the youths. "We will pay you eleven pieces of upper-grade energy stones! Also, we are short of a lad who will help us clean up our herbs garden. Since you are looking for a strong backing, you can take up the position!"
Wu Qi gave the two youths a brief glance as he shoved the Star Jade Spirit Gold into his storage ring. He paid them no mind, turning to the rabbit demon as he said with a smile, "Little demon, it is nice for you to have the thought of following me. Mm, it happens that I do need a little girl who will serve me tea. I will take you as my servant for now."
The rabbit demon was taken by surprise. Hastily, she dropped to her knees and offered Wu Qi nine kowtows in a row. "Greeting, my Master!" She cried out happily as her two long ears swayed back and forth, their hair standing on their ends.
"Rabbit, we will pay eleven pieces of upper-grade energy stones to buy your rubbish!" The youth bellowed sullenly.
The rabbit demon jumped to her feet. She stared at the youths and said seriously, "But, my Master has purchased this treasure, and I've received the payment. I can't sell it to you anymore!"
Wu Qi was laughing inwardly. Though this rabbit demon was timid, she was an honest demon. Again, he studied her with his Chaotic Divine Eyes, glancing through her bones and tendons and meridians. She had a decent latent potential, and it seemed she was a mix-blooded rabbit with the blood of some divine beast flowing in her veins. Also, she had a clump of very stable energy essence in her body. It was a fact that she did not practice any cultivation technique, but she had laid herself a very solid foundation.
Both youths' faces suddenly darkened. They gave the rabbit a sulky glance before turning to Wu Qi and crying out, "We want that stone! Name your price!"
Only now did Wu Qi give the youths a proper glance, and he immediately discovered something unusual about them. Both of them were definitely not humans, as in his Chaotic Divine Eyes, they were two clumps of pure energy. One of them was a ball of raging flame while the other one was a wild storm.
But then, Wu Qi was sure that they were not Fiends, Ghosts, or some Demon cultivators. They did not have meridians or internal organs; they were just two clusters of natural energies. Meanwhile, they had very strong divine will, the strength of which could be comparable to a Twentieth Tier Heaven Immortal. It was their powerful divine will that bound and stabilized their enormous energy, and had given them the shape of a human.
They were not humans. They were Gods! They were the Gods who were born naturally from the natural energies under the circulation of the Great Dao of the Heaven and Earth!
In ancient days, it was the Ancient Gods who the human race had waged a major war against. Over ninety-nine percent of those Ancient Gods had fallen during the war, while the rest of them were forced to enter a prolonged slumber. At present, only a few of them were still surviving and had their great names sung throughout the entire universe. Among them, the most well-known was the Eastern Green Emperor, the Northern Black Emperor, and the Western White Emperor.
Apart from the very few Ancient Gods who were still active, it was these newborn Gods who made the most appearance before the people. They represented the force of the Heaven and Earth Laws, and right after they were born, they possessed a formidable overall strength comparable to a mid-tier Heaven Immortal.
After a brief moment of pondering, Wu Qi shook his head and said, "It is not for sale! I know you have recognized what it is, but too bad that I also know what it is!"
One of the youths, whose hair were red like fire and body filled with a raging power of flame, said with a cold grin, "Oh, so you do know what it is? Then it is not up to you to not sell it! Sell it to us, and you will be able to leave here safely. Otherwise, I can guarantee that you will never leave this place alive!"
The other youth, whose hair was green and his body was entirely formed from numerous whirlwinds, laughed strangely and said, "Flaming Tiger is right. Give us the Star Jade Spirit Gold, and we will let you leave here untouched. You will die should you refuse... And, my brother and I will be sharing your girls!"
The two newborn Gods laughed strangely as they stared at the triplets with their obscene eyes. Their laughter sounded evil.
Wu Qi shook his head and said coolly, "And how are you going to do that?" He really could not understand why these two fellows would be interested in girls. Their bodies had yet to take their final shape, and they were just two clusters of wind and fire energies. They did not even have the physical organs to have sex with girls. So, why were they be interested in the triplets?
Flaming Tiger said with an evil laugh, "Oh, you don't believe that we can bring these girls into paradise and make them hovering between life and death? Hehe, I totally agree with Wind Wolf. Once we've killed you, we will seize the triplets and bring them back to our cave abode, where we will enjoy a pleasant moment together!"
Not allowing Wu Qi to speak another word, Flaming Tiger laughed as his right arm suddenly transformed into a flaming dragon and darted towards Wu Qi. It was shrouded in wisps of pale blue flame, and was sending forth an extremely high temperature that heated up the cave in an instant. Some cultivators who had a terror of fire were crying out loudly as they hastily unleashed their magical treasures, while some had cast various restrictive spells to defend against the extreme temperature.
For a moment, the cave was filled with the flickering of numerous bright light and the curses of countless cultivators.
All of a sudden, the entire cave shook, and a deep voice was heard coming from underneath it.
"This is my place, the Old Black's place! If you want to fight, get the hell out of here!"