Chapter 556: The First Negotiation

After the deal was settled and Shopkeeper Tianbao left, Su Che created a barrier in the room and began discussing matters with Tianyin and Hengyi.
First, Su Che asked, “If what concerns me was deliberately spread by Xueyu, then help me think—why would she do this? What’s her goal? What benefits could it bring her?”
“Yes, master,” Hengyi replied first. “I also find Xueyu’s actions strange. If she wants to obtain the treasures in your hands, she shouldn’t want you to attract too much attention from others, as that would bring in more competitors… By doing this, she’s only making things harder for herself!”
Tianyin analyzed, “Perhaps she believes it’s difficult to find our weaknesses under normal circumstances, so she deliberately creates more trouble for us, which also gives her the best opportunity to strike from behind…”
Tianyin’s words reminded Su Che, who nodded and said, “You’re right, Tianyin. That’s likely the reason! She did the same thing during the Swallowing Heavens realm. She thought it would be hard to defeat and capture me under normal conditions, so she orchestrated a series of events to find my fatal flaw. This woman is extremely cunning and patient—she’s one of the most terrifying opponents.”
Hearing this, Hengyi asked, “While that makes sense, isn’t she worried that someone else might get there first and—”
He didn’t finish the sentence, as it sounded unpleasant.
“That won’t happen!” Tianyin said softly. “Perhaps she already sees that Su Che has great fortune. In both the Spirit Realm and the Cultivation Realm, few can truly harm Su Che. The others can at most cause trouble.”
“Perhaps this troublesome woman is already following us, waiting for the right moment to strike…”
Thinking of the strange compass in Xueyu’s hands, Su Che became alert. “It seems she has a magical artifact with special abilities for finding people and objects, allowing her to locate me easily.”
Tianyin and Hengyi nodded—they had also seen the compass in Tianyin’s possession.
They must be vigilant against ambushes from behind, especially from Xueyu, such a tricky woman! The three of them agreed to be extra careful in this regard.
Five days later, in Jiayu City on Guanghao Star, they finally waited for the negotiation representative.

This man was at the mid-stage of the Transformation Divine realm and introduced himself as “Wu Yin,” the eldest grandson of the “Heavenly Lord Wu You,” capable of making any decisions on behalf of the latter. With a handsome appearance and a youthful face, Wu Yin was quite humble when he met Su Che and the others, addressing them as seniors just like Tian Bao. Although his actual age was much older than Su Che’s, his cultivation level was far lower, forcing him to consider himself a junior. After exchanging greetings, Su Che first took out the dark-colored Witch God Token and showed it to Wu Yin. Though there were no extra words, the message was clear: show me this thing first before we discuss anything. If Wu Yin couldn’t provide the magical artifacts and divine stones Su Che needed, it meant he had no right to sit in front of him and talk big. No items at all—what’s there to discuss? Sure enough, Wu Yin showed a hint of embarrassment and only took out a silver-colored human statue about a foot tall from his storage ring, placing it on the crystal-clear jade table. “This Silver Mask Statue is the special magical artifact that Master Tian Yu needs to wield divine powers…” In front of this “peerless demon,” the noble-born Wu Yin couldn’t afford to be arrogant and even felt somewhat fearful. Fortunately, being over a thousand years old, he was experienced enough to maintain his composure and tone. Wu Yin explained in detail, “Moreover, this Silver Mask Statue is of high quality; it can hold three divine powers at once or be used three times consecutively. It’s far more precious than those one-time-use artifacts…” Su Che nodded first, then shook his head and said calmly, “It’s good, but for me, one-time-use artifacts are sufficient. Whether it can be used repeatedly doesn’t matter. The last two uses will surely be wasted.” “Ah, I see…” Realizing Su Che wasn’t trying to haggle and deliberately belittled the statue’s value in his eyes, Wu Yin could only nod and say, “If that’s the case, then the last two uses will indeed be a pity.” Su Che smiled and asked, “What about the Grafted Divine Stone? Why don’t I see it?” “Well…” Wu Yin quickly explained, “Master Tian Yu’s Grafted Divine Stone isn’t in my hands right now; it’s on its way to Guanghao Star. As you know, the Grafted Divine Stone is an extremely rare divine artifact in the Spirit Realm, hard to come by, so…” “Stop telling me this!”

Su Che waved his hand. His tone remained gentle, but the expression on his face showed impatience: “All excuses are invalid. Any explanation only proves your lack of sincerity—you must have deceived me before. Talking about having both treasures when Wu You Tianjun actually has them is nothing but exaggeration. You don’t even have the Grafting Divine Stone in your hands; you’re just buying time to find it. Am I right?”
Wu Yin looked embarrassed. He knew that from this moment on, if he uttered another lie or tried to evade, it would surely infuriate Su Che completely. Not only would further discussions be impossible, but his life might also be at risk.
So, Wu Yin spoke sincerely, “Master Tianyu, please don’t get angry. We did conceal some things, but it wasn’t out of intent to deceive you. It’s because we truly value this deal with you greatly. Fearing that you might leave abruptly, we tried every means to keep you at Tianbao Pavilion while rushing to find the Grafting Divine Stone.”
At that point, Wu Yin stood up and bowed deeply. “Please accept this silver mask statue for now, Master Tianyu. Believe in Tianbao Pavilion’s strength and ability. It won’t take long before we find the Grafting Divine Stone for you.”
“How long won’t it take?”
Su Che understood their mindset. Tianbao Pavilion was a business entity, and it was normal for merchants to exaggerate or misstate things. Moreover, Wu Yin was right—they truly valued this deal and were surely doing their utmost to search for the Grafting Divine Stone.
Su Che still thought the same: Using Tianbao Pavilion’s resources to find the Grafting Divine Stone was far better than them searching around on their own. Waiting a few more days wasn’t a big deal.
“How about this!” Wu Yin said solemnly, “To show our sincerity, we’ll temporarily pledge this silver mask statue to you, Master Tianyu. If we find the Grafting Divine Stone within a month, we’ll be qualified to sit down and negotiate formally with you. If we still can’t fulfill our promise after a month, this statue will be our compensation to you. Tianbao Pavilion will then have no face left to keep you… What do you think of this arrangement?”
“Not bad!” Su Che nodded with a smile. “This approach indeed shows my sincerity. Very well, I’ll be patient and wait another month!”
As soon as he finished speaking, the ruthless villain Tianyu carelessly put the silver mask statue on the table into his bag.

It’s just a month; even if he can’t wait for the Grafting Divine Stone, being able to obtain this magical artifact for free is still a very satisfactory gain for Su Che. According to what Heng Yi, Lin Feng, and Miao Li said before, such a special magical artifact is extremely rare, so getting it in just a month can definitely be considered extremely lucky.