Chapter 8: Cooperation for Once (Part 2)

Lan Landai was so angry she wanted to bite off a piece of his flesh. After a long while, she said, “Xing Yunzi, remember this—I will never let you go! I refuse to believe I can’t get that spiritual spring. I’ll pester you relentlessly and never give you peace!”
Xing Yunzi was actually afraid of her persistent harassment. He had come to see her specifically to resolve this problem. Of course, giving her a spiritual spring was impossible. He flipped his wrist and took out a piece of wood, saying calmly, “Lan Landai, I can’t give you a spiritual spring, but I do have a piece of divine wood.” It was the same piece of Soul-Nurturing Wood he had intended to trade with Guo Shier, though it was far inferior to the one Guo Shier had.
Lan Landai glanced at it and burst into laughter. “You dare to show off such low-quality divine wood?”
Xing Yunzi was momentarily stunned, but he was smart and quickly reacted. Guo Shier also reacted swiftly, saying hurriedly, “We just had a transaction. I have a palm-sized piece of divine wood… Hehe, so…”
Lan Landai said triumphantly, “Hehe, with this divine wood, my strength will recover soon. Just wait!”
Xing Yunzi felt a headache coming on. He certainly understood why Lan Landai kept pestering him. He said, “Lan Landai, since you’ve got the divine wood, then… you don’t need the spiritual spring anymore, right? Why keep pestering me?”
Lan Landai replied, “I like it! I enjoy it! I just want to annoy you! To make you miserable! To keep you restless!”
Xing Yunzi couldn’t hold back and cursed, “You crazy woman! Are you sick? I didn’t do anything to you! If you keep this up, I’ll make sure your entire family suffers!”
Lan Landai retorted unflinchingly, “Go ahead! Am I afraid of you? Do you think… only I have a family and you don’t?”
Xing Yunzi was at a loss and softened his tone. “Lan Landai, can you be reasonable?”
Lan Landai said, “I’m a woman!”
Guo Shier burst into laughter. Trying to reason with a woman was indeed inappropriate, especially with an angry one. Xing Yunzi was furious. He said, “Of course I know you’re a woman, but you’re not a child!”
At that moment, Li Ran and the others were casually watching the scene. Thanks to the aura of the Hui Ning Ring, they were no longer afraid of spatial rifts. Even if the two fought, they could use the Hui Ning Ring to protect themselves. As long as the void energy couldn’t harm them, they were confident they could withstand the opponent’s attacks.

Lan Landai said, “Nonsense. Of course I’m not a child. Are you blind? Which eye of yours sees me as a child?”
Xing Yunzi was completely speechless. If this woman kept causing trouble, anyone would find it unbearable, especially a stubborn and persistent woman who drove people crazy. He was wise enough to swallow hard and stop talking. If he had said anything more, her retaliation would have been even worse. After a while, he asked, “Have you heard of Soul Spring?”
Lan Landai threw her hair back proudly and said, “Of course I know. Such legendary things… how could I not know them?”
Xing Yunzi said, “I know you obtained a sacred tree, but do you know what’s most useful when used with it? It’s Soul Spring. Hehe, do you have it?”
Lan Landai was stunned. She suddenly realized something and asked, “You… do you have it?”
Xing Yunzi said proudly, “Of course I do!”
Lan Landai screamed, “You have a piece of Soul Spring?”
Xing Yunzi glared at her disdainfully and said, “Do you think that’s possible? Stupid woman!”
Lan Landai said, “Without a piece of Soul Spring, does that mean you have Soul Spring water?” It was too important to her that she couldn’t continue mocking him.
Xing Yunzi nodded, “That’s right. I have Soul Spring water!”
Lan Landai’s confidence immediately faded. She was too embarrassed to change her tone for the time being. She remained silent, staring intently at Xing Yunzi. Guo Shier and the others were happy watching these two great masters fight. However, they also noticed that Xing Yunzi wanted to reconcile, while Lan Landai refused, but once Soul Spring water was mentioned, she clearly lost her edge.
Li Ran quietly signaled Guo Shier, and Ku Mu’s gaze also swept over him. Their intention was clear—ask him to act as a peacemaker.
Guo Shier smiled slightly and said, “Soul Spring water is indeed a precious thing.”
Lan Landai hurriedly said, “I know. It’s a legendary magical water said to nourish the soul of life… extremely rare. I only know of the legend; I’ve never seen it.” She seemed to suddenly remember something and asked, “Xing Yunzi, where did you get Soul Spring water?”
When Guo Shier spoke, Xing Yunzi felt a hint of unease. After all, he had obtained Soul Spring water from Guo Shier. If Guo Shier interfered, his plan would fail. But after Guo Shier spoke, he felt relieved. It was obvious Guo Shier had no intention of disrupting things, and his mood improved greatly. He said, “Lan Landai, do you really think I’d be stupid enough to tell you where Soul Spring water comes from?”

Lan Landai’s face turned slightly red. She knew she had asked a stupid question and said, “What do you want?” Her expression showed clear signs of being tough on the outside but weak on the inside.
Xing Yunzi felt a bit relieved. He knew she was willing to give in, so he couldn’t afford to talk nonsense anymore. He had to seize this opportunity. This woman’s strength was not inferior to his, perhaps even slightly higher, and her background was terrifying. He didn’t want to be her enemy—having such a persistent foe was by no means pleasant.
“I don’t want anything! I just don’t want to keep entangling with you!”
Lan Landai retorted harshly, “Who’s entangling with you?”
Xing Yunzi said, “I can provide some Soul Spring Water, but… the condition is that we stop being enemies, and you stop persisting in demanding that spiritual spring water.”
Lan Landai thought carefully for a moment before admitting it was a fairly reasonable solution. With the Divine Tree, she could recover from her injuries, but it would take a long time. If she had Soul Spring Water, along with a few special spiritual herbs, she was confident she could fully recover in a short time. The temptation was indeed great. After a while, she asked, “How much will you give me?”
Xing Yunzi replied, “Ten jin of purified Soul Spring Water!”
Guo Shier felt like he might fall from the sky upon hearing this. He had never taken Soul Spring Water seriously. It was stored in the altar’s secret realm and wouldn’t go missing, so he had never paid it much attention—he had even used it to bathe. To his surprise, Xing Yunzi mentioned only ten jin, and he said it so seriously.
Lan Landai shook her head. “Ten jin is too little. Since I don’t fully understand the properties of Soul Spring Water, I need to conduct some experiments, which will consume part of it. Ten jin isn’t enough—at least a hundred jin is required!”
Xing Yunzi said, “That’s too much. At most, twenty jin! You should know I don’t have much either!”
Lan Landai replied, “Twenty jin isn’t enough—ninety jin!”
Xing Yunzi said, “Hey, that won’t work. I’d be too at a loss. Thirty jin… and you need to give me something in return—spiritual jade will do!”
Guo Shier thought to himself, “As long as you don’t fight, I’ll give a thousand jin… Sigh, I can’t say that. It’s a shame; otherwise, Soul Spring Water could be exchanged for quite a lot.”
Lan Landai said, “What? More spiritual jade… No, give me eighty jin. Well, if you give me eighty jin, I can give you some spiritual jade in return.”

Li Ran and the others watched in astonishment as the two haggled, their serious expressions far from that of two peerless masters, rather like two petty shopkeepers haggling over goods. Qi Wu Zhen also had Soul Spring water in her hands, and seeing the two argue endlessly over every ounce, a look of disdain flashed in her eyes. She had a very generous and open-minded personality and despised such behavior the most.

The two sides gradually made concessions, eventually agreeing on fifty ounces of Soul Spring water. Lan Landaei fought with Xing Yunzi for another ounce, arguing fiercely until they settled on fifty-six ounces of Soul Spring water, plus six hundred pieces of Spirit Jade, as the final deal.

Lan Landaei was very satisfied because the six hundred pieces of Spirit Jade were just an add-on; she essentially got a large amount of Soul Spring water for free. She had plenty of Spirit Jade—her family owned many mines across various planets—but Soul Spring water was different. It was a legendary, magical water. Not only was it hard to even see, but understanding such knowledge was only possible for top-level masters. As a master of her caliber, she was among the elite in her secret clan, which was why she knew these secrets.

At first, Li Ran, Guo Shier, Qi Wu Zhen, and the others just watched amusedly, but soon they became wary. Two top-level masters fighting over just one ounce of Soul Spring water showed how precious it was. Everyone understood the principle of “carrying a treasure that brings trouble.” Li Ran’s soul trembled slightly as he sent a message: “Be careful. Don’t casually show off precious things, especially you, Shier. You collect the most strange items. Try not to bring any from the Spell World to trade.”

Guo Shier nodded slightly without saying anything. Watching Lan Landaei and Xing Yunzi haggle, he realized he had been a bit reckless. Whether it was Soul Nourishing Wood or Soul Spring water, they were just his better collections, but in others’ eyes, they were extremely rare and valuable.

After the deal was finalized, Xing Yunzi breathed a sigh of relief, finally able to get rid of that persistent woman.

Lan Landaei was also satisfied. Once she got the Soul Spring water, she was confident she could refine top-quality pills. Unfortunately, there was too little, so she could only use part of it for experiments. She put away the Soul Spring water obtained from the deal and said, “Let’s call it a day. We’re even now…”

Xing Yunzi replied, “Right, even now. Don’t bother me again!”

Lan Landaei curled her lips and said, “Do you think I want to? If you hadn’t stolen one of my Spirit Springs, I wouldn’t even bother fighting you!”

Xingyunzi felt an urge to grab her and beat her senseless; this woman could drive anyone crazy just by talking. He held back again and again, finally resisting the urge to curse. He was utterly exhausted from her constant nagging. Turning to Guo Shier, he said, “I need to talk to you about something…”