Chapter 26: A Frenzied Sale of Scriptures

Putting aside his curiosity, the old man’s expression grew slightly more solemn. He looked at the figure in the black robe before him and said, "This cultivation technique is quite good. May I ask what grade of scripture this is?"

"Four Extremes secret realm, a complete and intact scripture," Li Yao replied.

The old man pondered for a moment before speaking, "If what you say is true, then the Five Elements Pavilion is willing to offer seven thousand jin of Source."

"Eight thousand," Li Yao countered. He now understood that for these powers, scriptures were essentially geese that laid golden eggs, so he had no reservations when bargaining; he wasn't even worried about whether the Five Elements Pavilion would agree.

The Holy City was a gathering place for almost every power in the Big Dipper star field. If one didn't want it, he could simply turn around and head to another.

Sure enough, after Li Yao made his counteroffer, the old man hesitated for only a moment before nodding. "Deal."

Once the price was set, the door opened again shortly after. A woman with a graceful figure and striking features walked in, carrying a tray in her slender, fair hands. Upon the tray sat a pure white jade bottle.

The old man gestured toward the bottle and said, "You may verify it first."

Li Yao did not stand on ceremony; he picked up the jade bottle and began to scan it with his divine sense.

The amount of eight thousand jin of Source was correct, but Li Yao felt a slight sense of disappointment. These Sources were not very pure. Compared to the ones he possessed, they were inferior in both essence concentration and purity, likely only about seventy percent as potent.

However, Li Yao did not find this strange; he had anticipated as much. If the market were to be divided into tiers, the Holy Lands and ancient aristocratic families would be the first tier, primarily trading in pure Source. The second tier consisted of small-to-medium-sized major sects and families, who used lower-quality Source—similar to this batch, which was about seventy percent as pure as the standard—which was the most common type on the market. There was a third tier, consisting of Source with significant impurities, containing perhaps less than fifty percent of the essence and purity of standard Source. This type circulated among low-level itinerant cultivators.

"Fellow Daoist, is the amount of Source correct?" the old man asked, seeing Li Yao fall silent.

"I trust the reputation of the Five Elements Pavilion," Li Yao replied, lowering his voice.

The young woman standing silently to the side grew even more quiet. She felt somewhat speechless; he had already checked it, yet he still claimed to trust the reputation of the Five Elements Pavilion.

After storing the jade bottle away, Li Yao recited the remainder of the scripture to the old man. Of course, the name of the technique was no longer "Green Wood Technique," but had been renamed by him as the "Divine Wood Manual."

After obtaining the full scripture, the old man nodded with satisfaction. Even after just a quick scan, he could see that the scripture was indeed excellent, belonging to a top-tier category within the Four Extremes realm.

"Fellow Daoist, you should be aware of the rules of this trade. Now that this scripture transaction is complete, it cannot be traded a second time for one year."

Li Yao was slightly taken aback; he truly did not know this rule. However, it mattered little—if there was one thing he had an abundance of, it was scriptures; he could never sell them all. In truth, the rule was quite logical; after all, if one bought it and then the seller immediately sold it to every other power, there would be no profit left for anyone.

"Rest assured, I only want to earn some Source; I have no desire to provoke the Five Elements Palace," Li Yao said, then turned and left the room.

...

After stepping out of the Five Elements Pavilion, a smile spread across his face beneath the black iron mask. Li Yao was incredibly excited; had the setting been different, he might have even laughed out loud.

The Heavenly Book consumed resources at a truly staggering rate, which had always been a headache for him. Now that the path of selling cultivation techniques was open, the issue of Source was finally resolved—at least for the short term.

Although the Source he held now was inferior to pure Source, the sheer volume made up for it. This was just one scroll of scripture, and he had already obtained eight thousand jin of Source. Even at seventy percent purity, it was equivalent to over five thousand jin of pure Source.

"Indeed, one cannot get rich by being honest and steady. If I had relied solely on the measly resources provided by the Radiant Holy Land each month, I don’t know how much slower my cultivation progress would have been."

He had come to this world of *Shrouding the Heavens* with no intention of playing it safe and hiding away for longevity; time was infinitely precious to him. According to the timeline, Ye Fan and the others would arrive in the Big Dipper star field in at most a few years.

This meant the Path to Immortality would open in just over two hundred years. When that time came, the dark Supremes would emerge, blood would flow like rivers, and hundreds of millions of living beings would become their rations.

Li Yao did not want to be one of those rations. He wanted to master his own destiny, and for that, immense strength was essential.

With these eight thousand jin of Source, he could now snowball his wealth in the shortest time possible and sell the scriptures as rapidly as he could. Once he finished this wave, he would immediately withdraw and focus on digesting his gains.

With this plan in mind, Li Yao arrived at a restaurant. It was established by a major power, ensuring both an excellent environment and high security. In a private room, he could even shield his aura to a great extent. Here, he could safely recharge the Heavenly Book.

As the Source was rapidly consumed, the profound meanings of one scripture after another were quickly innovated and refined, and Li Yao's understanding of the Great Dao improved at a rapid pace.

Initially, when he had only one scripture, Li Yao did not feel the effect was very obvious. But after two, three... then ten, the degree of his insight into the Great Dao became very apparent. Although these Four Extremes scriptures were not worth mentioning compared to the *Radiant Emperor Scripture*, the way they expounded upon the Great Dao still made Li Yao's eyes light up.

The day grew late, and night enveloped the earth. The eight thousand jin of Source was soon depleted, and fifty-five scriptures had been deduced within the Heavenly Book.

...

The next morning, golden sunlight streamed through the window, filling the room with light. Li Yao rose from the bed, left the restaurant, and formally began his operation, moving between the various powers established in the Holy City by the Holy Lands, aristocratic families, and major sects.

To avoid attracting the attention of these major powers, he was very restrained, selling only one or two scrolls at a time. Even so, the amount of Source in his possession grew rapidly, and soon, it broke the barrier of two hundred thousand jin.

This was an absolutely massive sum; even if converted into equivalent pure Source, it would still amount to one hundred and forty thousand jin. And all he had invested was eight thousand jin of Source; the terror of the profit margin was simply staggering.

Even now, he had only sold half of the scriptures, with over twenty left to go. If he sold them all, the profit would be even higher.

But things did not go entirely smoothly; complications eventually arose. Such frantic selling, even with Li Yao being extremely careful, still managed to attract the attention of certain people.

The sudden appearance of a large number of Four Extremes-level scriptures in the Holy City—all of them completely unfamiliar and never seen before—made it difficult not to attract notice.