“Three conditions?”
Ji Xuanyuan frowned. “What are your conditions, young master?”
Chu Yuan replied seriously, “In addition to the previous terms, Your Highness must guarantee my safety. You must not act against me before or after our deal. Furthermore, these terms must be confirmed by a Soul Covenant personally set between Your Highness and myself.”
Ji Xuanyuan teased, “You certainly act with caution, young master!”
Chu Yuan said earnestly, “It is only because I am naturally suspicious. I hope Your Highness can forgive me.”
‘This is a matriarchal society, after all. Who knows if this Crown Prince will try to force herself on me later.’
Chu Yuan did not want to be drained dry, ending his rare second life right then and there.
Ji Xuanyuan did not mind. “Fine! This is on the premise that the information you hold is genuine. Otherwise… do not blame me for being ruthless!”
“Your Highness can rest assured!”
With that, Chu Yuan summoned a scroll from his Black Ring.
The so-called Soul Covenant was a contract formed by two cultivators using their own souls as a medium. Compared to a regular paper contract, once a Soul Covenant was violated, it would cause irreversible damage to the violator’s soul.
15 minutes later.
Seeing that the contract was finalized, Fang Henian asked without a moment’s delay, “There is no time to lose. Master Chu, please inform us of the spirit mine’s location so that I may send men to verify it.”
Chu Yuan shook his head. “No! I will personally lead you there. I have placed a formation there; ordinary cultivators would find it difficult to break even if they knew the location!”
In the mountains, he had used a God-grade formation disk rewarded by the System in his previous life — the Nine-Bends Heaven-Confusing Disk.
After binding it with a drop of blood and injecting Divine Sense into the Chaos Bead, the formation disk would automatically merge with the Spirit Veins of the designated area.
This formation made it so that no matter how one walked inside, they would eventually return to the entrance. Any attack directed at the formation would be transferred elsewhere — perhaps to a mountain peak 100 miles away, or perhaps directly behind the attacker.
Once the formation disk completely merged with the Spirit Veins, the cave dwelling would gradually transition from “visible” to “overlooked.” Even if one saw it, they would subconsciously ignore it.
Unless the caster manually deactivated it or encountered a top-tier treasure of the same rank capable of breaking formations, it would remain permanent.
But where would one find many cultivators with God-grade treasures? At least in Chu Yuan’s view, the government cultivators of Xuanji City currently possessed no such things.
Hearing him say this, both Ji Xuanyuan and Fang Henian instinctively showed looks of disdain.
The youth before them was the most neglected disciple of the Chu Clan. His Spirit Root was of poor quality, and he had almost zero resources. Being able to reach the early stage of the Ganqi Realm was already a miracle attributed to the protection of his deceased parents.
What kind of high-quality formation disk could such a cultivator possibly possess?
In their eyes, Chu Yuan’s words were like those of a frog at the bottom of a well.
However, as he was a partner, Fang Henian did not say it directly. “Master Chu, you can just tell us the exact location. My Xuanji City naturally has experts who can find that mountain mine.”
Ji Xuanyuan chimed in, “That’s right! Young master, you still need to stay here and help me test my cultivation technique. Let City Lord Fang’s subordinates handle the mountain search.”
Hearing the contempt in their voices, Chu Yuan guessed their thoughts.
On a whim, he changed his approach. “Your Highness, the formation I set up really isn’t something ordinary cultivators can break. If your people are so confident, why don’t we make a bet?”
Ji Xuanyuan raised an eyebrow. “A bet? How do you want to bet?”
Chu Yuan took the opportunity to suggest, “Let us bet on whether your people can break my formation. If they succeed, I don’t want the 10,000,000 reward. If they fail, you give me another 10,000,000. What do you say?”
No one would complain about having too many Spirit Stones. Moreover, he was currently penniless and would not pass up any opportunity to make money.
Fang Henian hesitated. “Master Chu, are you sure you want to bet?”
Chu Yuan nodded. “Of course! If you don’t believe me, we can set another Soul Covenant.”
Fang Henian cupped his hands toward Ji Xuanyuan. “Your Highness, I find this bet quite interesting! What do you think?”
Ji Xuanyuan fell into hesitation.
10,000,000 Spirit Stones was a considerable expense even for a major power; naturally, it was better to save it if possible.
However, seeing how confident Chu Yuan was, Ji Xuanyuan didn’t think he was just being impulsive.
‘Perhaps… this boy really has some confidence?’
Especially if he was her junior brother from her past life, then he had the Taixu Sacred Realm behind him. As one of the superpowers in the Realm of True Emotions, it wouldn’t be strange for a Holy Son to have some life-saving treasure.
If that were the case, blindly accepting the bet would be equivalent to giving away money.
If the mine was successfully excavated, it would belong to the Immortal Dynasty. The 10,000,000 Spirit Stones for the information fee could be charged to the public accounts.
However, for this bet, if she won, it was fine; but if she lost, the extra 10,000,000 would have to come from her private treasury.
As the Crown Prince of the Immortal Dynasty, she did not lack Spirit Stones, but she did not want to spend them in such a manner.
On this point, Ji Xuanyuan had to be cautious.
“Since Master Chu is so inclined, I will naturally accompany you! However, 10,000,000 Spirit Stones is simply too high. If you lose, wouldn’t you lose everything? Let us lower it to 1,000,000 instead. A small bet is more pleasant.”
Hearing her say this, both Fang Henian and Chu Yuan were a little disappointed.
Fang Henian lamented in his heart, ‘Oh! This is a guaranteed win! Alas, Her Highness is too kind!’
Chu Yuan thought similarly, ‘I didn’t expect this future Empress to be so cautious. What a pity! Still, 1,000,000 isn’t a small amount! If I insist on 10,000,000, I might reveal my hand. Let’s leave it at this.’
With those thoughts, he sighed and cupped his hands. “Fine! We will do as Your Highness wishes! It is currently noon; let the deadline be sunset. If you can break the formation by then, you win.”
Ji Xuanyuan nodded and glanced at Fang Henian. “Go! City Lord Fang, lead the team yourself. If you win, that 1,000,000 will be your reward!”
To her, 1,000,000 Spirit Stones was a moderate prize.
Xuanji City was a major source of tax revenue for the Immortal Dynasty. Befriending the City Lord in advance would facilitate her management after she ascended the throne. Instead of enriching her private treasury, she chose to reward the City Lord.
Fang Henian could not hide his joy and knelt to perform a salute. “Yes! Your Highness, I will not fail my mission!!!”
1,000,000 Spirit Stones was definitely a massive reward for him.
Fang Henian then looked at Chu Yuan.
Chu Yuan tactfully informed him of the specific location via Sound Transmission.
Fang Henian immediately left the room, hurrying to organize his men and head out of the city.
At the same time, the spy sent by Chu Yunlan was eavesdropping from the shadows.
Upon learning that Chu Yuan’s transaction involved a mine buried in a Spirit Vein, he immediately sent a Sound Transmission to Chu Yunlan.
【…Young Master, that is the situation. Should I continue to monitor the target, or follow City Lord Fang out of the city?】
Upon hearing this, the corners of Chu Yunlan’s mouth curled upward.
【I didn’t expect Chu Yuan to do such a thing… Go! Follow the City Lord immediately and confirm the location of the mine.】
Having said this, Chu Yunlan quickly planned a poisonous scheme in his mind.