Looking at Mo Qingkuang's talent and abilities, he should be the most outstanding genius in the entire Tianxuan Empire, deserving the most resources. However, from what Mo Qingkuang said, it seemed he hadn't even used spirit stones for cultivation before! How pitiful is that?
Spirit stones are an extremely advanced auxiliary cultivation item, produced in very small quantities. They contain very pure spiritual energy that can significantly increase the cultivation speed of practitioners, much faster than absorbing spiritual energy from the environment.
Generally, low-level martial artists use gold and silver for transactions. Once a certain level of cultivation is reached, gold and silver are no longer recognized as currency.
In Penglai Immortal Island, spirit stones are not only a daily consumable for cultivation but also the most basic hard currency. Most transactions are done through bartering.
As for the so-called sixth-grade spirit array, it might be the best array that the Tianxuan Empire could produce.
How sad it is that one of the two great empires has its best array master only in the sixth grade.
Lan Xiao couldn't help but laugh. The actions of the Tianxuan Empire were so naive that even he could see through them.
This was them showcasing their strength, trying to earn his attention. How laughable! These frogs at the bottom of the well didn't realize that compared to the holy land, even the neighbouring Blue Flame Empire was far stronger than them by several folds.
To this, Lan Xiao could only continue to smile politely, "Thank you for your efforts. Since there's nothing much to do in the next few days, Brother Mo, feel free to stay here and cultivate."
Mo Qingkuang's eyes lit up with surprise, "Really?"
But then he shook his head, "No, no, this place is prepared for the Holy Envoy, I'm not worthy. Even Her Majesty doesn't have such standards for her cultivation."
Mo Qingkuang 'accidentally' revealed more about Tianxuan's situation. Even the empress did not have such cultivation conditions?
Lan Xiao suddenly felt a twinge of pity for Tianxuan. Their resources were so scarce, and they had powerful external enemies eyeing them. It was beyond dire.
Today, the group that came to welcome him included all the prominent figures of the Tianxuan Empire.
The leader was a third-rank martial emperor, and the rest were at most peak martial kings.
In such an empire, the high-end combat power was incredibly scarce. The strength of his protector, Liu Qing, could easily rank as the second most powerful, just below the empress.
Seeing Mo Qingkuang decline, Lan Xiao didn't insist. It was a polite invitation anyway. Even though he didn't think much of the sixth-grade spirit array, he didn't like having strangers under the same roof, especially unfamiliar ones.
"In that case, let it be. Thank you both for leading the way. As a first meeting gift," Lan Xiao shook his folding fan, and two spirit stones fell out.
This was the first time Mo Qingkuang had seen spirit stones up close. They were crystal clear and emitted an enchanting energy.
These were not ordinary spirit stones but two top-grade spirit stones, worth a hundred mid-grade spirit stones or ten thousand low-grade ones.
The spirit stones used for the spirit array in this courtyard amounted to only a hundred low-grade spirit stones.
The spirit stones, wrapped in blue true qi, floated in front of Mo Qingkuang and Han Shu.
Mo Qingkuang gulped, "H-Holy Envoy, do you use these for your daily cultivation?"
He looked every bit like a country bumpkin.
Just one of these top-grade spirit stones could allow Mo Qingkuang to cultivate at several times his usual speed for ten days!
Lan Xiao laughed heartily, "Sort of. If you join Penglai Immortal Island, you could use these for cultivation regularly."
Seeing Mo Qingkuang's reaction, Lan Xiao felt quite pleased. He used top-grade spirit stones for his daily cultivation, and the higher-grade supreme spirit stones were only bestowed once a year.
Mo Qingkuang, with convincing acting, showed intense longing in his eyes but eventually said with difficulty, "No, I cannot abandon Tianxuan."
Lan Xiao laughed loudly, shaking his head, giving Mo Qingkuang a meaningful look, "You are the first person to refuse Penglai Immortal Island's invitation twice."
"Please forgive me, Holy Envoy."
"It's okay, it's your right to choose, and it's your right to sacrifice personal interests for your country. I have no right to criticize you," Lan Xiao shook his head.
Though he had a certain aloof arrogance, Mo Qingkuang's display of loyalty to his country made Lan Xiao look at him with a bit more respect.
"Take it," Lan Xiao indicated to Mo Qingkuang and Han Shu to accept the spirit stones.
Mo Qingkuang reached out his hand, hesitated, and then withdrew it again, "No, no, it's too valuable. I can't accept it."
"It's just a small thing, no need to be so modest," Lan Xiao's smile was as warm as the spring breeze.
Seeing this, Mo Qingkuang still thanked him repeatedly before accepting the spirit stone. He held it in his hand, examining it carefully from all angles as if it were a rare treasure.
"Brother Mo, I can't cultivate. You should take this spirit stone too," Han Shu, who had been quite inconspicuous, suddenly spoke up.
Lan Xiao was taken aback by these words. It turned out that this person who had been silent and seemed to have no cultivation was indeed unable to cultivate.
No wonder he didn't show the same greed when he saw the spirit stone as Mo Qingkuang did, only curiosity.
Mo Qingkuang realized that Han Shu truly couldn't cultivate. He had thought it was his own mistake to fail to sense any true qi within Han Shu.
Since that was the case, Mo Qingkuang didn't hold back. He grabbed the spirit stone in front of Han Shu and quickly put it into his storage ring, as if afraid Han Shu might regret it.
Lan Xiao laughed heartily, "Haha, Brother Mo, you are quite an interesting person."
Mo Qingkuang laughed sheepishly, "The Holy Envoy must be joking."
"In that case, I won't disturb your rest. I'll come tomorrow to escort you to oversee justice. If you need anything, feel free to let the guards at the gate know." At this point, the task was mostly complete. Mo Qingkuang took a step back and bid farewell.
Lan Xiao nodded warmly, "Thank you. Take care."
Mo Qingkuang and Han Shu bowed again and left.
At the gate, Lan Xiao suddenly called out, "Brother Mo, could you tell me what compensation Tianxuan seeks in this negotiation?"
Hearing Lan Xiao's question, Mo Qingkuang was secretly delighted. For Lan Xiao to ask this meant he was already leaning towards favouring Tianxuan. During the negotiation, he would likely be biased towards Tianxuan's interests.
This reverse display of hardship had worked!
But now was not the time to celebrate. Mo Qingkuang wouldn't foolishly state exactly what they wanted and ask the Holy Envoy to get it for them.
The things they lacked were reflected in the arrangements of this small courtyard.
Mo Qingkuang simply turned and bowed deeply, "We leave everything to the Holy Land's discretion. Tianxuan will comply with whatever is decided."