The Deep Vault widened as they advanced.
More pressure.
More wealth.
More danger.
Exactly the kind of place where fortunes shifted with a word—and lives ended over a mispriced deal.
Yet the fox only smiled faintly.
Because tonight, she intended to leave with both answers and profit.
Shen Tu moved quickly through the middle ring, clearly more comfortable here than anywhere else they had been.
He crossed two luminous bridges and passed a stall displaying preserved beast eyes in crystal jars, then another offering spirit-forged chains.
Finally, he slowed.
"There."
He pointed.
A circular platform suspended slightly apart from the others.
Its edges were lined with dark iron lanterns.
No loud displays.
No aggressive signage.
Only neatly arranged materials behind layered spirit barriers.
At the center sat an old figure.
Small.
Hunched.
Wrapped in layered gray robes.
At first glance, she looked fragile.
But the fox's eyes sharpened instantly.
The hands were scaled.
Dark.
And the eyes—
vertical slit pupils.
A serpent.
Old.
Dangerous.
At least late Foundation Establishment.
Shen Tu lowered his voice.
"My Lady…"
"That's Madam Suyin."
"She's expensive."
"But if she says something is good…"
"It is."
The fox's ears twitched.
Reliable.
She stepped forward.
Madam Suyin's gaze landed on her first.
Then briefly on Little White floating beside her.
Then on Shen Tu.
No surprise.
No reaction.
Only calm assessment.
"What do you need?"
Her voice was low and smooth, like silk dragged across stone.
The fox did not hesitate.
"Top-tier Earth-grade materials."
She stepped fully onto the platform.
"Spirit-grade, if available."
Madam Suyin's slit pupils fixed on her, unmoving.
The fox continued calmly.
"Array cores strong enough to anchor layered formations."
"Not brittle."
"Capable of repeated activation without collapse."
"Conductive spirit ore."
"Refined."
"No impurities that would disrupt flow."
"Binding metals."
"Flexible, but durable."
"Suitable for traps and locking arrays."
"High-purity spirit dust."
"For concealment and reinforcement."
Her gaze briefly shifted across the shelves.
"And insulating material for spiritual signatures."
"Enough for multiple formations… or one large system."
Madam Suyin remained silent throughout.
Then slowly, she rose.
Her movement was controlled.
Far from frail.
Predatory in its own restrained way.
Shen Tu swallowed beside the fox.
Madam Suyin turned and walked deeper into the shelves without a word.
The platform fell into quiet hums of formation barriers.
Then she returned.
Five items floated behind her, each sealed in a transparent spiritual membrane.
A dark crystal veined with silver light.
"Star-vein Array Core."
"Top-tier Earth-grade."
"Supports layered trap and concealment formations."
Moonsteel plates, pale blue and humming softly.
"High conductivity."
"Low resistance."
Blood-iron filament, dark with faint red veins.
"Flexible binding material."
Voidmist powder, glowing faintly silver.
"For concealment and suppression."
And finally, a milky translucent stone radiating cold air.
"Frost marrow stone."
"Insulation for formation nodes."
Madam Suyin's gaze remained fixed on the fox.
"All top-tier Earth-grade."
"Enough for what you described."
A pause.
"Or enough to kill something important."
Shen Tu stiffened instantly.
The fox, however, only smiled faintly.
"Maybe both."
Her eyes lingered on the materials.
Then she looked back at Madam Suyin.
"Madam Suyin…"
Her tone softened slightly, almost polite.
"You really understand your craft."
Even spirit-grade materials here…
Impressive.
Then—
the atmosphere shifted.
A controlled wave of spiritual pressure spread from her.
Not overwhelming.
Precise.
Sharp.
The lantern flames trembled slightly.
Shen Tu went pale.
The fox's voice lowered.
"But business here…"
A faint tilt of her head.
"…is confidential."
"Correct?"
Shen Tu barely breathed.
Madam Suyin did not move.
Did not react outwardly at all.
But her slit pupils narrowed ever so slightly.
Then—
with a soft exhale—
Madam Suyin spoke.
—
"Young one."
—
Her voice was low.
Silken.
Controlled.
—
"Do not casually release killing intent in the Deep Vault."
—
A brief pause.
—
"You will attract attention."
—
The fox held her gaze for another moment.
—
Then gave the faintest shrug.
—
"I'm just saying…"
—
Her tone lightened again.
Playful.
—
"I'd hate for someone to track me down after I've done business with you."
—
Madam Suyin's stare lingered a second longer.
—
Then her expression flattened back into calm indifference.
—
"No one leaves this place carrying another client's business."
—
A pause.
—
"Not if they value their life."
—
The fox's ears twitched faintly.
—
Fair enough.
—
Madam Suyin gestured lazily toward the materials.
—
"If you want them…"
—
"Pay."
—
No smile.
No embellishment.
—
Just fact.
—
The fox let the killing intent dissipate completely.
—
The pressure in the air eased at once.
—
Shen Tu almost sagged in relief.
—
The fox's tail swayed once behind her.
—
Then she tilted her head slightly.
—
"So."
—
Her turquoise eyes gleamed.
—
"How much?"
---
Madam Suyin didn't answer immediately.
—
Her slit pupils drifted over the floating materials again—
slow.
Measuring.
—
Not just pricing them.
—
But assessing the fox who stood before her.
—
Then, calmly, she spoke.
—
"Star-vein Array Core: eighty mid-grade spirit stones."
—
"Moonsteel conduction sheets: forty."
—
"Blood-iron filament: sixty."
—
"Voidmist powder: seventy."
—
"Frost marrow stone: fifty."
—
A brief pause.
—
Her gaze lifted slightly.
—
"Total: three hundred mid-grade spirit stones."
—
Silence settled for a moment.
—
Even the lantern light seemed to dim with the weight of it.
—
Shen Tu's eyes widened slightly.
—
That was not cheap.
—
Not for something traded so routinely in a place like this.
—
But the fox did not react at once.
—
She simply studied the floating materials.
—
Then slowly—
she smiled.
—
"Three hundred…"
—
Her voice was quiet.
Almost amused.
—
"Convenient number."
—
Madam Suyin's expression did not change.
—
"Payment is payment."
—
The fox let out a faint breath through her nose.
—
Then, without breaking eye contact, she reached into her storage pouch.
—
A pulse of spiritual light flickered.
—
And instead of mid-grade stones—
a cluster of high-quality spirit stones floated out.
—
Clear.
Dense.
Heavy with refined spiritual pressure.
—
Shen Tu froze.
—
Madam Suyin's eyes sharpened for the first time.
—
The fox tilted her head slightly.
—
"I don't like carrying small change."
—
With a lazy flick of her paw, the stones drifted forward and hovered above the counter.
—
"Take it from there."
—
A pause.
—
"And keep the rest."
—
Shen Tu nearly choked.
—
Even Madam Suyin's composure shifted—barely.
—
Not surprise.
—
Evaluation.
—
Reassessment.
—
"…You are not ordinary."
—
The fox gave a light shrug.
—
"I've been told."
—
Madam Suyin studied her for another long moment—
then calmly accepted the stones.
—
No further questions.
—
No hesitation.
—
The floating materials drifted forward in turn.
—
"Deal complete."
—
The fox swept her paw once.
—
All five items vanished neatly into her storage pouch.
—
Clean.
Efficient.
Final.
—
Exactly how she preferred it.
—
Madam Suyin's voice followed as the fox turned to leave.
—
"If you return…"
—
"Bring more like that."
—
The fox paused slightly.
—
Then glanced back over her shoulder.
—
A faint smile touched her lips.
—
"I intend to."
—
Madam Suyin watched her go without another word.
—
Her gaze remained steady a moment longer—
then she spoke softly to herself, almost imperceptibly.
—
"…Interesting."
---
Shen Tu finally found his voice again as they walked away.
—
"My Lady, that was—"
—
He stopped.
—
Because she wasn't really listening.
—
The fox's thoughts were already elsewhere.
—
Three hundred mid-grade spirit stones.
—
Her tail flicked once.
—
Almost absentminded.
—
Then her expression shifted slightly.
—
Not surprise.
—
Assessment.
—
*That's it?*
—
Her turquoise eyes drifted across a nearby stall where beasts casually bartered spirit marrow like common goods.
—
High-tier Earth materials.
Spirit-grade fragments.
Formation cores capable of supporting lethal arrays.
—
All of it—
priced in amounts that would shake entire clans in the outside world.
—
And here…
—
it was simply normal.
—
Her lips curved faintly.
—
Interesting.
—
Shen Tu hurried to catch up.
—
"My Lady, those materials were already high-tier Earth grade…"
—
"That price was quite fair."
—
The fox gave a quiet hum.
—
"Fair?"
—
She repeated the word as though testing its meaning.
—
Then exhaled softly.
—
"…No."
—
Her gaze swept over the bustling stalls of the Deep Vault.
—
"This place is just… rich."
—
A pause.
—
Then, almost to herself—
—
"…Or wasteful."
—
Shen Tu blinked.
—
But the fox had already moved on in thought.
—
Formations.
Vault structure.
Hidden currents of trade and secrecy.
—
And more importantly—
what counted as *truly valuable* in a place like this.
—
Because if this was only the middle ring…
—
then she was beginning to wonder what waited deeper within.