Lin Ye had seen Black Dragon Sect's type before.
With one glance, he knew exactly what they were.
But—
If they could offer what he needed?
Trading wasn't a problem.
Good and evil were relative.
Who could say their own hands were clean?
Lin Ye didn't care about morals.
He cared about value.
But Black Dragon Sect?
Their "value" didn't match their arrogance.
The middle-aged man chuckled.
"Sect Master Lin has quite the appetite."
"But my Black Dragon Sect is sincere."
"How about this?"
"Ten Sixth-grade herbs."
"Or two Seventh-grade herbs."
Lin Ye waved him off like brushing away dust.
"No interest."
The middle-aged man's smile vanished instantly.
His tone turned sharp.
"Sect Master Lin…"
"A wise man knows when to yield."
"Don't be ignorant."
Threat.
Blatant.
Because Black Dragon Sect's strength was far beyond Wind Thunder Mystic Sect.
If they wanted to erase a small sect?
It would be effortless.
And this was Spirit Water Riverlands.
Their home ground.
One order—
and reinforcements would arrive within half an hour.
Unlike Seven Star Sword Gate.
Those outsiders had no backup.
They came, they died.
Black Dragon Sect?
Had teeth.
And they believed—
Lin Ye should fear them.
Lin Ye looked at him.
Slowly.
Coldly.
"…Are you threatening me?"
Summer Wei immediately pulled Xiao Huai back.
Luo Gui stepped forward, shielding the child.
He already knew—
That look in Lin Ye's eyes meant someone was about to die.
The middle-aged man sneered.
"Heh. My Black Dragon Sect has never—"
He didn't even finish.
Lin Ye moved.
One step.
His body vanished.
Heaven Strategy Dragon-Soaring Steps!
The masked man reacted instantly, lunging to intercept—
But Lin Ye's figure flickered like a ghost.
In the blink of an eye—
Lin Ye appeared behind the middle-aged man.
"Not good!"
The masked man shouted and slammed his qi armor outward, enveloping the leader.
The leader was only Star River Fifth Realm.
But the masked guard—
was Star River Ninth Realm.
A powerful escort.
But Lin Ye didn't pause.
His hand rose.
A claw formed.
"Shatter Calamity Claw!"
Instantly—
killing intent locked on.
The masked man's eyes widened.
Because he realized…
his qi armor in front of Lin Ye…
was like tofu.
RIP—!
Lin Ye's claw tore straight through.
The armor shattered.
The middle-aged man's body was ripped apart like paper.
Blood sprayed.
Limbs scattered.
He died so completely…
there was nothing left to save.
Summer Wei shielded Luo Huai's eyes.
This wasn't a scene a child should see.
The pale young man screamed.
"You dare—!"
The masked guard tried to retreat—
but Lin Ye's finger rose.
"Heaven-Piercing Finger."
The masked guard's pupils shrank.
In desperation…
he grabbed the pale youth and shoved him forward like a human shield.
Lin Ye's finger pierced through instantly.
A thumb-sized hole appeared in the youth's forehead.
His eyes went blank.
Dead.
The masked guard turned and fled toward the sky.
His voice shrieked with hatred.
"Lin Ye! Black Dragon Sect will make you pay!"
Lin Ye was about to chase—
But a spear flashed.
A cold line through the air.
THUNK.
It pierced the masked guard's heart.
A terrifying aura surged, then vanished.
Luo Gui stood there, spear in hand.
His eyes were cold.
"I hate masks."
The masked man fell.
BOOM.
He smashed into the ground like rotten meat.
A puddle.
Blood.
Bones.
Silence.
Three Black Dragon Sect cultivators—
dead in under half a minute.
The courtyard exploded in fear.
Even Hundred Beast Sect's leader, Yan Shoutang, went pale.
"Turn around! Turn around!"
"Don't let him see us!"
"This is insane!"
Bailing Medicine Sect's hall master rushed out too late.
The speed of it all surpassed anything he'd ever seen.
But Elder Tu Jinsong stepped forward smoothly.
He waved his hand, already taking control.
"Ahem."
"What are you still staring at?"
"Clean it up!"
"Black Dragon Sect acted arrogantly, provoking trouble in our territory."
"Fortunately Sect Master Lin Ye and Evil Ghost Pill King Luo Gui acted to suppress them."
"Their deaths were deserved."
The bodies were dragged away.
The ground was wiped clean.
Like nothing happened.
And no one dared argue.
Because it was Black Dragon Sect.
Nobody liked them.
Seeing them die?
People felt relief.
Lin Ye casually drew the dead man's storage ring to his hand.
Inside—
sixteen billion spirit stones.
Two Seventh-grade herbs.
Ten Sixth-grade herbs.
Lin Ye frowned.
"…So poor."
Summer Wei almost choked.
Poor?!
That was sixteen billion!
But Lin Ye just tossed it aside like trash.
Tu Jinsong walked over, smiling.
"Sorry, sorry… for such unpleasantness."
"Black Dragon Sect truly is arrogant."
"Rest assured, our sect will testify."
"They were the ones who were ignorant."
Luo Gui snorted.
"Old Tu. You're quick."
Tu Jinsong laughed awkwardly.
Lin Ye nodded politely.
"Sorry for dirtying your place."
"No problem, no problem!"
"Dragging bodies is easy."
Tu Jinsong secretly sighed.
Lin Ye wasn't difficult.
Cold, yes.
But polite.
The problem was simply—
Black Dragon Sect picked the wrong person.
Tu Jinsong raised his voice.
"The exchange officially begins!"
"The first item—Sixth-grade herb: Cloud-Immortal Grass."
"Trade condition: five billion spirit stones."
"Or any Sixth-grade pill!"
Cloud-Immortal Grass.
A top-tier Sixth-grade herb.
Among alchemists, it was known as a "success-rate booster."
It could increase the success rate of refining Sixth-grade pills—
but at the cost of slightly weakening the final pill's effect.
Even so, everyone coveted it.
Because if you failed refining Sixth-grade pills…
you didn't just lose one herb.
You lost an entire furnace of resources.
The trade condition was expensive.
But the logic was simple:
Better a weaker pill than no pill at all.
Many alchemists were tempted.
But five billion?
That was painful.
Lin Ye didn't blink.
"Buy it."
Summer Wei lifted her placard immediately.
To outsiders, it was "just" Sixth-grade.
But Lin Ye knew the truth.
This Cloud-Immortal Grass was around fifteen thousand years old.
Its value was already brushing against Seventh-grade herbs.
And its true use?
Most alchemists didn't understand it.
Its real function wasn't just success-rate boosting.
It could temporarily suppress pill power and allow two pills of the same attribute to…
stack their effects.
That was its real treasure.
But most people never used it that way.
Because refining one Sixth-grade pill was already hell.
Refining two identical ones?
Stacking them?
That sounded like fantasy.
But for Lin Ye?
It was effortless.
Especially because—
his Crimson Lotus Tribulation Cauldron could "refine one, get one free."
Two pills?
Already guaranteed.
"Five billion. Deal."
Summer Wei said calmly.
No fighting.
No bidding war.
This wasn't an auction.
First confirmation wins.
That was the rule.
Bailing Medicine Sect didn't even charge service fees.
They treated it as networking.
The transaction was completed on the spot.
Lin Ye's spirit stones…
officially hit rock bottom.
Summer Wei leaned close and whispered.
"We're out."
"We've spent everything."
Lin Ye didn't care.
"Then we trade with pills."
He still had surplus from earlier refining.
Mostly Fifth-grade pills.
With Fifth-grade pills, you could trade for average Sixth-grade herbs—usually around three per pill.
But when Lin Ye casually took out nearly ten Fifth-grade pills…
the entire courtyard erupted.
Even other alchemists stared.
Most alchemists might trade one pill.
Two at most.
But Lin Ye?
He dropped ten.
Like dropping coins.
Bailing Medicine Sect had brought only twenty Fifth-grade pills total.
Five were for the public market.
Only fifteen were for the private exchange.
And Lin Ye?
One man alone was almost matching their entire stock.
Tu Jinsong and the others felt pressure for the first time.
Lin Ye's reserves were terrifying.
Even Summer Wei was stunned.
He has this many?
Lin Ye didn't buy blindly.
If an herb was repetitive, or its effect was minor, he skipped it.
But most herbs?
He took.
By the end—
he had collected nearly fifty Sixth-grade herbs.
And five Seventh-grade herbs.
Those five?
He obtained by trading away 玄心开脉丹, a Sixth-grade pill.
He only brought it out after Bailing Medicine Sect revealed their own Sixth-grade pill.
Because Meridian-Opening Pills weren't valuable to everyone.
If you didn't have a spirit meridian?
The effect was limited.
But it could still slightly improve talent.
To some desperate cultivators…
even a tiny advantage meant everything.
The exchange lasted until late night.
People dug out their hidden treasures just to trade for pills.
Because next year?
Might not be this lucky.
Bailing Medicine Sect's Sixth-grade pill was the main event.
People pooled stones, pooled herbs, pooled artifacts—
just to take it home.
Lin Ye didn't steal their spotlight.
He came for herbs.
He got them.
And he was ready to leave.
He still hadn't gathered enough to refine the Seventh-grade pill he wanted.
He needed to hurry.
Then—
Outside Thousand Spirit City…
a violent tremor shook the earth.
Like an earthquake.
Everyone froze.
They looked up.
In the distance—
a massive dark cloud pressed down.
Thunder roared within it.
Lightning serpents twisted like divine punishment.
The pressure alone made countless cultivators shiver.
Luo Gui sucked in a breath.
"Beast… tribulation?"
Lin Ye's eyes narrowed.
"Fifth grade breaking into Sixth."
That was equivalent to a human Star River Realm breaking into Moonwheel.
And when beasts underwent tribulation…
there was almost always a spirit herb nearby.
A recovery herb.
Because once they survived lightning…
their body entered a vulnerable state.
They needed herbs to stabilize and heal.
Which meant—
That beast…
had an herb.
Likely a good one.
Lin Ye turned instantly.
"Summer Wei."
"Find the Blacksteel Leopard."
"Stay in the city."
Then his body rose straight into the air.
Luo Gui stayed behind.
This kind of chaos wasn't his interest.
He cared about his healing—Lin Ye's promise.
But many others couldn't resist.
They rushed out.
Tu Jinsong frowned.
"That direction…"
"…is Fierce Heart Sect territory."
Even more people moved.
Because this wasn't just a spectacle.
It was opportunity.
Lin Ye's afterimages streaked across the sky.
Soon he arrived within a thousand meters of the tribulation zone—
not too close.
Too close, and the tribulation lightning would strike him too.
A massive dark-red tiger roared beneath the clouds.
A Fifth-grade beast:
Strange-Pattern Blazing Sun Tiger.
It carried Seventh-grade bloodline potential.
Its future ceiling?
Seventh-grade.
Lin Ye's gaze swept over it.
Then—
his eyes locked onto something beneath a huge tree.
A crystalline mushroom.
Radiating seven colors.
Even under terrifying lightning pressure…
it stood untouched.
Lin Ye's pupils tightened.
"Eighth-grade herb…"
"Seven-Colored Spirit Blood Mushroom."