After Su Yuan removed the jade slip from his forehead, his face remained impassive. He spoke again with respect.
"Elder Zhang, the Sect Master said in the jade slip that you must also be present when Great Master Wanxiang of Longhua Temple comes next time. Therefore, regarding some of the instructions Great Master Wanxiang gave the shop at that time, as well as some of the requirements for refining the kasaya, Elder Zhang should be informed!"
Li Yan just smiled faintly.
"That kasaya is in the storage pouch. You can take it out and see if there is anything wrong with the refinement, so that it doesn't deviate from what you discussed at the beginning."
Su Yuan was waiting for these words. He immediately nodded in agreement.
In an instant, his divine sense had entered the storage pouch in his hand. Li Yan had already erased the divine sense imprint on it when he threw out the storage pouch just now.
Su Yuan's divine sense entered the storage pouch without any obstruction. With a sweep of his divine sense, he quickly checked the items in the storage pouch against the list he had just memorized. There was no abnormality on his face.
In the next moment, he pulled out a large red kasaya that shimmered with golden light.
At this time, Su Yuan pretended to turn his head to the side and glanced at the silent Xie Tongyi.
"Deacon Xie, come and appraise this item together to see if it is the same as what Great Master Wanxiang said at the beginning. Lest I miss something myself, and when the Great Master arrives, he points out a problem. That would ruin our sect's reputation."
Xie Tongyi saw that Su Yuan didn't tell him the contents of the jade slip. In front of Elder Zhang, he was too embarrassed to directly ask for the jade slip to check.
Among those things were several items he had negotiated with others for. Now the other party was asking him to appraise the kasaya together. He couldn't help but curse in his heart.
'Damn it, he's not even calling me Junior Brother anymore, he's calling me 'Deacon'. You won't even tell me what's in the storage pouch. I don't even know if the items I asked the sect to send are all here! But when it comes to appraising the kasaya, you have to call me over. You're just afraid of taking responsibility.'
The two of them were used to scheming against each other in their daily lives. They knew each other's intentions at a glance. However, their cooperation had always been quite good.
Thus, the two of them then carefully examined the kasaya. After finding no problems, they put it away again.
Afterward, Su Yuan and Xie Tongyi began to talk to Li Yan about the shop's affairs. Li Yan was actually not interested in this at all.
But as an elder of Falling Star Valley, he was also representing the sect and Xing Ming this time. He had to listen to these things whether he wanted to or not.
Lest Xing Ming ask when he returned, and he knew nothing. Then he would be too derelict in his duty as an elder.
Throughout the process, although Li Yan did not understand the way of business, he could still detect some inconsistencies and would occasionally interject with a few questions.
And Su Yuan and Xie Tongyi answered without any hesitation. From this, it could be seen that these two were more than capable of handling these problems and were very experienced.
However, Li Yan did not want to delve into whether the other party had any problems or if this was how business was actually done. He just needed to know what happened.
After all these matters were discussed, Li Yan began to ask about matters within the Sacred Demon City.
When Su Yuan and the other heard this, they knew that this Elder Zhang was not very familiar with the Sacred Demon City. However, the other party seemed very concerned about it.
The two of them thought that this Elder Zhang was here on a mission, perhaps to conduct a preliminary investigation for the sect's future expansion of influence.
So they began to tell Li Yan about the major and minor forces within the Sacred Demon City, selecting what they thought was important.
Regardless of which force's race, overall strength, or backing, they would explain in detail everything they knew.
To this, Xie Tongyi was also very enthusiastic. To be able to perform in front of a Golden Core cultivator, he certainly would not let himself appear too incompetent. When it was time to perform, he would definitely spare no effort.
After going around in circles for a while, Li Yan seemed to intentionally or unintentionally shift the topic to the Sacred Demon Palace.
"I believe the two deacons are already very clear about the sect's intention in opening a shop here. If we want to take deep root here in the future, then can we establish some relationship with the Sacred Demon Palace?"
Li Yan picked up his teacup, gently blew away a few gathered emerald-green tea leaves, took a sip, and said as if unintentionally.
After talking with this Elder Zhang for a while, the two found that the other party's attitude was not as cold as many mid-rank cultivators, who kept people at arm's length. So their tone also became a bit more relaxed.
"Reporting to the Elder, we have actually considered this point for a long time. For so many years, we have been trying to contact the Sacred Demon Palace through various means. However, because our sect's strength is really not worth mentioning in their eyes, it's difficult to make them value us! What's more, the people we can contact are mostly Foundation Establishment cultivators. The highest we can contact are Golden Core level cultivators, which is already the limit. But often, this type of cultivator's position in the palace is not very high, so there aren't many who can really speak up. We haven't made much progress."
This time, it was Xie Tongyi who spoke after a little thought, with some helplessness.
Li Yan's heart stirred slightly. He had been beating around the bush for a long time just for this. But from the looks of it, it was really not easy to get in touch with the Sacred Demon Palace.
However, from Xie Tongyi's words, he still knew that there had been some progress. Besides Foundation Establishment cultivators, they could even contact Golden Core cultivators. This was already an opportunity for Li Yan.
Li Yan seemed to agree with Xie Tongyi's words. He nodded lightly.
"Mm, to be able to do this in a dozen years is already not easy. After all, the Sacred Demon Palace is a super sect."
He spoke in a very experienced manner, but his appearance was much younger than Su Yuan and the others. However, with his cultivation, the two of them also believed that Li Yan's age should be at least about the same as theirs.
So, instead of feeling awkward about Li Yan's tone, they felt a sense of being recognized.
Then Li Yan's tone changed.
"Then, later, you will compile a list and explanation of the cultivators in the Sacred Demon Palace that you know, regardless of their rank, and give it to me. I will take it back to the Sect Master then. Here, even a small Foundation Establishment cultivator may, because of the forces behind them or individual reasons, allow us to find more value to use. After all, letting more people in the sect analyze it, with different ways of thinking, may lead to unexpected results. This matter must be done quickly. Once there is a breakthrough, the credit will also be yours!"
As Li Yan spoke, he tapped his fingers lightly on the table.
When Su Yuan and the other heard this, they were overjoyed. Just as this Elder Zhang said, although they had obtained a lot of information about the Sacred Demon Palace, they couldn't know it like the back of their hand, so they could only do their best.
With Elder Zhang's words, this information might be able to play a greater role. And as the providers of the information, their credit could naturally not be erased.
How could they know the true meaning behind Li Yan's request for this list?
Seeing that Li Yan's words and actions already showed signs of wanting to see them off, the two quickly stood up.
"Disciple obeys. We will sort out this information within two days. Please wait a little longer, Elder."
Li Yan nodded slightly. He suddenly saw a trace of hesitation flash across Su Yuan's face, but it was quickly hidden.
If he hadn't been locking onto these two with his divine sense, it would have been really hard to discover.
Li Yan didn't want to waste any more time. If there was nothing else, he would let them go back and sort out the information quickly.
"Alright, if there is nothing else, today's conversation ends here!"
Su Yuan looked at Xie Tongyi. After a little hesitation, he finally chose to speak. This made Xie Tongyi, who had already started to turn around, look over in surprise.
"Elder Zhang, you just mentioned that it would be best if we could establish a relationship with the Sacred Demon Palace. Actually, this disciple has been in contact with them recently. And... and, this matter has already reached the final stage. I was originally thinking of sending a message to the sect after the other party finally confirmed. Now that Elder Zhang is here, then, this matter must be reported in advance. It's just that whether it will be successful or not will still take some time to verify."
Xie Tongyi, on the side, was stunned. He knew nothing about this. Immediately, he cursed again in his heart.
'This old man has kept one hand after another. To think I was so open with him. He didn't let a single word slip before. Such a big matter, he wants to take all the credit for himself!'
They had been trying to establish a relationship with the Sacred Demon Palace for more than a day or two, but they had always spent a lot and gained little.
Now hearing Su Yuan dare to say such words in front of Elder Zhang, he must have really made a good connection. Xie Tongyi's eyes immediately burned as he looked at Su Yuan.
He and Su Yuan were in a relationship of mutual supervision and competition in the Sacred Demon City. In terms of business, they each relied on their own abilities.
Even when selling crucial medicinal pills and magical treasures, as long as it was within their authority, both of them had the authority to offer discounts.
However, Su Yuan had an extra right to make the final decision. But this authority was also a double-edged sword. If he abused it, it would become a sharp weapon in the other party's hands. Xie Tongyi would definitely send a message back to the sect to report him.
But Su Yuan was a smooth operator, both in business and in his dealings with people.
His purpose in coming to the Sacred Demon City was to earn more cultivation resources. As long as the new deacon did not provoke him and had no intention of seizing power, he would let the other party develop their own connections and influence in the city.
But if anyone really thought he was easy to bully, then the outcome would not be good.
Just like the two deacons in the past dozen years, both wanted to secretly push him out and monopolize this fat piece of meat. The result was that one left in disgrace, and the other was even punished to close-door cultivation for thirty years after returning to the sect, unable to go out.
This Xie Tongyi had the same idea as Su Yuan: earn more spirit stones for cultivation. As long as no one schemed against him, it was fine.
What's more, he was also very shrewd. This Su Yuan had not been replaced by the sect for a long time. Everyone knew that this person was not to be trifled with.
Therefore, after he came to the Sacred Demon City, he mostly thought about opening up more connections to gain more benefits for himself, and really had no intention of conflicting with Su Yuan.
Under the joint efforts of the two, the shop was thriving, and overall, their cooperation was considered harmonious.
For this reason, he had also wanted to establish relationships with some major sects, especially the Sacred Demon Palace.
But as he had just said, he had spent a lot of spirit stones, medicinal pills, and magical treasures, but currently, he could only pull in some marginal cultivators, which was irrelevant.
After cursing the other party for being unscrupulous in his heart, he heard Su Yuan's tone and felt that he had a fifty percent chance of success, otherwise he wouldn't have said it.
But then, Xie Tongyi was also very curious about what kind of person Su Yuan had come into contact with.
Li Yan originally didn't know what the fleeting hesitation on Su Yuan's face represented. But with his suspicious nature, he had already taken this matter to heart while remaining impassive on the surface.
He was originally still secretly vigilant, thinking that he should be on guard against this person. Now, hearing Su Yuan state the reason, he was finally relieved.
And Su Yuan did not know that he had just been marked as a "problematic" person by a Golden Core cultivator.
'No wonder he was hesitant. Although this person has already made some connection with the Sacred Demon Palace, it has not yet been truly achieved? It doesn't really count.'
Li Yan's face was impassive, and there was no joy upon hearing the news.
"Deacon Su, feel free to speak!"