A short while later, the five of them had flown into the Tianli Clan's territory. The Third Elder spoke in low whispers with Su Hong along the way.
The two women, both peerless beauties of the world, seemed to be getting along splendidly upon meeting, without any thought of comparing themselves to each other.
The Third Elder didn't neglect Wan Qingshe either. Occasionally, she would point out a scenic spot, as if introducing the local customs of the Tianli Clan, and chat with them for a bit.
On the surface, Wan Qingshe nodded and admired the view, but in his heart, he was filled with disdain.
'Just a bunch of mountain barbarians. Looking at the scenery here is no different from looking at the forests and caves where those low-intelligence demonic beasts live!'
Below, Tianli Clan members dressed in strange, colorful clothes came and went.
Ninety percent of the men had strips of cloth of various colors wrapped around their heads, circle after circle, as if they were wearing a hoop...
There were even women who were barefoot, carrying bamboo baskets on their backs. The baskets held either infants or a jumble of miscellaneous items.
This was a place where primitive humans and cultivators mingled. How could it compare to his own sect, where spirit birds and immortal cranes flew everywhere, immortal charm lingered, the men were ethereal as immortals, and the women were like fairies in the sky.
That was what an immortal's sacred land should look like. How could it be like this place? Wan Qingshe scoffed inwardly.
The two masked, black-robed elders remained silent the entire time, never leaving Su Hong's side. Two faint, almost imperceptible auras swirled about a foot from Su Hong's body, like an invisible wall protecting her.
The Third Elder knew the purpose of their visit. Although she hadn't inquired about Su Hong's specific identity, she had already guessed that Su Hong's background was extraordinary. It seemed that Gui Yun Lai Xi was taking the matter they had entrusted to them very seriously.
After entering the clan's territory, they flew for a while before a large stilted building appeared before Su Hong and the others. The building stood amidst a dozen huge trees.
Outside the stilted building, thick and thin vines were wrapped all over, as if "strangling" the building, which was then suspended by the vines at an angle, giving it an ancient yet verdant feel.
The Third Elder flew directly in, and the other four followed. This was not the Heavenly Dawn Hall, but a place for daily reception of outside cultivators.
Upon entering the stilted building, Wan Qingshe immediately looked around. This building was not as shabby as it looked from the outside. The interior was very spacious.
They had entered a large hall that could accommodate four to five hundred people, not at all like the limited space suggested by the dozen or so giant trees surrounding it from the outside. This was achieved using the power of formations.
Inside the hall, there were rows of wide, clean, and tidy chairs, giving it a spacious and bright feel.
Several cultivators stood at the entrance, all at the Foundation Establishment stage. They were now respectfully bowing to the Third Elder.
"Fellow Daoist Wan, you may need to wait a moment. I will first discuss some matters with Miss Su and the others, and then we can talk in detail. Is that alright? In recent years, our clan's elders have all been in seclusion, and I am also stretched thin. I'm afraid I've been a bit neglectful to our guests!"
The moment her feet touched the floor, the Third Elder turned to look at the group, and then smiled apologetically at Wan Qingshe.
"Oh, then Third Elder, please feel free. The matter we need to discuss is not urgent."
Wan Qingshe cupped his hands in a refined manner, but in his heart, he was already very dissatisfied with the Tianli Clan for making him wait here.
Besides, he liked being with Su Hong, but she was about to conduct a transaction, and he certainly couldn't watch from the side.
'Barbarians are barbarians. Even when receiving guests, they are so rude. Your clan has five or six Nascent Soul cultivators, can't you just call another one out?'
Wan Qingshe felt a surge of disgust in his heart.
"Very well!"
The Third Elder then beckoned to the several cultivators at the door. Soon, a young man walked over. The Third Elder waved her sleeve in Wan Qingshe's direction and then gave the young man a few instructions.
The young man immediately turned and walked towards Wan Qingshe. Wan Qingshe was stunned.
'This... is how they treat guests here? I am a Nascent Soul expert...'
In his sect, or in other sects he had visited before, even in the small subordinate sects, the ones who served tea and water were all beautiful maids, as beautiful as celestial fairies.
They moved like flowing clouds and water, walking back and forth before one's eyes, a pleasing sight to behold.
Even if not, there would be beautiful puppets, indistinguishable from real people. Why would the Tianli Clan send a male cultivator over?
But the Third Elder didn't mind. She had gone out to greet them personally, and with her experience, she felt that the Sword-Washing Sect's sudden visit was not a good thing.
The two sides had no connection at all. She had never heard the Great Sacrificial Priest mention any friendship between the Sword-Washing Sect and the Tianli Clan in the past.
When the Tianli Clan faced an existential crisis, the Sword-Washing Sect had never shown up. She naturally had no need to deliberately curry favor with them.
"Senior, please!"
The young man arrived in front of Wan Qingshe and also bowed respectfully. He was just following orders; it didn't matter what the other person's status was.
Moreover, in the Tianli Clan, since the Great Sacrificial Priests of past generations were mostly women, there was no deliberate practice of having women serve tea and water. Whoever was on duty would perform these tasks. After all, they were just minor chores.
Su Hong, on the other hand, watched all this with a smile. She rather liked the Tianli Clan. The customs seemed very simple and honest, lacking the lofty, cold, and emotionless feeling of immortal sects.
And this place exuded a primitive and fresh feeling everywhere. This was a flavor she liked: fresh and free, unrestrained.
"Fellow Daoist Su, let's go inside and talk!"
The Third Elder turned back at this moment, her long, jade-like legs striding towards the side of the hall where there were several separate private rooms. At this moment, Wan Qingshe was also being led to one of them.
Inside a private room, the Third Elder and Su Hong sat opposite each other. The two masked, black-robed elders still stood silently behind Su Hong.
"I am Su Hong, a deacon from the headquarters of our merchant guild. For the matter entrusted to us by your esteemed clan, we have gone through a lot of trouble, but we have finally fulfilled our mission!"
Su Hong's face wore a solemn expression. With no outsiders present, she reintroduced herself. The Third Elder nodded.
'This woman named Su Hong indeed has a significant background. She is a deacon from the Gui Qu Lai Xi headquarters. This matter will certainly have considerable implications and may lead to future trouble. It is certainly necessary to send someone like her over.'
Neither of them explicitly stated what the matter was, but both understood. In all these years, they had only entrusted one thing to Gui Qu Lai Xi: to purchase the physical body of a fire-attribute female Nascent Soul cultivator, prepared for Hong Yin...
After half an incense stick's time, the Third Elder glanced at the beautiful, voluptuous woman standing behind her and couldn't help but scoff inwardly.
'The spirit root attribute and physical body strength are perfectly fine, but I wonder if Fellow Daoist Hong Yin will be willing to accept it. She has such a cold demeanor, but this body is too seductive, completely at odds with the Buddhist Sect...'
Previously, she had thoroughly examined this physical body. The spirit root and physical strength were both fine. Moreover, this body was not a corpse, but a living person who had lost consciousness.
The body still retained its sealed divine soul. After sealing the other party, it would be easier for Hong Yin to perform the body seizure and achieve a better fit, rather than a forceful intrusion.
However, the Third Elder had a strange feeling. This body's aura and Hong Yin's were complete opposites. Especially since this woman had a head of blue hair, which made her look even more enchanting and alluring.
She didn't know where Gui Qu Lai Xi had obtained it. With a body like this, even if Hong Yin wanted to assimilate its appearance in the future, it would probably take a hundred years to change it back to her original look.
Fortunately, Hong Yin would likely shave off this striking head of long, azure hair after a successful body seizure, which would make her less conspicuous.
The promise her clan had made would be considered fulfilled. As for the matter of appearance, the Third Elder wouldn't concern herself with Hong Yin's thoughts. It wasn't something she could decide anyway.
Although Hong Yin had not directly participated in sealing the fifth-rank Yin Mountain Beast, her role in it was no less than Li Yan's.
Whether it was obtaining information on the fifth-rank Yin Mountain Beast or the subsequent fusion of the seal, it was all her work. Therefore, the Tianli Clan was willing to pay a great price to fulfill their agreement with her.
With a wave of her hand, the Third Elder put the body away. She would then hand it over to Hong Yin to fulfill the Tianli Clan's promise as soon as possible.
"Here is the remaining balance of spirit stones!"
As the Third Elder spoke, she handed over a storage ring. The transaction amount was clearly very large. Even after the initial deposit, the remaining spirit stones could not be stored in an ordinary storage pouch.
Moreover, transactions between Nascent Soul cultivators were basically conducted using high-grade spirit stones.
Su Hong extended a slender, breathtakingly beautiful white hand. With two almost translucent jade-like fingers, she picked up the storage ring. A quick probe with her divine sense, and she put the storage ring away.
After putting away the storage ring, Su Hong flipped her wrist, and a jade slip appeared on the table.
"Third Elder, you must keep in mind the matter I explained earlier. Otherwise, if something happens, it will not be the responsibility of our merchant guild."
"This jade slip contains the precautions I just mentioned, and there are more detailed explanations."
Su Hong had just explained the potential problems that could arise after using this body, including what the owner's original cultivation was, what to pay attention to during the body seizure, and so on.
But this jade slip recorded the magical art used to seal this body's divine soul, as well as the areas where problems might arise. This was essentially telling them the origin of this body.
Su Hong was an old hand in business. Before the other party paid the spirit stones, she would of course not hand over the most important things.
The Third Elder swept her divine sense over it and also clarified the contents of the jade slip. This was not her prying into Hong Yin's privacy; Hong Yin herself could not come to trade, so the Third Elder had to inspect the contents of the transaction.
After all, the agreement with Hong Yin was based on a certain degree of risk and trust.
In addition to the activation and release of the sealing art, the jade slip also contained various precautions. Among them, it specified three regions that should be avoided as much as possible before the body's aura changed.
Those three regions were all outside the Wind God Continent.
The Third Elder knew that if there was a problem with this body, it could only be in one region. The other party was still trying their best to conceal its origin.
Just looking at the scope of these three regions, they were already quite large, and investigating would not be easy. Moreover, these three regions should be far apart, and there was even the name of a region that the Third Elder had never heard of.
"Deacon Su, if you have time, please stay in our clan for a few days. Some of our clan's delicacies have a unique flavor. Although they can't boost cultivation, they can at least lift your spirits!"
Seeing that the transaction was complete, the Third Elder also put away the jade slip. She was thinking of going to see Wan Qingshe, and also made a polite offer.
The reputation of Gui Qu Lai Xi was guaranteed. Apart from the exorbitant fees, everything else was impeccable. She was quite satisfied with this.
"Oh, I do have one more matter here. I wonder if it's convenient for the Third Elder to answer?"
But Su Hong remained seated, with no intention of getting up.
"Deacon Su is too polite. Please speak!"
The Third Elder asked directly.
"I wonder if a cultivator named Li Yan has come to your esteemed clan. He is not a member of the Tianli Clan, nor is he from the Wind God Continent!"
Su Hong spoke with a smile, but perhaps it was the Third Elder's imagination, she seemed to see Su Hong's body straighten slightly as she spoke.
"Li... Yan? What's wrong, does Fellow Daoist Su know this person?"
Hearing the question, the Third Elder was taken aback. She didn't answer directly but asked a question in return.
Li Yan had been here for a while and was known and respected by the clan members below. So, if someone outside wanted to know of his existence, they could still get some information with some deliberate inquiry.
Especially these people opposite her, who were from the Gui Qu Lai Xi merchant guild. Their information network was particularly well-informed.
"I'm not sure if it's the person I know. Is he from another continent?"
Su Hong also didn't answer directly but asked again.
The next moment, Su Hong saw the Third Elder's somewhat scrutinizing gaze. The Third Elder still didn't answer. Su Hong immediately understood the Third Elder's concern.
Was she thinking that she was here to gather information on Li Yan to sell to his enemies, or that she had other malicious intentions?
"Third Elder misunderstands. I met that person once on the Desolate Moon Continent..."
Immediately, Su Hong's voice transmission sounded in the Third Elder's mind.
After a dozen breaths, the Third Elder's expression became a bit strange. She looked at Su Hong with a peculiar light in her eyes. The content of what the other party had said was very detailed and indeed made sense.
Gui Qu Lai Xi of course also had branches on the Desolate Moon Continent, and Su Hong was very knowledgeable about Li Yan's situation in the Malevolent Spirit Sect. Some of the things she said, the Third Elder wasn't even very clear about.
But the things the Third Elder did know about Li Yan, the other party had said correctly. This meant that the other party was not here to gather information; she knew more than the Third Elder herself. What was there to inquire about?
After Su Hong finished speaking, she stared at the Third Elder with her beautiful eyes, unblinking. She was, of course, sixty percent sure that the Li Yan who had appeared here was the same annoying fellow she knew.
Otherwise, she might not have made up her mind so quickly to personally make a trip to the Wind God Continent. She had originally been training in a small minor realm not far from the Wind God Continent.
Later, in a branch office, she saw a piece of news that only Nascent Soul level deacons could see.
It was a mission issued by the headquarters, stating the need for a fire-attribute Nascent Soul-level physical body, followed by some specific requirements.
At that time, Su Hong was feeling a bit bored. Her kind of training was not just about fighting and killing people; more often than not, it involved looking at various transaction data and news, and then analyzing it herself, which was very tedious.
For things she hadn't encountered before, when the time was right, she had to personally participate.
Su Hong had never encountered something like trading a Nascent Soul-level physical body before. After all, this kind of business was not exactly above board, and the merchant guild only did it occasionally.
Thus, Su Hong became interested in this mission. She activated her authority, and a few days later, she requested more detailed, top-secret data and information...