Chapter 710: Seven hundred and ten - act in a self-contradictory way
"So, does this Ancient Heavenly Phoenix now belong to me?"
Yun Xiao’s words echoed through the space, making everyone reveal a sense of feeling; had this youth gone through all this trouble just for an ordinary barnyard hen?
As soon as these words were spoken, Wu Lin, whose life had just been saved by Yun Xiao, also showed a hint of embarrassment cross his face. Perhaps only he himself knew that the hen was something he had picked up by chance, and when he found it, the chicken was severely injured at that, let alone an Ancient Heavenly Phoenix.
"This brother, to be honest with you, actually..."
Wu Lin gritted his teeth, deciding to tell the truth. However, he had only started to speak when footsteps approached, and soon multiple figures came through the crowd, appearing before him.
"Ah ha, this Vein Demon is not bad; I’ll take it!"
A noble youth, who was waving a folding fan, his interest piqued upon seeing the hen, completely disregarded the onlookers and spoke out loud, his tone exuding arrogance, as if once he had spoken, no one else was allowed to contend.
"Judging by this person’s bearing, he seems to have quite the background!"
The onlookers sized up the noble youth, feeling the powerful presence of his companions, and a chill ran through their hearts, though they all found his face rather unfamiliar.
"This person doesn’t seem like a fool either, why would he also set his sights on that hen?"
As for another part of the crowd, their faces took on a peculiar expression. Just from this youth’s demeanor, it was clear his background was significant, yet such a person was also interested in that hen, which was quite baffling.
"Could it really be that the hen has Ancient Heavenly Phoenix blood in its veins?"
Even some began to entertain such a notion. If Yun Xiao’s previous actions had not caused the crowd much concern, then the moment this seemingly distinguished youth spoke up, they couldn’t hold the same opinion.
Moreover, everyone knew that after Yun Xiao had helped Wu Lin overcome the fruit’s curse, the hen should belong to this plainly-dressed youth. The noble youth’s interference might mean there was more excitement to watch.
"Sorry, it already belongs to me, and I have no intention of reselling it!"
Seeing the item almost within grasp, someone came to cause trouble, Yun Xiao’s face darkened. Upon finishing speaking, he stepped forward to unlock the chain on the hen’s feet.
Hiss!
However, just as Yun Xiao slightly bent over, a sharp sound of air being pierced suddenly came through, and he felt a chill in his heart. Without completing his move, he shifted his feet and darted to the side.
Ding!
A flash of silver light shot towards him, finally hitting the chain. Had Yun Xiao’s evasive move been just a bit slower, the back of his hand might have been pierced by that silver light.
"What do you mean by this?"
Yun Xiao, turning around, stared coldly at the elegant youth, knowing that the sneak attack had come from him, for between the fingers of his right hand lingered a faint gleam of silver light.
It appeared to be a silver needle, yet to Yun Xiao, this person felt much more dangerous than the Flying Flower Empress, who had used silver needles as her weapon.
And from the youth’s lingering aura, Yun Xiao could clearly sense that this young man was already a late-stage Qi Seeking Realm cultivator, many times stronger than those geniuses on the Hidden Dragon Continent.
"Tell him what I mean?"
The noble youth seemed to lack even the interest to speak to Yun Xiao, fiddling with the silver needle in his hand without lifting his head, he casually spoke.
"My young master said he wanted this Vein Demon a moment ago, are you looking for death?"
An old man beside the youth stepped forward, his chilling gaze fixed on Yun Xiao as he spoke in a deep tone, then glanced coldly at the surrounding crowd, making people dare not meet his eyes.
This old man’s power was even greater than the noble youth’s, reaching the peak of the Qi Seeking Realm, comparable even to Qiao Guinong, who had died at the hands of Lin Zhenjiang.
With such an assertive manner and the intimidation of his power, the crowd held their breath for a time, unanimously believing that the plainly-dressed youth would know to back down.
"There’s a proper order to everything; this item belongs to my big brother Yun Xiao. Are you planning to rob it forcibly?"
Yun Xiao also looked somewhat displeased, but at this moment, the one who spoke up first was Lin Xuanhao. Although he did not want to provoke trouble, when it came to him, he wouldn’t retreat an inch.
Lin Xuanhao knew that, no matter what, this was the Meridian Spirit trade zone of Yuyang City. If everyone could simply snatch others’ belongings without question, wouldn’t that be chaos? It was expected that the Spirit Fighting Commerce, which controlled Yuyang City, wouldn’t allow such things to happen.
"Robbery? Who said we’re going to rob?"
At this moment, the noble young man finally spoke up, sweeping his gaze over Yun Xiao and Wu Lin, then said leisurely, "As far as I know, you haven’t completed the payment yet, have you? Since that is the case, how can you say this item is yours?"
When the young man uttered the last sentence, his gaze dismissively flicked over Yun Xiao, and with those words, everyone felt a strange sensation rising within them again. How come this statement seemed faultless?
Then, the crowd remembered that the deal with this old hen was a bit unusual just now, and they realized that the young man must have witnessed that scene; hence, he was so confident.
"Boss, give me a price, this young master won’t be like certain people, who obviously have no money yet still want to buy valuable items!"
By "certain people", the noble young man was naturally referring to Yun Xiao. It seemed that he indeed had witnessed what had happened here earlier, and was now mocking Yun Xiao as someone poor, knowing only to use devious tricks.
"This..."
As soon as the young man spoke up, the boss Wu Lin suddenly became hesitant, because it was clear to him that this person was extraordinary and most certainly able to afford the price.
It must be said that Wu Lin was indeed one to see profit and forget righteousness. Just before, he had agreed to the transaction because Yun Xiao was able to save his life.
But now, with the Infant-No-More Fruit no longer inside his body and thinking about how this ordinary old hen could possibly be sold for a sky-high price again, Wu Lin grew unsettled.
"This Wu Lin, he wouldn’t be thinking of reneging, would he?"
Seeing Wu Lin’s hesitation, the onlooking crowd revealed a hint of contempt in their eyes, for they had all heard the content of the transaction earlier and did not expect this guy to contemplate reneging so quickly.
As for the gazes and thoughts of these onlookers, Wu Lin wouldn’t care much. He didn’t have any leverage that Yun Xiao could hold against him, for surely the kid couldn’t put the Infant-No-More Fruit back into his body, right?
"This despicable fatty!"
Yun Xiao’s face also looked a bit unpleasant. He had thought that by insisting on the transaction with Wu Lin, the old hen would belong to him. These men were certainly powerful, but in such a public setting, they couldn’t just forcibly take it, right?
Who would have expected, under the temptation of certain benefits, Wu Lin actually began to consider backing out—how could this not enrage Yun Xiao? He still hadn’t quite figured out these people’s true nature.
"This is a Qi Breaking Pill of Earth Rank Low Level; taking it can increase the odds of breaking through to the Qi Seeking Realm Early Stage by fifty percent. What do you think of trading it for this Vein Demon, boss?"
Just as Wu Lin was showing a hint of hesitation, the noble young man had already reached for his waist, then a jade bottle appeared in his palm out of thin air, shimmering with a faint silver glow.
"What... Qi Breaking Pill?!"
Hearing the name of this elixir, everyone took a sharp breath of cold air, because for a famous elixir like this, any Cultivator at the Peak of Spirit Vein Realm would be familiar with it.
The Qi Breaking Pill was an Earth Rank Low Level elixir that could increase the chance of breakthrough, and its sole effect was to increase the odds by fifty percent for a cultivator at the Peak of Spirit Vein Realm to break through to the Qi Seeking Realm.
Moreover, it was a direct leap over Half-step Earth Rank. It seemed that the noble young man had also sensed the Meridian Qi Cultivation of Wu Lin and knew that with the temptation of the Qi Breaking Pill, his goal was certain to succeed without any surprises.
"Good, it’s a deal!"
Indeed, under the temptation of the Qi Breaking Pill, Wu Lin, who had been somewhat hesitant and conflicted, immediately straightened his expression and the sound from his mouth, while making the onlooking crowd more disdainful, also darkened the faces of Yun Xiao and Lin Xuanhao like gloomy water.
However, the onlookers didn’t concern themselves with affairs that were not their own. The young man had a charming presence and an extraordinary aura; there was absolutely no need to offend such a person over a rough-clothed youngster who seemed to appear out of nowhere.
Therefore, under such circumstances, no one came forward to voice out fairness for Yun Xiao, and the old hen he had earned by his own ability was about to fall into the hands of the noble young man.
"Boss, are you sure you want to go back on your word like this?"
As things had progressed to this point, Yun Xiao settled down instead. After communicating with a certain existence in his mind, he directly spoke in a deep voice. His voice contained a subtle strangeness that others could not detect.
But what no one noticed was that as soon as Yun Xiao spoke, a faint aura suddenly burst from under his feet and darted swiftly toward Wu Lin’s feet, finally burrowing in abruptly.
"Boss, catch it!"
Right after Yun Xiao’s words, the noble young man tossed the jade bottle in his hand towards Wu Lin and then turned his head, speaking with a smile that was not quite a smile, "Now, it belongs to me; are you sure you want to compete with me for it?"
The sound of light laughter echoed in the skies of the Meridian Spirit trade zone. Although the young man seemed amiable in speech, the veiled threat in his tone was apparent to everyone.