Chapter 843: Chapter 843 The Small Grey Area
Claude Avalynn instantly put on a panicked expression and said, "Mr. Baton, we might know each other, but if you start spouting nonsense, I can still slap you with a defamation lawsuit."
"You!" Saumel Baton’s anger flared!
He stared daggers at Claude Avalynn, his voice turning ice-cold, "Mr. Avalynn, aren’t you stepping way out of line here?"
"What’s wrong with looking out for my guests?" Claude Avalynn acted all innocent.
Right then, Saumel Baton got it.
He let out a cold laugh, "Claude Avalynn, what’s Mason Raymond giving you that makes you shield him like this?"
"Giving me something? I’m just doing my job." Claude Avalynn chuckled back.
Saumel Baton went quiet for a bit, his eyes boring into Claude Avalynn with that cold stare.
After a moment, Saumel Baton sucked in a deep breath and said, "Claude Avalynn, whatever he’s promised you, you’re gonna regret this!"
"Hehe, really? Connor Baton, that’s not your problem to worry about." Claude Avalynn laughed it off.
Saumel Baton marched straight up to me and hissed, "Mason, pretty impressive getting Claude Avalynn on your side. I underestimated you."
I shot back without caring, "You think I can’t see through such an obvious trick?"
"Good." Saumel Baton nodded like he was impressed.
"I might not be able to kill you, but mark my words - you’ll get nothing at the Exchange Meeting! We’ll see about that!"
He spun around to face the girl and said coldly, "Keep your herbs. Don’t trade with her, or I’ll kick you out of the Exchange Meeting!"
The girl didn’t dare say another word and just nodded softly.
After Saumel Baton stormed off, I turned to Claude Avalynn and said, "Thanks, Mr. Avalynn."
Claude Avalynn kept his face blank and replied, "Don’t thank me. Just remember what you promised."
With those words, Claude Avalynn turned and walked away.
Once he was gone, Elena Green whispered in shock, "What did you promise him? He’s willing to tick off Saumel Baton just to help you?"
I didn’t hesitate and said seriously, "Claude Avalynn’s no good guy either. He’s after Mabel Sean’s bloodline too..."
"So you...?" Elena Green looked a bit stunned.
"I agreed to give him a bit of Mabel Sean’s bloodline."
"You... you’re not really gonna give it to him, are you?" Elena Green swallowed hard.
I sneered, "Of course not. Anyone who wants Mabel Sean’s bloodline is my enemy, and they all need to die!"
"Since he’s my enemy, he deserves to get played!"
Elena Green had nothing to say and chuckled to herself. She never thought I would fool not just Saumel Baton but Claude Avalynn too!
"Miss Green, please keep this between us," I asked.
Elena Green nodded, "Of course I’ll keep it secret, just remember... Saumel Baton’s threat. He said you won’t get anything at the Exchange Meeting."
"With his influence, I don’t think he’s bluffing."
I sighed and added, "I’ll just have to wing it now."
Right then, Elena Green suggested, "How about this? Give me your stuff, and I’ll help you out at the Exchange Meeting?"
I perked up. That was actually a solid idea!
Though, being naturally suspicious, I couldn’t bring myself to trust her completely.
After thinking it over, I reasoned with myself. I had even told Elena Green about tricking Claude Avalynn. Was there anything else I couldn’t trust her with?
"Alright then. Thanks a ton, Miss Green. If you pull this off, I’ll always remember what you did for me." I said, bowing deep.
"Don’t worry about that. I’m doing this for Mabel’s sake." Elena Green laughed and replied.
I immediately handed over everything I had to Elena Green.
At this point, I had no other choice but to hope Elena Green would come through.
——
The next day.
I went back to the Exchange Meeting. Like always, I set up my sign and waited for people to come by.
Too bad the whole morning went by without a single person stopping at my stall.
That’s when Saumel Baton showed up from far away.
He sneered, "So, did anyone come trade with you?"
I glanced at him and replied coldly, "Don’t get too excited. You’ll pay for messing with me."
"Hahaha! You must be learning what happens when you mess with me now, right?" Saumel Baton shot back.
I decided to ignore him.
I packed up my stall, turned around, and left.
Since nobody was coming to trade, there was no point in me hanging around.
I headed out of the palace.
This was some abandoned Mystic Realm. Besides the broken-down palace, everything else was wasteland.
When I got in, I noticed something weird about this Mystic Realm.
The whole Mystic Realm was empty. The strange smell was really uncomfortable.
For martial artists at the Marquis level, very few things could make them uncomfortable.
Since Marquis practice involves soaking up qi, anything causing discomfort was mostly tied to dark energy, the opposite of qi.
I looked around and muttered, "This dead scene must be from dark energy’s influence."
But I couldn’t sense even a hint of dark energy around me.
I sniffed around, trying to track down where this weird smell was coming from.
Unfortunately, I spent half the day but still couldn’t find where the smell started.
The strange smell seemed to come from everywhere with no clear source.
"Weird," I muttered, suspicion clear in my voice.
I floated up in the air, looking down at the huge Mystic Realm.
At the same time, I closed my eyes and started to Deduce Heavenly Secrets!
If Deducing Heavenly Secrets can find places packed with qi, then in reverse, it should definitely find dark energy!
Wherever dark energy exists, qi would be weak or completely gone!
So by using Deducing Heavenly Secrets to spot areas where qi is scarce, I’m likely to pinpoint where the dark energy is!
I stood with my eyes slightly closed, feeling the grand Dao.
Right then, the Inner View appeared before me again.
In the Inner View, all the lights dimmed big time.
This was one reason behind the Realm’s decline.
Within the Inner View, I kept searching for weird stuff in the Dao.
Soon, I spotted a few unusual things happening in the Dao.
These abnormalities all came from the palace, probably because someone was carrying those ten-thousand-year-old medicinal materials.
"Huh?"
Right then, I noticed a small grey area in the Grand Dao, clearly different from the natural light of the Dao!
I immediately opened my eyes and found the direction the Dao was pointing to.
"It should be there." I nodded in that direction and muttered.
Not wanting to waste time, I immediately headed towards the direction the Dao showed me.
