The portal collapsed with a soft pop, and Stella said nothing as she trudged over to the bench beneath Ashlock's canopy. She collapsed onto it with a long sigh, closed her eyes briefly, and murmured, "That was exhausting. I can't tell if the child or his guard was more annoying to deal with."
Stella was clearly not cut out for politics after spending a childhood alone, but unfortunately, she was the only one other than Larry who currently knew the ancient language.
Ashlock wished he could combine Diana and Stella's talents somehow.
He would request that Diana learn the ancient language, as she was far better at handling politics, but it was clear she had no desire to learn it. According to Stella, Diana had given up after just a week of studying and proceeded to spend the next year in the library cultivating and reading random books.
"You could hear all of that nonsense, right?" Stella said, her voice laced with exhaustion. "How did I do?"
'You did great,' Ashlock wrote on his trunk. Stella translated it in record time, and Ashlock started thinking she was fluent in the ancient language. She really was a genius.
"Thanks." Stella smiled. "I came back here to inquire about your opinion, Tree, as you are the Patriarch of our sect. Personally, I think we should work with Ryker somehow."
It was a great question, as Ryker von Silverspire could bring significant fortune to the Ashfallen sect through wealth, connections, and family. It also helped that he was a clueless child, making it easy to draw him to their side or convince him of certain business ventures without him asking too many questions.
However, it was a double-edged sword, particularly due to Sebastian. While Ryker might be easy to manipulate, the presence of his Star Core level guard would make extracting money from the young lord a challenging affair.
If they could somehow get rid of the guard, everything would be perfect. But how? There was no way the guard would leave if asked and entrust Ryker to a rival family.
As Ashlock's mind raced with solutions, Diana appeared, walking through the haunted mist she had coated the entire mountain peak in to obscure it from the Silverspire family.
"Stella, you look exhausted," Diana said dryly. "What happened over there? Mind catching me up?"
Stella groaned at Diana's comment and explained lethargically, "Ryker von Silverspire, the seventh son of the Silverspire family, is here. Their Grand Elder is ascending to the Nascent Soul realm, and all of his children are fighting over an inheritance."
"Right... what does that have to do with us though?" Diana asked.
"Whichever child generates the most profit for the Silverspire family will receive the inheritance. So, Ryker has come here to set up a profitable business."
"Oh? That's great," Diana said, grinning, a rarity for her. "Anyone from Silverspire is loaded with wealth, and you say it's the seventh son? Must be quite young."
Stella nodded. "Yeah, he's a little brat. His guard said he's only five."
"He has a guard?" Diana inquired, and Stella nodded. "That's unfortunate. I was hoping he came alone, but I guess that's an unreasonable assumption. Do you know if this guard reports everything back to the Silverspire family? If so, we need to be careful around him."
Stella shrugged. "I didn't ask, but that's a good point. I think the guard makes working with Ryker a significant risk for us."
"What's the time frame?"
"For what?"
"The fight for the inheritance," Diana said as she sat beside Stella on the bench. "Depending on the time frame, we might be able to pressure them a bit. I assume the guard wants the best for the child? If so, maybe we can get him to stay away while we extract the money from the child."
"They said it would take the Grand Elder a year or so to ascend, but from the sounds of it, that's just a guess."
Ashlock understood Diana's implication and had to agree. They were dealing with an impressionable young child who had been given far too much money for anyone his age to manage, and he had a strict timeframe to make a significant return. So they were the ones with the upper hand here.
For Ashlock, the spirit stones and dragon crowns would provide ample resources to rapidly develop the Ashfallen sect and perhaps even Darklight City. The gamble was worth taking, but only if they could remove Sebastian as an obstacle.
"Did you suggest any business ideas to Ryker?" Diana inquired.
Stella shook her head, "No, but the kid is dead set on starting an alchemy business."
Diana glanced at Ashlock's canopy. "Just to clarify, our plan is to develop into the alchemy business using those cauldron plants and all the ingredients we can grow, right?"
Ashlock flashed his leaf to signal agreement. Diana couldn't read his words, but she understood his gestures.
"I see. It makes sense." Diana rubbed her chin in thought. "We're a small sect with a unique advantage that we need to capitalize on as much as possible. Alchemy is undoubtedly the best way to quickly gain fame, connections, and money."
"Why do we even need the brat's money? Can't Ashlock handle everything?" Stella asked, apparently nursing a headache. "It would be so much easier to just tell them to leave."
Diana reassured Stella with a warm smile. "Let me handle it, okay? This is a big opportunity for us. You may think Ashlock can do everything on his own, but can he manufacture porcelain pill bottles and grow every single ingredient?"
She looked up at Ashlock's canopy. "Can you grow spirit grass?"
Ashlock looked through his options, and he actually could grow spirit grass with his {Blooming Root Flower Production} since the grass was counted as a type of flower.
Flashing his leaf once, Diana appeared surprised. "Wait, you can? Huh, good to know. Well, I'm sure there's something you can't produce that we may need to purchase, and think of all the formations we can build with those spirit stones!"
"I know, I know," Stella waved her off. "You go deal with it."
"Sure, leave it all to me," Diana said, standing to depart. "Patriarch, I'm thinking of telling them we plan to establish an alchemy guild, hence the tournament. I'll offer Ryker the opportunity to invest his wealth into it for a share of the profits. Something small, like ten percent. That way, we can pursue our own interests, take all of his money, and keep everyone happy."
It was an excellent plan, but Ashlock added, 'We'll construct our alchemy workshop in the mine. Inform them that Ryker can visit anytime, but Sebastian can only come if he swears an oath of secrecy.'
Stella relayed his words to Diana, who nodded in agreement. "Sure, I can tell them that. Anything else?"
Ashlock felt confident in letting Diana manage the remaining negotiations. He wanted to focus on transforming Darklight City into a floral paradise overnight. There was also another issue he had been delaying and intended to address that night. 'Stella, accompany Diana and retrieve a Fire Qi-producing flower from the Redclaw Grand Elder.'
Stella groaned after reading the message, but as the loyal girl she was, the sloth-like human stood up from the comfortable bench and joined Diana. "I'll get the flower and leave right away."
Stella reattached her black wooden mask, and Diana mimicked her action by summoning a different white wooden mask than Ashlock had seen before.
"How many of those things do you have?" Stella asked, and Diana shrugged, "Quite a few."
The Qi in the air shuddered as space tore itself apart. It was astonishing how easily Ashlock found conducting spatial techniques across his body after the merge. Just like before, he made sure to keep the portal aimed away so he wouldn't expose himself.
***
Sebastian maintained his composure as he watched the smug Grand Elder sitting across the table from him. It had been several minutes since the mysterious girl left, and the Redclaw Grand Elder refused to elaborate on her origins or her supposed powerful backing.
Who in the sect could have a more powerful backing than his young master? Especially in a remote city like this. In fact, how had the Redclaws even gained power here?
Things didn't add up, and Sebastian felt uneasy about trusting Stella. Was she from a rival demonic sect? Or a hidden child of the Patriarch?
Had he made a mistake by not bringing more Star Core experts with him to this backwater city? He had researched Darklight City before coming, and although it was impressively large, it was ultimately a mining city with no other noteworthy exports.
The fact that such a small family with a single Star Core cultivator could rule over such a vast city indicated the low level of development here. It was so primitive that he had even mistaken the city for a forest when he had gazed idly out the airship window.
Sebastian nearly jolted in his seat, barely reigning in his orbiting liquid silver in time to prevent it from obliterating the rift in space that reappeared. Through the portal, he saw two women backed by a dense, swirling mist with eerie shadows of ghoulish creatures lurking in the dark.
Stella was the first to step through, her blonde hair in a ponytail and the same black mask hiding her features. Due to the thin sheen of spatial Qi at the peak of the Soul Fire realm coating her skin, Sebastian had no way to use spiritual sight to bypass the simple wooden mask and see her true appearance.
"Sebastian and Ryker, this is Diana." Stella gestured toward the slightly shorter woman at her side. Diana wore a white wooden mask, and her short black hair covered the top half. Sebastian also noted that she wore artifact clothing more suitable for combat and stealth operations than Stella's traditional garments.
Stella then addressed the Grand Elder after briefly introducing her companion. "Grand Elder, I require a Fire Qi-producing flower from you."
The elderly man appeared perplexed by the request, but his golden ring flashed, and a beautiful crimson flower materialized in his hand. "I hope this Blaze Serpent Rose satisfies him. It's a common flower from our home region near an active volcano."
Stella carefully took the exquisite flower, twirling it in her hand before depositing it into her spatial ring. "This should suffice. I will take my leave now."
Sebastian silently observed their interactions, and his lifetime of political experience allowed him to discern who held the upper hand in the relationship. Stella's ability to demand something without reason from a Grand Elder suggested her backing was above the status of the Redclaws. The mysterious male figure they referred to as 'him' might even be at the peak of the Star Core realm.
This was dangerous. Ignorance was the best way to find a knife in one's back.
"Big sister!" Ryker called out, and Stella looked over her shoulder. "Mhm?"
"Can I come with you—"
"No." Stella ruthlessly cut off the young lord with a resounding no and vanished through the rift that instantly closed behind her.
Sebastian was baffled. He had never seen someone so averse to making a deal with the Silverspire family, and he was fully prepared for Stella to agree to his young lord's request so he could follow him through that portal and learn what lay beyond.
But to think they weren't even interested, do they not want to exploit us? Sebastian mused to himself as he eyed the new masked woman who gracefully sat beside the Grand Elder. "Let's get to business, shall we?" She said without pause.
"What type of business?" Sebastian asked.
"The type where I make an offer, and you either take it or leave and do your own thing without any assistance."
The stream of liquid silver orbiting Sebastian briefly sped up as he failed to conceal his rage at being so disrespected. Did they think they had the upper hand here? These country bumpkins were far too arrogant.
Diana tilted her head, her featureless wooden mask mocking him. "A guard of the elusive Silverspire family can't even control his emotions during civil negotiations? How sad. Even your young lord has better manners."
Sebastian's eye twitched, but he managed to maintain a cool expression. It was always important to control one's facial expressions during a negotiation, and he couldn't help but notice that the women from this mysterious group were way ahead of him in that regard, thanks to their masks.
"Excuse me, it was a long journey here," Sebastian offered a fake smile. "So, what is this business proposition?"
"We plan to run an alchemy guild here. We have a nature affinity cultivator that specializes in producing plants for alchemy, so we will have no need to go out and buy or harvest the materials ourselves."
Sebastian narrowed his eyes. A nature affinity cultivator capable of growing such a wide range of spiritual plants could land a job fit for an emperor with the big alchemy guilds. Why would they be out here in this remote city, working with these people?
Diana continued, "With production sorted, we are now sourcing alchemists. Once this is done, we can begin producing groundbreaking products that will shake the market." She then raised her finger, "With this limited knowledge, if you agree to pledge all the wealth previously stated to Stella, we will give you ten percent of the profits."
"Only ten percent?" Sebastian frowned. Most alchemist startups failed spectacularly, as they could never compete with the bigger and more established guilds that already offered rock-bottom rates achievable through mass production and special deals with suppliers.
Diana then lowered a finger, "If you choose to learn more, I can give you a tour of our facilities and plans after the tournament, but the highest percentage I am willing to offer then is five percent."
Sebastian raised a brow; he had never heard of a negotiation tactic like this before. But to be fair, he was just a guard from a branch family. He had never been one to run the Silverspire businesses.
"And finally," Diana balled her hand into a fist, "If you still don't take the deal and approach us as we begin production and after seeing our groundbreaking products, the highest deal I can offer then is one percent."
"I want to work with Big Sister!" Ryker exclaimed from the side with childlike excitement. "It sounds so cool!"
Diana didn't even glance at Ryker; her faceless mask remained fixed on him. He could feel her piercing gaze through the mask and didn't like it one bit.
"I will give you a few days to decide," Diana said as she stood up and walked toward the doorway of the room, past Sebastian. "But don't keep me waiting too long, okay? Time is money."
Sebastian didn't even turn to see her leave, but he could feel a sudden surge of Qi and then a pop of air as the rift collapsed, swallowing the woman.
The Redclaw Grand Elder chuckled from his chair, seemingly enjoying the entire show. "Ruthless, aren't they? It helps when they have such a backer." He then leaned forward and whispered, "If I were you, I would invest my soul for just one percent so my family could live peacefully for the next few eons. If you had seen the miraculous things that I have over the past few months, you would agree..."
Sebastian ignored the man's words. It was clear they were working together, so the conman would obviously spout such nonsense to draw him into a deal. Ten percent wasn't bad per se, but jumping at the first offer of business for all their money could backfire terribly and squander his young lord's chance at the silver core inheritance.
He glanced to the side and saw Ryker, who seemed to be enjoying the whole experience. His childlike innocence on the matter made it harder to shoot down his dreams due to Sebastian's own world views.
Getting up, he gave a friendly smile to the Grand Elder. "I will discuss things with Ryker and give Diana a satisfying answer in a few days. Until then, we will retreat to our airship."
"You can stay here," the Grand Elder said resolutely. "I want that ugly ship gone. It's blocking the beautiful view of the scarlet forest."
Sebastian just let out a tired sigh. It wasn't worth arguing with these bumpkins anymore. "I thank the Grand Elder for his hospitality, then." He then turned to leave with Ryker, and a servant took them to their rooms.
The airship soon left without them on it and would return in a year's time. Ryker was busy running around the spacious room while a team of maids unpacked their possessions.
Meanwhile, Sebastian looked out the window at the vast scarlet forest and the distant peak surrounded by a haunted mist.
He needed to learn more about this place and that mysterious group that seemed to be ruling from the shadows.
"I guess a little look around wouldn't hurt," he mused, preparing to explore his new home. He refused to let Ryker be robbed due to his naivety and lose all the money his mother had provided him.
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