Chapter 466: Taotie King Emerged!
After the announcement was made, Azazel threw the golems and caged beasts into the portal. Then, she disappeared again. She didn't tell Miaomiao where she went, but her trail led to the Blood Sea to the west.
The vortex portal remained at the center of the platform. However, no one had enough courage to enter it yet.
Xiahou Dun, Xiahou Yuan, and the cyclop party descended and cupped their fists. They greeted Miaomiao, Wei Yuan, and Ju Shoufen.
"I'm the patriarch of the Cyclop Tribe, Xiahou Dun. I heard a lot about you, Lord Mao!"
Miaomiao smiled and cupped his fist, accepting the greeting, "Well met, Senior Xiahou. Senior Jia Shan and Ma Ping already informed me about the previous negotiation."
"I hope that you can agree to our conditions. Our tribe will not get in your way of continental domination, but we shall support you when you need it. In turn, I hope that we can import your pills, elixir, and other merchandise to develop our territory."
"Ah, you don't need to be humble. Come, let's talk inside the city. I'll show you around."
"Alright."
Miaomiao and the group entered Siren City to hold a welcome banquet for their new allies.
…
Upon entering the city, Xiahou Dun and his tribesmen were astonished by the dense Qi in the air.
They sensed the high density of Life Qi in front of the city and the World Tree Forest, but inside the city's protection array, the Life Qi and Life Essence were even thicker.
Xiahou Dun and Xiahou Yuan looked at each other. The former sent a telepathic message to his brother.
'See what I meant? Mao Miaomiao is rising while Yuan Shaoqing is finished. Well, that idiot is already dead, though.'
'I know! But… damn. I never expected this city to be so… similar to the Holy Land.'
Xiahou Yuan and Xiahou Dun had visited the Holy Land once in the past. That time, Wei Huang was still alive, and he used his connection to the other Onis at the Holy Land to guide them.
Unfortunately, they were kicked out as weaklings wouldn't survive there. The local people were vicious and ruthless toward visitors and weak demons.
'I guess Mao Miaomiao is trying to make this continent the second Holy Land. Look at that tower, Yuan! It's the same as on the Holy Land Continent!'
Xiahou Yuan and Xiahou Dun gazed at the Pylon Tower, which was the source of spiritual Qi in the air.
Both cyclops nodded in admiration and respect. They believed that they made the right decision by befriending Miaomiao.
Making friends was a lot better than making an enemy for no reason. They weren't stupid enough to offend random cultivators or organizations to satisfy their egos like typical villains.
'Let's warn our men not to do anything stupid.'
'Of course.'
Both cyclop brothers relayed their orders to the other fighters. The rest of the cyclop crews agreed to stay put and show respect to the local population.
…
The banquet was peaceful. Xiahou Dun and his men were amicable toward the local population and Miaomiao's servants, which was a good sign.
After the banquet, Xiahou Dun, Xiahou Yuan, Wei Yuan, and Miaomiao stayed behind to finalize their trade agreements and other procedures. Everyone sat around a table.
Xiahou Dun placed his product samples on the table and provided the list of his new base's specialties.
"Since we've agreed to trade, I would like to discuss the detail here. First off, we have these unique products that we would like to exchange with your elixir water and elemental pills.
Bing Province, the mountain range at the northern region of Aves Continent, was rich with spirit jade rocks. Xiahou Dun offered to trade the raw spirit jade with Miaomiao's elixir and pills.
The spirit jades were the core material for standard jade slips, jade phones, identity tokens, life brand ink, and many goodies. The market price of raw jades was 100 refined stones per gram, and the supply was limited. As such, the price trend continued to rise because of the high demand.
Having a spirit jade mine was like owning an oilfield in the modern world.
The cyclops were rich, but no one had noticed their wealth!
Wei Yuan's eyes gleamed as she understood the significance of this info. With such a wealthy trade partner, Siren City could sell the overstocked elixir to Xiahou Dun and score the valuable spirit jades.
With the raw material, she could create a jade phone factory to expand Siren City's businesses!
Her pupils turned into $ symbol while saliva leaked from the corner of her mouth.
"If we wish to order the first batch of jades, how much can you provide us?" Miaomiao took charge of negotiation as Wei Yuan's mind temporarily went to Lalaland.
"Two standard SR worth for the first batch. Next month onward, I think we can mine one SR worth per year."
SR in Xiahou Dun's term was a spatial ring's container size. One standard spatial ring usually had the capacity of one cubic kilometer while the luxurious one could store over 10 cubic kilometers.
As for the Master of Yin Slave Ring on Miaomiao's finger, he had already upgraded it by combining the system ring with regular spatial rings to increase its capacity. Now, it could potentially store three Africa Continents!
"And how many bottles of elixir would you like in return?" Miaomiao probed Xiahou Dun for the quotation.
"For starter, how about one SR of elixir per one SR of raw jades?"
Miaomiao didn't know if the price was right. He glanced at Wei Yuan, asking for help with his eyes.
Wei Yuan snapped back to her sense. She beamed Xiahou Dun with her brightest smile while she rubbed her hands, "Currently, the market price for one cubic liter of elixir is 300 essence core. I'm afraid that we can't give you that many for one SR of raw jades."
"A cubic meter of jade weighs 3300 kg, and each gram costs 100 refined stones. Considering our relationship, we're giving you a huge bargain. I'm afraid we can't lower our price any further."
A million refine stones were equal to one essence core.
A cubic meter of spirit jade was worth 330 essence cores. Meanwhile, a cubic liter of elixir was worth 300 essence cores.
In short, Siren City would profit from the deal.
Yet, Wei Yuan got greedy. She tried to haggle for some extra changes for pocket money.
"Just so you know, we've just conquered Zither Tongue City and the southwestern basin. We also found two spirit jade mines there, and I think we don't really need the spirit jades."
She lied. Both mines that Sun Wentai and Zhu Huifang had found were already exhausted. The abandoned mines were half-ruined as the human cultivators from the Holy Land Continent had already plundered it many hundred years ago.
Xiahou Dun also believed that Wei Yuan bluffed. However, for the sake of friendship and the trade agreements, he tried not to offend her.
"One SR of jades for 9/10 SR of elixir then?"
"Half SR."
"Too expensive. How about 8/10?"
"Please don't forget that we're the only provider of this precious elixir. The water can instantly heal internal injuries and regenerate lost limbs. You can't find it anywhere else. Half SR."
"The elixir is similar to Dryad Spring Water, and you're probably having trouble storing the influx of water from your tower. This deal will lift your burden. 8/10, take it or leave it."
Xiahou Dun had done his homework. Even if he only arrived here today, his spies had already discovered the issues that Siren City had been facing recently.
They produced too much Unified Element Spring Water!
Xiahou Dun's spies got this intel easily as Wei Yuan had been purchasing spatial rings from merchants and visiting cultivators at a high price. After a further investigation and information analysis, Xiahou Dun figured that Wei Yuan had been storing excess elixir in spatial rings to keep the water in Siren City under control.
As such, the cyclop wouldn't easily yield. He attempted to fight back without provoking Wei Yuan.
Wei Yuan also sensed that Xiahou Dun was a formidable opponent. Since she bluffed him, and the latter called, she had lost.
"Alright, 8/10 SR of elixir for one SR of spirit jades."
"Good choice! Deal!"
Xiahou brothers were happy with the deal as they could finally get their hands on the precious healing water. Then, they tried to present Miaomiao and Wei Yuan with other local merchandise.
The trade negotiation went on for the entire night.
…
= Morning of the Next Day =
The cyclop brothers left the banquet hall in a good mood. They had struck several deals.
They sold their local products and specialties, such as Troll Blood, Bing Province Mandragora, and Cyclop Horns, which were rare materials for alchemy. They even tossed in their Cyclop Eye Technique Manuals to boost their sales.
In exchange, they received five SR worth of elixir and 100 elemental pills from Siren City! They could nurture more fighters of their tribes!
Both cyclops rushed to their men in their resting quarters right away to share their new pills and elixir right away. They couldn't wait to see the effect of the new pills.
While everyone was in a merry mood, more visitors and representatives from other warlords began to show up.
The first group of the day was none other than Huang Hansheng's party.
As soon as Huang Hansheng arrived at Siren City's airspace, he stared at the pylon tower inside the city and groaned. He recalled the humiliation experience when he fought against Dian Wei during the past year.
He didn't want to come here to join the silly tournament. Unfortunately, Azazel sent him a telepathic voice to his mind.
'Come to Siren City before nightfall, or I shall drag you there myself. Your Lord, Liu Biao, has given me your name as his affiliate representative. You must join the event, or you shall be punished according to the Swan Goddess.'
Huang Hansheng could only curse Liu Biao for selling him to the deity. He was so angry that he ignored the vortex portal on the platform.
Before Huang Hansheng could utter a word, Dian Wei appeared along with Liu Guang on her spider back. Both women kept their distance from Huang Hansheng as if they were stalking him.
Ling Cao, who had received a similar threat from Azazel, glared at Liu Guang and Dian Wei as well. He wanted to kill and torture them, but he was wary of Miaomiao's backers.
RUMBLE
While the two parties were having a staring contest in the sky, another ally of Huang Hansheng and Ling Cao appeared.
Ling Tianlong emerged from Ling Cao's shadow.
"I'm back."
"Tianlong!!"
Ling Cao was surprised. He embraced his son even though his appearance had changed.
Ling Tianlong's body was shrouded in Death Qi while his skin turned grey. His blood became purple, and his complexion was dark and sinister.
As Ling Tianlong and Ling Cao were about to chat, a new visitor interrupted them.
A loud howl of a wolf echoed through the sky, and the space behind Ling Tianlong was cut. Then, a majestic 20 meter-tall wolf entered this world.
It was the Taotie King, Ling Tianlong's contracted fiendish beast. Its cultivation base was equal to Four-Star Constellation Immoral!
The presence of the immortal fiend and its killing intent scared the local people and commoners. A commotion broke out, and everyone thought that Siren City was being invaded again.
The Immortal Taotie sneered and looked around. It laughed.
"What a pitiful world you live in, brat. How did you die to these weaklings?"
Ling Tianlong clicked his tongue. He stared into the city, where he had sensed Miaomiao's vulgar presence.
"I was unprepared. My weapon was stolen, and I was forced to fight in a bad condition."
"Right. Your soul was damaged before. Even after I repaired it and gave you a new body, you're still not in your top shape. To be honest, you still need to recuperate for two more years to heal everything."
"I don't have much time. If we leave Mao Miaomiao alone, he will become too strong! His backers are all deities!"
"I see."
The Immortal Taotie's face turned solemn. His eyes shone in red light as he glared at the pylon tower.
"Then, let me help you vanquish your enemy. This way, you won't suffer from karmic backlashes! Even if I am to be cursed once again because I attack a mortal, my Dao can dispel it instantly!"
The Taotie opened its mouth and concentrated its Death Essence into a dark energy sphere. Then, it spat the energy sphere at Siren City!
It violated the world's law by trying to harm the mortals!
"IMPUDENT!!"
A dragon roar came from the east. Suddenly, the sky between the Siren City and the oncoming energy ball was cut in an X shape, and a large head of a certain metal dragon emerged.
The metal dragon also opened its mouth and swallowed the energy sphere before it hit the city!
BOOM
Something exploded on the other side of the torn dimension, but the dragon was unharmed. Then, the dragon continued to cut through the sky, creating enough room for his entire body to come out along with the chains on its arms and legs.
Taotie King recognized his nemesis. It growled and got into a battle stance, being cautious against the dragon.
"NERO!!"
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