đź“– Chapter 943 - Say It Up Front!
“Heavenly-Might-Divine-Dragon-Great-Emperor-Essence Art my ass…” The little fatty’s face twitched, and he cursed internally. If he really believed that, then he’d be an idiot.
“Clearly he just wants money!! This bastard’s trying to rip me off again!!” The little fatty gritted his teeth, but he only cursed internally and didn’t dare to speak out loud. After all, if he ended up offending this Xie Dalu, then he might be targeted later and end up suffering a huge loss.
It wasn’t only him, either. Everyone else also had strange expressions on their faces. If anybody else had said it, perhaps they would believe a little bit, but when these words came from Xie Dalu, their persuasive power instantly dropped to zero…
After all, this person had a prior record. Not only did he sell spots on the boat in the first trial, it had come to light that he’d even sold Soul Fruits on the way to the Starfall Realm. In fact, if he didn’t try to sell the crystal-unsealing service, people might even feel that something was wrong.
As everyone stared at him with strange expressions, Wang Baole sighed in lamentation.
“Everyone, this method is passed down exclusively in my clan. You should understand that I really can’t spread it… Actually, originally I was going to help all of you break the seals on your crystals, but you saw it too, right? This thing obviously needs me to use my technique many times, and I’m afraid it will consume too much of my essence, so… Fellow Daoists, please understand.” Wang Baole made an expression like he really was helpless. After he finished speaking, he turned around and moved to leave.
However, to the trial-takers, Wang Baole was their only hope. Those who didn’t have an Illusion Crystal were fine, but how could the little fatty, the masked woman, and the other two let him go just like that? The latter two had never experienced Wang Baole’s extortion, so they immediately blocked Wang Baole’s way from the left and right.
"Fellow Daoist, please wait!"
Although their words themselves were inoffensive, the unrestrained fluctuations of their cultivation and the speed of their approach clearly revealed their determination. Time was tight, and if they really couldn’t break the seals on their Illusion Crystals, they would definitely regret it. Thus, they moved with great momentum, clearly planning on suppressing Wang Baole.
“Hm?” Wang Baole narrowed his eyes. The Emperor Armor manifested on his body in an instant, and the Divine Weapon appeared in his right hand. He slashed forward fiercely, and a rumbling storm stirred up in front of him, immediately spreading in all directions. After forcing the two approaching cultivators back, Wang Baole quickly retreated a hundred zhang and looked at them with cold eyes.
“What’s the meaning of this?!”
“Fellow Daoist Xie, just say it if you have any conditions. But let me tell you… No matter what, you have to help me unlock the seal. Otherwise, don’t blame me for making a move!” One of the two unfamiliar crystal-holding cultivators shouted threateningly.
“Are you trying to force me?” Wang Baole’s expression changed. Calculating the time, he snuck a glance at the horizon and saw that many people were approaching, so he quickly roared with anger.
"One hundred thousand red crystals, help me break the seal!" Just as Wang Baole roared, the little fatty at the side quickly called out.
“Impossible, I don’t have enough essence. It will already be difficult for me to unseal my own, I…” Before Wang Baole could finish speaking, the two unfamiliar Chosen grew impatient. With the time limit approaching, the power of their cultivation bases burst forth and they rushed toward Wang Baole again.
The little fatty, too, narrowed his eyes and moved closer. The masked woman was silent and remained where she was. But when she looked at Wang Baole, there was a strange light in here eyes.
Wang Baole had prepared himself long ago and retreated again so as not to get entangled with them. The second batch of cultivators also arrived at that moment, led by the bell girl from the Nine Phoenix Sect. As soon as she arrived, she pointed a finger, and thousands of runes appeared in front of her. Each rune looked like a tiny bell, and they combined to form a suppressive force that thundered toward Wang Baole.
The other Illusion Crystal holders in the second batch also attacked. It wasn’t that they were being impulsive, but that time was almost up. There was already less than an hour remaining until the end of the trial.
With the time limit closing in, it was in everyone’s best interest to force this Xie Dalu to figure out a way to unseal all their crystals. In the distance, the third batch of cultivators was also approaching.
Among this third batch, Wang Baole saw the scholarly young man from the top sect of the Heretical Dao. Further away, there was also a fierce sword Qi rapidly approaching.
Moreover, more and more people were appearing on the sidelines. Their eyes were flickering, clearly waiting for an opportunity to strike. All of this made Wang Baole reveal grief and anger in his eyes, and he let out a furious roar as he retreated.
“You’re going too far!! True, I can’t fight you all off, but I can certainly flee for an hour and wait for the end of the trial! All of you called me black-hearted and said that this Xie was ripping people off, but now you want to just come in, besiege me, and force me to hand over my clan’s method! You want to force me to unseal your crystals for you? I’m not allowed to refuse? … Fine!!”
“Didn’t you ask me to give a condition? Five million red crystals! I’ll unlock the Illusion Crystals of anyone who pays!” Wang Baole roared in grief and indignation as he retreated.
As soon as his words came out, the masked woman who had been staring at him the whole time suddenly spoke up.
“I’ll buy!” As she spoke, she threw out a red crystal card, as well as her Illusion Crystal. It seemed that she wasn’t worried about anyone trying to snatch them, and her thoughts were indeed correct. With time so tight, no one was in the mood to cause trouble. Thus, the red crystal card and Illusion Crystal landed smoothly in front of Wang Baole.
Seeing the other party comply so easily, Wang Baole blinked. After accepting the money, he quickly thought about whether he was doing the right thing, as well as how to wring the most benefits out of this situation.
“I’ll also buy!” While Wang Baole was thinking it over, the bell girl who had previously fought Wang Baole gritted her teeth. She quickly called out and threw over a red crystal card along with her Illusion Crystal.
“I’ll buy, too!” The little fatty roared and flung his things over. At the same time, a soft voice rang out from behind Wang Baole.
“I also want to buy, big bro.” With those words, a small hand holding a red crystal card and an Illusion Crystal stretched out from the void behind him. It was the little girl who knew the Underworld Law.
Seeing her suddenly appear behind him, Wang Baole’s eyes narrowed. He hadn’t noticed her until the moment she appeared. It wasn’t to the point that he’d have no time to react to a sneak attack, but this feeling of not knowing when someone was near him made him extremely vigilant. Turning a bit to glance behind him, he saw the little girl walk out from the void and flash him a smile.
The smile seemed to contain some profound meaning, and she even gave him a wink.
Before Wang Baole could say anything, those first two unfamiliar cultivators also gritted their teeth and took out their red crystal cards. It wasn’t like they were willing to be ripped off, but in the eyes of these Chosen, if a problem could be solved with money, it wasn’t a problem.
Moreover, the end of the trial was approaching. Although there were clues pointing to the possibility that unsealing the crystals was unnecessary… they couldn’t gamble on this matter!
At the same time, the scholarly young man finally approached. After witnessing everything that happened, he sighed softly and also sent his Illusion Crystal and red crystal card toward Wang Baole.
Seeing this, Wang Baole suddenly changed his mind.
“I don’t want your money. From the beginning to end, you’ve never done anything to me, so I’ll unseal your crystal for free!” After thinking about it, Wang Baole took the Illusion Crystal but sent the red crystal card back to the scholarly young man. Then he turned his head to the masked woman and did the same thing.
“I don’t want your money, either!”
“And you, give your crystal to me. We were both hunted down before, so we can be considered comrades. My Xie family has principles when we do business!” Wang Baole also turned to the young man in black who had just arrived.
The young man in black froze for a moment. Taking a deep look at Wang Baole, he clasped his hands and bowed before sending his Illusion Crystal over.
The masked woman also looked at Wang Baole. Although she didn’t say anything, her gaze had softened a little. The scholarly young man from the top sect of the Heretical Dao seemed a little surprised, but he smiled slightly at Wang Baole.
Only the bell girl was left gritting her teeth in anger.
“Besides them, everyone else has to pay five million red crystals!” Wang Baole said slowly, ignoring the furious bell girl.
“But before that, this Xie must say something up front. I did hide the fact that I have enough essence to unseal all the Illusion Crystals, but that was only because I’m not sure whether or not this trial really needs us to unseal them in the first place. I don’t know if the seal on the crystal will affect the teleportation at all, so if someone hasn’t unsealed theirs and passes the trial smoothly, it’s not that this Xie was cheating you!
“I didn’t want to do this in the first place, but you guys forced me into it, so… if you agree, I’ll unseal your crystal. If you don’t, then… don’t come looking for me!”