7. Slaughter, Just Slaughter
This was no longer a novel experience.
These people constantly tried to test her, but she couldn’t sense it, or rather, she couldn’t react in time. By the time she realized what was happening, their probing was already over, and they had returned to their seats.
This was a fully automated testing process, requiring no effort from her. Convenient, but also terrifying.
“Forgive my offense.”
The Grand Elder was surprised by her composure.
His palm strike, just an inch further, would have unleashed its full force upon her.
But she showed no reaction. This could only mean one of two things: either she was incredibly weak, or incredibly confident.
The former was unlikely, so he concluded that this woman was almost certainly not involved with the poisoning. Otherwise, she wouldn’t be so calm.
“If there’s a next time,”
Gong Yiling took a deep breath, “find someone else to treat your illnesses.”
That close call had startled her, her heart pounding, almost causing her to hyperventilate.
“So, Immortal Master, do you know how to cure this poison?”
Seeing the Grand Elder’s silence, the Emperor, although surprised by the poisoning, was more overjoyed than worried. The woman’s identity as a member of the old sect was practically confirmed.
Gong Yiling said bluntly,
“It’s a secret poison from the Myriad Demons Palace. The antidote is also a secret. Ask them for it.”
“The Myriad Demons Palace…”
The Emperor and the Grand Elder exchanged glances.
The Myriad Demons Palace wasn’t highly ranked among the Five Demonic Abysses, and their Palace Master wasn’t much stronger than the Grand Elder at his peak. They usually kept a low profile.
But when they acted, they were ruthless and persistent.
“But why the Myriad Demons Palace?” The Emperor frowned. “The Heartflame Empire has no dealings with them, except for that one time their Young Palace Master came to trade for a treasure and stayed in the capital for a few days.”
“Those demonic bastards have no logic in their actions,” the Grand Elder said.
Hearing this, Gong Yiling pursed her lips.
Old man, there’s a demonic cultivator standing right in front of you…
“Especially that Palace Master of the Pear Blossom Blood Orchid Palace, Gong Muzhi. Eccentric, ruthless, promiscuous, and cruel…”
“Cough…”
Gong Yiling coughed loudly, interrupting his clearly biased words.
—What did my mother ever do to you, old man? She’s just a quirky woman. In the novel, Gong Muzhi was simply unrestrained, following the principle of “kill anyone who gets in my way.” A ruthless person who showed no mercy.
But she wasn’t some heinous villain.
“Speaking ill of a Palace Master behind their back isn’t very gentlemanly.”
She had initially intended to cure the Emperor for free as a demonstration of her skills, but now she had changed her mind.
She had to make them pay, to avenge her mother.
“Back to Your Majesty. Although I can’t cure the poison, I can suppress its effects and ensure it doesn’t worsen, even if you consume more of it.”
The Emperor was overjoyed. “How do you intend to do that, Immortal Master?”
“Just take this pill.”
Gong Yiling held out a bottle of pills.
An anxious guard instinctively reached for it, but Gong Yiling quickly withdrew her hand, clenching it into a fist.
“What are you doing? Trying to rob me?”
“Don’t be impudent!” The Emperor understood her meaning.
“What compensation do you require, Immortal Master?”
“Three hundred high-grade spirit crystals,” Gong Yiling said, making an exorbitant demand. “And three sets of Flame King Soft Hedgehog Armor, crafted with the Heartflame Empire’s unique forging technique.”
“What did you say!?”
The others almost cursed.
What a joke!
These items might not sound like much, but that was three hundred *high-grade* spirit crystals, not spirit stones.
That alone was worth almost a hundred million taels of silver. And the Flame King Soft Hedgehog Armor wasn’t ordinary armor; it was a quasi-immortal artifact that could be worn by anyone, regardless of cultivation level.
The old blacksmith who crafted it had passed away. His disciple, although possessing the blueprints and having assisted in its creation, wasn’t skilled enough to replicate it.
So, the imperial palace only had ten sets, a national treasure.
Each set was worth over thirty million taels. She hadn’t even been willing to sell one to the Young Palace Master from the Myriad Demons Palace for fifty million.
So…
This Immortal Master was demanding compensation worth over two hundred million taels!?
“Immortal Master, isn’t this a bit…”
The Emperor frowned hesitantly.
“Five hundred crystals, four sets of armor.” Gong Yiling raised the price without hesitation.
But before they could protest, she added, “Your Majesty’s poison only requires a hundred high-grade spirit crystals. But the Grand Elder’s injuries are more complicated, requiring rare ingredients from my sect’s ancestral collection, such as the Heavenly Treasure Kirin Fruit, the Seven-Colored Nine Radiance Flower, the Other Shore Twin Flowers, and the Dragon Heart Grass.”
She listed several rare and precious ingredients from the book. Any mention of them would send alchemists into a frenzy.
And none of them were actually needed.
This was just a way to inflate the price. The more impressive it sounded, the more they would think it was worth it.
Spending a hundred million taels on these herbs… might not even be enough to acquire them. That was the truth.
“So, the four sets of Flame King Soft Hedgehog Armor are for curing the Grand Elder’s injuries.” She casually tossed the bottle of pills to a nearby guard and stood with her hands behind her back. “The other four hundred high-grade spirit crystals are for my inconvenience. Pay up or not, it’s your choice.”
But after she said that, unless the Emperor was an idiot, how could he refuse?
Completely fooled by Miss Gong’s expert-level deception, the Emperor and the Grand Elder actually thought…
The price wasn’t that unreasonable.
After all, treasures from the old sect were at least a thousand years old, not to mention the quantity required. The actual cost would be astronomical.
Was this Immortal Master, despite her harsh words, actually giving them a discount?
If Gong Yiling could hear their thoughts, she would say,
“Yes, it’s a discount. For daring to insult my mother, I’ll break your legs and take your pants!”
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