Chapter 147: Reactions

"Steward Luo, our family had no choice in the matter!" 

The young and sharp-eyed Duan Qi wore an expression full of distress as he spoke to Luo Feibai, his tone full of helplessness. 

"Our Duan family is no great clan. Though we wished to obtain the Flamecloud Pill, our lack of foundation meant we couldn't offer what your alliance leader required. That's why we haven't responded clearly until now..." 

"But look haven't all our other trades been going quite smoothly?" 

He patted his chest, speaking with utmost sincerity. 

"But I swear, our Duan family is full of sincerity! The Patriarch already gave orders for us to collect whatever items your alliance leader might need... And look! The moment I got wind of some news, I came to visit, didn't I?"

"So, I wonder... could you perhaps make an exception and report this to your alliance leader? Let him see our offer and decide for himself?" 

As he spoke, his face appeared genuinely earnest, and his hand subtly moved to press something into Luo Feibai's palm...

"Sigh!" 

But Luo Feibai smoothly stepped back half a pace, giving him no chance to pass the item over. 

A wry smile appeared on his round face. 

"Fellow Daoist Duan, you and I have some rapport, I won't deny that..." 

"But it's not that I'm unwilling to pass along the message it's just that the alliance leader is currently in seclusion refining pills in preparation for the auction. Right now, even I, let alone his attendants, can't get in to see him..." 

"I'm simply following the alliance leader's instructions here. I truly don't have the authority to make decisions." 

"The auction is in just three days. I'd ask your clan's Patriarch to exercise a little more patience." 

His demeanor suggested that before the auction, Pingyang Mountain had no intention of entertaining private meetings with any external forces.

"This..." 

Duan Qi's expression flickered. 

If they refused to allow private deals before the auction, then that meant they'd be forced to compete at the event itself, bidding against countless others and driving the price sky-high!

Who knew how much more they'd have to pay just to get their hands on the pills?

But that was something only the Foundation Establishment Patriarch needed to worry about. 

Having done his best, Duan Qi could only sigh in resignation. 

"In that case... if your alliance leader happens to come out of seclusion before the auction, I'd be grateful if Steward Luo could remind him of my offer. If I miss this chance, I won't be able to face our Patriarch's wrath…" 

"Absolutely!" 

Luo Feibai agreed solemnly and personally escorted Duan Qi out of the mountain gates. 

Once the man was gone, Luo Feibai returned inside the formation, his expression immediately turning calm, with a hint of cold amusement.

These past days, he'd seen nearly all the families and factions who had once had dealings with Pingyang Mountain and now came crawling back just like Duan Qi. 

"Ever since the auction list was released, the number of factions from the surrounding kingdoms looking to cozy up to Pingyang Mountain has exploded…" 

"No matter what reason you had for not striking a deal with the alliance leader before, trying to reconnect now and get a bargain? Too late!" 

"Even the Foundation Establishment cultivators from major clans and sects haven't been granted an audience with the alliance leader. So what makes your Duan family's Patriarch think he deserves special treatment?!" 

In recent days, Luo Feibai had met with countless envoys on behalf of Li Ye. His perspective had broadened, and his confidence had grown with it. 

He was now almost certain that the fall of the Ma family had everything to do with Li Ye. Equal parts awe and fear made him all the more firm in his loyalty. 

As a result, when facing these Foundation Establishment forces, his demeanor was calm and composed perhaps even carrying a trace of superiority. 

But when he was alone, Luo Feibai couldn't help feeling uneasy. Just when had the alliance leader acquired such astonishing alchemical mastery? 

The thought instinctively reminded him of the Blackwood Daoist, who had once stirred up quite a storm in the Chidi Mountains. 

"Could that man be connected to the alliance leader as well?" 

"Was the conflict between Pingyang Mountain and the Luo family secretly orchestrated by the alliance leader from the start?" 

Even though there wasn't a shred of solid proof, the mere thought made Luo Feibai's back break out in a cold sweat. 

Back then, he had spoken extensively to the alliance leader about Blackwood Daoist values… and the alliance leader had always responded with a polite smile and nothing more...

"Come to think of it, the fact I'm still alive… speaks to the alliance leader's magnanimity!" 

Now drenched in a cold sweat once again from his imagination, Luo Feibai wasn't just respectful he was utterly terrified of even thinking about betrayal. 

....... 

"Hmph! That Li Ye shows no regard for past relations!" 

After hearing Duan Qi's report, the middle-aged Foundation Establishment cultivator of the Duan family couldn't help but curse under his breath, regret flashing across his face. 

What Duan Qi told Luo Feibai wasn't false. 

This cultivator, Duan Ruisheng the Duan family's Foundation Establishment Patriarch though not a fire-element cultivator himself, had indeed considered trading with Li Ye for pills, using them as hard currency to exchange for resources he needed.

But since the items Li Ye demanded weren't readily available, he had opted to delay the deal slightly.

Now, however, it seemed that Li Ye had likely gathered enough pill recipes and achieved a level of mastery. He no longer intended to engage in small-scale trades with families like theirs. 

Judging by the many Tier-2 pills listed in the auction, it was clear that Li Ye aimed to make a name for himself all at once building connections through this auction, and paving the way for stable, high-profit pill sales in the future.

With the man himself stepping onto the stage, Duan Ruisheng's idea of acting as a middleman and profiting from the trade had become unrealistic...

At that moment, a deep pang of regret hit Duan Ruisheng he had just missed out on what could have been a fortune in spirit stones! 

And his situation wasn't unique. Other factions that had once been contacted by Li Ye due to old connections with Xu Pingyang, yet had failed to seize the opportunity in time, were now feeling the same way.

The Chidi Mountains, during Xu Pingyang's time, were merely a backwater region that earned a modest name for itself by being part of a chaotic zone.

Aside from its decent output of fire and earth-element materials, the area Xu Pingyang included was largely overlooked by the cultivation world. 

Everyone had assumed that Li Ye, who broke through to the Foundation Establishment here, was just a newly advanced cultivator. Any pill supply he had must have come from Xu Pingyang's leftovers nothing but minor dealings.

No one imagined that he was the goose laying golden eggs! 

Now that things had reached this point, many factions held some degree of resentment toward Li Ye feeling that his refusal to meet with anyone was simply arrogant and disrespectful. 

But when profit is on the line, most of them could only put on smiles and try to curry favor. 

Even if they could only become his regional agents and sell pills on his behalf, the profits would still be enormous. 

Yet now, they couldn't even get a meeting with him what was the use in thinking about all this?

"Forget it..." 

Duan Ruisheng let out a long sigh. 

In the end, it was his own lack of resources that caused him to miss out on such a golden opportunity.

At this point, Duan Qi quietly stepped forward and said cautiously: 

"Patriarch… I have a humble thought. I'm not sure if I should speak it aloud?" 

Duan Ruisheng gave him a sidelong glance and nodded lightly, "Let's hear it."

"Thank you, Patriarch..." 

Duan Qi bowed respectfully. "Although our family missed the chance to get close to Li Ye, he doesn't seem like a reclusive or antisocial person. If we can play to his interests, perhaps we could still salvage something…" 

"This auction, after all, is clearly about turning a profit. If you were to appear and help slightly raise the bidding prices, making the auction seem even more successful…"

"Then perhaps after it's over he might remember your gesture of goodwill?" 

"You want me to act as a shill?" 

Duan Ruisheng's gaze suddenly turned dangerous, suspicion flashing in his eyes. He even wondered if this clansman had taken a bribe or something. 

Being a fake bidder at an auction was that something you could suggest lightly?! 

"I wouldn't dare, Patriarch! I'm just offering a thought…" 

Duan Qi dropped to his knees, trembling. 

"Leave me." 

Duan Ruisheng waved his sleeve. After the young man left, his expression became a bit... conflicted. 

"If it really could make Li Ye appreciate the gesture... then doing it just once might not be such a bad idea." 

-support me on Patreon for more chapters, 215+ chapters in there

patreon.com/LordoftheReader