Mu Guyue knew that it was difficult for the demonic beasts of the "Demon-Swallowing Abyss" to leave this place.
'He's not one of those appraisers from the auction houses outside. He probably can't tell yet that this is a damaged magical treasure. He might think it's a completely refined prayer bead.'
'But, no matter what, it's equally precious to him.'
'Even if he can't fully exert its power when using it in the future, just by wearing this bead during his cultivation, he can still gain some benefits.'
Mu Guyue thought to herself, her expression remaining calm and unruffled. She didn't feel that she was deceiving him.
"Fellow Daoist, to use this bead as compensation, you're asking for too much. If you were to add a five-hundred-year-old 'Black Jade Profound Dragon Grass'..."
Before Mu Guyue could finish, the golden-robed middle-aged man was already laughing with anger.
"Hahaha..., you're quite the schemer. This isn't compensation at all; you're just bartering. Do you think you can just gloss over the fact that you trespassed into my cave residence? What a clever mind you have, hmph..."
Before he could finish, Mu Guyue interrupted him as well.
"I had no such intention. You're being too hasty, Fellow Daoist. How about I add a thousand demon crystals?"
At the same time, Mu Guyue sighed inwardly. She hadn't wanted to offer anything else, but seeing the other's rage, she had no choice but to raise the stakes.
To think of how many demon crystals were used to activate a "Heaven-Shaking Thunder" once was to imagine how precious a single demon crystal was.
These demon crystals were almost all she had left. Having been away from the Black Demon Clan for so many years, every demon crystal she spent outside was one less, with no way to replenish them.
After hearing Mu Guyue's words, the golden-robed middle-aged man's aura finally stabilized.
"Hmm... How about this: you give me two thousand demon crystals, plus that prayer bead magical treasure. That's the bottom line!"
"And I only have a three-hundred-year-old 'Black Jade Profound Dragon Grass' here!"
"If you think that's acceptable, Fellow Daoist, then we'll consider this matter settled."
The golden-robed middle-aged man's eyes darted around. After a few breaths of thought, he finally gave his conditions.
In fact, he had two stalks of "Black Jade Profound Dragon Grass" on him. One was a five-hundred-year-old mature one with fruit, of which sixty percent remained after his own use.
The other was one he had snatched from another Heaven-Confounding Profound Gold Dragon's lair, but it was only three hundred years old.
Because the root of this "Black Jade Profound Dragon Grass" had been damaged during the great battle with that Heaven-Confounding Profound Gold Dragon, even with his cultivation, it could not be transplanted and survive.
So, he had simply kept it as a medicinal herb. Its efficacy was only about fifty percent of a mature "Black Jade Profound Dragon Grass," but it was still considered extremely rare.
"A three-hundred-year-old 'Black Jade Profound Dragon Grass'? Its efficacy is greatly reduced, and it has no mature fruit that can enhance cultivation..."
Mu Guyue immediately weighed the value of the herb. A three-hundred-year-old "Black Jade Profound Dragon Grass" had no fruit, and its efficacy was much lower.
However, for her purpose of just healing her injuries, it should be enough. She couldn't hope to use it to increase her cultivation.
But she sneered.
"Fellow Daoist, two thousand demon crystals? You're asking for the moon! Don't forget, the value of that prayer bead magical treasure alone is immeasurable."
"And you're only offering a three-hundred-year-old 'Black Jade Profound Dragon Grass'?"
"What, are you unwilling, Fellow Daoist?"
This time, Mu Guyue did not answer, merely staring coldly at him, her aura faintly fluctuating.
Similarly, the golden-robed middle-aged man's aura also began to sharpen. With a grab at the void, a golden light shot back from the distance. It was his restored long spear.
With the golden long spear in hand, the golden-robed middle-aged man's presence suddenly soared again. The surrounding demonic qi let out a sharp, piercing whistle, making him appear sinister and gloomy.
But Mu Guyue retrieved the prayer bead, and her returned crescent moon handguard saber crisscrossed with the other one outside her body, creating dazzling flashes of light that made her look like a goddess of war from the abyss.
Mu Guyue was confident she couldn't defeat him, but she should have no problem escaping with heavy injuries.
The most crucial point was that the demonic beasts in the "Demon-Swallowing Abyss" never dared to take a single step out of here.
The weak ones would be quickly captured if they went out, and the strong ones would only attract even stronger Black Demon Clan experts to snatch them, or even be besieged by multiple Black Demon Clan experts.
So, as long as she could flee a distance of more than ten thousand feet and ascend to the top of the "Demon-Swallowing Abyss," she would be safe.
At that time, she wouldn't have to fear him chasing her relentlessly. This was her strongest source of confidence.
Just as the auras of both sides were escalating, the golden-robed middle-aged man suddenly burst into laughter, and his aura abruptly concealed itself.
"Hahaha... How about this then: the prayer bead magical treasure, plus a thousand demon crystals, and I'll give you the three-hundred-year-old 'Black Jade Profound Dragon Grass.' We'll call the previous matter even. How about it?"
He had also thought of those problems. If Mu Guyue were to fight him to the death here and not leave, he was confident he could capture, or even kill her.
But the other party was certainly not that foolish. She would definitely fight and flee. Unless he went all out, he might be able to keep her here.
Now that he could get his hands on that prayer bead, and the price he had to pay was not too great, he changed his mind in a flash.
Since he wasn't sure he could keep her, and he really wanted that prayer bead, he might as well trade that somewhat defective "Black Jade Profound Dragon Grass" for it.
Hearing this, Mu Guyue also relaxed inwardly. After just a short exchange with him, her injuries had already worsened, and some of her old wounds had flared up.
If she were to sustain new injuries, and multiple old wounds flared up together, she didn't know how many years it would take for her to recover.
'It seems he has also thought of the outcome. This can be considered a happy ending for everyone.'
Mu Guyue quickly thought in her heart, but did not agree immediately.
Seeing Mu Guyue still hesitating, the golden-robed middle-aged man's eyebrows shot up.
"Fellow Daoist!!! This is my final offer. Don't refuse a toast only to be forced to drink a forfeit."
Mu Guyue's eyebrows twitched slightly, and she made her move. She reached out and untied a small storage pouch from her waist.
With her Divine Sense, she immediately drew a thousand demon crystals, shimmering with a dark light and pure demonic qi, from her storage ring and put them inside, then tossed it over.
"Here are a thousand demon crystals. Please inspect them, Fellow Daoist. After you hand over the 'Black Jade Profound Dragon Grass,' I will give you the prayer bead magical treasure!"
She could already tell that the reason the golden-robed middle-aged man had agreed to her request was, as she had guessed, primarily because of that prayer bead magical treasure.
Her actions already showed great sincerity.
The golden-robed middle-aged man caught the flying storage pouch, swept it lightly with his Divine Sense, and hung it on his waist.
"So cautious!"
He grumbled inwardly. In fact, for a split second, he had thought that if the other party took out the prayer bead first, he would just take it and deny the deal.
But his goal was not that simple, so the thought only flashed for a moment.
"What is your name, Fellow Daoist? Hehe..."
After hanging the storage pouch on his waist, he also waved his hand, and a black light appeared in his hand. With a flash in his eyes, he immediately threw it out, while asking loudly.
Mu Guyue saw a black light shooting towards her. She did not sense any attacking intent from it. A powerful cultivator was extremely confident in their own judgment.
A faint black spiritual energy rose from her hand, and she also caught the flying object, but did not answer his question.
As soon as the object was in her hand, a scorching heat rose from it. Mu Guyue looked at it intently. A demonic plant emitting a black-gold luster appeared in her hand.
The demonic plant was a foot long, with thin leaves as long as willow blades. Apart from the scorching heat, it did not feel rough at all. Instead, it was like a piece of extreme Yang jade, smooth with flowing fire.
On the stem of the demonic plant, black-gold light spots like sparks continuously emerged. It was these black-gold light spots that emitted waves of heat.
As soon as these black-gold light spots were about an inch away from the demonic plant, they would be absorbed back by its stems and leaves, then emerge again, repeating the cycle.
Under the reflection of these black-gold light spots, the entire demonic plant had a brilliant golden feel.
"This is it!"
Mu Guyue thought of the description of the "Black Jade Profound Dragon Grass" she had seen. It was just as she saw before her now. The only difference was that these black-gold light spots were very fine and could only leave the main body by about an inch.
But the records said, "the black-gold light spots are as brilliant as starlight, circling back and forth within three inches."
"Three hundred years. The age is indeed a little short, but this trip was not in vain!"
Looking at the demonic plant in her hand, a feeling of joy rose in Mu Guyue's heart.
"How about it? Fellow Daoist, it should be correct, right? Please take out the prayer bead magical treasure!"
Seeing that Mu Guyue had no interest in talking, the golden-robed middle-aged man directly asked for what he deserved.
Mu Guyue had already confirmed that the object in her hand was real. She immediately flicked the prayer bead from her other hand.
After the golden-robed middle-aged man caught the prayer bead, he carefully sensed it and then put it directly into his robes.
A smile finally appeared on his face. He looked at Mu Guyue, who was also putting the "Black Jade Profound Dragon Grass" into her storage ring, and said again.
"Are you unwilling to even tell me your name, Fellow Daoist? I feel that since we can complete one transaction, there might be a second, a third...
"Next time, if you have a magical treasure similar to this prayer bead, Fellow Daoist, we can continue to trade. We can't just call each other 'Fellow Daoist,' can we?"
"And, you don't need to sneak into other people's territory anymore. Am I right? Hahaha!!!"
Hearing this, Mu Guyue's hand movements paused for a moment.
'He's right. Although this person is very difficult to deal with, if I can obtain 'Black Jade Profound Dragon Grass' from him, or some other rare demonic plants from the depths of the 'Demon-Swallowing Abyss,' it would save a lot of intermediate steps...'
As she thought, she put the "Black Jade Profound Dragon Grass" into her storage ring. But just then, a strange fragrance lingered at the tip of her nose.
This made Mu Guyue's mind, which had become somewhat groggy from inhaling a large amount of demonic qi filled with negative emotions, feel a sense of clarity, and she seemed to be becoming more and more awake!
"What is this fragrance? No, that's not right..."
Mu Guyue was also someone who had walked out of life and death countless times. She immediately reacted. Her mind was not clear now, but some kind of agitation in her body was making her excited.
It should be said that it was under excitement that her mind became sharp.
In the next moment, she discovered that the fragrance came from her palm, the one that had just been holding the "Black Jade Profound Dragon Grass."
"You... you poisoned me..."
As soon as Mu Guyue said this, her face suddenly flushed scarlet.
For a moment, she was overcome with shame and anger, because as she spoke, a ball of hot air suddenly shot up in her lower abdomen. Under this heat flow, she had unconsciously clamped her rounded thighs tightly together.
The moment the skin of her legs touched, she felt as if she had been struck by lightning, and her body actually began to tremble and feel weak.
The golden-robed middle-aged man, who had originally had a sinister and fierce expression, saw this scene, and a lecherous and excited look flashed in his cold eyes.
In fact, the first time Mu Guyue proposed to trade the prayer bead magical treasure for the "Black Jade Profound Dragon Grass," he had wanted to agree immediately.