Chapter 132 Bargaining The Iron-Eating Ancestor looked at Gu Yuanqing and snorted, "Human boy, don't play any tricks. This Ancestor knows that you are all very cunning. When dealing with you, you must follow the rules and don't think about other things. Today, either you pay the rent or you take this mountain and leave this place." Gu Yuanqing was silent for a moment. This iron-eating beast seemed to be adamant. After hearing this, he wondered if he had been cheated before. He sighed, "Senior, you have a profound cultivation, but you are still so cautious even though you are a bear. I admire you for following the rules. You should be a role model for younger generations like me. However, I am new here, and there are not that many bamboos in the mountains. It was not until this bear brother came to collect rent a few days ago that I started to raise some bamboos, but they are not yet fully grown. How about this, I will owe you this year's rent first, and pay it all next year." When the Iron-Eating Ancestor first heard Gu Yuanqing praising him, he smiled happily and even looked back at the Bronze Gong Great Venerable, as if to say, "Listen carefully and learn more." But when he heard the rest of the story, his eyes widened and he immediately said, "No, the Iron-Eating Clan never allows rent to be owed." Gu Yuanqing smiled and said, "Senior, please don't rush to refuse. The bamboo I grow is different from the bamboo outside. Why don't you try it first?" As he spoke, he raised his hand and a bamboo flew over. However, the bamboo was very short, only about two meters long. Under the power of controlling objects, it flew outwards. The Iron-Eating Ancestor was a little disgusted when he saw that the bamboo was so thin, but when Gu Yuanqing's spiritual thoughts spread out, the scent of the bamboo was immediately revealed. The bamboo was obviously not of high quality, but the scent was so pure that he had never seen anything like it before. His two furry ears flicked, and he felt his index finger move. He put it in his mouth and ate it with a few clicks. The bronze gong statue next to him also smelled the scent and swallowed. As he tasted the bamboo, his eyes lit up and he said, "Not bad... um, it's barely edible. I can use it to pay the rent. Even if it's not of high quality, then a year... 100,000 kilograms will be enough." The corner of Gu Yuanqing's mouth twitched. The Iron Eater Clan's ancestor said, "Don't think it's too much. The best bamboo is a spiritual material. It needs to be nourished by magic stones and watered with precious blood. It takes at least several decades, or even hundreds of years, to grow. Eating it is beneficial to cultivation. Ordinary bamboo can be found everywhere and is not worth anything at all. One hundred thousand catties of ordinary bamboo is not as good as one catty of best bamboo. Your bamboo tastes good, so I, the ancestor, made an exception and agreed to your request."

Gu Yuanqing was obviously very satisfied with the meal, and was clearly lying with open eyes. Although one hundred thousand kilograms of bamboo would not be a big deal if it was watered with spiritual spring water and helped to grow with the art of controlling objects, he did not want to be fooled by this iron-eating beast. What's more, he had other plans! He thought for a moment, sighed, and said, "One hundred thousand jin is too much. Even if I don't practice every day and spend all my time cultivating this bamboo, I can't produce so much in a year. Well, it seems that I have no chance to be a noble. I have no choice but to withdraw from the noble's territory and find another place to settle down." Xiong Ba was stunned when he heard this. He didn't expect Gu Yuanqing to leave without even bargaining. He remembered that the human race would ask for a high price and pay it back when it got down to business. He said quickly, "Don't leave in a hurry. Since you think you can't afford it, we can discuss it. How about this, 50,000 kilograms a year." Gu Yuanqing shook his head and smiled bitterly: "Forget it, I will find a way to leave today." Seeing this, the Iron-Eating Ancestor gritted his teeth and said, "Ten thousand jin, this bamboo is not of good quality after all." Gu Yuanqing explained: "Senior, you collect a lot of high-quality bamboo from various tribes every year. Have you ever seen a bamboo with a purer aura than this one?" "That five thousand kilograms cannot be any less!" The Iron-Eating Ancestor's words were firm and it seemed that he would not tolerate any further reduction. "Not to mention that this species of bamboo is rare, do you know how to cultivate this bamboo? I need to use formations to remove the evil spirit in the demonic energy, and condense spiritual water with my divine thoughts to water it every day. The effort and money spent are not insignificant. It is not much less than nurturing a high-grade bamboo." The Iron-Eating Ancestor hesitated for a long time, and seemed to have made a great decision: "Five thousand kilograms per year, and the surrounding three hundred miles of land will belong to you." Gu Yuanqing stretched out a finger and said, "A thousand catties a year, and the surrounding land for a thousand miles will belong to me." "No, no matter how good the bamboo tastes, it is not of good quality after all. It is not worth the price." Gu Yuanqing smiled slightly: "Since you know the human race so well, you should know that there is a saying among the human race that things are valuable because they are rare. Even if this thing is not as good as the first-grade bamboo, it is worth the price since it is rare." The Iron-Eating Ancestor was obviously a little dissatisfied: "Didn't you say you didn't need such a large territory?" Gu Yuanqing smiled calmly and said, "Then I will give you 100 kilograms of bamboo every year, and I won't need this land anymore." The Iron-Eating Ancestor shook his head repeatedly: "A hundred kilograms is not enough for me to eat in one bite." Gu Yuanqing smiled and said, "That's why I made this suggestion. I really don't need this land, but the transaction must be fair. The thousand-mile land is just a bonus. And don't feel that you are at a disadvantage, senior. I have only been cultivating this bamboo for a short time. If it takes a few decades, even if this bamboo cannot be of good quality, it will definitely not be comparable to what it is now. And to be honest with you, senior, I am short of money. I also thought that if I can cultivate this bamboo well, I can exchange it with the nobles for some items for building the foundation of the divine platform." Xiong Ba looked at Gu Yuanqing suspiciously: "You haven't achieved the divine platform yet?" Gu Yuanqing naturally didn't want to reveal his true identity. As he moved his mind, the clouds and mist surrounding Beiquan Mountain dispersed a little, revealing Xing Fei, Lu Jianqiu, Zhang Xuanlin, Ji Qingyun and others who were looking up at this place in the mountain. Then he said, "It's just in exchange for some younger generations. If they succeed in their cultivation, I can save some time to cultivate." Xiong Ba glanced at the man in the mountain and didn't think about it any more. Then he hesitated for a long time and said reluctantly: "Well, you're new here, and we in the Iron-Eating Clan are kind to others. We'll suffer a little loss, as if taking care of you. I'll give you one thousand kilograms at first, but after fifty years, it won't be this amount. So you should pay this year's rent now." Thinking of the taste in his mouth just now, he smacked his lips and couldn't help himself.

Gu Yuanqing saw it all. Naturally, the bamboo just now could not be so delicious. However, when he presented the bamboo, he used some of the methods of changing the Tiandiao bait and attached a trace of Taoism to it. Although it is far inferior to the real bait transformed by Taoism, it is enough to attract the bear. He shook his head and smiled bitterly: "This is actually the second thing I want to tell you. I just cultivated this bamboo, so I don't have so much. Can we collect the rent together next year?" The Iron-eating Ancestor was naturally unwilling and was about to speak. Gu Yuanqing spoke first, "However, I can give you 100 kilograms, and next year I will give you 2,000 kilograms, no less. It's not that I'm stingy, but this bamboo is newly grown and rare. If you pick too much, it will damage the roots and the loss will outweigh the gain. If you don't believe me, you can come to the mountain to take a look." After hearing this, the Iron-Eating Ancestor used his divine sense to explore the mountain again. After hesitating for a moment, he said, "Forget it. My Iron-Eating Clan is gifted with magical powers and can sense other people's intentions. I think you are quite honest and not as cunning as other humans. So I won't go into the mountain. Just send the hundred kilograms of bamboo here first." Gu Yuanqing secretly said it was a pity. He actually wanted to try whether Beiquanshan could suppress the true Tianren realm. But then he thought, this is a good thing. If the bear really came in and couldn't be suppressed, it would be a big trouble. He raised his hand and summoned over a hundred kilograms of this bamboo, and gave it away with a little bit of Tao essence, and then reminded: "Senior, you need to pay attention, this bamboo is not easy to preserve. After a long time, the taste will be much worse than before. The fresher it is, the more delicious it is." When the Iron-Eating Ancestor saw the bamboo, he could no longer hold back. He took a piece with a smile on his face, sniffed it, and said, "You don't need to explain. I know that the fresher the bamboo, the better it tastes." The bamboo was very small, weighing only a few pounds each. It ate it up in a few bites, including the branches and leaves. It looked at the bundle in its hand and felt that it had to be frugal. The Great Bronze Gong Monarch standing behind kept swallowing his saliva, and the Iron-Eating Ancestor took out a cigarette and gave it to him. It took it with great joy and started eating. Its whole bear face relaxed, and its two ears tilted back almost like airplane ears. It was obvious that it was enjoying the food very much. The Iron-Eating Ancestor reluctantly put the bundle of bamboo into the storage bracelet on his bear arm and shouted, "Human boy, don't forget this time next year, and don't owe the rent by then." Gu Yuanqing smiled and cupped his hands: "Don't worry, senior. You can also bring some things for building the foundation of the altar. I will definitely cultivate them carefully this year. Maybe when the time comes, there will be extra bamboos and I can replace them with some." The Iron-Eating Ancestor snorted lightly, as if to agree. Before leaving, he turned around and asked, "By the way, what is the name of this bamboo?" This bamboo is just the most common water bamboo in the floating world, but he certainly can't say its name now. He smiled and said, "Zen Heart Demon Bamboo." "Zenxin? This name is not good. It sounds uncomfortable. Change it later!" Then, it waved its bear hand and flew away on a cloud with the bronze gong. Hundreds of miles away, it slowed down. It stood up straight, put its hands behind its back, and said to the Bronze Gong Master: "Xiao San, have you learned anything today?" The Great Master of Tongluo nodded repeatedly and praised: "Every word the ancestor said just now seems to have a deep meaning!" "Of course, this is how you deal with humans. You have to offer a high price and leave room for bargaining. If this old man asked for a thousand kilograms at the beginning, then it would be good if you could get a hundred kilograms later. Also, when bargaining, your words, demeanor, movements and expressions must all be coordinated. You need to understand this carefully and don't just think about eating and sleeping all day..." In Beiquan Mountain. Zhang Xuanlin and Ji Qingyun watched the two bears go away. Ji Qingyun said: "Sect Master, this Gu Yuanqing is so hypocritical, I'm afraid these two beasts are both great monsters in the Void Sky Realm." Zhang Xuanlin's eyes were slightly solemn. "I'm afraid it's not just that. No wonder the cultivation world has been on guard against the Demon Realm since ancient times. If the two realms are connected, the cultivation world will be in great trouble." In another courtyard far away. Xing Fei and Lu Jianqiu also looked up. "Could that Xiong Ba just now be the ancestor of the Iron-eating Clan?" Xing Fei nodded and said, "It should be. I didn't expect to see a great celestial being soon after entering the Hundred Thousand Mountains. Moreover, it seems to be different from other monsters. It is so harmonious with our human race. It seems that the sect master was right to choose to enter Lanting City this time. Unfortunately, the journey... Alas!"

Gu Yuanqing withdrew his gaze with a smile on his face. Today's harvest was quite good. More importantly, it seemed that he had really found a way to exchange for things to build the foundation of the divine platform. In this Demon Realm, there are very few things he can offer. If he can exchange some bamboo for these natural treasures, it would be a big profit. The only thing he is worried about is whether these treasures in the Demon Realm will be eroded by the demonic energy. If so, it will take some effort to get them after exchanging them. The floating world, outside Beiquan Mountain. Kuang Tongyi stood on the top of the mountain looking at Beiquan Mountain for a whole day. He had great trust in the leader of the upper realm, but until now, he still hadn't heard that the leader had come down the mountain, and he gradually became uneasy. As evening approached, he could no longer resist and came to the gate of Beiquan Mountain. He bowed and said loudly, "Fellow Daoist Gu, please show yourself!" (End of this chapter)