A sword that had been stored for tens of thousands of years in the Demonic Domain, where Demonic Path cultivators lived, could not possibly remain intact. Both Yong Ruyu and Qingyunzi understood this point, yet upon hearing Demon Lord Xuanyue's words, they couldn't help but show disappointment.
This was Fuyaozi's personal sword! Even now, it still possessed such an aura, hinting at how astonishing its power must have been in its prime.
Of course, if it hadn't been corroded by Demonic Qi to this extent, it wouldn't have fallen into the hands of Core Formation cultivators like them; it would have been claimed by Nascent Soul cultivators long ago.
Having reasoned this out, the expressions on their faces eased somewhat.
Qingyunzi gazed at the sword and cautiously asked, "Fellow Daoist Xuanyue, what would you like to exchange for this sword? If it's spirit stones, how many?"
Demon Lord Xuanyue toyed with the spirit stones he had just acquired, answering nonchalantly, "We demonic cultivators are different from you righteous path cultivators. Spirit stones—we need special cultivation methods to absorb their energy for our own use. Usually, we just treat them as currency. So, exchanging for spirit stones is unnecessary. If you have anything suitable for demonic cultivators, just bring it out."
After he finished speaking, both Qingyunzi and Yong Ruyu looked troubled. Items for demonic cultivators were hard to come by. After all, the world's energy was primarily Spiritual Qi. Demonic cultivators also started by refining Spiritual Qi. Later, as demonic cultivators gathered to cultivate together, Demonic Qi became abundant, forming the Demonic Domains. Items directly usable by demonic cultivators generally grew within these Demonic Domains. There weren't many Demonic Domains in Yunzhong, just some specific places in the Beilin Kingdom. These small Demonic Domains weren't particularly rich in resources to begin with, and if there were any, they would have long been taken by the local demonic cultivators. Both of them were pure Daoist cultivators; where could they possibly obtain demonic cultivator items?
Demon Lord Xuanyue clearly knew their difficulty, but he didn't relent. Picking up the rust-covered Fusheng Sword, he glanced sideways at the two, then looked toward Mo Tiange. "Qin-guniang is also a Daoist cultivator. Are you interested in this Fusheng Sword?"
Mo Tiange glanced at Yong Ruyu and Qingyunzi before replying, "Interest, of course, I have. However, Fellow Daoists Yong and Qingyun seem quite interested in this sword. I'm a newcomer here; how could I snatch away something others desire?" She paused, then added, "Moreover, items for demonic cultivators are truly hard to find. I'm afraid the things I have on me might not catch Fellow Daoist Xuanyue's eye."
Demon Lord Xuanyue smiled. "What's there to worry about? Whether something catches my eye is for me to decide. Since Qin-guniang has joined our exchange meeting, of course you have the right to trade. Isn't that right, you two fellow Daoists?"
Demon Lord Xuanyue was at the late-stage of Core Formation, while Yong Ruyu and Qingyunzi were only at the early-stage. How could they dare to adopt a forceful attitude in front of him? Besides, what Demon Lord Xuanyue said was reasonable; exchange meetings were about free trade, entirely up to the owner's preference.
Seeing them nod, Demon Lord Xuanyue smiled. "Alright, Qin-guniang, what do you have? You can take it out for a look."
Mo Tiange hesitated for a moment, then finally began taking things out from her robes. She had been to Tianmo Mountain. That place had once been a battlefield where the righteous and demonic paths clashed, leaving behind countless treasures from both sides. Although most had been collected by predecessors, that place intertwined with Demonic Qi always had some special items. She had picked up many people's Qiankun Bags there. Qin Xi wasn't interested in these things, so almost all of them ended up in her possession. Among them were some strange items from Tianmo Mountain. However, she didn't know much about demonic cultivators and wasn't sure if these were useful or if Demon Lord Xuanyue would fancy them.
Seeing her take out a Qiankun Bag and pull out items one by one, Demon Lord Xuanyue's initial expression was one of indifference, probably finding these things unimpressive. But as Mo Tiange produced more and more items, his expression gradually turned to surprise. When she finally took out one particular item, he abruptly stood up.
Mo Tiange stopped. What she had just taken out was a jade box containing a small black flower. She didn't know what this item was, only that it was heavily imbued with Demonic Qi. Looking at Demon Lord Xuanyue's expression, she felt this item must be some treasure to shock a Core Formation demonic cultivator so. Even Yang Chengji, the other demonic cultivator who had been sitting quietly in the corner without a word, shifted slightly, his gaze fixed intently on her hand.
"This item... does Fellow Daoist Xuanyue fancy it?"
Demon Lord Xuanyue let out a breath, slowly regaining his eerie, narcissistic demeanor. He nodded. "This flower is called the Demon-Gathering Flower. It only grows in places where Demonic Qi gathers and is extremely abundant. The one in your hand, Qin-guniang, is at least two thousand years old. It's more than enough to exchange for this Fusheng Sword."
Mo Tiange nodded, revealing a smile. "Thank goodness. If this still wasn't enough, I would have had to give up. Since Fellow Daoist Xuanyue says so, are you willing to exchange the Fusheng Sword for this Demon-Gathering Flower?"
"Of course." Demon Lord Xuanyue straightforwardly tossed the Fusheng Sword in his hand to her. "This sword belongs to you now, guniang."
Mo Tiange closed the jade box and tossed it to Demon Lord Xuanyue. Both confirmed the items were correct, completing the trade.
Seeing this, Yong Ruyu and Qingyunzi both sighed. This Fellow Daoist Qin was also a Daoist cultivator. Having heard the origin of the Fusheng Sword, naturally, she had no reason to yield. The two of them had missed their chance with the Fusheng Sword.
After Demon Lord Xuanyue and Mo Tiange completed their trade, Yang Chengji, who had remained silent until now, suddenly spoke, stopping Mo Tiange from putting away her remaining items. "Fellow Daoist Qin, these items of yours are all for demonic cultivators. Are you willing to trade all of them?"
Mo Tiange smiled. "Naturally. I'm a Daoist cultivator; what use do I have for these things?"
Yang Chengji considered for a moment, then opened his Qiankun Bag and tossed out several items. "Then, Fellow Daoist Qin, see if you need any of these?"
Mo Tiange focused her gaze. The items Yang Chengji had thrown on the table were all demon cores, mostly fifth and sixth rank, numbering over a dozen.
This surprised Mo Tiange somewhat. Yang Chengji was only at the early-stage of Core Formation, yet he actually possessed so many fifth and sixth-rank demon cores. It seemed his combat prowess was quite extraordinary. She had heard before that although demonic cultivators were prone to qi deviation, their combat abilities were stronger than righteous path cultivators of the same rank. She had been half-convinced, but seeing Yang Chengji effortlessly produce so many demon cores, it was likely true.
These demon cores made the others quite envious. Even Han Shizhi praised them several times. Demon cores were among the few items without distinction between righteous and demonic paths. Both righteous and demonic cultivators could use them, the difference being that the righteous path mostly used them for alchemy, while the demonic path often consumed them directly.
Mo Tiange, however, felt somewhat troubled. It wasn't that she didn't want these demon cores. Demon cores were equivalent to pills, and she had learned the method of directly consuming them from the Bixuan Pavilion. She could use up even more. The problem was, she wasn't clear about the value of the demonic cultivator items in her possession and didn't know how to exchange for them.
She thought for a moment and said, "I wonder what Fellow Daoist Yang wants to exchange for?"
Yang Chengji's face under the hood was unreadable. He said calmly, "The value of these demon cores of mine, Fellow Daoist Qin should know, is enough to exchange for most of the items on the table. If Fellow Daoist Qin trusts me, would you be willing to let me choose for myself?"
Mo Tiange only considered for a brief moment before smiling and agreeing. "Alright."
Yang Chengji nodded. "Thank you." As he spoke, he raised a hand. The items on the table seemed to be drawn, flying toward him one by one. After most of the items had moved to his side, he pushed his hand, sending the demon cores on the table toward Mo Tiange.
Mo Tiange caught them all, briefly checked the quality of the demon cores, then tossed them into her Qiankun Bag before collecting the remaining items from the table.
After this trade was completed, the room fell silent for a while. The items Demon Lord Xuanyue had brought out were simply too astonishing, leaving the others somewhat lacking in spirit for further trading.
Finally, it was Demon Lord Xuanyue who broke the silence again. He asked Mo Tiange seemingly casually, "This lord sees that Qin-guniang is a pure Daoist cultivator. Why do you have so many items used by demonic cultivators on you? Could it be that your homeland is also a Demonic Domain?"
Mo Tiange smiled faintly and shook her head. "Since Fellow Daoist Xuanyue knows I am a pure Daoist cultivator, how could I possibly live in a Demonic Domain? It's just that I once had conflicts with a few demonic cultivators and obtained these from them."
"Oh, I see." Her meaning was that these items were obtained by eliminating demonic cultivators. Although she had many items, they were quite miscellaneous, and their total value wasn't very high. If said to be the possessions of one or two demonic cultivators, it was believable.
In the current Yunzhong continent, the situation was no longer one of absolute opposition between righteous and demonic paths. So, hearing her words, neither Demon Lord Xuanyue nor Yang Chengji reacted much.
Having obtained a treasure to his satisfaction, Demon Lord Xuanyue was quite pleased. Squinting his eyes, he looked at the others. "Alright, Qin-guniang has finished trading with us. Which fellow Daoist wishes to trade next?"
After a moment of silence, they heard Monk Yuankong chant a Buddhist invocation. "Amitabha. This poor monk has something to exchange."
Demon Lord Xuanyue couldn't even be bothered to speak, merely gesturing for him to bring out his item.
Monk Yuankong didn't waste words either. He directly took out a jade box and opened it. Instantly, the entire private room was filled with dazzling, radiant light in seven colors, bursting forth from the box.
"Seven-Colored Jade Heart Lotus!" An exclamation came from Han Shizhi.
Mo Tiange still had no knowledge of this item. However, seeing its overflowing Spiritual Qi, she knew it was a very rare spiritual material, especially given Han Shizhi's shocked expression.
"Patron Han has good eyesight. It is indeed the Seven-Colored Jade Heart Lotus." Monk Yuankong smiled slightly. Although his appearance was quite ugly and rather fierce, when he smiled, it was filled with a kind of benevolent, sacred feeling. Perhaps this was the so-called Buddha-nature? Mo Tiange thought to herself.
"What does Great Master Yuankong wish to exchange for?" The speaker was Qiu Chengruo. She stared at the Seven-Colored Jade Heart Lotus, not blinking once. Since Mo Tiange had entered the room, this beautiful Daoist nun was showing the demeanor of a cultivator for the first time, rather than that of a wife strictly supervising her husband.
Monk Yuankong still spoke unhurriedly with a slight smile. "Patron Qiu, this poor monk mentioned earlier that in my early years, I committed heavy killings. Now, I am entangled with demonic obstacles, and my cultivation has stalled. Therefore, I wish to exchange this item for something that can reduce killing karma and remove demonic obstacles. I wonder if you have such things?"