Chapter 180: A 50-50 Split

　　When Yunxiao thought of what happened in those years, he had a feeling that a lifetime had passed since then. He smiled and said, “You are a hunter from Skyfragrance Empire, but you came to Firecrow Empire’s Alchemist Association to seek help. And you only look for young, inexperienced alchemists. It can be seen that you are a very cautious and suspicious man. If I work with you, I fear I will be swallowed whole by you.”

　　With a wry smile, Duan Yue said, “The world is a dangerous place. You know how much this marine map is worth. I dare not to work with someone too clever. In fact, I already began to regret finding you. I should be the one afraid of being swallowed whole.”

　　Yunxiao looked at the map and licked his lips. Its value did not concern him. What mattered to him was the Kunwu Divine Tree and poisonous blood of a sea beast. He must get both of them no matter what. “Sir Duan, you are too humble. You are a seven-stars Martial Grandmaster and I’m just a one-star Great Martial Master, so why should you be afraid of me? You can easily kill me with a finger. I should be the one who is afraid. Now tell me, how do we work together? And how will the prizes be split?”

　　Duan Yue considered a moment, and then he said in a deep voice, “Since you know about pink crystal dust, you should be aware of its power. The first thing I need to know is how sure are you that you can disperse this thing?”

　　Yunxiao smiled and a confident look came over his face as he drummed his index finger on the table and said, “If it is only for two people to pass, I’m one hundred percent sure.”

　　“One hundred percent!” Duan Yue was taken aback. He would not believe it if that was said by someone else. But, since Yunxiao knew about pink crystal dust, he must have some understanding about it, and that meant his one hundred percent thing was most likely accurate.

　　“I can’t believe your soul power is so strong,” he nodded slightly and said. “That’s good! We’ll move together after passing through the rainbow fog, and whatever we find, we will split as 20-80.”

　　“20-80? You don’t mean you take 80 and I take 20, do you?”

　　“What else? I’m a seven-stars Martial Grandmaster and you’re just a one-star Great Martial Master, so of course I take 80 and you take 20!”

　　“Don’t forget that you have to serve me for one year. Even if I refuse to work with you and go there alone, you still have to follow beside me and listen to my orders.”

　　“You…fine, 30-70! You can’t ask for more than that. After all, this marine map is mine, and most likely I’ll be the one who contributes the most when the time comes.”

　　“Most likely? You distribute income based on something that may or may not happen? If you were in my position, would you accept it?”

　　“If it weren’t me, would it be you? I’ll never agree to a 40-60 split!”

　　“Then disperse the pink crystal dust yourself. Don’t blame me for not reminding you, the slightest inhalation of that thing will completely paralyze your mind. Be prepared to be excreted by some sea beasts.”

　　“Fine, 40-60! Damnit, my heart hurts!” Duan Yue clutched his chest with a hand and put on a painful and reluctant look as he stared at Yunxiao fiercely.

　　While smiling, Yunxiao poured himself another cup of tea and took a sip before speaking calmly, “I give you two options: the first one is a 50-50 split, and the second one is you give me the Kunwu Divine Tree and help me kill a fourth-tier poisonous sea beast, and the rest of the things belong to you. Choose one.”

　　“No way!” Duan Yue jumped and said angrily, “Don’t go too far, boy! You’ll only get a 50-50 split in your dreams! As for Kunwu Divine Tree, it is a precious plant, and its value is too significant to be measured, which I think is not below that of a ninth-tier material. I can help you kill a sea beast though. How about I kill two for you, and everything else will be mine?”

　　Pa!

　　Yunxiao put down his teacup and said coldly, “It seems like you are not sincere about working with me.”

　　“I’m not sincere?” Duan Yue rolled his eyes and said vexedly, “I’ll suffer a great loss if we split 50-50, but if I give you the Kunwu Divine Tree, once we arrive the sea area and find nothing but the divine tree, I’ll have to jump into the sea and drown myself!”

　　Yunxiao smiled and said, “In business, one must be able to suffer losses. Sometimes, losses are blessings. Don’t forget, you’re in my service now, so giving you a 50-50 split is the best I can offer.”

　　Duan Yue kept slapping himself on the head. ‘Stupid! Why did you bet with this boy? You’ve brought yourself into a trap!’ After being angry with himself for a while, he calmed down and said painfully, “Fine, we will split 50-50! But, I have one condition!”

　　“Oh?” Looking at his serious face, Yunxiao said, “What condition? Let’s get the unpleasant out of the way first. I’ll not agree to those conditions like ‘let you pick first’.”

　　Duan Yue felt his head reel. He really could not understand why a fifteen-year-old boy could be so smart. ‘I remember that when I was at his age, the only thing in my head was about picking up girls…’ He shook his head with a wry smile and said, “My condition is…if you have the strength and ability one day, I want you to refine a Universal Golden Pill for me!”

　　Yunxiao’s pupils constricted. His eyes gleamed as he studied Duan Yue again, and only then did he nod lightly and speak, “Alright, I promise you!”

　　“Really!” Duan Yue was overjoyed, and he was so excited that he almost forgot himself. But then, he asked suspiciously, “Do you know what a Universal Golden Pill is?”

　　He was afraid that Yunxiao did not know about this medicinal pill and was just making a casual promise. After all, it was not a medicinal pill that he could get in touch with at his current level. Duan Yue feared that when the time came, Yunxiao would go back on his own words with an excuse that he knew nothing about the medicinal pill.

　　“Hmph! It is nothing special but a medicinal pill that, when taken by a peak nine-stars Martial Emperor, can increase the chances of breaking through to the realm of Martial Supreme by a mere thirty-percent,” Yunxiao said disdainfully.

　　Duan Yue was relieved when he saw that Yunxiao was able to say out the medicinal pill’s effect, but his nostrils flared at that disdainful tone. “Do you know how precious this medicinal pill is? Do you know all the great powers will fight to the death for it? F*ck! It is nothing special? A mere thirty-percent? Do you have any idea what the tier of this pill is? Do you know how difficult it is to refine one? Do you know the meaning of increasing the chances of breaking through by thirty percent?”

　　“Hmph!”

　　Yunxiao gave him a contemptuous look, as if he were a poor man roaring with a bun in one hand. Then, he snorted softly and closed his eyes as he said, “A Universal Golden Pill is an eighth-tier medicinal pill. Its three main ingredients are hollow hunting tooth, rock snake grass, and bloodless phoenix, in addition to broken dragon sand, a ninth-tier material, and 1,720 supplementary materials. It takes twelve different arrays and 360,000 incantation gestures to refine. The alchemist needs not only eighth-tier soul power, which is the minimum requirement, but also three seventh-tier spirit rejuvenation pills, so that his soul power can be replenished when needed. Otherwise, even an eighth-tier Alchemy Supreme cannot successfully refine one.”

　　“…”

　　The teahouse was strangely quiet. Apart from the sound of porcelain as Yunxiao placed down the lip of the teapot, there was no other sound. Duan Yue seemed completely petrified, as if he had turned into a mummy, sitting blankly there and unmoving. It was only after Yunxiao took a few sips of tea and changed the tea leaves that he slightly came back to his senses.

　　“Ha! Ha!” Duan Yue slapped his head with one hand as he pointed at Yunxiao with another and said, “Fake, this must be fake! You must be uttering nonsense. You are really funny, boy! You can’t be knowing the recipe of an eighth-tier medicinal pill and saying it out casually…Do you think you are one of the elders in the Sea of Soul Formation? Haha!”

　　Although he did not sound convinced, his stiff expression and shocked look showed that he had fully believed it in his heart.

　　Yunxiao arched his eyebrows slightly and chuckled in his heart, surprised by the fact that the old man had accurately guessed his identity a few times. Under his appearance of a fifteen-year-old boy was indeed the soul of a Martial Sovereign, and he was indeed an honorable elder of the Sea of Soul Formation in his previous life.

　　He smiled as he arranged the tea set orderly and said, “Let’s go now! I have something very important to do, so I can’t waste too much time.”

　　“Oh? What is it?” Duan Yue was curious about what important matter this young man had, who always looked so calm as if nothing in the world could concern him.

　　“I’ll tell you when we come back. When the time comes, I’ll need your help, Sir Duan.”

　　After they left the teahouse, Yunxiao took out an item. Duan Yue’s eyes lit up when he saw it, and he said enviously, “A Tigerking chariot? It is an excellent fifth-tier artifact! But, do you think it is appropriate to take it out here? Recently the Xingyang family in the city was wiped out by some mysterious experts, and now the whole city is at the highest alert. If you take out a Tigerking, I fear you will be targeted by at least a hundred divine senses instantly.”

　　Yunxiao chuckled and said indifferently, “That’s exactly the effect I want!”

　　Under Duan Yue’s shocked glance, he threw out the Tigerking, which grew rapidly in the air and soon cast a shadow over the street.

　　“You’re really not afraid of anything!” Duan Yue watched helplessly as Yunxiao jumped up the chariot, and he had no choice but to follow.

　　While laughing, Yunxiao slapped at the chariot’s control array, and the vehicle immediately turned into an amber-colored stream of light, zooming over Shangyang in the direction of Skyfragrance Empire. “It’s not that I’m not afraid, but this is exactly the effect I want!”

　　At the moment the chariot appeared and left, countless divine senses poured over crazily, but they were all repelled by an even stronger divine sense. That shocked and terrified all the scouts, and dozens of figures appeared over the city in the next instant, each rushing toward different directions.

　　In a secret mansion at an unknown place that belonged to the Temple of Revered Elders, Zhu Jin, who was sitting cross-legged in meditation, suddenly woke up. His face fell, and he cried out in surprise, “It’s him!”

　　In the next moment, he appeared directly in the sky hundreds of meters from the ground, shouting angrily as he watched the amber-colored stream of light disappear into the horizon. He did not know whether he should chase it or not. After staring blankly at it for a while, he turned sulkily and left. Soon, curses could be heard coming out of the Temple of Revered Elders. No other people dared to make a sound, and the curses quieted down after a few minutes.