I'll get 300,000 for your life.

My respected elder Lei.

When Elder Lei heard this title, he patted his robes and his expression turned slightly cold as he said,

"I also learned of the reason for your dispute with Qiong Qi when I arrived. It was because this big yellow dog stole Qiong Qi's medicinal materials, so Qiong Qi beating the thief was naturally justified."

"Yet you wanted to stand up for the thief and even went so far as to fight with Qiong Qi. So you are the one in the wrong here. And now you still want to make trouble unreasonably, simply ignoring the rules!"

When Chen Xia heard these words, rage welled up within him. He stabbed his bronze sword into the ground and pointed at Qiong Qi, saying,

"Regardless of Qiong Qi's sinister scheming, this big yellow dog only stole a stalk of insignificant white vine flower that even ordinary disciples wouldn't want. Moreover, given its temperament, if discovered it would immediately admit its mistake and return what it took."

"Yet Qiong Qi beat it until it was half dead. Even if it was beating a thief, there is no justification for such excessive force!"

The big yellow dog could only be considered half a thief at most, because it truly wouldn't steal anything valuable. And this medicinal field originally belonged to Elder Lei.

Elder Lei didn't mind others taking these low-grade medicinal materials.

The crux of the issue is that, without anyone else knowing, Qiong Qi secretly bought Elder Lei's medicinal field. And after purchasing it, no one else was notified until the big yellow dog went and stole the white vine flower.

This is scheming.

"Who said this white vine flower is worthless?" Qiong Qi said with a mocking sneer, enunciating each word clearly.

"The white vine flower grown in my medicinal field is different. It's worth a great price."

Chen Xia nodded and replied, "It seems your life is the one not worth much then."

"Heh heh." Qiong Qi let out a cold laugh. "You should think carefully first. The one in the wrong here is you. My beating a thief is simply a matter of course. Besides, you all can't afford to compensate me for my losses anyway."

"My white vine flower is worth 300,000 spirit stones of the finest quality. If you can give me 300,000 spirit stones, I may be able to forgive this wild dog."

When Qiong Qi said this, even Elder Lei, who was the first to plant medicinal materials in this field, couldn't help but lower his head in shame.

300,000 spirit stones?!

But this was the white vine flower he had planted! Let alone 3 million spirit stones, it wasn't even worth half a spirit stone. A single spirit stone could buy a huge pile of white vine flowers!

Qiong Qi was no longer just spewing blatant lies.

He was talking straight out of his ass!

Outrageous, simply outrageous.

Elder Lei lowered his head, utterly ashamed. He could feel gazes looking his way, also aware that this medicinal field was planted by Elder Lei.

He didn't even dare lift his head to meet those gazes, wishing he could flee immediately.

The observing cultivators were also shocked by Qiong Qi's words, shaking their heads in disbelief.

300,000 spirit stones was an astronomical figure. Even a top-grade high-quality medicinal pill would only be around 100,000 at most. And the rare medicinal pills that Heavenly Tribulation realm masters would covet generally ranged from 300,000 to 1 million spirit stones.

So this single stalk of white vine flower was equal to 3 top-grade pills or 1 low-grade supreme pill?!

Wasn't this simply bullshit?

Almost everyone present felt it was outrageous, everyone except one person.

And that was Third Elder. Currently he was patting Qiong Qi's head, praising with satisfaction, "Worthy of this teacher's efforts in educating you. It's not in vain."

This master and disciple were a match made in heaven, both birds of a wretched feather.

"300,000 spirit stones it is then," Chen Xia nodded, not saying anything further. He retrieved his bronze sword and slowly walked away, leaving a trail of blood drops and staggering slightly with each step.

Third Elder smiled with satisfaction, "Knowing when to retreat is the right choice."

With this, the matter could be considered settled for now.

Everyone felt that Chen Xia had endured and backed down. Chen Xia also didn't say anything more. He only expressed concern for the injuries of Big Yellow Dog and Chi Yu.

Zhang Daoming had fed them some medicinal pills for recuperation and they were slowly recovering their vitality and blood. "Their lives are saved for now, but some lingering damage remains that will need slow nurturing to mend," he implied.

In other words, lasting side effects were inevitable.

Chen Xia looked at the half-dead dog and bird, sighing. He hadn't expected his two unlucky brothers to nearly die on the same day.

"I'll take responsibility for the cost of whatever pills you used on them. Keep a record of the amount and I'll repay you in the future."

Zhang Daoming nodded. Looking at the panting Big Yellow Dog, he replied,

"Even if you didn't say it, I would still keep accounts. We should be clear on money owed. But I won't charge you for the labor, just the materials."

"Alright," Chen Xia nodded. He fell silent briefly before asking again, "Could you lend me some money?"

Zhang Daoming was startled for a moment. "How much do you need?"

"How much do you have?" Chen Xia asked back.

Now Zhang Daoming was even more taken aback. He knitted his brows and pursed his lips. "I've lived many years and though pill refining costs greatly, I've still saved up a bit. Probably around 15,000 spirit stones. Aside from the 5,000 reserved for my coffin, I can lend you the remaining 10,000."

10,000 spirit stones was already quite a lot for the average cultivator, especially an alchemist who direly needed money like Zhang Daoming.

Being able to lend out 10,000 spirit stones showed he was giving Chen Xia a lot of face.

After all, even one medicinal pill was only 30,000 to 100,000 spirit coins.

But Zhang Daoming wasn't worried about Chen Xia being unable to repay him, given that he could refine the Insight Pill.

A single Insight Pill sold for 30,000 to 100,000 depending on its grade. The one Chen Xia refined last time was considered superior quality, selling for around 60,000.

Deducting 60% for material costs, he could still earn over 20,000 spirit coins in profit.

And alchemists would usually wait 10 years between refining top-grade pills in order to let their fortune reach perfection.

That meant Chen Xia could earn 20,000 spirit coins every 10 years. In 100 years that would be 200,000.

Repaying Zhang Daoming's 10,000 spirit stones would be easy as pie.

This was the terrifying money-earning ability of an alchemist. Among the great worlds, skilled pill refiners were existences that earned the most money, far surpassing other craftsmen like equipment forgers or talisman makers.

After saying this, Zhang Daoming immediately took out some spirit stones from his storage treasure. He flipped out three small golden jars in a row, saying,

"These are money jars. Together they add up to 10,000 spirit stones. Just take them and open them."

Chen Xia didn't dawdle. He accepted the money jars, then after rummaging over himself for a bit, took out a fiery hot sword brimming with flames.

"Take this sword for now as collateral until I repay the money. I'll take it back after clearing the debt."

This flying sword was of the five elements fire attribute, specifically the masculine gold fire type. It was extremely useful for heating furnaces, and was one of the 19,999 flying swords in Chen Xia's body, quite precious and worth no less than 10,000 spirit stones.

Zhang Daoming was startled for a moment. He didn't refuse, accepting the searing hot sword and looking it over. He glanced at Chen Xia again, hesitating briefly before asking,

"Are you really going to gather 300,000 spirit stones for the sake of a single white vine flower stalk, just to settle a matter that's already passed?"

"No," Chen Xia shook his head. His eyes flashed with dazzling sword light and killing intent as he replied,

"This matter is not over. In fact, it's just beginning."

He would gather 300,000 spirit stones as payment for the white vine flower.

And when the time came, Qiong Qi would also have to pay the price of half a life each for Big Yellow Dog and Chi Yu.

In other words, one whole life.

Chen Xia would take it with his own hands.

That's what he had said.

Qiong Qi was destined to die by his hand.