Ye Ling appraised the masked man with a playful gaze and asked with a smile, "Your little Tianyi Pavilion can even get the clothes of the Demon Palace's Palace Master?"
The masked man chuckled, "As long as the guest offers a sufficient price, not only Long Ye's clothes, but even Long Ye's head, we can deliver it with both hands!"
Ye Ling remarked, "The Demon Palace is the foremost sect on the East Profound Continent. You speak with such grandiosity!"
The masked man replied, "That was in the past. Although the Demon Palace still maintains its reputation as the foremost sect on the surface, they are merely living off their past glory. I know of no less than ten forces stronger than the Demon Palace!"
Lian Yin couldn't help but cover her mouth, her face filled with disbelief, "There are so many stronger than the Demon Palace?"
Although Lian Yin was not a disciple of the Demon Palace, her grandfather had been a disciple. Thus, she had always taken pride in the Demon Palace.
However, upon hearing the masked man's words, Lian Yin felt her dreams shatter.
The World Annihilating Spiritual Fire taunted Ye Ling, "Kid, it seems your Demon Palace isn't doing too well on the East Profound Continent, not even ranking in the top ten!"
Ye Ling ignored the World Annihilating Spiritual Fire's teasing and smiled at the masked man, "It seems I have been in seclusion for too long, and the world has undergone earth-shattering changes. Back in the day... the Demon Palace was truly the number one."
The masked man chuckled, "It appears the guest has indeed been in seclusion for quite some time, otherwise, you wouldn't be unaware of these matters. However, we are not here to discuss the state of the world today. What is it that you desire, young master?"
Ye Ling asked, "Long Ye's head, how about that?"
"Does the young master truly want Long Ye's head?" a flicker of surprise crossed the masked man's eyes. "That is a sky-high price!"
"Name your price. How much is he worth?"
The masked man quickly regained his composure and smiled, "There are not many people in this world who can afford Long Ye's head. If the young master truly desires it, it will not be much... a hundred billion top-grade spirit stones."
Lian Yin shivered, "A hun-hundred billion?"
She had been ecstatic to obtain even a small piece of top-grade spirit stone. Now, with the masked man mentioning a hundred billion, she couldn't even fathom such an immense sum of money!
Even if the entire East Profound Continent were to be dug up, she doubted it could scrape together a hundred billion!
Ye Ling's expression remained calm upon hearing the masked man's words, "Are you saying this because you know it's impossible, and thus you're quoting an outrageous price?"
Although it wouldn't be difficult for Ye Ling to condense a hundred billion top-grade spirit stones with his strength, given the current state of the East Profound Continent, the entire continent had at most a hundred million top-grade spirit stones. The masked man quoting a hundred billion was clearly an attempt to make things difficult.
The masked man chuckled, "Doesn't the guest also understand the current situation of the East Profound Continent? Then I won't play games with the guest. How many top-grade spirit stones can you offer?"
"Ten million at most," Ye Ling stated calmly.
"Ten million..." the masked man murmured, pondering for a moment before saying to Ye Ling, "This price is barely acceptable, but we have a condition."
"A condition?" Ye Ling raised an eyebrow.
The masked man replied, "The price you've offered is a bit low, so you will also need to help us hunt Long Ye."
"Help you hunt him together?"
Hearing the masked man's words, Ye Ling was somewhat surprised. He hadn't expected the Tianyi Pavilion to actually dare to accept a bounty on Long Ye.
The East Profound Continent of today was likely completely different from the one Ye Ling remembered.
The spiritual energy of heaven and earth had shrunk, yet peak powerhouses had become even stronger. The only explanation Ye Ling could think of for this abnormal phenomenon on the East Profound Continent, besides invaders from outside, was nothing else.
Lian Yin hadn't thought that far. Upon hearing Ye Ling's words, she exclaimed, "Young master, do you truly intend to hunt the Demon Palace's Palace Master? He is the foremost powerhouse of our era!"
Ye Ling chuckled, "Of course, I'm just joking. If you want me to go hunt Long Ye with you, I haven't lived enough yet."
As soon as Ye Ling uttered these words, a cold glint flashed in the masked man's eyes. However, he maintained a faint smile on his lips and said, "Since the guest is joking with us, have you considered the consequences of joking?"
"Don't rush, even if I don't want Long Ye's head, I haven't said I don't want the Demon Palace's uniform."
Ye Ling smiled and patted the masked man's shoulder, casually taking out a chest of top-grade spirit stones from his spatial ring. "Should these spirit stones be enough?"
The masked man glanced at the chest of top-grade spirit stones, the coldness in his eyes quickly vanishing. He then turned to Ye Ling with a benevolent smile, "Since the guest is sincere, please follow me."
The masked man beckoned, collecting the chest of top-grade spirit stones into his spatial ring, and turned to leave the room.
Ye Ling tossed a communication jade to Lian Yin, saying, "You don't need to follow me anymore. When you see your grandfather, use this communication jade to contact me. If you can provide more effective information then, I will give you more top-grade spirit stones."
Lian Yin was still in shock from Ye Ling casually producing a chest of top-grade spirit stones. Seeing Ye Ling toss her a communication jade, she quickly cupped it with both hands and nodded repeatedly to Ye Ling, "Thank you, young master! I'll go find my grandfather now!"
With the top-grade spirit stones given by Ye Ling, she and her grandfather could become top-tier wealthy individuals in this Azure Stone City, and their future would be worry-free.
This way, her grandfather would no longer have to risk his life hunting demonic beasts!
With that, Lian Yin excitedly dashed out of the room to find her grandfather.
After Lian Yin left in excitement, Ye Ling also followed the masked man into a carriage, which then drove out of Azure Stone City.
"Pavilion Master, where are you taking me?" Ye Ling looked back at the increasingly distant Azure Stone City and asked the masked man.
The masked man smiled, "Rest assured, guest, we are conducting legitimate business and will not harm you. However, the Demon Palace has markings on the uniforms of their elder-level members, so we must store them in a special place to evade the Demon Palace's tracking."
Ye Ling inquired, "Where is the place you store the clothes?"
"It's in the dense forest on the outskirts of the city, not far from here."
"Alright."
Ye Ling and the masked man chatted intermittently, and before long, they entered the dense forest and stopped in front of a wooden house.
The masked man walked to the side of a water pool in front of the wooden house and took out a jade token from his spatial ring, tossing it into the water pool.
Soon, the calm water pool emitted a faint glow, and a stone platform rose from the center of the pool.
Above the stone platform was a pale blue bead, with the space around the bead slightly distorted.
The World Annihilating Spiritual Fire reminded him at this moment, "Kid, be careful. The space around that bead is unstable. It's likely that Tianyi Pavilion's warehouse is in another dimension."
"Mm."
Ye Ling nodded slightly, releasing his divine soul, covering the stone platform in the center of the water pool, and carefully sensing the other dimension connected to the stone platform.
"This!"
Sensing the dimension behind the stone platform, Ye Ling's pupils contracted slightly.
He hadn't realized the extent of it until he investigated. The dimension on the other side of the stone platform was in the outer-domain universe!
What was the origin of this Tianyi Pavilion?