Dual Realm Exchange System

For several breaths, nobody moved.

The Withered Mana Core sat innocently between cups of cooling tea and half-finished plates of spirit fruit, its dull surface almost offensively unimpressive compared to the reaction it had provoked.

Damian’s hand still hovered above the table.

Across from him, Lan Ruyue’s cultivation pressure had already disappeared as quickly as it erupted, yet the five Azure Water Sect disciples behind her had reacted with considerably less restraint.

Two hands had fallen upon sword hilts, one of the young women had already shifted half a step forward, placing herself between Damian and Lan Ruyue, while the scholarly-looking young man no longer resembled someone preparing to compose poetry beside a river. Spiritual Energy circulated through his body as his gaze fixed sharply upon the Withered Mana Core.

Lin Meiyu and Shen Lian had gone pale while Mu Qingyao’s chair remained overturned behind her.

Her emerald eyes moved from the Azure Water Sect disciples to Lan Ruyue, and the warmth she had shown Damian only moments earlier vanished beneath sudden fury.

"Elder Lan! Control your disciples!" Mu Qingyao roared.

The shout struck the room like thunder.

Lan Ruyue blinked.

Her thoughts had been almost completely consumed by the object upon the table, but Mu Qingyao’s roar dragged her back to reality.

Only then did she actually look behind herself, noticing that the five disciples accompanying her had not attacked, nor had any of them drawn their weapons completely, but that hardly mattered.

They had prepared themselves to fight inside Damian’s own commercial tower, over an object Damian had casually removed from his personal storage.

Lan Ruyue’s first instinct was not anger, but approval.

Good.

At least these children had not spent years consuming Azure Water Sect resources for nothing. When a strategic treasure suddenly appeared before them, their instincts had immediately recognized both its value and the possibility that circumstances might change within a heartbeat.

That sort of reaction kept cultivators alive.

Then Lan Ruyue looked at Damian, and the approval inside her disappeared.

Damian had not moved from his spot, still seated comfortably in the master seat, his hand resting near the table while an amused smile lingered upon his face.

He did not appear frightened nor did he appear angry either, but that was somehow worse.

His eyes met hers calmly, and Lan Ruyue felt as though someone had thrown a bucket of icy cold water directly over her head.

What had they just done?

The answer struck her with enough force to make her breathing hitch.

They had shown murderous greed, the instinctive willingness to seize an extraordinary opportunity before anyone else could.

In Shengyuan, there was nothing particularly shocking about that.

Treasures were fought over, opportunities were stolen, and cultivators killed each other every day over inheritances, medicinal herbs, Spirit Stones and artifacts worth far less than the object sitting upon Damian’s table.

Under ordinary circumstances, nobody in the room would have considered the Azure Water Sect disciples’ reaction especially disgraceful.

The problem was not what they had done.

The problem was who had not done it.

Mu Qingyao.

From the moment the Withered Mana Core appeared, Mu Qingyao had displayed the same shock and desire as everyone else.

Yet when the situation shifted, she had immediately positioned herself on Damian’s side.

She had not reached for the treasure nor had she allowed her disciples to surround him.

She had not even hesitated before roaring at the Azure Water Sect delegation to control themselves.

That contrast was disastrous!

Lan Ruyue’s face hardened.

"Put your weapons down! Have all of you lost your minds?!" Lan Ruyue snapped harshly.

The five disciples froze, the two partially loosened swords immediately sliding back into their sheaths, while the others suppressed their Spiritual Energy so quickly that the room almost seemed to deflate.

Then they understood what they had just done as the color drained from their faces.

One young woman lowered her head so deeply that her chin nearly touched her chest, while the scholarly disciple stared at the floor with an expression resembling someone who had just accidentally burned down his ancestral hall.

They had harmed the sect through a single moment of greed!

The Azure Water Sect had only just secured Damian as a Guest Elder.

Now, before the arrangement had even properly begun, they had shown him exactly what might happen if he ever revealed something sufficiently valuable in their presence.

None of them could bring themselves to look at him.

Mu Qingyao remained standing, her anger having not faded as her generous bosom heaved.

Damian glanced at her for a moment before rising slightly and reaching out, his palm landing gently against the middle of her back.

"Sit down, Mu Qingyao. It’s fine," Damian instructed in a calm but slightly commanding tone.

Mu Qingyao froze.

A man’s hand was touching her body... specifically her back.

For one bewildered moment, her thoughts scattered badly enough that the entire confrontation almost vanished from her mind.

More strangely, her body obeyed before her pride had time to consider whether it should.

Mu Qingyao sat, and only afterward did she seem to realize what had happened.

A faint flush crept across her cheeks as she stared forward with slightly unfocused eyes.

Damian did not notice anything particularly unusual.

He simply returned to his seat, still faintly amused by how badly the atmosphere had exploded over what he considered a nearly worthless object.

Lan Ruyue sat as well.

Her disciples followed her example, considerably smaller in spirit than they had been a minute earlier.

"Fellow Daoist Damian, what occurred just now was our fault. My disciples acted improperly, but responsibility ultimately rests with me for failing to restrain them and for allowing my own surprise to disturb my judgment. I sincerely apologize," Lan Ruyue stated while bowing her head.

There was no clever wording this time, just a relatively sincere apology.

Damian studied her briefly, then nodded.

"Mmm, accepted."

That was all he said in response.

Strangely, the simplicity made Lan Ruyue feel even worse.

Damian turned toward Lin Meiyu.

"Explain this thing to me. Why did everyone react like that?"

Lin Meiyu stiffened at suddenly being called out, and her eyes went immediately toward the Withered Mana Core.

Then, almost unconsciously, they shifted toward Mu Qingyao, seeking permission to speak.

Damian caught it, and his mirthless smile disappeared.

The young man was not overtly angry, but that made the change more noticeable.

"It’s alright, Lin Meiyu. You can go downstairs," Damian told her calmly.

Lin Meiyu froze, and the stability in the young woman’s heart seemed to collapse.

"Lord Damian, I..."

She did not know how to finish.

She had only hesitated because the knowledge involved was sensitive and because Mu Qingyao was technically the senior Elder responsible for many Evergreen Sect secrets.

But Damian had asked her directly, who had been assigned to him and was half a disciple to him, yet she had looked elsewhere for permission.

The slight coldness in his voice made her realize how that appeared.

Shen Lian reacted much faster.

"Lord Damian, I can explain! Lin Meiyu is simply being overly cautious because the matter involves strategic sect resources. There was no intention to conceal anything from you," Shen Lian hurriedly offered while stepping forward and subtly pulling Lin Meiyu behind herself.

Mu Qingyao finally recovered from the lingering sensation of Damian’s hand against her back.

She immediately understood what had happened.

"Lord Damian, please don’t be displeased with her. Lin Meiyu is still young and somewhat dull-witted about these things. She only hesitated because she did not know whether she was permitted to discuss a closely controlled resource before outsiders," Mu Qingyao pleaded gently.

Lin Meiyu’s eyes had already grown wet.

Damian looked at her, then at the nervous Shen Lian, and finally at the worried Mu Qingyao.

His expression softened again.

"Fine. Shen Lian, you explain then."

Lin Meiyu lowered her head behind Shen Lian, blinking rapidly as she fought back tears.

Lord Damian had always been easygoing with them, always joking, teasing, and tolerating their mistakes.

That brief moment of coldness had been far more frightening for the young girl than if he simply shouted at her.

Shen Lian carefully chose her words.

"Lord Damian, this is a Demon Beast Core. More importantly, a core of this quality is one of the principal ingredients required to refine the Foundation Establishment Pill."

Damian’s expression changed.

Foundation Establishment.

Now she had his attention.

"The Foundation Establishment Pill is one of the most important strategic medicines available to powers within the Azure Water Sector. Under suitable circumstances, consuming one increases a cultivator’s chance of successfully entering Foundation Establishment by thirty percent," Shen Lian continued seriously.

Thirty percent...?

Damian glanced back down at the dead-looking core.

Suddenly, everyone else’s reaction became far less ridiculous.

Foundation Establishment cultivators were the nuclear deterrents of this region.

A sect possessing one stood among the dominant powers of the Azure Water Sector.

A sect possessing none could accumulate all the Body Tempering and Qi Condensation cultivators it wanted, but there would always be a ceiling hanging over its head.

This object was a super strategic resource akin to enriched uranium, one of the crucial materials that allowed someone to potentially build a nuke.

Damian understood the greed, but what he did not understand was the object itself.

"But this thing is dead and there is practically nothing left inside it. Why would that make it more valuable?" Damian pointed out.

Mu Qingyao opened her mouth, but Lan Ruyue spoke first.

"The lack of energy is precisely why its present condition is desirable, Fellow Daoist Damian," Lan Ruyue explained immediately, seizing the opportunity without hesitation.

Damian turned his eyes toward her and Lan Ruyue almost felt relief simply from receiving the attention.

"For Foundation Establishment Pill refinement, the alchemist does not primarily require the energy contained within a Demon Beast Core. What matters is the core itself: its structure, the traces left by the creature’s cultivation and the Daoist rhyme preserved within that structure."

Damian’s eyes narrowed with interest.

"The energy remaining inside a freshly harvested core is actually troublesome. Beast essence is violent, impure and deeply influenced by the creature from which it originated. Before such a core can safely enter the refinement process, alchemists must spend considerable time exhausting, purifying or dispersing that residual power. Depending upon the core, the process can take weeks or even months," Lan Ruyue continued.

Damian stared at the Withered Mana Core for a long moment, then he understood the crux of the matter as a ridiculous smile slowly appeared upon his face.

So that was it, huh?

One side wanted the contents whereas the other wanted the container itself.

In Valoria, people valued the mana inside a core. That energy could be extracted and used for potions, magical equipment, staves and countless other purposes.

Once the mana disappeared, the remaining shell became nearly worthless.

Shengyuan possessed the exact opposite problem.

The cultivators here wanted the physical core, its internal structure and whatever ’Daoist’ traces survived within it, while the residual energy was an obstacle that needed to be painstakingly removed before the real work could even begin.

Looking at it from the other side, one world discarded the shell while the other discarded the contents.

Damian almost laughed.

What kind of obscene arbitrage was this?

Forget A-rank, this was S+ class!!

He placed the Withered Mana Core flat upon the table, and every eye followed it.

Then Damian pressed one finger against the dull object and slowly slid it across the polished surface...

...toward Mu Qingyao.

Lan Ruyue’s heart sank.

Mu Qingyao stared at it approaching her with widening eyes.

"I intended to give the Evergreen Sect first rights to this anyway," Damian remarked casually before his smile deepened.

"So let’s call this my bride price to you, Mu Qingyao."

Mu Qingyao stopped breathing.

Lin Meiyu’s grievance vanished instantly as Shen Lian’s eyes widened.

Even the Azure Water Sect disciples finally looked up.

"L-Lord Damian..."

Mu Qingyao stared between Damian and the Withered Mana Core.

Her first instinct was refusal, because how could she accept something so valuable based on a statement like that?

Then reality crushed the thought.

Her father was still recovering, and the Evergreen Sect’s position had deteriorated for years.

If Mu Jianhong returned to strength and the Evergreen Sect could use this core to eventually produce a Foundation Establishment Pill, then they might gain another Foundation Establishment cultivator.

One restored pillar and one possible new pillar.

The Evergreen Sect could recover!

Mu Qingyao’s hands trembled slightly.

She knew she could not refuse, not when thousands of disciples and generations of inheritance rested behind her.

Her face turned increasingly red as Damian looked entirely too pleased with himself.

Lan Ruyue watched the exchange silently, bitterness filling her mouth.

Since the moment her delegation made its mistake, Damian had barely looked at her.

Before that, his gaze had occasionally passed across her chest.

Lan Ruyue had not cared because everyone looked.

Men looked, women looked, and sometimes elderly matrons looked before immediately looking annoyed at the heavens.

She was used to it.

But now?

Nothing.

Damian’s attention moved between Mu Qingyao, his disciples, the Withered Mana Core and the ongoing conversation without lingering upon Lan Ruyue at all.

Lan Ruyue was not vain enough to become offended because a man stopped admiring her breasts.

However, she was experienced enough to understand what that absence meant.

The door had closed.

If she left this commercial tower now without changing something, securing another private audience with Damian might become as difficult as ascending to the heavens.

The Guest Elder arrangement could survive formally, but actual favor would not.

She needed something drastic.

For one brief moment, Lan Ruyue considered the most obvious methods.

Beauty.

Herself, one of the four female disciples accompanying her, or even her own daughter, who was widely regarded as the number one beauty of the Azure Water Sect.

Then she discarded the thought because it was too uncertain.

If Damian refused, or worse, interpreted the offer as another attempt to manipulate him, she would only deepen the damage.

No, it had to be something he wanted, something useful!

Lan Ruyue’s gaze moved across the room, seeing cups of tea, plates of spirit fruit, empty shelves beyond the stairs, and the strange products Damian had displayed.

Then her eyes landed upon the open Evergreen Sect ledger resting near his elbow.

Several entries had been marked within, from pills to manuals, and even techniques.

Lan Ruyue’s heart jumped as she shot to her feet.

Everyone looked toward her with surprise and confusion.

"Fellow Daoist Damian, before anything else continues, I wish to properly acknowledge the mistake made by myself and the Azure Water Sect disciples accompanying me," Lan Ruyue began solemnly.

Even Mu Qingyao looked surprised when Lan Ruyue suddenly bowed.

"When the Demon Beast Core appeared, greed disrupted our judgment. My disciples prepared themselves to seize an opportunity that did not belong to them, and I failed to prevent the situation before Elder Mu was forced to intervene. Regardless of what is considered normal within the cultivation world, we were guests inside your property and had already entered a cooperative relationship with you. Our actions were unacceptable."

The five disciples behind her became increasingly ashamed.

Lan Ruyue did not spare them, nor herself.

"I do not expect words alone to repair the distrust we created. What I am about to offer is not payment for goods, nor part of our Guest Elder agreement. It is compensation intended purely to mend the damage caused by our conduct."

Damian leaned back, and he had to admit, he was interested in how she planned to make amends.

Lan Ruyue lifted her head. "The Azure Water Sect will provide Fellow Daoist Damian with one hundred Condensing Essence Pills, fifty Essence Surge Pills and twenty Essence Purifying Pills!"

Mu Qingyao shot upright, her expression of utter shock and fright. "Elder Lan!"

That reaction told Damian more than the numbers themselves.

Mu Qingyao stared at Lan Ruyue incredulously. "Those quantities would deplete a substantial portion of the Azure Water Sect’s current reserves! Are you sure about this?"

Damian’s gaze sharpened.

Hoh? It seemed that he had miscalculated.

When he saw the Contribution Point prices in the Evergreen Sect ledger, Damian had subconsciously assumed that the main limitation was simply price control.

Apparently, supply itself was much tighter than he thought.

Lan Ruyue was not throwing some impressive-looking but ultimately replaceable compensation onto the table.

She was bleeding herself and likely the sect to fix the problem she caused.

He leaned back silently, one finger beginning to tap against the armrest.

Nobody spoke for a long while, until the atmosphere in the room grew progressively more oppressive as the seconds passed.

Lan Ruyue remained bowed while her disciples barely dared to breathe.

Mu Qingyao watched Damian carefully.

Tap.

Tap.

Tap.

Damian finally stopped.

"Alright... I accept!"

Lan Ruyue released a breath she had not realized she was holding.

Her shoulders relaxed almost imperceptibly, as though someone had removed a ten-pound stone from them.

Behind her, the Azure Water Sect disciples looked equally relieved, although the shame on their faces remained, as they had nearly cost their sect an invaluable relationship.

Now their Elder had personally paid the price required to drag that relationship back from the cliff.

Mu Qingyao looked at Lan Ruyue differently, a hint of respect entering her eyes.

That woman had made a serious mistake.

Then, instead of hiding behind excuses, blaming her disciples or pretending nothing happened, she had recognized the damage and sacrificed real strategic resources to repair it.

No wonder the Azure Water Sect remained faintly superior to the Evergreen Sect under its present circumstances.

A sect with people capable of making decisions like this deserved its position.

Mu Qingyao’s lips tightened slightly as another thought followed.

She had been lucky.

When the Withered Mana Core appeared, she had reacted instinctively, neither as an Elder calculating the Evergreen Sect’s interests nor as a cultivator staring at an opportunity capable of changing her future.

Rather, she had reacted as someone who liked Damian and did not want to see others threatening him or reaching for something that belonged to him.

That affection had protected her from greed before greed could make the decision for her.

Mu Qingyao glanced toward Damian.

She had never considered herself some ice-cold person who needed to sever mortal emotion to pursue the Dao, nor had she ever sworn off romance.

Damian gave her a good feeling.

He was handsome, charming, mysterious and increasingly impossible to understand.

Naturally, her interest had been thoroughly piqued, so she had simply allowed herself to feel it.

And today, that very feeling might have preserved something far more valuable than a Demon Beast Core.

If she had reacted like Lan Ruyue...

If her own hand had gone toward her weapon...

Everything Damian had built with the Evergreen Sect could have changed in an instant.

Mu Qingyao slowly exhaled.

Perhaps cultivators sometimes became too obsessed with transcending mortality.

Sometimes, allowing oneself to experience ordinary affection, interest and emotion like a mortal was not weakness at all.

Sometimes, it was the correct path!

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