Chapter 20: Sea Soul Silk

“Uh… well… hehe, last time was my mistake. I sincerely apologize, beautiful fairy. You are so gracious; here are a few treasures as an offering. Please accept them with a smile. Hehe…” 

Li Xian quickly reacted, wisely avoiding the topic of being nearly obliterated last time. Instead, he clumsily opened one of the carts, revealing items such as colorful lanterns, mirrors, and some glassware. These items all had one thing in common—cartoon designs. This was Li Xian’s latest creation. He had intended to use these cartoon animals to appeal to the children among the demons, which was one of his confidence points.

But now, he had no choice but to offer them as a bribe to avoid disaster, having unexpectedly encountered a “familiar face.” Indeed, it was a reunion with an old acquaintance in a foreign land!

The woman was momentarily stunned when she saw the items. Although they lacked spiritual power and were just ordinary goods, they were incredibly beautiful! Naturally, as a woman, it was hard for her to resist.

Especially when some of the lanterns were already lit, and in the twilight, dozens of colorful lights shimmered with vibrant, dazzling hues.

When a beautifully decorated mirror with floral vine designs on its edges, crafted from stained glass and about three feet tall, was brought out, Li Xian caught a whiff of a delicate fragrance. In a blink, the woman had appeared in front of the mirror, curiously examining it.

Li Xian and his group dared not breathe too loudly, waiting quietly. Li Xian’s heart was pounding—partly out of fear but also excitement.

The fear was obvious—he had “teased” this woman before. But the excitement stemmed from a wild guess he had, one so bold that he barely dared to believe it himself—could she be the Dragon Princess? This woman might very well be a princess of the Dragon Clan!

“This is a new mirror made by your human race? It’s beautiful. If you can give me a hundred—no, a thousand mirrors like this, I will forgive you. How about that? I’m very generous, after all.”

Generous indeed! Asking for a thousand treasures right off the bat—how magnanimous of you. Fortunately, she didn’t ask for ten thousand mirrors.

But Li Xian was quick-witted. His eyes lit up as an idea struck him. “Well… beautiful fairy princess, there’s actually a… small problem with the mirrors. You see, we’re currently missing a crucial material. And the reason we’re heading to the demon territory is precisely to obtain that material.

If we can find it, we’ll be able to produce more mirrors. Not just a thousand—three thousand wouldn’t be an issue.”

“What material?” The noble fairy never expected this little mortal to try and play tricks with her.

Li Xian took out a list, “Beautiful fairy princess, we are missing a material—spiritual threads that can conduct spiritual energy. We plan to go to the demon clan to exchange for some. Whether it’s celestial silkworm silk, jade silkworm silk, or the silk of demon spiders, as long as it can channel spiritual energy, we need it.”

The dragon princess glanced at the thirty carriages around her, “And you plan to exchange these mundane items for spiritual materials?”

“Beautiful fairy princess, in my view, there is no distinction between mundane items and spiritual materials, only whether they are useful or not. For a thirsty person, even a divine artifact is not as practical as a meal. Don’t you agree?”

“You’re right, what you say makes sense. So tell me, what can these things do?”

“Fabrics can be used to make clothes or provide warmth. This is true for both humans and demons. The colorful lanterns, besides being beautiful, can also bring daylight into the night, offering protection to weaker clans. And mirrors, well, they can make an already beautiful fairy even more beautiful.”

“My, what you say really makes sense. So, how much thread do you plan to exchange for these things?”

“For 30 carriages of goods, I’d be satisfied with just three pounds of first-tier thread (Foundation Establishment level).”

“Exchanging so many treasures for just three pounds doesn’t seem greedy. How about this, give me all your goods, and I’ll give you one pound of Sea Soul Silk in return?”

One pound of Sea Soul Silk? Upon hearing this, Li Xian was ecstatic. Great, I haven’t even used all my negotiation tactics yet, and you’ve already revealed your hand.

But outwardly, Li Xian wore a bitter expression, “Beautiful, peerless fairy princess, isn’t one pound a little too little? Also, I’ve heard of Sea Soul Silk, but I’m not familiar with its properties. Um…”

“You don’t trust me, the princess?”

“No, no, I just fear wasting such precious Sea Soul Silk.”

The princess slightly furrowed her brows, “Hmm, Sea Soul Silk… it’s alright, there’s plenty more in the ocean. As long as you can provide me with things that satisfy me, I can sell you quite a lot.”

Li Xian pressed further, “Then, may I ask, fairy princess, if you have other types of spiritual thread materials? If there are more varieties, I can trade with you for them as well.”

Li Xian then revealed his trump card—stainless steel weapons! If any race had the greatest demand for stainless steel weapons among humans, demons, and sea clans, it was undoubtedly the sea clan! They are constantly submerged in seawater, and no matter how rich the ocean’s resources are, they can’t afford such waste.

“They’re just ordinary swords and knives, and you want to use such things to trade for spiritual materials? Are you treating me like a fool?” The dragon princess spoke, her tone already becoming a bit cold.

Li Xian tilted his nose up. “Your Highness, I think you’d better take a look first. If they were just ordinary swords and knives, I wouldn’t embarrass myself by presenting them.

This new material is called stainless steel. Your Highness, you can try it.”

At first, the dragon princess was somewhat irritated, but upon hearing the words “stainless,” she suddenly became serious. In truth, whether it was among humans or sea clans, and whether it was ordinary soldiers or low-ranking troops, most were still at the Qi Refining stage, and still used common weapons. If this stainless steel really lived up to its name, it would have significant implications for the sea clan.

She picked up a longsword and inspected it repeatedly. It truly didn’t rust! Then, the princess made a move that caused Li Xian to shrink back: this powerful woman, with her seemingly delicate hands, twisted and broke the sword in two—yes, she twisted it apart. After confirming its hardness and that the material was consistent inside and out, she nodded in satisfaction.

“Not bad. It really doesn’t rust, and its hardness and toughness are comparable to, or even better than, typical swords. How do you plan to sell this?”

Upon hearing these words, Li Xian almost jumped with joy and extended one finger. “By weight. One thousand pounds of stainless steel weapons for one pound of Sea Soul Silk.

The shape of the weapons and other specifications can be based on samples you provide, or you can send people to guide us on-site, and we’ll customize them.”

“A thousand pounds? No way. These are just ordinary mortal goods, while Sea Soul Silk is a spiritual material. Five thousand pounds for one pound of Sea Soul Silk!”

“Your Highness, stainless steel weapons can last for hundreds of years, while Sea Soul Silk is a consumable item. Besides, you could easily use stainless steel weapons to trade with more distant sea clans, couldn’t you? You could trade a hundred pounds of stainless steel weapons for one pound of Sea Soul Silk.”

Li Xian was now teaching the dragon princess how to do business.

“What you’re saying makes sense, but a thousand pounds? No way. I imagine this stainless steel material is abundant on your land, isn’t it?”

Li Xian smiled confidently. “Your Highness, the materials and the finished products are not the same thing. How about this: I agree to exchange five thousand pounds of stainless steel for one pound of Sea Soul Silk and other spiritual threads of the same grade.

However, in addition to the spiritual materials, Your Highness will need to provide one hundred thousand pounds of ore. Any kind of ore will do—iron ore, copper ore, gold ore, silver ore, or even ores you might not recognize.

I know there are many naturally occurring iron nodules (manganese nodules) in the ocean. Shall we calculate based on the purity of these iron nodules?”

“How do you know there are iron nodules under the ocean!” Princess Long looked at Li Xian with surprise.

“Well… cough cough, I happened to see it in an ancient book. May I ask how to address you, Princess?” Li Xian privately warned himself; he seemed to have gotten a bit too pleased with himself just now. Cough cough… this kind of thing must be avoided in the future.

“Just call me… never mind, you can call me Ao Qingxue. You should call me ‘Princess Ao Qingxue,’ understand?”

“Princess Ao Qingxue.”

“Hmm! I’m magnanimous and won’t hold a grudge against you for such a minor offense. Alright, I’ve taken the items; we will follow the previous agreement for future transactions. Five thousand pounds of stainless steel weapons in exchange for one pound of Sea Soul Silk or other spiritual threads of equivalent value.

These lanterns and mirrors are so beautiful.”

The princess couldn’t take her eyes off the mirrors; in Li Xian’s view, it could only mean one thing—“I’m a mark, come and fleece me quickly.”

“The price of stainless steel weapons will be half. This is also calculated by weight: ten percent for large items, seventy percent for small items, and twenty percent for other items, including mirrors.”

“Deal. But how will we transact in the future? How much can you supply?”

“How about I establish a port on the coast of An Yang? This way, our transactions will be much more convenient. As for the supply… for now, I can provide such a batch of goods every month, and it might increase in the future.”

“Great, I’ll send monsters to protect the port.” Princess Ao Qingxue finished speaking and used some method to notify her subordinates. Soon, the sea began to boil, and various sea monsters appeared. In no time, they moved all the goods away, even stealing the horses of Li Xian and the others. These gluttonous sea monsters!

“Sorry, they haven’t eaten land creatures for a long time. As compensation, I’ll give you one pound of regular Sea Soul Silk and one tael of higher-grade Sea Soul Silk.”

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