Chapter 1802 — A Billion

"One billion," Xue Li said. "The price isn't all that high."

Elder Zhang clicked his tongue in silent astonishment. For those hidden clans and lesser sects that bought natural treasures with money, the dearest purchases they ever made ran to a few tens of millions at most—anything past a hundred million was already extraordinary. Yet here, a single Ice Spirit Sacred Fruit was being quoted at a billion!

Still, on reflection it was not so very much. The Xuandan Sect had once promised to trade the Ice Heart Jade Bone Pill it refined for two Ice Spirit Sacred Fruits. Only, Xue Li's constitution could not be altered by a single Ice Heart Jade Bone Pill; with one Marrow-Washing Bone-Transforming Pill and one Ice Heart Jade Bone Pill together, there might be hope of remaking her into the ice-heart, jade-bone constitution. But the Marrow-Washing Bone-Transforming Pill was a thing of pure legend—even the Xuandan Sect did not possess its formula.

Most of what the Xuandan Sect practiced, too, was of the fire element, and when refining pills with pill fire a cultivator was apt to fall into qi deviation; thus the Ice Spirit Sacred Fruit was an essential remedy for them.

Of course, perhaps it was because Snow Valley possessed what the Xuandan Sect needed, or perhaps it was because of the cultivation method practiced throughout Snow Valley, that the Xuandan Sect's young master had not come to propose marriage to Xue Li—which had spared Xue Li a great deal of trouble.

"I shall go and give them my reply!" Elder Zhang nodded, cupped his hands in farewell, turned, and went out.

Naturally, all of this was also because these people could bring profit to Snow Valley. Had someone with neither natural treasures nor money come here hoping to eat and lodge for free, he would most likely have been driven out long ago!

Elder Zhang was a man who could read a room. At a glance he could tell that Wei Zhao was a cultivator in the grip of genuine qi deviation, and that Gu Mengyao carried herself with the air of a daughter of some great house—such a person, surely, was a patron with money...

After breakfast, Gu Mengyao had not expected Elder Zhang to return so soon. She rose at once and stood with great respect, for they had come here as supplicants.

"Friends," Elder Zhang said, "the Valley Master has sent word. The Ice Spirit Sacred Fruit is worth one billion. If you wish to purchase it, you may pay the money now."

"One billion!" Gu Mengyao's eyes went wide. Even as the daughter of a wealthy house, she was at this moment left gaping in astonishment. She did not know how much money her family possessed, but one or two hundred million could certainly be produced. A billion, though...

Elder Zhang had in truth been startled by the price himself, so Gu Mengyao's reaction came as no surprise to him. He merely said, "Friends, this is the price the Valley Master has named. If you cannot accept it, then I can only apologize. I must ask you to leave..."

"Wait—let us try to raise it..." Gu Mengyao could not possibly leave. Though a billion was an astronomical sum to her, she would try regardless of everything...

"Of course," Elder Zhang said with a nod. "Then I shall not disturb you further. If the funds are in place, you may have the cultivator on duty contact me."

With that, Elder Zhang departed, leaving behind only Tang Yun, who had still not recovered her wits... A billion! Back in the Tang family, her mother had been overjoyed to receive a hundred million, and here Snow Valley named a billion without so much as blinking. That was rather too much, was it not?

Yet from the look of Gu Mengyao, a billion seemed to be no obstacle to her buying it, and Tang Yun felt a surge of emotion. She still could not quite fathom Gu Mengyao's feelings, but Gu Mengyao was truly, genuinely good to Wei Zhao.

"Yaoyao... this billion..." A flicker of helplessness crossed Tang Yun's face. "My family—at most we could scrape together a little over a hundred million..."

"I'll talk to Daddy and see how much he has," Gu Mengyao said with a nod. "A billion is a huge sum, but from Elder Zhang's tone, there seems to be no room to bargain. We can only do our utmost..."

These past few days Gu Pengzhan had been lost in self-congratulation, daydreaming of the Gu Group doubling its assets and leaping to become one of the largest conglomerates in the country—this had been Gu Pengzhan's lifelong dream. Yet now it seemed that, at the current rate money was pouring in, the dream was not far off at all.

A phone rang. Gu Pengzhan picked it up, saw his daughter's number, and could not help smiling as he answered. "Yaoyao, are you enjoying yourself at West Star Mountain Village?"

"..." Gu Mengyao paused. When Wei Zhao's trouble had first struck, it had come so suddenly that she had not told Gu Pengzhan about it, but now she had no choice but to speak of it. "Daddy, something's happened to Wei Zhao!"

"What? Something's happened to Xiaoyi?" Gu Pengzhan was stunned. "What's happened to him?"

"He suffered qi deviation while cultivating, and now his whole body burns with heat—just like a great furnace!" Gu Mengyao gave him a brief account of Wei Zhao's condition. "Right now he needs a certain spirit medicine to solve the problem, but... they're asking a billion for it..."

"A billion?" Gu Pengzhan frowned, startled by the figure. Even though he had made a great deal of money lately, the astronomical sum still surprised him. "That much money?"

"Yes... Daddy, can you produce it? This is the money to save Wei Zhao's life—there's no time to lose." Gu Mengyao knew her request might put her father in a difficult position, but her voice remained firm.

"Yaoyao, don't worry. A billion, is it? Daddy will find a way!" Gu Pengzhan valued Wei Zhao no less than Gu Mengyao did. That phone call with his father earlier had let him vaguely catch a hint of something, so this time—without needing to consult his father again—he resolved that no matter what, Wei Zhao must be saved first.

"That's good..." Hearing Gu Pengzhan say so, Gu Mengyao let out a breath of relief.

"Yaoyao, wait for my call. I'll go raise the funds right now," Gu Pengzhan said.

An Mingyue's grand scheme was indeed highly profitable, but for Wei Zhao's sake Gu Pengzhan now had no choice but to withdraw part of his capital early. So after hanging up, he immediately dialed An Mingyue's number.

"Brother Pengzhan? Calling me again? Didn't I just tell you the results? You can't be that impatient, surely?" An Mingyue asked with a laugh. Yet though he smiled outwardly, inwardly he sneered: soon you'll be a pauper, and calling you Brother Pengzhan flatters you.

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