The Price of Control
Among them were items that could be considered spiritual treasures, moderately rare spiritual herbs, and things that looked impressive but were utterly useless in reality. Since Jekyeong had memorized all kinds of information on spiritual treasures and herbs from the catalog of the Yeongbu Merchant Alliance, he could identify the items presented by the Great Demons at a single glance.
'Not bad.' While there was nothing Jekyeong could use himself, there were quite a few items he could sell off to the Human Race. There were also a few things that might be good to give to Cheongo or the humans under his command.
“Bring them out,” Jekyeong ordered Hyeongu, who was waiting at a distance, after quickly finishing his inspection of the goods.
In some ways, these Great Demons certainly had their foolish moments, but they were by no means idiots. In fact, in certain aspects, they were even superior to the Human Race. For instance, they possessed an innate, instinctual sense for recognizing what they needed and what would benefit them. One only had to look at them now to see it.
Gulp!
When Hyeongu dragged out the human cultivators bound in shackles, the Great Demons could hardly tear their eyes away. Some smacked their lips, and one even began to drool. They didn't need their minds to tell them; their instincts knew. They knew that devouring those humans would bring them immense benefits.
The cultivation of the Beast Race relied on blood food, and even Great Demons with powerful bloodlines were no exception to this rule. The method of cultivating by devouring and devouring to fatten oneself up was simple but highly effective. However, nothing in the world came without a price; the more one accumulated cultivation through blood food, the more turbid their spiritual nature and physical body became.
Low-level Yo-beasts knew nothing of this issue, nor did they need to. But once they reached the level of a Great Demon, those with sharp senses would gradually begin to feel the adverse effects of blood food. And by the time they reached the mid-stage, or even the late-stage of the Great Yao realm and began to look toward the Yao King realm, the wise ones would finally realize: they could never reach a higher realm with such a turbid and unstable foundation.
If they forced a breakthrough to the Yao King realm without resolving these side effects, nine out of ten would die a miserable death. Even if they luckily survived, most would fall into deviation, losing their very minds and forgetting who they were. The demons gathered here did not know all of this, nor could they predict their future doom. They were simply rolling their eyes in greed, driven by their instincts as Great Demons.
“Three human Foundation Establishment cultivators. Four roots of Hae-yeom flowers. Two bottles of Ji-jang oil.”
The gaze of the Great Demons swept over the three items in turn. Naturally, their eyes lingered longest and first on the Foundation Establishment cultivators, but they also showed clear greed when looking at the Hae-yeom flowers and Ji-jang oil.
Jekyeong watched their reactions, inwardly satisfied. These were all items he had procured from the Yeongbu Merchant Alliance at no small expense. First, the three early-stage Foundation Establishment bandit cultivators went without saying. No matter how low the demand for them was, a Foundation Establishment cultivator was still a Foundation Establishment cultivator; the spirit stones Jekyeong had paid to acquire them were comparable to what he spent on the Hae-yeom flowers and Ji-jang oil.
Although Hae-yeom flowers and Ji-jang oil were used as ingredients for certain elixirs, they had limited applications, meaning few people cultivated or harvested them, making them difficult to obtain. Or so Gwak Jeong-sin claimed. However, Jekyeong believed that was merely an excuse. Gwak Jeong-sin surely knew the efficacy of these spiritual medicines, so he must have had a rough idea of how Jekyeong intended to use them.
'He probably thinks I'm using them for myself.'
Jekyeong guessed Gwak Jeong-sin's thoughts but saw no reason to correct his misunderstanding. Why would he? It was actually highly beneficial if the man remained mistaken. Jekyeong did not want Gwak Jeong-sin to find out that he was doing business with the Beast Race. Even if he did find out, Jekyeong didn't think it would cause a massive issue, but there was always a margin for error. The more profitable secrets one kept, the better.
“Since you all possess discerning eyes, I am sure you can estimate the value of these items. Now, let us begin.”
Those gathered here had prior experience trading with Jekyeong in an exchange format. Although this was their first time conducting a group trade all at once, their past experience ensured there was no confusion. After all, the items they desired were right before their eyes, and they knew exactly what they had to do to obtain them. All that was left was to raise their voices.
“I will give you all of this! Give me those humans in return!” the hot-tempered Daeyeong shouted, shaking his fish head violently.
Jekyeong looked at the items he offered and shook his head. “It is not enough.”
“Not enough?”
“Indeed. These are no ordinary humans. They are Foundation Establishment cultivators. In terms of cultivation realm alone, they are on equal footing with us.”
“Ugh.”
Daeyeong, who had momentarily flared up in anger, faltered and lost his momentum at those words. Seon-gu then waved his massive tentacles like hands and spoke up.
“I will give you all of my goods... in exchange for two humans. And those... did you call them Hae-yeom flowers? Give me those as well.”
“It is not enough.”
Jekyeong rejected him once more. It wasn't even worth considering. By his standards, more than half of Seon-gu's items were garbage. As soon as Seon-gu dejectedly lowered his tentacles, Jang Yeong spoke up.
“Would you be willing to trade two of the Hae-yeom flowers and one bottle of Ji-jang oil for four of my items?”
“It is not enough.”
“What if I offer five?”
“Hmm...”
After pondering for a moment, Jekyeong nodded, and the first transaction was finally completed.
At this, Daeyeong, Seon-gu, and Ha Son-seo grew anxious and began bidding more aggressively. Daeyeong, who had initially demanded all three humans with great bravado, was now desperately scrambling to secure even one. Seon-gu was the same. On the other hand, Ha Son-seo, who had maintained a heavy, composed demeanor throughout the exchange, asked Jekyeong directly:
“Fellow Daoist Jekyeong. How many of those humans can I get with my goods?”
Jekyeong was slightly taken aback by this unusual style of bargaining, but he quickly organized his thoughts.
“Two.”
In his estimation, among the four Great Demons, the items brought by Ha Son-seo were the finest, and their value was slightly higher than two Foundation Establishment cultivators. Thus, the price Jekyeong quoted was not unreasonable.
“Very well. Let us trade for two.”
Once two of the Foundation Establishment cultivators fell into Ha Son-seo's hands, Daeyeong and Seon-gu's eyes turned bloodshot. They fiercely competed over the remaining one, and in the end, Seon-gu, who poured in his entire fortune, emerged as the pyrrhic victor. Daeyeong managed to obtain the remaining two Hae-yeom flowers, but he smacked his lips repeatedly, clearly unsatisfied.
“Fellow Daoist, what would you trade one of your humans for?”
Unable to let go of his lingering desire, Daeyeong began pestering Ha Son-seo, but Ha Son-seo remained completely unmoved.
“Fellow Daoist, I fancy this stone. Name your price.”
Although the major transactions were over, many items still remained. The Great Demons' eyes gleamed as they browsed through each other's offerings. Even in the midst of this, Daeyeong kept pestering Ha Son-seo, but when Ha Son-seo finally snapped in irritation, Daeyeong flinched and backed away. He then approached Jang Yeong, probing to see if he could acquire even a single Hae-yeom flower or bottle of Ji-jang oil.
'What a simple-minded fellow,' Jekyeong thought, a faint smirk playing on his lips as he watched Daeyeong.
After seeing off the four Great Demons, Jekyeong returned to the Black Cult Palace to assess his haul. More than half of the items obtained from the exchange were things he would have to liquidate into spirit stones, and of the remainder, there was nothing he could use personally. Looking at it this way, it might seem his only harvest from this exchange was spirit stones, but that was not the case. His true harvest was his established standing among the Great Demons.
The four Great Demons who participated in this exchange would now recognize his capabilities to some extent. After all, Jekyeong had procured and offered multiple items that they desperately needed but could not obtain on their own. In the future, if he held another exchange, he wouldn't even need to go through the trouble of formally inviting them; a simple, casual mention would have them rushing over, their storage bags packed to the brim with goods.
'I should gradually increase the number of participants. But...'
Jekyeong clicked his tongue inwardly. If his exchange were a gathering of human cultivators, the participants would have spread the word on their own. Humans loved to socialize and network. But the Beast Race was different. Rogue Great Demons possessed a strong sense of territory and wariness, rarely interacting with one another, making it difficult to expect them to spread rumors voluntarily.
'I'll have to wait and see for now. It's not an urgent matter.'
The volume of goods he could procure from Gwak Jeong-sin would likely remain at this level in the future. Attempting to increase his purchase volume any further might arouse suspicion, so Jekyeong had no intention of buying more even if it were possible. Thus, for the time being, having just four participants in the exchange was more than enough.
'I must find a way to obtain what I need without relying on Gwak Jeong-sin and while avoiding his gaze.'
In truth, he had been harboring this thought for ten years, but he had yet to find a suitable method. Even if he went through the cultivators of Bul-mang-won, they would ultimately have to deal with the Yeongbu Merchant Alliance, meaning he couldn't escape Gwak Jeong-sin's eyes. He had to find a direct method within the Changram Realm.
'Using the humans under my command is indeed the best option.'
The problem was that he couldn't trust them. This was true both in terms of their capabilities and their loyalty. The tasks Jekyeong had assigned them so far were nothing more than minor errands. Since the amount of spirit stones he handed over at any one time was small, the risk of betrayal was low, and any accompanying danger was negligible.
But what if the tasks became more significant? In other words, what if he sent them out with a much larger sum of spirit stones? The dangers they would face would increase, and the likelihood of those holding a fortune harboring second thoughts would also rise. Jekyeong trusted Han Cheongyu to some extent, but he believed that trust was best left untested if possible. Furthermore, while Han Cheongyu was relatively reliable, the rest of his subordinates were untrustworthy in many ways. How could he entrust them with major affairs?
'Should I send Han Cheongyu alone?'
The thought crossed his mind briefly, but he quickly dismissed it. It was always best to avoid uncontrollable risks from the very beginning.
'Control... Yes. If only I had a foolproof means of control.'
Speaking of control, the Soul Contract suddenly came to mind. Human cultivators used the Soul Contract to make Yo-beasts their servants, but could that contract be used in reverse?
'Probably not. Even if it isn't entirely impossible, it would be extremely difficult.'
Jekyeong immediately discarded the idea of the Soul Contract, but he did not give up hope in other directions. He believed in the cruelty and ingenuity of the Human Race. They had undoubtedly devised methods to control their own kind. What began as a vague hope gradually solidified into a conviction as he continued to ponder. Jekyeong considered asking Gwak Jeong-sin, but decided to exercise a bit more caution.
“Of course there are.”
At U Do-baek's prompt reply, Jekyeong felt a surge of joy and asked, “What kind of methods are they?”
“There are too many to explain easily. To speak broadly of the ones I know... there are contracts, restrictions, and curses.”
Setting aside contracts, restrictions and curses... Jekyeong was filled with admiration. Just hearing those words conveyed a sense of insidious malice; the Human Race truly did not disappoint his expectations.
“However, such means are not easy to employ. You said you wished to control the humans under your command, correct? Is the Great Dao Oath not sufficient?”
“It is insufficient.”
Not all cultivators staked their lives on the Great Dao. At least, the humans under his command certainly did not. To control them as he pleased, a far more powerful method was required. Unfortunately, it seemed U Do-baek had only heard of such methods and had not mastered them himself.
“I happen to know a Blood Contract Restriction technique. Are you interested?”
Just as Jekyeong was about to swallow his disappointment, Choi Ju-tang's single remark instantly captured his attention.