Chapter 195
Chapter 195: Have You Ever Seen a Mountain of Spiritual Stones?
Outside the imperial mausoleum, in the central area.
Though there was still plenty of time left before the inner perimeter of the imperial mausoleum opened, a sizable crowd had already gathered here.
Those who could enter the inner perimeter had basically arrived, having already collected the ten soul beads they needed in advance.
Qin Bei, along with Mu Zhaoxue and Ji Zhuyue, casually found an open spot and sat down.
Upon seeing Qin Bei in this area, many people selflessly vacated the space, leaving it available for him.
“It’s still early; let’s have a good meal first!”
Qin Bei took out a large amount of food from his Cosmos Bag.
These were some wild game he had caught in the imperial mausoleum over the past few days.
One must admit, the flavors of things in this cultivation world, even ordinary wild beasts, were exceptional.
Especially when coupled with Qin Bei’s perfect cooking skills.
It was simply xxxout of this world!xxx
The people around, witnessing Qin Bei easily barbecuing under such circumstances, expressed their confusion.
Yet, considering that Qin Bei had become a soul bead merchant and that others weren’t short on soul beads, it seemed he could afford to be a bit xxxfull of himself.xxx
Time flew by swiftly.
As night fell, many who had already gathered their soul beads started to arrive.
Meanwhile, the few people who were Qin Bei’s temporary subordinates had also returned, except for Peng Yuan, who was still MIA.
Earlier in the afternoon, he had been out promoting and selling soul beads.
The haul had been quite considerable.
Especially with the hundreds of royal family members.
According to regulations, they were all eligible to enter the inner circle of the imperial mausoleum.
Yet, the majority of these royal members lacked the ability to actually make it inside.
Though Qin Bei seemed to have gotten soul beads effortlessly, obtaining ten soul beads was no easy feat for anyone who wasn’t a genius like Qin Chen—it was nearly impossible.
Thus, among the hundreds present, only about ten or so could rely on their strength to enter the inner perimeter.
However, the rest made their way to the central area.
The reputation of the soul bead merchant had become renowned throughout the gathering.
All these royal family members wanted to come check things out, perhaps hoping to encounter the so-called soul bead merchant.
As fate would have it, they truly did meet him.
And they bought a significant number of soul beads from Qin Bei.
In an instant, Qin Bei raked in hundreds of millions of spiritual stones.
…
Despite all this, Qin Bei wasn’t overly concerned; he had actually been waiting for Peng Yuan to return.
This way, he could settle all the gains from this trip to the imperial mausoleum.
Plus, he could utilize all the soul beads to enhance his soul power.
Yet, Peng Yuan was still nowhere to be seen.
Not even a jade slip could sense him.
This indicated that Peng Yuan was more than a hundred miles away from his current position.
As time went by, the last two of Qin Bei’s temporary subordinates finally returned.
They were the two who had followed Qin Xiu.
In this one day, Qin Xiu had really walked away with nothing.
As of now, Qin Xiu was still missing thirty soul beads.
“Brother, you arrived early! So, how’s it going? Still short on soul beads?”
Qin Bei walked over to where Qin Xiu was, laughing heartily as he spoke.
Upon seeing Qin Bei, Qin Xiu’s face flushed a deep shade reminiscent of pig liver.
Qin Bei’s question, one he knew full well the answer to, was infuriating.
“Do you really need me to tell you if I’ve obtained soul beads, when those two lackeys you sent with me know it perfectly well? Should I personally spell it out for you?”
Under the gaze of the crowd, Qin Xiu spoke plainly.
“Come on, brother, don’t be angry! I still have soul beads set aside for you! How about I raise the price a little less this time and sell them all to you for thirteen million spiritual stones? What do you say?”
Qin Bei was relentless.
He didn’t care if Qin Xiu bought them or not.
If he did, then Qin Xiu would take a financial hit. After all, the people surrounding him wouldn’t pose any threat to him if they entered the inner circle of the imperial mausoleum.
If he didn’t buy? Well, that would just be a way to get under Qin Xiu’s skin. The most crucial part was that it would make Qin Xiu lose face and let those following him see the kind of person he truly was.
So, regardless of the outcome, Qin Xiu would be the one at a disadvantage.
Qin Bei was happy to accept the splendid gift package from Qin Xiu.
“Just store your soul beads and let them rot in your own pocket! I don’t need them!”
Qin Xiu shoved Qin Bei away and walked off to a different spot.
“Ah, getting a bit feisty, are we?”
Qin Bei chuckled and shook his head.
“It’s still early; there’s no rush to refuse, brother. After all, apart from me, nobody here is bold enough to offer you soul beads. Let’s not drag others into our little affair. If anyone dares to interfere, I’ll just have to _pop_* their arm right now!”
Qin Bei proclaimed loudly.
Most of the attendees already knew about the feud between the two.
However, a small fraction remained oblivious, so Qin Bei figured he’d give them a little reminder.
Qin Xiu clenched his teeth and scanned the area.
Those who met his gaze swiftly averted their eyes.
Clearly, they didn’t want to get involved in this scuffle.
Sometimes, a fearsome reputation is more effective than sheer power.
Especially when the person with that fearsome reputation is present.
“Don’t get too cocky; until the last moment, who knows what the outcome will be?”
Qin Xiu shot back coldly before ignoring Qin Bei completely.
Qin Bei merely shrugged, giving little care to his words.
An hour later, the sky had become quite dark.
In the end, Qin Bei hadn’t waited for Peng Yuan.
He was still over a hundred miles away, after all.
“Where did Peng Yuan wander off to? Do any of you know?”
Qin Bei turned to Wang Tian beside him and inquired.
“Not sure. We all split up; he has his own route. Maybe he got held up by something.”
Wang Tian shook his head.
They had all gone out to sell soul beads according to Qin Bei’s instructions, with each taking a different direction.
Thus, even he was in the dark regarding why Peng Yuan hadn’t returned.
Qin Bei glanced at the sky.
“Fine, I don’t know what Peng Yuan is up to anymore. Let’s not wait for him—let’s start tallying the harvest of these past few days.”
Qin Bei was rather unconcerned.
Initially, he wanted to wait for Peng Yuan to return before settling matters.
But given the current situation, settling now was the only option.
After all, once the accounts were settled, Qin Bei wanted to use those soul beads to boost his soul power.
All this required time.
Regarding Peng Yuan, he only needed to return before the inner perimeter of the imperial mausoleum opened in the morning.
“Here are the remaining soul beads and spiritual stones I have.”
Wang Tian was the first to hand over his Cosmos Bag to Qin Bei.
“And here’s mine.”
“Mine…”
Six people, six Cosmos Bags.
“I have one Cosmos Bag filled with spiritual stones, another with soul beads, and one with IOUs.”
Finally, Ji Zhuyue pulled out three Cosmos Bags and placed them before Qin Bei.
“Alright! Let’s start counting!”
Qin Bei nodded and began emptying the bags of soul beads and spiritual stones.
In an instant, piles of spiritual stones emerged, forming mini _mountains_* in everyone’s view.
…