Chapter 927: How Nice I Am to You
Ye Mo remained unfazed, idly manipulating his jade cards while awaiting payment. The peak Golden Core cultivators cursed their predicament, but unless they discovered another exit, and if the teleportation formation functioned as Ye Mo claimed, no one could open it after his departure. He felt certain there was no alternative escape route; even if one existed, it would lead through the mist, a path he doubted anyone would dare attempt.
Indeed, a thorough search of the valley yielded no other exits.
Qin Muxin approached Ye Mo's wooden house. "Martial Brother Ye, I'm willing to offer you spirit herbs."
Ye Mo admitted her, quietly stating, "Since you didn't betray me, I'll grant you free passage."
Qin Muxin blushed. She suspected his leniency stemmed from his earlier rejection of her marriage proposal, but refrained from mentioning it, accepting the jade card and entering the teleportation formation.
Qin Muxin was correct; Ye Mo felt a pang of guilt. However, most of the valuable herbs belonged to Liu Yuetang, and capturing her would achieve his goal while maintaining a façade of benevolence.
Observing this, Liu Yuetang allowed Qiqi to use the teleportation formation. Her free passage puzzled onlookers.
Many scorned Ye Mo, believing his generosity toward attractive women revealed a lecherous nature. Two female cultivators from the South, however, saw an opportunity. They planned to allow Ye Mo a minor advantage in exchange for avoiding the spirit herb payment.
Liu Yuetang, too, saw a glimmer of hope. Recognizing Ye Mo's talent yet his apparent weakness for beautiful women, she believed Immortal Herb Valley stood to gain. Approaching the teleportation formation, she said, "Martial Brother Ye, thank you for assisting my martial sisters. This is my communication bead. If you have time after leaving, please visit us at Immortal Herb Valley." She made no mention of her spirit herbs.
Ye Mo accepted and pocketed the bead without examination, calmly replying, "Thank you, Martial Sister Liu." His tone then shifted. "Martial Sister Liu possesses twelve Core Building Grasses, eighty-four Smoke Mist Flowers, thirty-one Purple Back Blue Carrots, and sixteen Condensed Green Vines."
With each item listed, Liu Yuetang's expression worsened. She hadn't realized Ye Mo had been constantly observing her from his hut. Why was he revealing this information?
"I won't take much—just half of everything. If a quantity is odd, you may keep the extra."
"Are you mad?" Liu Yuetang exclaimed.
Ye Mo shook his head. "I'm not mad. After you leave, Martial Sister, you'll understand how fortunate you are to be in the same sect as Guang Wei."
Liu Yuetang's demeanor turned frigid. "What if I refuse?"
Ye Mo smiled. "Then step back. I didn't exert this much effort to be unpaid."
Even those outside the formation found this unreasonable. Liu Yuetang knew Ye Mo somewhat, yet this cultivator demanded half her herbs! How much would he extort from strangers?
Liu Yuetang almost attacked, but hesitated. Even if she killed Ye Mo, the others wouldn't let her escape.
Remembering Ye Mo's rescue of Martial Sister Guang Wei, Liu Yuetang sighed, producing half her herbs. "I give you these not as payment, but as thanks for saving Martial Sister Guang Wei."
Ye Mo carefully examined the storage bag, then presented Liu Yuetang with a jade card. "Consider yourself lucky you didn't attack. My temper isn't always this good. Even if I wouldn't have killed you for Guang Wei's sake, I would have at least taken your storage ring."
"You!" Liu Yuetang, furious, accepted the jade card and glared. "I won't squabble over trifles with you. You'll soon learn how kind I'm being. You're not bad, but you'll soon realize the difference between yourself and a peak Golden Core cultivator."
Liu Yuetang cursed herself. Had she known, she would have entrusted most of her herbs to Liu Yuetang or Qin Muxin.
Ye Mo immediately activated the teleportation formation, adding before her departure, "You will soon realize how kind I was to you as well."
Zhe Qiushui entered the formation. Before Ye Mo could ask, he produced half his herbs. "Martial Brother Ye, here are my herbs."
Ye Mo produced a jade card. "I was going to ask for sixty percent, but since you're proactive, I'll take fifty."
Zhe Qiushui smiled wryly, understanding Ye Mo's message wasn't for him but for the onlookers: comply without question, or face harsher consequences.
With five cultivators departed, a level eight Golden Core cultivator who had plundered Ye Mo's spirit herb garden demanded entry.
Ye Mo sensed the cultivator's malicious intent.
Upon entering, the cultivator announced, "I'm Pan Yi. Remember that—"
He then drew a flying sword and attacked.
The onlookers knew Pan Yi aimed for swift subjugation, preparing for intervention.
Before they could act, a thud echoed as Pan Yi was flung from the room, crashing into a herb garden.
Ye Mo stared coldly at Pan Yi, his silence more menacing than words.
Doubt regarding Ye Mo's formation mastery vanished. He'd ejected Pan Yi without attacking. Had he not considered the onlookers, Pan Yi would likely be dead.
"He truly is a formation master! South Peace State boasts many geniuses, but we've never seen one this young! Incredible!" a peak Golden Core cultivator from the South gasped.
Another Southern Golden Core cultivator, level seven, marveled, "This person constructed such a formation hastily? He's probably a level four formation grandmaster—terrifying!"
In the Cultivation Realm, formation masters were ranked into nine levels. Levels one to three were considered formation masters; levels four to six, formation grandmasters; and levels seven to nine, supreme masters. Level nine and beyond were considered immortal formations, created by immortal formation masters.
Their astonishment stemmed from the rarity of even level three formation masters, let alone a level four grandmaster like Ye Mo. Other grandmasters were all centuries old; none were so young.