Chapter 20

"Um... that... hehe, it was my mistake last time, I apologize to you. Beautiful fairy, you are so magnanimous, here are a few treasures as an apology, please accept them with a smile. Hehe..."

Li Xian regained his composure and made no mention of the soul-shattering incident. Instead, he fumbled to open a carriage, which was filled with lanterns, mirrors, and various glass items. These items shared a common feature—cartoons. This was Li Xian's latest creation, and he planned to use these cartoon animal images to attract the affection of the young in the demon race. This was one of Li Xian's confidences.

But now, Li Xian had to spend money to avoid disaster. He unexpectedly met an "acquaintance" here, truly a meeting of old friends in a foreign land!

The woman was momentarily stunned when she saw what Li Xian had taken out. Although these items had almost no spiritual properties and were just ordinary objects, they were truly beautiful! Naturally, as a woman, she couldn't resist them.

Especially when some of the lanterns were already lit, and under the twilight, dozens of lanterns flickered with colorful and dazzling light.

When a beautifully decorated, three-foot-long mirror, made of colored glass and framed with flower vines, was brought out, Li Xian only caught a whiff of fragrance, and before his eyes, the woman was already in front of the mirror, looking at it curiously.

Li Xian and his companions dared not even breathe, waiting quietly. Li Xian's heart was already pounding with fear and excitement.

The fear was simple: "I" seemed to have teased this woman before; the excitement was because Li Xian had a guess he hardly dared to believe—Dragon Princess! This woman was very likely the Dragon Princess!

"Is this a new mirror from your human race? It's beautiful. If you can give me a hundred, no, a thousand such mirrors, I will forgive you. How about that? Your Highness is very generous."

Yes, very generous, demanding a thousand treasures from someone at once—she was really very generous—fortunately, she didn't ask for ten thousand.

But who was Li Xian? He had an idea in his mind, "This... Beautiful Fairy Princess, these mirrors actually... have a temporary issue. We lack an important material, and our trip to the demon territory is to obtain this material.

If we can find this important material, we can make more mirrors. Not just a thousand, even three thousand would be no problem."

"What material?" The noble fairy didn't think this little mortal would dare to play tricks with her.

Li Xian took out a list, "Beautiful Fairy Princess, we lack a material that can conduct spiritual energy, such as silk. We plan to exchange for some from the demons. Whether it's Heavenly Silk, Jade Silk, or demon spider silk; as long as it can conduct spiritual energy, we need it."

The Dragon Princess looked at the thirty carriages around her, "Are you planning 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. To a hungry person, a divine artifact is less practical than a meal. Don't you agree?"

"Very well, what you say makes sense. Tell me, what can these items do?"

"The fabric can be used for clothing or to keep warm. This applies to both humans and demons. The lanterns, not only are they beautiful, but they also bring the light of day to the night, protecting weaker groups. And the mirrors can make a beautiful fairy even more beautiful."

"Oh, what you say is very reasonable. How much silk do you plan to exchange for with these items?"

"Thirty carriages of goods, I would be content with three pounds of first-grade silk (Foundation Establishment stage)."

"Exchanging so many treasures for just three pounds, you're not greedy. Alright, I'll take all the items, and I'll give you one pound of Sea Soul Silk. How about that?"

One pound of Sea Soul Silk? Li Xian was overjoyed inside. Great, I haven't even used all my negotiation skills, and you've already revealed your bottom line.

But on the surface, Li Xian looked bitter, "Beautiful, unparalleled Fairy Princess, is one pound too little? Also, I've heard of Sea Soul Silk, but I'm not very familiar with its properties. That..."

"Do you not trust this Princess?"

"Of course not, of course not, I'm just afraid of wasting the precious Sea Soul Silk."

The princess frowned slightly, "Oh, Sea Soul Silk... there's still plenty in the sea. As long as you can provide something that satisfies me, I can sell you a lot."

Li Xian pressed further, "May I ask, Fairy Princess, do you have more spiritual silk materials? If there are more varieties, I can trade with you."

Li Xian pulled out his trump card—stainless steel weapons! If there was one race that needed stainless steel weapons the most, it was undoubtedly the sea race! Living in the sea every day, even with abundant resources, such waste was not acceptable.

"Are these just ordinary knives and swords? Do you think I'm a fool to exchange spiritual materials for such things?" The Dragon Princess said, her tone already somewhat cold.

Li Xian looked up, "Your Highness, why don't you take a look first? If they were just ordinary knives and swords, I wouldn't have brought them out to embarrass myself.

This new material is called stainless steel. Your Highness can try it out."

The Dragon Princess was initially annoyed, but when she heard "stainless," she suddenly became serious. Whether it was the human race or the sea race, most were at the Qi Condensation stage, using ordinary weapons. If it was really stainless steel, it would be of great significance to the sea race.

Picking up a long sword and examining it repeatedly, it really didn't rust! Then the powerful woman did something that made Li Xian shrink: she twisted and broke the sword with her seemingly delicate hands, confirming its hardness and that the material was consistent inside and out, before nodding in satisfaction.

"Very good, it really doesn't rust, and its hardness and toughness are comparable to, or even slightly better than, ordinary swords. How do you plan to sell it?"

Hearing this, Li Xian almost jumped for joy, extending one finger, "By weight. One hundred pounds of stainless steel weapons for one pound of Sea Soul Silk.

The shape and various requirements of the weapons can be provided by you, or you can send personnel to guide us on-site, and we will customize them."

"One hundred pounds? No, these are just ordinary human items, while Sea Soul Silk is a spiritual material. Five hundred 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. Besides, you can use stainless steel weapons to trade with other sea races. You can exchange ten pounds of stainless steel weapons for one pound of Sea Soul Silk."

Li Xian was teaching the Dragon Princess how to do business.

"What you say makes sense, but one hundred pounds, no. I think you have a lot of this stainless steel material on the surface, right?"

Li Xian smiled confidently, "Your Highness, raw materials and finished products are different. How about this: I agree to exchange five hundred pounds of stainless steel for one pound of Sea Soul Silk and other spiritual silk of the same grade.

But in addition to the spiritual materials, Your Highness needs to pay ten thousand pounds of ore. Any ore will do, whether it's iron, copper, gold, silver, or even ores you don't recognize.

I know there are many naturally formed iron cores (manganese nodules) in the ocean. How about we calculate based on the purity of these iron cores?"

"How do you know there are iron cores in the ocean!" The Dragon Princess looked at Li Xian in surprise.

"Well... cough, cough, I read it in an ancient book by chance. May I ask how to address the Fairy Princess?" Li Xian warned himself, he seemed to be getting too cocky, cough, cough... this must not happen, he must be more careful in the future.

"Call me... forget it, this Princess is called Ao Qingxue. You must call me 'Princess Ao Qingxue,' understood?"

"Princess Ao Qingxue."

"Um! This Princess is magnanimous and won't hold a grudge against a small mortal. Alright, I'll take all the items; in the future, we will trade according to the previous agreement. Five hundred pounds of stainless steel weapons for one pound of Sea Soul Silk or other spiritual silk of equal value.

These lanterns and mirrors are so beautiful."

The princess couldn't take her eyes off the mirror; in Li Xian's eyes, this meant only one thing—I'm a sucker, come and take advantage of me.

"Half the price of stainless steel weapons, also by weight, with large items at ten percent, small items at seventy percent, and other items including mirrors at twenty percent."

"Deal. But how will we trade in the future? How much can you provide?"

"Why don't I build a port in Anyang by the sea? This will make our trading very convenient. As for how much... for now, I can provide a batch of goods like this every month, and it might increase in the future."

"Great, I'll send demon generals to protect the port." Princess Ao Qingxue said, and she used some method to give orders. Soon, the sea boiled, and all sorts of strange sea demons appeared, quickly moving all the items. They even took Li Xian's horses. These greedy sea monsters!

"Sorry, they haven't eaten surface creatures in a long time. As compensation, I'll give you one pound of ordinary Sea Soul Silk and one ounce of higher-grade Sea Soul Silk."

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**End of Chapter**