Chapter 3256 — Trouble Comes Knocking

"This..." Xu Shilan had not expected He Tianzu to be so persistent. The man was lecherous, but he was no fool—Yang Qiqi's earlier explanation had only made him press harder. Yet what could Xu Shilan possibly say?

She had only come along with Wei Zhao, and the one thing she knew was that Wei Zhao intended to buy a blue crystal. But she could not reveal that; if she did, and He Tianzu moved to sabotage the deal, the loss would far outweigh any gain.

Wei Zhao too was growing anxious. Why was this He Tianzu so hard to shake? If the man truly learned that what he meant to bid on was a blue crystal, there would likely be obstacles to overcome when the time came to buy it. At that thought, Wei Zhao had no choice but to speak up: "It was I who dragged Xiao Han along to keep me company. I was also the one who arranged the contact with the XXX Entertainment company over there, so in truth, Xiao Han was waiting on me."

Wei Zhao did not want to put himself forward like this, but there was no help for it. Xu Shilan might be a star, but her worldly experience was plainly far less than that of the man before them. This He Tianzu was exceedingly difficult to deal with, and Xu Shilan was no match for him at all.

"Oh?" He Tianzu turned his gaze to Wei Zhao, a trace of something unkind flickering in his eyes, though he still spoke courteously: "And you are, sir?"

"You are with the Overseas Cultivators' Association, Mr. He? Might I ask what position you hold within it?" Wei Zhao did not answer, but countered with a question of his own. He had to find some reason to steady He Tianzu first, or they would likely never make it into the auction.

"Brother Ah Yi, this Young Master He is the son of He Dantou, chairman of the Overseas Cultivators' Association!" Yang Qiqi introduced him to Wei Zhao, though she did not give Wei Zhao's name.

"So you are Chairman He's son—a pleasure, a great pleasure! The reason for my visit is that I wish to discuss a business deal with Chairman He." Wei Zhao smiled and extended his hand: "Forgive me, I have not introduced myself. My name is Ling Yi, and I am the sales manager of Guan Daifu Pharmaceuticals. I came chiefly to establish trade relations with the Overseas Cultivators' Association and to sell our products—the first-grade automatic medicinal cauldron and the second-grade automatic medicinal cauldron!"

"Oh?" He Tianzu was momentarily taken aback. He knew of the first-grade automatic medicinal cauldron and had been preparing to send men to look into it, to see whether they might buy some in bulk. But the recent death of an elder had left the Overseas Cultivators' Association wary of making any rash moves; they were still investigating the background of the killer, Wei Zhao. A man capable of slaying a Heaven-tier expert was certainly no nameless figure.

What he had not expected was that before the Overseas Cultivators' Association could send anyone, Guan Daifu Pharmaceuticals had sent someone to them first—which rather surprised He Tianzu. And when he heard Wei Zhao mention that they also had second-grade automatic medicinal cauldrons, he was more surprised still. His attitude toward Wei Zhao warmed at once, and he shook his hand immediately, asking: "Mr. Ling, does your company truly have second-grade automatic medicinal cauldrons for sale?"

"They are just about to come to market!" Wei Zhao nodded. "Though the supply is limited, and at present the only sales channel is through the auction house of the Cultivators' Commerce Association. But on this visit, I am able to supply a few directly to the Overseas Cultivators' Association—after all, your region is far away, which makes it inconvenient to attend the auctions, and our company also hopes to establish a long-term partnership with your association!"

Wei Zhao spoke with such conviction—he understood both the first-grade and second-grade medicinal cauldrons thoroughly—that he managed to deceive He Tianzu completely in one stroke.

"Then I am truly grateful!" He Tianzu said with a smile. "Then, Mr. Ling, you are welcome to visit the Overseas Cultivators' Association once the auction is over. Here is my card!"

With that, He Tianzu handed Wei Zhao a card. Wei Zhao glanced at it: it bore only He Tianzu's name, a contact number, and an address, and nothing else. Plainly that address was the location of the Overseas Cultivators' Association.

"My own cards are back at the hotel. This outing was only to accompany little sister Xiao Qi and see a little of the auction here," Wei Zhao said, pocketing the card.

"No matter." He Tianzu waved a hand. "Mr. Ling, might I ask what your relationship with Miss Xu is..."

"Xiao Han is the face of our company." Wei Zhao could hardly say anything else; otherwise He Tianzu, who had just been steadied, might well stir up some fresh mischief and catch Wei Zhao off guard.

"Very well. Then, Mr. Ling, you are welcome to pay us a visit. I shall take my leave first." He Tianzu knew what mattered and what did not; he understood that this was no time to make an enemy of Wei Zhao. The man had come bearing fine treasures that the Overseas Cultivators' Association needed, and to offend him would likely mean the whole matter of the automatic medicinal cauldrons would fall through. So He Tianzu had no choice but to set it aside for the moment.

Wei Zhao breathed a sigh of relief, yet did not relax his vigilance in the slightest. He resolved that the moment the auction ended, he would leave this den of trouble at once.

Once inside the auction hall, Wei Zhao followed Yang Qiqi all the way into a VIP box. Here, anyone of a certain standing and background had a private VIP room of their own. But even though only the few of them were in the room, Wei Zhao still carefully examined it after entering, and only after finding no hidden listening or surveillance devices did he say to Yang Qiqi: "Xiao Qi, are you connected with this Overseas Cultivators' Association?"

"Yes, Brother Wei Zhao, I am a member of the Overseas Cultivators' Association. All overseas cultivators belong to it. Normally there is nothing you need to do—you simply register your identity, and each month you can collect a certain amount of cultivation elixirs and rare natural treasures. It is a rather charitable sort of organization."

Wei Zhao nodded silently. Just as he had thought—it seemed He Dantou was quite skilled at winning people over, gathering all these cultivators under his own banner. Though for now he asked nothing of them, at the crucial moment the influence they could exert was not to be underestimated.

And now that Tang Yuqi had become a Heaven-tier expert, it was only natural that the Overseas Cultivators' Association would want to keep him in the fold and not let him go. After all, Tang Yuqi had once obtained a great deal of cultivation resources from the association; one might say that without the Overseas Cultivators' Association, there would be no Heaven-tier Tang Yuqi.

Still, Aunt Wang of Snow Valley had made it quite clear that she could help Tang Yuqi repay those cultivation resources—or repay them twofold.