Emperor Thunderpill's eyes nearly popped out of his skull at John's price. Based on what John had seen so far, Pill Emperor Thunderpill wore his emotions on his sleeve. He was sure that if the price he mentioned was high, Thunderpill would lash out loudly, while if it was reasonable, he would act more composed, but still say it was too high.
As expected, Thunderpill erupted in angered protest, doing nothing to hide his stance on that price.
"A million spirit crystals? Are you insane?" Thunderpill raged loudly.
His reaction was completely expected. John smirked, as he knew he had started exactly where he wanted to.
With his status as a Pill Emperor, Thunderpill had amassed a small fortune. However, that small fortune was still only between one and two million spirit crystals, as being an alchemist was an expensive profession. Most Heaven Tribulation experts didn't even have a million, while the Meridian Forging Elder's of the sect usually capped out at a net worth of a hundred thousand spirit crystals.
A million spirit crystals was well over half of Thunderpill's net worth, which was why his reaction was so exaggerated.
"Yep, a million spirit crystals. Do you want the Undying Vitality Fruit or not?" John asked in a calm manner while juggling the fruit in his hands.
Pill Emperor Thunderpill grimaced at seeing the fruit handled in such a manner, and his eyes could barely resist staring at the fruit in pure longing. Thunderpill did his best to maintain his calm, as he had realized that his actions were quite telling.
"A million spirit crystals is far too high an ask for this fruit. The best I can do is offer you one hundred thousand spirit crystals," Thunderpill countered, trying to drive the price down as much as he could.
John's smile turned into a slight frown as he heard the price.
'Clearly Thunderpill is trying to use my inexperience against me. I'm sure one hundred thousand spirit crystals would be an irresistible price for most people my age, but...I want more.'
John acted as if he was considering the offer for a moment. A small smirk appeared on Thunderpill's face. He figured he had won out in this battle.
However, after standing there in silence for a moment, John simply turned around without a word and began to leave the room.
"Where are you going?" Thunderpill asked anxiously. Clearly he had not expected John to just turn and leave during the middle of their negotiations.
John paused at Thunderpill's words and turned around to look back at him.
"Your offer is insulting. Just based on this fruit not being found for decades throughout the whole continent, I'm sure I can get a better price than that elsewhere. Since you wont take me seriously, I'll be leaving now."
John once again turned around and walked towards the room's exit. A panicked expression appeared on Thunderpill's face as he watched John leave.
Whoosh!
The air rapidly parted as Thunderpill moved to block John's path. He had moved so fast that John hadn't even seen Thunderpill until he was directly in front of him. John frowned once more as he looked at Thunderpill.
"What? Are you going to forcefully take the fruit from me?" John asked in a cold tone.
However, the Sect forbade such things, and John was more than sure that Thunderpill would not do such a thing.
"Two hundred thousand. I can give you two hundred thousand spirit crystals. That's my final offer," Thunderpill replied. For a supplemental ingredient, two hundred thousand was already an incredibly high offer.
The true value of the fruit was around fifty thousand spirit crystals, which was why Thunderpill had started there. However, that had not been enough to entice John.
John scoffed at the offer and moved to walk around Thunderpill. Although that offer was enticing, John was sure he could fleece Thunderpill for more. Just based on his actions today, he could tell that Pill Emperor Thunderpill valued the fruit highly.
"You brat! That still isn't enough for you?" Thunderpill asked in an angry tone.
John turned to look at Thunderpill, his expression still calm and relaxed.
"This Undying Vitality Fruit is extremely rare. I'm sure there will be a higher bidder somewhere out there, and I'm willing to take my chances," John replied.
"Boy, I can tell you know little about alchemy, so I'll give you a lesson for free right now," Thunderpill replied. "The Undying Vitality Fruit may be a rare fruit, but it is far less valuable to the world than you believe. It's normally used as the main ingredient for Qi Condensation Grade pills, as that's where its potency caps out."
John listened closely to Thunderpill, wondering where he was going with this.
"As you may or may not know, Qi Condensation Pill's, even the most amazing one's, cap out at around ten thousand spirit crystals. As such, most won't even offer one hundred thousand spirit crystals for the fruit, no matter how rare it is. You won't find a better offer than mine."
John listened to his words closely, and nodded along in agreement. It was true what Thunderpill had said, and most likely, he would not find a better offer elsewhere.
However, the Undying Vitality Fruit was famed for its vibrant life potency, and John knew it was a required ingredient for the pill Thunderpill was trying to make.
Unless he found another Heaven Tribulation Elder who needed the fruit for the same reason, it was most likely the best offer he was going to get. Nonetheless, he could tell that Thunderpill was at the end of his life, and would most likely spend much more to obtain the fruit.
"You're most likely right, but that doesn't mean there isn't another cultivator out there like you looking for this fruit for the same reason. If I put it up for auction, I'm sure it would become quite the betting frenzy," John replied, acting unswayed by the Pill Emperor's words.
"There are no others like me out there," Thunderpill rebuked. "Only I have this pill recipe. You won't find a better offer."
"Like I said, I'm willing to take my chances. I have my entire life to sell this fruit. However...it looks like your time is quite limited. I wonder who will break first then?" John replied with a smirk on his face. He knew Thunderpill was trying to play him, and so he decided to get straight to the point.
Thunderpill grimaced once more at John's words. It was completely true that John could out wait him, as his remaining years were quite short.
Thunderpill sighed, knowing he had lost this battle. After a moment of composing himself, Thunderpill once again gave another offer.
"Fine, five hundred thousand spirit crystals. That's truly as high as I can go."
John stared at Thunderpill, closely examining his features. He wanted to see if he was lying or telling the truth, and John could tell that he was most likely telling the truth, or most of it. However, he still wanted more.
"Seven hundred and fifty thousand spirit crystals…" John counter offered. Thunderpill's face lit up in rising anger once more, but John interrupted him before he could say anything.
"I'm not done yet. Seven hundred and fifty thousand spirit crystals. Also, whenever I want a pill concocted, you will personally concoct them for me, free of charge, using all of your ability. No half assing the pills. This is my final offer, and I swear on my dao-heart, if you do not agree to this, I will walk out of here and find someone else who wants this pill," John finished.
His final sentence caused Pill Emperor Thunderpill's expression to become quite grave. A cultivator swearing on their dao-heart was an incredibly serious matter. It was an oath to themselves that they would fulfill their promise they just made. If they did not act according to their promise, a flaw in their dao-heart would form, severely affecting their cultivation going forward.
While it was not a fatal oath, it was still serious, as it would harm their future potential. There was no way to remove a flaw created from a broken dao-oath. John was serious with his words, as he was sure that he would find another good offer for the fruit elsewhere.
While it may take some time to find another situation like this, he wasn't in a rush at the moment for resources. He could take his chances on this one to fleece as much as he could out of Thunderpill.
"Brat, do you know how much my services cost? Cultivators line up for years just for the chance to have a pill made by me, and they spend tens of thousands of spirit crystals just for the service, let alone the ingredients," Thunderpill replied.
He could barely accept the price John had stated. Although it would be around half his net worth, it was worth it in the long run, as he would be able to live for another thousand years if he successfully made the pill. If he could live another thousand years, there was always the hope of breaking through to the next realm, which would further increase his lifespan.
This was his all or nothing gamble, and he needed to make it.
However, becoming John's pill servant was something he was not fond of. However, John's dao-oath had made it so that he had no choice in the matter.
After a moment of consideration, Pill Emperor sighed.
"Fine, you win. I accept your conditions. Seven hundred and fifty thousand spirit crystals, and my pill services, free of charge, whenever you want. Are we in agreement?" Thunderpill asked in a defeated tone.
He had truly lost out to a youth hundreds of times younger than himself.
"Almost," John replied. "I want you to swear a dao-oath as well, that when you create the pills I request, you put in your full effort, and don't sabotage the pills in any way."
Although John didn't know if Thunderpill would do such a thing, he wanted to be sure that he wouldn't.
Thunderpill suddenly erupted in rage at John's words.
"Who do you take me for, boy? The alchemy arts are sacred, and even if I had mortal enmity with you, I still wouldn't let my pill arts suffer. Do not insult me like that again."
John casually looked towards Thunderpill, unconcerned by his act of rage. Although he could tell that Thunderpill was sincere in his words, John took no chances when it came to his life.
"Then swearing such a dao-oath shouldn't be a problem then," John replied.
Thunderpill's face conctored once again, but he did not rebuke John. After a moment of hesitation, Thunderpill spoke out loud.
"Fine. I, Pill Emperor Thunderpill, swear on my dao-heart, that I will create all your pills whenever you want them free of charge, with my utmost effort, and will perform no trickery or do you any harm."
"There, is that good enough?" Thunderpill scoffed after making his dao-oath. If he were to break it in the future, his dao-heart would be tainted, and his cultivation and alchemy would forever suffer. Thunderpill wanted to strive for the peak of the alchemy arts, and so he would never do such a thing.
"That's perfect," John replied as a large smile broke out on his face. He had decisively won this battle.
Thunderpill suddenly tossed John a spatial ring, which he caught.
"There, the spirit crystals are inside."
John sent his mind into the spatial ring, and inspected its contents. His eyes widened in delight as he saw the small mountain of spirit crystals, glowing vibrantly with energy. A quick sweep with his divine sense confirmed that the number was correct.
"Pleasure doing business with you," John replied with a smile as he threw the fruit over to Thunderpill.
Thunderpill carefully caught the fruit, and began to inspect it closely. His face broke out into an ecstatic grin, as if he had forgotten about the large loss he had just taken.
"Leave me, I have a pill to create. And Elder, stand guard outside my door and let all know that I am not to be disturbed for any and all reasons until I come out myself. Is that understood?" Thunderpill commanded.
The Elder confirmed his instructions, and both John and the Elder left the room. The door violently closed behind them.
"Now, what should I do with my newfound wealth?"