Chapter 1221

It had even reached this faraway place.

This stirred a trace of pride in the heart of the little elf Gaxia!

Pride for her lord!

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

In the massive palace, a tremendous sound rang out.

Instantly, all the ocean deities engaged in discussion fell silent.

"Making a racket in front of guests—what kind of conduct is that?"

The Ocean Dragon Lord bellowed in a loud voice.

Below, all the ocean deities glanced at one another; though no one spoke, each saw a flicker of strangeness on the others' faces.

The other was merely a little elf, equivalent to a Saint Spirit.

Given the Ocean Dragon Lord's strength and status, when had he ever taken such serious notice of a Saint Spirit as an important guest?

The ocean deities then suddenly understood—it was called, "Don't judge the monk, judge the Buddha."

The Ocean Dragon Lord granted the little elf Gaxia guest treatment entirely out of respect for the Flame Lord's face.

Clearly, though the Ocean Dragon Lord was himself a lofty ruler, a Law Lord governing a vast oceanic domain, he knew his gap with the Flame Lord was still immense.

Moreover, the Flame Lord's earlier display of burning the ocean had been terrifying—even though it wasn't intentional, merely collateral damage from battle.

Had it been intentional, the Ocean Dragon Lord would not have held this attitude.

Intentionally destroying the ocean would mean war with all ocean deities.

Once they understood the reason, all the ocean deities fell silent.

Only then did the Ocean Dragon Lord turn to the little elf Gaxia and say:

"Since the Flame Lord requires it, this sea-heart grass, aged over a hundred thousand years, shall be priced at three million high-grade divine stones."

The little elf Gaxia saw that the other party had not raised the price—clearly out of respect for her lord.

Yet, bearing Lin Yan's divine decree, she bowed respectfully and said:

"Thank you for your generosity, honorable Ocean Dragon Lord. But my lord never allows others to suffer loss, so my lord is willing to raise the purchase price to five million high-grade divine stones."

If Gaxia had bought it for three million high-grade divine stones, the Flame Lord would have owed the Ocean Dragon Lord a favor.

And that favor would have been created by Gaxia herself.

The little elf Gaxia was not naive to worldly ways.

In the Heavenly Realm, though there were not so many scheming intrigues, it was never easy to take advantage of another deity's generosity.

So Gaxia directly added two million high-grade divine stones—within Lin Yan's given limit. As long as she stayed under the limit, she did not need to consult Lin Yan.

The Ocean Dragon Lord, as an ocean deity, had not thought so deeply; seeing Gaxia's insistence, he said:

"In that case, five million high-grade divine stones it is!"

The little elf produced a glowing orb, within which rested five million high-grade divine stones.

The Ocean Dragon Lord extended his hand into a spatial void, fumbling around.

After fumbling for a while, the Ocean Dragon Lord said: "Hmm, found it—here…"

Before he could finish the word "here," the Ocean Dragon Lord suddenly froze, as if he had heard something.

Then, his rough, weathered face twisted violently.

Seeing this, Gaxia instinctively felt something was wrong.

Indeed, the Ocean Dragon Lord's facial changes halted instantly—not because they ceased,

But because he had forcibly used divine power to mask his expression.

Then, the Ocean Dragon Lord retracted his hand and laughed awkwardly:

"This… please convey to the Flame Lord my sincerest apologies—I misremembered. That sea-heart grass was eaten by me ten thousand years ago."

"Of course…"

Gaxia's instinctive dread became reality.

"Lady Gaxia, what happened? Why did the Ocean Dragon Lord suddenly change his mind?"

After leaving the Heavenly Ocean, a little elf asked.

The Ocean Dragon Lord's acting was poor.

No—perhaps the event itself had stunned even the Ocean Dragon Lord so deeply that he had forgotten to conceal his expression at first.

At that moment, anyone could see the Ocean Dragon Lord had indeed found the sea-heart grass.

But…

In the end, he had stubbornly reversed his decision, claiming he had eaten it.

He had already prepared to hand it over—then suddenly claimed he had eaten it… Who would believe that?

But disbelief offered no solution.

The Ocean Dragon Lord's demeanor had still been courteous, and since he refused to sell, Gaxia could not force a purchase.

Unless Lin Yan came to seize it by force.

But that would mean war with the ocean deities.

Since the ocean deities had not provoked them, Lin Yan would not do such a thing—and the ocean deities were a unified whole, with the Ocean Goddess watching closely. To wage war over a single item would be irrational.

"See if Timosi has bought anything."

Gaxia quickly contacted Timosi.

Their means of communication was the divine power space granted by Lin Yan.

Such divine power spaces could only be used one or two times before collapsing, but they were highly effective for long-distance contact.

Soon after Gaxia's will entered the divine power space, Timosi's will appeared.

"Timothy, how's it going on your end? Did it go smoothly?"

The little elf Gashia asked.

Timothy shook his head and said, "Not very smooth. Originally, the Silver Horn Zunzhu was happy to sell when he heard I was the main buyer, but at the last moment, for some reason, he suddenly changed his mind."

The little elf Gashia said, "That's exactly what happened to me."

She told Timothy what she had encountered.

Since both women had encountered the same situation, it was no longer possible that the two Zunzhu had deliberately tricked them.

After all, these two Zunzhu didn't know the two of them would come today, nor could they have coordinated in advance to trick them together.

They represented the Flame Lord.

The other side's status and strength were also high; they would never trick them.

So, the fact that both Zunzhu suddenly changed their minds at the same time likely means they encountered an irresistible force.

What irresistible force could make two fourth-tier Zunzhu, who wielded the power of cosmic laws, reverse their decisions at the last moment?

Both the little elf Gashia and Timothy were puzzled.

"What do we do now?"

Timothy asked.

The little elf Gashia said, "First, report the situation upward. Let's not leave here yet—see what the Zunzhu Society decides."

"Mm!"

Timothy nodded.

In the palace of the Demon Dragon Zunzhu, after the little elves left, silence fell for a time.

Below, many Ocean Deities sensed something was amiss.

They weren't fools.

Yet none of the Ocean Deities dared ask for the reason.

Their status was far too low compared to the Demon Dragon Zunzhu.

"That's enough for today. Come back tomorrow. Stay alert in the coming days—the Heavenly Realm may be in turmoil. Also, no one is to sell Flame Lord more than one-hundred-thousand-year-old Heart of the Sea grass. If I find out you have, hmmm…"

After roaring these words, the Demon Dragon Zunzhu left immediately.

After he departed, the other Ocean Deities began whispering among themselves.

"What's wrong with the Demon Dragon Zunzhu? Why did he suddenly stop selling?"

One Ocean Deity said.

"Yes, everything was fine before, then he suddenly reversed his decision. Though we don't interact much with the Heavenly Deities, we're hardly enemies. The Flame Lord is such a powerful being—befriending him could bring benefits. Why would the Demon Dragon Zunzhu choose this? He's directly antagonizing the Flame Lord."

Another Ocean Deity said.

"Didn't you notice the change in the Demon Dragon Zunzhu's expression? What else could possibly cause such a drastic shift?"