Chapter 596: Merchant

Great Wei Empire, Falling Maple City.

Falling Maple City is merely a somewhat larger city within the territory of the Great Wei Empire.

However, because Falling Maple City's location is advantageous, most traffic must pass through it to reach other places.

Thus, although Falling Maple City is not a top-tier city, it still enjoys considerable foot traffic.

Moreover, during this period, the Bai Family's auction is about to be held in Falling Maple City.

It has attracted many strong cultivators.

The whole of Falling Maple City is in a bustling, noisy state.

After all, it's an auction organized by the Bai Family.

The Bai Family, being the wealthiest clan in the Central Immortal Realm, draws many people to each of its auctions.

It even attracts Imperial Realm strongmen.

It is said that the Bai Family's most peak auction even attracted several Saints.

Thus, the wealth the Bai Family holds in the Central Immortal Realm is terrifying.

Moreover, the most unsettling aspect lies in the fact that

The Bai Family is not the topmost power, yet it can command such vast wealth in this cut‑throat world.

That alone explains a lot.

But the most puzzling part is that

The Bai Family rarely shows its strength outwardly.

The most recent time, even a family with an Imperial Realm strongman stationed failed to obtain what it wanted at a Bai Family auction.

It then made a move.

However, contrary to everyone's expectations,

Which Imperial Realm strongman was instantly suppressed!

Although that Imperial Realm strongman had only just entered the Imperial Realm.

Being suppressed instantly suggests that the Bai Family has at least one peak Imperial Realm strongman stationed.

There might even be a Saint!

Regardless, that alone makes the Bai Family a first‑rate power.

No one dares to provoke it.

Therefore, the Bai Family's auction is very safe.

No one dares to offend the Bai Family.

After all, the Bai Family is more than just an auction.

It also has numerous channels and resources.

If one offends the Bai Family, its resources will be cut off, and the offending faction will gradually decline.

Of course, the Bai Family is not omnipotent.

At least compared with the Three Top Powers of the Central Immortal Realm...

The Bai Family still falls short.

After all, the Three Top Powers, merely with their visible Saints, could easily wipe out the Bai Family.

Naturally, at the level of the Three Top Powers, they would not care about the Bai Family's petty money.

This time, the Bai Family's plan to hold an auction in Falling Maple City has attracted many eyes.

At this moment, within Falling Maple City, strong auras intermittently erupt.

The weakest among them are cultivators at the Venerable Realm.

There are also one or two Imperial Realm strongmen auras bursting throughout the city.

But soon, those auras begin to wane.

Because an even stronger aura erupts within Falling Maple City.

"Within Falling Maple City, no flamboyance allowed!"

An aged voice reverberates from deep within Falling Maple City.

The voice, like an ancient primordial bell, erupts instantly.

"Sss, that voice... seems to be the Grand Elder of the Bai Family!"

"Didn't expect the Grand Elder of the Bai Family to show up this time; it's said the Grand Elder is a mid‑Imperial Realm strongman. No special items have been heard about this auction, so why did the Grand Elder come?"

"Could there be something special appearing at this auction?"

"Hehe, with the Bai Family's Grand Elder here, I'm looking forward to this auction!"

Whispers ripple through Falling Maple City.

Meanwhile, deep in Falling Maple City, before the gate of a massive mansion.

An elderly man with white hair stands silently at the doorway, with a group behind him.

They are all dressed in teal long robes.

On the chest of each robe is a single character.

"Bai"

Clearly the attire of the Bai Family.

The elder at the front radiates mid‑Imperial Realm cultivation, permeating all of Falling Maple City.

He is unmistakably the Bai Family's Grand Elder spoken of by the people of Falling Maple City!

A mid‑Imperial Realm strongman!

"Grand Elder, there's no need for you to come personally for this auction, is there?"

Behind the White family's Great Elder, a middle‑aged man asked in confusion.

The Great Elder gave the middle‑aged man a faint glance and said, "What the heck do you know? If it were for the auction, I, the old man, wouldn't have come."

The middle‑aged man, even more puzzled, asked, "Then why do you, Great Elder, still come in person?"

He truly was a bit perplexed.

A strong cultivator at the Mid Imperial Realm, even when looking across the entire Central Celestial Domain, belongs to the top tier.

Even within the White family, this Great Elder's strength can be counted among the top five.

In status, he ranks just below the Family Head.

A figure of such magnitude actually coming to a tiny Falling Maple City.

It truly left the members of the White family somewhat baffled.

"Just wait!"

The Great Elder closed his eyes and, with an ageless demeanor, said.

The middle‑aged man behind him, helplessly rubbed his nose, let out a wry smile, and then could only steel himself and wait quietly.

No one knew how long had passed.

Two youthful figures gradually appeared in their sight.

The one leading them wore white garments, looking like a graceful young gentleman.

Beside the white‑clad youth stood a chubby youngster, excitedly introducing himself.

"Boss, let me tell you, once we enter Falling Maple City, it's my domain. Though it's territory of the Great Wei Empire, even if the emperor of the Great Wei Empire comes to Falling Maple City, they must obey my White family." Biquge

The two turned out to be Su Yu and Bai Lie, who had rushed from Donglin City.

Su Yu looked at Bai Lie with a hint of helplessness, ever since they entered Falling Maple City.

Bai Lie kept chattering in his ear.

Originally Su Yu thought they'd just find an inn, rest a few days, and wait for the auction to begin.

But who could have known that this guy would drag him to the White family's manor.

Su Yu couldn't resist and could only follow Bai Lie.

"This is… Young Master Bai Lie!"

The middle‑aged man's pupils narrowed slightly behind the Great Elder.

Now he finally understood why the Great Elder came here.

It turned out the junior head of the White family had arrived.

Bai Lie holds a high position in the White family; moreover, he is the sole son of the family head and the only grandson of the previous family head.

Naturally, he enjoys the entire White family's favor.

To speak of it is also a bit hard to say.

Since the generation of Bai Lie's father, the direct line of the White family has produced only Bai Lie as a male heir.

Therefore, both his father's generation and his grandfather's generation have doted on Bai Lie.

Bai Lie's grandfather even personally issued a decree.

Killing the White family head is permissible, but if anyone harms even a single hair of Bai Lie—

the White family would go to war and never cease until death!

From this, one can see how precious Bai Lie's position in the White family is.

Thus, the White family's Great Elder coming here is not so strange after all.

"Second Grandfather!"

Bai Lie was the first to spot the Great Elder, his eyes brightening as he trotted over.

The Great Elder's placid face instantly broke into a brilliant smile.

"Oh dear, my well‑behaved grandson!"

The Great Elder's smile was exceedingly radiant.

He is the elder brother of Bai Lie's grandfather; the grandfather is the first‑born, and he is the second‑born.

Moreover, in Bai Lie's generation, there is only Bai Lie as a male.

Naturally, he dotes on Bai Lie even more, treating him as his own grandson.

"Ah, going to the Execution Hall has been hard on my dear grandson; look at you, you've become so thin!"

The Great Elder surveyed Bai Lie from head to toe, showing a look of concern.

Beside him, Su Yu looked at Bai Lie, who weighed two to three hundred jin.

His mouth twitched involuntarily.

Bai Lie, seeming to know how to act cute, pitifully said, "Second Grandfather, you don't know how hard it is at the Execution Hall; plus that prince of the Great Wei Empire even wants to trap and kill us!"

"If it weren't for my boss being there, Second Grandfather, you might never have seen me again."

At these words, the Great Elder erupted in anger.

"How dare the Great Wei Empire lay a hand on you!"

"Do they really think that with a saint stationed, the Great Wei Empire becomes invincible?"

"Dear grandson, wait. After this auction ends, I, your Second Grandfather, will personally go to the Great Wei Empire and see what grounds they have to strike at my family's odd grandson!"

The Great Elder waved his hand grandly and said with great vigor.

"By the way… this person is…"

The Great Elder looked at Su Yu, his eyes slightly puzzled.

Bai Lie immediately introduced him proudly.

"Second Grandfather, this is the boss I mentioned from the Execution Hall."

The second elder's eyebrows twitched slightly.

Oh, it's you. Thank you for saving my grandson. By rights, the Bai family should give you some compensation. Tell me, what do you want?

Compared to the genuine joy he showed toward Bai Lie, his attitude toward Su Yu was rather lukewarm.

After all, in his view, Su Yu had only saved Bai Lie once.

But don't forget, every member of the Bai family is extremely shrewd in business.

Even a life-saving favor, in their eyes, could be exchanged for resources of equal value.

This is the Bai family!

Otherwise, the Bai family could not have become the wealthiest power in the entire Central Immortal Realm.

Bai Lie seemed to know what his second uncle was thinking.

He secretly sent a mental transmission to the grand elder.

"Second uncle, my position as eldest brother is not simple..."

"What's so complicated about that? He's just the captain of a Blade-Wielder squad... and he even provoked the Great Wei..."

"He is a disciple of the Azure Dragon Saint!"

"But it doesn't matter; it's just the Great Wei!"

The grand elder sent a mental transmission without blushing or his heart racing.

Bai Lie glanced at his own second uncle with some contempt.

After all, some information about the Blade-Wielding Court is still relatively concealed.

For example, the fact that Su Yu is a disciple of the Azure Dragon Saint hasn't been widely spread.

Few people pay attention to news from the Blade-Wielding Court.

After all, the Blade-Wielding Court never interferes in other powers' affairs; it is more like a neutral force.

As for the Great Wei Dynasty, they learned of it earlier from a message sent by Yan Ming Tian.

Otherwise, the Great Wei would not have known Su Yu's identity.

Like the grand elder, he only found out Su Yu's identity just now through Bai Lie's mental transmission.

Immediately, the grand elder's attitude changed in an instant.

"Of course, you are the eldest brother of my good grandson; naturally you can have whatever you want, as long as the Bai family has it, just speak up!"

The grand elder said with a smiling, narrowed eyes.

Compared to his previous attitude, it's literally worlds apart.

Su Yu was shocked by the grand elder's speed of changing his expression.

He hesitated for a moment, then asked.

"I want the Soul-Returning Herb. Does the Bai family have it?"

The grand elder's eyebrows slightly furrowed: "Soul-Returning Herb... we Bai family indeed don't have it, but this auction does have a Soul-Returning Herb; however, it's something placed here by someone else at our Bai family's auction. Even our Bai family couldn't bully a customer just because we're a big shop—that would go against our Bai family's principles."

Su Yu felt a little disappointed.

But that's understandable; if the Soul-Returning Herb belonged to the Bai family, I wouldn't need to attend this auction.

"But if you want it, I can use my influence to help you communicate with the herb's owner, to see if they're willing to trade with you!"

Su Yu nodded.

"Then thank you!"

At that moment, Bai Lie grabbed Su Yu's arm and walked toward the interior of the mansion.

"Come on, come on, big brother. Although Falling Maple City isn't the Bai family's base, the repairs here are decent. Let's go, I'll take you inside to look around!"

Having said that, Bai Lie pulled Su Yu inside.

The grand elder stood at the doorway, taking a deep look at Su Yu's back.

"A disciple of the Azure Dragon Saint... tsk tsk, that Great Wei Dynasty is also unlucky; reportedly, they've made some moves over there."

"It's just the Great Wei; after all, they're still upstarts, their thinking is too simple—they haven't seen the Azure Dragon Saint's wrath, they're asking for death!"

The grand elder's mouth corners curled up slightly.

The Great Wei Dynasty, although a top-tier power in the Central Immortal Realm, is comparable to the Bai family.

But in the end, they're merely upstarts.

Aside from having a saint in seclusion, their foundation is still far lacking compared to other top-tier powers.

Their understanding of the Heaven Beyond Heaven is also insufficient.

All they need is to fail to find any Great Wei Dynasty person who would act against Su Yu.

If Su Yu were really injured even a single hair,

Don't say the Great Wei Dynasty acted covertly; even if they did nothing at all,

they would still incur the Azure Dragon Saint's wrath.

However, the grand elder would naturally not say any of this to the Great Wei.

As a merchant, offending the Azure Dragon over the Great Wei

is not worthwhile.

In fact, the grand elder would even love for the Great Wei Dynasty to move against Su Yu, so that when the Azure Dragon Saint acts, the Central Immortal Realm would eliminate another top-tier power.

Then the Bai family's business could extend even further.

After all, with one fewer top-tier power, the remaining forces could divide up even more resources.

This is the survival principle of the entire Central Immortal Realm!

He shook his head slightly, the grand elder's mouth curling with a meaningful smile, and he slowly walked into the mansion.