In fact, even at this point, Li Yan still hadn't figured out the real reason why "Gui Qu Lai Xi" had established branches on various continents.
In his mind, he still thought that the other party was just a super merchant alliance, just for the sake of greater profits, with a very wide range of sales.
From Su Hong's question, he guessed that Su Hong being able to leave before the war must have been because she had received a lot of information from the Demon Clan and felt that she could no longer stay on the Desolate Moon Continent, which was why she left in advance.
From this, Li Yan captured more information. The power behind "Gui Qu Lai Xi" was extremely formidable.
They had obtained information that even the Four Great Sects had not, or rather, after synthesizing a lot of information, they had analyzed the terrifying consequences.
Only then was Su Hong able to leave the Desolate Moon Continent in advance.
In addition, Su Hong saying she left the Desolate Moon Continent just like that meant that the other party either had an extremely secret cross-realm passage, or there was a Nascent Soul cultivator ready to take Su Hong away at any time.
From this, it could be seen that Su Hong's status was extraordinary, definitely not just a simple shopkeeper of a branch on the Desolate Moon Continent.
This reminded Li Yan of the attitude of the attendants and deacons in Yunguan City and here towards Su Hong, which further confirmed that Su Hong's status in this merchant alliance was definitely not low.
In these few breaths of time, just from a single sentence from Su Hong, Li Yan had already thought of so many possibilities. If Su Hong knew, her heart would definitely be greatly shocked.
From then on, she would treat Li Yan as a formidable opponent and take him seriously.
In fact, at this time, Su Hong had also realized the mistake in her words and was a little annoyed.
She hadn't expected to be one-upped by Li Yan as soon as she opened her mouth.
"This brat is just as the intelligence says, cautious and meticulous, audacious and reckless!"
Su Hong thought to herself. If Li Yan wasn't audacious, it would have been impossible for him to dare to snatch food from the hands of a Golden Core cultivator back then for a few drops of Crystal Bone Water.
"I really don't know about you two fellow daoists' matters. Could you tell me? I will naturally agree to the promise of a free or discounted message later."
Li Yan no longer "hid" anything and simply recounted the matter of him and Zhao Min falling into the Devil's Cliff Crevice during the great war, but he changed the ending again and again.
Li Yan said that after he and Zhao Min fell into the cliff, they entered a mysterious space. They went through life and death in that space.
They were trapped for several decades until not long ago, when the two of them walked out from there, and then inexplicably arrived on the Verdant Continent.
Su Hong did not have too many doubts about Li Yan's words. In the cultivation world, there were many things more bizarre than what Li Yan had described.
Especially with her profound knowledge, she knew of many strange and grotesque things.
Li Yan quickly finished his story and looked at Su Hong with a smile. Su Hong sighed.
"I didn't expect you two fellow daoists to have such a dangerous experience. To not have perished in the great war, and to have entered such a perilous land."
"But it's also good. In sixty or seventy years outside, you might not have reached your current cultivation."
"It seems that you two have obtained your own opportunities there. As the saying goes, misfortune is the companion of fortune, and fortune is the harbinger of misfortune."
"For cultivators like us, a disaster may not necessarily be a bad thing!"
Zhao Min, listening at the side, was speechless. Li Yan's ability to lie and fabricate stories was so thrilling that she was left in awe.
At a certain moment, she even felt as if she had really entered some perilous land with Li Yan back then.
After Su Hong finished speaking, she smiled at Li Yan.
"Alright, now it's my turn to answer Fellow Daoist Li's question."
"Just now, you were able to see the problem in my sentence. With your intelligence, haven't you already guessed it?"
She paused for a moment here, glanced at Li Yan, as if wanting to find a trace of depression in his expression, but she was clearly disappointed. Li Yan's expression did not change.
"The Four Great Sects of the Desolate Moon Continent have always been very closed off to the outside world, unwilling to establish a cross-realm grand teleportation formation with other continents, in order to reduce the invasion of foreign cultivators."
"Even when our merchant guild wanted to establish a separate cross-realm teleportation formation that only transmitted small items like storage pouches, you refused."
"This has resulted in ninety percent of the items sold by our merchant guild on the Desolate Moon Continent being your local cultivation resources."
"Most of them are just moved from one place on the Desolate Moon Continent to another, reducing the time you have to travel long distances to buy things."
"Only when a top-tier expert from our merchant guild comes across the realm will they bring some outside cultivation materials to the Desolate Moon Continent."
"When I left the Desolate Moon Continent back then, I was also taken by an expert from the merchant guild. We went through many dangers, and several times we were on the verge of a desperate situation."
"It is not an exaggeration to say that we were on the verge of perishing in the Chaotic Flow Space."
"What the Deacon Zheng you met a few days ago said was not false. The route he gave is already the best route, but in any case, it requires the protection of an expert at or above the Nascent Soul realm."
After hearing this, Li Yan and Zhao Min's faces showed undisguised disappointment. Li Yan then gave a wry smile.
"It seems the fantasies I had before were truly just fantasies!"
Su Hong glanced at Zhao Min.
"But Miss Zhao has heaven-defying talent. I imagine it is highly possible for her to form a Nascent Soul within a hundred years. A hundred years, for us, is just a slightly longer period of seclusion."
"At that time, once you successfully form a Nascent Soul, you two can try to go back!"
Her words were not false, but came from her heart.
Back then, she was just a small Late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator. In just sixty or seventy years, she had reached this breathtaking realm.
Li Yan and Zhao Min did not comment on this. How could forming a Nascent Soul be so easy? Their strength today was the result of one opportunity after another.
To think of doing so again in the future, just thinking about the resources that the "Sacred Demon Palace" had taken out, it was almost impossible.
"I haven't finished my words just now. Although I feel that you two fellow daoists may not be able to do it at the moment, after some thought, I feel that I can still say it."
"Oh, please speak, Miss Su!"
Li Yan's spirits were lifted. Some requirements that were difficult for other Golden Core cultivators to meet, he and Zhao Min might have a chance.
"Our merchant alliance can also provide the business of having an expert escort you across the realm, but the price is too high."
"To ask a Nascent Soul cultivator to risk their life to escort you across the realm, one person would need at least two supreme-grade spirit stones, or high-grade spirit stones of equivalent value."
"You also know that taking someone through the Chaotic Flow Space is completely different from taking someone through a cross-realm grand formation once. No one can predict the dangers involved."
"Even a Nascent Soul cultivator wouldn't dare to say they could come out alive, so the price for them to act is naturally astonishingly high."
"Even with me mediating, you two would probably need at least three supreme-grade spirit stones."
Li Yan and Zhao Min were speechless.
"Miss Su, even if I were fortunate enough to obtain a supreme-grade spirit stone, we would have to dare to touch it. Besides, how could we have so many high-grade spirit stones to exchange for it?"
Su Hong nodded, and a thought flashed through her mind.
"Just this one sentence, it turns out he also knows the details of supreme-grade spirit stones. The foundation of a major sect is indeed different."
Cultivators may have heard of a treasure like a supreme-grade spirit stone, but ninety-nine percent of low- and mid-rank cultivators only know that it contains more spirit qi. They don't know the terror of a supreme-grade spirit stone, that to touch it is to die.
Su Hong stated the last possibility out of consideration for their old friendship. A business person would, of course, report all the information.
Li Yan sighed and exchanged a look with Zhao Min. He knew that this trip was in vain. "Since we have no hope of returning now, I wonder if Miss Su can help us send a message back to the Malevolent Spirit Sect, just to inform my master of our presence on the Verdant Continent."
Li Yan stated his other request. Su Hong was also extremely shrewd. Her eyes lit up.
"Fellow Daoist Li's method is indeed a clever move. Not only can you bring back the news of your and Miss Zhao's safety, but with Miss Zhao's status, it is even more likely that the Malevolent Spirit Sect will send an expert to bring you back."
"This is much shorter and more reliable than waiting for you to cultivate to the Nascent Soul stage."
She had guessed Li Yan's purpose at once.
"How long will it take, and what is the cost in spirit stones?"
"Although this time is very long, it is truly countless times shorter than waiting to form a Nascent Soul."
"First, to send this message back to the merchant alliance headquarters, we have to wait for the next batch of caravans to arrive on the Verdant Continent."
"Otherwise, for you to send a single message back alone would cost no less than a supreme-grade spirit stone."
"After the caravan arrives here, plus the time it takes to return to the headquarters, it will take nearly three years."
"And after the message arrives at the headquarters, it also needs to wait for a Nascent Soul cultivator from our merchant alliance to cross the realm with goods before this message can be brought along to the Desolate Moon Continent."
"According to the time I used to receive goods from the headquarters on the Desolate Moon Continent, it would take at least five years or so."
"The approximate time should be around ten years. As for the price of sending the message? Hmm, one thousand low-grade spirit stones!"
Su Hong gave the price directly this time.
She had explained it so clearly, and Li Yan and Zhao Min had no objections. However, Li Yan then thought of another matter.
"Miss Su, I'll pay you the spirit stones together later. I have one more thing. I wonder if your esteemed shop has 'Howling Cold Stone' for sale, or any news about 'Howling Cold Stone'? I can also purchase it!"
Li Yan remembered the Snow Mosquito King. He had promised him this for a long time, and now was a good opportunity.
With the strength of "Gui Qu Lai Xi," it was possible that they really would have such a treasure. Even if the price was a bit high, Li Yan felt he should still be able to afford it.
After hearing this, Su Hong thought carefully.
"This is what Miss Zhao needs, right? This item can be found in some places on the North Ice Continent, but it's very hard to find on the other continents. Let me ask!"
Su Hong thought that Li Yan was looking for cultivation materials for Zhao Min. After all, in the intelligence she had gathered on the Malevolent Spirit Sect, Zhao Min cultivated a water-attribute cultivation method.
And ice-attribute cultivation methods were a variation of water-attribute cultivation methods. With the relevant divine ability cultivation methods, it was also possible to cultivate them.
Half an hour later, a disgruntled Mi'er re-entered the room. As soon as she came in, she glared fiercely at Li Yan again. It was this guy who had driven her out.
After Mi'er came in, she directly sent a voice transmission to Su Hong. As she transmitted the message, she looked at Li Yan.
A hint of schadenfreude appeared in Mi'er's eyes. This item was obviously what the dark-skinned brat in front of her wanted. Seeing her come in, this brat had been staring at her.
A moment later, Su Hong's soul-stirring, charming voice came over.
"Fellow Daoist Li, this piece of news is my free gift to you!"
"A 'Howling Cold Stone' appeared on the Verdant Continent one hundred and seventy years ago and was subsequently auctioned off."
"Later, it also appeared on the North Ice Continent. The most recent time was eighty years ago, when three appeared at once."
"But in less than half an hour, they were bought at a high price. Now, the merchant alliance headquarters and other branches do not have this item!"
"Fellow Daoist Li, I'm really sorry about this. This kind of treasure is very hard to have in stock. As soon as it appears, it is quickly bought up!"
Apology appeared in Su Hong's eyes. Li Yan could only sigh inwardly again. Not a single thing had gone well today.