Seeing this, Li Fan reluctantly gave up.
"So how many stalks of Spirit Mist Grass can I borrow now?" he asked.
"Two thousand seven hundred stalks," the tree-face grumbled.
Li Fan muttered something under his breath, though his words were unclear.
"Fine! I'll take it! What paperwork do I need?" Li Fan seemed to have made up his mind.
A green leaf drifted slowly down from above, landing before Li Fan.
As he picked it up, streams of information instantly appeared in his mind, matching the terms he'd just negotiated with the tree-face.
"If you agree, refine this leaf with your spiritual power."
Li Fan nodded, then enveloped the leaf with his spiritual power.
The leaf was refined instantly, and a barely visible leaf pattern appeared on the inner side of Li Fan's left arm.
"The tree-mark will vanish once your debt is cleared. Wait a moment. I'll bring your Spirit Mist Grass."
After speaking, the face disappeared from the tree trunk, vanishing to who-knew-where.
Li Fan took this opportunity to look up and examine the giant tree.
The tree's power felt strange to him. It was clearly far stronger than a Nascent Soul Eminence, yet somewhat weaker than a Spirit Transformation Immortal Eminence.
Moreover, there were no traces of any arrays in this space, making it appear to have grown naturally.
Li Fan observed his surroundings with keen interest.
After a while, the tree-face reappeared. It opened its mouth and spat out a storage ring.
"The Spirit Mist Grass is all inside. This transaction is complete. You may leave. Remember to repay your debt on time, otherwise..."
Before Li Fan could speak, the tree-face expelled him from the space.
Beneath the great tree, threads of green light gathered, forming a faint green silhouette.
"Borrowing so much Spirit Mist Grass? Interesting."
A clear, melodious female voice emerged from the silhouette.
"Could it be that the price of Spirit Mist Grass will fall even further?
"A’Liu, keep a close watch in the coming days."
The tree-face responded in a muffled voice, "Yes, Miss.
"Miss, that fellow earlier was truly detestable."
The green silhouette let out a soft laugh. "Quite detestable indeed.
"But, which rival business is this Brightmoon Palace? Why have I never heard of them?"