Yi Shang had been one of the Seven Seraphs, while also being the president of the Chamber of Commerce. To understand the man, it was necessary to consider the motivations of a businessman. Qiong Xi'er excelled in this, but Lu Yin had no interest in such things.
"I don't have 100 million spirit seeds. Are other resources of equivalent value accepted?" Lu Yin asked.
Ye Laogui replied, "If other resources are used, their value must exceed that of 100 million spirit seeds. Equivalent exchange is not accepted."
Lu Yin chuckled. He really doesn’t take any losses. In the Tianyuan Megaverse, there had been times when Lu Yin had taken advantage of similar opportunities. This time, while he would give Yi Shang something, Lu Yin would get it back later on.
He had already taken the former Seraph’s Impression Realm, and it was almost entirely dissolved. That had been the fifth ranked sequence base, so Yi Shang had clearly suffered badly from that loss.
...
The Daquan Domain was the busiest domain in the Spirit Nidus, seeing as how it was the trading hub of the entire megaverse. It was the place where all goods were gathered. No matter what a person wished to find, they could find it in the Daquan Domain, provided that they had enough funds.
Spirit seeds were the most popular resource in the Spirit Nidus.
Lu Yin and his group arrived in the Daquan Domain. The closer they drew to their destination, the more people they saw.
The Daquan Domain was like a vortex in the sea, and people were constantly being drawn in.
This time, Lu Yin maintained a low profile and made it a point to not draw any attention. The group quietly passed through the Daquan Domain and arrived outside of Buyi City.
"It isn’t easy to gain entrance to Buyi City. Everyone is required to submit to an interrogation. While it seems useless, the answers provide data. It might be useless to us, but it might be of great value to others. Everyone lives their own life and has their own circle of influence. The answers to these interrogations are sold to the Phantom Reach at a steep price," Old Tao said while staring at Buyi City.
Qing Xiao was surprised. "Even these things can be sold for money?"
Old Tao laughed. "Child, everything in existence can be sold for money. It simply depends on whether you can find a way to make a profit from it."
Soon, Lu Yin and his group were being questioned.
"Name?"
"Ah San."
The person asking the questions did not even look up. "Age?"
"121."
"Homeland?"
"Destroyed."
"Destination?"
"Just here."
"Purpose?"
"Shopping."
"For what...?"
Lu Yin casually answered the various questions, and the person asking the questions seemed to be just as unconcerned. From the surface, such questions seemed to hold no value whatsoever, but when enough answers were gathered and analyzed, certain information could be deduced. Even if people lied, it was impossible for someone to sever all connections to their true selves.
As long as anyone was interested in learning about Lu Yin’s answers, a group of analysts would pick through them.
It did not take long for Lu Yin and the others to enter Buyi City.
It was a vast place. Everywhere they looked, there were people and shops lined with goods. Lu Yin had not experienced such an atmosphere in a very long time.
He had once transformed the capital of the Great Yu Empire into an economic powerhouse, with the highest land value of anywhere in the Outerverse. However, such money no longer held any appeal to him.
As a person’s horizons expanded, they would come to see an entirely different perspective from before.
Ye Laogui sighed. "Buyi City is still the same as ever. Nothing’s changed."
"I didn’t think I’d live to return to Buyi City again."
Ye Yan’er’s eyes lit up. "Grandfather, this place is so lively!"
Ye Laogui chuckled. "It certainly is, but it’s also not cheap. If not for Yi Shang’s presence, this city would be nothing like this.
"Let's go and submit the application fee."
At the very center of the city was the office that took in application fees. It was a massive building that loomed over all others. People from various companies and corporations were constantly coming and going from the place; others were gathered nearby, observing each and every person who entered or exited. Lu Yin even heard the Hundred Leaf Trade Association being mentioned.
Even before Ye Laogui or anyone else with Lu Yin had entered the building or submitted the application fee, there were already people who were aware of their identities, likely due to the questions asked before entering the city.
Ye Laogui reported the name of the Hundred Leaf Trade Association, as well as their intention to apply to be selected as one of the five official trade associations. It was shocking how quickly others learned of the matter.
"The Hundred Leaf Trade Association? I’ve never heard of it. Must be some one-domain affair. If they can’t even expand beyond their own domain, why are they trying to kick up a fuss?" Discussions were already breaking out.
"Don't underestimate them. After all, they are willing to submit the 100 million spirit seed fee, which means that they have some means."
"Look into them. I want to know what industries they have their hands in, which domain they’re from..."
Lu Yin and the others were quickly escorted to a huge inn that the Chamber of Commerce had arranged for them after receiving the application and fees.
Ye Yan’er muttered, "I didn’t think they’d even do this much."
Qing Xiao rolled his eyes. "100 million spirit seeds is enough to buy this entire place. What a rip-off!"
Ru Mu smiled faintly. "It doesn’t matter to Boss."
Ye Laogui gave Lu Yin an odd look. The application fee that had been submitted had indeed been worth more than 100 million spirit seeds, but Ye Laogui had recognized the goods that had been submitted. It was clear that the Third Boss had taken such things by force.
Lu Yin did not care about the application fee at all. He had many treasures in his cosmic ring, any one of which was valuable enough to substitute for the application fee.
"Things should start soon," Old Tao announced.