It never occurred to Singluen that Tang Xiu would put forward such a condition. The Sorcerer Stone was the most important developmental issue of his Dark Shaman clan since a lot of this stone must be consumed by each member of the clan who wanted to be a powerhouse every year.

Not only that, the Sorcerer Stone mine under their control had been mined for centuries and it had been severely depleted, leading to the clan elders to strictly regulate the annual amount released. Right now, only 2,000 pieces of stones could be mined every year. Even for him, as the Second Young Lord of the clan, he only had a quota of 50 Sorcerer Stones annually.

"Mr. Tang, my Dark Shaman Clan does control the Sorcerer Stone deposits, but the number we can mine annually is not much. In addition, my people also need it to absorb the sorcery power from this stone for their cultivation. Perhaps… I'm afraid I can't get much of it to sell to you," said Singluen with a wry smile.

Tang Xiu thought for a moment and said, "We can negotiate to agree on the quant.i.ty. If it's like that, I won't make things difficult for you. As long as your Dark Shaman clan sells me 1,000 pieces of Sorcerer Stone every year, I'll use other resources in my possession to exchange with you."

"A thousand? That's impossible," replied Singluen categorically. "The total quant.i.ty of Sorcerer Stone my Dark Shaman clan has been mining annually is but a few, yet you ask for a thousand pieces of them. That's absolutely impossible."

Tang Xiu knitted his brows and asked, "Then tell me, how many is appropriate?"

Singluen looked hesitant before he replied, "A hundred, no less. That's the upper limit my Dark Shaman clan can afford. After all, every clansman also wants to cultivate and my clan will soon be defeated if we have no Sorcerer Stones. I can never break the hope of my clan even though I want to take the Patriarch seat as soon as possible."

Tang Xiu thought about it and said, "I'll exchange medicinal pills for 730 Sorcerer Stone annually. This is the bottom line I can bear. If you agree with the deal, then we'll have a good cooperation. If you don't, then count it as I don't offer you anything."

"Medicinal pill? What is that?" Singluen was confused and looked at Tang Xiu.

At present, the five black-robed old men behind him had their eyes lit up instantly, one of whom then asked, "Can you tell us the effect of this said medicinal pill, Mr. Tang?"

"The name is Essence Ama.s.sing Pill which gives a lot of benefits for every cultivator who takes it," explained Tang Xiu. "The specific benefits, however, are different and vary from person to person. But you can try it here and now."

The black-robed old man paced a step forward and respectfully said, "I want to try it, Young Master."

"I have yet to discuss it, and yet you wanna try it?" questioned Singluen with a frown. "Is this medicinal pill some kind of miraculous elixir or something?"

Tang Xiu flicked the medicinal pill into the hands of the black-robed old man and said indifferently, "Take this medicinal pill and cultivate here. I'll give you four hours. Regardless of how much efficacy in it you can absorb four hours later, you must stop and speak about its effect."

"Alright!"

The black-robed old man could smell the intoxicating scent and he felt that his spirit suddenly soared and his mind was now extraordinary clear. He nodded to Singluen, sitting down cross-legged on the floor, and then took the pill directly.

Chen Anhu, who had been quietly watching the conversation between Tang Xiu and Singluen all this time, finally couldn't bear it and came to Tang Yunde's side and asked in a whisper, "Brother Yunde, what are they doing? What is that Sorcerer Stone and what's this cultivation something they are talking about, exactly? They are practically confusing me."

"You see, Xiu'er is a cultivator and so are a lot of men under him," replied Tang Yunde in a low voice.

"What?" Chen Anhu's voice spiked a few octaves, garnering the attention of the others in the room.

"Nothing. It's nothing."

Chen Anhu felt Tang Yunde pulling him. He hastily waved and sat back beside Tang Yunde and asked excitedly, "Big Bro Yunde, you didn't lie to me, did you? Your son is actually a cultivator? But how is that possible? Man, cultivators are like celestial figures to us. We both went through fire and water at the risk of our lives back in the past, yet we only had the privilege and luck of encountering a cultivator once!"

"Why should I lie to you? We're brothers. Xiu'er is indeed a cultivator, to begin with," retorted Tang Yunde in a whisper. "More so that he's also a very strong one, mind you. You also know about the Amur Tiger, don't you? He helped the Yao Family of Beijing to deal with my family, and Xiu'er eliminated him because of that. But you gotta promise me you must bury this fact in your belly and not tell another soul."

Chen Anhu firmly nodded and promised, "Don't worry! Even if someone uses a knife on my neck to threaten me, I'll never say it. d.a.m.n… this is so f.u.c.king amazing and powerful! The Amur Tiger was so famous all over the country—who doesn't know of his fierceness and terror? Yet, I didn't expect him to be killed by my own nephew. Now I get it. No wonder you said that my nephew is the helper from outside Macao you wanted to invite back then. It turns out to be like this!"

"Stay low-profile, got it?" replied Tang Yunde smilingly in a whisper.

"Yeah, got it."

Chen Anhu rubbed his hands while his eyes that stared at Tang Xiu were full of spirit.

Time flew by and after half an hour, a burst of aura emanated out of the black robed-old man who did everything he could to absorb the efficacy of the pill, while a layer of black mist visible to the naked eyes shrouded him in an instant.

"Breaking through?!"

The other four black-robed old men were incredulous, yet there was also intense envy in their eyes. Never did they think that the efficacy of the Essence Ama.s.sing Pill would be strong to this extent. Their Second Brother broke through only after having taken it for half an hour, no less.

The all knew clearly that he had just broken through the previous realm of his cultivation just a year ago!

Singluen and the pet.i.te woman were likewise shocked. They also knew the situation with the old man.

Three and a half hour later, that black-robed old man's face turned red and he suddenly sprayed out a mouthful of blood along with a burst of aura that was much stronger than the previous one, as well as black mist again. Had Tang Xiu not waved his hand to impede it, the whole room would have been fully shrouded in the black mist.

"What happened?" rushed Singluen in a shout.

The other four black-robed old men were dumbfounded and tongue-tied. The disbelief on their faces turned more intense.

He broke through again?!

It was just three and a half hours, yet he had broken through two stages in his cultivation realm?

This… is this medicinal pill something like the likes of the immortal pill?

"Stop it, Second Brother!" shouted one of the black-robed old man after a while.

The old man who sat cross-legged in cultivation opened his eyes and raised his hand to wipe off the blood from the corner of his mouth. Afterwards, he floated up and cupped his fists toward Tang Xiu, "Mr. Tang, your medicinal pill is definitely the legendary elixir. Even if my Eldest Brother didn't make me stop, I'm afraid I wouldn't be able to cultivate much longer either, since I've made a successive breakthrough in just a short time. Yet, I can feel that the efficacy of the pill has yet to be fully absorbed and refined by me. More so that I have a feeling that I can break through another stage if I absorb and refine all of its efficacy."

Gasp…

The other four black-robed old men couldn't help but gasp after hearing his words.

Singluen himself was not stupid. Through the shows displayed by the old man after taking the pill and the words he spoke, he realized that the medicinal pill given by Tang Xiu was definitely the so-called immortal pill treasure.

"Alright. Let's finalize the deal, Mr. Tang."

Now, only then did he realize that he seemed to have found a big tree to take shelter under. Even he realized that cultivators were really as powerful and mysteriously magical as they were in legend.

In the case that… he fully followed these cultivators in the future, he could perhaps obtain the benefits that were far more valuable than what he experiences in the present.

Suddenly, he was reminded of another issue that weighed inside his heart as he then spoke in a heavy voice, "Mr. Tang, Kutu has made things difficult for your father and Uncle Chen, so I'm willing to deal with him with you. If he dares act rampant, I'll be the one to clean him up without you asking me to do so."

Tang Xiu narrowed his eyes. With his experience in life and through Singluen's statement, he realized that this guy wanted to establish a friends.h.i.+p with himself. Tang Xiu was naturally not one who refused those who could bring about benefits to himself, so he produced a faint smile and said, "I got no problem with that. We'll leave for Thailand together once we've dealt with the problem here. But there's something I want to figure out, though. What are you gonna do with your father and elder brother?"

"The latter must die since we've reached the point where one of us must perish," replied Singluen. "But I don't want my father to get hurt since he's always been good to me. It's best that he agreed to pa.s.s his authority and privileges to me so I can take good care of him in his retirement."

"Had you told me to murder your own father, I'd probably kill you too after solving the issue in Thailand later," said Tang Xiu with a faint smile. "All the friends I have can only be good people—ones that are humane. It's obvious that you are, so I hope we can get along well in the future."

"Sure."

The reply was much to Singluen's a.s.sertion inwardly, so he nodded.

Then, Tang Xiu looked at Tang Yunde and smilingly said, "Dad, there's no need for you to go to the Zhangs since you already did so. Let Uncle Chen accompany me in making a trip there! I promise that I'll solve this problem within three days."

Tang Yunde and Chen Anhu exchanged glances before the former immediately nodded, "That's fine with me. Anhu, you'll go with Xiu'er! I can feel more a.s.sured if you're with him."

"No problem," replied Chen Anhu smilingly.

****

At the northern end of Shengluo Avenu, at the entrance to the private land of the Zhang Family.

Six black off-road cars just stopped and more than ten security guards of the Zhangs rushed out. One of them, a stalwart man, shouted aggressively, "Who are you? This place is a private residence. You can't park your cars here."

Bam, bam, bam…

The six cars' doors opened as a stocky man came out from each.

After Tang Xiu and Chen Anhu came out of the car, the former then spoke smilingly, "Well, well. The Zhangs are truly stylishly imposing, eh? It seems that this family is very prominent and ranked as one of the best in Macao, no?"

"They can't be said to be the most powerful per se, but they should be in the top ten," Chen Anhu shook his head and said, "They have always been arrogant, however. Just look at the stylish and grand land of their residence."

"Hehe!"

Tang Xiu chuckled. He then looked at the big man who was full of vigilance and said, "Go inform your employer. Tell him that Tang Xiu has come to visit."