Ita Era

Chapter 186 Trading
As Cui's father stepped into the courtyard, the elderly couple vanished simultaneously, reappearing in front of and behind him, their four hands reaching for him. Cui's father transformed into dozens of wisps of black smoke, which scattered and flew out of the courtyard, converging at a distance of 7 meters. Cui's father then transformed back into human form.

This technique is like a vampire transforming into a bat; when escaping, it turns into hundreds of bats, and as long as even one bat escapes, the vampire will not die.

Cui's father stared at the evil couple, raised his hands, and the black clouds above his head transformed into his large face. The large face exhaled a puff of black smoke, which flew towards Seventh Sister's courtyard.

Yesterday, Cui's father used this tactic to hunt down Ding Shi. Each plume of black smoke was like an aerial bomb, and Ding Shi almost lost a leg.

Black smoke shot down, but as if shielded by a barrier, the smoke bounced off the house next door as soon as it approached, blasting the neighboring house into pieces. Countless grains of sand, rubble, and wood chips fell from the sky, landing inside Qiniang's house.

Cui's father has a poor memory and is not very bright, but he has not forgotten his fighting spirit.

With a loud shout, Cui's father yelled, "Reveal yourselves!" A dozen or so plumes of black smoke descended, growing ever larger until they enveloped Seven's house like a mist.

A gust of wind blew, dispelling the black mist. In Seventh Sister's courtyard, a two-meter-tall white banner appeared, bearing three large characters: Gathering Yin Banner. Streams of Yin energy were drawn into the Gathering Yin Banner from all directions. The banner then released Yin energy, activating the array, and the Tai Chi diagram on the ground slowly rotated.

The evil old woman is on the yin side, and the evil old man is on the yang side. As the Tai Chi diagram rotates, their positions will also change accordingly.

For Ding Shi and his group, it was an unsolvable formation. The old woman's rule was to kill those on the yin side, while the old man's rule was to kill those on the yang side. The entire house was surrounded by both yin and yang, and once someone stepped into it, they would inevitably be killed by one of the evil spirits.

The demonized Cui Fu has become an invincible big boss. Although his strength is not comparable to that of evil spirits, he not only possesses strength close to that of evil spirits, but is also not bound by rules, and can use various Taoist techniques at will.

"The Demon Realm." The voice seemed to be a low murmur from Cui's father, yet also seemed to come from the heavens. The dark clouds overhead transformed into plumes of black smoke, dozens of which enveloped the area around Seventh Sister's house. The black smoke did not explode upon landing; it all seeped into the ground.

As the last plume of black smoke completely disappeared into the ground, the earth trembled, and the tiles on Seventh Sister's house began to fall in a flurry. A gigantic black hand lifted Seventh Sister's house from the ground and raised it upwards. This commotion finally roused Seventh Sister from her reverie. Standing on the second-floor attic, she clung tightly to a pillar, helpless as she watched the house being lifted into the air before flipping and falling back down.

Suddenly, the black hand disappeared, and the Seventh Sister's house, which had been raised a meter high, fell back to its original position, with all the side rooms collapsing.

Ding Shi interrupted the spell by throwing a logging axe he had bought from the villagers. The axe struck Cui's father squarely in the back, with a third of the axe blade embedded in his body.

Cui's father turned into black smoke, and the axe fell to the ground. Cui's father gathered the black smoke in place and transformed into a human shape. The original wound stopped bleeding and instead began to emit black smoke.

Looking at Ding Shi again, he had already run more than 100 meters away.

Cui's father was in a terrible predicament. If he didn't deal with Ding Shi, Ding Shi would ambush him. But if he did deal with Ding Shi, he couldn't subdue him. Ding Shi was like a mosquito, not only biting but also annoying.

Cui's father is someone Huang You resurrected according to his own needs. His thoughts have boundaries, and his actions are logical. If he sees Ding Shi, he will hunt him down. If he doesn't see Ding Shi, he will resume his work of seizing the divine tree.

So the second, third, and even fifth logging axes all struck Cui's father accurately, especially the fifth one, which nearly severed his head. A ring of black smoke rose from where Cui's head and body met.

This time, when Cui's father chased Ding again, the situation was different. As soon as he moved, a large amount of black smoke gushed out like blood. After chasing for only a hundred meters, Cui's father stopped.

But Cui's father did not expect that Ding Shi would dig up Huang You's body.

He held Huang You's half-corpse in his arms in a princess carry, danced in front of Cui's father, and even played Huang You like a guitar, singing as he played: "No matter how far apart we are, we are always connected by affection. Can we just buy half a piece? There is true affection in the world. A rib costs fifty yuan."

Then Cui's father exploded—a real explosion. With a furious roar, his flesh and blood exploded, sending dozens of plumes of black smoke and demonic energy soaring into the air, tracing parabolic arcs as they fell across various parts of Tianmen Village. One of them landed not far from Ding Shi's house, in the home of a man named Da Niu.

The black smoke fell silently. Ding Shi casually tossed half a piece of yellow peony into the field, his eyes fixed on Da Niu's house.

With a deafening roar, a powerful, violent demon leaped over the wall, landing and propelling itself towards Ding Shi. It was the violent demon Da Niu. Theoretically, violent demons shouldn't appear during the day. This demon was slightly different from traditional ones; Da Niu's eyes were gone, replaced by black smoke.

The Violent Demon is a special creation. Unlike the nearly invincible Evil Demon, it wears human skin and is an Evil Demon who has taken over a human identity. Due to the limitations of its body, the Violent Demon is far from reaching the strength of an Evil Demon, but it inherits the ferocity of an Evil Demon and can maximize its physical strength and speed.

The Violent Demon has another weakness: as an evil spirit, it relies on brute force to subdue people and has no fighting skills whatsoever.

Ding Shiyou.

Facing the charging raging demon, Da Niu, Ding Shi crouched down. Da Niu tripped over Ding Shi's body and rolled forward about ten meters. Just as Da Niu stood up, Ding Shi's fist arrived. The demon was strong, but Ding Shi was even stronger; after all, the demon's body was still that of an ordinary person, while Ding Shi's body was a Force-enhanced version.

In less than 20 seconds, Ding Shi had the tyrant Da Niu's head in his grasp. With their strength evenly matched, Ding Shi emerged victorious, snapping Da Niu's neck. With Da Niu dead, the evil spirit within him returned to Da Niu's home, becoming a bound spirit. Without a human vessel, he could not leave his home.

After killing the violent demon Da Niu, more violent demons emerged from the house and surged towards Ding Shi. Ding Shi dared not linger and turned to run. Caught off guard, a young violent demon suddenly appeared from the roadside and grabbed his legs. Ding Shi and the young violent demon rolled forward more than a dozen times before tumbling into the paddy field.

Ding Shi punched the young thug to the ground and walked forward. The young thug lunged at him and grabbed Ding Shi's left leg tightly. Seeing that more than a dozen thugs were about to arrive, Ding Shi twisted the young thug's head off. Unexpectedly, even in death, the boy still clung to Ding Shi's left leg.

After Ding Shi pried the boy's hands off and returned to the road, he encountered more than a dozen violent demons. Fortunately, the road wasn't wide, and Ding Shi fought no more than five demons at a time. However, because there were too many demons, Ding Shi couldn't kill them with a single blow. As long as the defeated demons didn't die, they would get up and rejoin the battle.

Fifty meters from the village entrance, Sha Bi's ghostly figure joined the battle. The figure grabbed a raging demon and swept it across, sending six raging demons into the field. Seeing this, Ding Shi seized the opportunity to escape, running out of the village and arriving at the village entrance.

Silly Dagger withdrew his ghostly form, clutched his chest and endured the pain, then smiled after a while: "You owe me one."

Ding Shi thought for a moment and said, "I can get away."

Silly Bone was very honest: "I saved you because I thought you could get away. So tell me, are you going to accept this favor or not?" If you're going to get beaten to death, I'll consider it a loss if I even blink.

Ding Shi asked, "What do you want?"

"Eat something first." Sha Bi said sweet words all the way, leading Ding Shi to sit down on a roadside rock near the temporary camp. On the naturally formed stone table was a bowl of cured meat rice topped with stir-fried two-colored peppers. Sha Bi not only prepared chopsticks but also offered a large cup of cold tea: "Are you hungry? It's on me."

Ding Shi squinted: "Although these things are worthless, you have much bigger ambitions."

Sha Bi chuckled: "Ding Shi, I thought about it for a long time last night. We should wipe the slate clean of our grudges from before the beginning of the era. I did try to ambush you, but in the end, you still managed to blow me up, didn't you?"

Ding Shi said, "Stop talking nonsense and tell me what it is."

Sha Bi said, "I want that bottle of will-o'-the-wisp."

Ding Shi took out a bottle from the left breast pocket of the inner lining. It was stuffed full of Nine-Refined Ghost Flames. They were squeezed together like clay.

Sha Bi looked at the will-o'-the-wisp's blinking eyes, withdrew his greedy gaze, pushed the cold tea in front of Ding Shi, picked up the tree bark on the ground and fanned Ding Shi, saying, "Brother Ding, I promise you will always be my brother, not a blood brother, but better than a blood brother."

Ding Shi remained unmoved and said, "The first person you killed was your half-brother because he beat your mother. As a result, you were ostracized by your family and sent to prison." Ding Shi looked up at Cao Ying, who had come to join the fun, and said, "Hey, girl, you're lying."

Cao Ying smiled, walked over, found a place to sit down, and said, "Please call me the middleman. Foolish Bone wants the Will-o'-the-Wisp, and I can take the Will-o'-the-Wisp out, while you possess the Will-o'-the-Wisp. We can have a serious talk."

Cao Ying said, "Ding Shi, it's useless for you to have the ghost fire. It's a high-level tool for the ghost power profession, and even Sha Bi himself hasn't mastered how to use it. Most importantly, even if Sha Bi uses the ghost fire to cultivate and improve his strength, he won't pose a threat to you. Because you have the ability to kill the ghost fire, Sha Bi won't attack you."

Ding Shi squinted at Cao Ying, the little fox. He didn't know much about Cao Ying, who worked for Wang Meng. To put it bluntly, he knew more about Cao Ying's body than about her. But his intuition told him that this woman was cunning, especially since she had nothing and would definitely try her best to earn resources for herself.

Ding Shi asked, "What can I gain?" Since he didn't understand Cao Ying, he didn't care who gained more benefits, only how much he could gain.

Cao Ying said, "I can marry you."

Ding Shi's eye twitched, and Cao Ying quickly stopped him from speaking: "I don't have to marry you." What a close call.

Cao Ying then proceeded with her second explanation: "The day after we leave the instance, we'll meet at the main entrance of the tallest building in Bagua City. After we add each other as friends, we'll meet at your villa. I'll give the Ghostfire to Sha Bi, and Sha Bi will give you a system IOU. Now the only question is: how much will you sell it for?"

Prior to this, Cao Ying and Sha Bi reached an agreement: Sha Bi would write a $3000 installment IOU in exchange for the will-o'-the-wisp. The only real problem was: how to trick Ding Shi into handing over the will-o'-the-wisp.

Sha Bi was excited. This was his first chance to defeat Ding Shi head-on. Thinking of Ding Shi's impotent rage, Sha Bi couldn't help but smile. But reason made him suppress his smile and pretend to be very concerned about the progress of the transaction.

Cao Ying's thoughts: That damn man, how dare he scheme against me! I'll take some benefits first.

Ding Shi asked, "How much do you think it should sell for?"

Cao Ying said, "You and Sha Bi can negotiate the price yourselves. I'm just a middleman who takes a 5% cut. But as a middleman, I have to objectively analyze the pros and cons, so I have to tell the truth. You're useless to the Ghost Fire, and Sha Bi doesn't know what it's good for, so Sha Bi has to take on more risk. You two negotiate the price, and I'll go buy some lunch."

Cao Ying was clever; she constantly downplayed the fact that she possessed an inventory and could control the transaction, instead emphasizing the price. Even if Ding Shi offered 10,000 dollars, it wouldn't matter, because the deal wouldn't go through. The prerequisite for the transaction was that both parties could take the will-o'-the-wisp out.

After Cao Ying finished speaking, she bought a bowl of cured pork rice and returned to a spot that wasn't too far away. She noticed that Ding Shi kept staring at her. If it were anyone else, she would have thought Ding Shi was lewd. But since it was Ding Shi, she felt very uncomfortable, as if she had given herself away somewhere.

Ding Shi threw down the dagger, walked up to Cao Ying, glanced at the cured meat rice, then looked into Cao Ying's eyes and asked, "Where did you get the money?"

Cao Ying's pupils contracted, her mind going completely blank: Make money off the villagers? No. Find money? No. Loot the village? No.

The only source of money is Sha Bi, so why would Sha Bi give him money? To be honest, Sha Bi would suspect that he had been lied to, and that Ding Shi had no secrets to sell.

Reason 1: Sleeping with Sha Bi? Rejected, because while Ding Shi doesn't understand himself, he does understand Sha Bi.

Reason two: Did I write an IOU? No, because I'm more familiar with Ding Shi, and I'd borrow money from Ding Shi if needed. If I were more familiar with Sha Bi, Ding Shi would be suspicious of the transaction.

Reason three: Does idiot pity himself? No, idiot isn't that kind of person.

Although Cao Ying thought a lot, it only took her two breaths, using the time to chew and swallow, for her to understand the implications and say, "You gave it to me, 100 dollars."

Ding Shi was about to speak when Cao Ying gave him a look, indicating that she had tricked Sha Bi and that he shouldn't reveal it.

Two days ago, after Cao Ying was resurrected, she asked Ding Shi for money, her purpose being to swindle Sha Bi out of his money.

Ding Shi cooperated. He knew Cao Ying had swindled Sha Bi out of his money, but he wanted Cao Ying to confess so she could understand the situation. Last time, Cao Ying had colluded with him. This time, she was very likely colluding with Sha Bi.

After her resurrection, Cao Ying's information is scarce, yet she still managed to deceive Sha Bi through her own actions. Borrowing 100 and returning 120 demonstrates Cao Ying's exceptional skill in deception.

How to deal with scammers? Trying to outsmart them is unwise; the best approach is to avoid them altogether.

It is said that modern women have a way of identifying scammers: You can deceive my feelings, you can deceive my body, but if you cheat me out of even a penny, I will kill you.

Their bottom line is not to spend a single penny on the other party. Ding Shi's bottom line is not to associate with scammers.

However, this means Ding Shi can't take the ghost fire out of the instance. To take the ghost fire out of the instance, he must go through Cao Ying.

Another corresponding question is that the prize for planting the Divine Tree is a leaf from the Divine Tree, which is also a prop. If Cao Ying is not resurrected, how can the leaf be taken out?
Ding Shi didn't think that quickly. After smiling at Cao Ying, he stepped aside to think quietly: There was still a similar problem. Sha Bi needed to bring the Ghost Control Technique skill book on the bus in order to learn the Ghost Control Technique.

Based on this speculation, is it possible that once I boarded the bus, the leaves of the sacred tree would take effect and directly grant me a reward?

I can understand the effects of the sacred tree leaves, but what effect could a jar of will-o'-the-wisps possibly have?
This deal is difficult to make because Ding Shi doesn't trust Cao Ying.

Cao Ying had anticipated Ding Shi's suspicion, but her theory was that the Will-o'-the-Wisp was useless in Ding Shi's hands, and he couldn't take it out of the instance. Therefore, Ding Shi might be willing to take the risk. The worst outcome would simply be nothing, the same as Ding Shi failing to take the Will-o'-the-Wisp.

Ding Shi can also see clearly what kind of woman she is through this transaction.

Neither the left nor right Ding Shi suffered any loss.

Will Ding Shi become a mortal enemy because of this? Probably not. Being able to deceive Ding Shi will only increase Ding Shi's value in Ding Shi's eyes and create more room for cooperation.

Ding Shi did indeed think that way; he would take a gamble and at least see Cao Ying's true colors.

But then Ding thought to himself, why should he risk strengthening Sha Bi for such a small amount of money? Sha Bi might not kill him, but he would definitely bully him.

Unlike Wang Meng, Sha Bi wouldn't turn on him regardless of his strength, as long as his mouth wasn't too foul. Even if he did, things would be fine soon enough.

Thinking of this, Ding Shi said, "The transaction is void."

Sha Bi and Cao Ying asked in unison, "Why?"

Ding Shi replied, "For no reason."

(End of this chapter)