Jun Moxie's gaze, at this moment, resembled that of a supreme monarch, the master of his own destiny! This sight stirred within her a feeling of utter, irresistible submission.

"Speak! I'm taking all these Exquisite Lotuses. Just say yes or no!" Jun Moxie pressed, generating an atmosphere of heavy pressure, seizing the opportunity to push his advantage.

He couldn't afford to delay; too many people were waiting back home for this Cold Exquisite Lotus. If the Jade Root only formed once every five hundred years, then... he’d be entirely out of luck! Bringing it back wouldn't just fail to achieve his goal, it would spark conflict instead... "Just one seed. Who gets it, and who doesn't?"

He instantly shifted from decisive ruthlessness to this tack, not giving Qiao Ying a moment to react.

While this approach was undeniably rather low, for the sake of his own happiness and that kind of happiness, Jun Moxie couldn't afford to worry about petty scruples...

"Ah... Fine... No, no, no!" Startled, Qiao Ying nearly agreed, then quickly stuttered out three negatives. "Young Master Jun, a gentleman keeps his word. We agreed on one stalk, so you absolutely cannot take more!

This is a matter of principle, with no room for compromise!" She paused, then continued, "Besides... Our Heavenly Sacred Palace has only managed to cultivate eight stalks from one over ten thousand years... that shows how incredibly difficult this thing is to nurture! Frankly, giving you this one stalk would be a waste... You have no idea how to cultivate it, how to cherish it, what it needs, or what it dislikes... Fail in any one aspect, and it will wither instantly!" This was, however, a calculated exaggeration.

"Oh? I would be delighted to hear the details," Jun Moxie replied, following the momentum like striking a snake where it lay, immediately becoming amiable and adopting an attitude of eager attention.

"You truly are a scoundrel!" Qiao Ying shook her head in defeat but still patiently explained, "For the Exquisite Lotus, first, you need Primordial Pure Water—preferably water spiritualized from pure Qi. Then, you require a place where the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi is exceptionally dense to ensure its most basic survival conditions."

Jun Moxie hummed, his eyes darting. He thought to himself that this wasn't a problem; his own domain was superior to theirs in every way. So many Heaven and Earth spiritual medicines flourished there; he certainly shouldn't fail to sustain one Exquisite Lotus.

"Second, have you noticed this basin? This basin alone cost thirty thousand units of Primordial Spirit Jade, balancing heat and cold to achieve the precise temperature equilibrium you require. These Primordial Spirit Jades virtually represent every spirit jade in the world—even the Ethereal Illusory Mansion contributed some to amass them! This is fundamentally wealth so immense that no ordinary person could afford it, and even then, it only promotes the slow growth of the Cold Exquisite Lotus!"

"Thirty thousand Primordial Spirit Jades?" Jun Moxie sucked in his breath. Forget thirty thousand—he didn't even possess one. A ruthless thought flashed through his mind: Damn it, if necessary, I'll just move the entire basin!

As he considered this, an idea struck him suddenly. "Can Ten Thousand Year Soft Jade substitute for Primordial Spirit Jade?"

"Ten Thousand Year Soft Jade only possesses warming qualities; it lacks the chilling efficacy of the Spirit Jade. Although it is no less precious, it is useless for cultivating the Cold Exquisite Lotus." Qiao Ying glanced at him with surprise, seemingly doubting that he could possess such a treasure.

"This is truly difficult," Jun Moxie frowned, narrowing his eyes as he tentatively asked, "What if there were an Earth Vein of Heaven and Earth?"

"Are you joking?" Qiao Ying let out a soft, incredulous laugh. "Nourishing the Exquisite Lotus with an Earth Vein of Heaven and Earth is naturally far superior to using Primordial Spirit Jades. It would also dramatically accelerate the Lotus's growth and shorten its maturity time. With an Earth Vein, you would only need spiritualized water, forming a pool atop the vein, and nothing else. The Exquisite Lotus would grow several times faster and exhibit miraculous effects. But... such a thing has always existed only in legend, deep underground. Moreover, as the continent shifts, the Qi currents become turbulent, and the location shifts unpredictably... Who could ever find one?"

Qiao Ying pursed her lips, clearly despising Jun Moxie's wild speculation. "Even if one knew an area possessed an Earth Vein, such a massive undertaking—who could extract it? Moving an entire mountain? Retrieving the intact vein? That is utterly unrealistic!"

Jun Moxie let out a long sigh. "This is truly depressing..." Yet, inwardly, his heart was about to leap out of his chest. Damn it, I have one, and it's a prime specimen from hundreds of thousands of years ago!

"The third requirement for growth is..." After this, Jun Moxie heard nothing Qiao Ying said. He was too excited to control himself, his mind entirely consumed with how to accomplish this feat.

However, while he was internally ecstatic enough to explode, maintaining an outward appearance of worry and helplessness was a high-level skill. Thankfully, Young Master Jun was well-trained enough to perform flawlessly: looking utterly devastated on the surface while being deliriously joyful inside...

Compared to an Earth Vein of Heaven and Earth, all these so-called cultivation methods were nothing more than dog crap!

Jun Moxie secretly calculated. The Earth Vein he possessed could likely support a small to medium-sized lotus pond; at the very least, it would be seven or eight times larger than the current one, no doubt about it.

"Then... how many seeds does the Exquisite Lotus produce? Could I take one complete stalk back, and perhaps a few seeds too?" Jun Moxie assumed the humblest posture, looking at Qiao Ying with pleading eyes. "Even if it's just a sliver of hope, it's better than nothing... Big Sister Qiao, you must grant this small, pitiful wish of mine..."

Such an expression made Qiao Ying feel that refusing him would be an act of unforgivable wickedness and utter cruelty.

"Every time the Exquisite Lotus yields its Jade Root every five hundred years, each stalk generally produces several seeds.

Over the years, we have accumulated quite a few seeds..." Qiao Ying hesitated. "But cultivating them is tens of times more difficult than growing the Lotus directly! If I gave them to you, and you lacked the proper methods, you would merely waste this heavenly treasure."

"It's fine, it's fine, I'll just try..." Jun Moxie eagerly interjected. "And I don't need too many. Just give me a hundred or so, and I'll be satisfied..."

"A hundred?" Qiao Ying’s lovely eyes widened. "The entire Heavenly Sacred Palace has only accumulated fifty or sixty seeds over several millennia, and you dare ask for a hundred in one breath! You truly have the nerve!"

"Then I'll take fifty," Jun Moxie said with a refreshingly innocent expression. "After all, you already have so many mature ones..."

"No!" Qiao Ying firmly refused after lengthy consideration. "At most... five seeds! This exceeds my absolute limit." "Big Sister... you truly are asking the sky price for something sold on the ground! Five seeds? How can you even suggest it!" Jun Moxie exclaimed. "Didn't Wushan Yun just say that whatever I asked for, as long as it wasn't a mature Exquisite Lotus, you would open the doors wide for me? You can't be this stingy!"

"Eight seeds! Too few! At least forty!" "Jun Moxie, you are being completely unreasonable! Ten seeds—no more than that!"

"Thirty! This is my final offer. Anything less makes this entire trip feel meaningless, and Wushan Yun's assurances hold no weight... After I pointed the way for you and helped you so greatly, you begrudge me even this meager offering? How could you? How could you bear it?"

After a fierce bout of bargaining, Qiao Ying could not withstand Young Master Jun's silver tongue. They finally settled on twenty seeds. Jun Moxie let out a breath of relief. His best initial hope was to secure perhaps a dozen; managing to obtain twenty was an unexpected bonus...

Qiao Ying made a distressed face, feeling her mind swimming in confusion. How had she been pushed back repeatedly, suffering such a complete rout... to actually agree to twenty seeds? Was that even something she had said? She didn't realize that firstly, despite her age, she had little experience with the secular world, her social skills being pitifully scarce. Secondly, Jun Moxie’s skill with words was unparalleled; if someone claimed to be second best in the world, no one else would dare claim the top spot. Most importantly, the third factor: during the negotiation, Young Master Jun had subtly employed his Mind-Bewitching Power.

To prevent Qiao Ying from noticing, Jun Moxie had only influenced her lightly. But the argument was already heated, so even with Qiao Ying's caution, she noticed nothing, allowing the cunning man to easily achieve his goal...

Now, the wretch felt smugly self-satisfied: Indeed, big chests mean small brains. I bet this girl’s chest isn't small! It looks like one hand wouldn't cover it; it would take at least two to grasp it. Exactly how much graspable area there is, I'll need to measure personally to be sure...

In his excitement at achieving his goal, Young Master Jun almost stepped forward to actually "measure" Qiao Ying's chest with both hands. Luckily, he refrained. If he had actually done it, the beautiful Miss Qiao would surely have broken the agreement on the spot and beaten the rogue soundly...

Since the terms were set, the next step was the transfer.

Qiao Ying returned to her chambers and retrieved twenty seeds for Jun Moxie, but she hesitated deeply over how to transplant the mature Exquisite Lotus: "Jun Moxie, how are you going to take this away?"

"Dig it out for me, and I'll have a way to carry it," Jun Moxie replied without lifting his head or opening his eyes.

Qiao Ying was choked with anger, thinking this fellow was already tearing down the bridge after crossing it. The bridge hadn't even been crossed yet, and he was already impatient to demolish it...

Annoyed, she considered just yanking it out and throwing it over. But she couldn't bring herself to do it. Not only was she incapable of such an act, but she had tended this Exquisite Lotus for so many years; she had developed deep affection for it. If the Lotus withered because of her actions... Qiao Ying would never forgive herself...

After much deliberation, she carefully dug out one stalk, complete with a large piece of milky white jade, placed it into a small Spirit Jade box, filled it with spiritualized water, and solemnly presented it to Jun Moxie...