Xiao Mo's words struck the hearts of the three people from the royal merchant caravan like a thunderclap.
Although they knew that this lord must have said this deliberately, that Wade was just showing them who was boss, they dared not argue and could only listen.
After all, they were on his territory now, and a single misstep could mean the annihilation of their entire expedition.
"Great Lord, the royal merchant caravan only wishes to quickly traverse the Endless Abyss and proceed to another region to conduct business. We did not intend to trespass into your territory. We implore your lordship to understand!"
Luo Xiang was well-versed in the ways of the world. He immediately lowered his status as much as possible, while simultaneously demonstrating his utmost sincerity.
"My Lord, to compensate for the inconvenience caused by our accidental intrusion, the royal merchant caravan is willing to offer twenty thousand gold coins as recompense!"
Twenty thousand gold coins were but a drop in the ocean for the Royal Merchant Guild.
However, at this moment, it was precisely the right thing to offer.
By presenting this sum to the lord before them, if he accepted it, it would signify that the lord would no longer pursue the matter of their trespass.
Furthermore, the royal merchant caravan would be able to pass smoothly through the Endless Abyss region and complete their mission.
However, this was also Luo Xiang's first time encountering such a situation, and this solution was merely a hastily conceived one.
In the past, they had encountered similar interceptions, and the handling of those situations was simple.
Regardless of who you were, they would simply engage in battle. The outcome was secondary.
If they could win, they would fight. If they couldn't, they would flee quickly. If both sides were evenly matched, they would shake hands and go their separate ways.
Never before had they encountered a situation like this.
They couldn't win, they couldn't escape. Before their own men could even react, they were all knocked unconscious and found themselves confined in a dry, foul-smelling ditch.
Faced with such a predicament, what else could they do?
They had to concede!
No matter the cost, as long as their ultimate objective could be achieved, it was sufficient.
Therefore, at present, they could only obediently pay the protection fee.
However, Xiao Mo naturally disdained mere gold coins; they held no utility for him at this moment.
He even considered offering the gold coins from his warehouse to exchange for something with this royal merchant caravan.
Though he thought this, his expression remained unreadable. He continued to ask, with a hint of bewilderment, "To which region were you intending to conduct business by traversing the Endless Abyss area?"
Luo Xiang replied respectfully, "Reporting to my Lord, we are preparing to head to the Dark Forest region to conduct some business with the vampires there!"
Upon hearing Luo Xiang's words, Xiao Mo's expression faltered slightly. So the Dark Forest region, where Jin Xuan resided, was adjacent to the Endless Abyss region.
They were practically neighbors!
Following this, Xiao Mo collected himself and continued to ask in a deep voice, "What regions surround the Endless Abyss?"
"Reporting to my Lord, to the north of the Endless Abyss is..."
Luo Xiang answered in great detail, pouring out almost everything he knew.
After all, these matters were not secrets; most major local powers were aware of them.
Only those territorial forces that had descended from another world not long ago, and lacked the spiritual energy map of the entire continent, could not explain these matters so clearly.
Basically, current lords and lone travelers only knew where their own small patch of land was and had little to no understanding of their surroundings.
Through Luo Xiang's description, a rough outline began to form in Xiao Mo's mind.
He also discovered that the Holy Emperor Empire was not far from the Endless Abyss region, separated only by an ocean.
However, traversing this mysterious sea was no easy feat. Even a powerful force like the Holy Emperor Empire's merchant caravans took a full four days and four nights to drift across the sea.
Having clarified these matters, Xiao Mo asked his final question, "What kind of business do you conduct with the vampires of the Dark Forest?"
Luo Xiang hesitated slightly at this question, then with a flip of his palm, a blood-red fruit appeared.
"This item is called the Blood Moon Fruit. Although its name sounds somewhat sinister, it is a sacred fruit that prolongs life and enhances strength! Unfortunately, this fruit only grows in the Dark Forest and the Dream Blood Sea."
"The Dream Blood Sea is too far from the Holy Emperor Empire, so to procure it, we can only travel to the Dark Forest and engage in a few transactions with the vampires!"
The value of such a magical fruit that could prolong life and enhance strength, as well as the number of potential buyers, could be imagined.
It was precisely for this reason that their caravan would travel thousands of miles, cross vast oceans, and traverse the Endless Abyss to seek out the vampires in the Dark Forest for business.
However, this business was worthwhile. As long as they could obtain the Blood Moon Fruit, they would profit immensely.
Although this item was valuable, it was of little use to Immortal Demon Small City or any of the lords.
After all, lords were pursuing the path of immortality, and their strength improvement relied on acquiring spiritual energy points.
Thinking of this, Xiao Mo's interest in the fruit in Luo Xiang's hand completely waned.
Subsequently, Xiao Mo recalled the inventory in his warehouse.
"How about this! I will help you with the Blood Moon Fruit matter. How about we do some business?"
Xiao Mo cleared his throat and continued, "I have tens of thousands of various gemstones, as well as a large quantity of gold coins, silver coins, gold and silver artifacts, jade ware, and so on. Would you be interested? They might be very ancient!"
"This..."
Luo Xiang immediately slapped his own face. He thought he had misheard.
How could a lord who had descended into this world for only a little over ten days possess so many items from human empires?
It couldn't possibly be that he had destroyed a human nation and acquired the spoils of war, could it?
However, he had to admit that if this business could be concluded, even without procuring the Blood Moon Fruit, it would be enough to make a huge profit upon their return to the empire.
"Then, may I ask what my lord desires in exchange?"
Luo Xiang had observed earlier that this lord was indifferent to gold coins, and he even intended to sell off all the currency such as gold and silver coins.
"I only want Immortal Demon Stones, Soul Crystals, Spirit Stones, timber, stone, and iron essence!"
As soon as Xiao Mo's answer came out, Luo Xiang was stunned.
Immortal Demon Stones, Soul Crystals, and Spirit Stones were known to everyone, as they were the hard currency for cultivators and extremely important resources.
But what about the latter three?
However, Luo Xiang did not ask further, fearing that too many questions might lead to unforeseen circumstances.
He then said with some excitement, "My Lord, may I inspect the goods?"
"Certainly!"
With a thought from Xiao Mo, the tables and chairs in the reception hall vanished.
Immediately, dozens of chests appeared abruptly in the hall.
Luo Xiang held his breath and stepped forward, opening each chest one by one. By the last one, the burly man had broken into a wide smile.
He knew that once these goods were brought back to the Holy Emperor Empire, the Royal Merchant Guild would undoubtedly make a massive profit, even without the Blood Moon Fruit, they could successfully dethrone the Ten Thousand Mile Merchant Guild.
Most importantly, the last few boxes contained auction items that the Ten Thousand Mile Merchant Guild had lost not long ago. Each item was priceless.
Now, for the Royal Merchant Guild to acquire them meant that this matter alone would be enough to cripple the Ten Thousand Mile Merchant Guild from that point onward.