Villain Seduces to Rise in Status

Cale contemplated the quest reward.

’A new flame? Hehe, good. I don’t know if I will get it through system rewards or through that place itself. It could be that the system will only give me the capability to use it and the real flame will be there. It’s happened once before,’ he thought, ’So maybe it’s that the system can’t give out flames freely, or maybe not all flames.’

The name itself was intriguing: Nine Nether Frostflame.

’A frostflame? Meaning it’s a fire which uses cold energy. And with my water attribute, I could get even better results. To add to that, my body is a yin body, so any type of cold and ice elemental skills and techniques would be easily accumulated and beneficial for me.’

A slight smile crossed his face.

’Though I have a yang body too, heh... what kind of creature am I becoming?’

Sesrir took another sip of wine, his expression becoming more serious.

”You should know, one of the reasons I’m picking you is because I don’t want to meddle with older alchemists. If they got wind of these maps, they will seriously skin me alive to get them. So a young person like you with normal cultivation is better.”

Cale looked at him and nodded. He had expected this much anyways.

”So, how do we split the rewards? I will tell you — I am not interested in any weapons or spiritual stones, even gold and whatnot. I want techniques, or any ability left behind there.”

Sesrir visibly relaxed at this revelation.

”Haha, don’t worry then. As you know I’m a treasure hunter, I have my own skill set which is mostly based on speed, agility, and versatility. So I doubt I would find any good techniques there. If there are more than two, give me the weaker one. If only two, you can take those. It’s only a small expedition, not a harder one.”

’Oh, you don’t know how big the treasures there will be. If the others knew that it was left by the Sea Serpent King who was Divine Stage at his prime, they would literally kill you and me without a thought,’ Cale thought with dark amusement.

”So, what pills do you need?” Cale asked. ”I can guess it’s related to this expedition only.”

”Good, you guessed it,” Sesrir confirmed. ”There will be many problems like poisonous gases and poisonous sea beasts, along with underwater exploring. This is why nobody was taking this request from the guild. Although it’s easy, no one wanted to spend money on so many poison repellents. But luckily you can help save me money. Hell, you’re even paying me a huge amount.”

Understanding the business proposition, Cale nodded.

”Alright, that’s good. Just give me a list of pills I should make, and I’ll have them ready. As per our agreement, I will make two batches extra for free and give them to you.”

Cale had to admit he was pleasantly surprised. It was rare to encounter an Emperor Stage cultivator without excessive arrogance. This man was an adventurer, not a fighter — a treasure hunter rather than a warrior. Such individuals tended to have more practical, less ego-driven perspectives. Normally, an arrogant Emperor would claim eighty to ninety percent of the rewards, leaving scraps for a Master Stage cultivator.

But Sesrir was acting slightly fidgety now, his fingers fiddling nervously with his wine glass.

’Does he have another request?’ Cale wondered.

”What is it?”

Sesrir sighed heavily, his expression becoming vulnerable in a way that contrasted sharply with his confident adventurer demeanor.

”Sigh... it’s just that, if in the future you’re able to create a Flesh Rejuvenation Pill or elixir, please let me buy it.”

Cale’s eyes narrowed.

’A Flesh Rejuvenation Pill? Isn’t that a tier 7 pill? One that can heal any and all types of flesh injuries... does he have one, he needs for? He doesn’t look like someone buying this for resale.’

”Who are you using such a divine pill for?”

Any pill at tier 7 and above was considered divine-tier — the creation difficulty skyrocketed exponentially after tier 6. Success rates dropped below ten percent and kept decreasing with each tier. A tier 10 pill had a success rate of literally 0.4 percent.

Sesrir gave a light, cold laugh that revealed genuine pain beneath the surface.

”You see, I love this girl... We’ve both liked each other for the past eight years now, even wanting to marry. She is beautiful in every way to me... but her entire body has scars due to being an adventurer. She even got half her body poisoned in one of the expeditions with me. Sigh, her body now has warts and scratches with many blue spots on it.”

His voice carried profound sadness.

”From a noble family perspective, my family can still accept a commoner as my wife. But with those looks, they won’t. And they’re not even ready to buy such an elixir which costs hundreds of thousands. I’ve tried many auction houses and merchants, but no results... so I hope, one day in the future, you can help me.”

Cale stared at him blankly for a few moments, then smiled.

’Love? Love, he says. Heh. Although I’m in no place to say it, but he should just leave such a family. If she’s not on death’s door, then why does it matter how she looks? My previous life’s sect master was a literal demonfolk... but oh well, he’s sincere at least.’

”Alright, I will give it to you,” Cale said smiling. ”Don’t worry, it won’t take long. At most a year or two.”

Sesrir’s expression brightened significantly, genuine hope filling his eyes for the first time in the conversation.

”Thanks, you’re a lifesaver! I’ve begged here and there for the past few years, but these people... sigh.”

A week later, Cale and Sesrir arrived at Norksyre aboard a flying merchant vessel.

The coastal kingdom was massive — more than forty percent of the continent’s cultivation families maintained estates and operations here. As Cale looked up from the ground, he could see an impressive array of flying artifacts: merchant ships, military vessels, and even spiritual beasts resembling the whale Liushen used, ones that powerful cultivators could ride.

’Sigh, can my Four-Winged Frost All-Devouring Centipede even fly... right, it’s just a centipede.’

Sesrir gestured enthusiastically at the cluster of vessels in the sky.

”It’s your first time, right? Those are called Star Sea Ships, with capacity of 500 each. Isn’t it a great item?”

’It’s damn crude. The ones I used to ride in were ten times this size — like real spaceships. Our entire battalion used to ride on those.’

But he kept his expression appropriately impressed for a supposed Master Stage cultivator.

”Let’s go do some shopping before we leave,” Cale suggested. ”It is indeed my first time here.”

”Haha, true, you’re like a country bumpkin here. Take a look,” Sesrir laughed, gesturing around at the bustling marketplace and towering structures of the coastal city.

As Cale observed the cluster of ships overhead, a darker thought crossed his mind.

’Hmm... one day we’ll be attacked by these.’