481 - A Sect Leader’s Ascension

Chapter 481: The Second Negotiation As soon as the civil war in Baishan began, Chai Yi learned about the massive support materials provided by the Chu-Qin Alliance to the Dan Alliance. He was also aware of Yan Nanxing's marital ties with the Chu-Qin Alliance. However, he did not know the specific smuggling routes. Therefore, the Dan Alliance set up over ten interception points along the line of the Nine Stars Guild’s territories, each guarded by dedicated personnel. Naturally, these efforts proved to be ineffective. Yan Nanxing had numerous ways to bypass this loose interception line. By the later stages, nearly every guild of the Nine Stars was involved, each being a late-stage Golden Core sect. The intensity of battles on the peak of Baishan was unknown, and with Chai Guan and Chai Ping not coming down, Chai Yi, wary of causing a bigger problem, couldn't intervene further. The principle of defending the sects was that the higher the grade, the better. The consequence was leaving behind a dozen or so well-fortified spiritual lands. As soon as the Lingmu Alliance withdrew, the Chu-Qin Alliance stepped in to evict the Dan Alliance cultivators from these mountain gates simultaneously. It was surprising that Lingmu and Chu-Qin, once blood enemies, were cooperating so seamlessly. "Chai Yi! Qi Xiu! What a cunning pair of scoundrels!" Han Yanlao, organizing his forces at the Danqing Mountain hall and waiting for Chu-Qin to arrive, was enraged upon receiving the news, shattering the teacup in his hand. "I'll take some people and reclaim the mountain gates!" Ying Bo stood up boldly, beckoned to the two Golden Core cultivators beside him with a gesture, and the three of them stormed out without another word. "Reckless!" Han Yanlao scolded, "If you three go and get carried away with the killing, how am I supposed to clean up the mess if things escalate!?" Ying Bo turned back with a cold laugh, "If we kill them all, there'll be nothing left to clean up." "Childish!" Han Yanlao rebuked, "Didn't I tell you? Qi Xiu has powerful backing; we can't really go all-out. I just wanted to start with a high price to force him into compliance and settle the debt." "Submit? He's the one attacking you now, my dear Sect Master!" Ying Bo clapped his hands, "It's not me being childish, it's you being too soft! This is no longer about negotiation; if you back down now, who the hell will respect you in the future?" "Watch your tone with the Sect Master!" One of the Golden Core cultivators immediately stood up and shouted angrily. "What do you plan to do?!" The two following Ying Bo were equally unflinching, and the two sides glared at each other, ready to clash right in the hall. "Sigh!" Han Yanlao could only sigh heavily, but behind the hand covering his eyes, a flash of sharpness appeared. "The acting sect master Zhong Xing of the Hehuan Sect is here!" Fortunately, a loud announcement from the disciple watching the gate interrupted the standoff, "Oh, I heard your arguing from a distance." Before Han Yanlao could welcome him, Zhong Xingchun's voice was heard first. "Family squabble, I'm afraid you've been amused." Han Yanlao immediately greeted him with a smile. "You must understand, the Lingmu Alliance returned your land by exchanging it with territory from the Lihuo Alliance. The pressure on my side is immense." Dressed flamboyantly, Zhong Xingchun walked gracefully into the hall, headed straight for the main seat where Han Yanlao had just risen, and pointed out the door with a languid gesture, "In battle, if you can't draw the main force of Lingmu and Lihuo away, causing my northern advance to falter, I'll let it pass since you claim you lack the strength. But failing at even dodging debt collection, being beaten by the small Chu-Qin Alliance—how embarrassing. How can I continue to support you if you're so utterly incompetent?" Retracting his orchid fingers, Zhong Xingchun adjusted his pose to a more refined one, causing Ying Bo and the others to stop their bickering, each returning to their seats, eyes fixed on their tea cups, not daring to look up. Both sides were late-stage Golden Core cultivators from sects at the Nascent Soul level, yet somehow their standing had become as different as heaven and earth. Despite being reprimanded, Han Yanlao had to keep smiling, knowing he still needed the other party's help, "I wasn't dodging debt; it's just that the terms were slightly unsettled, and his Qi Xiu, backed by the Chu family, got too arrogant. I indeed lack foresight, hence I've invited you to mediate, so I can settle things with Qi Xiu." "Exactly, you need to stabilize his side. Don't let small gains allow Chai Yi to sow discord. If another conflict arises, with him in the north and us in the south, the Five Elements Alliance will have quite a situation on their hands. We from Baishan should not allow an outsider like the Chu-Qin Alliance to reap the benefits of our internal disputes. From now on, figure out how to ensure he's on our side next time." Zhong Xingchun rambled on while leading the way out, "Let's get this settled quickly to avoid complications." Han Yanlao signaled to Ying Bo and the others, and they gathered their forces, following Zhong Xingchun onto a Hehuan Sect sky skiff, swiftly arriving at a mountain gate held by the Chu-Qin Alliance. "What is happening?" Ying Bo glanced ahead to see a dozen Silverback Haulers surrounding the sole Yimu Storm Shuttle of the Chu-Qin Alliance. Their disciples were offloading creatures, somewhere between a large shrimp and a hunchbacked old man, from the shuttle, moving some to the rear mountains and others onto the haulers. "Qi Xiu, you despicable dog! Engaging in such heinous acts that ruin spiritual veins! Not content with ruining your own lands in Chu-Qin, now you come to ruin ours! I swear, if you so much as disturb an inch of this land, the Dan Alliance will never stop hunting your Chu-Qin!" The shrimp-backed creatures, used for mining, weren’t familiar to Ying Bo, but Han Yanlao, in charge of supplies, recognized them. If the spiritual veins of these mountain gates were destroyed, the Dan Alliance would be left with nothing, even if reclaimed. Furious, he nearly lost his composure, shouting curses from the skiff, echoed by his disciples. "Heh! Brother Han, why get so angry?" Amidst the endless string of insults, Qi Xiu appeared with a sly grin, hovering in the air, facing them from a distance, "My Chu-Qin exerted tremendous effort supporting your mountain defense for over ten years, only to be met with betrayal and deceit. Alright, you don't pay up, I'll come and collect myself. I can excavate these mountain gates for a dozen or so years, and that should settle the debt. Not even accounting for our labor costs." "Wait, we can..." Han Yanlao was about to propose renewed discussions, "What's with the chatter? Watch me kill this villain!" Ying Bo suddenly roared, launching into the sky, spitting out an antiquated bronze halberd. His back bore the same halberd's image, unveiling both his treasure and innate talent. The tip of the halberd concentrated a piercing sharpness that injured the eyes of those at lower cultivation levels. The halberd, held level to Ying Bo's shoulder, hadn't even hurled at Qi Xiu when the atmospheric spiritual energy was swept clean, thunder and lightning tearing across the sky. This late-stage Golden Core cultivator's life-bound treasure was no joke. Qi Xiu was nearly overwhelmed by a soul-piercing dread but quickly shook it off with a self-awareness technique, choosing to avoid further conflict by swiftly retreating into the protective formation. "Hahaha, what a cowardly rat!" Ying Bo stood triumphantly in the sky, while the Dan Alliance's crowd joined in the laughter. As they reveled in smugness, "Pathetic..." Zhong Xingchun sneered behind him, "This stunt does nothing but offend him further. What's the point?" Ignoring Ying Bo's glaring eyes, he instructed one of his sect's disciples to set up an ornate tent on the skiff's deck, the same one he used during negotiations with Chai Yi not long ago. "Great Leader Qi, grant me the honor to have a word." His 'unique' voice rang through the expanses, making Qi Xiu grimace in the formation. Yet, whatever the case, Zhong Xingchun's face couldn't be disregarded. He and Chai Yi were effectively Baishan's two great leaders now, holding the life or death of countless sects in their hands. "Defend the portal, Jianxin, Yanran, come with me." Qi Xiu glanced over his disciples, then enveloped Mo Jianxin and Nangong Yanran before flying out to meet Zhong Xingchun. "Cowardly..." Ying Bo still wanted to humiliate them directly, "Shut up!" Zhong Xingchun suddenly dropped his usual pretentious tone, spitting out words laced with tangible killing intent, the icy feeling circling Ying Bo’s throat, dissipating only when he obediently closed his mouth. "Please, come in." Han Yanlao, rare to see Ying Bo humbled, found it amusing, yet knowing this second negotiation between him and Qi Xiu was the main event, with Zhong Xingchun merely facilitating, led Ying Bo and others into the tent where they sat on one side, facing Qi Xiu’s trio as they entered, with Zhong Xingchun taking the central seat. "Discuss between yourselves as if I'm not here, hehe." Zhong Xingchun lightly laughed, before closing his eyes, meditating as if absent. "Heh, I have several shrimp-backed creatures to oversee. Would you care to decide quickly, Sect Master Han?" Qi Xiu opened with a challenge. "Humph, don't revel in your success for long. Push my back against the wall, and you'll suffer the consequences!" Han Yanlao growled through clenched teeth, taking out a scroll and tossing it over, "Sign it!" Qi Xiu glanced at the document and realized that the Dan Alliance had already drafted a repayment plan. However, the terms were far from what the Chu-Qin Alliance expected. He casually passed it to Nangong Yanran, who, after reading just a few lines, protested indignantly, "And just like that, you write off the 300,000 spirit stones' interest?" "What do you mean by bartering goods? The value of wartime supplies then and now are worlds apart!" "And what about the inaccuracies listed here? You didn't mention anything wrong when you bought them, and now that everything's used up, you claim we sold counterfeit goods?!" "By your calculations, it’s more than a rough 50% markdown. Is there anything more shameless?" She fired her questions one after another, but Han Yanlao was prepared. "At that time, my sect was under fatal siege by Lingmu and had no choice but to accept your extortionate terms. Do you really think you're savvy businesspeople?" "There's no point in such terms, Senior Han. Why put relations on the line like this? Remember, without us, where would the Dan Alliance be today?" interjected Mo Jianxin, taking a softer stance to quell the heated atmosphere, stopping Nangong Yanran from launching another argument. "Then you should set some terms," replied Han Yanlao, hinting that there might be room for further negotiation, slightly easing the tension between both parties. Mo Jianxin looked to Qi Xiu, knowing the ultimate decision rested within his head. "Ahem, debts must be repaid, and there’s a ledger listing every piece your sect agreed to. Altering any part violates the contract," Qi Xiu stated sternly. "Not a single stone less! Furthermore, your Han Ping conspired to incite rebellion among my Chu-Qin disciples. He must be handed over for us to deal with." "You!" Furious, Han Yanlao nearly stumbled back, exclaiming, "What's the point of talking then!" He turned to Zhong Xingchun, "Master Zhong, he’s pushing us too far. There's no room for negotiation!" (to be continued)