Chapter 618: No Room for Negotiation

“The affairs of Liang Country should ultimately be resolved by the people of Liang Country… As I’ve said, this matter is of the utmost importance. I will not permit any more accidents to occur.”

Bai Zichen restated his demand in a tone that brooked no refusal.

“Tomorrow, I will ascend Qii Mountain. The Celestial Principle Sect need only observe from the sidelines. If I am defeated, you may continue your assault at your own pace. If I slay Qu Yang, you will be credited with great merit for the Holy Lotus Sect’s destruction, and you may take half the spoils from their treasury. The Qii Mountain Spirit Vein and jurisdiction over the Central Province, however, will belong to the Qingfeng Sect.”

“You’ve gone too far!”

Shi Chengdong’s fury was uncontrollable. No longer suppressing the rage in his heart, he glared at Bai Zichen.

“For the past hundred years, my Sect has poured blood, sweat, and tears into taking down the Holy Lotus Sect! We’ve lost countless disciples and invested an incalculable amount of resources. And now, with a few casual words, True Monarch Bai wants to take the two most valuable prizes for himself and split the third in half. Don’t you think that’s going a bit too far?”

“As I said, Liang Country belongs to the people of Liang Country… Only native cultivators will consider the interests of low-level cultivators and the common masses. The Celestial Principle Sect has waged endless war for a century. Have you ever shown any concern for the livelihoods of the hundreds of millions of mortals? Even if you take Qii Mountain, your Mountain Gate is already under construction on another Tier Four Spirit Vein. Which will be your priority? Can you really split your focus and develop both places at once?”

Bai Zichen paid the fuming Shi Chengdong no mind, speaking as if to himself.

“Qii Mountain belongs to the cultivators of Liang Country. It belongs to the Qingfeng Sect. That point is non-negotiable.”

Publicly, he needed to end the war between the two Sects quickly, mobilize the Qingfeng Sect’s cultivators, rescue refugees, and mend the Earth Veins.

For his Sect, bringing the Central Province into their territory would multiply the Qingfeng Sect’s potential severalfold.

What Nascent Soul Major Sect didn’t have an entire province to support it, with a population of hundreds of millions as its foundation?

Even a Sect like the Cyan Lotus Sword Sect, which followed an extreme elitist path, had more than ten Vassal Sects and a hundred branch Sword Temples, with their recruitment pool spanning the entire Central Domain.

On paper, the Qingfeng Sect only held territory in two commanderies, but the Black Mountain Range was as vast as several commanderies put together. After eliminating the Tier Four Great Demons and continuously developing the area, its value had already surpassed that of many provinces and commanderies.

Aside from a continued scarcity of Spirit Stone Ore Veins, its other resources could no longer be described as meager.

In its heyday, every commandery in the Central Province had a population exceeding one hundred million. Crucially, it was dotted with countless Cultivation Families.

They weren’t necessarily powerful, but they lacked neither basic Spirit Testing Magical Artifacts nor introductory Cultivation Techniques. Any time a mortal relative came of age, they would be tested.

Basically, no hidden gems were overlooked; talented individuals were certain to be discovered.

This created a virtuous cycle. The proportion of cultivator descendants grew ever higher, leading to a percentage of offspring born with Spiritual Roots that far surpassed the other provinces.

Many with a Five Spiritual Roots aptitude needed seven or eight months just to guide qi into their bodies while practicing a basic Cultivation Technique.

They might practice Cultivation their entire lives and never break through to the Mid-Stage of Qi Refining.

Therefore, practicing the first one or two levels of a basic Cultivation Technique to strengthen their bodies and boost their stamina was sufficient for them.

Once they grew up, they would abandon the path of Cultivation and simply make their way in the mortal world.

But by leveraging their status from an Immortal Family and a few minor Magic spells to impress people, they all managed to do quite well, at least becoming wealthy landowners.

As long as it could digest and absorb the Central Province, the Qingfeng Sect would enter another period of rapid growth, once again transforming the Sect’s entire landscape.

Finally, there were his personal reasons. The Cave Profound Godslaying Sword Scripture had extremely high demands for Spiritual Qi, to the point that even Flame Mountain was becoming inadequate for his practice.

Furthermore, Ge Cang was also there. If two Nascent Soul True Monarchs were on the same mountain, they would be afraid to absorb nature’s spiritual energy without restraint for fear of interfering with each other.

The Cave Profound Godslaying Sword Scripture was especially tyrannical. When it refined nature’s spiritual energy, it was utterly indiscriminate, even going so far as to forcefully commandeer it.

Then there was the Cyan Dragon Spirit Rice, which would determine how long it would take him to cultivate to Nascent Soul Perfection.

In this era of great conflict, chaos was already stirring. In the past, a Nascent Soul True Monarch could claim to stand at the apex of the Cultivation Realm.

But now, Great True Monarchs were appearing frequently, and even Divinity Transformation Great Powers had been known to take action.

Without Divinity Transformation Battle Power, who could say with any certainty that they would survive what was to come?

Moreover, for a prominent figure like Bai Zichen, the Demon Race might let other Human Race Nascent Souls slip by, but they would never forget him.

The sooner he could advance to the Late-Stage Nascent Soul realm, the sooner he would have the power to contend with the Divinity Transformation Elder Dragon.

It was no exaggeration to say that every second counted.

The matter of Qii Mountain’s ownership was seemingly a fight for benefits, but it was also a conflict of ideals, a struggle for survival, and a battle over the Great Dao itself.

Bai Zichen could not let this go. He dared not let it go.

‘Is he really not afraid of me mobilizing the Floating Battleships, setting up an Array, and trapping him here?’

The thought took root in Shi Chengdong’s mind and, like a weed, quickly sprouted and grew until it could no longer be dislodged.

‘Three Floating Battleships in formation, fighting together, would be no weaker than a Nascent Soul True Monarch.’

‘On top of that, I have the Sect’s great treasure ready to be activated at a moment’s notice and the terrifyingly lethal Secret Treasure I prepared for Qu Yang. It’s safe to say I’m at my personal peak of power right now.’

He hesitated again and again, but still couldn’t bring himself to make the decision to attack.

‘If the rumors from the Central Domain are true, and Bai Zichen has already reached the Great True Monarch Level, then for me to attack first would be suicide.’

“If True Monarch Bai joins us, we can share thirty percent of the Holy Lotus Sect’s Secret Vault…”

Shi Chengdong backed down again. Aside from his uncertainty regarding Bai Zichen’s strength, he truly did need help dealing with Qu Yang.

Qu Yang’s entire Cultivation stemmed from a Ten Thousand Years Snow Lotus, making his abilities mysterious, treacherous, and impossible to guard against.

In their several clashes, whether they were just probing attacks or all-out assaults, it had always been impossible to determine a clear winner.

It always made him suspect his opponent was holding back, that his true strength was far greater than what he showed.

This suspicion wasn’t based on any concrete evidence, just the Spiritual Sense of a battle-hardened Nascent Soul True Monarch telling him, out of caution, to bring in reinforcements.

With three skilled Nascent Soul True Monarchs facing Qu Yang together, victory should be foolproof.

“I don’t want to haggle over this. You know full well that the Celestial Principle Sect lacks the ability to govern two territories separated by such a vast distance. The Central Province is of no value to you. We’ll split the Holy Lotus Sect’s Secret Vault fifty-fifty. In addition, I will permit the Celestial Principle Sect to recruit disciples within the Central Province’s borders once every ten years, and the Qingfeng Sect will not interfere.”

Bai Zichen’s fingers gently brushed across the Ziwei Dazzling Thunder Sword, which had hummed moments before. The sword’s cry grew high-pitched and urgent.

“This is my final offer. If you refuse, Fellow Daoist, you will gain another enemy besides the Holy Lotus Sect.”

“My Sect need only break the Qii Mountain Grand Array and deal with the stragglers, and you will handle Qu Yang alone, without any assistance from us?”

The same feeling of powerlessness from two hundred years ago, when the Five Phoenix Sword Sect seized his Sect’s Mountain Gate and Spirit Vein, washed over him once more. Shi Chengdong clenched his fists tightly.

The Kurong Sword Monarch, who had once dazzled the Central Domain before vanishing shortly after the Celestial Principle Sect relocated to the Northern Domain, had worn a similar expression and displayed a similar attitude that day.

With a mere flick of his fingers, the Kurong Sword Monarch had sent out several beams of Sword Light that formed a cage, trapping Shi Chengdong for hours, yet leaving him completely unharmed.

The display had shown him the vast gap in power between himself and the Five Phoenix Sword Sect, extinguishing any thought of resistance and forcing him to obediently surrender the Spirit Vein.

Facing Bai Zichen was even more daunting. The man hadn’t even attacked, yet his perpetually calm expression, his relentlessly pressing words, and his refusal of any compromise left Shi Chengdong in an impossible position.

He wanted to turn hostile, but his Spiritual Sense told him that even with the help of his Sect Disciples, he would be no match for this man.

“I don’t go back on my word… I’d like to think my promise still holds some value.”

‘If I can’t even deal with Qu Yang, the Celestial Principle Sect won’t honor this agreement anyway. They’ll certainly get other ideas,’ Bai Zichen thought.

After all this fighting, there was a limit to what spoils could possibly be left in the Holy Lotus Sect.

The true prize was Qii Mountain itself, a large-scale Tier Four Spirit Vein. Even if its production had ceased, most of its resources could recover after a period of rest.

Furthermore, rumors had always persisted that the Holy Lotus Sect possessed a Medicine Garden Secret Realm. If true, that would be wonderful news for the Qingfeng Sect’s Pill Hall.

As for allowing the Celestial Principle Sect to recruit disciples in the Central Domain, if a local Sect couldn’t be more appealing than a foreign one on its own turf, that would be a true failure indeed.

The Celestial Principle Sect could only recruit once a decade, whereas the Qingfeng Sect could select Immortal Seedlings at any time.

The truly outstanding disciples would have already been chosen, leaving the Celestial Principle Sect with those who had been passed over several times. The impact would be negligible.