Chapter 678 - 663: Making the Artifact Origin Sect Submit Wholeheartedly

When Shen Lang told Yin Shanhan to hand over all his Spirit Stones...

Yin Shanhan and the three Artifact Origin Sect King Martial Realm powerhouses behind him were all stunned.

Even though the Artifact Origin Sect had already submitted to Shen Lang, this sort of demand was still difficult to accept, still hard to comprehend!

Just like that, an awkward silence fell over the great hall.

Shen Lang wasn’t in a hurry, though. He was in a rather good mood.

Several things had happened in the past ten days to put him in such a pleasant state.

First, Zhuge Xian’Er could finally get up and walk again. She then used the ball of Life Energy Shen Lang had given her to open her Mystic Gate and ascend to King Martial Realm Third Heaven.

She also seemed to have earned Yin Shanhan’s favor. He had gone so far as to bring out a precious, 3,000-year-old Spirit Candle Fruit and a Creation Pill. He then personally set up a Spirit Gathering Array to give Zhuge Xian’Er his full support, allowing her to smoothly advance to King Martial Realm Third Heaven.

Second, the two Commanders of War Wolf, Evil Song and You Yue, had comprehended the Water Realm and Ice Realm, respectively. With Shen Lang’s help, they successfully broke through to the King Martial Realm on Cangxia Mountain three days ago, shocking everyone in the region.

Third, Yin Shanhan, who had previously been publicly reprimanded by Shen Lang and left in an awkward position, finally steeled his heart after some persuasion from Zhuge Xian’Er and submitted to Shen Lang.

As the most senior Emperor Martial Realm powerhouse in the Artifact Origin Sect, his submission represented the submission of the entire sect.

And with that, the powerful Artifact Refining Grand Artifact Origin Sect was now completely in Shen Lang’s grasp.

It wasn’t that Shen Lang tyrannically demanded that others submit to him, but if the Artifact Origin Sect didn’t submit, how could he possibly entrust them with refining something as terrifying as the Silent Extinction Divine Thunder?

Now that the Artifact Origin Sect had submitted, the matter of procuring a large quantity of materials to begin refining the Silent Extinction Divine Thunder was officially on the agenda.

Refining the Silent Extinction Divine Thunder, even a small amount, would cost a countless number of Spirit Stones.

According to Shen Lang’s calculations, a single Silent Extinction Divine Thunder would require nearly 200,000 Middle Grade Spirit Stones!

This was a figure that would leave many powerhouses dumbfounded...

And aside from refining the Silent Extinction Divine Thunder, the World Tree within Shen Lang’s Tai Chi Diagram also needed to absorb a massive amount of Spiritual Qi due to its ongoing Refinement of the Tribulation Thunder.

The fifteen mineral veins had only just begun to be developed, and the returns they could generate in the short term were far too small for Shen Lang’s current needs.

With the Artifact Origin Sect’s submission, the problem of acquiring the Spirit Stones he needed in the short term was finally solved.

The accumulated wealth of an Artifact Refining Grand Sect over so many years was not something other Spirit Copper Level Sects could even compare to.

So, Shen Lang had gone straight to Yin Shanhan...

Yin Shanhan took it relatively well, merely freezing for a moment, looking like he wanted to say something but couldn’t.

But the faces of the three King Martial Realm powerhouses from the Artifact Origin Sect who had come with him turned a furious shade of beet-red!

One of them, a King Martial Realm Fifth Heaven powerhouse, hesitated for a moment before saying gruffly, "Lord, while we have submitted to you, that submission is built on a foundation of mutual aid. Don’t you think asking us to hand over all of the Artifact Origin Sect’s Spirit Stones right off the bat is a bit excessive?"

The man’s words were diplomatic enough, but his meaning was simple...

’A great Artifact Refining Grand Sect has submitted to you. From now on, we’ll basically be at your beck and call, generating wealth for you. Do you really have to be in such a rush?’

’You kept saying you’d help the Artifact Origin Sect become a Legendary Sect, that you’d help our Artifact Refiners forge Celestial Artifacts... and now, not only are you not giving us a single benefit, you’re coming to us for money?’

’And from the sound of it, you want to take it all at once?’

’If we give it all to you, what are we supposed to live on? Air?’

’Are you really treating us like slaves?’

Seeing Shen Lang’s brow furrow slightly, Zhuge Xian’Er quickly interjected, "Senior, you’ve misunderstood Brother Shen’s intentions. Please, allow Xian’Er to say a word or two... if I may?"

Yin Shanhan shot a glare at the man who had just spoken, then smiled at Zhuge Xian’Er and gestured for her to continue.

Zhuge Xian’Er’s face lit up with a smile, but she didn’t speak aloud. Instead, she sent a Divine Thought transmission: "First, whether it’s War Wolf or Night Soul, after becoming forces under Brother Shen, they’ve all received endless benefits without him ever demanding anything in return. Brother Shen would never treat his subordinates as slaves or objects to be exploited. On this point, I can stake my honor."

"The most obvious example is the Profound Dao Sect and the other four of the Five Great Sects. Their Elder Ancestors are sitting right here. If you Seniors have any questions, you are free to ask them for clarification... for instance, has Brother Shen ever asked them for resources like Spirit Stones or Elixir Pills?"

"In fact, not only has Brother Shen not demanded resources from them, but he has actually provided them with many, such as powerful Cultivation Techniques, mineral veins, and so on."

Zhuge Xian’Er was using a Divine Thought transmission to spare the members of the Artifact Origin Sect some embarrassment.

But even without hearing the transmission, the Elder Ancestors from the other sects present could roughly guess what she was trying to say.

Dongfang Jian, ever observant, saw the smile play on Zhuge Xian’Er’s lips and seized the opportunity to jeer, "You old-timers are too stingy! Xiaolang is short on Spirit Stones right now, and the moment he asks you for a little, you start hemming and hawing. So ungrateful!"

"Let me tell you, we Five Great Sects haven’t really done much of anything for Xiaolang, to be honest. But not only did he impart Emperor Level Techniques to us, he even went for a little stroll and found fifteen massive mineral veins for us..."

"The benefits our sects have received from him are unimaginable, enough to last a lifetime!"

"Hmph, don’t be so ungrateful! If it weren’t for the fact that those fifteen mineral veins have only just started development and haven’t yielded much profit yet, do you think he’d be asking you for Spirit Stones?"

"To put it bluntly, if Xiaolang took out a few Cultivation Techniques or Spirit Array Maps and tossed them into an auction house, he’d have more Spirit Stones than he could ever use! Do you really think he’s short on Spirit Stones? I think you’re the ones who are short on brains!"

Dongfang Jian’s words were unfiltered, and his short speech left Yin Shanhan and the others drenched in a cold sweat.

Under any other circumstances, what right or courage would a mere King Martial Realm Early Stage Realm practitioner have to run his mouth in front of them?

But now, they couldn’t refute a single word Dongfang Jian had said.

On the contrary, they were scared half to death!

"Emperor... Emperor Level Techniques..." Yin Shanhan subconsciously wiped away a bead of sweat and swallowed hard.

Emperor Level Techniques—what did that even mean?

Those were the most powerful Cultivation Techniques of the Legendary Sects!

With enough time, it wasn’t impossible to build a Legendary Sect on the foundation of a single Emperor Level Technique!

It was a priceless treasure!

And he had just given one to a small sect like the Profound Dao Sect?

Besides, what did he mean by "finding fifteen mineral veins just by taking a stroll"?

Are mineral veins something you can just find by wandering around?

And fifteen of them at once?

Yin Shanhan and the others suddenly felt like their brains couldn’t keep up.

They were aware of the events of the past ten-odd days: Shen Lang’s breakthrough to the King Martial Realm, his great battle with Dugu Zhange, and so on.

These events proved Shen Lang’s own powerful Cultivation and his extraordinary talent.

But a Cultivation at the King Martial Realm level wasn’t necessarily enough to impress an Emperor Martial Realm expert like Yin Shanhan.

And back at the Profound Dao Sect, Shen Lang had defeated the people from the Artifact Origin Sect and seized the nine Spirit Pattern Pillars...

Then, Shen Lang had proclaimed that if they submitted to him, he would help the Artifact Origin Sect raise its overall strength, help them become a Legendary Sect, and enable their Artifact Refiners to forge Celestial Artifacts...

All this demonstrated Shen Lang’s power in the Artifact Refining Dao.

Yin Shanhan and the others’ understanding of Shen Lang had basically stopped there.

So, they were caught. On one hand, they didn’t dare defy the will of their Founding Ancestor. On the other hand, they were now aware of Shen Lang’s unimaginable skill in the Artifact Refining Dao. With other old-timers like Nangong Yan and Shark’s Kiss taking turns to persuade him, and with Zhuge Xian’Er’s gentle words providing a way out, Yin Shanhan had seized the opportunity to gracefully back down and agreed to submit.

And so, Yin Shanhan had thought he understood Shen Lang well enough.

But now, it seemed their knowledge of Shen Lang was merely the tip of the iceberg!

’No wonder... No wonder. I was thinking, how could the Founding Ancestor possibly hand over the entire Artifact Origin Sect just because he broke the nine Spirit Pattern Pillars? To casually give away Emperor Level Techniques... just what kind of person is he? The Founding Ancestor must have discovered something when he broke those pillars. Otherwise, he never would have made such a seemingly absurd decision!’

Yin Shanhan thought to himself as he wiped away his sweat.

At that moment, Zhuge Xian’Er’s Divine Thought transmission came again: "There are many things I can’t yet tell you Seniors. Even I have only seen the barest fraction of the power Brother Shen has displayed. Every so often, he still manages to surprise me."

"Take the two War Wolf Commanders who broke through to the King Martial Realm a few days ago, Evil Song and You Yue... Half a year ago, their Cultivation was only around Xuanwu Realm Sixth Heaven, and they only had three Elements Mansions. Six months later, they’ve reached the Great Perfection of ten Elements Mansions, comprehended the Water Realm and Ice Realm, and broken through to the King Martial Realm! Can you Seniors imagine anyone else in this world capable of such a feat?"

"Could the Five Directions Emperor do it? I doubt it."

Her words were Earth-Shattering!

"What?! He was the one who guided Evil Song and You Yue to the Great Perfection of ten Elements Mansions and their breakthrough to the King Martial Realm in just half a year? How is that possible!" The indescribable shock on Yin Shanhan’s face could no longer be concealed. He nearly shot right out of his seat.

And the three King Martial Realm powerhouses beside him were staring at Shen Lang as if he were a monster, utterly speechless.

Producing an Emperor Level Technique could be explained away. Perhaps Shen Lang had discovered some treasure, or maybe he had a powerful backer.

But guiding a Xuanwu Realm Sixth Heaven Martial Artist from three Elements Mansions to ten in half a year, and then helping them break through to the King Martial Realm... even a Divine Demon descending from the Upper Realm might not possess such an ability!

Besides, had anyone in the entire world ever heard of someone reaching the Great Perfection of ten Elements Mansions before?

The traditional definition of Great Perfection was eight Elements Mansions!

Seeing that she had said enough, Zhuge Xian’Er added one last thing: "With Brother Shen’s help, the Artifact Origin Sect will only grow stronger and its wealth will only increase. Of that, there is no doubt."

"Brother Shen needs Spirit Stones desperately right now. I don’t know all the reasons, but I do know one thing..."

"It’s because he’s preparing for you to begin refining the Silent Extinction Divine Thunder... and the various materials required for it are astronomically expensive. It’s as simple as that."

"Silent Extinction Divine Thunder!" Yin Shanhan, whose mind had already gone blank, shot to his feet, his eyes filled with utter shock and disbelief.

As for the other three King Martial Realm powerhouses, they were completely frozen, like puppets.