Chapter 940: Negotiations in the Sinkhole

Long Hao did not speak. For thousands of years, Yin Serpents had always treated humans who strayed deep into the archipelago as food. If "food" wanted to visit them, what would the Yin Serpents do? Of course, accept it with a smile, at most patting their bellies and saying "thanks for the treat."

As for the Yin Serpent King, such a terrifying monster naturally disdained ordinary humans.

Only when He Lingchuan showed his strength, directly alarming Long Hao who lived in seclusion on Mount Qilin, did both sides have the opportunity for equal dialogue.

Therefore, faced with He Lingchuan's sophistry, Long Hao was momentarily speechless.

It could only enter the core issue as soon as possible: "What do you want to talk about?"

"The Yangshan Archipelago already belongs to me; where will you go?"

"What do you mean!" The Yin Serpent King laughed in extreme anger: "This archipelago was created by heaven and earth; how did it become your private property?"

"Blessed lands are occupied by those with virtue." He Lingchuan heard Zhu Xiuer say this was the mantra of ancient immortals snatching treasures, and it felt wonderful, so he used it. "Why distinguish between first and last?"

Both sides pointed to different things, but actually, they were talking about the same thing.

He Lingchuan was not polite: "As the master of the archipelago, I have the right to eradicate all scourges that prey on travelers and hinder navigation, such as pirates, such as you. Currently, the pirates in these waters have surrendered to me; as for you..."

For every few words he said, the Yin Serpent King swam closer, its figure becoming more substantial in his field of vision, and the sense of oppression becoming stronger.

There was even faint gray mist emerging from the Yin Serpent King's nose and mouth, originally about to linger all over its body, but it was directly collected by the Divine Bone Necklace on He Lingchuan.

So this old fellow could still release and retract Earthly Yin Qi. He Lingchuan's heart moved; no wonder some Yin Serpents could still survive.

Zhu Xiuer wanted to step forward to stop it, but He Lingchuan raised his hand to stop her.

The Yin Serpent King swam to two zhang in front of He Lingchuan before stopping, looking down at him from above: "Eradicate us? Just by you?"

It released its pressure, making even He Lingchuan feel his ears and eyes stifled. The strength of this big guy seemed to be even above his estimation.

Ordinary people would probably have been trembling and kneeling directly, but He Lingchuan had seen quite a few ancient spiritual objects; even the size of the Fire Spirit of Xushan was larger than Long Hao's. Therefore, he even smiled at the other party and said:

"However, heaven has the virtue of cherishing life, and I don't want to kill them all. If you can restrain the Yin Serpents from hurting people anymore, I can consider allocating the cave area at the southwest end of Mount Qilin for you to inhabit."

He originally hoped that the Yin Serpent clan could move to other islands, but seeing the bone chain on Long Hao, this plan could only be changed.

The Yin Serpent King was startled. Compared to killing them all, He Lingchuan's request was not too strict, but too lenient.

Originally, the area covered by Earthly Yin Qi was the Yin Serpent's activity domain. But because Long Hao itself was trapped on Mount Qilin, the Yin Serpent's base naturally settled on Mount Qilin. Its offspring, although they would roam everywhere in the past, mostly lived on this island.

Mount Qilin was very large; even just a corner of the southwest could easily accommodate tens of thousands of Yin Serpents. Moreover, its offspring had died in large numbers, and the remaining ones were strong, but the number was limited.

The southwest cave area was originally the terrain most suitable for Yin Serpents to live.

He Lingchuan continued: "I can absorb the Earthly Yin Qi of other islands. To be honest, you don't have much choice."

Without Earthly Yin Qi, there would naturally be no Yin Serpents.

Long Hao said gloomily: "Humans cannot absorb Earthly Yin Qi; you must have borrowed some kind of magic treasure! I will kill you and take the magic treasure, and the Yin Serpent disaster will be solved!"

"Even if I have a magic treasure, it's not just one. If you kill me, my companions will naturally collect all the Earthly Yin Qi on Mount Qilin and avenge me!" He Lingchuan dared to come because he had thought through all the pros and cons.

"Then I will hunt down your companions, killing them one by one!"

"Is that so?" He Lingchuan had long seen through its bluff. If the Yin Serpent King didn't intend to make concessions, why did it want to negotiate with him?

At this negotiation table, the chips in both sides' hands were fundamentally unequal. "Do you want to try how many companions I have and how many magic treasures I have at the cost of exterminating your clan? Try whether you are exterminated first, or my companions are killed first?"

No matter how powerful the Yin Serpent King was, it was currently bound by the bone chain. What it could command was nothing more than the Yin Serpents that had survived with difficulty.

If He Lingchuan was still a bit uneasy before going down the sinkhole, he was now completely at ease.

The Yin Serpent King stared at him, its mouth making a huffing sound, like a giant bellows being pulled. Its neck bulged, as if it would spray flames in the next second.

No matter what it sprayed, Zhu Xiuer did not think He Lingchuan could easily take it.

She subconsciously wanted to step forward, but as soon as her hook claws moved, He Lingchuan's hand behind his back gestured to her: Don't move!

"If I wanted to exterminate your clan and dig up your roots, I would only need to come and collect the Earthly Yin Qi the day after the Earthly Yin Pulse erupts. Repeating this a few times, how many offspring can you have left, and how long can you hold on?"

In fact, He Lingchuan had planned this from the beginning; what was the harm in getting rid of monsters born from Earthly Yin Qi? It wasn't until Min Tianxi took out the Tianke Treasure Scroll, explaining that Yin Serpents had intelligence and could communicate with humans, that he changed his plan.

If they could communicate, there was a chance for negotiation.

His words were very sincere and peaceful: "I am offering you a glimmer of life, but it is fleeting. Please grasp it well, and do not mistake my mercy for weakness."

The Yin Serpent King stared at him intently, as if trying to see through his thoughts.

No matter how powerful it was, if it could only absorb Earthly Yin Qi for one day every seven days, and had to suffer for the remaining six days, how could it live such a life?

Were there not so many immortals who could move mountains and fill seas in the world, who faded away because of the decline of spiritual energy?

Without the nourishment of Earthly Yin Qi, how much better could the Yin Serpent King be than them? Even if it could survive, what about its offspring; would they be alone until death?

This human was right about one thing: if he wanted to exterminate the Yin Serpent clan, he only needed to come and collect the Earthly Yin Qi the day after the Earthly Yin Pulse erupted; there was no need to risk coming to the island to meet it.

But human hearts are unpredictable; was he really coming with good intentions?

He Lingchuan reached into his bosom, took out a brocade box, and opened it.

With the help of daylight, both sides could see white sand in the box, and gray-black crystals the size of chestnuts were neatly arranged in the sand, at least thirty or forty of them.

The Yin Serpent King's pupils widened; could that be? He Lingchuan placed the box on the ground, and another small Yin Serpent swam over, picked up the box, and held it up to the Yin Serpent King.

The Yin Serpent King grabbed a handful of black crystals and spread them in its palm, the fine sand leaking through its fingers.

It observed carefully without blinking.

This thing looked like black glass, but there was a mass of thick ink in the center, completely impenetrable to the eye.

"Baleful Orbs?" The Yin Serpent King's voice was full of shock. "These were condensed from baleful energy? What kind of divine artifact can do this?"

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 941 =====