Chapter 941: Collaboration Based on Interests

This fellow had been locked in the abyss for years, but its knowledge was not bad. He Lingchuan thought to himself that this was something spat out by the Divine Bone Necklace through the Great Fanghu; it probably highly purified and solidified the Earthly Yin Pulse it ate, turning it into this appearance.

He was completely ignorant of the mechanism. At the time, he didn't dare to reach out and catch it, but used spider silk to fiddle with it, and as a result, Zhu Erniang's spider silk, which was extremely tough and hard to cut even with divine weapons, was corroded by this thing.

Since spiritual energy is the clear energy of heaven and earth, it can be turned into Emperor Dew, can enter the soil and turn into mysterious crystals, then there is no reason why Earthly Yin Qi, as the turbid energy of heaven and earth, cannot be solidified, right?

He thought it was a matter of course, but he didn't know that the solidification conditions for Baleful Orbs were actually much harsher than mysterious crystals. With Long Hao's age and experience, it hadn't seen many in the past, which was why it felt incredible.

Once baleful energy solidified into Baleful Orbs, its properties were very stable and would no longer volatilize, just like mysterious crystals. He Lingchuan collected them, which did no harm to himself. But he still didn't dare to touch them casually, only using sand to hold them—

After many experiments, he found that sand grains were best for separating Baleful Orbs.

Now he observed the Yin Serpent King's attitude, which should be that it valued this thing very much.

Valuing it was good; valuing it was a bargaining chip for negotiation.

Forcing a cow to drink water is not possible; mutual benefit is the foundation of long-term cooperation.

Under his gaze, the Yin Serpent King threw the Baleful Orbs into its mouth, and it didn't know whether it chewed or not before swallowing them, and then smacked its lips to savor them carefully.

He Lingchuan gave a secret thumbs up. Daring to swallow Baleful Orbs raw, this fellow's stomach was too heaven-defying.

By comparison, swallowing a little sand was just a small matter.

"Very pure." Its voice was very satisfied, like having just finished a feast. "Did you refine these from the Earthly Yin Qi of the Yangshan Archipelago?"

"Yes, it's very beneficial for your cultivation, isn't it?" He Lingchuan laughed. "In the past, you only occupied one baleful energy outlet, and seven or eight out of ten of the Earthly Yin Qi volatilized from the earth pulse were wasted; I can condense them all into Baleful Orbs and send them to your dining table. Speaking of which, you're the one taking advantage. Isn't that so?"

"I want all these Baleful Orbs; anyway, you have no other use for them!" Hearing that there were Baleful Orbs to be had, Long Hao became very straightforward. "What other conditions do you have?"

These treasures could accelerate its cultivation progress and were even extremely beneficial to its offspring.

He Lingchuan smiled: "Your offspring can leave the Earthly Yin Qi place for a short time, right?"

Long Hao hesitated: "Only the strongest ones."

The fact that its offspring died in large numbers on the first day the Earthly Yin Qi was absorbed could not be hidden from the other party.

"Good, if I have a need, you must dispatch the Yin Serpent army to listen to my command!"

Long Hao thought for a moment: "My offspring cannot be too far from the water and cannot leave the Earthly Yin Qi for too long!"

He Lingchuan pointed to the Baleful Orbs in the box: "With these treasures, can they not leave the Yangshan Archipelago?"

If mysterious crystals are spiritual energy to practitioners, then Baleful Orbs are baleful energy to Yin Serpents. This old Yin Serpent should have plenty of means to turn them into a secret weapon for the Yin Serpent army to fight away from the island.

"..." This kid was as cunning as a ghost; he wasn't so easy to fool. "They can leave for a short time, until the Baleful Orbs are exhausted."

To be honest, with these Baleful Orbs, the Yin Serpent clan's range of activity suddenly expanded a lot, no longer limited to the depths of the Yangshan Archipelago.

This kind of change not only affected the Yin Serpent clan, but might also affect the Golden Shipping Route, Blade Harbor, and even the Qing Kingdom.

"I won't let your offspring die in vain." He Lingchuan said solemnly. "Otherwise, there would be no need to find you today at all."

He continued: "Your Yin Serpent clan lives on my territory, which is equivalent to my subjects. When the lord defends against enemies, you must also contribute."

To this statement, Long Hao just wanted to sneer. But it finally swallowed this breath and focused on negotiating: "It is impossible for us to fight for you every day."

"Then allocate a team specifically for me, which must be ready to listen to my command at any time." He Lingchuan had already thought about it on the way here. "Other Yin Serpents can naturally live and work in peace. I will not cut off the Earthly Yin Qi in the southwest of Mount Qilin; if you can build a barrier yourself to prevent the baleful energy from escaping, that would be best. As for the waters around Mount Qilin, I will not restrict them, but you must still restrain your offspring from hurting people."

Yin Serpents have a wide diet and do not take humans as their main food.

Long Hao thought for a moment: "The item of non-infringement can be reached, as long as humans do not come to actively hunt my offspring."

"Excellent." The Yin Serpent King's attitude softened, and the possibility of reaching an agreement greatly increased. "In addition, if there is an external enemy attacking the Yangshan Archipelago, you must do your best to help me repel the enemy!"

If He Lingchuan lost, the supply of Baleful Orbs would be cut off. The Yin Serpent King didn't consider it for too long before nodding: "You release the baleful energy, and the enemy will naturally retreat. However, alright, I agree."

He Lingchuan let out a secret sigh of relief. With the protection of these indigenous people, the defense capability of the Yangshan Archipelago would at least go up two levels.

"As for the living territory..." Long Hao added, "In addition to the southwest area of Mount Qilin, I also want to add Drum Sound Island and Dragon Flood Island for my Yin Serpent clan to use; the terrain of these two islands is very suitable for my clan to breed."

Recently, He Lingchuan had ordered the Rongshan people to survey the archipelago map in detail, and at this moment, when asked about the location, he remembered the terrain of the two islands.

These two islands were rugged, could be called "no three feet of flat land," with many stone nests on the shore and many hidden reefs underwater, not suitable for human habitation, and certainly had no value for farming.

So he agreed very readily.

Next, both sides negotiated the boundary of the Yin Serpent's habitat at the southwest end of Mount Qilin in detail and left supplementary agreement clauses.

Finally, He Lingchuan took out the Tianke Treasure Scroll again.

The previous agreement of the Tianke Treasure Scroll could be voided on the spot as long as both parties were willing to erase their signatures.

Min Tianxi had long since crossed out his signature, and as the Yin Serpent King picked off its scales, the handwriting on the Tianke Treasure Scroll gradually disappeared, turning back into a bright, blank gold paper.

He Lingchuan recorded the new agreement on this gold scroll, word by word.

Both sides confirmed that the terms were correct, then signed and stamped, and the new agreement took effect immediately.

Reaching this step, He Lingchuan let out a long breath and said solemnly to the Yin Serpent King: "Happy cooperation!"

Long Hao snorted, still full of displeasure.

Anyone whose territory was invaded and forced to sign an unequal treaty would not be in a good mood.

But with this paper agreement, at least the Earthly Yin Qi that the Yin Serpents relied on for survival would not be taken away again. And the baleful energy He Lingchuan took away would eventually be solidified into Baleful Orbs and returned to it.

Just from this point, it not only didn't suffer a loss but gained a blessing in disguise, getting several times more baleful energy than usual.

He Lingchuan's commonly used method nowadays was the carrot and the stick.

First, beat the Yin Serpent clan to death, knock away all their pride and contempt, force them to bow their heads to him, and then come to talk about conditions.

But no matter what the process was, he would always leave enough benefits for the Yin Serpent King in the end.

An agreement that can be executed effectively for a long time does not rely on coercion and inducement, but on mutual benefit.

Only collaboration that benefits both sides can last.

Putting away the gold scroll, He Lingchuan had the heart to ask about other things: "What's going on with the bone chain behind you?"

"I failed to challenge my brother and left the Overturning Sea according to the rules of the Yin Dragon family, changing to another place to cultivate. These bone chains—" Long Hao moved, and the heavy bone chains rubbed against the ground, making dull sounds. "They belong to the elders of my clan. When I can break free from them, that is when my cultivation will be complete."

"No wonder this bone chain won't be corroded by Earthly Yin Qi." This fellow spoke nicely, but was it actually imprisoned? He comforted, "You can also be considered a blessing in disguise."

"A blessing in disguise?" Long Hao sneered deeply. "Trapped in a deep ravine that never sees the light of day, year after year without release, is this a blessing in disguise?"

"At least you are still alive. Besides, you Yin Serpents can't see the light of day anyway, right?"

"When I cultivate into a dragon, I won't avoid the sunlight."

"What about your other clansmen?"

"I don't know; I haven't seen them for two thousand years."

He Lingchuan added: "Give me a token to keep in touch; you don't want me running to the sinkhole to find you all the time, right?"

Every time he came, he had to absorb the baleful energy.

Long Hao pulled a scale from its body and threw it to him: "Take it. Within five hundred miles of Mount Qilin, you only need to rub the scale three times to talk to me."

This scale was originally the size of a ping-pong paddle, but when it fell into He Lingchuan's hand, it shrank to the size of a copper coin.

It was pitch black, the surface was rough, and there were circles of protruding fine lines.

"Within three days, please recall all Yin Serpents to Mount Qilin." He Lingchuan said solemnly. "Three days later, I will sweep away all Earthly Yin Qi in the archipelago and build a fence on the boundary of Mount Qilin."

Long Hao looked at him deeply, turned, and swam down the stone platform, disappearing into the darkness in the blink of an eye.

"It's done." He Lingchuan turned to Zhu Xiuer and smiled, waving the gold scroll in his hand. "Let's go back."

He climbed out of the sinkhole with Zhu Xiuer, and a Yin Serpent was still waiting at the entrance to lead them back.

Halfway there, Zhu Xiuer suddenly asked him: "Why leave a way for the Yin Serpents to live; do you really believe heaven has the virtue of cherishing life?"

If He Lingchuan absorbed the Earthly Yin Qi of the Yangshan Archipelago on time, it wouldn't be long before the Yin Serpent clan was finished, or perhaps only Long Hao would be left.

Why did he still risk finding the Yin Serpent King to negotiate, and why did he want to allocate land for these monsters to live?

He Lingchuan shook his head: "Big Sister, we are new here, and our manpower is thin."

He had already put away the treasure scroll, not fearing that the leading Yin Serpent could understand their conversation.

"Hmm? What do you mean?" Zhu Xiuer didn't quite understand. If her sister were here, could she understand immediately? "The help the Yin Serpents give you is very limited; they can't go far ashore, and they can't help you conquer cities and land."

"I know. But their existence itself is a kind of deterrence." He Lingchuan said slowly, "The Yin Serpents have been making waves here for many years, and the officials, people, and pirates of Bailie and Blade Harbor have been in awe of them for many years. This kind of psychology cannot be eliminated in a short time."

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 942 =====