Chapter 323: A Deal with Shi Ren

Two months later, Langya Pavilion secret realm.

"I wish all ancestors a smooth journey!"

"With you in the Central Plains, we are very much at ease," Xiao Xuan said with gratification.

Immediately after, he gave a call, casually tore open a pitch-black rift, and turned to step inside; behind him, silent figures entered one after another.

Watching the slowly closing spatial rift, Xiao Han stood in place for a long time before turning to leave.

………

Northern Region of the Central Plains, Stone Forest.

Within the vast mountain range, at the peak of a mountain surrounded by a cluster of others, an elderly figure with grey-white skin sat on the ground, as if one could feel a faint aura of twilight from this form.

However, the owner of this elderly figure did not show any weakness; the sharp glint flickering in his eyes indicated that his mind remained keen.

"Senior of the Shi Clan, it seems you are still willing to trust a junior like me!"

At this moment, a gentle voice suddenly came from behind the old man, and a figure in white slowly emerged—it was Xiao Han.

The old man paused, not turning his head, and his slightly weathered voice rang out,

"A junior? The strength of the Ice Saint is far greater than this decaying body of mine; who would dare to treat the Ice Saint as a junior now?"

Xiao Han's figure suddenly appeared before the old man, his eyes smiling, then he abruptly retracted the expression and said solemnly, "Since Senior Shi is willing to come, I assume you acknowledge what this junior said?"

The old man chuckled and said with a calm, unruffled demeanor, "Regarding the survival of the Shi Clan, I am not yet so pedantic as to casually question the judgment of a Nine-Star Dou Saint powerhouse."

"Now that things have reached this point, please, Ice Saint, lay out your terms. Whatever my Shi Clan can provide, I, Shi Ren, will not frown in the slightest."

"As long as you can tell me everything truthfully, that will suffice."

Shi Ren, Clan Leader of the Shi Clan, early Seven-Star Dou Saint.

Hearing this, Xiao Han revealed a smile, "It seems the Clan Leader is quite sincere."

"Then this junior will not stand on ceremony."

As he spoke, a Scroll appeared in his hand, which he handed to Shi Ren; the latter took it and began to browse through it slowly.

As he read deeper, Shi Ren's brows became increasingly furrowed.

Finally, he slowly raised his head, looking at Xiao Han with a complex expression, "It seems the intelligence of Langya Pavilion is very thorough!"

Xiao Han's conditions hit Shi Ren's psychological expectations almost perfectly; it could be said that if Shi Ren did not know that no one else besides the two of them knew about this matter, he would have suspected there was a traitor among the high-ranking members of the Shi Clan.

Excluding the existence of a traitor, the only possibility was that this smiling junior before him had investigated the many details of the Shi Clan to near perfection, and had even roughly deduced the foundation of the Shi Clan.

Only in this way could he propose such a condition that would maximize benefits without the Shi Clan being able to refuse.

Regarding Shi Ren's tone, which was hard to judge as good or bad, Xiao Han said calmly:

"Senior also knows that our Langya Pavilion originally made a living off of intelligence; these are just small tricks, not fit for the big stage, and cannot compare to the deep foundations of the Ancient Race."

Although he needed to utilize other Ancient Races, this did not hinder Xiao Han from digging up some temporary benefits.

Shi Ren gave a bitter laugh; intelligence was the most important thing for almost any power, as no one wanted to be blind or deaf. Being able to dig out the long-secluded Shi Clan—this was no small trick!

But now was not the time to care about the source of the other party's intelligence, so Shi Ren immediately said:

"I, on behalf of the Shi Clan, agree to these conditions."

"Straightforward!" Xiao Han did not put on airs, and immediately took out a jade slip radiating cold air, handing it to Shi Ren.

………

Several dozen minutes later, Shi Ren raised his head, stared at Xiao Han with a grave expression, and said in a deep voice:

"Ice Saint, this is no small matter, is it!"

Xiao Han raised an eyebrow, "Oh?"

"It seems Senior Shi Ren has some doubts about the situation within?"

Shi Ren said with an unfriendly tone: "What you have said is somewhat unbelievable, isn't it? Does the Soul Clan have this capability?"

"Then does Senior have a suspected target?"

"This..." Shi Ren was momentarily choked for words; the reason he had been so quick to accept Xiao Han's invitation was precisely because the disappearance of the Ling Clan was far too bizarre.

There were many powers capable of annihilating the Ling Clan; even the Ice Saint before him could, on his own, severely damage the Ling Clan and make it disappear from the continent.

But in his impression, there was simply no one capable of silently exterminating an entire great clan, not even leaving a single survivor behind.

The difficulty between the two was worlds apart.

If the facts were not before his eyes, he would never have imagined that such a terrifying power existed on the continent.

Originally, his target of suspicion leaned more towards the Ancient Clan, because in the recognized impression, the Ancient Clan was the strongest race currently, and the Soul Clan had always been at a disadvantage in their daily clashes with the Ancient Clan.

Although the style of the Ancient Clan was more upright than the Soul Clan, one could know a person's face but not their heart; what if the Ancient Clan was not what they appeared to be?

But now Xiao Han was telling him that the mastermind was the Soul Clan, which created a feeling of his impressions collapsing.

"Could you tell me, what is the strength of the Soul Clan?" Shi Ren suddenly realized a problem and asked with focused attention.

"Then Senior must keep it a secret!" Xiao Han did not refuse, "After all, this junior still relies on intelligence to trade for some worldly wealth!"

Shi Ren was no longer willing to trust this cunning junior.

The benefits the other party had just taken from him were enough to cover the expenses of a super power for ten years; one could imagine how much profit margin there was in Langya Pavilion's business.

But with his back against the wall, Shi Ren had no choice but to swear by his Dao heart that he would never leak the intelligence.

Having said that, Xiao Han gestured a "two" with his hand toward Shi Ren.

He said: "Two!"

"Two?" Shi Ren frowned and asked subconsciously: "What do you mean?"

Before the other party could react, Xiao Han said with a smile: "Two Nine-Star Dou Saints!"

"What?" Shi Ren's pupils shook violently, he stood up abruptly, his fingers unconsciously digging into his flesh, and he said in horror:

"Is this true?"

What was the concept of two Nine-Star Dou Saints? That was a power that even the Ancient Clan did not possess!

He was actually starting to vaguely believe that the Soul Clan possessed the ability to annihilate the Ling Clan; with these two experts appearing, given the Ling Clan's meager assets, they were simply a flock of lambs waiting to be slaughtered.

"Hehe," Xiao Han said nonchalantly, "Whether you believe it or not depends on how you, Senior, choose to respond."

Shi Ren came to his senses; he did not doubt whether Xiao Han was merely being an alarmist.

In matters like this, it is better to believe it exists than to believe it does not; once the other party's words proved true, one should have made preparations early.

Since the other party could manage to annihilate the Ling Clan, the Shi Clan would naturally be no exception.

Therefore, it was necessary to find an ally...

An ally!

Shi Ren was suddenly jolted; that's right, wasn't the person before him a ready-made one?

Although other Ancient Races would also be possible, in terms of the strength of top-tier experts, this person was second only to the Ancient Soul Tribe!

Compared to the more familiar Ancient Races, although the person before him would make exorbitant demands, they were more trustworthy than the former.

Just as Shi Ren looked at Xiao Han with a hopeful expression and was about to speak, the latter suddenly said with a blank expression:

"I refuse!"