Chapter 1417: Unable to Keep Up the Act

Ye Liuyun silently watched West Phoenix King's performance from behind, coldly smiling in his heart.

Qujing increasingly felt that Ye Liuyun had been right.

But he was also curious about what the environment deep in the mineral vein was like.

Going further, the ground became very unstable, with many cracks, and flames occasionally spewed from them.

They occasionally saw soldiers pressing a team of miners to excavate flaming boulders on the spot—rocks likely brought out when the flames erupted.

West Phoenix King kept leading them deeper until they arrived before a ring-shaped mountain range, where he finally stopped.

He pointed at the mountain range ahead and said: "That is the fire crystal vein, which coexists with the magic crystal vein. Magic crystals are useless; we only need fire crystals."

As soon as his words fell, a part of the mountain range suddenly erupted in firelight, scorching and collapsing a large section of the mountain.

Seeing this, Qujing also furrowed his brow.

At their location, the temperature was extremely high, and the black demon qi was visible to the naked eye. Even martial cultivators at the Zao Hua Realm dared not stay long, let alone low-ranking soldiers.

Coming here to mine was tantamount to sending the soldiers to their deaths.

"This won't do! The soldiers' cultivation is too low; they'd just be going to die!" Qujing directly refused.

"Don't worry, the more fire crystal ore you dig out, the weaker this vein's power becomes!" West Phoenix King kept trying to persuade Qujing.

"Such a huge vein—by the time its power weakens, those soldiers will already be dead!" Qujing wasn't stupid either; he could see at a glance that West Phoenix King was trying to deceive him.

He now had no hope left in West Phoenix King; he only hoped that West Phoenix King would let them leave smoothly.

Seeing Qujing firmly disagree, West Phoenix King realized he could no longer keep up the act, and immediately changed his expression.

"Brother Qu, a forty-sixty split, but the conditions you proposed—you wouldn't want to go back on them now, would you?"

Qujing also hurriedly explained: "Back then I didn't know the environment here, and you didn't tell me how dangerous it is. If I had known, I certainly wouldn't have agreed!"

West Phoenix King didn't argue with him, merely sneering and asking: "If you don't mine, what will these two hundred thousand people eat and drink?"

Upon hearing that, Qujing's expression also changed: "West Phoenix King, the supplies I previously gave you should at least last us half a year, right?"

West Phoenix King laughed heartily: "Those supplies can only be counted as the fee I charge you for protection. With so many of you occupying such a large area of mine, shouldn't you pay rent? And you still want me to provide food and drink?"

Qujing's expression grew even darker as he argued: "I once saved your life; you want to charge me for using a bit of land? We can handle our own food and clothing—we don't need you to provide them."

"Good!" West Phoenix King nodded: "You saved my life, so I won't charge you—consider it repayment. But your arrival has drawn the Empire's attention, which will surely bring its troops. When war breaks out, won't we need resources, and won't there be casualties? How should those losses be accounted for?"

"Since you say that, then we'll just leave—to avoid causing you trouble!" Qujing hadn't expected West Phoenix King to settle accounts with him like this.

He had previously anticipated that West Phoenix King might covet some resources, but he hadn't expected that even after giving him so many resources, he would still be unsatisfied.

Unexpectedly, West Phoenix King burst into loud laughter: "You say you'll come and go as you please? Are you treating my place like a playground?"

At this, Qujing was completely dumbfounded.

"Could it really be that Ye Liuyun was right?" he thought to himself.

Qujing immediately asked West Phoenix King: "What do you mean?"

"Hmph!" West Phoenix King gave two cold snorts; the high-realm martial cultivators behind him immediately released their pressure, surrounding them.

"You've come this far—don't even think about leaving! Your soldiers are already surrounded by me; now you can't leave even if you want to. I advise you to just let them mine obediently. Anyway, it's not like you have to do the work yourself!"

West Phoenix King continued threatening Qujing, after all he didn't want to act himself, fearing loss of the miners.

"As long as you let the miners mine properly, I guarantee you can live here in peace for the rest of your life!" West Phoenix King also gave a hollow promise to Qujing.

"I never imagined you'd be this kind of person!"

Qujing finally saw West Phoenix King's true face, and certainly wouldn't fall for his tricks again.

West Phoenix King's expression didn't change; he said indifferently: "People can change. I, too, am forced by circumstance—without resources, what can I use to oppose the Empire?"

"I brought the soldiers out not to have them die mining!" Seeing that West Phoenix King was determined to disregard past feelings, Qujing also didn't want to waste more words.

"Nonsense! If you don't come here, you'll ultimately still face annihilation. Mining or not, it's all death—better to contribute something before you die!" West Phoenix King said coldly.

"Our paths differ! You don't need to say more. Farewell!" Qujing turned to leave, but the martial cultivators pressed him with their aura, immobilizing him completely.

"How? Do you still want to fight me?" Qujing had now completely lost hope in West Phoenix King.

"Originally, keeping you in command would have made your troops more obedient. But you refuse to listen—fine, I'll advise you one more time: if you die, your soldiers will fare even worse!" West Phoenix King directly threatened.

"Even if people can change, they wouldn't become as ungrateful as you. If I'd known this, I shouldn't have saved you in the first place!"

"If you have the ability, try attacking. Even if my soldiers can't see me and all die in battle, they won't mine for you! If you want to kill them, you'll have to pay the price!"

Qujing also hardened his resolve. Anyway, having already broken face, lowering his stance further would be useless.

"Sigh!" West Phoenix King shook his head: "You're greatly overestimating your influence! In the face of death, even your soldiers will submit!"

Having said that, he gave a glance to a Tianzun Realm martial cultivator.

That cultivator immediately moved, seizing Qu Wanying.

"What are you trying to do?" Qujing also grew angry.

"Such a lovely girl, handing her over to my underlings would be too much of a pity! Considering you saved my life, I'll give you another chance to think it over—what do you say?"

West Phoenix King seized Qu Wanying to threaten Qujing—this was Qujing's soft spot.

After all, West Phoenix King still wanted to directly control Qujing so that the two hundred thousand soldiers could mine in peace.

Only now did Qujing suddenly recall Ye Liuyun's earlier warning.

Unexpectedly, Ye Liuyun had already seen through West Phoenix King.

And yet he had foolishly doubted Ye Liuyun.