Chapter 348: Three Visitors

"Brother Wei, you and I have no grudges or enmity, why must you curse me?" Tian Yu asked gloomily.

Wei Yuan apologized, "I truly have matters to discuss, and I had no other way to find you. Besides, I don't know any other Shaman tribe members, so I could only come to you."

Tian Yu's expression softened slightly. He handed Wei Yuan an array stone and said, "In the future, if you have matters, just activate this array stone. If I don't come, it means the hatred between our two tribes has reached a certain level, and I do not wish to come."

Wei Yuan put the array stone away, then handed over a box, saying, "Take a look at these things first."

Tian Yu opened the lid. Inside, it was divided into four small compartments, each containing a piece of flesh. All four pieces were wriggling, each with its own thoughts.

Tian Yu leaned in to his nose and took a deep breath, saying, "Fragrant! It is truly too fragrant! This is... the essence blood of a Fenhai Zhenjun!"

"Can it be exchanged for things?"

"Of course! It can definitely be exchanged. How much more do you have? I want it all!"

"I need offerings, medicinal herbs, special minerals, spiritual plants, and... Blood Yingluo."

Tian Yu gave Wei Yuan a meaningful look and said, "It seems you have also embarked on this path. But it is normal; even if you don't want to walk it, there are plenty of people who will force you to. There is plenty of Blood Yingluo, but the fresher it is, the better the quality. How much are you prepared to take?"

Previously, Wei Yuan had already crammed a lot of knowledge about Blood Yingluo. This item is priced directly by the years of longevity that the essence contained within can provide. And because Blood Yingluo has terrifyingly negative side effects, the less one eats, the better; therefore, for the same weight, the more longevity it provides, the higher the price.

The standard is one jin of Blood Yingluo providing ten years of longevity. The lowest quality provides only three years, while the best provides fifty years. The price of the supreme grade is not five times that of the ordinary, but five hundred times.

In the end, the two agreed to exchange one hundred jin of Fenhai Zhenjun flesh for one year of standard Blood Yingluo. Wei Yuan exchanged for enough Blood Yingluo to extend his life by a hundred years in total. Following that were offerings, various minerals and medicinal herbs unique to the Shaman domain, and Tian Yu promised one immortal plant seed, totaling an exchange for fifty thousand jin of flesh.

After reaching the agreement, Wei Yuan said, "I have an additional requirement."

"What requirement?"

"I want the intelligence data and maps of the tribe building the Shaman City."

Tian Yu shook his head immediately: "This is aiding the enemy! I cannot agree to this!"

Wei Yuan said indifferently, "Isn't giving you so much flesh also aiding the enemy? We don't have to do this business. Consider this box of things a gift to you."

Tian Yu narrowed his eyes and said, "You are using our hands to help you eliminate your enemies!"

Wei Yuan smiled and said, "You finally understand. Since it can eliminate my enemies and also exchange for the things I need, why not do it? However, without the intelligence on this tribe, everything is off the table."

"That is the Rain Country of Master Hongye. Master Hongye's power far exceeds your imagination. Back then, Master Hongye offended Long Zhe, was slashed down in realm, and then exiled to the eastern border. If one day in the future you face Master Hongye, you must never treat him as a Great Shaman, or even as an ordinary Wild Shaman."

"How far is the place where this Master Hongye lives from here?"

"About... two hundred thousand li?"

"That's fine then, I can't go that far."

Tian Yu said, "You want quite a lot of things this time. I need to prepare, let's trade in ten days."

"Good."

Just as Wei Yuan was about to return to the domain, Tian Yu called him back and said, "Remember to use the array stone, don't curse me again!"

Wei Yuan said, "I only used five hundred people this time, I was afraid you wouldn't feel it if I used fewer. Could it be that you were doing something when I cast the curse?"

"No, absolutely not!" Tian Yu denied it flatly.

Seeing Tian Yu's fierce expression, Wei Yuan wisely did not continue to ask, otherwise the deal might easily fall through.

Returning to his residence, Wei Yuan received a report that Yuan Qingyan, the Magistrate of Ningxi County, was requesting an audience and was already waiting at the Guest Town.

Wei Yuan frowned slightly. He first summoned a disciple of the Heavenly Craft Hall, told him to select a site, and then build a Guest Hall at the east, west, and south borders of the domain for receiving guests. The current Guest Town was too deep within the domain, which was somewhat inappropriate.

Arriving at the Guest Town, Yuan Qingyan had already been waiting for a long time in the reception room.

Wei Yuan walked into the room, and Yuan Qingyan immediately stood up to salute. Only after Wei Yuan sat down did he take his seat.

"What is the purpose of this visit?" Wei Yuan asked.

Yuan Qingyan took out a small booklet, presented it to Wei Yuan, and said, "This is a collection of poems by this student... this subordinate, please correct it, my lord."

Yuan Qingyan thought of Wei Yuan's age and ultimately could not refer to himself as a student.

Wei Yuan casually placed the poetry collection on the side table and said, "Magistrate Yuan, you didn't come all this way just to deliver a poetry collection, did you?"

Yuan Qingyan did not return to his seat but stood to the side like a student waiting on his master, saying, "Poetry is for expressing one's aspirations; in fact, this subordinate also has some small aspirations in his heart."

"It's a pity I don't understand poetry, and I haven't read many books, so I'm afraid I won't be able to understand Magistrate Yuan's grand ambitions. Oh, in this territory, it seems ambitions aren't easy to realize."

Wei Yuan's words were double-edged. Yuan Qingyan naturally understood and said, "In the territory under this subordinate's jurisdiction, indeed, nothing can be done. The domain will cover it sooner or later. The so-called border is just a line on a map. Within the domain, naturally, everything must follow your lead, my lord. Therefore, my small aspirations still depend on you, my lord."

"It's a pity that I have no grand ambitions; all I want in this life is to muddle along and wait for death. Magistrate Yuan, please return."

Yuan Qingyan said, "This subordinate can attack political enemies above and pacify the territory and settle the people below; I believe I am still of some use to you."

Wei Yuan did not expect Yuan Qingyan to be so persistent. He put down his teacup and said, "Magistrate Yuan, the grudges between us are not small. Shouldn't scholars at a time like this rather die to preserve their integrity? I have inquired; your nickname 'Mad Dog' was earned by risking your life back then."

Zhao Tong closed the lid, carefully pasted a talisman to seal it, and then sighed: "It is both immortal medicine and arsenic. Every time I see it, I am both loving and afraid."

A mere magistrate is not worth the historian writing his name here.

But Wei Yuan immediately remembered that this sentence was very ominous, so he quickly banished it from his mind.

Then he subconsciously thought, this sentence should be written like this: In a certain year, the Great Ancestor Emperor Yuan raised an army, and the world rose in response...

Wei Yuan dared not let his imagination run wild again and said, "Magistrate Yuan, please return. I will consider this matter."

Yuan Qingyan had achieved the purpose of this trip, so he took his leave first.

Wei Yuan shook his head. After defeating the three hundred thousand-strong army, the surrounding world seemed to change in an instant.

At this moment, someone came to report that the Xu family's envoy had arrived.

So Wei Yuan flew from the south to the northeast again. The Xu family envoy was a Dharma Form Elder who refused to enter the domain and only waited outside.

A moment later, Wei Yuan arrived in the northeast, and the envoy had already set up a camp. Wei Yuan entered the main tent of the camp and saw a thin, elderly man reading a book.

!.

Wei Yuan entered the tent, but the old man did not look up and continued reading his book.

Wei Yuan did not speak either. He walked to the side, picked up the candlestick on the table, looked at it, and used the candle flame to light the tent.

The old man finally could no longer pretend not to see and said angrily, "What are you doing? How can you be so rude?!"

Wei Yuan smiled slightly and said, "I saw you were so engrossed in your book, I thought the light in the tent wasn't bright enough, so I wanted to add some fire for you."

The old man's face sank, and he said, "Young, yet you don't study the books of the sages properly, only learning some rogue and rascal methods!"

Wei Yuan said indifferently, "If you have no one to talk to, old man, you can go home and lecture your grandchildren, if you have any."

"Junior, you are courting death!" The old man was furious, his Qi surged, and he prepared to make a move.

Wei Yuan's eyes lit up, but he sighed immediately after and stood still, knowing that this Heavenly Merit was out of reach.

Sure enough, the old man slapped the table heavily, and then there was no follow-up.

The old and the young stared at each other for a long time. Finally, the old man spoke first: "The Immortal Ancestor has ordered you to release all the Xu family members, return their equipment, and pay compensation of one million taels of immortal silver; then this matter can be put to rest!"

Wei Yuan said immediately, "The Immortal Ancestor never said that!"

The old man was stunned, then realized what he meant and said angrily, "This is the Immortal Ancestor's oral decree! What, do you think I would dare to fake an immortal decree?!"

"Do you dare not?" Wei Yuan asked back.

"Ignorant junior, how dare you..."

Wei Yuan interrupted him: "Why don't you swear an oath in the name of Xu Wangu?"

The old man was shocked. He lunged over, wanting to cover Wei Yuan's mouth, but stopped his body abruptly halfway through the jump, looking at the crimson immortal sword pointed at his chest, his face extremely ugly.

Wei Yuan slowly put away the Crimson Immortal-Slaying Sword and comforted himself in his heart: "Forget it, just one hundred Heavenly Merits, just one hundred, I'm not short of that little bit..."

The Laurel Immortal Tree, however, was swaying desperately, urging Wei Yuan to act. At least until now, no immortal plant had competed with it for the gifts of heaven and earth. Wei Yuan wanted to snatch it, but he couldn't.

Wei Yuan said, "Don't worry, your ancestor cannot hear what I say. Of course, if I say too much, it might attract his attention. So let's not waste words. You couldn't get what you wanted with three hundred thousand troops, and you think you can get it with a glib tongue? Another million troops might be enough."

The old man's face turned pale and white, and he said, "Then what do you want?"

Wei Yuan said, "Fifty immortal silver per person below Dao Foundation, starting from ten thousand for redemption. Dao Foundation cultivators must have their own families come to redeem them, starting from five thousand immortal silver. Not a single coin less is negotiable."

The old man said, "Then let's start with ten thousand, but I want to pick the people."

Wei Yuan sneered: "Don't even think about it! I'll let you pick ten. You can earn quite a lot from ten."

The old man sighed: "The ten thousand quota must all go to my Xu family's private army; it cannot be mixed with government troops and civilian laborers. In addition, I want to pick fifty. Ten for me to earn money, twenty for networking, and the other twenty... I have many relatives, and I owe quite a few favors, so I can just pay some back."

Wei Yuan narrowed his eyes, looking at the old man, and remained silent for a long time.

The old man gradually became uneasy and finally said, "How about picking forty? I'll just pay back fewer favors."

Wei Yuan suddenly smiled and said, "Actually, your clan didn't expect you to succeed in the negotiation, right?"

The old man gritted his teeth and nodded.

"Then I'll let you pick fifty. Oh, by the way, remember to tell them when you go back: for every person they exchange to come and talk, the ransom will increase by ten taels."

The old man breathed a sigh of relief.

Wei Yuan was also very satisfied; such a good negotiation opponent was rare. Now that the Xu family was negotiating seriously, it just showed that the clan was weak.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 349 =====