Chapter 537: Not Yielding an Inch

With the revival and subsequent spatial expansion of the Artifact Saint Palace ruins—the Forge Workshop—in the southern sector of Jingcheng, and the Alchemy Saint Hall ruins—the Medical Bureau—in the eastern sector, the former capital of the Great Jin Dynasty had long become unrecognizable.

Nowadays, when people mentioned Jingcheng, the first thing that came to mind was no longer the Imperial Palace, but the Celestial Division, representing the Central Sacred Land.

The center of power had shifted quietly and imperceptibly.

The Celestial Division.

As dawn broke, Wei Zhenjie had just finished cultivating and stepped out of his meditation chamber when a personal guard arrived to report that representatives from the Four Great Sacred Lands had come.

"My head hurts..."

Upon hearing this, Wei Zhenjie's face was filled with helplessness.

Yesterday, the Lingguang Hall had responded regarding cultivation within the Nine Nether Soul Realm; since then, his Yinian Tong had vibrated incessantly, flooded with countless messages complaining about the Lingguang Hall's exorbitant demands.

At this moment, he sincerely hoped the Xuanyuan Prefecture would manifest soon, so there would be no need for the Central Sacred Land to step forward and coordinate the various human factions.

Wei Zhenjie dawdled his way to the main hall, looked at the representatives of the Four Great Sacred Lands, and offered a smile that didn't reach his eyes: "Morning."

The elder from the Formation Saint Sect ignored his laziness and cut straight to the point: "Minister Wei, what is your take on the conditions set by the Lingguang Hall?"

Wei Zhenjie spread his hands, utterly nonchalant: "Just stand and watch, I suppose."

The elder from the Artifact Saint Palace looked helpless: "Minister Wei, we are discussing serious matters; could you be a bit more solemn?"

Wei Zhenjie sighed, reining in some of his amusement while retaining a trace of helplessness: "The initiative lies in the hands of the Lingguang Hall Master; naturally, whatever she says goes. What else can we do?"

The elder from the Formation Saint Sect stared at him, his gaze sharp: "The assets the Demon-Suppressing Army fought for with their lives—are you really planning to hand them over on a silver platter?"

"What else?" Wei Zhenjie countered. "Do any of you have a better solution?"

The elder from the Talisman Saint Pavilion spoke up: "The Lingguang Hall Master ventured deep into the heart of the Nine Nether to obtain Netherfire Matches; this was not easy. On this point, we concede."

"Paying some price for the opportunity to cultivate in the Soul-Entering Realm is understandable."

"However, the Lingguang Hall Master is asking for too much!"

From the Alchemy Saint Hall, Xia Zhen was present and added: "I hear that for some sects and aristocratic families, the Lingguang Hall is demanding secret realms, ancient ruins, and spiritual mines."

"To put it bluntly, the Lingguang Hall Master's behavior is nothing short of looting amidst chaos."

Wei Zhenjie glanced over, his tone languid: "Yes, I also feel the Lingguang Hall Master is being a bit greedy, but you cannot focus solely on the price to be paid; you must also consider the gains."

"Many Spirit Platform realm cultivators stagnate because their divine consciousness cannot advance. With cultivation in the Soul-Entering Realm, they enter at the Spirit Platform realm but might emerge at the Spirit Condensation realm."

"The higher a cultivator's realm, the harder it is to improve. I don't need to tell you what having one additional Spirit Condensation realm cultivator means for the human race and for all factions."

Hearing this, the representatives from the Four Great Sacred Lands fell silent.

After a moment, the elder from the Artifact Saint Palace spoke again: "The Nine Nether Soul Realm concerns the high-tier combat power of human cultivators. With the Lingguang Hall Master making such excessive demands, I fear few factions can afford the corresponding resources."

Wei Zhenjie laughed: "You are underestimating those aristocratic families and sects."

To be honest, he did not mind the Lingguang Hall Master's bold move this time; in fact, he felt somewhat inclined to cheer for her.

Those cultivation aristocratic families and nobles, relying on their early knowledge of the spiritual qi revival, had aggressively seized and monopolized cultivation resources. Although they had cultivated many cultivators, their ultimate goal was to expand their own power.

Rather than letting those factions fatten themselves, it would be better to direct those resources toward the Zhu Que Army.

The elder from the Artifact Saint Palace argued: "Even if they can produce the resources, those are foundations painstakingly saved over generations. The Lingguang Hall Master obtained the Netherfire Matches, which is a great merit for the human race, but by demanding so much and stripping people of their life savings, she risks offending all factions."

Looking at these representatives filled with bitterness and deep hatred, Wei Zhenjie did not wish to entangle with them further, so he offered a suggestion.

"We wish to cultivate in the Soul-Entering Realm, and the Lingguang Hall wants to charge a fee. In essence, this is a business transaction."

"Since it is a transaction, if they name a price, we simply make a counteroffer."

"In my opinion, you should each make a counteroffer first to gauge the Lingguang Hall's reaction."

"In business, bargaining is inevitable. In the end, everyone can settle on conditions acceptable to both parties."

The representatives of the Four Great Sacred Lands exchanged glances; seeing that Wei Zhenjie did not want to take the lead, they could only reluctantly accept this proposal.

"We can only proceed this way for now."

Watching the representatives of the Four Great Sacred Lands depart, Wei Zhenjie had just breathed a sigh of relief when his Yinian Tong vibrated again. He picked it up, glanced at it, and let out a cold sneer.

Chu Junyi had just returned from the Nine Nether with Meng Ziyu and the other three when he saw Wei Zhenjie's cold sneer: "Master, what is wrong?"

Wei Zhenjie looked over, saw it was his disciple, and snorted: "The major aristocratic families and sects feel the Lingguang Hall Master is being excessively greedy and want to unite to force her to lower her conditions."

Hearing this, Chu Junyi frowned.

Meng Ziyu interjected: "The Lingguang Hall Master is powerful and domineering, but two fists cannot fight four hands. If all factions apply pressure together, I fear the Lingguang Hall Master will not be able to withstand it."

Wei Zhenjie heard this and chuckled: "That is not necessarily true."

This tactic might work on others, but against Hua Changxi, it would likely be useless and might even backfire.

Back when the Alchemy Saint Hall revived, all factions had joined forces to coerce her, but in the end, did Hua Changxi not achieve a complete victory?

Now, with the hundred thousand strong Zhu Que Army as her backing, her confidence would only be greater.

After hearing this, Chu Junyi and the other four exchanged glances, their eyes revealing the same sentiment: Their Master (Minister) held the Lingguang Hall Master in high regard.

The Lingguang Hall.

Yun You successively received responses from various factions; after reviewing their counteroffers, his expression remained gloomy.

Su Yu asked: "What, none of the factions agreed?"

Yun You nodded: "Regarding our conditions, the Four Great Sacred Lands directly cut them in half, while some aristocratic families and sects slashed them by ninety percent."

Having said this, he began sending a message to Hua Changxi.

Hua Changxi was not at the Lingguang Hall but was inspecting the remaining few blessed lands and heavenly caves.

Red Flame Mountain, Fire Rock Grotto, Fire Cloud Cave, Suiren's Bone, Nirvana Pool...

Based on past experience occupying blessed lands and heavenly caves, she usually had some perception of them, but for these five locations, aside from Red Flame Mountain, she sensed nothing of the interior conditions of the other four, detecting only spatial fluctuations.

Was her ability insufficient, or did these four blessed lands and heavenly caves hold some other mystery?

"Buzz~"

The vibration of the Yinian Tong interrupted Hua Changxi's thoughts.

After reading the message from Yun You, she felt no surprise and simply replied: "Regarding the conditions set by the Lingguang Hall, we will not yield an inch."