Negotiation (3)
Upon hearing this, Yuan Jiukui's expression became uncertain. He wasn't entirely ignorant of that disciple; his character was indeed questionable. But if, as Yue Qianchou suggested, he were to be brought in for a confrontation, and it turned out his side was in the wrong, wouldn't he become a laughingstock for his outburst? Most importantly, he had just thought he was in the right, offending several groups, even disregarding the face of the Demonic Sect's leader, the Ten Myriad Demon Palace. If the truth came out and was unfavorable to his side, he would be in a very awkward position!
In the short time it took for him to hesitate, many people noticed his concerns. Chou Wuyuan gave Wen Zhongping a wink, then pulled Yuan Jiukui aside with a smile and said, "Brother Yuan, please let this matter rest for my sake. Don't pursue it any further. I will send someone to treat that disciple's injuries and make sure he gets a healthy leg back."
"Yes! Brother Yuan, personal grudges are a small matter; consider the bigger picture!" Wen Zhongping also advised.
Yuan Jiukui naturally understood that his two fellow demonic cultivators were taking the opportunity to give him a way out. If he didn't accept their kindness, he would be ungrateful. However, he didn't know if Yue Qianchou would stick to his guns to the end, as this guy was notoriously ruthless when he gained power. He turned his gaze to Yue Qianchou.
Chou Wuyuan understood his meaning, and with a smile, he went up to Yue Qianchou, patted him on the shoulder and said, "Brother Yue, give your old brother some face, let's call it quits! How about we leave it at that?"
"Since Senior Qiu has spoken, we can swallow this small grievance." Yue Qianchou said.
Yang turned his gaze to Yuan Jiukui and said, "I wonder if Senior Yuan still intends to pursue this matter further?"
"Hmph!" Yuan Jiukui snorted heavily, then flashed back to his original position and sat cross-legged.
Sit down. This attitude clearly indicates that they will not pursue the matter further.
"What are you humming about? One day I'll wipe out your Six Paths Demonic Sect, then let's see if you'll still be humming then." Yue Qianchou's brows twitched. It was better if they didn't pursue it; it saved him the trouble of arguing. He turned and returned to his seat.
"It's alright, it's alright, everyone go back to your places!" Chou Wuyuan waved and smiled at everyone.
The group returned to their places, and for the time being, the matter was considered closed.
Ziyi was still somewhat indignant, looking at Hu Yue Qianchou beside her. She wondered what had gotten into him. Just yesterday, he had smashed someone's counter over a single sentence, but today he had endured being verbally abused. Yue Qianchou had temporarily put the matter aside. He had thought the discussions between the various factions were over, but it seemed they were still going on. He wondered what had happened that had dragged on for so long.
After listening for a few moments, he understood. It turned out that Yan Bugui had brought two experts at the late Tribulation Transcendence stage Tribulation Transcendence stage realm. The group of fifty-three had come to the Hundred Flower Palace, intending to reconcile with the Hundred Flower Fairy and reunite as husband and wife. However, they were obstructed by various factions, led by Fu Xian Island. The two sides almost came to blows. It was unclear what Yan Bugui was thinking, but despite having the upper hand, he stubbornly swallowed his anger.
In truth, everyone understands that Yan Bugui isn't ready to formally break with the Huaxia Cultivation World yet. He's probably waiting for reinforcements from the foreign Cultivation World to arrive, and they're likely also coordinating things. The Western Huaxia Cultivation World isn't ready either, mainly because there are many sects, making it difficult to reach a consensus. The main issues involve how much money and manpower each sect would contribute if a conflict broke out, and who would be in command. The righteous sects aren't comfortable entrusting their manpower and resources to the demonic path, and vice versa. In reality, no one is comfortable handing over their resources to others casually.
A large-scale war isn't a simple fight between two people; it's likely to be a protracted battle, and the consumption of Spirit Stone and manpower will be enormous. Although each faction has stockpiled a considerable amount of emergency Spirit Stone, no one will give them away without a reason. Everyone hopes to contribute less money and manpower while others contribute more. After the war, the balance of power among the factions may be reshuffled, and everyone wants to preserve their strength.
Both the foreign Cultivation World on the other side of the Zhao Bugui border and the Huaxia Cultivation World are likely facing the same predicament, which is why no fighting has broken out yet. In short, whoever is prepared first will definitely strike first.
A formal falling out wouldn't work, but stirring up trouble would do the trick! It would dampen their morale. So, last night, Yan Bugui suddenly sent a challenge jade tablet to the Cultivation Alliance.
The content is very simple: both sides send people to fight twenty times. Once they enter the arena, it doesn't matter if they live or die. The winner is determined by the number of wins and losses, and the loser has to pay the winner one billion high-grade Spirit Stones.
Of course, challenges can't be without rules. You can't send someone at the early Tribulation stage late Tribulation Transcendence stage to kill you; that's not a challenge, it's tantamount to suicide. Yan Bugui's challenge letter states that either side can send someone to challenge the other first, and a person can participate multiple times, but the challenged party's representative cannot be of a higher cultivation level than the challenger. Of course, "If the challenged party is willing to send someone with low cultivation to their death, the opposing party will naturally have no objection."
That very night, the Huaxia Cultivation World responded with a challenge! This was something that couldn't be avoided; anyone who dared to mention avoiding it would be drowned in scorn. But a billion high-grade Spirit Stones couldn't possibly be raised by a single sect! When it came to allocating funds and manpower, things got tricky. Everyone could offer their reasons, but the key question was which sect would contribute money and manpower? So, after discussing for a long time, they couldn't come up with a clear solution. In short, everyone had a thousand and one reasons, all wanting to minimize their own contribution.
Ten billion high-grade Spirit Stones! Upon hearing this, Yue Qianchou's eyes almost lit up with greed, and he and Ziyi glanced at each other simultaneously.
"Yan Bugui from the Myriad Demon Palace and has now become a scourge on the Huaxia Cultivation World. The Ten Myriad Demon Palace is largely to blame for this challenge. I won't say that the Myriad Demon Palace will have to pay all ten billion high-grade Spirit Stones, but they should at least contribute the Myriad Demon Palace's share..."
Before Zhu Xianxian of the Daluo Sect could finish speaking, Chou Wuyuan jumped up and cursed, "Bullshit! Yan Bugui has long since established his own sect. He is him, Myriad Demon Palace is the Myriad Demon Palace. If your Daluo Sect doesn't want to pay, just say so. Don't keep using this as an excuse to keep going on and on. This is a matter for the entire Huaxia Cultivation World, not just for my Myriad Demon Palace."
"Chou Wuyuan, you're wrong. Why is it that someone like Yan Bugui come from other sects, but only from your Myriad Demon Palace? If your Myriad Demon Palace hadn't been so lax in its discipline, this wouldn't have happened. I think Elder Zhu is right, your Wanmo Palace should pay the lion's share." These words were spoken by Duan Tianbo, the fourth-ranked elder of the Sword Sect Duan Tianbo in the Righteous Path.
"Yes! Yes..." A group of Righteous Path echoed, all pointing their fingers at the Myriad Demon Palace. The demonic cultivators' expressions kept changing. Logically, they should have spoken up for them, but only the Myriad Demon Palace could give them leverage. A little more money was fine! Anyway, the Myriad Demon Palace was wealthy; this little bit of ruthenium was nothing to them.
Yue Qianchou now understood why Chou Wuyuan had such a sour face when he came in; he had become the target of everyone's attack. Sigh! Yan Bugui trouble, and now the Myriad Demon Palace has become the scapegoat. It's Chou Wuyuan, who's always on the go.
"Duan Tianbo, you're no better. You call yourself a member of a prestigious sect, but when trouble comes, you're the most cowardly of all."
Quick.
"Fine! If you believe this matter has nothing to do with your Sword Sect, then please withdraw your Sword Sect from the Cultivation Alliance. My Myriad Demon Palace will cover your Sword Sect's losses."
After pointing his finger at Duan Tianbo and Chou Wuyuan, Qiu Wuyuan looked around at everyone and pounded his chest loudly, saying, "If the Righteous Path think this has nothing to do with you, they can all withdraw from the Cultivation Alliance. My Myriad Demon Palace will take care of the righteous ones. A bunch of shameless bastards who call themselves righteous sects, I spit on them!"
Qiu Wuyuan, Chou Wuyuan his verbal battle with the assembled heroes, turned red with anger. His harsh words immediately provoked the various sects of the Righteous Path to stand up and retort sharply, "Chou Wuyuan, explain yourself clearly. Who are you calling shameless?"
"I'll curse a bunch of cowards! Anyone who tries to back down in this matter, I'll curse them! Anyone who wants to fight, I'm ready!" Chou Wuyuan was too lazy to argue anymore. Anyway, things were pointless; arguing with so many mouths would just be exhausting. His gaze had just casually caught sight of Yue Qianchou, and a thought struck him. Although he wasn't as eloquent or always able to reason as Yue, he could certainly imitate Yue's shamelessness! Who could possibly try to steal money from him?
Once the righteous faction rises up, not to mention the Demon Family Four Generals, several sects of the Demonic Path will also rise up. It's one thing to talk about it, but if a real fight breaks out, the other sects of the Demonic Path will not let the Myriad Demon Palace suffer a loss.
This really got interesting. As soon as one side stood up, another side followed suit, turning the situation from one dominated by the Ten Myriad Demon Palace into a confrontation Righteous and Demonic paths. Chou Wuyuan's pressure lessened considerably. He glanced at Yue Qianchou, who was watching the spectacle with his chin twitching, and thought to himself, "No wonder this guy always manages to stir up trouble. He just tries this rogue method, and immediately one family's problem becomes everyone's problem, while he gets less involved. Worth learning!"
The situation was getting a bit out of control. The Four Great Families had always been neutral, belonging neither to the demonic path nor the Righteous Path. After glancing at Yue Nianchou, who was leisurely stroking his chin, the group decided to relax and watch the show. Yue Qianchou was secretly delighted! The representatives sent by each faction were truly living up to their expectations, doing their utmost to secure the greatest benefit for their respective factions.
"Gentlemen, gentlemen, please calm down. I have a suggestion, but I don't know if you would like to hear it." Quan Deming from Fu Xian Island, seeing that things were getting out of hand, frowned and thought for a moment before shouting loudly.
Hearing that there was a solution, which might even concern their sect, they immediately quieted down and looked at Quan Deming. The latter waved his hand and said, "Everyone, sit down. This arguing isn't going to work. Let me explain slowly."
Chou Wuyuan was the first to sit down, and after everyone started arguing, he remained silent, choosing to stay out of it. The various factions followed suit and sat down one after another.
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