Settling-in Allowance
"I don't need to explain what this means." Chou Wuyuan tossed the jade tablet in his hand onto the coffee table. He chuckled and said, "Didn't you see how obedient those people were to Yue Qianchou? With such useful subordinates, do you think that guy Yue Qianchou would obediently hand over the person?"
"Sigh! Whether we like it or not, someone has to go and say it! Otherwise, we won't be able to explain to the various factions," Dongfang Changao said helplessly.
"They just saved our lives, and we're going to cut off their flesh? Who can say that?" Chou Wuyuan slapped the coffee table beside him.
Dongfang Changao frowned and said, "They didn't see what happened back then, it's easy for them to talk when they're not in the situation. But since my Fu Xian Island and your Myriad Demon Palace have agreed, and we're in charge here, only you and I can go and talk to them."
"What nonsense!" Chou Wuyuan stood up abruptly, pointed east, and said angrily, "They dare to speak so arrogantly because they are far away. Do you believe that if they were face to face, none of them would dare to say such a thing to Yue Qianchou's face? That kid's character is such that no matter how high your cultivation level is or who you are, he would dare to kill people on the spot. Which sect would dare to spout such nonsense?"
"This also contains the decrees of your Myriad Demon Palace. Do you dare disobey?" Dongfang Changao asked.
Upon hearing this, Qiu Wuyuan Chou Wuyuan he puffed out his beard and glared. He plopped down again. Dongfang Changao stood up and sighed, "There's no point in us lingering here. Let's go! We'll go together and lose face together."
Upstairs at Hundred Flower Inn, Yue Qianchou was stroking his chin and sneering at the window. As soon as the results of the discussions on the shores of the East Sea came out, Bi Shan immediately sent word, instructing the people at the Bi family's shops to inform him. He was now waiting here to see who from the Cultivation Alliance would deliver this good news to him.
The Hundred Charm Demoness leaning to the side frowned slightly. She was secretly the leader of the Crimson Powder Sect, so she naturally knew about the outcome of the discussion. Yue Qianchou glanced at her and sneered, "None of you so-called sects are any good. If I had known, I would have wiped out all the disciples of the Hundred Flower Valley. A bunch of ungrateful bastards."
The Hundred Charm Demoness rolled her eyes and said, "Why are you dragging me into this too? Most factions agree with it. How can a small sect like my Crimson Powder Sect stop it? Besides, are you someone who's easy to talk to? Would you hand him over?"
"Hmph!" Yue Qianchou snorted coldly without saying a word, thinking to himself, the real show is yet to come, let's play slowly.
"Hey! I'm asking you, what's the relationship between those six hundred Rogue Cultivator and the 'heroes'?" Hundred Charm Demoness Ji leaned closer with a seductive smile, poking his waist with her finger. Yue Qianchou shook his head decisively and said, "They have absolutely no relationship, don't overthink it."
The girl in Ziyi, sitting obediently to the side, stared wide-eyed at the two. She could understand some of what they were saying at first, but the more she listened, the more confused she became. Seeing the two of them so affectionately together, a strange pang of jealousy welled up inside her.
"They've arrived," Yue Qianchou said, looking down at Dongfang Changao and Chou Wuyuan, who were approaching together. Hundred Charm Demoness followed her gaze, and the two below also saw the two at the window above. They exchanged glances and silently entered Hundred Flower Inn.
As soon as the two entered the room, Yue Qianchou waved his hand at them and said, "There's no need to say anything. I already know everything. For the sake of the bigger picture, I have no objections, but to be honest, I can't make decisions for those Rogue Cultivators. If you have anything to say, you can talk to them face to face! I won't get involved, lest I be accused of sabotage. Come on! Let's go see them."
The two men were taken aback, then realized it made sense; the Four Great Families had probably already informed him before them. But that was for the best, to avoid any awkwardness. So, without a word, they followed him out. Inwardly, however, they were quite skeptical: Was this guy really that easy to talk to?
As soon as they left Hundred Flower Inn, they saw passersby constantly bowing to Yue Qianchou, for he had saved their lives! Yue Qianchou waved back with a kind smile. After the group left Hundred Flower Valley, Yue Qianchou threw out a flying sword. He rode away on the sword, and the others followed him to a secluded valley where they landed.
Looking around and seeing no one, Yue Qianchou clapped his hands. Suddenly, from a dark corner of the valley, someone shouted, "Who's there?"
"Heavenly King covers the Earth Tiger," Yue Qianchou uttered, shaking his head, a statement that left the others bewildered. From the shadows, someone immediately replied, "Pagoda suppresses the river demon!"
The group quickly realized it was a coded message, and they were all stunned by the classic code, exchanging bewildered glances. Several figures appeared, revealing a group of Rogue Cultivator. The black cloth covering their heads was mostly lifted, revealing their noses and mouths, which were covered in dirt. They were chewing, seemingly eating something.
Dongfang Changao and the others turned their gaze to their hands. Some people were holding wild sweet potatoes, while others were holding wild mountain spirits. Most of them had been bitten off, so they were eating these. However, it seemed that none of them had been washed, and they had just casually dug up some dirt before eating.
The group was completely bewildered, not knowing what was going on. Then Yue Qianchou shook his head and sighed, "Brothers, I'm sorry! Elder Dongfang from Fu Xian Island and Elder Qiu from the Myriad Demon Palace have brought the decree from the Cultivation Alliance. You may do as you see fit; I won't say anything more." With that, he quietly walked to the side, his back to the group.
"Sorry to them? What did this guy do?" The group was even more confused. Dongfang Changao and Chou Wuyuan exchanged glances. Chou Wuyuan stepped forward, coughed, and said, "We have received a decree from the Cultivation Alliance. In order to deal with the provocations of foreign cultivators, we have decided to transfer more than 500 people from among you to provide support. Prepare to depart immediately."
"Pah!" The leader spat out what was in his mouth, waved his hand at Chou Wuyuan, and said, "What kind of bullshit decree is this? We're quitting! We're not doing this anymore. When it comes to getting money, we're left out, but when it comes to risking our lives, they think of us. Damn it, we haven't even gotten a single Spirit Stone yet, and we've been digging this stuff in the mountains to eat every day. What kind of garbage is this!"
As he spoke, he casually threw away half a wild sweet potato, and the others next to him also threw down what they were holding, shouting, "That's right, we're not doing this anymore if we don't get paid!" They wiped their mouths and pulled their veils back down.
Dongfang Changao frowned, Chou Wuyuan's face darkened. Neither of them were fools; after all that fuss, this grand spectacle to scare people was ultimately for money—a classic Yue Qianchou style. If it wasn't orchestrated by Yue Qianchou, then something truly amiss.
Ziyi nodded in deep agreement with the masked Rogue Cultivator' claim that they wouldn't work without money, but she was somewhat puzzled as to why they would eat this stuff.
Hundred Charm Demoness couldn't help but chuckle. This guy couldn't even be more convincing; he had to make it so full of flaws. Would dignified cultivators in the Tribulation Transcendence stage really starve to the point of digging for wild sweet potatoes in the mountains? With their cultivation, they could easily abstain from Grain Avoidance for half a year. Asking for money under this pretext was just too lame.
"Yue Qianchou, what do you mean?" Chou Wuyuan turned around and asked, his face dark and he felt like he had been tricked.
"Hmph!" Yue Qianchou snorted coldly, thinking to himself, "It's good that you understand. I was afraid you wouldn't, otherwise you'd really think I'm an idiot." He slowly turned around and said, "I didn't mean anything. Their meaning is theirs, it has nothing to do with me."
Dongfang Changao patted Chou Wuyuan's arm, signaling him not to get too excited. He then stepped forward and asked the group of Rogue Cultivator, "We have already conveyed the decree. What are your requests? Feel free to tell me, and I will relay them to the Cultivation Alliance."
"Elder Dongfang, you are wise." The masked Rogue Cultivator in the lead clasped his hands and said, "We are all Rogue Cultivator. When the Cultivation Alliance didn't need us, they didn't even bother to look at us. Now that they do need us, a so-called decree makes us risk our lives. What a clever plan. We have elderly parents and young children to support, and no sect to guarantee our safety. If we die, we will have nothing left. We only have one request: give our brothers some resettlement allowance. That way, even if we die, we will have no complaints."
"With elderly parents to support and young children to raise? And a resettlement allowance? This sounds like something out of a worldly martial arts novel." Dongfang Changao was slightly taken aback, almost not understanding what they meant, but he understood that they ultimately wanted money. He took a deep breath and tried to remain calm, saying, "You can tell me directly how much money you want, and I will pass it on to the Cultivation Alliance. As for whether they will actually give it to you, I can't guarantee that."
The masked rogue Rogue Cultivator, "We have more than 600 brothers. Each of us will receive 100,000 high-grade Spirit Stones. If it's less than that, there's no need to say anything more."
"More than 60 million high-grade Spirit Stones, you're asking for the moon!" Chou Wuyuan sneered.
"Elder Qiu, whatever you say is fine. In short, no one should force anyone. We'll do it if you give us the money, and forget it if you don't. The world is vast. I believe that if our more than 600 brothers unite, making 60 million won't be difficult. What do you think, Elder Qiu?" The masked Rogue Cultivator spoke calmly, but the threat in his words was obvious to everyone.
Dongfang Changao raised his hand to stop Chou Wuyuan acting impulsively, and nodded, saying, "I understand what you mean, and I will definitely convey it. That's all for now! I'll tell you all after I get a reply."
Chou Wuyuan word, Dongfang Changao shot into the air and left first. Dongfang Changao cupped his hands to the crowd and also left.
"Well done, you guys keep going. I won't bother you any longer." Yue Qianchou said with a smile, then threw out a flying sword and ran off, with the two women following behind. The group had made their trip without achieving anything of real value.
Upon receiving the news from this side, many members of the various factions immediately began to curse, but they still felt that having these people gathered together was a threat and that they must find a way to break them up. At the same time, they all wanted to recruit them into their own ranks, especially since everyone understood what it meant to have another batch of Tribulation Transcendence stage experts under the current circumstances.
Sixty million high-grade Spirit Stones could be raised by any large sect, but none of them wanted to monopolize the wealth of over six hundred people. So, the sects devised a plan to pool their resources, dividing the six hundred-plus independent Rogue Cultivator among themselves at a rate of one hundred thousand high-grade spirit stones per person. Upon receiving the news, Dongfang Changao and Chou Wuyuan went to find the Rogue Cultivator again, but these guys wouldn't act without first obtaining the Spirit Stone ...
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