Elsewhere.
Lin Heng arrived at a manor outside the City Lord's Manor. It had previously been a Sun Clan property within the city, but now it had become Luo Xiaochuan's foothold.
Even the plaque over the gates now read Luo Manor.
"Hehe!" Lin Heng sat down as soon as he entered and teased, "Patriarch Luo really intends to settle down here. You've even put up the plaque."
"ε=(′ο｀*))) Sigh! Little Friend Lin, you've become the City Lord. Other than settling down here, this old man has nowhere else to go."
"City Lord Lin, please look over the Dugu Clan's letter." Luo Xiaochuan handed him the scroll.
Lin Heng merely gave it a cursory glance before tossing it aside. "Let's discuss it. The Dugu Clan's people can be used in a trade, but we definitely can't trade them all away at once."
"As long as we hold bargaining chips in our hands, they won't dare act rashly! Of course, they may also smash the cauldrons and sink the boats. After all, people are bound to die in war. If their own juniors are useless... then there's nothing to say if they die."
"So we can't place all our chips on the hostages!"
After hearing this, Luo Xiaochuan stroked his beard and nodded deeply in agreement. "City Lord Lin speaks wisely. In conflicts between great clans, disciples will inevitably fall. Holding hostages is not a long-term solution."
"Therefore, judging by our current location, there are only two paths ahead. Head north to open relations with the Demon Race, or head south to break through the Great Wall Barrier and cooperate with forces like the Great Wall Dao Palace!"
Simplified map of Immortal Sea Summit
For audiobook listeners, there is an image here
"Great Wall Dao Palace..." Luo Xiaochuan's expression gradually turned solemn.