The gifts Jin Shiyue had personally prepared were staggeringly lavish.
They included generous quantities of rare Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures, and even a complete High-Grade Saint Vein.
They had never seen a gift like this. They had never even heard of one.
A complete High-Grade Saint Vein was a treasure a faction could build its legacy upon. What fool would give one away as an ordinary gift?
Wouldn't that make him a complete sucker?
In the reception hall, the Dao Sages of the Azure Cloud Heaven Sect stared blankly, each of them inwardly crying out in disbelief.
But the gifts were already before them. What else could they say?
They would take them, of course!!
Whatever happened next, and whatever purpose lay behind this so-called visit from the Southern Border Alliance, they could accept the good stuff first. At least they wouldn't lose out, right?
"Ahem..."
"Fellow Daoist Jin, we're old acquaintances. A visit would have been enough... Why go to such expense? You're making us feel awkward."
Ancestor Qingxuan said that, but his hands moved without the slightest hesitation.
With a wave, he swept the piles of gifts into his wide sleeves.
Jin Shiyue's mouth twitched slightly when Ancestor Qingxuan accepted the gifts so readily, but he said nothing more. That had been his aim all along.
He composed himself.
Then he spoke solemnly.
"Fellow Daoist Qingxuan, we are indeed old acquaintances, but this visit is different from those before."
"In the past, I represented myself or the Heaven Moon Tribe."
"This time is no ordinary visit. We represent the entire Southern Border Alliance."
Ancestor Qingxuan grew a little more serious. He had heard Jin Shiyue's deliberate emphasis.
"Oh... What exactly is this Southern Border Alliance?"
"I was in the Southern Border not long ago, and I heard