A Deal with Shi Ren

Two months later, in the Langya Pavilion Secret Realm.

May our ancestors have a safe journey!

"With you here in Central Plains, we feel very reassured," Xiao Xuan said with relief.

He immediately gave a shout, casually slashed open a dark crack, turned around and stepped in. Behind him, a series of taciturn figures entered one after another.

Gazing at the slowly closing Space Rift, Xiao Han stood there for a long time before turning back and leaving.

In the Northern Region of Central Plains, Stone Forest.

Within the vast mountain range, atop a peak surrounded by towering mountains, sat an aged figure with grayish-white skin, exuding a faint air of twilight.

However, the elderly man did not show any weakness; the glint in his eyes indicated that his mind was still sharp.

"Senior Stone Clan, it seems you still believe in me, your junior!"

At this moment, a gentle voice suddenly came from behind the old man, and a figure in white slowly emerged, which was Xiao Han.

The old man paused for a moment, then, without turning around, spoke in a slightly weathered voice.

"Junior? The Ice Saint's strength far surpasses that of an old man like myself. Who would dare to treat the Ice Saint as a junior now?"

Xiao Han suddenly appeared before the old man, a smile in his eyes, which he quickly concealed, and said seriously, "Since Senior Shi is willing to come, it seems you agree with what I said?"

The old man chuckled and said calmly, "This concerns the survival of the Stone Clan. I am not so pedantic as to question the judgment of a Nine Star Dou Sheng expert."

"Now that things have come to this, I ask the Ice Saint to draw a line. Whatever my Stone Clan can provide, I, Shi Ren, will not hesitate to do so."

"As long as you tell me the truth, that will suffice."

Shi Ren, patriarch of the Stone Clan, early stage of Seven Star Dou Sheng.

Upon hearing this, Xiao Han smiled, "It seems that Stone Race Chief is quite sincere."

"Then I won't stand on ceremony."

As he spoke, a Scroll appeared in his hand, which he handed to Shi Ren, who took it and slowly began to peruse it.

As Shi Ren read on, his brows furrowed even more.

Finally, she slowly raised her head, looked at Xiao Han, her face full of complex emotions, and said, "It seems that Langya Pavilion's intelligence gathering was very thorough!"

Xiao Han's conditions almost perfectly met Shi Ren's expectations. It could be said that if Shi Ren hadn't known that no one other than the two of them knew about this matter, he would have suspected that there was a traitor among the Stone Clan's higher-ups.

Excluding the existence of traitors, the only possibility is that the smiling junior in front of him has investigated the Stone Clan's many secrets and even roughly deduced the Stone Clan's strength.

This is how they were able to propose a condition that would maximize their benefits without being rejected by the Stone Clan.

In response to Shi Ren's ambiguous tone, Xiao Han said calmly:

"As you know, senior, our Langya Pavilion used to make a living from intelligence gathering. It was just a small-scale operation, nothing serious, and it couldn't compare to the profound foundation of the Ancient Races."

Although it is necessary to make use of other Ancient Races, this does not prevent Xiao Han from temporarily extracting some benefits.

Shi Ren gave a wry smile. Intelligence is of paramount importance to almost any power. After all, no one wants to be blind and deaf. Being able to uncover the long-closed Stone Clan is no small feat!

But now is not the time to concern oneself with the source of the other party's intelligence. Shi Ren immediately said:

"On behalf of the Stone Clan, I agree to these conditions."

"Great!" Xiao Han didn't pretend and immediately took out a jade slip that exuded Cold Qi and handed it to Shi Ren.

Several tens of minutes later, Shi Ren raised his head, stared solemnly at Xiao Han, and said in a deep voice:

"Ice Saint, this is no small matter!"

Xiao Han raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"

"It seems Senior Shi Ren has some doubts about the situation!"

Shi Ren said in an unfriendly tone, "What you're saying is rather absurd, isn't it? Does the Soul Clan really have this ability?"

"So, senior, you have a target you suspect?"

"This..." Shi Ren was speechless for a moment. The reason he accepted Xiao Han's invitation so readily was because the disappearance of the Spirit Clan was too mysterious.

There are many forces capable of destroying the Spirit Clan. Even the Ice Saint before him alone is enough to severely damage the Spirit Clan and make it disappear from the continent.

But in his memory, there was practically no one who could wipe out an entire clan so quietly, leaving not even a single survivor.

The difference in difficulty between the two is enormous.

If the facts hadn't been presented to him, he would never have imagined that such a terrifying force existed on the mainland.

His initial guess was more likely to be the Gu Clan, because in the general perception, the Gu Clan was the strongest race at present, and the Soul Clan had always been at a disadvantage in their clashes with the Gu Clan.

Although the Gu Clan is more upright than the Soul Clan, you can only know a person's face but not their heart. What if the Gu Clan is two-faced?

But now Xiao Han is telling him that the mastermind is the Soul Clan, which creates a sense of disillusionment.

"May I ask you, sir, how strong is the Soul Clan?" Shi Ren suddenly realized a question and asked with a focused expression.

"Then you must keep it a secret, senior!" Xiao Han didn't refuse. "After all, I still need information to exchange for some gold and silver!"

Shi Ren was no longer willing to trust this cunning and shrewd young man.

The benefits that the other party just took from him were enough to cover the expenses of a Super faction for ten years. One can imagine how much profit margin Langya Pavilion's business has.

But when you're under someone's roof, you have to bow your head. Shi Ren had no choice but to swear on his Daoist heart that he would never leak the information.

After saying that, Xiao Han made a "two" gesture towards Shi Ren.

He said, "You two!"

"Two people?" Shi Ren frowned, and subconsciously asked, "What do you mean?"

Before the other party could react, Xiao Han said with a smile, "Two Nine Star Dou Sheng!"

"What?" Shi Ren's pupils dilated in shock. He abruptly stood up, his fingers digging into his flesh involuntarily, and exclaimed in horror:

Is this really true?

What does it mean to have two Nine Star Dou Sheng? That's a power that even the Gu Clan never possessed!

He was beginning to believe that the Soul Clan had the ability to destroy the Spirit Clan. With these two powerful figures appearing, the Spirit Clan, with its meager resources, was nothing more than a flock of lambs to the slaughter.

"Hehe." Xiao Han said casually, "Whether you believe it or not depends on how you handle it, senior."

Shi Ren realized that he did not doubt whether Xiao Han was exaggerating or spreading alarmist rumors.

In these kinds of situations, it's better to believe it's true than not. If what the other party says is true, then you should prepare in advance.

Since the other side was able to annihilate the Spirit Clan, the Stone Clan would naturally be no match for them either.

Therefore, it is necessary to find allies...

Ally!

Shi Ren was suddenly startled. Right, wasn't the person in front of him the perfect example?

While other Ancient Races are not incapable, in terms of the strength of top experts, this one is second only to the Ancient Soul Clans!

Compared to the more familiar Ancient Races, this one, though prone to exorbitant demands, is far more trustworthy.

Just as Shi Ren looked at Xiao Han with hopeful eyes, about to speak, the latter suddenly spoke up expressionlessly:

"I refuse!"