Tongtian fell silent after he finished speaking.
This was clearly his bottom line. Unless Taishang Laozi could offer something of equivalent value, Tongtian would refuse to raise the stakes again, even if it meant failure.
After all, sincerity had to go both ways.
Since he had already shown his sincerity, it was now Taishang Laozi's turn to take a stand.
After all, it had to be mutual.
He had already named his price. If Taishang Laozi still refused to take a stand, then he had no sincerity.
In that case, there was no point in continuing the discussion.
An arrangement where only one side gave anything was inherently unequal.
Moreover, Tongtian had pointed out that Taishang Laozi had a way out. If Tongtian truly swindled him, Taishang Laozi only needed to swallow a little of his pride to regain his Heavenly Dao Sage Dao Fruit.
All in all, then, Taishang Laozi was not giving up much.
Under these circumstances, if he still refused to accept, Tongtian could only conclude that he was trying to trick him into handing over his reserves.
After hearing Tongtian out, Taishang Laozi instantly realized this as well.
And so, he fell silent.
Clearly, he too was considering whether to take the gamble.
To say that he was content to remain stagnant like this, forever a Heavenly Dao Sage, was clearly nonsense.
At bottom, he had simply had no other choice.
Now that the path upward had opened, all that remained was whether he was willing to gamble.
Seeing Taishang Laozi fall silent, Tongtian knew he was thinking. Rather than trying to persuade him, he simply waited in silence.
Only after roughly four hours did Taishang Laozi open his eyes.
"Third Brother, bring out the cultivation art you deduced. Let me examine it carefully."
"If there