After Xi Yuanlin, Zhu Tianxiang, and the others resolved to seek reinforcements, they immediately contacted members of the Netherworld Sect with whom they had connections.
These great merchants of the West Sea already had countless tangled ties to the Netherworld Sect. Their allegiance to the Money Dao had merely made it inconvenient to throw in their lot with the Demonic Path outright. Now, however, they could no longer afford such concerns.
Colluding with the Demonic Path might bring considerable trouble in the future, but if they could not survive the crisis before them, everything else would be moot.
Yet after finding a Netherworld Sect Messenger, they suddenly discovered that the other side was not particularly willing to intervene directly.
"There is something you do not know. The sect has now strictly forbidden us from intervening in the West Sea."
"Why? Haven't you always wanted to taint the West Sea with demonic influence and transform it into a nether domain?"
Hearing the messenger's words, Xi Yuanlin could not help feeling deeply puzzled.
"The realms are separated by the void. Traveling back and forth is hardly as simple as you imagine. Besides, when we asked for your help before, you made one excuse after another. Now that you are in trouble, you think to come looking for us. Why should we help?" The messenger sneered.
Xi Yuanlin paid no heed to the messenger's reproach. It was merely an excuse to raise the price. The difficulties they faced, however, were very real.
"What exactly would it take for you to act?" Xi Yuanlin drew a deep breath, bracing himself to be fleeced.
But the messenger said, "We are not trying to evade the matter. It truly is difficult to arrange. It is like two countries at war: once the border defenses are fortified