This was a very practical question. The Universal Trade Association had been established for many years and maintained dealings with various powers. They held stakes in one another and cooperated, with competition and confrontation woven into the mix.
Even the elders present came from different aristocratic clans or powers, while some were rogue cultivators.
The world's landscape was no longer as black and white as it once had been. As the times changed, it had become a complex web in which each side was embedded in the others, their interests interlocking like a dog's teeth, impossible to untangle.
For these elders, weighing the advantages and disadvantages required considering many things. They could not judge solely by whether something benefited or harmed the merchant association.
Even among their own people, there were different factions, each of which could gain different benefits or suffer different blows from the same affair.
After listening, Lu Zhengping told everyone, "I have some intelligence to share with you. This matter should have been initiated by Fang Qianyuan, the Azure Cloud Sect's newly appointed elder. Although the Xiao Clan is one of the five great aristocratic clans, they don't try to acquire every earth rank spirit creature they see. It is Fang Qianyuan who wants this one."
"Is that so?" The elders relaxed a little upon hearing this.
An earth rank spirit creature could strengthen an expert, or be studied and analyzed as a foundation for cultivation. Sects and aristocratic clans could also pay an enormous price to perform lifeform manifestation on it, turning it into a shared resource.
These were all ways it could be used.
But usually, only rising powers would be so eager. Long-established aristocratic clans with deep foundations, such as the Xiao Clan, were more selective.
"If it is only Fang Qianyuan who