[Crouching Dragon Mountains · Underground Cave Abode]
Qing Chen ended his communication with Tie Ming.
Brothers? Guest elder? A marriage alliance?
Nothing more than the right to speak as equals, earned once my strength reached the requisite level.
Tie Ming's overture had been within his expectations.
After all, Nascent Soul and Immortal Realm powerhouses were pillars of support even on the Nanhua Continent, where powerful figures emerged in abundance.
They stood among the upper ranks of any faction.
In the Great Jin Immortal Dynasty, they would hold at least a subordinate fifth rank office.
But how many tangible benefits that address of "big brother" could bring would depend on the outcome of the coming battle.
He never pinned his hopes on others' goodwill, trusting only the strength in his hands and the benefits he had calculated.
"Old monster Purple Spider... you certainly think highly of me." Qing Chen's gaze fell once more upon the position marked "Withered Skeleton County" on the sand table, his eyes sharp as blades.
His fingertip traced across the sand table as he worked through Purple Spider True Lord's possible routes of advance and methods of attack.
His opponent was an old monster of many years, with cultivation at minor achievement in the Nascent Soul early stage and extensive combat experience. The Spider Demon Guard under his command were elites of fearsome renown.
It was just like Qing Chen: he commanded eighty thousand troops, but the strongest were undoubtedly the thirty thousand cultivators of the Veteran Miao-Conquest Army.
By Qing Chen's estimate, there was an eighty percent chance that these thirty thousand Spider Demon Guards would be the ones attacking Withered Skeleton City.
"Report!" The voice of his personal guard Gao Yuliang came from outside the cave abode.
"Speak."
"My lord, our covert agents lurking across