"Seven hundred li?"
"Heh heh heh..."
Facing the Song Household's fifth elder and his haggling, Lin Xiye gave a cold laugh.
Hearing Lin Xiye's cold laugh, the Song Household's fifth elder, trapped inside the Three Talents Formation Flags and covered in wounds, had no choice but to steel himself and speak.
"Brother Lin, six hundred li... just six hundred li!"
"As long as Brother Lin agrees, after I return to my clan, I'll do my best to persuade the patriarch to form an alliance between the Song Household and Brother Lin's lineage! From then on, we'll advance and retreat together!!"
The Song Household's fifth elder was growing weaker by the moment. Under the Three Talents Formation Flags' onslaught, he truly could not hold on any longer.
Even if Lin Xiye did not truly intend to kill him, if he were injured too severely here, his foundation on the immortal path would be damaged, and even his lifespan could be affected...
"Six hundred li?"
"It seems there's still no room for negotiation..."
Even though the Song Household's fifth elder had made another concession, Lin Xiye still did not withdraw the Three Talents Formation Flags.
Most of the time, the process of negotiation... was a process of both sides making one compromise after another.
The most important thing in a negotiation was to keep one's composure, remain calm and unhurried, and then, while gaining more advantages for oneself, force one's opponent to yield further!
"Brother Lin, of the territory within a thousand li of Zichuan City, your Lin Household is only offering the outermost three hundred li... that really is a little too little."
The Song Household's fifth elder forced himself to stay upright and continued bargaining with Lin Xiye.
In the end, after yet more rounds of back-and-forth, Lin Xiye still ceded five hundred li of territory.
The Song Household was powerful. If the Lin Household did not cede some benefits, another conflict was inevitable.
The Lin Household's foundations were still far too shallow, and it had just been through a great battle. It urgently needed to maintain peace with the outside world...
But Lin Xiye had also truly developed killing intent toward the Song Household.
The ceded territory could be left in the Song Household's hands for now... once the Lin Household had fully stabilized the situation in Zichuan City and finished recuperating, it would be time to take everything back.
Those who took advantage of the Lin Household would pay a painful price.
Whoosh...
After everything had been settled, Lin Xiye raised a hand and waved, withdrawing the Three Talents Formation Flags.
"Brother Lin, until we meet again..."
Once Lin Xiye put away the Three Talents Formation Flags, the Song Household's fifth elder did not linger in Zichuan City. He cupped his fists and bowed to Lin Xiye, then hurried out of the city with the Song Household's seventh elder, as though fleeing for their lives...
Although the two had not completely fulfilled the task assigned by the Song Household's patriarch on this trip to Zichuan City, they had successfully taken five hundred li of territory from the Lin Household!
After all, the territory currently controlled by the Song Household stretched only two thousand li from north to south.
For the Song Household, five hundred li of territory was already a sizable piece of land!
More importantly, the Song Household had expanded its territory this time without paying any price.
With this achievement, the Song Household patriarch's branch would surely win the next patriarchal election again.
As they watched the two Song Household elders recede into the distance, the Lin clansmen's faces were grave. Many clenched their fists, their eyes filled with resentment, helplessness, and anger...
The young and hot-blooded members of the Lin Household in particular were furious beyond measure that the Song Household had interfered and forcibly taken five hundred li of territory around Zichuan City.
Only the white-haired elders of the Lin Household, leaning on their walking sticks, remained calm...
The longer one lived, the better one understood the cruelty of the world.
If you were not strong, you would be bullied and oppressed.
If you were not strong, even the benefits already in your grasp would still be taken away.
If you were not strong, you would have no dignity, perhaps not even the right to survive...
It was so between powers.
And it was the same between individuals.
In the pouring rain, every member of the Lin Household remained silent...
Just as the oppressive atmosphere reached its peak, Lin Xiye slowly spoke.
"Are you angry? Do you feel powerless?"
"The reason for all of this is that our Lin Household isn't strong enough!"
"If we aren't strong enough, we must bear this humiliation for the time being."
As Lin Xiye spoke, an endless depth appeared in his eyes, as though galaxies sparkled within them, as though they held an infinite universe...
Hearing Lin Xiye's voice, the Lin clansmen lowered their heads one after another.
Over the past century, the Lin Household's circumstances had been far too comfortable... so comfortable that many clansmen had forgotten the cruelty of the world.
Not until the Zhao Household attacked, not until they were forced by the Song Household's threat to cede benefits already in their grasp...
Fortunately, the ancestor had been there to hold the fort, resolving the lineage's crises time and again.
Without the ancestor, the Lin Household would probably have declined step by step over the past century, perhaps even heading toward destruction, without ever lasting long enough for the Zhao Household to attack.
"Remember, when you suffer humiliation in weakness, don't be angry. Know your shame and draw courage from it..."
Lin Xiye's weathered voice echoed through the rain as he taught the Lin clansmen, especially the younger generation...
Lin Xiye did not care about temporarily ceding five hundred li of territory. What mattered more to him was forging the Lin Household's spirit and conviction.
Spirit and conviction were the very core that allowed a lineage to remain prosperous and stand for all ages.
If the people of a power were divided, then no matter how enormous it grew, internal strife would surely never cease, and it might even be torn apart...
"If everyone in our Lin Household strives to better themselves, what is the mere Song Household? When the day comes, what difficulty would there be even in sweeping across the Jin Kingdom?"
"Heaven does not fail those who persevere! Sleep on brushwood and taste gall, and three thousand armored troops can swallow the Song Household; command a million soldiers and sweep through the kingdoms!!"
Swish!!
Lin Xiye's white hair drifted in the wind. With his back to the assembled clansmen, he walked step by step into the former Zhao Household residence, leaving only his words echoing between heaven and earth...
Compared with the Lin Household's ancestral grounds, the Zhao Household residence was practically the size of a small imperial palace.
Moreover, the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi at the Zhao Household residence clearly far surpassed that of the Lin Household's ancestral grounds.
Lin Xiye found the quietest courtyard, where the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi was most abundant. After setting up a basic illusion formation, he prepared to sit cross-legged and cultivate.
From suppressing and killing the Zhao Household's remaining cultivators and wiping out the ancestors of the three households... to confronting the two Song Household elders, all of it had greatly depleted Lin Xiye.
He had to recover as quickly as possible to deal with any unforeseen developments that might arise...
Before Lin Xiye began cultivating to recover, he did not forget to order his clansmen to send half of the Zhao Household's accumulated resources to his courtyard.
Standing before a courtyard full of worldly gold, silver, and treasures, Lin Xiye took out the Immortal-Appraising Treasure Mirror and began strengthening the various items he carried.
First were the two Low-Level Five Thunder Talismans, which, for the current Lin Xiye, were unquestionably his ultimate trump cards!!
These two Low-Level Five Thunder Talismans had to be upgraded and strengthened, even if doing so consumed a great many resources!
As for his Law Treasures and Cultivation Methods... Lin Xiye did not choose to upgrade and strengthen them with the Immortal-Appraising Treasure Mirror.
The Law Treasures Lin Xiye possessed were all Spirit-Nurturing Grade! Further upgrading and strengthening a Spirit-Nurturing Grade Law Treasure would turn it into a Foundation Establishment Grade Law Treasure.
While Lin Xiye could still use Spirit Stone fragments to barely bring out a portion of a Spirit-Nurturing Grade Law Treasure's power, he had no way to use a Foundation Establishment Grade Law Treasure at all.
As for Cultivation Methods... the ones Lin Xiye possessed were basically all Foundation Establishment Cultivation Methods. He even had the second volume of the Scarlet Flame Dao Scripture, which could be cultivated to the Core Formation Realm.
So Lin Xiye did not need to upgrade or strengthen his Cultivation Methods either.
In the end, Lin Xiye decided to spend all his resources on improving his aptitude, upgrading the Low-Level Five Thunder Talismans, and repairing the Foundation Establishment Grade Spirit Gathering Formation.