Selling Demon Remains to the Immortal Cultivation World
The Great Tree Sage did not keep Wentesi waiting long. He guided the vines on his branches to draw a large circle on the ground.
He divided the circle into four sections of different sizes.
Then he used the vines to write Elvish words in the different sections.
They were: Wilderness, Light, Wealth, and Red Dragon.
The shares were in a ratio of four to three to two to one.
The Wilderness had the largest share, while the red dragon had the smallest.
"So what's this?"
Wentesi asked the Great Tree Sage in confusion. He felt as though the sage was posing riddles like a bronze dragon.
The Great Tree Sage did not answer Wentesi's question. Instead, just like a brass dragon, he actually gave him a riddle:
"Without lips, he swallows and breathes out darkness;
He is a wound upon Mother Forest;
When the wind sweeps past, demons whisper through him;
Those who set foot within can scarcely return to the world of the living."
Brass dragons among the true dragons were all keen on posing and answering riddles. They often roamed the wilds, giving riddles to any creature they caught.
This had also made riddles popular throughout the main plane.
The Great Tree Sage's riddle was simple. It practically spelled out the answer.
The Abyssal Rift.
"So we're dividing up the Abyssal Rift?"
Wentesi was even more confused. His dragon tail curved downward, its tip swaying from side to side.
He truly could not understand why they were dividing up the Abyssal Rift.
This was what he had agreed upon when he first gave the Great Tree Sage the information.
Shouldn't they have wiped the Abyssal Rift out of existence and eliminated the threat for good?
"No... more precisely, we're dividing up the demons that come out of the Abyssal Rift."
The Great Tree Sage corrected him.
Aierde, the ascetic of Light standing nearby, gave Wentesi the answer directly:
"After studying the matter, our higher-ups concluded that this Abyssal Rift can be controlled. With a little management, it can produce a steady stream of demons."
"We? Produce demons?"
Wentesi was even more confused, though he had a slight guess in mind. He just wasn't sure.
Seeing that Wentesi was still confused, the Great Tree Sage went ahead and told him the whole story behind the Abyssal Rift.
After the Great Tree Sage reported the matter to the Church of the Wilderness, it passed the information on to the Church of Light and the Church of Wealth.
On the main plane, the Church of Light was usually the main force in campaigns against demons, devils, and other forces from evil planes. It also called on powers everywhere to share relevant information with it.
The Church of Light specialized in wiping out demons, so informing it was a given.
At the same time, given its proximity, the Church of Wealth also had to do its part in dealing with the Abyssal Rift.
After all, once an Abyssal Rift appeared, the nearby forces of the Church of Wealth would inevitably bear the brunt, with no way to avoid it.
Specialists from the three churches came to investigate and discovered that, although the Abyssal Rift was still in its infancy, it had already begun to take shape.
Only a Legendary space mage or a Legendary with a profession related to space could close it.
Otherwise, it would inevitably open in the future. Even using a seal or any number of other methods would only delay it.
Space-related professionals and mages at the Legendary level were extremely rare, and finding one on short notice in this remote Wilderness was no easy matter.
One option was to wait a year for a space-related Legendary to arrive.
But just then, the Church of Light proposed an alternative.
"Lure the demons into the world, shut the door, and beat them."
Every time a demon teleported through, it consumed some of the Abyssal Rift's energy.
If no demons maintained its energy on the main plane, the Abyssal Rift would eventually close with the passage of time.
Moreover, the main plane's consciousness deeply loathed evil invaders like these, who invaded the main plane from other planes.
Any creature that killed an invader could receive a reward to some extent.
These rewards were intangible. They might be elusive good luck, a sudden flash of inspiration, a shortcut to advancement, a special talent, and so on.
So the Church of Light, the Church of Wealth, and the Church of the Wilderness discussed the matter and decided to open the Abyssal Rift gradually.
That way, they could both consume the Abyssal Rift's energy and receive rewards from the main plane, getting the best of both worlds.
"So I get one-tenth?"
Having learned the whole story, Wentesi the red dragon pointed a dragon claw at the smallest section of the circle and asked.
"That's right, red dragon,
"After consideration, we concluded that if you hadn't brought us this information in advance, the Wilderness would surely have suffered incursions from demons. You may have a share."
A smile appeared on the Great Tree Sage's wooden face.
"Don't worry, your share certainly won't be shortchanged. As long as the Abyssal Rift exists, you can enter and kill demons to receive rewards from the main plane's consciousness."
"No, no, no! Great Tree Sage, I think you've misunderstood."
Wentesi raised his right claw high and waved it from side to side, shaking his dragon head as well to express his denial.
"I mean, why do I only get one share? Shouldn't I get more?"
"Why do you get ninety percent while I only get ten?"
Wentesi asked shamelessly.
"?"
The Great Tree Sage fell silent.
The ascetic of Light beside him heard this outrageous remark and did not know how to refute it either.
Just then, the sharp voice of a girl of fourteen or fifteen mocked Wentesi.
"Stupid red dragon... the Church of the Wilderness was the one that pinpointed the Abyssal Rift's original location;
"Opening and sealing the Abyssal Rift requires the Church of Light's divine artifacts and clergy working together;
"And while the Abyssal Rift is open, the Church of Wealth is responsible for supplies. All three churches are contributing, so what do you, a mere red dragon, amount to?"
Wentesi looked back and saw that it was Aila, the girl he had tormented until she wished she were dead.
Aila was half-reclining on the ground, but her face still wore a stubborn, unyielding expression.
When Wentesi looked her way, Aila snorted and turned her head away.
"Lady Aila's words are sometimes extreme, but she does have a point.
"Wentesi, I'm afraid this cannot be negotiated. The upper ranks of the three churches have already discussed it.
"They'll send newcomers from the churches here to gain experience and grow."
The Great Tree Sage tactfully rejected Wentesi's unreasonable demand.
Aierde, an ascetic of Light, also said in a low voice:
"Your Excellency Red Dragon, this allocation is normal. There's nothing wrong with it."
Wentesi patted the section belonging to his share with his dragon claw, then laughed.
"Haha, I was only joking. The three churches are each doing their part. One share is enough for me, Wentesi."
As soon as Wentesi said that,
The Great Tree Sage's smile immediately returned.
Seeing Wentesi back down, the girl Aila gave a light snort and said no more. Aierde, the ascetic of Light, likewise remained silent, as though thinking about something.
Still, Wentesi had been able to obtain this share thanks to the Great Tree Sage putting in a good word for him.
In his report, he had portrayed Wentesi as a young red dragon who did not worship the evil Dragon Queen and held a neutral stance, and who had also taken the initiative to report such unusual information.
Naturally, that meant Wentesi could not be treated as an evil dragon.
Those were the rules of the righteous path.
Otherwise, even if Wentesi had asked for a share,
The Church of Light and the Church of Wealth would not have allowed it, and might even have taken action to shut Wentesi up.
"Hmm, then can I have the demon remains?"
Wentesi made another request, so greedy that he would not even pass up demon remains.
The Great Tree Sage and Aierde exchanged a glance, somewhat speechless. Dragons really were greedy, wanting even scraps.
To creatures of the main plane, demon remains were basically useless, nothing but waste.
Not only were the remains full of contamination, they also contained toxins.
Even pigs wouldn't eat them if they were used as feed, and any pig that did would be poisoned to death.
Even true dragons could only just manage to digest them, and could not eat too much.
Only mages who wanted to learn demon spells would want certain demon remains.
But Wentesi did not want to eat the demon remains. He had thought of the immortal cultivation world he could travel to. Perhaps the demon remains might be worth something there.