Chapter 275

Chapter 275: Daoist Shouren’s Wisdom

“We can talk peace!”

Lu Ye looked at Daoist Shouren and spoke up.

Daoist Shouren was taken aback for a moment, then his face lit up with joy.

“Really?”

“Really, but I’m not satisfied with your offer. Based on your quote, I want an extra five hundred thousand Spirit Stones from your sect. I’ll give them three days to gather it, and after that at the Jiang Family ruins, they hand over the Spirit Stones to me, and from then on, we’re even.”

Lu Ye said.

“Another five hundred thousand…”

“This is a firm price!”

Lu Ye stated firmly.

He knew exactly how wealthy these factions were; this amount of Spirit Stones would definitely hurt them financially.

What Lu Ye wanted was that financial hurt.

Otherwise, they wouldn’t learn their lesson.

Daoist Shouren hesitated several times, but Lu Ye was in no rush.

Right now, Daoist Shouren was surely trying to think of ways to save the other party some Spirit Stones. He mostly understood that the more Spirit Stones Lu Ye demanded, the greater the chance for complications.

But looking at Lu Ye’s half-smile, it felt like all his thoughts were laid bare.

This guy really knew him too well.

“Alright, I’ll bring the Spirit Stones to see you in three days!”

In the end, Daoist Shouren gave up on haggling, left that line, and took his leave.

Lu Ye’s and Lin Chuyue’s figures disappeared.

He naturally couldn’t pin all his hopes on Lin Chuyue; her promises to protect Lu Ye were earnest, no doubt.

But what if she couldn’t protect him?

Then all Lu Ye would get is a “I’m sorry.”

Lu Ye didn’t like hearing “I’m sorry,” because the moment those three words showed up, it meant he had lost out.

Nobody ever says “I’m sorry” after giving someone a benefit.

The reason he chose the Jiang Family ruins was that the location was the most obvious point of the Void Dao, convenient for their cultivation.

And Lu Ye’s contingency plan relied on the help of the Void Dao.

Daoist Shouren returned.

“Everyone…”

This time, Daoist Shouren was smarter—not that he wasn’t clever, but his personality and understanding of the Dao made him a complete fool in the past.

At this moment, Daoist Shouren had a grim face and returned dejected.

The strong members present saw Daoist Shouren’s demeanor and immediately changed their expressions, quickly surrounding him.

“What’s going on? Did the negotiation fail?” Wang Yi from the Wang Family hurriedly asked.

“He wouldn’t even agree to co-exist peacefully with compensation? Is he really going to wipe us out?”

“That monster, an absolute monster! What do we do now?”

Daoist Shouren merely showed a grim expression, and all the faction leaders at the scene panicked.

“The peace talks failed, everyone get ready to fight for your lives!” Daoist Shouren sighed again.

At this, everyone’s hearts turned cold.

It failed…

The other party didn’t want peace…

No one spoke; only the sound of agitated breathing could be heard.

They really intended to wipe them out!!!

“Then let’s fight! My sect has the Instant Spear; I don’t believe it can’t take him down!”

“We have to fight for our lives! Everyone get ready to use all our resources; let’s unite. Even if we get wiped out, we’ll take him down with us!”

“Not willing to negotiate, this monster, this madman, he’s just a complete lunatic!”

“No way; I need to send everyone from my sect away. My Huaguang Sect’s thousands of years of heritage cannot end with me! If it truly gets cut off, and our legacy is destroyed, how can I face my ancestors?”

Some were furious, some wailed, some fell silent.

Daoist Shouren looked at this scene and felt a bit smug.

Just like that!

Just like that!

“Daoist Shouren, what did he say? He didn’t even give you a chance to negotiate?” A powerful figure asked again.

Daoist Shouren hesitated a bit.

He spoke slowly.

“I did talk with him, but unfortunately, he quoted a price we can’t possibly afford and wouldn’t settle without it; I have no choice.”

“Quoted an outrageous price?”

Eyes turned back towards Daoist Shouren.

“Yeah, an outrageous price, well beyond what we could accept; that’s why the negotiations failed.” Daoist Shouren said indignantly.

Everyone’s expressions dimmed.

Well beyond what they could accept…

That indeed seemed like negotiation was impossible; even if they put together the entire wealth of a sect, what difference would it make if the negotiation succeeded?

The sect would still decline.

Many cultivators were realists; if you don’t provide tribute to the sect’s elders for a year, they’ll start complaining.

Skip ten years, and they’ll start ignoring orders; you can assign them tasks, but they also have the right to refuse.

Skip a hundred years without tribute…

What elders? We’re already scattered cultivators at this point!

“How much does he actually want?” a top-tier realm cultivator asked.

Daoist Shouren sighed again.

“I really can’t bear to say it.”

Everyone…

They could hardly imagine what kind of number it could be.

“Daoist Shouren, just tell us! Don’t leave us hanging…”

“Fine, I’ll tell you, just prepare yourselves mentally.”

Everyone braced themselves.

They stared at Daoist Shouren eagerly.

“The number of Spirit Stones he wants is…”

Someone gulped.

“Two hundred thirty thousand!”

A collective gasp echoed; they actually wanted that much, two hundred thirty…

“What?!”

A powerhouse from the Invincible Sword Sect asked in disbelief.

“Two hundred, thirty, thousand!”

Two hundred thirty thousand…

Suddenly, more than one person felt the chill run up their spine.

Someone rushed to Daoist Shouren.

“He only wants two hundred thirty thousand?!”

The voice was so loud it startled Daoist Shouren.

“Two hundred thirty thousand is already too much for us to bear; we can only afford up to two hundred thousand. He’s asking for two hundred thirty; that’s way beyond what we can handle. Where will we find another thirty thousand Spirit Stones?”

Daoist Shouren replied excitedly.

Nearly everyone at the scene thought Lu Ye would make a request of five hundred thousand or more.

It turned out to be just two hundred thirty thousand.

Just an extra thirty thousand; sure, it would hurt, but they weren’t wiped out!

“What about us, the second-tier forces?” someone quickly asked.

“The first-tier forces need two hundred thousand; for the rest, a hundred fifty thousand, only then is there a chance for negotiations!”

“You didn’t flip on him right then and there, did you?” a second-tier faction member asked ecstatically.

“Uh, of course not.”

“Good, we’ll offer a hundred fifty thousand Spirit Stones, we’ll scrape together whatever we have!”

“Wait, you’re going to agree to such an outrageous demand?”

“It’s not outrageous; we’ll bleed a little, but we can definitely manage!”

“I’ll contribute too! I’ll contribute!”

“He wants how many days to gather the Spirit Stones? I’ll let the sect know right away and prepare!”