Chapter 191 (1): Doing Business Is Also Cultivation

Cui Chan massaged a jade pendant by his waist between his index finger and thumb as he walked toward Locust Residence Relay Station. The young girl in palace attire had an apathetic expression as she followed closely behind him.

Cui Chan sat down at a table and asked the relay station to bring over three jars of wine. When the relay station deputy walked over with the jars of wine, everyone in the surroundings felt extremely nervous and parched.

Cui Chan waved a hand and signified that they didn't need to serve him. He opened the jar of wine by himself, and he gestured with his other hand at the same time, making a pressing motion and telling the young girl who was solemnly standing beside the table to sit down. He smiled and said, "There's no need to be overly cautious and restrained. I'm simply someone watching over you and protecting you, and you're the true owner of this small world."

Cui Chan raised the large white bowl to his mouth and took a sip of the ordinary-tasting and low-quality wine from the town. However, he didn't think much about this. After betraying his master back then, he had traveled around the world with nothing but a sword. At that time, what kind of hardships hadn't he endured? Cui Chan regarded himself as someone who could endure hardships and enjoy fortunes, and it was because of this that he had been able to survive until today.

Cui Chan looked at the uneasy young girl and asked with a smile, "Zhi Gui, all of the things that you said to the Ministry of Astronomy were recorded, and I've carefully read over every single word. So, are there any other stories that you haven't told me yet? It doesn't matter if they're small and trivial matters. For example, when Cao Xi and Xie Shi were young, were there any other interesting people around the same age besides them? Otherwise, was there anyone who suffered great calamity but still managed to survive? Was there anyone who was especially lonely and isolated from a young age?"

As it turned out, the young girl was none other than Zhi Gui, the maidservant of the Great Li Empire's prince, Song Jixin. Her true name was Wang Zhu, and her true identity was also extremely peculiar — she was surprisingly a jewel formed from the soul of the final true dragon in the world.

Zhi Gui pondered for a moment before shaking her head and replying, "No, there's nothing else."

Cui Chan couldn't help but chuckle. However, he didn't become angry, and he continued to sip wine by himself.

After a while, three people walked into the relay station — the wealthy Cao Xi, the inarticulate Xie Shi, and the Mohist wanderer Xu Ruo.

When the two powerful figures who had walked out from Jewel Small World saw the young girl and confirmed her aura, Cao Xi faltered for a moment before clutching his belly and roaring with laughter. He pointed at Zhi Gui and exclaimed, "How fucking embarrassing! I was almost scared to death back then, yet it was actually a soft and feeble young girl?"

Meanwhile, Xie Shi cupped his fists and bowed to the young girl, saying, "I'm Peach Leaf Alley's Xie Shi. Thank you for saving my life two times, young miss!"

Zhi Gui's expression was cold, and she only looked at Xie Shi and nodded in acknowledgment. As for Cao Xi, she didn't even spare him so much as a single glance.

Xu Ruo crossed his arms in front of his chest and leaned against the door. He shut his eyes and rested his mind.

If the negotiations went smoothly today, then these matters would have absolutely nothing to do with him. If the negotiation collapsed, however, then these matters would have everything to do with him.

Cao Xi continued to laugh as he sat down opposite the young girl. His expression was as if he were looking at a treasure, and he appeared as punchable as could be. He chuckled and said, "Back then, I stood on top of the Iron Lock Well and pissed down into the well. However, halfway through my piss, the iron chain started to clank, and the water in the well also rose all the way to my feet. I was absolutely terrified, and I didn't even dare to finish my piss. In fact, I didn't have time to pull my pants up either as I fled. The scene at that time... I was genuinely pissing myself in fright. I've done many embarrassing things in my life, but this experience can definitely rank in the top three!"

Zhi Gui was finally unable to maintain her composure, and she glared at him and said, "If you hadn't fled quickly enough, I would have forced you to drink the well water all the way until your stomach exploded!"

Cao Xi ran a finger along his mustache and gloated, "I remember that for the entire month afterward, I would stand several meters from the Iron Lock Well every day and angrily toss stones inside. Did any of them hit you? At least one of them would have hit you, right?"

Zhi Gui glared at him and sneered, "You're a naturally bad person, and I truly regret the fact that I didn't drown you to death in the stream!"

Cao Xi didn't become angry, and he instead smiled and explained, "I was indeed a little naughty when I was little. Haha, I was a mischievous child, after all. When I went to the stream to play with the other children, I simply farted a bit more than the others. But what could I do? Ever since a young age, I always liked to see bubbles rising up in the water behind me.

"However, I'm a relatively kind and forgiving person. I was genuinely petrified after pissing into the Iron Lock Well, and the situation was so dire that the elders in my clan were forced to ask someone to summon my soul for me. That was incredibly embarrassing. They struck gongs and beat drums as we walked from Clay Vase Alley all the way to the Iron Lock Well, and I had to answer them every time they called my name. Do you know how many years my classmates teased me about this for...?"

Cao Xi couldn't help but chuckle after recounting this. He poured a bowl of wine for himself and sighed, "But now, all of those classmates are already pushing up daisies. Their bones have already rotted into nothingness. However, I still remember all of their names."

"Who was the person who secretly poured half a bucket of a black dog's blood into the Iron Lock Well late at night?" Zhi Gui interrogated with a cold smile.

Cao Xi chuckled drily and replied, "Oh, I heard the elders say that a black dog's blood could ward off evil."

Zhi Gui couldn't help but feel annoyed as she looked at this person. This had been the case when he was young, and it was now even more the case now that he had grown older.

Xie Shi remained silent the entire time.

Zhi Gui hesitated for a moment before asking, "Which of you became a True Lord? And which of you became a sword immortal?"

Cao Xi raised his bowl of wine and pointed at Xie Shi who was sitting opposite the imperial preceptor of the Great Li Empire. "He's the True Lord of Complete Reed Continent, and he's about to become a Heavenly Lord of Daoism. Several mountains that are part of the Five Mountains of different empires have sects that belong to his lineage, and in terms of the Daoist factions in Complete Reed Continent, he's in charge of the most powerful one.

"The other factions are all mediocre and heretical factions. In fact, those so-called True Lords of sects and True Lords of nations aren't even worthy of putting Xie Shi's shoes on for him. In front of my fellow townsmen, all of those people are weak and pathetic. Every single one of them."

"Shut up," Xie Shi said with a dark expression.

Cao Xi feigned begging for mercy, and he said, "Alright, alright, I won't say anything else. Who told you to be a Daoist Heavenly Lord while I'm only a measly vagrant cultivator? I truly can't afford to offend you!"

When it came to appointing Daosist True Lords of a nation, this required more than just nomination and recommendation from the emperor or ruler. More importantly, one needed to receive recognition from the Daoist orthodoxy and Dao Master of a continent. For example, Qi Zhen, the sect master of Eastern Treasured Vial Continent's Divine Edict Sect, was the Dao Master of the continent. After receiving his recognition, one would also need to receive recognition from more than half of the Heavenly Lords on the continent. At the very end, one would finally need to ask for an edict from a certain sect in the Middle Earth Divine Continent. Only after doing all this could one become the Daoist True Lord of a nation.

Indeed, the Dao Master of Complete Reed Continent was none other than Xie Shi. Because of this, his sect received the vast majority of incense and offerings. However, because sword cultivators were flourishing in Complete Reed Continent, and because the Buddhist sect there had far more followers than the Daoist one, it became the case that there wasn't a single Heavenly Lord in the continent. There was only half a Heavenly Lord, and that was none other than Xie Shi again.

Of course, the situation in Eastern Treasured Vial Continent wasn't much better. As the smallest of the nine continents in the Majestic World, there was only a single Heavenly Lord in Eastern Treasured Vial Continent. This was the case even though the Daoist sect was far more powerful and popular than the Buddhist sect. Moreover, it was a new Heavenly Lord who had only just broken through to the 12th tier. Indeed, this person was none other than Qi Zhen from Southern Stream Nation's Divine Edict Sect. Just like Xie Shi, he had the sole deciding power in the continent when it came to new True Lords of Daoism.

When it came to the other larger continents, for example, the vast Southern Whirl Continent, there were more Heavenly Lords than one's fingers could count. This was not to mention the Middle Earth Divine Continent.

"I'll keep things short and sharp," Xie Shi said.

"We can let the matter regarding the shattered bonded porcelain slide, but I'll need to ask for three people from the Great Li Empire."

Cui Chan put his wine bowl down and smiled faintly before asking, "Hold on a second, what do you mean you'll let the matter slide? Even though the kiln supervision office of the Great Li Empire was ultimately responsible for the shattering of Chen Ping'an's bonded porcelain, the porcelain buyer had already confirmed Chen Ping'an's aptitude at that time. There was nothing special about him, and his aptitude was categorized as low-middle tier. There was no mistake about this.

"Secondly, after Chen Ping'an's bonded porcelain was shattered, the Great Li Empire held accountable everyone who needed to be held accountable and compensated everyone who needed to be compensated. The porcelain buyer also nodded and approved of this, and they happily accepted the compensation as well. Xie Shi, your so-called generosity to 'let the matter slide' doesn't have a leg to stand on."

"The porcelain buyer naturally doesn't have the right to wrangle and make unreasonable demands," Xie Shi replied calmly. "However, the force behind the porcelain buyer does indeed have the right to make unreasonable demands to the Great Li Empire."

Cui Chan roared with laughter upon hearing this. He nodded without hesitation, and he picked his bowl of wine back up and took a small sip. He clicked his tongue in wonder and said, "The world is filled with situations where one is left with no choice."

Cao Xi grimaced when he heard this.

There was a bright glimmer in Zhi Gui's eyes, and it was as if she had heard something that she was interested in.

"So, what if the Great Li Empire doesn't agree?" Cui Chan asked.

Xie Shi showed no signs of understanding his dire situation, one in which he was trapped among several enemies. "The Great Li Empire marching down south is already a foregone conclusion. If you don't agree, then be careful of trouble striking your rear," he answered.

Trouble striking their rear? The northernmost point of the Great Li Empire stretched all the way to the northern seashore.

There was an amused smile on Cao Xi's face. By the looks of it, certain powerful figures in Complete Reed Continent were extremely confident that they could obtain the three people from the Great Li Empire. Otherwise, they wouldn't be so aggressive and overbearing.

It was clear that Xie Shi was threatening them. He was insinuating that cultivators from Complete Reed Continent would take advantage of the Great Li Empire's expedition down south to cross the sea and march south to create trouble in the Great Li Empire's northern regions.

In reality, the shattering of Chen Ping'an's bonded porcelain had already been judged a trivial matter. Now, however, it was being used as some certain people's lame excuse.

This was because when powerful figures started to move into the public eye and scheme for unstoppable momentum to conquer the lands, small and trivial matters would no longer be small and trivial matters.

Cui Chan sighed softly. This was what it looked like when powerful cultivators became unreasonable — it was almost exactly the same as little children scuffling on the ground. When their tempers flared, they would unleash their full power and try to beat each other to death. This was very scary. However, their intention wasn't to scare others.

It wasn't the case that Cui Chan was unfamiliar with these matters. Quite the contrary, in fact, and Cui Chan had personally experienced such situations many times in the past. Thus, he appeared extremely relaxed and composed.

Cui Chan had no option but to take a backward step and ask, "Which three people do you want to take away?"

Xie Shi took his first sip of wine since sitting down and replied, "He Xiaoliang, Ma Kuxuan, and Li Xisheng. The importance is according to the order I said their names in. Depending on how many of them the Great Li Empire can hand over, we'll give your empire a corresponding amount of compensation."

Cui Chan laughed and said in amusement, "Compensation? You mean wrathful rage, right?"

Xie Shi didn't reply.

Li Xisheng was someone from the Great Li Empire's Dragon Spring Prefecture, so he would naturally be the easiest person to hand over.

Ma Kuxuan had already become a disciple of True Martial Mountain, and he had also made a big name for himself in just one short year. He possessed intense killing intent, and his talent was also supreme. This allowed his cultivation to advance in leaps and bounds.

As for He Xiaoliang, she was a prized disciple of Divine Edict Sect, and she possessed astonishing talent and even more terrifying fortune.

Apart from the Confucian disciple Li Xisheng being less renowned, the two other cultivators both carried the high hopes of their respective sects. One was from a Militarian ancestral temple, and one was from a Daoist holy land. Even though the Great Li Empire had already conquered half of the continent, they would likely still be loath to offend any of the powerful forces. This was especially the case since they had yet to destroy Great Sui Nation.

Once Divine Edict Sect and True Martial Mountain called for action, the Great Li Empire would need to face the wrath of half of the Militarian cultivators in the continent as well as more than half of the Daoists.

This was definitely a bad deal.

Cui Chan felt like there was no need to discuss this request any further.

After he returned to the capital of the Great Li Empire, he would presumably need to prepare for the worst-case scenario regarding the need to replenish the swords of the White Jade Capital.

However, Xie Shi suddenly proposed, "As long as you agree, I'll bring people to Summer Resort Mountain that's located near Lake View Academy. We'll help the Great Li Empire deter the forces of the academy as well as all of the forces to the south of the academy. Rest assured, this isn't lip service, and we'll definitely keep our word. The same goes for Complete Reed Continent's threat to attack the northern regions of the Great Li Empire if you don't agree to our request.

"This isn't some joke, and if the Great Li Empire nods and accepts our proposal, we naturally won't let you get the short end of the stick. This is a promise made by several of the Complete Reed Continent's most powerful cultivators. This naturally includes me as well."

Cao Xi was stunned.

Things were getting fairly interesting.

If Xie Shi were telling the truth and genuinely willing to guard Summer Resort Mountain with a group of people, then Great Sui Nation would essentially have its vitality halved before it even engaged in battle with the Great Li Empire.

In fact, it could be said that more than half of the continent would very likely fall into the hands of the Great Li Empire's Imperial Song Clan.

Cui Chan sighed with emotion and remarked, "As it turns out, you're actually proposing such a huge wager. This is truly a bit unexpected. I'll need to discuss this with the emperor first."

Xie Shi nodded and replied, "That's only reasonable. I can wait, but only for half a month at most. The emperor of the Great Li Empire needs to give me a clear answer before that."

Cui Chan suddenly pointed at Zhi Gui and asked, "Xie Shi, she's saved your life two times, so are you not going to show any gratitude?"

Xie Shi laughed heartily and replied, "Of course I will. If you reject our request, then I'll refrain from joining the rank of cultivators attacking the northern regions of the Great Li Empire when the time comes. If you accept our request, then I'll take two or three direct disciples from the Great Li Empire and make a great effort to nurture and develop them. I definitely won't cut any corners.

"All of you are already aware of the situation, so I might as well say it here. It won't be long before I'm promoted to the rank of Heavenly Lord, and with my age, I'll be considered a young Heavenly Lord among all of the Daoist Heavenly Lords in the nine continents. Forgive me for being immodest, but my future is genuinely a promising one. Moreover, after founding my own sect, I've only taken a measly three direct disciples in over a thousand years!"

Cui Chan pointed at Zhi Gui and asked, "Can she become one of your disciples?"

Xie Shi shook his head and replied, "She doesn't count. If she's willing to, she can become my disciple without taking up one of the slots."

Cui Chan pondered in silence.

Zhi Gui was slightly absent-minded.

In fact, she was a bit anxious at this moment, and she wanted to return to Clay Vase Alley as soon as possible to check on her courtyard. Even if the fluffy chicks in the cage had already starved to death, she needed to at least see their corpses before she finally gave up.

In case they were still alive, she would definitely squeeze them to death with her own hands once she saw them again. As little creatures that had been fed and raised by her, did it make sense for them to die by the mouths of wild cats and dogs?