Chapter 1044: Dividing the Spoils

On the Eastern Sea, everyone patiently stood guard outside a massive bubble-like barrier as they waited to hear about the outcome within.

The moment the Superior was slain, a deafening explosion erupted as the bubble barrier burst open. A violent shockwave surged out and struck the sea, forming towering tsunamis.

The empresses of Dazheng, bracing against the sudden storm, glanced at each other in concern.

Xia Yu'er frowned and asked, "Is the battle over?"

Madam Rouge replied nervously, "The white life hidden realm has been destroyed. Surely the Superior has been slain?"

Though they roughly knew what had happened within, they were all still anxious regarding Xiao Nanfeng's safety. They forged through the storm and charged toward the center of the commotion.

The interior of the hidden realm continued to collapse, dissipating into energy that scattered across the Eastern Sea. The black hole torn in the void slowly repaired itself. However, when everyone arrived, they found the area empty.

Xia Yu'er frowned in worry. "Where are they? Where did they all go?"

Madam Rouge replied, "Don't worry. There are traces of Nanfeng's world of the heart here. They must have entered it."

"Can we go in, too?" Xia Yu'er asked.

Madam Rouge shook her head. "Not unless he opens it up himself. If we force it open, we might disrupt his plans and even put him in danger.

The women frowned at each other, as did Xiao Hongye and Tan Xianzhi.

Tan Xianzhi immediately said, "Then let's wait a little longer. Nanfeng's safety is our priority."

Everyone nodded and waited with bated breath.

Moments earlier, at the instant the Superior's true body was slain, Xiao Nanfeng noticed a hint of greed in the three Qing Grandmasters' excited expressions. To preempt any trouble, he had quickly stored her golden tree in his world of the heart.

At that moment, the three Qing Grandmasters noticed that something was amiss.

The Yuqing Grandmaster frowned. "What's the matter, Xiao Nanfeng?"

The Taiqing and Shangqing Grandmasters also turned toward him sternly.

"Grandmasters, why don't we head into my world of the heart and discuss how to divide the spoils of battle?" Xiao Nanfeng suggested with a smile.

The three Qing Grandmasters frowned. Nearby, though the Superior had been slain and her body torn apart, she was only sealed and not yet completely dead.

With a look of hatred, the Superior tried to sow discord. "Xiao Nanfeng wants to monopolize all my treasures and won't share them with you."

The three Qing Grandmasters ignored the Superior. The Yuqing Grandmaster even formed a seal with his hands and silenced the Superior's words with a hum.

"Very well," the three Qing Grandmasters agreed.

They stowed their divine trees and brought the Superior's fragmented body with them as they stepped through Xiao Nanfeng's void portal into his world of the heart.

Xiao Nanfeng manifested a plaza all around them. At its heart was the golden tree, which had been split in two.

The three Qing Grandmasters glanced at the golden tree, their eyes filled with anticipation. However, they knew that trying to seize it by force here would be futile. With a single thought, Xiao Nanfeng could make the golden tree disappear in this realm.

The Yuqing Grandmaster asked, "Xiao Nanfeng, what is it that you want to say?"

Xiao Nanfeng glanced at the three Qing Grandmasters. From what the primordial altar had said earlier, as well as Xia Yu'er, Zhang Lingjun, and Lan Yaoguang's testimony, he knew that the three Qing Grandmasters harbored a desire to leave this planet. As a result, he intended to establish clear boundaries.

After a moment of contemplation, Xiao Nanfeng replied, "I'd like to discuss how we should divide the spoils of this battle."

"Oh?" The three Qing Grandmasters glanced at him curiously.

Xiao Nanfeng smiled and asked, "Do the three of you remember why you came to the white life hidden realm to fight the Superior?"

The three Qing Grandmasters frowned slightly. The Shangqing Grandmaster said, "We gave you three energy spheres from the Darkborn corpses, agreeing that each of us would take a branch from the golden tree. You requested that we join you in fighting the Superior."

Xiao Nanfeng nodded. "Precisely. Let's stick to our original agreement. You can each choose a branch from the golden tree, and I'll cut it for you as thanks for your assistance. As for the Superior's body, thank you for helping me finish her off and seal her."

The three Qing Grandmasters' expressions darkened. Xiao Nanfeng was implying that he had slain the Superior, whereas they had merely delivered the final blows and helped seal her. In other words, their contribution was minimal, and the Superior's body ought to belong to Xiao Nanfeng himself.

The Yuqing Grandmaster frowned. "Are you claiming that these three branches are to be our only reward for this battle? That everything else is yours?"

Xiao Nanfeng replied, "Didn't we agree on that from the start?"

The Shangqing Grandmaster frowned. "We gave you three Darkborn corpses in exchange for the three branches. That should balance things out."

Xiao Nanfeng ignored the Shangqing Grandmaster's sophistry and took a deep breath. "Grandmasters, my intention isn't to hoard the Superior's treasures for myself. However, the three of you will soon leave our home planet, while I need to take over the primordial altar's role in protecting it. The Darkborn invasion may continue indefinitely, and the Superior's treasures will be the foundation of our resistance against the endless waves of the Darkborn. Surely, the three of you wouldn't want to drain our planet's resources and leave it to fend for itself while pursuing your own dreams?"

The three Qing Grandmasters were struck speechless.

Xiao Nanfeng continued, "If the three of you are willing to stay and defend our home planet with me, I'm willing to share the Superior's treasures equally with you."

The three Qing Grandmasters naturally couldn't agree to this. However, they were also reluctant to let Xiao Nanfeng seize all the treasure before them.

After a moment of silence, the Taiqing Grandmaster said, "Xiao Nanfeng, this battle exceeded your expectations, didn't it? Without the three of us, you may well have perished within the white life hidden realm."

Xiao Nanfeng nodded. "That's true, Taiqing Grandmaster, but not entirely. Without your assistance, I wouldn't have achieved such a victory today. However, escaping wouldn't have been difficult for me. After all, if I were to have taken on the white-furred lifeforms alone, the Superior's main body wouldn't have been provoked into joining the fight. Our victory came as a result of your intervention, which was part of our original agreement. And, according to that agreement, I'll be giving each of you a branch from the golden tree. Isn't that fair?"

The three Qing Grandmasters felt frustrated. Xiao Nanfeng's refusal to budge put them in an awkward position. When they agreed to help him, they hadn't expected such an outcome. After all, the Superior was so powerful that they hadn't been confident of defeating her.

They could see that the Superior had two golden trees—one was the strongest golden tree before them, and the other was a newly grown one. They had originally thought that the battle would end in a stalemate, with the Superior escaping with the stronger golden tree. They had expected to divide the newer one among themselves.

But now, although the newly grown golden tree had vanished, they had obtained the stronger golden tree and the Superior's complete body, filling them with greed.

Accepting only a single branch from that golden tree each felt insufficient, but they had agreed to this beforehand. It would be unsightly to break their word now.

The three Qing Grandmasters exchanged glances. Finally, the Yuqing Grandmaster said, "Xiao Nanfeng, to be honest, we each originally only wanted a branch from the golden tree. We planned to integrate it into our world trees to strengthen them further. During our battle against the Superior, we realized that her stronger golden tree might even allow us to undergo our own metamorphoses."

Xiao Nanfeng inclined his head. "And?"

The Yuqing Grandmaster smiled wryly. "Such a metamorphosis will require no less than half the golden tree."

"Half?" Xiao Nanfeng frowned.

The golden tree had dozens of branches. Cutting off three branches would have been insignificant—but the Yuqing Grandmaster was now asking for half the tree, and not just half the branches, but half the trunk and half the roots as well. It was an outrageous demand.

The Yuqing Grandmaster noted Xiao Nanfeng's reluctance. "We won't insist on taking the Superior's body, but we will ask for half the golden tree. Please grant us this."

The Taiqing Grandmaster and the Shangqing Grandmaster remained silent but bowed slightly to Xiao Nanfeng.

They were being greedy, but this concerned the extent of their future achievements. They were determined to get what they wanted.

Xiao Nanfeng looked at the three of them and said, "I can give you half the golden tree, but I'll need you to do something for me in return."

"Oh?"

"I need you to help me refine the Superior's body into pure energy," Xiao Nanfeng said.

The three Qing Grandmasters' eyes lit up. This was a simple task for them—they had secret techniques that could easily accomplish this feat. Xiao Nanfeng could carry out this task himself, but without their special techniques, it would take him a long time to figure things out.

Was this Xiao Nanfeng's way of extending an olive branch to them?

The three Qing Grandmasters felt a pang of guilt and nodded. "Very well."

"Thank you, Grandmasters." Xiao Nanfeng smiled.

The Yuqing Grandmaster nodded. "There's no time to waste. Let's begin."

"Agreed," the other two grandmasters said.

They extended their hands, each invoking a secret technique and sending beams of light shooting toward the Superior's body.

The Superior's eyes widened as she struggled to resist, but to no avail. She could only watch as her body was refined into pure energy, into several golden energy spheres that landed before Xiao Nanfeng.

"Thank you, Grandmasters," Xiao Nanfeng said, claiming the spheres of golden energy.

Then, with a wave of his hand, he handed half of the split golden tree to the three Qing Grandmasters.

In the future, they would still need the three Qing Grandmasters' help to fight the Darkborn. It was best not to fall out with them for now.

He waved an arm and brought everyone out of his world of the heart.