Chapter 340 - 231: The Extreme South Palace Appears, Negotiating Cooperation

Chapter 340: Chapter 231: The Extreme South Palace Appears, Negotiating Cooperation

"BOOM! BOOM!"

Just as the apocalyptic tornado was about to crash upon the shore, its terrifying power suddenly receded!

The sky-filling mist and raging winds were instantly smoothed and compressed as if by a giant, invisible hand, vanishing without a trace in a mere moment. The world-ending scene from just before now seemed like nothing but an illusion.

And where the wind and waves had calmed, a Jade Ship—pure white, shaped like a crescent moon, and emanating a gentle yet overwhelmingly vast Spiritual Pressure—hovered silently in the air.

A dozen or so figures stood upon the Jade Ship.

Leading them was an exceptionally handsome and elegant man who appeared to be in his thirties, dressed in a Moon White Magic Robe. A faint, almost imperceptible smile played on his lips. His eyes were gentle, yet they seemed to hold the flow of stars, making him look unfathomably deep.

The earth-shattering winds from before must have been his doing.

Behind him stood young Cultivators, all clad in the same style of moon-white robes. The men were handsome, the women beautiful, and their auras were composed and heavy. Their Cultivation had all reached the Middle or Late Stage of Foundation Establishment, and their eyes held the superior and proud gaze characteristic of disciples from a Major Sect.

Lin Changheng also quickly spotted two large, ancient characters engraved on the sail of the Moon-white Jade Ship—

Extreme South!

"It’s the Extreme South Palace’s Moon-Embracing Immortal Ship!" a well-informed Cultivator exclaimed, their voice filled with shock.

"The Extreme South Palace?! Why are they here?"

"Is that... the Extreme South Palace’s Ling Feng Master? He actually came in person!"

"It’s over... What’s left for us in this fight for the Secret Realm..."

The commotion on the shore instantly turned into suppressed gasps and whispers. A heavy stone seemed to weigh down on the hearts of most people present.

The Extreme South Palace was a Nascent Soul Level influence that dominated the Song Territory, commanded the world, and possessed a formidable reputation!

Its disciples were all incomparably powerful. Forget the Cultivators from the Noble Families; even the disciples of the Purple Extreme Sect could hardly compete.

Moreover, disciples of the Extreme South Palace rarely appeared at a Secret Realm of this scale, to say nothing of being led by a long-famous Middle Stage Core Formation expert like Ling Feng Master!

Lin Changheng, inconspicuous in the crowd, had a similar question, pondering to himself: ’Why is the Extreme South Palace here too?’

But after a moment’s thought, he came to a realization. If the Purple Extreme Sect had exclusive access to this medium-sized Secret Realm, they could afford to snub any influence of the same level. However, they couldn’t afford to disrespect the Extreme South Palace, the ruler of the Song Territory.

In fact, not only did they have to give them spots, but they had to offer them up willingly.

"Hahaha, I never expected Junior Sister Luo to be the one leading the team this time. Ling Feng offers his greetings."

Ling Feng Master’s calm eyes swept over the entire scene, but the pressure they exerted on the Cultivators present was immense, like a cutting blade or a crushing mountain, fully displaying the might of a Core Formation expert. His gaze then landed on the female Core Formation Cultivator from the Purple Extreme Sect. In two steps, he crossed a hundred zhang, arriving before her with a beaming smile.

"This little sister greets Senior Brother Ling Feng." The Luo-surnamed Female Core Formation Cultivator offered a simple greeting. Compared to his enthusiasm, she seemed rather lukewarm.

"It has been years since we last met, Junior Sister Luo. Your grace is even greater than before, and your Cultivation has clearly advanced. Truly, congratulations are in order."

Ling Feng Master acted as if he hadn’t noticed. His voice was gentle, his smile warm, and he radiated the joy of unexpectedly meeting an old friend, his tone carrying just the right amount of familiarity and sentiment.

Generally, Core Formation Cultivators address each other by their Daoist titles. Only close, extremely familiar friends would use surnames or given names.

And the Fake Core cultivators from the Sun and Song families both addressed the Luo-surnamed Core Formation Cultivator as "Master Xuan Ji."

"Senior Brother Ling Feng, you praise me too much. This little sister has only had some minor gains. Since you have come, Senior Brother, it must also be for the matter of the Secret Realm in the river. The portal to the Secret Realm is now wide open. We should probably handle official business first. We can reminisce later, what do you say, Senior Brother?"

Master Xuan Ji glanced at the portal beneath the river and cut straight to the point, not engaging in further pleasantries. Her tone was flat and distant, maintaining only basic courtesy, clearly indicating she didn’t want to get too involved with him.

"Haha, of course. Business first."

Ling Feng Master laughed it off and turned to face the crowd of Cultivators. Without channeling any Magical Power, he calmly spoke a single word:

"Enter."

His voice was not loud, even somewhat understated.

Yet, to the ears and very souls of every Cultivator present, it was no less than a clap of thunder!

Many of the Cultivators present began to move almost involuntarily, acting on pure instinct.

"WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH!"

The brief, dead silence was broken. The crowd, like a bursting dam, surged forward as streams of Escape Light lit up once more, shooting toward the Secret Realm portal beneath the river!

That single word from Ling Feng Master seemed to possess a magical quality. It was a declaration, made with absolute dominance, that the struggle for the Secret Realm had officially begun—as if he were the true master of this place, with the authority to command.

As for him, after speaking that word, he simply stood with his hands clasped behind his back once more, a faint smile on his face as he watched the torrent of Escape Lights flood toward the Secret Realm’s entrance like a hundred rivers returning to the sea, as if admiring an interesting painting.

"Let’s go."

The Cultivators from the Purple Extreme Sect looked displeased. Seeing that Master Xuan Ji gave no signal, they all gritted their teeth and swarmed into the Secret Realm.

"You go as well."

The Fake Core Ancestors from the Sun and Song Noble Families also gave quiet orders.

"Yes."

Soon, more than ninety percent of the Cultivators present were gone.

All of them had entered the Secret Realm through the portal.

Only the group of Cultivators from the Extreme South Palace and some others who weren’t entering the Secret Realm—but had come only to purchase items—remained.

"You all may enter as well."

At this, Ling Feng Master gave a quiet command. The group of Foundation Establishment Cultivators from the Extreme South Palace, clad in moon-white robes, acted with swift discipline, flying into the Secret Realm one after another.

Seeing that no one else was entering, Master Xuan Ji withdrew her Magical Power and temporarily closed the Secret Realm portal.

And then came the long wait.

Ling Feng Master had intended to converse further, but Master Xuan Ji used the excuse that she had consumed too much Magical Power and needed to recover, flying off to one side to meditate and cultivate on her own.

Seeing this, Ling Feng Master frowned, clearly displeased, but he didn’t lash out. Maintaining an air of grace, he flew a short distance away and also began to meditate.

The two Fake Core masters from the Noble Families exchanged a glance, having no intention of approaching them.

They still had to meet and greet the Core Formation Cultivator from the Purple Extreme Sect; after all, they had occasional dealings, and she would treat them with courtesy.

But the one from the Extreme South Palace was too far removed. The man hadn’t even given them a proper look, and they had their own pride as Fake Core Cultivators and Masters of their Noble Families. They weren’t about to offer a warm face to a cold backside.

It had the air of "the vassal of my vassal is not my vassal."

...

Lin Changheng paid no mind to any of this, simply sitting quietly and waiting for the outcome of the Secret Realm’s opening.

He was just like the twenty-odd other Cultivators who remained.

Only then would it be his turn to act.

’The Secret Realm will likely be open for about half a month. The Cultivators from the two Major Sects definitely won’t be bringing out their best finds. They’ll hand some over to their sect, keep some for themselves, and trade some internally. Very little will actually flow out.’

’I’ll have to rely on the Cultivators from the Noble Families, and the Independent Practitioner Foundation Establishment cultivators who got their spots through those families... If they find something they can’t quite use, I can try to trade for it.’

’Besides, the expectations and standards of Noble Family Cultivators and Loose Cultivators are lower than those of Sect Cultivators. They might bother to collect the roots and broken stems of Treasure Medicines that the latter would look down on. That makes them my main target group.’

Lin Changheng calculated silently in his heart, forming a plan.

...

「Three days later.」

A portly Cultivator approached and struck up a conversation with Lin Changheng.

"Can I help you, Fellow Daoist?"

Seeing the other man’s beaming smile, Lin Changheng keenly sensed his Middle Stage Foundation Establishment aura and asked in surprise.

"Hehe, I was wondering, which influence or Commerce Association are you from, Fellow Daoist?"

The portly Cultivator didn’t answer, instead opening with a question of his own.

"I’ve come from the Floating Immortal City."

Lin Changheng answered directly after a moment’s thought.

"The Floating Immortal City? That’s a great place! The number one Immortal City for Loose Cultivators, not the least bit inferior to the Immortal Cities of other major influences. It’s only slightly less renowned than the Song Territory’s First Immortal City, the Extreme Mountain Immortal City."

The portly Cultivator was an extremely glib talker, words spilling from his mouth in a continuous stream the moment he opened it.

Lin Changheng didn’t respond, merely watching him with a half-smile. This expression made the portly Cultivator stop talking, scratch his head, and give an awkward laugh. "My intentions are simple. I want to make a deal with you, Fellow Daoist."

"A deal? Fellow Daoist, have you found the wrong person? I’m also here to purchase items from the Secret Realm..."

A strange look appeared on Lin Changheng’s face.

"Hehe, I am naturally aware of that. What I mean is, we exchange lists of what we need. Then, we each use our own methods to acquire things separately. If we see something the other person needs, we buy it as well. Afterward, we can trade internally..."

"This way, wouldn’t our chances of getting what we need be much greater?"

The portly Cultivator smiled and laid out his plan in one breath.

"Well... it sounds feasible, but..."

Lin Changheng stroked his chin and began to ponder, looking hesitant.

"What do you say, Fellow Daoist? If you have any concerns, just voice them. We can negotiate a solution. If it’s a matter of Spirit Stones, we can always barter with items later."

The portly Cultivator seemed very confident in his plan, his self-assurance overflowing.

Lin Changheng appeared to be swayed by his enthusiasm and seemed tempted. He then asked, "Will it just be the two of us cooperating? If we found more people, wouldn’t our chances of success be even greater?"

"Having more people is good, but it comes with its own problems. The probability of our needs overlapping would be higher, and with more people, there are more loose lips. If word gets out and we attract Tribulation Cultivators, wouldn’t that be a terrible disaster?"

The portly Cultivator had clearly considered this.

"Then how do we ensure the other person doesn’t attract Tribulation Cultivators?"

Lin Changheng looked at the portly Cultivator and asked, getting straight to the heart of the matter.

"Hehe, we can simply make a Daoist Oath. You and I are both in the Middle Stage of Foundation Establishment. We both have promising futures and bright paths ahead. There’s no need to needlessly invite a Heart Demon, right?"

The portly Cultivator said nonchalantly.

"Is that so?"

After another round of reasonable and well-argued persuasion, Lin Changheng finally relented and nodded in agreement.

"Excellent!"

The portly Cultivator smiled and clapped his hands. The two then exchanged their lists of required resources and swore identical Daoist Oaths...