With Qian Yuan’s death, the storm stirred up by this Six Sect Martial Tournament finally began to settle.
Many of the invited factions felt they had simply been struck with the worst possible luck.
They had clearly come to witness a martial tournament, only to be dragged completely unwittingly into this calamity.
Various forces had suffered deaths and injuries, and they all demanded an explanation from the Cosmos Sect.
In response, the various ruling higher-ups of the Cosmos Sect, though somewhat helpless, still compensated them one by one.
No matter how one looked at it, Qian Yuan had been the Cosmos Sect Leader. After committing such a monstrous, inhuman act, the Cosmos Sect was bound to be implicated.
After this calamity, the Cosmos Sect would likely not only fall from the ranks of third-rate sect powers but also face a very real risk of complete dissolution.
As for the final round of the Six Sect Martial Tournament, the Grand Elders of the Six Sects decided to first return to their sects to recuperate and reorganize before further discussing the matter.
At this moment, aboard the Spirit Treasure Pavilion’s luxurious Dharma Boat.
Yingying the little fox, Hongxue, Moxue, and Bai Zhi were all squinting their eyes in bliss, cheeks puffed out, gnawing happily on sweet, spirit-energy-rich Spirit Fruits and thoroughly enjoying themselves.
Nearby, several figures sat together, chatting idly with smiles.
Li Shishi, Qing’er, and Ling’er were engaged in a conversation about women’s clothing styles.
It was only now that Li Shishi learned that the Spirit Cod King actually knew her Senior Brother. No wonder he had been able to summon her in time to save them during the crisis.
Deng Tianyu turned to Xi Lingxue and expressed his gratitude. “This time, we truly owe our thanks to you, Senior!”
“Otherwise, I fear we would have met a disastrous end!”
He was speaking the truth. Against an Imperial Sovereign Realm Great Power like Qian Yuan, even if they could have eventually resolved the crisis, they would have likely paid an extremely heavy price.
“Qian Yuan was already a sworn enemy of my Spirit Cod Clan. By killing him, This King eliminated one of those lurking in the shadows, coveting the Stone Gate.”
“Moreover, This King still owed you one request from before. Now, that debt can be considered fulfilled.”
Xi Lingxue shook her head and stated plainly.
She spoke as directly as always, a trait that naturally earned goodwill.
Qu Qirong took a sip of fragrant tea, her red lips parting gently. “Regardless, we must still thank you, Senior.”
As if remembering something, Deng Tianyu asked with some curiosity, “By the way, Senior, I am a little curious. How does the Spirit Cod Clan usually obtain its cultivation resources?”
He recalled the earlier incident where Hongxue and Moxue had been captured and found it somewhat strange.
Logically speaking, with the Spirit Cod King guarding West Rime Lake, who would dare have the gall to try and capture Spirit Cods?
As if understanding Deng Tianyu’s thoughts, Xi Lingxue paused in contemplation for a moment before beginning to explain slowly.
“The Spirit Cod Clan previously had an agreement with West Rime City.”
“As long as my clan stayed within the city and assisted in purifying the impurities contained within the ambient spiritual energy, they would provide us with corresponding spirit resources every year.”
“Unfortunately, these recent years, West Rime City has suffered greatly from internal attrition. The resources they can provide have dwindled considerably.”
“Because of this, This King allowed clan members who had awakened spiritual intelligence to venture out and search for Heaven and Earth Spirit Treasures, in order to supplement the clan’s needs.”
Deng Tianyu and Qu Qirong exchanged a glance, instantly understanding the reason behind it all.
West Rime City housed numerous immortal cultivation families and great powers. The relationships between them were complex and intricate, thus requiring a single person to oversee and command everything—the City Lord.
To ensure fairness, the position of City Lord would rotate every thirty years and was to be voted on by the major powers with significant influence in the city, under joint supervision, selecting the most suitable candidate.
However, the previous West Rime City Lord, greedy for the seat, colluded with several major powers within the city in an attempt to secure consecutive terms, ultimately sparking a protracted, infighting war that severely drained them.
Although the current West Rime City Lord, Li Xun, had stepped in to resolve it, the various powers were still gravely weakened.
It hadn’t been expected that even after so many years, they still hadn’t recovered their vitality.
As his thoughts flowed, Deng Tianyu sighed. “Senior, have you ever considered that sending your clansmen out to search for spirit treasures merely treats the symptoms, not the root cause?”
Xi Lingxue’s elegant brows furrowed. “What do you mean, treating the symptoms, not the root cause?”
Deng Tianyu explained, “Simply put, it can only temporarily alleviate an immediate need, but it cannot provide a lasting, long-term solution.”
Xi Lingxue felt somewhat helpless. “This King is aware of this point. Yet, there are no other options.”
Deng Tianyu smiled faintly. “I do have a potential solution. Whether Senior would be willing to accept it or not is another matter.”
Xue Lingxue’s gaze fell upon him. “Speak.”
“The Spirit Cod Clan is capable of purifying the impurities within ambient spiritual energy. This allows cultivators to skip the step of refining impurities, thus slightly accelerating their cultivation speed.”
“Why don’t we make use of this ability—inscribe a Spirit-Gathering Grand Array, and set up a designated location specifically for cultivation?”
“In that way, we could collect Spirit Stones as payment?”
Deng Tianyu voiced the idea in his heart.
Xi Lingxue felt somewhat tempted by the idea, but quickly shook her head. “Yet This King is not adept at interacting with the Human Clan, nor do I like other humans!”
Hearing this, Deng Tianyu pondered for a moment and turned to look at Aunt Rong.
The latter responded with a gentle smile. “Senior need not worry about this. Leave this matter to me and Tianyu.”
“The faction I belong to, the Spirit Treasure Pavilion, can handle this on your behalf.”
“The Spirit Treasure Pavilion can provide the location. By leveraging the Spirit Cod Clan’s ability to purify spiritual energy, we can effortlessly establish Grotto-Heaven Blessed Lands perfectly suited for cultivation.”
“When that time comes, the Spirit Cod Clan will no longer need to worry about cultivation resources.”
Qu Qirong was naturally extremely sensitive to matters of commerce.
Listening to her Tianyu’s words, she immediately understood how to execute this.
The Spirit Treasure Pavilion would provide the venue, and the Spirit Cod Clan would provide the spiritual energy purification.
Combining the two would allow them to create Grotto-Heaven Blessed Lands extremely suited for cultivation.
Such paradises would undoubtedly draw countless cultivators like moths to a flame, enabling them to acquire the Spirit Stones needed.
“As for the profits from the Spirit Stones, I would only deduct the costs.”
“Would Senior find this acceptable?”
Of course, even by only taking the costs, the Spirit Treasure Pavilion would still reap considerable benefits.
Because the moment these Grotto-Heaven Blessed Lands were established, besides driving immense foot traffic, the Spirit Treasure Pavilion’s other industries would also profit as a result.
Furthermore, forming good relations with the Spirit Cod Clan could only bring benefits to the entire Spirit Treasure Pavilion, with absolutely no downsides.
Thus, this cooperative venture was a classic win-win situation!
Xi Lingxue spoke with the utmost seriousness. “If this matter can truly be resolved, This King shall owe you a great favor.”
Although she was not adept at conversing with humans, she could still sense the genuine sincerity radiating from these two.
Deng Tianyu and Qu Qirong exchanged another glance, then shook their heads, chuckling softly. “Senior, you are too severe with your words!”
“This matter requires me to consult with my clansmen. This King shall take her leave for now.”
After a round of toasts and shared drinks, Xi Lingxue, eager to attend to this matter, directly departed the Dharma Boat and streaked swiftly towards West Rime Lake.
Having just experienced a great and exhausting battle, everyone present felt somewhat fatigued. They each returned to their respective rooms.
Deng Tianyu had just been about to enter his own room when he realized Li Shishi had followed him in.
Li Shishi bit her red lips, her pearly teeth worrying them gently as she spoke in a soft voice. “Senior Brother… I have something I want to tell you.”
She and Mu Wanzhi had already discussed it. After this Six Sect Martial Tournament concluded, she would finally come clean to her Senior Brother!
