Dividing the Unclaimed Spoils

Nascent Soul Extreme Yin’s expression flickered, but after a moment of silence, he spoke calmly.

“Since Brother Man has doubts, I won’t hide it any longer. My disciple is quite useful for our upcoming retrieval within the inner hall. If he has offended you in any way, I ask Brother Man to show some leniency.”

Hearing this, Han Li felt utterly stifled. When exactly had he offended this Man Brutal Beard fellow? If anything, he was still nursing a belly full of resentment from when the old fiend had forcibly taken the jade pillar from him back in the great hall!

Of course, Han Li only dared to think such things in his heart. He would never voice them aloud.

“Offended? I don’t even know this brat. How could he have offended me? I was just looking him over and found his technique somewhat interesting, so I decided to test him out. But what use is a Core Formation cultivator like him in the inner hall? You two aren’t trying to fool me, are you?” Man Brutal Beard waved a hand dismissively.

At this, Extreme Yin’s brow furrowed. After a moment of deliberation, he shot a meaningful glance at the Confucian-robed elder.

Qingyi Hermit smiled slightly. His lips moved soundlessly as he transmitted a message to Man Brutal Beard.

Man Brutal Beard, seeing the two acting so secretively, initially wore a look of contempt. But after hearing a few more sentences of the elder’s voice transmission, his expression abruptly changed. He stared at Han Li with a trace of shock.

He then asked the old man a few more questions using the same transmission technique. A look of sudden understanding dawned on his face, which then turned cold.

“Extreme Yin, I was wondering why you so inexplicably accepted a disciple. Turns out he has… Hmph! You’ve certainly got a clever scheme in mind!” Man Brutal Beard narrowed his eyes, his gaze sharp as daggers as he stared at Extreme Yin Ancestor with a chilling tone.

“Why must Brother Man be so angry? If you had encountered the same situation, I suspect you would have used the same methods. Besides, now that the two of us have revealed this matter, we have no intention of keeping the spoils for ourselves. For this retrieval mission, we will need to rely heavily on Brother Man,” Extreme Yin Ancestor said very calmly.

“That’s true. Without me making a move, that Wan Tianming and his pack of hypocrites probably wouldn’t even give you a chance to retrieve the treasure. But let’s get one thing straight! If we do manage to get the treasure, how do you plan to split it?” Man Brutal Beard seemed to relax slightly after some thought.

“What about splitting it into four equal shares, one for each of us, including young Han here?” the Confucian-robed elder asked, shaking his head as if he’d already considered the issue.

But as soon as he said this, Man Brutal Beard’s expression turned sour.

“Qing Yi, do you take me for a fool? Split it four ways? I’m surprised you could even suggest that. Then you can deal with Wan Tianming yourself, since we’d all be taking the same cut,” Man Brutal Beard said with a sneer.

“Don’t be angry, Brother Man. Ha, I admit that point was poorly thought out. How does Brother Man think it should be divided, then?” the old man asked amiably, seemingly untroubled by the other’s mockery.

“I won’t ask how much you two take. But I must take half of the treasures. After all, that Wan Tianming alone is enough to give you two a headache. Handling him in exchange for half is hardly unreasonable,” Man Brutal Beard stated flatly.

Extreme Yin and the old man showed no surprise at his words. They had clearly anticipated his exorbitant demand.

“Half? Brother Man, your appetite is truly immense. Don’t forget, without my disciple’s help, our chances of successfully retrieving the treasure are pitifully low. My disciple should get a larger share, at least,” Extreme Yin Ancestor said, unhurried and unruffled.

“Hmph! A Core Formation cultivator like him thinks he’s worthy of splitting the treasure with us?” Man Brutal Beard said, not even deigning to look at Han Li.

Han Li’s expression flickered, but he quickly regained his composure.

“Heh. If he were just a wandering cultivator, he naturally wouldn’t be qualified for a share of the treasure within the Void Heaven Cauldron. But since he’s become my disciple, he is certainly entitled to his portion,” Extreme Yin Ancestor said, showing no signs of backing down.

Man Brutal Beard’s face darkened at this, and he was about to retort when the old man at his side quickly proposed a compromise.

“How about this, fellow Daoists! Let’s stop arguing. We can split the treasures into five shares. Brother Man takes two, and the rest of us take the remaining three. That should be fair enough, don’t you think?”

At this, Man Brutal Beard was taken aback. He stroked his beard and fell into silent contemplation.

Extreme Yin Ancestor immediately expressed his agreement.

“I can accept these terms. I wonder what Brother Man thinks?” he asked, staring at Man Brutal Beard with a deep voice.

“Fine! While I’m still not entirely satisfied, it’s better than before,” Man Brutal Beard said reluctantly after a moment’s frown.

He could already see that Extreme Yin Ancestor and the old man had formed a united front. This condition was likely their bottom line. Under the circumstances, he couldn’t afford to be too overbearing.

While the demonic path old fiends were already divvying up a treasure they hadn’t even acquired yet, Wan Tianming and his group in another location were also secretly discussing the retrieval.

“Hall Master Wan, how confident are you in retrieving the Void Heaven Cauldron with your Golden Silk Silkworms? Quite a few of our seniors have tried to obtain that treasure in the past, but not one succeeded. We might be getting our hopes up for nothing,” the Daoist priest Tian Wuzi asked with some concern.

“Relax. If I only had the Golden Silk Silkworm, my chances wouldn’t be great. But we did find that ‘Azure Heaven Herb’ earlier, didn’t we? If I sacrifice the Golden Silk Silkworms and feed them that during the retrieval, we should have at least a thirty to forty percent chance of succeeding. That’s already quite high,” Wan Tianming said calmly.

“I understand that logic, but I still can’t help feeling uneasy thinking about it. Shameful, I know. It seems my cultivation is still lacking, and my state of mind needs more honing,” Tian Wuzi said with some embarrassment.

“Hehe, a treasure like the Void Heaven Cauldron would make even those two old monsters, the Star Palace Twin Saints, lose sleep over it. It’s only human. We are merely cultivators, not emotionless immortals with no desires or wants,” Wan Tianming said with a light chuckle.

“But Hall Master Wan, look at those demonic sect fellows over there. They seem to be whispering about something. They looked like they were having an internal squabble earlier, but now they’re chatting and laughing as if nothing happened. Do you think they’re up to some trick?” a man who looked like an old farmer asked.

Hearing this, Wan Tianming glanced at the demonic cultivators, who had just finished their division of the spoils, and let out a cold laugh.

“The techniques practiced by demonic path cultivators are powerful, but they tend to warp the practitioner’s mind. It’s normal for them to have inconsistent behavior. Nothing to be alarmed about! What matters is that on this trip, even if we have to forgo the Void Heaven Cauldron ourselves, we must never let it fall into demonic hands. After all, Extreme Yin Ancestor’s Mutant Fire Pythons are also one of the spirit beasts capable of retrieving the treasure,” Wan Tianming said, his expression turning grave.

“Well said, Hall Master Wan! If the demonic path gets their hands on it, their influence would naturally swell. And right now, the Star Palace is at its weakest. We cannot allow the demonic path to replace the Star Palace and rule the Chaotic Star Sea,” Tian Wuzi nodded vigorously.

Wan Tianming was very pleased. He was about to say more when, from the direction of the giant mountain, a brilliant display of red and blue light erupted.

Amidst a rumbling tremor that shook the very earth, the mountain wall near the canyon entrance split open, revealing two narrow passages that seemed to lead directly into the canyon’s interior.

In front of each passage’s entrance, a stone tablet about three or four feet high rose from the ground. One was inscribed with the archaic characters “Xuan Jing Road” (Profound Ice Path), and the other with “Rong Yan Road” (Magma Path).

Some of the nearest cultivators immediately strode forward.

But before anyone could even enter the Magma Path passage, a wave of dizzying, scorching heat blasted out, setting mouths and throats instantly dry.

From the Profound Ice Path, meanwhile, a frigid white mist continuously emanated, accompanied by the howling of fierce winds, sending a chill through any onlooker.

“Han Li, let’s go. We’ll regroup at the end of the Ice and Fire Paths. Decide which path you want to take. I can’t personally guide you through, but I can give you an artifact or two to keep you warm or cool,” Nascent Soul Extreme Yin said, his spirits lifting as he stood up upon seeing the paths appear. He turned to Han Li with a feigned look of deep concern.

Han Li had already heard Fairy Zi Ling talk about the Ice and Fire Paths while they were passing through the Ghost Mist. He knew that once you stepped into the passage, you would be forcibly teleported by the restriction to various preset locations within the great canyon. The chance of being teleported to the same spot as anyone else was very low, which was why the other was saying this.

“I’ll take the Magma Path. I happen to have a Flame-Repelling Garment on me. It might come in handy,” Han Li said after a moment of thought.

“Very well, then. Take this. With your cultivation level, that should be enough to get you through,” Extreme Yin Ancestor said without hesitation, pulling a blue, gleaming jade pendant from his storage pouch and handing it to Han Li.

“I never thought I’d see the day you, Extreme Yin, got so generous for once. Isn’t that your prized White Rhino Pendant?” Man Brutal Beard happened to glance over and said with a smirk that wasn’t quite a smile.