Chapter 566 - 307: Shangguan Qingying: A Capable Man Does More Work...

In the distant lands of Shunzhou, the hallowed grounds of the Primordial Demon Palace.

The majestic and magnificent Mahayana Mountain Range, stretching for countless miles, ran north to south. It was home to the main Dragon Vein of this great continent, a first-class treasured land of feng shui.

In the main peak region of the range, magnificent and imposing palaces and cave abodes, dominated by a black and red color scheme, stretched as far as the eye could see. Their styles varied greatly—some rugged, some bizarre, some sinister, some blood-soaked.

At this very moment, the area was already plunged into darkness, roiling with black clouds. Billowing Demonic Qi blotted out the sky and sun, making it so dark you couldn’t see your hand in front of your face, just like the Nether God Realm.

Streaks of colorful Escape Light, numerous and varied, hurried to and fro through the sky. Most belonged to Disciples of the Primordial Demon Palace, either heading out on official business or returning to the Sect to report on their duties.

Inside the deep Secret Hall, the highest authority of the Demon Palace, the Elder Sect Leader, Daoist Monarch Qianhuan, sat upon a large, imposing throne, listening expressionlessly to the reports from a group of Demon Palace Elders.

This great titan of the Demon Path, whose fame shook the Qingyao Continent, appeared to be a handsome young man with a refined air, a Longsword strapped to his back. His Sea Blue Magical Robe was adorned with incredibly lifelike patterns of birds and beasts, and his aura was unfathomable.

"...Are you saying that over seventy percent of the raiding parties the Sect sent to the other great continents have been annihilated by the local powers?"

After a long silence, Daoist Monarch Qianhuan’s cold, deep voice echoed faintly.

"Y-Yes, that’s right!"

The Elder who had been reporting, Chen Qi, replied in a low voice, his eyes filled with terror.

Despite the major powers hunting them down, Daoist Monarch Qianhuan had gone against the council’s opinion and dispatched numerous teams of Demon Cultivators to other great continents. Their mission was to deploy Foreign Warriors for raids and sabotage, and to slaughter mortals for the purpose of refining Soul Crystals.

This move was intended to kill two birds with one stone: disrupt the situation on the other great continents to divert the attention of the major powers, and at the same time, gather a sufficient supply of Soul Crystals for the Sect.

However, those major powers refused to let the Primordial Demon Palace’s Cultivators run rampant. They immediately dispatched adequate forces to patrol their territories and intercept those Demon Cultivators and Foreign Warriors.

Therefore, over the past year, while the Primordial Demon Palace had managed to harvest some Soul Crystals, the lion’s share had been intercepted by the powers on those other continents.

Not to mention, a large number of Disciples had been killed in the process. The same was true for the foreigners from the Outer Heaven. Very few of them managed to escape back to Shunzhou alive.

From the Primordial Demon Palace’s perspective, this was undoubtedly a losing deal. The costs far outweighed the rewards.

"Sect Leader, we can’t go on like this,"

Core Elder Yu Dongyang, a man with a high-bridged nose, deep-set eyes, and a sinister expression, spoke up with a frown:

"We’ve lost too many Disciples. It has damaged our Primordial Qi, and I fear this will be detrimental to the Sect’s grand plans for the future!"

Although most of those who died were Low Grade Disciples, there were also many Cultivators at the Nascent Soul Level. A significant number of them even had the potential to ascend to the Divinity Transformation Realm.

Now, they were all dead, killed by those other powers. Even for an organization as large and powerful as the Primordial Demon Palace, such a loss was still painful for the high-ranking Elders to bear.

Daoist Monarch Qianhuan remained silent for a long moment before speaking in a low voice, "Then let’s stop. ’Actually, my previous thinking wasn’t about coveting a few Soul Crystals. It was mainly because I don’t trust those foreigners...’"

’The more of them that die, the less pressure we’ll face in the future. Surely, you Elders don’t actually believe we should honor our agreement and cede a continent to them as a territory to populate and inhabit, do you?’

"The Sect Leader is absolutely right."

Elder Chen Qi replied respectfully.

The Exotic Race from the Outer Heaven were fundamentally different from the Human Race. They viewed this world as a hunting ground, and their goal was to conquer and enslave all of its living beings.

For the sake of the Sect’s glory and expansion, Daoist Monarch Qianhuan had opened a Seal several years ago and signed a pact of cooperation with the Clan King of these foreigners, agreeing to join forces to conquer this world.

In exchange, once the deed was done, the Exotic Race would be allowed to choose a resource-rich continent for themselves, to serve as their people’s private territory.

The upper echelon of the Primordial Demon Palace knew full well that such pacts were merely a race to see who would be the first to break them. If that was the case even among their own kind, how could it be any different with an exotic race?

From the very beginning, they had never taken the pact seriously. The moment their grand ambition was realized, they fully intended to eliminate every last one of these foreigners.

Daoist Monarch Qianhuan slowly rose from his throne. With a grand wave of his sleeve, a hint of a smile touched his eyes and brows:

"This recent operation has resulted in the deaths of hundreds of millions of the Exotic Race. We also brought back a fair number of Soul Crystals and weakened the Primordial Qi of the surrounding great continents. So, our gains have been substantial after all. Those Disciples did not die in vain."

"Now, I will go and negotiate with their Clan King again. Let’s see if I can squeeze a few more benefits out of them!"

The high-ranking Elders in attendance exchanged smiles. In their eyes, these foreigners from the Outer Heaven were nothing but disposable cannon fodder and tools. Their deaths were of no consequence.

...

「Zhao Family Territory.」

After a period of "careful consideration," Shangguan Qingying finally, and with great reluctance, accepted the fealty of the various surrounding powers, declaring them vassals of the Zhao Family.

Afterward, both sides went through dozens of rounds of negotiations, filled with overt and covert probing and gamesmanship, a process that lasted several months before they finally hammered out the detailed clauses of the pact.

The sixteen Nascent Soul powers, including Vast Cloud Peak, the Qingxi Sect, the Wang Family, and the Lu Family, would pay an annual tribute to the Zhao Family equivalent to ten percent of their own yearly income, which could be paid in either Spirit Stones or other Cultivation Resources.