Chapter 688 - 145: What is Diplomacy? (5)

Zhang Deming nodded. "More or less. I used a broken, Three-Star Magical Artifact Level treasure as a link, with the intention of integrating it all."

Dang Xiangjun nodded at his words. With a turn of his hand, he produced a palm-sized Jade Disc and tossed it to Zhang Deming.

"Master, what is this...?" Zhang Deming asked, catching the Jade Disc with a look of confusion.

"Because the remnants have retreated en masse, the cleanup of the surrounding Prefectures is going very quickly. After all, most of the Minor Sects and small Noble Families have been wiped out.

So, for the entire Cultivation Realm under the Celestial Spirit Sect, the disaster relief is already in its final stages. Next is handling the mortal realm.

Since you’re so concerned about the mortal realm, you can take charge of handling it this time. I won’t get involved.

The Communication Control Room will likely take a few more days to set up. Due to the nature of my own cultivation path, I’m fairly adept at matters of communication.

I spent a little time creating this. All the teams dispatched for disaster relief are equipped with one.

While it doesn’t allow for real-time communication, I can manage sending a few comprehensive updates each day. As for how to handle the mortal realm, the decisions are all yours," Dang Xiangjun said.

Holding the Jade Disc, Zhang Deming’s face lit up with pleasant surprise. "Thank you for your concern, Master. With this device and the help of the Sect Disciples, I guarantee I can sort out the mortal realm quickly."

Dang Xiangjun shook his head. "I only did it because I saw your earnest heart. It was just a small favor. Having a heart like that isn’t a bad thing, but... in the Cultivation Realm, it’s not necessarily a good thing, either."

"I will take your teachings to heart, Master. I’ll be careful in the future. As for the present... let’s just focus on getting this handled first," Zhang Deming replied.

"Good, as long as you understand. Go on, I have to deal with this whole mess here," Dang Xiangjun said with a dismissive wave.

"Thank you, Master." With that, Zhang Deming turned to leave.

"Oh, right!"

He had only taken a few steps when Dang Xiangjun’s voice called out from behind him again. Zhang Deming turned to face him. "Is there anything else, Master?"

"The Outer Realm Exchange is different from the situation with the Spirit Mountain Monks; it’s a grand event for the Sect. While attendance isn’t mandatory for someone of your status, it would be best for you to participate. After all, you should be able to gain quite a lot.

So, you’d best wrap things up in the mortal realm quickly. The initial phase of disaster relief is complete, and the Sect will probably start the exchange in half a month at the latest," Dang Xiangjun advised.

Zhang Deming frowned slightly. "Why not wait until matters in the mortal realm are completely settled before it begins? There are still quite a few Disciples engaged in disaster relief there. Since it’s a grand event, it’s not right to have Disciples miss out because of their duties."

Dang Xiangjun said, "There are several reasons. For one, the party from the Outer Realm usually won’t wait that long, and the Sect would rather not have them loitering around our grounds for a month.

Two, the bulk of the disaster relief is already done. An event of this scale can’t be delayed over some minor issues in the mortal realm.

And the third and most important reason: that bunch from Xuande Temple is still skulking about in the mortal realm. If we wait for things to settle down there before holding our event, wouldn’t we have to host both gatherings at the same time?"

"Wouldn’t that be even better? The Sect doesn’t really care about Xuande Temple anyway. If we just let them piggyback on our event, they might even think we’re giving them special treatment. It’d save us both time and trouble," Zhang Deming said.

Dang Xiangjun shook his head and gave a wry smile. "If only it were that simple. The Sect values the delegation from the Outer Realm because the Array Artifact Department genuinely wants to learn a trick or two from them. Everyone wants a substantive, technical exchange.

If we had to hold that discussion with that group of Wish Cultivators... you can forget about any exchange. We’d just be bickering the whole time!"

Zhang Deming was taken aback for a moment. ’Right, I’d forgotten about that.’

"I understand, Master. With the Command Token Jade Disc you’ve given me, I’ll return to the Sect as soon as I’ve made the necessary arrangements. I won’t linger in the mortal realm. After all, anything I do myself is less effective than properly planning and coordinating the efforts of my martial brothers," Zhang Deming replied.

"Good that you understand. Now go!" Dang Xiangjun said.

Zhang Deming paused, turned and took two steps, then looked back. "Master, are you sure there’s nothing else?"

Dang Xiangjun blinked, then scolded with a laugh, "You brat, get lost already!"

"Okay!"

With that, Zhang Deming turned and left.

"Let’s get started on our end, shall we? Have your men stand by and point out which pieces of junk you want to keep. As for the rest... we’ll ’dispose’ of it for you," Dang Xiangjun said, looking at the flying vessel with an indifferent expression. After a pause, he continued,

"Oh, and by the way, anything you want to keep, you’ll have to move it yourselves. Our Disciples are... unfamiliar with such things. We might accidentally break them.

Furthermore, with remnants still running rampant, leaving your belongings out here in the wild... you’d best not even think about asking us to post guards for you."

Hearing Dang Xiangjun’s words, Hu Weiguo’s face twitched. He reckoned there would be nothing left of their flying vessel; most of it would be ’disposed of’ as ’junk’ by the Celestial Spirit Sect.

There was nothing they could do but accept their fate. It wasn’t as if the Celestial Spirit Sect was outright plundering them. Besides, these people had saved their lives. They had no grounds to complain if their saviors wanted to scrounge for some benefits and study their flying vessel.

The only thing they would never hand over were the resources on the vessel.

’As for the flying vessel itself, if they want to study it, then let them tear it apart as ’junk’. It’s not like we haven’t spent the last few decades studying Hongmeng’s Magical Artifacts. This is just a form of... ’reciprocity’.

The only difference is that this time, our flying vessel is the target. Hmm, our *broken* flying vessel, that is.’

「...」

Once he was out of sight, Zhang Deming manifested his wings and turned into a streak of light, heading towards the cliff.

He moved with incredible speed. ’By the time I’m out of here, even if they discover something later and come looking for Spirit Stones, heh... Sorry, but I honestly didn’t take anything!’

’I’m the esteemed Fourth Peak Master of Spirit Nurturing Peak. You wouldn’t dare try to search my person, would you?’

The two locations weren’t far apart to begin with, and he reached his destination in moments. By now, quite a few disciples were already at the vessel’s crash site, bustling about on it.

Judging by their uniforms, most of them seemed to be disciples from the Array Artifact Department. Moreover, people were still continuously streaming in through the Light Gate.

None of them looked like they were part of a rescue mission; they all wore expressions of intense interest and excitement. It was as if they had found a fascinating new machine to take apart.

’Heh, it looks like this broken ship is never flying again. It probably won’t be long before it’s completely dismantled into a pile of real junk in the name of ’research’.’

After all, Zhang Deming had seen the handiwork of his martial brothers from the Array Artifact Department before. They could make a perfectly good Magical Artifact look like a pile of scrap metal, which really showed the extent of the Array Artifact Department’s understanding of Outer Realm technology.

Zhang Deming paid them no mind, transforming into a streak of light and flying to the cliff. By now, the Light Gate was being guarded.

When Zhang Deming arrived, the guards were about to stop him, but the Jade Pendant at his waist flashed with Spiritual Light.

The two Tai Chi Stage Disciples guarding the gate immediately bowed. "Greetings, Grandmaster!"

Zhang Deming nodded in response and stepped into the Secret Realm.

「...」

After a moment of disorientation, Zhang Deming came to his senses to find he was back in the Secret Realm. Here, too, numerous disciples were bustling about.

Disciples from the Array Department were dealing with the various Array Light Curtains, while those from the Resources Department and Miscellaneous Affairs Department were cataloging and processing the various recovered resources for storage. The entire Secret Realm was abuzz with activity.

Zhang Deming had only flown a short distance when Fang Qing, accompanied by other Stewards from the Array Department, came forward to greet him.

"Greetings, Master Zhang!" The group bowed in unison.

Zhang Deming came to a halt and looked at Fang Qing. "Aren’t you busy dealing with the Secret Realm’s array-related affairs? Why have you come to see me?"

Fang Qing didn’t beat around the bush and nodded decisively. "Yes, Master Zhang. Because Ancestor Dang Xiangjun ordered us to preserve the Secret Realm as much as possible, it’s now extremely difficult to handle the arrays here.

We don’t dare to tamper with most of them. We’ve only managed to open a small, non-critical portion. Therefore, I need the Command Token you are carrying, Master Zhang."

Zhang Deming frowned. "Senior Brother Dang has two Command Tokens. Go ask him for one. I might need to come this way when I return to the Sect in a few days, so I’ll need to use it then."