He Lingchuan looked entirely nonchalant. "All you need to know is that I can do it."
This fellow had been chained in the deep chasm for years on end, yet its knowledge was quite impressive. He Lingchuan thought to himself that this was something the Dafang Pot had spat out through the divine bone necklace—most likely highly purifying and solidifying the consumed earth fiend energy until it took this form.
He did not understand the underlying mechanism at all. At the time, he had not dared to reach out and catch it with bare hands either; instead, he had manipulated it with spider silk, only for Zhu Erniang's incredibly tough silk—which even divine weapons struggled to sever—to be corroded and rotted through by the thing.
Since spiritual energy was the pure qi of Heaven and Earth and could condense into Emperor's Flowing Dew or sink into the earth to form profound crystals, there was no reason why earth fiend energy, as the turbid qi of Heaven and Earth, could not take solid form as well, right?
It seemed entirely natural to him, yet he had no idea that the conditions for condensing a fiend bead were far more stringent than those for profound crystals. Even with Longhao's vast age and experience, it had seen very few in its lifetime, which was why it found this so inconceivable.
Once fiend energy solidified into fiend beads, its nature became exceptionally stable, and it no longer volatilized, just like profound crystals. Gathering them posed no harm to He Lingchuan himself. Still, he did not dare touch them carelessly, storing them only in sand—
After multiple experiments, he had discovered that coarse sand worked best to keep the fiend beads separated.
Now, observing the king of the yin hui's reaction, it clearly attached great importance to this item.
Placing high value on it was good; high value meant leverage in negotiations.
You couldn't force an ox's head down to drink water; each taking what they needed was the true foundation for long-term cooperation.
Under his gaze, the king of the yin hui tossed a fiend bead into its mouth and swallowed it, without giving any sign of whether it even chewed, before smacking its lips twice to savor the aftertaste.
He Lingchuan gave a silent thumbs-up. To dare swallow a fiend bead whole—this fellow's stomach was downright monstrous.
In comparison, swallowing a bit of sand along with it was trivial.
"Very pure." Its voice brimmed with satisfaction, like someone who had just indulged in an exquisite feast. "You refined this using the yin fiend energy of the Yangshan Archipelago?"
"Indeed. Quite beneficial to your cultivation, isn't it?" He Lingchuan smiled. "In the past, you only occupied a single fiend energy outlet, and seventy to eighty percent of the yin fiend evaporating from the leyline went to waste. I can condense it all into fiend beads and deliver them straight to your dining table. When you think about it, you're getting the better end of the deal, aren't you?"
"I want all of these fiend beads! You have no other use for them anyway!" The moment it heard fiend beads were on the table, Longhao became remarkably straightforward. "What other conditions do you have?"
These treasures could accelerate its cultivation progress and would even be immensely beneficial to its offspring.
He Lingchuan chuckled. "Your offspring can leave places of yin fiend for short periods, can't they?"
Longhao hesitated for a moment. "Only the strongest."
Its brood had died en masse on the very first day the yin fiend energy was drained away; there was no hiding that fact from him.
"Good. Should I require it, you must deploy an army of yin hui to heed my command!"
Longhao pondered briefly. "My offspring cannot stay too far from water, nor can they leave yin fiend energy for too long!"
He Lingchuan pointed at the fiend beads in the box. "With these treasures, do they still have to remain confined to the Yangshan Archipelago?"
If profound crystals were spiritual energy to cultivators, then fiend beads were fiend energy to the yin hui. This old yin hui surely had ample means to turn them into endurance batteries for an army of yin hui fighting far from the islands.
"..." This kid was sly as a demon and not easily fooled. "They can leave briefly, until the fiend beads are exhausted."
Truth be told, with these fiend beads, the yin hui clan's range of activity had suddenly expanded significantly, no longer restricted solely to the depths of the Yangshan Archipelago.
Such a change would not only affect the yin hui, but could eventually ripple out to the Golden Sea Route, Blade Harbor, and even the Qing Kingdom.
"I will not send your offspring to their deaths for nothing," He Lingchuan said solemnly. "Otherwise, there would have been no need to seek you out today."
He continued, "Your yin hui clan lives upon my territory, which makes you my subjects. When the lord defends against enemies, you must pull your weight as well."
Longhao only wanted to sneer at that statement. But in the end, it swallowed its pride and focused entirely on the negotiation: "We cannot fight your battles every day."
"Then designate a dedicated unit for me, ready to take my orders at any time." He Lingchuan had already thought this through on the way here. "The other yin hui can live and thrive in peace. I will not cut off the yin fiend energy in the southwest of Longji Island. If you can set up a barrier yourself to keep the fiend energy from leaking, all the better. As for the waters around Longji Island, I place no restrictions on them, but you must still rein in your brood so they do not harm humans."
The yin hui had a broad diet; humans were not their staple food.
Longhao considered this for a moment. "Non-aggression is agreeable, provided humans do not proactively hunt and kill my offspring."
"Excellent." With the king of the yin hui softening its stance, the likelihood of reaching an agreement soared. "Furthermore, if external enemies attack the Yangshan Archipelago, you must give your all to help me repel them!"
If He Lingchuan lost, the supply of fiend beads would dry up. The king of the yin hui did not ponder long before nodding. "Release the fiend energy, and the enemies will naturally retreat. But fine, I agree."
He Lingchuan breathed a silent sigh of relief. With these native inhabitants guarding it, the defensive strength of the Yangshan Archipelago would rise by at least two tiers.
"As for our territory..." Longhao added, "in addition to southwestern Longji, I also demand Gusheng Island and Longxun Island for my yin hui clan. The terrain of those two islands is very well suited for our reproduction."
Over recent days, He Lingchuan had ordered the Mount Rong people to map the archipelago in detail. Upon inquiring about their locations, he recalled the general topography of the two islands.
Both islands were jagged and rocky, lacking even three feet of level ground. Their shores were full of rocky hollows and their surrounding waters riddled with hidden reefs, making them entirely unfit for human habitation and devoid of any agricultural value.
Hence, he agreed readily.
Next, the two sides discussed in detail the boundaries of the yin hui habitat at the southwestern tip of Longji Island, noting provisions to be supplemented later.
Finally, He Lingchuan brought out the Heavenly Order Precious Scroll.
The previous agreement on the Heavenly Order Precious Scroll could be voided on the spot so long as both sides were willing to erase their endorsements.
Min Tianxi had crossed out his endorsement long ago. Once the king of the yin hui pried off its scale, the writing on the Heavenly Order Precious Scroll gradually faded away, turning once more into a gleaming sheet of blank golden parchment.
Upon this golden scroll, He Lingchuan recorded the new agreement clause by clause, word by word.
Both parties verified that the terms were correct, signed and sealed it, and the new agreement took effect immediately.
Only at this point did He Lingchuan exhale a long breath, saying earnestly to the king of the yin hui, "Pleasure doing business with you!"
Longhao gave a snort, still thoroughly disgruntled.
Anyone whose territory had been encroached upon and was forced to sign an unequal treaty would hardly be in good spirits.
Yet with this agreement in hand, at least the yin fiend energy the yin hui depended on for survival would no longer be stripped away. Moreover, the fiend energy He Lingchuan took would ultimately be solidified into fiend beads and returned to it.
In this respect alone, it was not at a disadvantage at all; instead, it had turned misfortune into a blessing, receiving several times more fiend energy than usual.
He Lingchuan's go-to method these days was the carrot and the stick.
First strike the yin hui clan mercilessly, beating out every shred of their arrogance and contempt until they had no choice but to bow their heads to him, and only then talk terms.
Yet regardless of the process, he would invariably leave ample benefits for the king of the yin hui in the end.
For an agreement to be executed effectively over the long run, it could not rely on intimidation and coercion, but on mutual benefit.
Only cooperation where both sides profited could endure.
Having put away the golden scroll, He Lingchuan finally turned his thoughts to other matters. "What is the story behind the bone chains behind you?"
"I challenged my elder brother and lost. According to the rules of the yin dragon clan, I left the Upside-Down Sea to cultivate in another place. These bone chains—" Longhao shifted, the heavy bone chains scraping against the ground with dull clanking sounds, "belonged to an elder of my clan. When I can break free of them is when my cultivation reaches great completion."
"No wonder these bone chains aren't corroded by yin fiend energy." The fellow made it sound noble, but wasn't it really just imprisoned? He consoled it, "You could say you've turned misfortune into a blessing as well."
"Turned misfortune into a blessing?" Longhao gave a low, cold laugh. "Trapped in a sunless chasm, year after year with no release—you call that turning misfortune into a blessing?"
"At least you're still alive. Besides, you yin hui aren't supposed to see daylight anyway, right?"
"Once I cultivate into a flood dragon, I will no longer need to shun the sun."
"What about the rest of your clan?"
"I do not know. I haven't seen them for two thousand years."
He Lingchuan spoke again: "Give me a token so we can stay in touch. You wouldn't want me coming down to the sinkhole to find you all the time, would you?"
Whenever he came, fiend energy would be sucked away.
Longhao plucked a scale from its body and tossed it to him. "Take it. Within five hundred li of Longji Island, rubbing the scale three times will allow you to speak with me."
The scale had originally been the size of a ping-pong paddle, but as it landed in He Lingchuan's hand, it shrank down to the size of a copper coin.
Pitch-black, with a rough surface and concentric rings of raised fine ridges.
"Within three days, please recall all yin hui to Longji Island," He Lingchuan said solemnly. "Three days from now, I will sweep away all yin fiend from the archipelago and erect a perimeter fence along Longji Island's boundary."
Longhao gave him a profound look, turned, and slithered down the stone platform, disappearing into the darkness in the blink of an eye.
"Done." He Lingchuan turned to smile at Zhu Daniang, waving the golden scroll in his hand. "Let's head back."
He climbed out of the sinkhole alongside Zhu Daniang. A yin hui was still waiting at the opening of the sinkhole to guide them back.
Partway back, Zhu Daniang suddenly asked him:
"Why leave a way out for the yin hui? Do you truly believe Heaven loves all life?"
If He Lingchuan regularly drained all the yin fiend turbidity from the Yangshan Archipelago, before long, the yin hui clan would be finished, or perhaps only Longhao would remain.
Why take the risk of negotiating with the king of the yin hui? Why allocate territory for these monsters to dwell in?
He Lingchuan shook his head. "Daniang, we're newcomers here, and our numbers are still too few."
He had already stowed the scroll away and wasn't concerned that the guiding yin hui could understand their conversation.
"Hmm? What do you mean?" Zhu Daniang did not quite follow. If her sister were here, would she have understood right away? "The help the yin hui can offer you is very limited. They cannot travel far on land, and they certainly cannot conquer cities and seize territory for you."
"I know. But their very presence is a deterrent," He Lingchuan said slowly. "The yin hui have stirred up trouble here for years. For generations, the officials, commoners, and pirates of Bailie and Blade Harbor have held them in immense dread. That psychological fear cannot be erased in a short time."
Chapter 921