"You..."
A single sentence almost made Wan Mingxuan spit out blood.
The items he presented might not have been much in the eyes of peak forces.
But Sikong Longyin was no longer a member of the Imperial Dragon Villa. Rumor had it that he had established his own sect!
Therefore, these items were not a small sum for him.
Yet, the other party was still not satisfied, clearly intending to make an exorbitant demand.
Thinking this, Wan Mingxuan suppressed his anger and said, "Brother Sikong, you misunderstand. These are merely a deposit."
"Once the task is complete, I will present you with a thousand purple spirit stones, ten kilograms of rare metals, and two Nine-Revolutions Golden Pills!"
"Unsatisfactory!"
Sikong Longyin shook his head and said, "Heaven knows if you'll flee after the task is done! If you run, who will I find? So, you must hand these over first. I swear on the Imperial Dragon Villa that I will absolutely uphold my promise!"
Bah! You were kicked out of the Imperial Dragon Villa, what use are your words!
Though he scorned Sikong Longyin to the core, Wan Mingxuan gritted his teeth and directly tossed the Qiankun Bag over.
For the sake of the mission, he could reluctantly accept this condition.
Taking the Qiankun Bag, Sikong Longyin checked the contents and, seeing the numbers matched, looked at the other party.
"It's best to make things clear from the start. We can cooperate, but the Four Great Seals obtained must be split equally! I won't work for free!"
"At most, I can promise you that if the Swift Wind Tower has a need, I can offer my two obtained Seals to allow you to open the Heavenly Realm Gate..."
Hearing Sikong Longyin's words, Wan Mingxuan's expression first sank, but then he quickly recovered his smile.
He would never have allowed the other party to covet the Four Great Seals initially. However, considering that the other party was after the Four Great Seals, refusing would mean no cooperation.
Therefore, he would placate the other party for now. As for the final ownership of the Four Great Seals, it would depend on their respective strengths.
Simply put, it would be a matter of each according to their own abilities!
...
As the sun rose, Ye Cangtian opened his eyes on his bed.
As the ethereal cultivation technique was completed, all fatigue vanished. He stretched, tidied himself up briefly, and left the room.
Having just finished his meal, Lan Yue walked over.
"Junior brother, I just received a message from Sikong Longyin. He reached an agreement with Wan Mingxuan last night. For this cooperation, Wan Mingxuan gave him this token of sincerity..."
As she spoke, Lan Yue handed the Qiankun Bag to Ye Cangtian.
Taking the Qiankun Bag, Ye Cangtian glanced at it, and a hint of disappointment appeared on his face. "So little? It seems Sikong Longyin was too merciful!"
There were only a thousand-odd purple spirit stones and some rare metals. The most valuable among them were two Nine-Revolutions Golden Pills.
However, the value of these Nine-Revolutions Golden Pills was relative to others. For Ye Cangtian, they were not much.
This was why he was slightly disappointed. If it were him, he would have skinned the other party alive!
Thinking this, he looked at Lan Yue and continued, "Senior sister, Sikong Longyin wouldn't have made a special trip just for this, would he? Did he say anything about the plan?"
"Yes!"
Lan Yue nodded and continued, "Wan Mingxuan is still fixated on the Death Squad. He is determined to capture the Death Squad, so they will have leverage against you!"
"Heh heh, since they are still harboring malicious intentions, let them reap what they sow!"
A cold smile spread across Ye Cangtian's face, and waves of killing intent emanated from him.
The members of the Death Squad were his brothers and sisters. Having designs on his brothers and sisters had crossed his bottom line.
Saying this, he whispered something into Lan Yue's ear.
Hearing Ye Cangtian's plan, Lan Yue's face broke into a faint smile and she said, "I'll go arrange it now."
...
Time flew by, and five days passed.
Wan Mingxuan, accompanied by Giant Bear and Night Owl, stopped in front of a secluded courtyard in Dragon City.
"Sir, have the Death Squad members we've been tracking for so long really been captured by Sikong Longyin and the others?"
Night Owl finally couldn't help but ask.
These past few days, he and Giant Bear, leading the people of the Swift Wind Tower, had also been hunting the Death Squad, but they hadn't even found a single hair of them.
Under these circumstances, Sikong Longyin had managed to capture members of the Death Squad, which made him feel incredulous.
After all, their numbers and top experts were roughly the same. Why could the other side successfully capture the Death Squad while they couldn't?
To put it bluntly, he was not convinced.
"Whether it's true or not, we'll know once we go in and see."
Wan Mingxuan said faintly, his expression somewhat grim. He too was not convinced.
However, regardless of anything, this was good news that would only benefit them in the future.
Thinking this, he walked into the room.
As soon as he entered, Wan Mingxuan saw Sikong Longyin, and in a corner nearby, two bound men.
The next moment, he took out portraits. These portraits were mostly drawn by Dragon City portrait artists based on their memories of the Death Squad members.
He hastily compared them, and it turned out the two men bore a strong resemblance to the portraits, as if they were carved from the same mold.
Seeing this, Wan Mingxuan glared fiercely at Night Owl, his meaning obvious, implying that he was useless.
Then, he looked at Sikong Longyin and laughed heartily, "Hahaha, Brother Sikong, you truly didn't disappoint me! You actually captured members of the Death Squad."
"Alas!"
Sikong Longyin sighed upon hearing this and said, "Brother Mingxuan, you've seen a joke. We didn't capture Rose among them, only Taishan and Citou. I'm afraid these two are not enough to threaten Ye Cangtian!"
"Wrong!"
Wan Mingxuan immediately interrupted him and said, "It is said that Ye Cangtian values relationships greatly. Although these two are not Rose, they are still Ye Cangtian's brothers. Therefore, he will definitely not disregard their lives!"
Hearing this, Sikong Longyin's eyes lit up, and he said, "In that case, we should be able to proceed with the next step of the plan?"
"Indeed!"
Wan Mingxuan nodded repeatedly, then explained the subsequent arrangements in detail.
After discussing, the two finalized the plan.
Just as Wan Mingxuan was about to leave, he stopped and said, "Brother Sikong, how about handing these two over to me for disposal? You know, the conflict between me and Ye Cangtian..."
It was obvious that Wan Mingxuan intended to deal with Taishan and Citou, thus avenging his subordinates!
At the same time, it would be the most powerful counterattack against Ye Cangtian!
"Brother Mingxuan, conflict is conflict. In the face of major matters, you must exercise restraint!"
Sikong Longyin glanced over and continued, "However, don't worry. After the task is complete, I will definitely hand the two over to you. Whether you return them to Ye Cangtian or deal with them yourself afterward is up to you!"
As expected! Sikong Longyin still wanted to guard against him!
Hearing Sikong Longyin's words, Wan Mingxuan muttered to himself.
Whichever hand Citou and Taishan fell into, that person would have a life-saving trump card. Therefore, when he spoke, he had already anticipated that the other party would not agree.
Thinking this, he said, "Alright, let's discuss it later. I hope Brother Sikong will be punctual tomorrow, and we will cooperate wholeheartedly!"
"Rest assured!"
Seeing Sikong Longyin agree, Wan Mingxuan said no more and turned to leave the room.
...
The sun rose again, marking a new day.
Early in the morning, Ye Cangtian went to Dongfang Mingyue's room and waited.
Everything was proceeding according to plan. The Death Squad had cooperated with Sikong Longyin and was taken away by him.
Now, Wan Mingxuan held leverage to restrain him. Therefore, even without receiving news, Ye Cangtian could imagine that Wan Mingxuan would visit today.
As expected, before he could finish two cups of tea in the office, Feifei rushed into the room.
"Two lords, Wan Mingxuan has arrived at headquarters with people from the Swift Wind Tower!"
Ye Cangtian and Dongfang Mingyue exchanged a look, a faint smile appearing on their faces. Then, without further ado, they stood up and walked towards the hall.
When they arrived at the hall, Wan Mingxuan was already seated, a faint smile on his face, as if victory was within his grasp.
Seeing this, Ye Cangtian sat down, lit a cigarette, and slowly drew on it.
Seeing that Ye Cangtian had no intention of speaking, Dongfang Mingyue knew that Ye Cangtian wanted to leave the matter to her to handle, as she was the administrator of the Hidden Group.
If Ye Cangtian handled everything, it would surely attract gossip.
Thinking this, Dongfang Mingyue said, "Wan Mingxuan, have you been enjoying your travels in Dragon City recently?"
"Aside from some unpleasantness at the beginning, the rest has been quite good. Although the scenery is not as good as that of the Swift Wind Tower, it has its own characteristics..."
Wan Mingxuan smiled at Dongfang Mingyue, his words still demeaning Dragon City, thereby demeaning the Hidden Group.
However, Dongfang Mingyue was already accustomed to such tricks and found them unremarkable, so she did not get angry.
She smiled and said, "Since you have seen Dragon City in its entirety, you are here to discuss cooperation with the Hidden Group, correct?"
"Of course."
Wan Mingxuan nodded and continued, "I have been out for some time, and it is time to complete my mission and return to the Swift Wind Tower to report."
Upon hearing this, Dongfang Mingyue nodded knowingly and then said, "Then let's get to the point. How does the Swift Wind Tower intend to cooperate with us?"
"In principle, the Swift Wind Tower and the Hidden Group will be equals, sharing resources and establishing an alliance of offense and defense!"
"In reality, the Hidden Group is somewhat weaker. Therefore, the Swift Wind Tower will fully support the Hidden Group to become the sixth peak force, and even help the Hidden Group recover its peak..."