503: Chapter 372 503: Chapter 372 Just like now, the Supreme Alchemist was building the Immortal Sect again, without notifying him, the King, or the court; acting as he pleased.
One can imagine the taste in Long Hong’s heart.
As a King, when someone wanted to use the land beneath him, he knew nothing about it, and even if he did, he could not charge extra money or tax.
Long Hong’s face darkened.
With Ye Tian now posing such a threat and having friends for support, his throne was even more precarious.
The gold and silver mountains he had just envisioned were but a dream.
The bitter taste in his heart was indescribable, but he was not ready to give up on the Supreme Elixir.
No matter how many there were, they must all be offered as tribute to him.
He wanted immortal life, he wanted to ascend to the Heavenly Realm!
“I have been in dire need of the legendary Supreme Elixir for my cultivation recently.
Could you please ask that Alchemist to refine some for me?”
Long Hong’s tone carried a plea, but in reality, it was not a plea at all.
To Ye Tian, it sounded like a command.
If he couldn’t get this friend to help, Long Hong might turn hostile and charge him with a crime.
Ye Tian was not afraid of the King.
With his current power, he could kill him with a mere wave of his hand.
However, if the King decided to act recklessly, there would indeed be a bit of trouble.
Their family would be shouldered with the reputation of disloyalty and filial impiety.
More importantly, there were external enemies eyeing them covetously, and traitors within the court.
Although Long Hong’s reign hadn’t been great, at least he hadn’t made the people suffer a living hell.
A kingdom needed peace; in the event of war, farmers would surely be the ones to suffer.
In the Cultivation World, farmers were already a lowly existence, like ants.
But they were still lives, and what Ye Tian cared about was whether the people could live well or not.
Otherwise, he would not have devoted himself to being their Guardian God, constantly on the move to capture enemies.
He might as well be a disciple of the Immortal Sect, living carefree on Immortal Mountain.
“King, the Supreme Alchemist is very busy.
It might not be feasible for him to come here to refine Pills.
If the King needs one or two Supreme Elixirs, I could purchase them for you in my personal capacity.”
Upon hearing about one or two Supreme Elixirs, Long Hong’s previously sullen face showed no smile.
As a King, he needed a subordinate to use his own status to purchase Supreme Elixirs for him.
Didn’t that imply that he would owe Ye Tian a favor?
Did he, the King, still have any authority left?
In his kingdom, they should not just do business—but dutifully offer up their resources without taking a single penny in tribute.
By saying this, Long Hong had already hinted at the necessity of pleasing him, the King, and that a Supreme Alchemist should also offer tribute.
The way Ye Tian was talking was as if the King had to pay for things he wanted to buy.
As the King, didn’t he have access to everything in the national treasury for free?
Wasn’t everything offered up dutifully by every territory?
He felt that Ye Tian was being far too presumptuous.
He should have made his friend offer tribute instead of rejecting his query.
No wonder he hadn’t wanted to marry his daughter to this man.
This man was uncontrollable, and annoyingly enough, he still needed Ye Tian for now.
Long Hong had sent orders for the other two ministers to come, but even if they did, it would be to make them pay or exert effort to make the Supreme Alchemist offer Supreme Elixirs as tribute.
With two more people, and two more voices to speak to Ye Tian, the idea was to make him obediently convince his friend to offer tribute.
Did Long Hong, the King, really need to spend money?
“Young General, the national treasury is empty.
The King, the Princes, and the Princess who admires you, we all need Supreme Elixirs to improve our cultivation.
How can just one or two Supreme Elixirs be enough for the King?”
Long Hong’s intentions were clear.
To demand something as a King, a mere trifle would be no better than charity to a beggar.
“There’s nothing I can do then.
I can’t refine Supreme Elixirs, and I can’t overpower the other party to take them by force.
The only option left is to buy them.”
Ye Tian was utterly indifferent to the King’s threats, spreading his hands with an expression of helplessness.
What he said was true; he might be an elite in his family, but that didn’t mean he was the strongest elite in the Cultivation World.
The last time he saw Jiang Tang, his Cultivation was already beyond Ye Tian’s grasp.
Meeting Jiang Tang for the second time, Ye Tian sensed that his Cultivation had increased yet again.
If they weren’t friends, during the last mission in the city, Jiang Tang might not have helped if he hadn’t given face, and there would’ve been nothing Ye Tian could do.
Jiang Tang’s strong Cultivation and his willingness to help confirmed his good nature.
He wasn’t someone who would look down on disaster-stricken people just because his own abilities had improved.
He wouldn’t have the power to save others and choose not to.
What the King asked for might not seem excessive in his eyes, but the laws of the Cultivation World don’t revolve around what the King says.
For thousands of years in the Cultivation World, the strong have been revered.
With Jiang Tang’s strength, if he wanted to be Emperor, the King couldn’t stop him.
Ye Tian believed that even their family wouldn’t be able to stop him, and most of the powerful beings didn’t want such power; they considered it a trivial concern that prevented them from concentrating on Cultivation.
With the capabilities of a mighty being, what couldn’t they have?
Long Hong didn’t seem to realize whom he was trying to trouble.
Ye Tian felt he couldn’t do it, and wouldn’t agree to even try.
Long Hong and his descendants were starting to become corrupt.
The fact that they could still hold their positions was something they should be grateful for.
Ye Tian faced the King without a hint of fear.
The King was so weak that if Ye Tian wanted to rebel, he could kill him with a single slap.
“I am powerless to help.
If it were really possible to get that many Supreme Elixirs all at once, everyone in my family would have them by now!
I am only a partner in the business, and I don’t have control over the shop’s profits.”
How could Long Hong be willing to let go of this opportunity?
His face remained gloomy.
The King thought Ye Tian’s uncooperative behavior deserved punishment, but he feared retaliation from punishing their family or Ye Tian.