Chen Xiao was stunned, as were the middle-aged Taoist and the elders. What was going on? They were being asked to swear a blood oath, but they didn't even know who this person was!
Everyone was bewildered, but that was one good thing about feudal sects: the sect leader's word was law, and there was no need for fairness or democracy.
After Zhang Longhu and the others swore the blood oath, Chen Xiao could no longer attack them.
Even if he couldn't attack, Chen Xiao couldn't leave empty-handed.
"Let's not beat around the bush. Since Sect Leader Zhang is a straightforward person, I'll be direct. You guessed correctly, I have another reason for coming to your True Martial Sect. I want to get some spirit stones here."
Chen Xiao's words were like those of a bandit, as if he were picking his teeth with a knife and saying, "Lend me some money!"
Upon hearing this, Zhang Longhu's worried heart finally settled.
What were spirit stones? In the Immortal Hidden Realm, spirit stones were equivalent to money!
Problems that could be solved with money were never problems.
"Immortal Master, please speak. How many spirit stones do you need? I'll send someone to prepare them right away."
Zhang Longhu said hastily.
Chen Xiao thought for a moment and asked, "Yesterday, I passed by the spirit stone vein outside True Martial Town... Using that spirit stone vein as an example, how many spirit stones can that spirit stone vein produce in total?"
Zhang Longhu squinted and thought for a moment before giving an ambiguous answer: "The spirit stone vein outside True Martial Town was originally controlled by the Li family, to which the Holy Son belonged. It's a spirit stone vein that has already been half-mined. If we continue to mine it, we can probably extract about ten thousand spirit stones."
"Is that so..."
After hearing Zhang Longhu's words, Chen Xiao inwardly cursed Qinglian Dao Master as stingy.
A complete spirit stone vein could produce about twenty thousand spirit stones.
Given the strength of the Heavenly Lotus Sect, they must have controlled dozens of spirit stone veins. Yet, they had only given him two thousand spirit stones. When calculated, it was like dismissing a beggar.
Not to mention, after Chen Xiao wiped out the Heavenly Blood Sect, the Heavenly Blood Sect's assets and resources would definitely belong to the Heavenly Lotus Sect.
Truly hateful, stingy woman. When I go to the Demon Realm's sacred land, I'll definitely report you to Brother Tu Shan.
Chen Xiao's thoughts drifted to the heavens, while Zhang Longhu waited cautiously for Chen Xiao to state his demand.
When Chen Xiao snapped back to reality, he realized he hadn't stated how many spirit stones he wanted.
"I won't ask for too much. Prepare fifty thousand spirit stones for me, and your True Martial Sect will be my friend from now on."
Chen Xiao said casually.
"Fifty thousand? What? Is that difficult?"
Chen Xiao retorted.
Before the middle-aged Taoist could speak, Zhang Longhu quickly covered his mouth and said, "No problem, no problem. However, Immortal Master, fifty thousand spirit stones is not a small amount. Please wait a moment, have a cup of tea, and I, my junior brother, and the elders will gather the spirit stones and bring them to you."
Chen Xiao did not refuse and waved his hand, saying, "Go, be quick."
The high-ranking officials of the True Martial Sect turned into streaks of light and headed straight for the spirit stone warehouse.
Upon arriving at the warehouse, Zhang Longhu began to count the spirit stones.
Fifty thousand was indeed not a small amount. The True Martial Sect's warehouse, at most, had only a little over three hundred thousand, with a deficit of nearly two hundred thousand.
"Everyone, please contribute some spirit stones. Each of you take ten thousand, and I'll handle the rest."
Zhang Longhu said solemnly.
The middle-aged Taoist was so angry his nose was about to twist: "Sect Leader Brother, you're really going to give spirit stones to that person?"
"Otherwise? I've already promised him, didn't you hear?"
Zhang Longhu asked with a cold face, showing no courtesy to his junior brother as he did to Chen Xiao.
"Sect Leader Brother, who exactly is that person? Why are you so afraid of him? He made us swear a blood oath and now he's making us give him spirit stones. You should at least let us know who he is, right? And don't forget, he killed our Holy Son. Aren't you going to avenge him?"
The middle-aged Taoist questioned sternly.
Zhang Longhu frowned and said faintly, "That's right, I should tell you his identity."
After a pause, Zhang Longhu said, "He's from outside."
"From outside? From the mortal world?"
An elder asked.
Zhang Longhu nodded.
The middle-aged Taoist realized and exclaimed, "Could it be that he's that scoundrel from the mortal world?"
"Keep your voice down!"
Zhang Longhu quickly covered the middle-aged Taoist's mouth, "If that person hears us, we'll all die here today!"
"No, Sect Leader Brother, if he really is that scoundrel, then why should we be afraid of him? He's powerful in the mortal world because that's the mortal world. This, however, is the Immortal Hidden Realm. How can a mere mortal from the mortal world be arrogant here?"
The middle-aged Taoist said disdainfully.
Zhang Longhu shook his head and said with a wry smile, "Junior Brother Lin, you have no idea of his strength."
"What strength does he have? You know, but I don't? Sect Leader Brother, our True Martial Sect has three Void Transformation realm cultivators and over a dozen Sea of Spirit realm cultivators. No matter how powerful he is, can he cause any trouble if we join forces?"
The middle-aged Taoist still couldn't understand why his sect leader was so cowardly.
"Alas."
Zhang Longhu sighed, "Before yesterday, I didn't take this person seriously either. However, yesterday, Junior Sister Jiaolian from the Heavenly Lotus Sect sent me a message and told me something."
"What is it?"
An elder asked, acting as a foil.
"The Heavenly Blood Sect went to attack the Heavenly Lotus Sect and ended up destroying it."
Zhang Longhu said.
"The Heavenly Blood Sect was destroyed?"
The middle-aged Taoist gasped.
Being in the southern region, he had some understanding of the Heavenly Blood Sect.
Although the Heavenly Blood Sect only had Ximen Aoxue, who was in the Void Transformation realm, Ximen Aoxue was exceptionally talented, had already reached the Great Accomplishment of the Void Transformation realm, and was even attempting to reach the Perfected Void Transformation realm. He was by no means easy to deal with.
However, the middle-aged Taoist eventually pouted and said, "Ximen Aoxue is indeed good, but the Heavenly Lotus Sect is not to be trifled with either. The Seven Star Lotus Formation of the Seven Lotus Flowers already counters the Heavenly Blood Sect. As for that scoundrel, he was probably just adding icing to the cake. Sect Leader Brother, we shouldn't be so afraid of him, should we?"
Hearing this, Zhang Longhu shook his head with a wry smile again, "At first, I thought so too. But in fact, Ximen Aoxue used the Five Ghosts Yin Soul Saber, summoning five fierce ghosts, and had already broken the Seven Star Lotus Formation of the Seven Lotus Flowers."
"Just as the Seven Lotus Flowers were heavily injured, and the entire Heavenly Lotus Sect was on the verge of destruction, that person made his move, turning the tide and reversing the situation single-handedly."
Upon hearing this, the middle-aged Taoist was dumbfounded. He opened his mouth, and although unwilling, he had to admit, "In that case, that kid does have some skill. It's no wonder he could cause such a stir in the mortal world. He's indeed not an ordinary person."
"You think that's all?"
Zhang Longhu glanced dismissively at his junior brother, as if to say, "You're still too young."
"Sect Leader Brother, what do you mean by that?"
The middle-aged Taoist asked.
Zhang Longhu said with his hands behind his back, "According to Jiaolian, that person completely annihilated Ximen Aoxue. Ximen Aoxue was completely unable to fight back in front of him."
Hearing this, everyone present was stunned.
Ximen Aoxue was a powerful cultivator in the Void Transformation realm. To completely suppress a powerful cultivator in the Void Transformation realm to the point where he couldn't fight back? This was too exaggerated!
And then, Zhang Longhu's next sentence made them all gasp several times.
"That person possesses a Dharma Idol."
Hearing this, the middle-aged Taoist's eyes nearly popped out: "What? Possesses a Dharma Idol? Could he be a Dao Integration realm cultivator?"
"If he were in the Dao Integration realm, then it would be reasonable for Ximen Aoxue to have no power to fight back in front of him."
"A mortal cultivating to the Dao Integration realm goes against common sense... However, if he were just a regular person following the usual path, he wouldn't have been able to gather the four holy relics."
Several elders discussed, their words quite pertinent.
At this moment, no one questioned Zhang Longhu's choice, including the middle-aged Taoist.
After all, the other party was a Dao Integration realm cultivator!
Although the gap between the Void Transformation realm and the Dao Integration realm seemed to be only one level.
In reality, the difference between them was as vast as the difference between heaven and earth.
After all, the higher a cultivator advanced, the more difficult it became to progress further. Void Transformation realm cultivators were already rare, and Dao Integration realm cultivators were even more elusive.
It was no exaggeration to say that if the True Martial Sect produced a Dao Integration realm cultivator, the entire sect would immediately be elevated from a mid-tier sect to a top-tier sect.
Everyone took out their personal savings and offered spirit stones.
Soon, fifty thousand spirit stones were gathered.
Just as Zhang Longhu was about to send the spirit stones to Chen Xiao, the middle-aged Taoist suddenly pulled him aside and whispered, "Sect Leader Brother, do we really not need to reveal this matter? As far as I know, there are several sects in the Immortal Hidden Realm who have grudges against that kid... As for the blood oath, as long as we don't explicitly mention it, hinting at it should be fine."
"Heh heh."
Zhang Longhu sneered, "What benefit would that bring us? The Holy Son has already fallen. Our True Martial Sect should just continue to lie low and live. Moreover, a great tribulation is approaching. We should focus on ourselves. Some matters are not something we can interfere with."
Upon hearing Zhang Longhu's words, the middle-aged Taoist's expression changed slightly, and he cautiously asked, "Sect Leader Brother, is the robbery real? Is it really going to happen?"
"Whether it comes or not is not something we can control. What we can control is only ourselves."
Zhang Longhu gave an ambiguous answer.
The middle-aged Taoist pouted, "You said nothing... Alas, it's a pity for my Holy Son, whom I painstakingly cultivated. This is probably fate. So be it, so be it..."