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Translator: Silavin & Jon
Translation Checker: PewPewLazerGun
Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain & Dhael Ligerkeys
Xu Ling Gong represented Yin-Yang Cave Heaven to haggle with Yang Kai, but it wasn’t just a matter of one great force. He had practically laid down a foundation on which the other Cave Heavens and Paradises would base their own demands around when discussing cooperation with the Star Boundary.
Although Xu Ling Gong never pointed it out, Yang Kai knew that the other man was secretly giving him a hint.
Therefore, after Xu Ling Gong finished his words, Yang Kai immediately made some calculations. If one great force demanded 500,000 square kilometres, the total would be over 50 million square kilometres for all 108 great forces.
In other words, a landmass of over 50 million square kilometres would become branches of the Cave Heavens and Paradises in the Star Boundary. The landmass was neither big nor small, and there was certainly more than enough land in the Star Boundary for that, so Yang Kai was able to bear it.
Hence, he directly agreed to this condition, “Good. However, no one can choose any place within a 10 million kilometre radius around the World Tree.”
Xu Ling Gong replied with a smile, “Naturally. You’re worried about the World Tree, but others will be equally anxious as well. No one will have their eyes on the World Tree or its surrounding area.”
“Good.” Yang Kai nodded, then fell into his thoughts for a moment, “Are you going to bring some people over from Yin-Yang Cave Heaven to the Star Boundary to cultivate, Martial Uncle Xu?”
Xu Ling Gong cut to the chase and nodded, “That’s my plan. Getting disciples from the Star Boundary is one way to benefit, but they are natives of this place after all. Moreover, there aren’t many people in the Star Boundary to begin with. Since there’s such a chance, I’ll not waste it. After a Dao Temple is built, we can select some young disciples with exceptional aptitudes and send them to the Star Boundary to nurture. They will grow up to be just as fine as the locals.”
Yang Kai pondered and agreed. Since Xu Ling Gong had this plan, it must be the same case for other Cave Heavens and Paradises as well. Allowing those great forces to build Dao Temples here was inevitable.
“As long as you can fulfil these two demands, you’ll realise that those haughty guys from the Cave Heavens and Paradises are actually pretty reasonable.”
Yang Kai chuckled, “Well, they’ll be unreasonable if their demands are not met, right?”
Xu Ling Gong didn’t comment on that. After giving it a thought, he said, “There’s one thing that’s difficult to deal with, though.”
“What is it?” Yang Kai stared at him in puzzlement.
Xu Ling Gong turned to look at the World Tree with a worried expression, “If the World Tree starts bearing fruits one day, there will be chaos.”
World Fruits were Heaven-defying treasures that could allow an Open Heaven Realm Master to directly ascend to the next Order. Mid-Rank and Low-Rank World Fruits wouldn’t really matter too much, but if there were High-Rank World Fruits, those Seventh-Order and Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters would certainly drool over them. If an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master were to consume a High-Rank World Fruit, he could directly rise to the Ninth-Order.
Even though the Cave Heavens and Paradises were said to be united, they might not remain friendly with each other if such an opportunity appeared before them; after all, regardless of how many fruits the World Tree would bear, there wouldn’t be 108 High-Rank World Fruits for all of them.
If the World Tree really bore fruits but there were not enough High-Rank World Fruits for everyone, a conflict was bound to happen.
Yang Kai broke into laughter, “To be honest with you, Martial Uncle Xu, this World Tree isn’t the Mother Tree. The real one is still in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary. The World Tree in the Star Boundary was grown after I snatched a root from the Mother Tree in the past. It’s considered a subtree. Only the real World Tree can bear World Fruits that are Heaven-defying. As long as the Mother Tree does not die, the subtree will never bear fruits.”
It was then that Xu Ling Gong set his mind at ease, “That’s for the best.”
Despite his words, he found it to be a shame as well. However, compared to the conflict that might arise between the Cave Heavens and Paradises, this kind of regret was nothing.
“Do you have any other advice for me, Martial Uncle Xu?” Yang Kai asked humbly.
Xu Ling Gong shook his head, “No. Aside from getting disciples every 100 years and building Dao Temples here, everything else will be up to you to negotiate.”
Yang Kai straightened up and sported a solemn expression, “In that case, it’s my turn to come up with my demands.”
Xu Ling Gong gave him a look as he had a bad feeling. With vigilance, he asked, “What are you up to, brat?”
With a serious expression, Yang Kai replied, “You’ve got me wrong, Martial Uncle Xu. Since it’s a deal, both parties will have to put something on the table. It wouldn’t be fair if one party comes up with all sorts of demands while the other can only obey. Why do parents who sell their kids demand money in return? They could just give their children to wealthy people for free. The reason they ask for something in return is that they’re worried these wealthy people won’t treasure their children. Things that have to be paid for are more valuable than those that are free.”
“Pure sophistry!” Xu Ling Gong snorted, but after giving it a thought, he had to admit that Yang Kai was right, “Well, you do have a point. So, you, the Great Emperor of the Star Boundary, are selling your children. Is that what you mean?”
A ‘heartbroken’ Yang Kai replied, “If possible, I would never want to do such a thing; however, just like what you’ve said, the Star Boundary will have countless talented people in the future. Neither the Star Boundary and Void Land can’t afford to provide for all of them. It’s great that the Cave Heavens and Paradises are willing to share the burden, but they can’t get all the benefits for free.”
Xu Ling Gong shot him a dismissive look, “You can come up with your own demands, but it’s entirely up to me whether I’ll agree to them.”
There was a conflicted expression on Yang Kai’s face as he pondered on it for a moment, “For every disciple you take, you’ll have to pay one complete set of Sixth-Order Materials or something of the equivalent value. What do you think?”
Xu Ling Gong couldn’t help but see him in a different light, “Good, it seems that you really don’t have any selfish motives.”
A set of Sixth-Order material was worth around 100 to 120 million Open Heaven Pills, but that wasn’t a big deal for the Cave Heavens and Paradises. It would be a bargain to use such a small amount to obtain a disciple with a bright future. If the disciple could directly ascend to the Sixth Order, it would totally be worth it.
The Cave Heavens and Paradises didn’t have many Core Disciples like Lin Feng and Qu Hua Shang after all.
If they wanted to take on disciples from the Star Boundary, they would never have their eyes on the ordinary people. They would certainly go for those who could possibly break straight to the Sixth Order one day, so there was no way they would be taking a loss with such a deal. As for whether they would make a wrong judgement, that had nothing to do with Yang Kai.
And since they had to offer a set of Sixth-Order materials to obtain such a disciple, they would certainly nurture them with care.
Even if Yang Kai had tried to come up with an unreasonable demand, Xu Ling Gong wouldn’t have been surprised, so since he had put forth such a reasonable request, it showed that he was truly concerned about the cultivators born in the Star Boundary.
“Secondly, all the great forces cannot forcefully take the disciples they want in the Star Boundary. Everything must be agreed upon willingly. If two or more great forces have their eyes on the same disciple, the decision has to be made by the person themselves. Martial Uncle Xu, you’ll have to discuss the rules with the other Cave Heavens and Paradises regarding this. If anyone dares to break the rules, the others will have to step in to settle the matter.”
Xu Ling Gong shot him a glare, “Do you want to have more Supreme High-Rank Guest Elders in High Heaven Palace, you damned brat? Stop dreaming! It’s a rare coincidence that resulted from that woman’s obstinance and Yu Chang Dao’s difficulty in finding a Legacy Disciple that you even got one. If others come across such an incident, they’d rather give up on the Disciple than become a Supreme High-Rank Guest Elders. There are no benefits to being tied to High Heaven Palace after all.”
Yang Kai shook his head, “It’d be great if High Heaven Palace could have more Supreme High-Rank Guest Elders, but that’s not my priority. It’s just that things run smoothly when there are established rules.”
Xu Ling Gong agreed with him, “You have a point. Fine. When the others arrive, I’ll discuss this with them. I’ll have to spend some time persuading them, but I believe they’ll understand that it’s the only way to move forward.”
Yang Kai rose from the chair and bowed, “Many thanks, Martial Uncle Xu.”
Even though he was a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master who was the Lord of Void Land as well as a Great Emperor of the Star Boundary, Yang Kai would never have the right to discuss terms with a group of High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters as long as he wasn’t in the High-Rank himself. Xu Ling Gong would have to deal with it and persuade the others.
Xu Ling Gong then coughed and said, “I passed by a Territory Gate when I arrived at this place; however, since I was in a rush to come to the Star Boundary, I didn’t enter it. Qing Boy told me that it’s a Newborn Great Territory that had never been discovered.”
Yang Kai sported a long face, “Martial Uncle Xu, you can’t be too greedy. It’d be terrible if you want to get even more when you’ve already obtained so many benefits.”
Xu Ling Gong snapped, “I was just asking. Why are you so anxious?”
Yang Kai shook his head, “I’m willing to share the benefits of the Star Boundary with the Cave Heavens and Paradises because there’s no other choice; however, I’ll never share the Newborn Great Territory with anyone.”
Xu Ling Gong narrowed his eyes, “The Star Boundary is a treasure trove, and it’s the same case for the Newborn Great Territory. The Territory Gate is right there. How are they supposed to not be tempted?”
Yang Kai said, “I’ve worked together with Luan Bai Feng to build a Grand Array around the Territory Gate. Whoever dares to barge into it will be exiled to the Void. If someone wants to test their luck, they’re welcome to try.”
Xu Ling Gong pointed at him, “You! You! In that case, I’m worried there’ll be an argument over this.”
Yang Kai chuckled, “Don’t worry. We’ll deal with it accordingly. It’s all fine as long as they’re not going to have a hand in the Newborn Great Territory.”
In the next half a month, Yang Kai went on to wait for those from Xuan Yuan Cave Heaven and Myriad Demons Heaven to arrive.
There was no way Wu Kuang would let Pei Wen Xuan and Yin Xin Zhao survive after he took them away. Be it to absorb the heritages of their Small Universes or to hide the secrets of his Heaven Devouring Battle Law, he would no doubt kill them ruthlessly.
As soon as those two were dead, those from Myriad Demons Heaven and Xuan Yuan Cave Heaven would be made aware and would begin searching for them.
In the past, Yang Kai wouldn’t have any solution to such a problem. Even though he had a lot of strong cultivators with him, he didn’t think he could defeat two Cave Heavens.
All he could have done was make use of the World Force borrowed from the Star Boundary and temporarily become a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master to fight back.
However, since Yu Chang Dao had become the Supreme High-Rank Guest Elder of High Heaven Palace, and Xu Ling Gong and his friends were in the Star Boundary, they could help him settle this bit of trouble.
Nevertheless, those from Myriad Demons Heaven and Xuan Yuan Cave Heaven never arrived. Instead, the second batch of visitors had come knocking on the door.
When Qing Kui returned to Yin-Yang Cave Heaven previously, there happened to be some High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters visiting from other Sects. Upon realising the severity of the matter, Xu Ling Gong didn’t delay and headed straight to the Star Boundary alongside his friends. At the same time, he sent messages to the other Cave Heavens and Paradises he was on good terms with and briefly talked about what was going on. The route was also provided to allow them to send representatives over to hold a discussion.
The High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters who were informed naturally understood the gravity of this situation. Upon learning that there was a World Tree in the Star Boundary, they would not dare to underestimate the matter. Therefore, many High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters hurriedly set off on their journeys.
Those were the second batch of visitors, and there were more still to come. There was a Seventh-Order old man who visited the Star Boundary on this day, and the next day, three people arrived at this place together. Two days later, two people came here together. The Star Boundary was now bustling with activity.
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