Aksai and Sirina sat across from each other in Aksai’s rented villa.
Sirina, a Foundation Building woman representing the White Mountain City and the Core Formation lord behind its inception, had a calm but curious expression on her face.
Aksai knew a bit about all 25 disciples of the Core Formation Lord presiding over the White Mountain City named Moyun Haan Di. According to general information, Sirina was the last and youngest disciple of Lord Moyun at this point.
Of course, Aksai knew that the Core Formation Lord was getting old and probably had only a few decades of lifespan left.
As such, even if someone became a disciple of Lord Moyun, it was questionable how much time the latter would spend on his disciple’s care and tutelage. As such, the prospective discipleship could be said to be in name only.
Furthermore, Aksai already knew about the three factions among Lord Moyun’s official disciples. These factions fought a silent war with each other to decide who’d take over Lord Moyun’s seat after his death.
It seemed that the faction Sirina was part of one of the factions that wanted to recruit Aksai. On one hand, he’d bolster the city administration. And on the other, he’d serve as a way to strengthen Sirina’s faction.
Aksai was a drifting Spirit cultivator who had managed to become a Foundation Building Expert on his own merits.
Plus, even though his talent was not that great, he had managed to establish his foundation seven years earlier than the usual deadline for Foundation Building Experts. This meant there was a chance for Aksai to at least become a late-stage Foundation Building Expert in the future.
Aksai was also sure that the caretaker of the rental cave must have tipped off Sirina after his breakthrough, stating the storm of Spirit essence he had managed to galvanize during his breakthrough event.
Even if Sirina considered Aksai’s breakthrough as nothing more than a series of coincidences, the fact that he had a clean history made her approach him in person and offer him a deal to join the White Mountain City and become Lord Moyun’s disciple like her.
Of course, Aksai had no interest in participating in a power struggle between the disciple factions. He would much rather spend his time researching how to get access to another world that was waiting for him in the 2nd-order Everwood farm.
As such, Aksai cleared his throat before speaking formally.
“Expert Sirina,” Aksai began, his tone measured, “I’ve been thinking about a mutually beneficial arrangement. I can provide the White Mountain City with a generous amount of 2nd-order resources every year at a discounted rate.”
Aksai could guess that Sirina had done thorough research on his background as the island owner of Emerald Cove. The island and the state of Haan Di were already in a formal agreement. Emerald Cove had done many small business transactions with Haai Di after Nuya took charge of the affairs.
As such, Aksai was sure that Sirina would not outright say no to him if he proposed to grow the mutual business agreement between the two sides instead of accepting the discipleship proposal.
Sirina raised an eyebrow, intrigued. “And what do you seek in return, Expert Aksai?”
“I need a suitable 2nd-order cultivation technique to further my progress in the Foundation Building realm,” Aksai replied, leaning slightly forward. “One that fits my cultivation path.”
Sirina nodded thoughtfully. “I see. May I first inspect the quality of these resources you’re offering?”
“Of course,” Aksai said with a smile.
He waved his hand, and a table between them filled with various cultivation resources. The items had Spirit auras and some of them glowed with a faint, ethereal light, indicating the potency of Spirit essence within them.
Each item was meticulously cultivated, bearing the unique mark of the Everwood farm’s influence.
Sirina’s eyes widened as she examined the resources. “These are exceptional,” she admitted, picking up a glowing herb and inspecting it closely. “Top-grade quality, and quite rare. I… I never knew you’d be able to harvest such resources from Emerald Cove in such a short time, Aksai.”
Aksai smiled modestly. “Thank you. These resources are a result of years of careful cultivation and refinement,” he lied with a straight face. There were even more precious cultivation resources in Aksai’s storage. But he dared not bring them out to not rouse Sirina’s curiosity too much.
Sirina set the herbs down and looked at Aksai.
“I… I believe we can strike a deal. The White Mountain City would greatly benefit from these resources. However,” she paused, her eyes narrowing slightly, “you could get a much more favorable return if you become the Core Formation Lord’s disciple.”
Aksai leaned back, his expression thoughtful. “I appreciate the offer, Expert Sirina. I do. But as the co-owner of Emerald Cove, I’ve signed a neutrality pact with Haan Di state administration. It puts a lot of restrictions on me.”
Sirina leaned forward, a glint of determination in her eyes. “I can find a way around the contract. We can negotiate terms that won’t infringe on your neutrality pact.”
Aksai shook his head, a small smile playing on his lips. “The benefits you’re offering for becoming a Core Formation Lord’s disciple are not enough for me to give up on my ownership of my island. Emerald Cove is too important to me.”
‘Did… did I come unprepared?’
Sirina thought to herself as she looked at Aksai, processing his refusal in her head. She agreed with Aksai’s assessment. However, she had thought that the prospect of becoming Lord Moyun’s in-name disciple alone would be enough to convince Aksai.
As such, she had come to meet Aksai directly instead of discussing things thoroughly with her disciple brothers and sisters.
She could have never imagined that a drifting cultivator with a shallow background like Aksai would be able to look past the tempting offer made by her.
‘This man looks modest but has high ambitions. I… was a bit careless. Maybe I can ask him again in the future by offering him better perks,’ Sirina thought to herself as she looked into Aksai’s eyes.