"Sect Leader, is there really no room for softening this matter? If Da Cui Peak is gone, the finances of the Seven Forms Sect will be in crisis... Especially since we've been mining for so long, just giving it away to others for nothing, can everyone really swallow this down?"
Yuan Zhongfei's gaze fell on Ouyang Bing, then swept over the other courtyard heads in the great hall one by one.
"What can we do if we can't swallow it? Senior Brother Yuan, even a power like the Crimson Whale Hall is gone just like that. What can our Seven Forms Sect do!?"
The one who spoke was Yu Zhao, the head of the Spirit Snake Courtyard.
His expression was not good at this moment either, clearly he also knew how big a blow this matter was to the Seven Forms Sect.
"What? Did Zhang Songbai destroying the Crimson Whale Hall scare the guts out of everyone? This matter isn't just targeting our Seven Forms Sect; the White Dragon Gang and the Fang Family are also in a bad situation. As long as we unite with the other two families and negotiate with the Prefecture City, there will always be some room for softening. After all, our ancestors back then had a contract certificate with the Prefecture City."
Yuan Zhongfei, however, had no intention of retreating, and spoke in a deep voice.
When the Prefecture Yamen drove everyone out of Yunshui Mountain, he was stationed at Da Cui Peak. After the other party stated their purpose, the anger in his heart was immediately uncontrollable.
Seeing the arrogant and mocking faces of the other party made him even more furious, and he even had some conflict with the Silver Badge Constable who came, but in the end, it ended with him being injured.
The other party only gave them an incense stick's worth of time to completely withdraw from Da Cui Peak, otherwise they would be killed without mercy. In desperation, they had no choice but to quickly lead their people down the mountain and leave the Yunshui Mountains, not even having time to take away the many beast minerals that had already been mined on Da Cui Peak.
For him, nearly half a year's worth of effort was equivalent to being wasted. No matter who it was, they definitely wouldn't be able to tolerate this.
"Senior Brother Yuan, we understand what you're saying, but even if our three forces unite, a single Zhang Songbai can suppress all of us until we can't breathe. What good would it do!?"
Yu Zhao said somewhat helplessly.
"God-Form Martial Artists are far from what we can contend with. I think Senior Brother Yuan, you yourself are well aware of this."
"Junior Brother Yu, God-Form Martial Artists are strong, but if we keep retreating, there will eventually come a point where we have nowhere left to retreat," Yuan Zhongfei snorted coldly and said in a blunt, deep voice.
"Senior Brother Yu is right. Senior Brother Yuan, although we lost the beast minerals from Da Cui Peak, it is indeed a significant blow to the Sect, but there will always be ways to solve it by reducing expenses and increasing income. It's best to avoid any conflict with the Imperial Court as much as possible. It's uncertain if Zhang Songbai's return this time is solely for that god seed, or if he has other intentions. It's best not to give him any excuses..."
The one who spoke this time was Xie Qingyun. Although her voice was soft, it landed in the great hall, causing everyone to fall silent.
Yuan Zhongfei frowned tightly and opened his mouth to say something, but in the end, he didn't speak.
He obviously also realized what Xie Qingyun's unspoken words referred to.
The reason Wanhua City exists is because it was the place of refuge promised after the Seven Forms Sect's founding ancestor negotiated with the Prefecture City. It can be said that Wanhua City was the territory of the Seven Forms Sect many years ago.
Like forces such as the Tianxiang Sword Sect and the Yuanyang Beast Sect, which have been passed down for many years, the Seven Forms Sect back then was also a top force in Linjiang Prefecture.
It's just a pity that since the founding ancestor, the Seven Forms Sect has not had a God-Form Martial Artist appear for many years, so as time passed, Wanhua City gradually became a gathering place where various forces were mixed.
The Seven Forms Sect also fell to become one of the few major forces in Wanhua City.
Although many years have passed and the Prefecture City has basically adopted a laissez-faire attitude towards Wanhua City, with the matter of the god seed happening now, it's possible that the Prefecture City will use this as an excuse and have the intention of reclaiming Wanhua City.
Moreover, the Prefecture City does not want God-Form Realm Martial Artists to appear in Wanhua City.
The reason no one in Wanhua City has entered the Divine Transformation Realm for so many years, in addition to the extreme difficulty of breaking through this Realm, also has the Prefecture Yamen's hand behind it.
Despite this, breaking through Realms is the ultimate goal of every Martial Artist, and who would give up the attempt to step into a higher Realm?
Didn't Red Hair, the Crimson Whale Hall Tang Zhu, go to such lengths just to be able to break through to Divine Transformation Realm? In order to break through to Divine Transformation Realm, he even risked hiding the news of the god seed, betting the fate of the entire Sect.
Yuan Zhongfei knew very well that the Sect Leader's two attempts to break through to Divine Transformation Realm both ended in failure, and it can basically be confirmed that it was related to the Prefecture City. Otherwise, the spirited Sect Leader Ouyang from back then wouldn't have become so timid as he is now.
Thinking of this, he finally sighed and said no more.
In the great hall, silence immediately fell, and almost everyone's gaze was fixed on Ouyang Bing, who was seated at the head.
After a long while, Ouyang Bing, whose figure was mostly hidden in the shadows, slowly spoke.
"Let this matter be put aside for now. During this period, the cultivation resources for each courtyard will be halved, but the reward for the Disciples stationed at Da Cui Peak will remain unchanged. As for the financial matters, I will find a way to solve them. Everyone, you may leave now..."
"Yes, Sect Leader." The seven courtyard heads bowed slightly and responded in unison.
As his voice fell, Ouyang Bing's figure had disappeared from the head seat.
The seven people also turned and left, each with their own thoughts.
...
Wanhua City.
On the originally bustling and lively long street, the flow of people was noticeably less than half a month ago. On both sides of the originally prosperous street, a small portion of the shops that were originally side by side had already closed down.
Clearly, the destruction of the Crimson Whale Hall had a significant impact on all walks of life in Wanhua City.
As one of the four major forces, its industries were spread across various sectors. Its overnight disappearance naturally led to this result.
The remnants of the Crimson Whale Hall in the city were finally defeated under the combined efforts of multiple wealthy merchant families.
The current desolation of Wanhua City will likely not last long before it returns to its former prosperity.
Lin Sheng specifically went to the Ten Thousand Beasts Hall to confirm with Yang Niu that the progress of his Spirit Beast procurement would not be affected. Only then did he feel relieved and continue his secluded cultivation.
Time flies like an arrow, and the sun and moon pass like a shuttle. In the blink of an eye, half a month had passed.
The situation in Wanhua City had indeed improved significantly. Although it wasn't as prosperous as before, it was no longer as desolate as it had been in the past few days.
However, there were noticeably more yamen constables in black clothing on the streets, and some of the rules in the city had changed greatly, especially in terms of public security and city taxes, which were significantly stricter than before.
And in the face of this, the Seven Forms Sect, the White Dragon Gang, and the Fang Family, the only three major forces remaining in Wanhua City, showed a surprisingly consistent attitude, all appearing quite silent.
Slap.
Closing the thick book in his hand, Lin Sheng picked up another old, yellowed book.
"What exactly does the Mingxin Realm refer to?"
He murmured softly to himself, his gaze quickly scanning the manual in his hand.
An incense stick's worth of time passed, and he had flipped through this thick ancient book completely. Unfortunately, it didn't contain what he was looking for.
In the past half month, in addition to spending most of his time in secluded cultivation, he had spent his leisure time browsing various bookstores in the city.
His purpose was to find out what the so-called Mingxin Realm meant. However, in these past few days, he had visited all the bookstores, big and small, in the city. Although some books occasionally mentioned the Mingxin Realm briefly, they only did so in passing and did not provide a detailed description.
Entering the Scarlet Eye Flame Dragon requires not only a Physique requirement of up to fifteen points but also reaching the Mingxin Realm.
Therefore, he also needed to quickly figure out what the so-called Mingxin Realm was, so that he could start preparing as soon as possible.
Based on the information he currently had, Mingxin is a general term for a mysterious state reached by one's mind and will.
However, how to reach this state, he did not know.
He had flipped through all the bookstores in Wanhua City and didn't find much useful information. This clearly indicated that either the Mingxin Realm itself was extremely rare and difficult to reach, or that records in this area were deliberately restricted, or perhaps both.
"It seems I have to start from other aspects."
Closing the book in his hand, Lin Sheng shook his head slightly.
...
Northern Yan, Yan Capital Imperial City.
As the highest symbol of power in Northern Yan, it was also the center of the entire Northern Yan Kingdom.
In terms of scale alone, the Imperial City was equivalent to three Linjiang Prefecture Cities. At this moment, in the main hall at the center of the Imperial City.
A thin figure wearing a nine-clawed dragon robe sat on the golden chair at the very top of the hall. Beneath the crown was a pale, middle-aged face.
This person was none other than the current Jing Emperor of the Northern Yan Kingdom.
Below the Jing Emperor was another figure, dressed in black mysterious armor, standing in the great hall. His figure was tall and different from ordinary people, reaching over two and a half meters. Standing there, he was like a thick copper wall and iron barrier, not deliberately revealing his aura, but giving an indescribable sense of pressure.
It even made people subconsciously ignore the Jing Emperor sitting at the top.
Apart from these two, below the great hall were a group of court officials dressed in official robes.
"Your Majesty, a letter from Linjiang Prefecture reports the discovery of a 300,000-year-old beast mineral deposit. It has been basically confirmed that there is a god seed within. The Gold Badge Constable Zhang Songbai is stationed there, and it is expected that the god seed will be sent back in a few days..."
A rear-ranking official in black stepped forward and reported respectfully.
"From Linjiang Prefecture, eh? Not bad, they should be rewarded..."
Hearing the report, the Jing Emperor slowly spoke, but his voice gave a feeling of weakness and lack of breath.
Halfway through his sentence, his gaze fell on the figure in black mysterious armor again, as if he was unsure what kind of reward to bestow.
The figure in mysterious armor slowly spoke.
"Reporting to Your Majesty, Zhang Songbai has merit in excavating the god seed and can be rewarded with one entry into the Dragon Blood Pool."
"Dragon Blood Pool... Good, cough cough cough... Prince Yan is right, this matter will be handled as Prince Yan said."
Hearing the words of the figure in mysterious armor, the Jing Emperor immediately said repeatedly, but just as he finished speaking, he coughed violently. His pale face became flushed, and strange scarlet blood streaks actually appeared on his cheeks, until a eunuch waiting nearby quickly took out a wax-pill-like medicine from his Pregnant and carefully helped him take it before he calmed down.
"Alright, everyone, if you have anything to say, speak quickly..."
The Jing Emperor's gaze swept across the officials below, and he said weakly. However, before the ministers below could say anything, blood streaks appeared on his just-recovered pale cheeks again.
"Never mind, just discuss anything with Prince Yan..."
After saying that, the Jing Emperor quickly got up and left in a hurry.
The ministers in the great hall seemed to be accustomed to this scene and didn't feel anything was wrong.
They all turned their gaze to Prince Yan above and reported the matters they were prepared to present one by one.
Prince Yan, Zhao Hongzhang, dressed in black mysterious armor, just listened quietly, only occasionally responding briefly. He seemed indifferent to these trivial matters.
"How is the 500,000-year-old mineral deposit in Nanli Prefecture? Has South Qi Country responded?"
Zhao Hongzhang's gaze fell on a military official in light armor among the officials. The military official had brown eyes and golden hair, clearly a person of the extreme southern foreign tribes.
Hearing the question, this military official immediately stepped forward, knelt on the ground, and spoke with extreme respect.
"Reporting to Prince Yan, South Qi Country has not yet given a definite reply, but it seems they do not intend to agree to our terms. According to reports from scouts, the Southern Qi Country's Great General Tang Zhong has led 10,000 Giant Spirit Troops to garrison the border."
"Tang Zhong..."
Prince Yan's eyes narrowed slightly, followed by a cold snort.
"It seems this old fellow Tang Zhong truly won't shed tears until he sees the coffin. Then I will go meet this old fellow and see how much of his old skills he still has..."
His voice was icy cold, with a cold hardness that brooked no questioning from others.
None of the court officials responded. They all knew in their hearts that this foremost person in Northern Yan had developed killing intent.
At the same time, they also realized that if this negotiation between Prince Yan and the Southern Qi Country's Great General Tang Zhong did not go smoothly, the war between the two countries, which had been peaceful for decades, was very likely to reignite.
...
"Mingxin Realm? Sheng'er, why are you suddenly asking about this?"
In the Qingniao Yard, Xie Qingyun showed a hint of surprise and said softly.
"Disciple stumbled upon the Mingxin Realm in an ancient book, but I only have a superficial understanding. I was curious, so I asked about it."
Lin Sheng spoke the explanation he had prepared long ago.
Since he didn't get the information he wanted in the city's bookstores, he could only choose the path of the Seven Forms Sect.
As his Master, Xie Qingyun was undoubtedly his first choice.
As a Bone Transformation Realm expert and one of the seven courtyard heads of the Seven Forms Sect, her knowledge was beyond compare to his.
"Is that so? Originally, this is knowledge you would only be able to delve into after breaking through to the Bone Transformation Realm. However, since you've mentioned it now, I will tell you about the Mingxin Realm."
Xie Qingyun didn't think too much of it, a smile appeared on her face, and she began to speak.
"The so-called Mingxin Realm is an extension of the mind and will. It is an unspeakable feeling that can only be understood intuitively. As the saying goes, it is easy to defeat the bandits in the mountains, but difficult to defeat the bandits in the heart. After entering the Bone Transformation Realm, it is considered a high degree of development of one's Bloodline. Although the power of the Bloodline is extremely strong, it is also quite dangerous. If one cannot suppress the beast nature brought by the Bloodline Power, then it is very easy to affect one's own sanity."
When she said this, a solemn expression appeared on Xie Qingyun's face.
"If beast nature suppresses human nature, then one will degenerate into a half-human, half-beast demon. In severe cases, it is even possible to mutate into an exotic beast."