Chapter 1948: Chapter 1991: Two Bites at the Stele

Jiang Fan, calm and unafraid, stepped in and separated the Nine Nether Demon Venerable and Venerable Nameless.

"You two seniors can rest easy; he’s the last person you need to worry about."

As for who most wanted Jiang Fan dead, that was actually hard to say.

The ones who wanted him dead could probably line up from Central Earth all the way to Outer Heaven.

But if it was about who least wanted him to die—

The Great Dream Demon Venerable was definitely near the top of that list.

Because once Jiang Fan died, his precious son, trapped inside the Tai Chu Prison Sky Gourd, might never see the sun again.

Jiang Fan looked at the Great Dream Demon Venerable and smiled:

"Relax, your son is doing very well."

"Right now, if he wants safety, he’s got safety; if he wants freedom, he’s got safety; if he wants enjoyment, he’s got safety."

"In short, nothing to worry about."

The Great Dream Demon Venerable was furious to the point of laughter—so all he’s got left is safety, is that it?

He said in a low voice, "What will it take for you to release my son?"

Jiang Fan said, "Let me finish doing business with these honored guests first, then we’ll discuss your son’s situation."

The Great Dream Demon Venerable’s face darkened, but he didn’t keep pressing.

Because he was just as determined to obtain the Peace Monument.

The current Ancient Demon Realm was still suffering the onslaught of the dark creatures.

With this Peace Monument, not only could the Ancient Demon Realm immediately escape its predicament, it could also avoid the invasion a thousand years from now.

No price was too high for that.

Seeing everyone crowding in, with some of them even carrying ambiguous looks in their eyes—

Jiang Fan chuckled and said, "You don’t actually think I’m going to carry the Peace Monument around and negotiate with several dozen Sages one by one, do you?"

Any one Sage making a move wasn’t something Jiang Fan could withstand, let alone more than forty.

One Sage snorted. "Then what gives you the right to negotiate with us?"

"Have the one who holds the Peace Monument come out and talk!"

At that moment—

From the Central Earth World behind him came the unified voices of the nine Great Wine Sacrifice Priests:

"He has the right because he is Jiang Fan of Central Earth!"

A slit of Void split open in the barrier of the Central Earth World, and the nine Great Wine Sacrifice Priests stood in a row, side by side, within the world.

They said nothing, yet emanated an exceptionally unique aura that made many Sages’ faces show wariness.

Thinking back to how the nine Great Wine Sacrifice Priests had joined forces to condense a colossal phantom and contend against the Chaotic Ancient Blood Marquis—

The ill-intentioned Sages each suppressed their urge to snatch by force.

Watching this scene, Jiang Fan felt something stir in his heart.

The Central Earth World was also full of competition: competition between provinces, contests between sects, and struggles between individuals.

But all of that took place within the rules set by the nine Qintian Bureaus.

Though there was a cruel side to it, there was order in the end.

The Hundred Realms of All Heavens were different; no power could set unified rules for every world.

The only universally acknowledged rule was: the weak are meat, the strong eat.

If he didn’t have Central Earth at his back, the Peace Monument in his hands wouldn’t be a bargaining chip, but a source of disaster inviting his death.

Drawing his thoughts back, Jiang Fan looked at the forty Sages before him and said, neither humble nor arrogant:

"If there are no objections, I’ll announce the rules."

Hmph!

The Great Dream Demon Venerable snorted through his nose:

"There’s only one Peace Monument. Whoever offers the highest price gets it. What other ’new rules’ could there be?"

The nine Great Wine Sacrifice Priests, the Nine Nether Demon Venerable, and the rest of the Central Earth Sages also looked at Jiang Fan with a hint of surprise.

Indeed, there was only one Peace Monument. Could Jiang Fan really pull some new trick out of it?

"Who said I’m only selling the Peace Monument?" Jiang Fan smiled slightly. "I’m not just selling it—I’m renting it out as well."

Rent?

The Sages began to ponder. What did he mean by rent?

They heard Jiang Fan say with narrowed, smiling eyes, "I already asked the owner of the Ancient Wilderness Hunting Ground on your behalf."

"The Peace Monument can be used repeatedly. As long as it’s within the thousand-year period, it remains effective."

"So, I plan to make two deals with the Peace Monument."

"One is to offer some cash-strapped senior Sages a chance to lease it."

"As long as you pay enough, the Peace Monument can be sent to your world to drive out the dark creatures."

"The other deal is a sale."

"Whoever bids the highest becomes the true owner of the Peace Monument."

"Of course, the premise is that all leaseholders must finish using it before it is handed over to the buyer. After all, a sale doesn’t override a lease."

The moment he finished speaking, it triggered an uproar.

"What? You plan to rent it out again before you sell it? Is this something a human could come up with?"

"You’re trying to eat off the same monument twice? Even Qiqi of the Sin Realm never pulled something like this!"

"You’re the kind of guy who can take a chunk of pork belly and stir-fry it into eighteen different dishes, aren’t you?"

...

This round of earth-shattering statements really taught the Outer Heaven Sages a lesson.

Even the Sages from Central Earth couldn’t help the twitch at the corners of their mouths.

Jiang Fan really had played a new trick with the Peace Monument.

Jiang Fan clasped his hands behind his back and said blandly, "Trade is voluntary. I’m not forcing anyone."

"If you think it’s unreasonable, you can wait for the next Ancient Wilderness Hunt and see if any world is willing to lease or sell its Peace Monument."

The boiling Outer Heaven Sages then finally let their protests die down.

The Ancient Wilderness Hunt was held once every thousand years; each generation had its first-place winner.

But the only one to put a Peace Monument up for sale and lease was Jiang Fan.

Once the clamor subsided, Jiang Fan finally smiled and said, "Now, let’s begin discussing external leasing."

As many as twenty Sages were tempted, because in their worlds, the invasion of the Ancient Dark Creatures had not yet ended.

If they couldn’t buy the Peace Monument, paying a certain price to use it once would still make this trip worthwhile.

Jiang Fan said, "For each lease, I have two conditions."

"First, your world must send one Sage to help Central Earth capture the Southern Heavenly Realm, and you must win."

Hearing this, the twenty Sages from the various worlds all frowned.

The other Sages were also taken aback.

The Great Dream Demon Venerable sneered. "Do you even know what you’re saying?"

"For the past ten thousand years, only the Ancient Dark Creatures have been eroding world after world."

"No world has ever been reclaimed."

"Even the Divine Capital couldn’t pull it off back then, let alone a little Central Earth like yours."

The twenty Sages who had planned to lease also shook their heads.

"You people from Central Earth are being far too unrealistic."

"The Ancient Dark Creatures that each world must face are calculated through some precise providential arithmetic; they are at least twice the strength of that world."

"Being able to block an invasion that comes every thousand years already takes the collective effort of the entire world, plus aid from the owner of the Ancient Wilderness Hunting Ground."

"And Central Earth still wants to counterattack the Ancient Giants?"

Leaving aside the Divine Capital and the Four Great Realms, the number of worlds that had truly repelled invasions by Ancient Dark Creatures under their own power was pitifully small.

Even if they barely managed a victory, their Yuan Energy would be severely depleted.

What strength would they have left to launch a counterattack?

Back then, the Divine Capital, Martial Vault, Sin Realm, Nanqian, and the Heavenly Court had all tried to annihilate the world from which the dark creatures invading them originated, hoping to end things once and for all.

In the end, they all failed for unknown reasons.

Central Earth must have only barely won its war against the Ancient Giants because Jiang Fan seized the Peace Monument, right?

With that little strength, he wanted to go fight Giants?

How was that possible?

This was pure fantasy.

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