Chapter 535: Chapter 528: Show Some Sincerity to Ransom Yourself

After bidding farewell to the Vermilion Bird "Yuan Fei" and Little Wukong, Du Youqian continued flying south.

The Flying Boat sailed along at a leisurely pace, and after passing Huailai City, he made a point to go take a look.

The consequences of losing several thousand Cultivation Practitioners all at once were still slowly unfolding, and Huailai City was clearly far more depressed.

And yet, after the loss of Ye Rui Master, Huailai City had actually fared better. Old acquaintances like Duanmu Master and Pu Yu Master were also doing quite well.

’It’s a shame the Demoness from the Heavenly Emotions and Oceanic Resentments Sect is still nowhere to be seen. Otherwise, I would have surely sent my "dear big sister" off to be reincarnated. It’s the least I could do, a show of filial piety from her "little brother."’

’After all, once you’ve been killed, even if you come back through Possession and start cultivating again, your potential takes a massive hit. Your path on the Dao is basically hopeless. Better to just die for good and get a fresh start.’

Leaving Huailai City, Du Youqian continued his slow flight south.

On this day, he took out the Nascent Soul of that Divinity Transformation True Monarch from the Cyan Wood Sect, Xin Shijiao.

After interrogating him over a period of time, he had finally learned the man’s name.

Although Xin Shijiao was uncooperative, he didn’t have a death wish, so he dared not offend Du Youqian too greatly.

He wouldn’t answer every question, but on inconsequential matters, he did his best to satisfy Du Youqian.

This gave Du Youqian a clearer understanding of the Cultivation Realm in the Human World, particularly the Demon Sect Camp.

"Fellow Daoist Xin, have you considered my offer? I reached Divinity Transformation in less than three hundred years, so my future path is bright. Serving me as a slave for five hundred years would be no insult to you. I might even gather the resources for you to advance to the Void Step realm. If you don’t wise up and agree soon, my patience will run out." After some small talk, Du Youqian began his routine attempt to secure his surrender.

’It wasn’t as if he truly wanted Xin Shijiao to serve him as a slave. To put it bluntly, even if Xin Shijiao swore a great oath on his Dao Heart, I wouldn’t necessarily trust him. I would still have to be constantly on guard against the servant sabotaging me or making a deadly move. But this is just a negotiation tactic: start with a high price and let them bargain you down. I’m reluctant to waste such a heavenly gift. Using the Nascent Soul and spirit of a Divinity Transformation True Monarch to refine a Treasure is simply too wasteful. A Divinity Transformation True Monarch’s Nascent Soul, one must understand, has already become fully corporeal and undergone partial Pure Yang Transformation. It’s in the process of evolving into a Yang God. In the hands of a Tier Six Artifact Refining Grandmaster, it could potentially be used to forge a Tier Six Treasure! But I can’t just take Xin Shijiao’s Nascent Soul and go find someone to perform Artifact Refining for me. Wouldn’t that be a slap in the face to the Cyan Wood Sect? Even if they hadn’t planned on pursuing the matter, they would be forced to. And waiting for my own Artifact Refining Art to reach Tier Six could take ages. Thus, from a purely pragmatic standpoint, the best way to maximize the captive’s value is to negotiate.’

Du Youqian wasn’t afraid of setting the tiger free after striking a deal.

Even a Divinity Transformation Cultivator would lose a great deal of potential after Possession.

’Besides,’ he thought, ’I’ll implant a few safeguards of my own. I have no fear of any backlash.’

Xin Shijiao’s Nascent Soul was held firmly in Du Youqian’s grasp; he couldn’t even self-destruct if he wanted to.

Besides, he didn’t want to self-destruct either.

"Fellow Daoist Sui, Brother Xiao, I am a Divinity Transformation True Monarch, after all. You can kill me, but you cannot humiliate me. Making me a slave is impossible. I would rather die."

"Then die," Du Youqian said calmly, loosening some of the Restrictions.

Xin Shijiao discovered that he could now self-destruct.

"Hmph, I’ll do it right now!"

He began to gather his power, preparing to self-destruct.

Du Youqian made no move to stop him, simply watching with a placid smile.

Even as the power he was gathering grew more concentrated and dangerous.

Du Youqian merely set up an Array to prevent Xin Shijiao from escaping; he did nothing to stop the self-destruction.

Just as his aura peaked and was about to cross the point of no return, Xin Shijiao let the power dissipate. "Brother Xiao," he said, completely deflated, "what is it you really want? Serving as a slave is impossible. Absolutely impossible."

’If this had happened right after my defeat, I might have actually gone through with it, even knowing the consequence was the complete annihilation of my soul, rendering reincarnation impossible. But so much time has passed. Du Youqian hasn’t killed me, and I’ve had days to think. The more I thought, the less I wanted to die. I want to live, even if it means paying an enormous price. Even servitude... isn’t entirely out of the question. But five hundred years is a bit much. A shorter term, perhaps, could be negotiated.’

Du Youqian laughed. "Fellow Daoist Xin, you’d better think carefully about what you can offer to sway me. And let’s be clear: I don’t have the slightest interest in your Cyan Wood Sect’s Cultivation Techniques. I know your sect’s techniques are derived from the Cyan Emperor’s Scripture of Eternal Life, but I possess the actual Scripture. Why would I need your inferior version?"

If Xin Shijiao still had a physical body, his breathing would have surely grown heavy and ragged.

The Cyan Emperor’s Scripture of Eternal Life!

This was an Ancient Technique, the foundation technique of Changsheng Hall, one of the Ancient Celestial Court’s Ten Great Halls. But following the fall of the Ancient Celestial Court and the destruction of Changsheng Hall, this technique had long been lost.

The founders of both the Cyan Wood Sect and the Cyan Yang Sect had once served as attendants in Changsheng Hall. Through their own fortuitous encounters, each learned a portion of the Cyan Emperor’s Scripture of Eternal Life. However, neither grasped its complete essence—nor was it possible for them to do so.

After all, while one could begin cultivating the Cyan Emperor’s Scripture of Eternal Life with just a Wood Attribute Spirit Root, only someone with an Innate Wood Spirit Body could cultivate it to its highest realms.

Even a Wood Attribute Celestial Spirit Root was insufficient to cultivate this technique to the Harmonization Realm or above.

Moreover, this Cultivation Technique was created in ancient times when Spiritual Qi was more abundant, and it was no longer suited to the current environment.

Therefore, the portion of the Cyan Emperor’s Scripture of Eternal Life that Du Youqian had obtained, which went up to the Harmonization realm, was of limited value.

But to the Cyan Wood Sect and Cyan Yang Sect, the Cyan Emperor’s Scripture of Eternal Life was a priceless treasure. It might help them evolve their Sect’s Foundation Technique once more!

Relatively speaking, the founder of the Cyan Yang Sect was more brilliantly talented. Based on the portion of the Cyan Emperor’s Scripture of Eternal Life he had learned, he created a "Scripture"-grade Cultivation Technique.

The founder of the Cyan Wood Sect, however, created an "Art"-grade Cultivation Technique.

The Cyan Wood Sect’s need for the Cyan Emperor’s Scripture of Eternal Life was thus even more desperate.

Xin Shijiao hesitated for a long while before finally asking, "Brother Xiao, what will it take for you to grant me my freedom and teach me the Cyan Emperor’s Scripture of Eternal Life?"

Du Youqian replied languidly, "You are my captive, my private property. You want me to give up my property *and* teach you the Cyan Emperor’s Scripture of Eternal Life, an ancient path to immortality? You’ll need to show some sincerity and buy your freedom."

Xin Shijiao pondered for a long time before speaking hesitantly. "I can show you a measure of my sincerity first. When my physical body was destroyed, I released a Gu Insect to send a message to a senior brother who defected from the Cyan Wood Sect. His name is Zhong Yu. He actually joined the sect nearly a thousand years before me and reached Divinity Transformation long ago. He is now in the Divinity Transformation Late Stage. He betrayed the sect back then after being defeated by the Sect Elders for harming his fellow disciples for the sake of his cultivation."

After a pause, Xin Shijiao stopped mincing words. "Senior Brother Zhong Yu and I are on good terms. More importantly, the token I possess for the Baohe Cave Mansion of the True Monarch is something he is determined to acquire. Therefore, I’m certain he will come to kill you after receiving the message. However, he is cautious by nature, so he will most likely invite one or two allies to join him."

"I see." Du Youqian nodded.

’Now that I know, I can prepare for it,’ Du Youqian thought. He then said, "Tell me everything you know about this Senior Brother Zhong Yu. What Magic and Divine Abilities does he specialize in? What Treasures does he have? And who might he invite to help him? Tell me everything, and hold nothing back."

Xin Shijiao obediently told him everything he knew.

After he finished, Du Youqian asked several follow-up questions to confirm he wasn’t lying. Only then did he smile. "So, have you decided? I won’t wait forever. Drag this out any longer, and my only option will be to refine you into a Treasure."

Xin Shijiao said quickly, "Brother Xiao, servitude is out of the question. How about we agree to different terms? I promise I will cooperate fully."

Du Youqian sneered. "If I use your Nascent Soul and spirit for Artifact Refining, I can get a Tier Five Hundred Ghosts Banner at the very least, plus another Tier Five Treasure. If I’m lucky, a Tier Six Treasure isn’t impossible. That’s worth at least ten to twenty million Spiritual Jade. Can letting you go bring me twenty million Spiritual Jade in value?"

Xin Shijiao gritted his teeth. "I can!"

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