574: Chapter 574 Extortion Channel: Let's scrape together the money, after all, it's our ancestor!

On the price list Xu Ruyu produced, the prices for the trapped Cultivators of the Righteous Path Alliance were listed clearly, fair to all—

"Saint Realm Peak, five million High-Grade Spirit Stones.

Saint Realm Late Stage, three million.

Mid-Stage Saint Realm, two million.

Early Saint Realm, one million.

Nascent Soul Stage, one hundred thousand.

Golden Core Stage, ten thousand.

The four old fogies who are Half-step True Immortals are calculated separately.

Fifty million each, no bargaining.

Note: Ancestor Xuan Yin's face is worth fifty million, and he himself is worth another fifty million.

Adding up to one hundred million."

The Grand Elder looked at that string of numbers, his lips trembling again.

"Sect Master, fifty million... isn't it too much? Although Ancestor Xuan Yin has lived a long time, he might not necessarily be able to produce so many Spirit Stones.

The Sect behind him hasn't been well-off these years either..."

Xu Ruyu put down his brush, looked at the Grand Elder, and smiled.

"Grand Elder, has your heart softened? Have you forgotten how they treated us at the Tianyan Sect?

They brought over a thousand people, four Half-step True Immortals, and dozens of Saint Realms to destroy our Hehuan Sect.

They wanted to kill every single one of us, leaving no one behind.

Now that their people have fallen into our hands, is fifty million too much?"

The Grand Elder fell silent.

He thought of that night outside the Tianyan Sect's mountain gate, of those Disciples who fell in pools of blood, and of the faces of those from the Righteous Path Alliance as they clamored to destroy the Hehuan Sect.

He said no more, simply putting away the price list and the letter, and turned to leave Ningyin Hall.

His steps were much firmer than when he had arrived.

That afternoon, several Disciples of the Hehuan Sect set off in different directions.

Zhou Daniu went to the North Pole Ice Soul Palace, Li Ergou to the Tianxuan Sect, Zhao Tiezhu to the Tianji Sect, and Chen Ping to the Tianquan Sect.

Each of them held a wooden box containing a letter and several yingxi stones.

The Grand Elder personally saw them off at the mountain gate, instructing them over and over: "Leave as soon as the letter is delivered; do not linger.

If they curse you, do not talk back.

If they hit you, just run.

Come back and take your anger out on their Old Ancestors imprisoned in the Grand Array."

The Disciples answered in unison, mounted their flying swords, and disappeared into the clouds.

On the day the news spread, the entire Cultivation World was in an uproar.

North Pole Ice Soul Palace.

The new Palace Master, Xuanbingzi, sat in the main hall, holding a meeting with a group of Elders.

The theme of the meeting was 'How to Rescue the Old Ancestor.' It had been going on for three days, and nothing had been decided.

Because everyone capable of fighting was trapped in the Hehuan Sect, and those remaining had Cultivations no higher than the Soul Transformation Stage; going there would just be like being easy prey.

Someone suggested pooling Spirit Stones for the ransom but was cursed roundly by several pro-war Elders; someone else suggested uniting with other Righteous Path Sects to besiege the Hehuan Sect again, only to be mocked into embarrassment by other pragmatic Elders.

"Palace Master! A letter has arrived from the Hehuan Sect!"

A Disciple ran in, holding a wooden box, running so fast he almost tripped over the threshold.

The entire hall instantly fell silent, so quiet that one could hear the faint crackling of the burning candles.

Xuanbingzi took the wooden box, his hands trembling slightly.

He took a deep breath, opened the box, and first took out the letter.

The letter was written on high-quality paper, the handwriting neat and fluid, the wording dignified and appropriate.

But the content caused his face to turn from white to green, from green to purple, from purple to gray, and finally back to a bloodless, corpse-like pale.

"Ancestor Xuan Yin of the North Pole Ice Soul Palace is trapped in my Hehuan Sect's Grand Array. The price is clearly marked: fifty million High-Grade Spirit Stones.

When the Spirit Stones arrive, the person is released.

If the Spirit Stones don't arrive, the person stays.

Additionally, there are a total of one hundred and thirty-seven Disciples from your Palace, with a total price of four million two hundred thousand High-Grade Spirit Stones.

No credit given, no installments supported."

Xuanbingzi slammed the letter onto the table, his voice cracking: "This is too much!"

An Elder nearby cautiously picked up the letter and read it, then picked up a yingxi stone and channeled spiritual power into it.

An image appeared in the air, and the Elder's pupils dilated sharply.

On the Martial Arts Arena, the Disciples of the North Pole Ice Soul Palace were scurrying around like headless flies; some were hit in the shoulder, falling to the ground screaming; some were hit in the thigh, rolling on the ground clutching their legs; some had their hats knocked off, shrinking into corners with bare heads.

An even more provocative image followed—a young Disciple crouched in a corner, head in hands, body trembling, with a large wet patch on his crotch.

The camera even gave a deliberate close-up, making the wet stain clearly visible to everyone, so clear that even the texture of the fabric could be seen.

There was absolute silence in the hall.

The corners of several Elders' mouths were twitching—not out of anger, but because they wanted to laugh but didn't dare.

A few young Disciples could no longer hold it in, their heads lowered and shoulders shaking.

"Palace Master, how about... we pool some Spirit Stones?"

An Elder tested the waters in a low voice.

Xuanbingzi smashed the desk in front of him with a single palm strike.

The desk shattered into several pieces, and the tea cups, brush rack, and inkstone on top fell to the floor, ink splashing onto the robes of several Elders.

"Fifty million! Where do you want me to find fifty million?"

The Elder shrank his neck and didn't dare speak again.

Another Elder picked up the letter and read it again, his expression even worse than before.

"Palace Master, this isn't even the end of it.

Look at this line of small print—the four Half-step True Immortals are calculated separately, fifty million per person.

It's written right here: Ancestor Xuan Yin counts as one, but what about the other three? One each from the Tianxuan Sect, Tianji Sect, and Tianquan Sect.

That adds up to... fifty million each, so two hundred million for the four of them.

Two hundred million High-Grade Spirit Stones... how many Spirit Stones does our entire Cultivation World produce in a year?"

The hall fell silent again.

So quiet that one could hear their own heartbeat.

Xuanbingzi sat back in his chair, head in his hands, shoulders trembling slightly.

He suddenly felt that being the Palace Master was quite meaningless.

He had been in office for less than half a month, hadn't even tasted a single day of the benefits of being Palace Master, and was already saddled with a debt of fifty million.

He had never seen that many Spirit Stones in his life. His father hadn't seen them, his grandfather hadn't seen them, and his grandfather's grandfather hadn't seen them either.

He wasn't even sure if all the savings of the North Pole Ice Soul Palace since its founding could add up to that amount.

After a long time, he raised his head, his voice hoarse.

"How many Spirit Stones are left in the treasury?"

The Elder in charge of the treasury hurriedly stood up and flipped through the ledger.

"Reporting to the Palace Master, there are eight million High-Grade Spirit Stones, twenty million Mid-Grade Spirit Stones, and for Low-Grade..."

"Enough," Xuanbingzi interrupted him, closing his eyes as if making a final decision. "Set aside the High-Grade Spirit Stones.

As for the rest, liquidate everything that can be liquidated.

Magical Artifacts, Medicinal Pills, Materials—inventory everything.

Also, get in touch with the Tianxuan Sect, Tianji Sect, and Tianquan Sect to ask if they can pool their resources.

We'll pool what we have from several Sects and ransom the Old Ancestors first."

The Elder left to carry out the order.

Tianxuan Sect.

The new Sect Head was an old man, nearly eight hundred years old, with hair, eyebrows, and beard all white.

He should have retired long ago to grow herbs and flowers on the mountain and enjoy his later years.

But the previous Sect Head and several Elders had been caught in one fell swoop at the Hehuan Sect, leaving the Sect leaderless, and the younger generation couldn't hold down the fort. He had been forcibly invited down from the mountain and was struggling to maintain this position.