135: Chapter 135 is shameless.

"Exactly! A proper trial, and they've turned it into kidnapping and extortion!"

"Utterly shameless! Absolutely shameless!"

The Elders cursed one after another, with some even stepping forward impulsively.

"I don't want this Disciple anymore! Let them do whatever they want!"

"Huh?" Grand Elder Zheng Tianyuan was stunned for a moment, then his mouth split into a wide grin as he clapped his hands and laughed heartily. "Excellent!"

"I knew the Elders were all devoted to the Sect and deeply principled. You would never harm the Sect's interests for the sake of a few mere Disciples!"

However, his laughter left the other Elders dumbfounded.

No, Grand Elder, I was just being polite, venting a bit of frustration...

But since the words were already out, it was too embarrassing to take them back.

Of course, even if they really wanted to go back on their word, they believed the Sect Master wouldn't agree to spend this humiliating sum—two hundred thousand Spirit Stones per Disciple—to ransom them back.

That would be tens of millions of Spirit Stones. How is that any different from demanding their lives, the very lifeblood of Tiansha Valley?

Zheng Tianyuan waved his hand grandly, making a decision. "Good!"

"After the trial ends, we will publicize this despicable feat of the Righteous Alliance throughout the entire Eastern Border!"

"It's not like the Eastern Border is ruled by their Alliance alone!"

"Exactly! Exactly!"

"When the time comes, notify the Alchemy Alliance, the Artifact Refining Alliance, the Talisman Revered Masters' Alliance, and the Formation Masters' Alliance. We must make sure they all see the ugly face of the Righteous Alliance!"

In the end, both sides surprisingly reached an unspoken agreement—ignore them, let them do whatever they want!

...

Inside the cave, Chun Xiaobai waited a full four hours, yet still received no response.

He summoned Fang Yuan and Xiao Zhang back once more.

This time, however, there was no trace of impatience on his face.

From the very beginning, he hadn't expected those stingy old fogies to obediently hand over nearly two hundred million Spirit Stones.

Afterwards, Chun Xiaobai had Fang Yuan and Xiao Zhang line up the over thirty captured Core Disciples in a row.

As for top-tier 'connections' like Ye Liuli and Qin Ruoxue, he had them locked away separately in an adjacent Immortal Cave.

These thirty before him were precisely the 'second-tier Disciples'.

He then had Fang Yuan and Xiao Zhang create new image-recording stones.

This time, he didn't record any nonsense belittling himself or praising the opponent. Instead, he directly made them beg for mercy, urging their respective Sects to hurry up and pay the ransom.

He also issued an ultimatum: if the ransom wasn't seen within a day, they would collectively defect and join the opposing force.

After the simple recording was done, he directly sent Fang Yuan out to deliver these thirty image-recording stones.

...

In less than four hours, the thirty image-recording stones were delivered—twenty to the Righteous Alliance side and ten to the Tiansha Valley side.

On the Righteous Alliance's Flying Vessel, the Elders who received these twenty image-recording stones first erupted in fury, then fell into a heavy silence.

If they could let go of those Inner Sect Disciples, fine. But these were Core Disciples!

Those who could be called Core Disciples possessed at least High Grade talent. In the Eastern Border, they could be considered one-in-ten-thousand Geniuses.

If they truly did as stated in the image-recording stones and joined the enemy force, once these Geniuses grew up, they would become existences capable of taking their very lives!

But... but this ransom is just too damn expensive!

One million Spirit Stones per Disciple!

While one million Spirit Stones isn't expensive considering the talent of these Geniuses, the thought of handing over twenty million Spirit Stones for nothing to aid the enemy was unbearably painful.

"Outrageous!"

Several Sect Masters and Elder-level figures rolled up their sleeves, ready to charge over and fight it out.

"This is too bullying! Too disgusting!"

"Halt!"

Envoy Zhang directly stopped them.

If he let them go like this, it would violate the previous peace agreement and inevitably trigger a major conflict.

Once a major conflict erupted, it would alarm the Alliance Leader. His habit of slacking off all day would surely be exposed.

"Envoy Zhang! These people are too vile! How is this any different from robbery?!"

"Isn't it just robbery?" Other Elders, whose Core Disciples weren't captured, began to gloat one after another.

"Don't be hasty!" Envoy Zhang taught the gathered Elders and Sect Masters, preparing to study the matter first.

After all, if these Core Disciples were truly abandoned, it would definitely reach the Alliance Leader. Once this matter spread, even the Alliance Leader would be criticized by the outside world.

Who would be willing to join their Alliance then?

...

Over at Tiansha Valley, the situation was the same.

Grand Elder Zheng Tianyuan trembled with rage, his graying beard shaking so fast it left afterimages.

"You damned Righteous Alliance! You bunch of hypocrites! To be so despicable! Extorting a million Spirit Stones for a single Disciple!"

He felt that if he paid this money, he would live the rest of his life in aggrieved humiliation.

Zheng Tianyuan stiffened his scalp, jutted out his neck, and was just about to say 'let them do whatever they want'.

The Revered Masters of those captured Core Disciples beside him hurriedly stepped forward.

"Grand Elder, please calm your anger! These are all Core Disciples!"

"Exactly, exactly! Each of these Core Disciples was nurtured by the Sect with countless resources!"

"Moreover, according to what's said on these image-recording stones, if we let them join the Righteous Alliance, with their talent, they will surely come back for revenge against us for standing by and doing nothing within a few years!"

"Exactly! And they also possess the core techniques of our Tiansha Valley's Battle Puppets. If that knowledge falls into the hands of the Righteous Alliance, it would be a catastrophic disaster for our Tiansha Valley!"

"Urk!"

Reminded by their words, Zheng Tianyuan was directly dumbstruck.

He also realized an even more serious problem: they kept receiving battle reports from the field, but there had been no news of the Sect Master's beloved daughter, Ye Liuli!

He knew very well that this girl was always battle-hungry. In any trial, her kill count was consistently ranked first!

Setting her aside for now.

Just considering the present situation: one million Spirit Stones each, for ten Core Disciples—that's ten million Spirit Stones!

Their Tiansha Valley wasn't wealthy to begin with. Forking over ten million Spirit Stones all at once would, even if not breaking their bones, certainly strip off a layer of skin!

Zheng Tianyuan understood clearly in his heart: if they truly abandoned these Core Disciples, these chosen ones would likely fall into the hands of those sanctimonious hypocrites.

Then, after being swayed by their rhetoric and handing over Tiansha Valley's core Puppetry techniques, it's entirely possible that in a few years, they'd be literally defecating on their heads.

But then again, this was ten million Spirit Stones!

The group of Elders fell into a heavy silence, the atmosphere solemn.

Asking them to come up with a million Spirit Stones... while possible, it would essentially mean bankruptcy.

Furthermore, once this precedent was set, their Tiansha Valley would likely become the laughingstock of all Cultivators in the Eastern Border.

Over on the Righteous Alliance side, after lengthy discussions, they also found that apart from paying the ransom, there seemed to be no second path.

But this full twenty million Spirit Stones was no small sum. Even if they wanted to pay, they couldn't gather that much right now.

More crucially, with only one day's time, even if they returned to their Sects to mobilize funds, it couldn't be done in just a few days.