137: Chapter 137 Heaven has a virtue of cherishing life.

When this communication talisman fell into Chun Xiaobai's hands, he rubbed his palms together, knowing the timing was about right; it was time for him to step in personally.

Thus, he took charge himself, holding the communication stone, and spoke in a tone filled with both feigned anger and "sincerity."

"Heaven has the virtue of cherishing life!"

"We are all in the Sect business, and none of it is easy!"

"Since you all are so sincere, I will also take a step back!"

"How about this: forget the fifty thousand, and I'll drop the one million. Let's compromise. I'll take a loss and charge you one hundred thousand Spirit Stones per Core Disciple!"

"I'll even throw in thirty-five Inner Sect Disciples for free! None of this is easy, let's both make concessions, is that acceptable?"

This message was quickly transmitted to both camps.

When they saw the first sentence, the corners of their mouths twitched in anger, but after reading the rest, they felt a little better.

What followed was uncontrollable ecstasy, and they couldn't stop grinning from ear to ear.

"He lowered it! We finally got the price lowered!"

"Exactly, exactly! One hundred thousand Spirit Stones per Core Disciple, that's reasonable!"

"If you break that down per Disciple, it's less than ten thousand Spirit Stones!"

"Not bad, not bad, this works!"

Those Elders acted as if they had picked up a massive bargain, as if they had achieved a monumental feat.

It made sense; after all, they had forcefully slashed the exorbitant price of one million down to one hundred thousand, and each Core Disciple came with thirty-five Inner Sect Disciples included.

This achievement was something they could boast about.

"Works my ass!" Envoy Zhang exploded in rage. "Don't you realize? After all that haggling, we still have to pay out Spirit Stones!"

"Uh!" The crowd was stunned.

But that wasn't really fair to say; they couldn't expect the other side to just return the Disciples for free, could they?

Although this wasn't spoken aloud, it was exactly what Envoy Zhang was thinking.

Never mind having to pay out millions of Spirit Stones; even paying out one hundred thousand made him feel like he was losing face!

Twenty Core Disciples meant a full two million Spirit Stones!

Seeing his attitude shift, the crowd quickly tried to persuade him: "Envoy, how about... we just let it be?"

"It only comes out to a few thousand Spirit Stones per Disciple anyway. If we Sect Masters and Elders pool our resources, it should be enough."

Seeing that everyone had agreed, Envoy Zhang couldn't say anything more and had to nod, his face full of humiliation.

Over at Tiansha Valley, it was the same situation; everyone felt like they had made a killing.

Especially the Grand Elder Zheng Tianyuan, who felt he had performed a great service for the Sect. He immediately waved his hand, produced one million Spirit Stones, and prepared to send them over.

"U-uh..." Suddenly, an Elder stepped forward. "What if they take the Spirit Stones and don't return the people?"

"Hiss! You're right!"

These sanctimonious bastards were capable of kidnapping, so it was very possible they would just kill the hostages after getting the Spirit Stones!

However, just as this thought occurred to them, another communication talisman arrived.

They opened it, and their concerns vanished instantly.

Because the voice in the communication talisman had sworn a Dao oath, uttering every curse under the sun.

It said that if they dared to break the agreement, the entire Righteous Alliance would meet a miserable end: struck by lightning when going out, choked to death while drinking water, stepping in dog shit while walking, and even getting shit splattered back on them while defecating!

Meanwhile, the Righteous Alliance had also received a poisonous oath from "Tiansha Valley."

For a Cultivator, a Heavenly Dao oath was no laughing matter.

Once sworn, the Heavenly Dao would sense it in the ethereal void.

Although they might not feel anything now, once they reached the time for a Breakthrough in their Realm or to cross their Heart Demon Tribulation, being bound by these curses would make passing it impossible.

They figured the other side wouldn't abandon their own Dao path for a mere few million Spirit Stones.

But doing just this wasn't their style.

They sent another message demanding the other side swear never to kidnap their Disciples again!

If they didn't agree, so be it; the trial only had one day left anyway, out of sight, out of mind!

When Chun Xiaobai received this communication talisman, he didn't hesitate at all.

He immediately recited those one hundred and eight poisonous oaths all over again.

He swore he would absolutely never kidnap their Disciples again, otherwise, he would be struck by lightning and his entire Sect would die.

Chun Xiaobai finally got his wish and received a full three million Spirit Stones.

At this moment, he held the two Storage Rings, sitting there with a grin, giggling like a fool for a full quarter of an hour before he finally composed himself.

"Three million Spirit Stones!"

"This Great King finally has the startup capital for my mountain!"

"Congratulations, Great King! Congratulations! Great King, your strategy is truly divine, and your planning is masterful. With a flick of your finger, you made those old geezers obediently hand over millions of Spirit Stones. This subordinate is awestruck by such earth-shattering talent!"

"Exactly! Great King, your methods are faster than robbery! No, this is robbery! This subordinate has never seen such a lucrative deal in his entire life!"

Fang Yuan and Xiao Zhang stood to the side, trading compliments back and forth, praising Chun Xiaobai until he was almost dizzy with delight.

Even Bai Jiner, standing nearby, looked at him with amorous, watery eyes.

She even trotted over to him, placing her delicate hands on Chun Xiaobai's shoulders, gently kneading them, and said softly.

"Great King, you've worked hard."

"Hmm, not bad, there's a reward!"

Chun Xiaobai, feeling heroic and unhesitating, took out a ring containing one million Spirit Stones and tossed it over.

"The three of you, split this!"

"Ah—!" Chun Xiaobai screamed suddenly, shrinking his neck. "Third Leader, what are you doing? Are you trying to crush me?"

Bai Jiner quickly withdrew her hand, her pretty face turning red as she explained, "N-no, Great King... I... I was a bit distracted..."

Never mind her being distracted; even Fang Yuan and Xiao Zhang were frozen in place, their eyes wide and mouths agape, unable to process what happened for a long time.

One million Spirit Stones... just like that, given to the three of them to split?

This... this...

When the two came to their senses, their eyes instantly turned red.

But they didn't resort to those cliché kneeling gestures; instead, the look they gave Chun Xiaobai was no longer just pure admiration, but an absolute, life-entrusting loyalty.

They knew that as long as they followed This Great King before them, in this vast cultivation world, they would surely have a place of their own!

If they missed this chance, they would regret it for the rest of their lives!

The two of them clasped their fists toward Chun Xiaobai in unison, their voices resonant and powerful.

"Thank you, Great King!"

Bai Jiner watched the two of them, feeling a bit shortchanged in her heart. Although she couldn't pinpoint the reason, she just felt like she was losing out.

It was as if that one million wasn't a reward from Chun Xiaobai, but something pulled out of her own pocket.

"Alright, alright, hurry up and transport the people out, put them at the designated location, and let them go pick them up themselves."