Chapter 90

Ji Jiuhuo, Grandma Ying, and others had long regarded Ji Ning as the future pillar of the Ji clan! The intelligence on the Purple Mansion cultivators and some of the old Purple Mansion demons from the major forces in Yanshan had been shown to Ji Ning long ago. Ji Ning was very clear... Dong Ziqi was a perfected Purple Mansion cultivator, and he came from a sect, so his methods were far superior to those of the native tribes in Yanshan. Dong Ziqi's strongest technique was the 'Eight Trigram Blood Dragon Formation'!

Unlike the usual large formations that required advance setup, the Eight Trigram Blood Dragon Formation was somewhat like Ji Ning's 'Small Thousand Sword Formation,' which could be activated with a thought. Perhaps it wasn't as powerful as Ji Ning's Small Thousand Sword Formation in terms of level, but Dong Ziqi himself was a perfected Purple Mansion cultivator. With such a formation, he could probably even challenge a newly ascended Ten Thousand Phenomena True Man, far surpassing cultivators like Bo Zishan who relied solely on the Ten Thousand Ghost Banner.

"Rare to see Daoist Brother Ziqi," Ji Jiuhuo humbly lowered his stance. "I wonder what brings you here today?"

"Ji Jiuhuo."

The five Purple Mansion cultivators from the curtain all landed on the ground. They each swept their eyes over the Ji clan members, their gazes condescending, clearly not taking the Ji clan seriously. This made Ji Ning and others feel a surge of anger, but they understood... they had to endure.

"Your Ji clan's territory is truly a blessed land, with a vein of primordial stones," Dong Ziqi said with a cold gaze, looking at Ji Jiuhuo. "If it weren't for the intense fluctuations in the elemental energy earlier, we wouldn't have known. Hmph, your Ji clan must have secretly mined quite a bit of primordial stones, truly daring."

The Ji clan members all showed anger in their eyes, but Ji Jiuhuo transmitted his voice with essence energy, shouting, "Endure it!"

"Our Ji clan only recently discovered it," Ji Jiuhuo said, still smiling at Dong Ziqi.

"Recently discovered?" Dong Ziqi scanned the Ji clan members. "Have you investigated the scale of the primordial stone vein?"

"Not yet," Ji Jiuhuo shook his head. "We only know it's a rich vein."

Dong Ziqi said coldly, "Since you don't know, I'll tell you. This primordial stone vein is a rich one, spanning over four thousand miles in diameter and over three hundred miles deep! Such a large primordial stone vein is far beyond the capabilities of your small Ji clan to handle. It would choke you to death if you tried to swallow it!"

"No problem," Ji Jiuhuo smiled. "Our Ji clan can transfer this primordial stone vein to the Great Xia Dynasty. Then our Ji clan will get thirty percent, and the Great Xia Dynasty will get seventy percent. Moreover, our Ji clan will receive protection from the Great Xia Dynasty, so we won't have to fear anything."

Dong Ziqi's pupils constricted.

These natives!

Although not from a sect, they had been cultivating for nearly four hundred years and were still only at the Purple Mansion stage. However, their long lives had made them extremely smooth. No matter how domineering he was, Ji Jiuhuo still maintained a smile. But when it came to the crucial point, he directly mentioned what Snow Dragon Mountain feared the most.

"I'll tell you!" Dong Ziqi's voice was icy cold. "The primordial stone vein, Snow Dragon Mountain wants it! Don't try to threaten me, threatening me... the Ji clan will only meet its end!"

Ji Jiuhuo's expression changed.

The other Ji clan members, including Grandma Ying, were both angry and anxious. Ji Ning was also seething with anger. According to the laws of the Great Xia Dynasty, this primordial stone vein belonged to the Ji clan! Yet these people from Snow Dragon Mountain came to forcibly take it, and were so arrogant.

"Daoist Brother Ziqi," Ji Jiuhuo suppressed his anger.

He had only mentioned the harshest measures to make the other side wary, and then to slowly negotiate the terms. He didn't expect the other side to be so domineering, bullying the weak Ji clan!

"Here is Yanshan," Ji Jiuhuo said solemnly. "Snow Dragon Mountain's sect is a million miles away, while our Ji clan can report to the Great Xia Dynasty, and within a few days, the Great Xia Dynasty's envoys will arrive, and we can sign the transfer contract. In fact, our Ji clan has no great ambitions; we only seek to survive!"

"Survive?" Dong Ziqi sneered. "I see you know your place!"

Ji Jiuhuo said, "Snow Dragon Mountain can send people to mine the vein. During the mining period, our Ji clan will not interfere. Once you finish mining... you can leave our Ji clan's territory entirely. As for the primordial stone vein, our Ji clan does not seek a single bit! Our Ji clan is willing to swear a Heavenly Dao Oath with Snow Dragon Mountain!"

Heavenly Dao Oath...

It was of little use to mortals, but once one entered the path of cultivation and became a cultivator, the Heavenly Dao Oath was something no one dared to violate.

"Hmm?" Dong Ziqi hesitated.

"Senior Brother Ziqi," the burly man beside him transmitted his voice with essence energy, "This condition is acceptable. We have no interest in the Ji clan's territory; what matters is the primordial stone vein. Since the Ji clan is willing to let us take the entire vein, as long as we swear the Heavenly Dao Oath... the Ji clan won't dare to violate it."

"Stupid," the green-haired woman transmitted her voice, "This is just a delaying tactic by the Ji clan! The Ji clan wants to swear a Heavenly Dao Oath with Snow Dragon Mountain, not with us few. If we disciples swear the oath, the sect's higher-ups can still ignore it and destroy the Ji clan. They want the higher-ups of our sect to swear the oath. By the time the message is sent back and the higher-ups arrive... the Ji clan will have enough time to sign a contract with the Great Xia Dynasty."

"Senior Sister makes a good point," the gray-robed man also transmitted his voice in response.

Dong Ziqi nodded lightly.

A Purple Mansion cultivator? The sect could sacrifice them at will.

But a Ten Thousand Phenomena True Man was different. There were only so many Ten Thousand Phenomena True Men in the sect, and they were sworn to the sect! If the sect dared to sacrifice a Ten Thousand Phenomena True Man, wouldn't it make the other Ten Thousand Phenomena True Men and Purple Mansion cultivators lose heart? Moreover, it wouldn't be worth it to alienate all the Ten Thousand Phenomena True Men in the sect just for a primordial stone vein. Therefore, having a Ten Thousand Phenomena True Man swear the oath was the most appropriate.

"Ji Jiuhuo!" Dong Ziqi said coldly, "You want a Ten Thousand Phenomena True Man to swear the Heavenly Dao Oath with you? They are the higher-ups of our sect, and the sect is a million miles away! We need to send a message, and it will take at least ten to fifteen days for a Ten Thousand Phenomena True Man to arrive! In ten to fifteen days, your Ji clan might secretly sign a contract with the Great Xia Dynasty!"

"That..." Ji Jiuhuo was taken aback.

"I think you should hand over the vassal order!" Dong Ziqi shouted, "Hand over the vassal order of Ten Thousand Sword City to us! Snow Dragon Mountain will allow you to continue living in Ten Thousand Sword City, and the entire Ji clan will remain as it was... once we finish mining the primordial stone vein, I will return the vassal order to you!"

Ji Jiuhuo was alarmed, "How can that be?"

"No way," Grandma Ying also said angrily, "The vassal order is the foundation of our Ji clan."

Ji Ning just watched from the side.

These people from Snow Dragon Mountain were too overbearing! They said they would return the vassal order in the future, but what if they didn't? Moreover, the Ji clan had already made significant concessions, willing to give the entire primordial stone vein to Snow Dragon Mountain. How could Snow Dragon Mountain now take the vassal order first, as if it were a favor, and return it later?

"Hmph," Ji Ning's face was grim, and the other Ji clan members felt the same.

"Would Snow Dragon Mountain bully a small clan like the Ji clan?" Dong Ziqi shouted.

"It seems Snow Dragon Mountain has bullied many tribes," Ji Jiuhuo also said angrily, "Otherwise, how would there be a branch of Snow Dragon Mountain in Yanshan!"

Dong Ziqi's expression changed.

Rebellion!

Ji Jiuhuo had also become firm. He scanned the group of Ji clan members and noticed the young, unique young man in animal skin. He immediately transmitted his voice, "Junior Brother Musi, the Ji clan has only a few Purple Mansion cultivators, and the most promising one is Ji Ning. It's said that Bo Zishan was killed by him."

"Ji Ning," the gray-robed man also noticed the young man in animal skin.

Ever since Ji Ning's battle with Bo Zishan...

Ji Ning's reputation had already spread among the higher-ups of the major forces in Yanshan. After all, many of the other tribes' innate spirits had returned, making those tribes aware of how terrifying Ji Ning was, and even that Ji Ning was likely a Purple Mansion cultivator! At just eleven or twelve years old, he was already a Purple Mansion cultivator. How formidable would he be in the future? The major forces had long been paying attention to Ji Ning, and had gathered extremely detailed intelligence on him.

From his childhood to his habits, everything about Ji Ning was thoroughly investigated.

In the entire Ji clan, Dong Ziqi didn't care about anyone else, only Ji Ning! He wasn't afraid of the current Ji Ning, but he feared the future Ji Ning! With Ji Ning's talent... it wouldn't be difficult for him to become a Ten Thousand Phenomena True Man in the future.

"Junior Brother Misi, the most promising and threatening one in the Ji clan is Ji Ning. The entire Ji clan treasures him," Dong Ziqi transmitted his voice, "He is still young, so his current abilities are probably not very strong. Bo Zishan, that fool, was only a threat because of the Ten Thousand Ghost Banner. His own strength was quite average, and the battle might have been mainly due to the Ten Thousand Phenomena True Man. I estimate Ji Ning's strength is not very strong."

"If you suddenly attack and capture Ji Ning, then with Ji Ning in our hands, how would the Ji clan dare to defy Snow Dragon Mountain's orders?" Dong Ziqi transmitted his voice, "Even if there is a very low possibility that they really don't care about Ji Ning's life, we can kill Ji Ning. Without Ji Ning, the Ji clan is no threat at all."

"Understood," the gray-robed man nodded.

Ji Ning was indeed a threat, but no one was afraid of the current Ji Ning, only the future Ji Ning.

"Your sudden attack will even make me suffer a loss, but capturing Ji Ning will definitely be no problem," Dong Ziqi transmitted his voice. Although his strength was greater than Junior Brother Misi, he needed to first activate the Eight Trigram Blood Dragon Formation. Once his formation appeared, the Ji clan would be on high alert.

So it had to be a sudden attack! A quick success! And Junior Brother Misi was the best choice.

"Leave it to me, my technique has recently made a breakthrough," Junior Brother Misi transmitted his voice confidently.

"Counting on you, once we capture Ji Ning... we will have the upper hand," Dong Ziqi said.