Chapter 12

Clearly, one hundred tigers and one hundred sheep cannot coexist healthily. After the tigers eat the sheep, they will only turn to killing each other, ultimately leading to their extinction. One tiger and one hundred sheep, however, can maintain a balance for their mutual survival. Therefore, those who can break the cycle and achieve enlightenment are few and far between. Even if they do achieve enlightenment, they are still part of the world, just at the top of it.

Guyen and the Palace Master were still engaged in a friendly yet intense debate. The others stepped back and did not participate in such a boring argument. Lin Fan curiously asked the Palace Master's maid, Duan He, "Who is this Ximen Shuai?"

Duan He replied, "Ximen Shuai is a significant figure. After the battle of the evil path, the Demon Lord was severely injured, and the Demon Sect suffered a heavy blow, losing most of its elite members. The Demon Lord passed the throne to a highly talented disciple, but he only saw the disciple's talent and did not realize that the new Demon Lord was not skilled in managing the affairs of the Demon Sect. This led to internal conflicts and chaos within the Upper Nine Palaces. The elders eventually quelled the disputes and, after agreeing that the new Demon Lord was incapable of leading the Demon Sect, deposed him and selected a new Demon Lord. The former Demon Lord, seeing this as a rebellion, led his loyalists in a battle against the Upper Nine Palaces but was defeated and had no choice but to abdicate and go into seclusion in the Western Continent. A few years ago, Ximen Shuai appeared, claiming to be the former Demon Lord's direct disciple, and demanded the return of the Blood-Crying Sword, one of the four great protective artifacts of the Demon Sect. The current Demon Lord refused, but Ximen Shuai used the former Demon Lord's techniques to steal the Blood-Crying Sword. The Demon Sect immediately launched a manhunt, and Ximen Shuai, unable to stay in the Western Continent, has been wandering ever since."

Lin Fan asked, "Protective artifacts?"

Bai Mu knew, "Our Yunqing Mountain also has a protective artifact: the Purple Cloud Screen. It responds to the formations set up by the various sects on Yunqing Mountain. When the Purple Cloud Screen is activated, the entire mountain is sealed off. Outsiders can only enter by destroying the Purple Cloud Screen; there is no other way. Miss, as far as I know, protective artifacts like the Purple Cloud Screen require the support of formations. The Blood-Crying Sword is only effective within the Demon Mountain. Elsewhere, it is no different from any other ordinary object."

"That's right. When the Blood-Crying Sword is activated, outsiders who enter the Demon Mountain and suffer external injuries will bleed uncontrollably, with no cure except to leave the Demon Mountain for treatment. The Blood-Crying Sword, once removed from the Demon Mountain and without the support of the formation, is useless. The Demon Lord is also puzzled as to why the former Demon Lord wanted the Blood-Crying Sword, but he has been unable to find the former Demon Lord or Ximen Shuai. It's unexpected that this rogue would hide in the Eastern Continent."

Ye Wushuang asked, "What is the Upper Nine Palaces?" She actually wanted to ask if the Demon Sect's Palace Master was similar to the sect leaders of Yunqing Mountain, and why this Palace Master seemed so weak.

Duan He explained, "The founding ancestor of the Demon Sect, Leng Aotian, had nine disciples. The Western Continent was originally a place where evil people gathered. Leng Aotian and his nine disciples drove the evil people to the desolate wilderness and established the Demon Sect on Demon Mountain. The Lower Nine Palaces are the descendants of the nine disciples' families. Those with superior talent are prioritized for entry into the Upper Nine Palaces, while those with mediocre talent remain in the Lower Nine Palaces, much like ordinary people."

The Lower Nine Palaces are a gathering place for family members. The Demon Sect, like Yunqing Mountain, does not prohibit marriage and childbirth. Children with poor talent remain in the Lower Nine Palaces and do not enter the Upper Nine Palaces. All members learn methods to strengthen their bodies, and the population base continues to grow, leading to the need for a Palace Master to manage them. The Upper Nine Palaces were founded by Leng Aotian's nine disciples, with strict rules and selective recruitment. Everyone strives to enter, but those with poor talent cannot adapt. Therefore, the Palace Masters of the Upper and Lower Nine Palaces are completely different.

At Yunqing Mountain, disciples' children with poor talent can choose to leave the mountain and live as ordinary people or go to Tianfeng Valley to practice methods to strengthen their bodies. Tianfeng Valley, like the Lower Nine Palaces of the Demon Sect, has poor combat capabilities and is mainly responsible for guarding the mountain gate and purchasing necessary supplies.

Lin Fan was more concerned about the Kunlun series, such as the Kunlun Ring and Kunlun Bag. These are excellent items, but they recognize their master for life and die with the master. Lin Fan stroked his chin, wondering if he would act if he encountered a thousand-year-old spirit beast that he could kill. Besides spirit beasts, demon beasts are also possible, but a thousand-year-old demon beast is far beyond Lin Fan's capabilities. Moreover, demon beasts have inner cores, and when they are cornered, they will self-destruct, taking their opponent with them. Once the inner core explodes, the skin is useless. This is recorded in the literature, so using demon beast skin to make a Kunlun Bag is not practical.

As they chatted, the debate continued. Guyan spoke more today than he had in the past two days combined. Lin Fan knew the debate would have no conclusion; if it did, the terms would have been included in the Demon-Right Alliance's agreement long ago.

After half an hour, both sides seemed to realize this and stopped the debate. The Palace Master had planned to go to Yunqing Mountain to wait for the Demon Sect to send experts to escort her back to the Western Continent. Now, she was angry and did not want to go to Yunqing Mountain, but she was still worried about Ximen Shuai's persistent pursuit. Guyan, being honest, asked if they needed an escort to Yunqing Mountain. The Palace Master took the opportunity to decline, saying they could go on their own.

...

The next morning, the guests and the innkeeper woke up, unaware of what had happened. However, the intense fight the previous night left marks nearby, especially in the room where Lin Fan stayed, which had a large hole made by Ximen Shuai. Guyan was still thinking of how to explain to the innkeeper, but Lin Fan, who was well-versed in worldly affairs, gave the innkeeper a golden leaf for repairs and said, "If you ask, I'll take the golden leaf back."

The innkeeper immediately shut up. No matter what you did last night, gold is more important than parents. With this golden leaf, you could tear down the inn if you wanted.

The four, exhausted from the night, did not fly but took a ferry from Dagu Port to Xiaodongzhou.

Bai Mu asked, "Lin Fan, does your Zhengyi Sect still have golden leaves? Yunqing Mountain doesn't have many sources of money."

Lin Fan took out a talisman, recited a spell, and the talisman turned into a golden leaf. He threw the golden leaf into the river and said, "Don't worry, I used a two-tael silver illusion, which should be enough for the innkeeper to make repairs."

Bai Mu was puzzled, "Why didn't you just give him two taels of silver?"

Lin Fan shook his head, "If I give him two taels, he will ask for four. If I give him four taels, he will ask for eight. If I give him a golden leaf, he won't ask for two golden leaves."

Bai Mu thought for a moment, "I see. Because there are too many golden leaves, the innkeeper doesn't dare to cheat you, so he accepted the golden leaf. If it wasn't a golden leaf, the innkeeper would definitely extort us for a large sum. Although the illusion deceived the innkeeper, we easily escaped, and the innkeeper suffered no loss, so it can be considered a good method. In other words, deception is not always bad."

"Um..." Lin Fan frowned and nodded, "You can think of it that way."

At the same time, the innkeeper at the ferry port shouted, "Damn Taoist, using a golden leaf to deceive me..."

Bai Mu hadn't considered that someone who thought they had earned a golden leaf would be unwilling to accept only two taels of silver. Lin Fan, of course, knew this. He just wanted to be comfortable and not take advantage of the weak. If you want to extort me, you're out of luck.