Heavenly Dao Engine
Chapter 449 - 449 0316 A Good Approach

Chapter 449: Chapter 0316: A Good Approach Chapter 449: Chapter 0316: A Good Approach Chapter 0316 An Excellent Strategy

On this occasion, Wan Xiaolan, who had been assigned by the Wanjie Commerce to oversee matters in the secret realm, had spared no expense, offering very generous terms. This course of action was born of necessity; if the Wanjie Commerce gained nothing from the secret realm, he would not be able to justify it to the higher-ups of Wanjie Commerce upon his return. His prospects would be bleak, and given that Wanjie Commerce had sent so many people here, if they were to return empty-handed, the resulting losses would be colossal.

However, this was not the worst-case scenario for Wan Xiaolan and Lin Youbi. This was a secret realm, and the native cultivators were firmly at odds with them. The cultivators from Wanjie City might not necessarily seek to wipe out the native cultivators completely, yet those cultivators undoubtedly perceived these foreign intruders as mortal enemies. They’d want to deal with the invaders swiftly. If Wanjie City didn’t make any progress here for a long time, it’s entirely plausible, the native cultivators could consolidate a far more significant force. Combined with the miners who were already based here, they could potentially deliver a heavy blow against the two Wanjie Commerce camps. The question then wouldn’t be whether the Wanjie Commerce gained anything, but rather if they could avoid total annihilation.

Furthermore, although the strong forces within Wanjie Commerce combined to open the secret realm and exploit it, they were far from united. They were constantly scheming against one another, and the lack of progress from Wanjie Commerce, coupled with a series of setbacks, opened them up to possible mockery from other forces, or worse, it may make them the target of envy from other powerful forces. Nobody could be sure.

All that Wan Xiaolan was hoping for now was that the rewards he had offered could attract the same individual who broke the Defensive Array. Even if that person asked for excessive demands, they might have to agree. They had to take this mining camp first, and deal with everything else later.

As soon as the notice was posted, it spread throughout the two camps of Wanjie Commerce. The terms presented by Wan Xiaolan hit a nerve with both the cultivators from Wanjie Commerce itself and those they hired, causing quite a commotion. They had risked entering the secret realm to mine just a few more spirit stones. Now, as long as they could help Wanjie City break the defensive array at the mining camp, they wouldn’t have to hand in a portion of their shares- the saving could be quite significant. That wasn’t even to mention the other conditions.

Immediately, all the cultivators sprang into action, rushing to Wan Xiaolan and Lin Youbi. They were offering ideas to these two Gold Core experts, and, as a result, there were many creative concepts, and of course, many boastful claims.

The two Gold Core experts were far from ordinary and had a broad wealth of knowledge. All they needed to do was to listen and make a quick analysis. This would help them largely determine whether the proposed plans were feasible.

They quickly screened various plans. As soon as someone proposed a plan, they’d take about three to ten minutes to select it.

Some of the plans were reasonable, but none were definitive and fell far short of their expectations. Those not meeting the criteria were discarded even quicker.

Wan Xiaolan and Lin Youbi spent the whole day sifting through ideas but ended up with only three. Their expressions were far from pleased. Following a joint discussion, they discovered that the three proposals, which originally seemed reasonable, were fraught with problems, whether due to an overlooked issue here or not considering something there.

The two Gold Core experts were practically driven mad. They clearly had the power to crush their opposition, yet they were restricted by the Heaven and Earth Rules. They had to rack their brains for something far weaker than their strength. This whole process seemed absurdly taxing.

“Brother Wan, what should we do? It’s been a day since we posted the reward, and we’ve got quite a few plans. But look at them, none of them work,” Lin Youbi said in a disheartened manner.

Wan Xiaolan replied, “That’s strange. Our offer was undoubtedly generous. Even if he’s hiding, such conditions should have drawn him out by now.”

Lin Youbi pondered, “Brother Wan, are you sure such a person exists? Someone who could break the Defensive Array that even many Half-step Golden Cores couldn’t? It feels like I’m listening to a tall tale.”

Wan Xiaolan hesitated for a moment, then said, “I feel that he must be among us. But to reach him, maybe we need a bit more preparation. By the way, Lin, are you sure everyone has seen our notice? Could there be people who are still unaware of it?”

An idea sparked in Lin Youbi’s eyes, “You’re right, there could be. Wait for me, I’ll arrange for everyone to be informed again so that no one is left out.”

After Lin Youbi issued the order, a large number of cultivators quickly started moving. They went door to door in the two camps, ensuring that every cultivator was aware of the situation.

It turned out that this tactic worked rather well. Qi Tian hadn’t known that Wanjie Commerce had posted a new notice; originally, he hadn’t been interested in the previous ones. Only after someone came to his door to spread the word did he find out that the situation had changed.

Upon learning of the new conditions, Qi Tian felt a stir in his heart. He had the Heavenly Dao Engine’s storage room, so even if Wanjie Commerce didn’t allow him to keep all the spirit stones he mined, he could still conceal them from anyone. Hence, this point wasn’t particularly compelling to him. The other terms, however, were considerably more enticing.

The membership card of Wanjie Commerce could save him a good deal of cultivation resources, needless to say, and as for the chance to choose any three conditions, it was just the timely aid Qi Tian needed. It could help him solve many real-life problems.

Qi Tian didn’t hesitate much before leaving his tent to head towards the tent of Wan Xiaolan and Lin Youbi.

At this moment, many people were queuing outside the two Gold Core powerhouses’ tents. Qi Tian could only wait in line, waiting for Wan Xiaolan and others to summon him.

Luckily, the two Gold Core powerhouses were eager for talent and rapidly dismissed the people in front of Qi Tian, then invited him into their tent.

“Greetings to both seniors.” Qi Tian politely bowed the moment he entered.

“Oh, it’s you?” Lin Youbi was surprised and looked at Qi Tian. He still had some memory of him.

Wan Xiaolan asked, “Do you know this youngster?”

Lin Youbi nodded and said, “The flying sail ship was blocked, wasn’t it? Later, I was ordered to provide support. I boarded the flying sail ship and drove the beasts blocking it away. This youngster was refining the bloodline of a few hunted Demonic Birds, and surprisingly, he successfully refined a drop of a special bloodline that I ended up buying.”

Qi Tian smiled and said, “Indeed. To this day, I still remember senior’s ancient sage-like temperament. During our transaction, your fairness impressed me, you didn’t take advantage of me in any way.”

At these words, Lin Youbi burst into hearty laughter. Qi Tian’s praise earned him face in front of Wan Xiaolan. Whether he had forced the sale or taken any undue advantage of Qi Tian was not something Lin Youbi would ever consider.

Wan Xiaolan gave a slight smile, and asked, “From what I gather, you must have fought when the demonic birds were harassing the sail ship? Did anything unusual occur?”

“No.” Qi Tian shook his head.

“Nothing unusual? Didn’t you realize that at the start, you couldn’t get your distress signal out?” Wan Xiaolan pressed on.

Qi Tian nodded and said, “I did notice that. But when senior Lin came, everything was fine again. The demonic birds were driven away, the culprits behind the scenes were frightened away. The sail ship resumed its journey, and I had the opportunity to enter the secret realm.”

Wan Xiaolan shook his head secretly, he thought he could get some clue from Qi Tian, but it turned out there was nothing. He had to ask, “Let’s not talk about these things for now. Why did you come here? Can you somehow break the defensive array of the native cultivators?”

Of course, Qi Tian could. By just placing his hand on the shield of the native cultivator’s array, he could continuously drain the Spirit Qi from it. Even if that shield array was connected to an underground vein, or even ten or a hundred of them, it would make no big difference to him. But this was something Qi Tian couldn’t say. It was his biggest secret, which he wouldn’t share with anyone, let alone outsiders like Wan Xiaolan.

Qi Tian said, “Seniors, initially I had no idea, but during this trip to the secret realm and because of a mishap while going through the space gate, I got separated from the main group. There were several dangerous encounters; in one, I ran into a swarm of Locust Thief Bees and nearly died from their stinger.”

Both Wan Xiaolan and Lin Youbi knew about the Locust Thief Bees, a notorious demonic insect in the secret realm. “You are very lucky to survive an encounter with the Locust Thief Bees,” they admitted.

Qi Tian grinned and said, “I was slightly miffed about suffering a major loss against the Locust Thief Bees, so I devised a plan and captured a few of them. I heard that Locust Thief Bees are especially sensitive to Spirit Qi and survive by feeding on it. Seniors, what do you think would happen if we released these Locust Thief Bees on the defensive array of the native cultivators?”

Wan Xiaolan and Lin Youbi hadn’t thought in that direction at first, but with Qi Tian’s suggestion, their eyes lit up. They knew the Locust Thief Bees’ greed for Spirit Qi. Qi Tian’s plan could be a good path, but whether it could really work still needed verification. This was not something that they could surmise with only their knowledge.