When Jin Qing asked Xu Xian how much money he wanted to get from the demon gods, Xu Xian did not hide it and stated the figure directly.
"Seventy-five million..."
Jin Qing asked tentatively, "Demon coins?"
Xu Xian rolled his eyes. "Shadow Soul Stones."
Jin Qing was stunned.
Seventy-five million; this amount would cause the Ten Great Demon God Palaces to bleed heavily even if it did not bankrupt them.
Calculating silently, she asked again, "What do you want so many Shadow Soul Stones for?"
While waiting for Xu Xian's answer, Jin Qing stared straight into Bai Mang's eyes.
She was still testing him to see if he was lying.
"I need them for my cultivation!" Xu Xian said.
Jin Qing was skeptical, but he was not lying, at least as far as she could tell.
Jin Qing did not refuse.
In the Demon Abyss, Shadow Soul Stones were indeed a cultivation resource, but their status as currency far outweighed their use in cultivation.
It was just like the spirit stones in the world outside; when your realm was low, you could absorb the demon qi in the Shadow Soul Stones to speed up your cultivation.
But once your cultivation reached a certain level and your comprehension of heaven and earth increased, the effect of Shadow Soul Stones became quite negligible.
Furthermore, the Demon Abyss also possessed demon elixirs, which to some extent were faster than Shadow Soul Stones for restoring cultivation.
It just so happened that ninety-nine percent of the Shadow Soul Stones in the entire Demon Abyss were controlled by the Ten Great Demon God Palaces.
Another small portion would flow into the families of the heavenly demon race.
The heavenly demon race, which controlled all the cultivation resources in the Demon Abyss, had access to better resources and did not use Shadow Soul Stones much.
Most of them were simply left in warehouses to gather dust.
The reason they were monopolized was simply because they were easy to obtain and relatively scarce.
She believed that those demon gods would be willing to part with them, even if it pained them.
"Fine, then it shall be as you wish. It is also time for them to cough up some of their hoard."
The two reached an agreement on this matter.
They proceeded to discuss other matters, finalizing them one by one.
For many things, neither Xu Xian nor Jin Qing probed too deeply, letting them pass as they were.
They then called the Small Priest and informed her of part of the plan.
The Small Priest was ultimately on their side, standing on the same front, and as one of the twelve demon gods, she held weight in the Demon Abyss.
She could not be ignored.
Hearing that she had a decent relationship with Chi Ming, Xu Xian suggested she go and sound him out; as long as Chi Ming supported them, this matter would surely succeed.
The Small Priest was very resistant to this.
She felt that she had just fought a battle with them, and Chi Ming had even stabbed her sister with a spear, so going to him now would be like backing down.
She would lose a lot of face.
She could not get over it in her heart and was extremely resistant, even saying that since Bai Mang was so familiar with Chi Ji, he should go himself.
Xu Xian put on a small act, asking what kind of message it would send for him, the demon son, to go looking for a demon god.
The High Priest felt this made sense.
The Small Priest also felt that it did indeed seem to be the case.
Considering the bigger picture, she said she could make the trip.
And so she went.
It was not until dawn that the Small Priest returned, bringing good news.
Chi Ming explicitly stated that he was willing to support Bai Mang as the demon son of the Demon Abyss and have him take charge of the Nether Hall.
Xu Xian was overjoyed.
He felt that Chi Ming was quite a decent fellow; he already had a good impression of him, and now it was even better.
Although the High and Low Priests were willing to support him as the demon son, and he was confident many demon gods would choose to acquiesce, any team could not have only one voice.
Xu Xian needed the power of the High and Low Priests to balance the group of heavenly demon race represented by the demon gods.
Similarly, he also needed a force that could balance the High and Low Priests.
However, this force could not be himself.
The reason?
He was too weak.
At a mere sixth stage, he could use the Bixu Mirror to bluff people, but in a real fight, he was simply not enough, and even if he broke through to the seventh stage, it would likely still be difficult.
Once the third floor of the Sword Tower rose, he might have a single sword strike that could slay a saint.
But it would be only one strike.
Chi Ming was different; Xu Xian had witnessed his strength, and he also possessed a demon dragon, with high seniority and deep experience.
Now, with the support of Chi Ming and the High Priest, his ascent to the position of demon son was a foregone conclusion.
As for how to make them obediently pay up, Xu Xian had his own plans and ideas.
Once he sat firmly in the position of demon son, he would raise the third floor of the Sword Tower.
With the two internal factions competing and balancing each other, he could act as a hands-off manager and let them toss and turn amongst themselves.
On the second day after the struggle of the demon gods and Bai Mang's manifestation of sanctity, the rainy season that had lasted for six months finally ended.
Unfortunately, the sky of the Demon Abyss remained gloomy, though the wind during the day was slightly calmer.
The drizzling rain also stopped, and while the streets and alleys were still muddy, the demons no longer needed to carry umbrellas when going out.
After two days of peace, the area outside the Outer City gradually returned to its usual state.
It was also on that day.
A golden giant dragon flew out from a residence by the side of the Nether Pool, traversing the sea of clouds and crossing the Nether Pool into the distance.
Like Chi Ji before him, Xu Xian flew across the thousand-mile Nether Pool, saw the tidal flats, and also leaped above the clouds to see the long-awaited sunlight.
The sky was clear for ten thousand miles, and the sun was as bright as fire.
To this, the youth's reaction was ordinary.
The Small Priest, who was accompanying him, asked curiously, "You do not seem to feel much about this sky?"
Xu Xian asked back, "What do you think I should feel?"
"At least curiosity or shock, right?"
She remembered that when she saw the sky above for the first time, that had been her reaction.
Or rather, every demon who saw such a scene should have such a reaction.
Therefore, she felt Bai Mang should be the same.
Xu Xian only smiled and did not respond; he came from outside the Demon Abyss, and to him, what he saw before him was what the sky should normally look like.
The day should have light.
The night should have a moon.
His only curiosity was that while the Demon Abyss was in a pit, the Nether Hall was built outside of it.
That was all!
Of course, his attention was mostly drawn to the sea of mist behind that high gate in the far distance.
He knew that gate should be the Nether Gate.
As for that sea of mist?
He had seen the map of Fanzhou on the sixth floor of the Immortal Pavilion.
The Northern Borders in the middle, the Great Desolation to the east, the Demon Abyss to the west, the Central Province to the south, and the North Sea to the north.
And beyond these territories lay a vast mist, the unknown lands.
His Senior Sister had also mentioned it to him.
No matter where you started from, as long as you kept going forward, did not deviate from your direction, and did not die on the way, you would eventually see these mists.
The world behind the mist was a forbidden zone for life.
No one knew what was inside, and no one knew where the mist led.
This was because no one had ever walked in unharmed and been able to return.
And precisely because of this, the four great races of Fanzhou all called it the end of the sky.
The Grey Mist Sea before him was one of them.
It was very close.
It was the first time Xu Xian had seen it, and he thought that since he was already here, he should take some time to go and have a look.
Perhaps the knowledgeable Little Book spirit could see something.
Rate on N.U.
