Becoming evil makes you ten times stronger, but becoming a demon gives you hundredfold strength

To the Sects of this world, Meng Yu's feeling was, "You people are just troublemakers!"

There are many decent individuals, but as a group, they are a far cry from that.

You reason with them, they think you're too weak; you show your fists, and they wonder why you don't hit them; you beat them hard, and their attitude improves significantly, especially the harder you hit, the more submissive they become.

Take, for example, the big and small forces and families in Sleepless City.

The children of Golden Core and Foundation Establishment Elders in Eternal Night Palace aren't born as disciples of the palace. They have to go through various assessments and such before becoming members, so many of them end up starting families and businesses outside.

With these people, Meng Yu was quite reasonable, and then, lo and behold, a whole bunch of them thought Meng Yu was going to lose and used the Teleportation Array to flee?

Let's put it this way, had Meng Yu resorted to absolute violence from the start, they would certainly have become Meng Yu's loyal dogs!

Well, they already ran away, and not two days later, some shamefacedly come back, saying we want to cooperate with the Sect Leader and so on, or those who stayed behind declare their loyalty—damn it, their sold estates, cave mansions, and everything were already in Meng Yu's hands, how could that be possible?

And that was the feeling Meng Yu got from Eternal Night Palace too.

According to Mirror Twelve's estimates, if there were to be an all-out attack, the death toll for Golden Cores would be somewhere between five to one hundred, mainly dependent on the resistance of the enemy (a large Sect that had been established for thousands of years, even producing a True God Transforming Master, so the foundation of the Mountain Gate was indeed substantial). However, to the people of Eternal Night Palace, it seemed like Mirror Twelve wanted to conserve strength, not willing to lose too many people, hence Meng Yu couldn't be mobilized.

Alright... let them continue to spout nonsense to themselves and to Mirror Twelve.

...

Lan Qiong sat at the entrance of the tavern, her thoughts drifting off to who knows where.

She regretted it, she really regretted it a lot.

Four days ago, she had gone to the Western Wastes to check on the situation of those eight Golden Cores from the Sky-splitting Sword Sect.

In Sect wars, capturing enemy Qi Cultivation and Foundation Building disciples could result in conversion, but captured Golden Cores from the opposition seldom met a good fate, unless previously discussed terms or betrayal was involved.

As for what Meng Yu did, seeing those eight Golden Cores, she felt... it was all too surreal.

If she hadn't seen Qin Ningxue and the little kitchen maid with her own eyes, and knew that Hua Miaochai and Tao Hua were Meng Yu's lovers, she might have doubted that Meng Yu was Bai Hu.

Moreover, a Bai Hu with clear yet foolish eyes!

Not to mention, after hearing Meng Yu's words saying he came for peace and so on, it plunged her into deep thought.

The reason for her regret was that it should have been a happy and cooperative moneymaking venture between Meng Yu and Eternal Night Palace.

But now, it had turned into a life-and-death struggle!

Someone came to the tavern... alright, the only ones who could come now were either Golden Core or Foundation Building High Stage. Someone was circuitously trying to probe for information from her, and Lan Qiong's answers were listless.

Has a wife, a rabbit, not suitable for forming marital alliances.

Not lecherous, how could I possibly say my lord is licentious... but can't claim he's pure as the driven snow.

Any weaknesses? If it weren't for old times' sake, I'd chop you dead with a single sword. If I knew Meng Yu's weakness, don't you think Eternal Night Palace would exploit it?

Purchase a large-scale Teleportation Portal?

You're kidding... is this a deal you and I could negotiate?

"Negotiable, but with full payment."

Suddenly, a voice came from behind Lan Qiong.

"Ah, my lord."

Lan Qiong hurriedly stood up and greeted Meng Yu with a bow.

"Does it have to be paid in full?"

Many reached out to Meng Yu through the panel, quite a few showing immense interest in acquiring a large Teleportation Array, but unfortunately, Meng Yu had no intention of selling such a thing.

First, he was able to establish large-scale Teleportation Arrays because of previous survey data and all sorts of information, particularly because the Sky-splitting Sword Sect had initially prepared to unify the Western Wastes and then join Eternal Night Palace to rebuild the array, completing all the preliminary survey data, which is why he could entrust the work to the Immortal Sect and so on. But what about other places with data problems? Who would survey, and what about after-sales service?

Second, a large-scale Teleportation Portal is a strategic weapon. Meng Yu hadn't thought about selling it to someone unfriendly, and besides, this business could conflict with a certain Holy Land in the central region. It was fine for Meng Yu to create it, but selling it could lead to trouble.

The waters of the Cultivation World run deep, and Meng Yu didn't want to dive in just yet.

Third, and most importantly, these paupers... and by that Meng Yu meant Bai Hu and many Nascent Soul powerhouses, had the audacity to consider payment by installments?

What a joke. Though Meng Yu's price was a bit higher, to put it simply, it was the Immortal Sect's quote, and Meng Yu offered other powers three hundred times the price, but they actually considered paying in installments, wishful thinking.

Meng Yu had already given them a bargain, not for sale unless it was paid in full.

The inquiring parties left, their tails between their legs.

Then, Lan Qiong efficiently sent the others away and reported the latest developments to Meng Yu.

Meng Yu was pleased with Lan Qiong.

It had to be said, the two surrendered Golden Cores from Eternal Night Palace had been a great help. With Xie Mingxian following Mirror Twelve on expeditions north and south, and Lan Qiong relaying commands up and down the Ascension List.

"You've done well, deserving of a reward. Keep up the good work for a while longer, and in three years, you'll be free to come and go as you please, how does that sound?"