Lin Yuan's entire sequence of actions left Yun Shan somewhat baffled. However, as the saying goes, one does not strike a smiling face. At the moment, the other party clearly held the upper hand, and since Lin Yuan was willing to give face and treat him with courtesy, Yun Shan naturally had no reason to refuse.
Yun Shan walked over and sat down opposite Lin Yuan. Lin Yuan poured him a full cup of wine, then poured one for himself as well, before finally taking his seat.
"Speak plainly. What do you want me to do?" Yun Shan asked bluntly, with a hint of wariness in his tone.
Lin Yuan smiled lightly, seemingly unaffected by Yun Shan's attitude, and said casually, "Sect Master Yun, there's no need to harbor so much hostility and guard against me. In fact, I've already saved your life once and indirectly saved the Misty Cloud Sect once as well."
Yun Shan raised his brows, a trace of amusement flashing through his eyes. "Oh? That's a rather novel claim, but I don't recall such a thing happening."
Lin Yuan explained, "On the Dou Qi Continent, the strong deciding the life and death of the weak is the norm. Earlier, I captured Sect Master Yun Yun and Elder Gu He, and just now, I defeated you as well. I was fully capable of killing you, yet I chose not to. Think about it, if I had let the three of you die here, with the loss of its three pillars, wouldn't the Misty Cloud Sect be facing the danger of total annihilation?"
After a brief pause, Lin Yuan continued with a faintly teasing tone, "As for the relationship between the Jia Ma royal family and the Misty Cloud Sect, I believe Sect Master Yun is well aware of it. Viewed this way, haven't I already rendered a life-saving favor to both you and the Misty Cloud Sect?"
Hearing Lin Yuan's forceful reasoning, Yun Shan let out a cold laugh and retorted, "Then should I be overwhelmed with gratitude toward you?"
Lin Yuan shook his head. "That won't be necessary. Let's take this first act of saving you and the Misty Cloud Sect as my expression of sincerity toward our cooperation."
Lin Yuan drained his cup in one go, then calmly poured himself another.
Ignoring the chill in Yun Shan's gaze, Lin Yuan looked at him seriously, a hint of anticipation entering his voice. "Since I've already shown my sincerity toward our cooperation, it's now Sect Master Yun's turn to do the same. I have a small request here—one that I believe you won't refuse."
Lin Yuan wore a gentle smile, but the icy look in his eyes seemed to tell Yun Shan that this matter was not open to rejection.
So this is the main point, Yun Shan thought to himself. He straightened his expression and said in a deep voice, "Go on. What do you want me to do?"
Lin Yuan smiled faintly and said softly, "Sect Master Yun need not worry. What I ask of you isn't difficult, and it can be completed very easily right here."
As he spoke, he took several recording stones out of his storage ring and aimed them at Yun Shan. Then he retrieved a booklet from the ring and handed it over.
On the cover of the booklet were written the words: "Oath of Cooperation."
"The sincerity I want is very simple," Lin Yuan said, pointing at the booklet. "All I need is for Sect Master Yun to read everything written in this booklet once, in front of the recording stones."
With some doubt, Yun Shan accepted the booklet and began flipping through it. After a short while, he closed it, steadied his mind, and said in a deep voice, "You're playing with fire! Reciting this content would be pushing both me and the Misty Cloud Sect straight toward a dead end. I absolutely cannot agree to this!"
Although there were many names in the booklet that he did not recognize, the final name on the first page stood out clearly, specially marked—Hun Miesheng, Hall Master of the Soul Hall.
Even the Hall Master of the Soul Hall, Hun Miesheng, was ranked only at the very end of the first page. As for the name placed at the very top—Hun Tiandi—the identity it represented was simply unimaginable. The individuals named in this booklet were figures far beyond Yun Shan's reach, people he absolutely could not afford to offend.
Yet this man before him was asking him to curse all of these figures in front of recording stones. Such an act was nothing short of outrageous and utterly without bottom line.
Lin Yuan, however, spoke reassuringly. "Sect Master Yun, rest assured. This matter will be known only to heaven, earth, you, and me. No outsiders will know, so there's no need to worry about this leaking and bringing you a fatal disaster."
Yun Shan shot Lin Yuan a cold glance, then shifted his gaze to the recording stones on the table. The sarcasm in his voice grew even heavier. "Hmph. You make it sound easy. But as long as these recording stones exist, the moment I utter those words, the life and death of both myself and the Misty Cloud Sect will be entirely in your hands."
Yun Shan understood this clearly. Though he had stepped into the Dou Ancestor realm, compared to the names in that booklet, he was as insignificant as an ant—especially since he had used something from the Soul Hall to break through to Dou Ancestor.
He himself was a man in a high position, and thus understood all too well: if he were to read those words today and the matter were exposed, countless people from the Soul Hall would come for his life on their own initiative. No matter the reason, an ant who had taken the Soul Hall's things daring to curse the Soul Hall's Hall Master and other great figures, even if those great figures themselves did not care, it was impossible for all those below them to remain indifferent.
In fact, the protector responsible for liaising with him—Protector Wu, would likely be the first to rush over to kill him.
As for truth and reason? The Soul Hall was no benevolent force; it did not need reasons to kill. As for the truth—someone as insignificant as him was not worthy of the Soul Hall's effort to investigate it. And even if the truth were uncovered, he would still die all the same.
Looking at Yun Shan, who had flatly refused, Lin Yuan reminded him calmly, "But if you don't speak, you, Yun Yun, and Gu He will all die here today, and the foundation of the Misty Cloud Sect will be reduced to nothing. On the other hand, if you do speak, you and the Misty Cloud Sect will survive today's calamity and you'll also gain a partner like me."
"If we become partners, then everything ceases to be a problem. I wouldn't harm my own partner, that wouldn't benefit me in the slightest. Isn't that right?"
Yun Shan fell silent for a moment. His gaze shifted back and forth between the recording stones and Lin Yuan, before finally turning toward Yun Yun at the side.
He took a deep breath and said in a low voice, "There's no room for negotiation?"
Lin Yuan's eyes turned cold, his tone resolute. "None."
In an instant, the atmosphere stagnated, like a barrel of gunpowder on the verge of exploding.
Sensing Yun Shan's subtle movements, Lin Yuan reminded him seriously, "Sect Master Yun, don't waste the goodwill I've shown you. The seal I set up cannot be broken in a short time even by a Dou Ancestor expert. Moreover, my patience is limited."
Hearing this, Yun Shan stopped his covert attempts to break the seal. Just as the other party had said, it truly was not something that could be forced open in a short time.
"Now then, friend or enemy. Choose."
Looking at the anticipation on Lin Yuan's face and the cold indifference in his eyes, Yun Shan could not help but let out a bitter smile inwardly. How unpredictable life was. Just moments ago, he had defeated Jia Xing Tian and Queen Medusa, his two long-standing rivals, standing at the very peak of his pride yet in the blink of an eye, he had fallen into such a predicament.
Silence lingered for a long while, and the killing intent in Lin Yuan's eyes grew ever stronger.
"I'll speak." Yun Shan closed his eyes and said helplessly. This man had prepared far too thoroughly; there was clearly no room for compromise. Between dying now and possibly dying in the future, the choice was not difficult to make.
"Please." Lin Yuan smiled in satisfaction, dispersing his killing intent as he activated the recording stones.
Then, under Lin Yuan's expectant gaze, Yun Shan began a tirade of furious curses aimed at the major figures of the Hun Clan and the Soul Hall. As he went on, it was as if he had decided to throw caution to the wind, glancing at Lin Yuan while fluently hurling insults at the names recorded in the booklet.
"That's enough!" Lin Yuan said with a smile. The recording stones had already reached their limit.
However, Yun Shan did not stop. Instead, he looked at Lin Yuan and continued cursing for a while longer. Lin Yuan quietly waited for him to finish—after all, a cooperative partner having a bit of pent-up emotion was something he could tolerate.
After Yun Shan finally finished venting, Lin Yuan clapped his hands in a few strange, rhythmic patterns. A Black Rock Demon Serpent drilled up from beneath the ground. Lin Yuan placed the recording stones into its mouth and instructed it, "Take these to Miss. After she keeps one, send the rest to Central Plains for storage."
The Black Rock Demon Serpent nodded, sealed its mouth, then burrowed back underground, disappearing from the sight of the two men.
Lin Yuan then turned to Yun Shan, whose expression was complicated, and said with a light smile, "Sect Master Yun, I've seen your sincerity toward our cooperation. Now, we can continue discussing the details of our partnership."
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