Coming so quickly… Xu Qi An frowned. He hadn’t fully convinced the leaders Luan Yu and Ba Ji yet. His original plan was to persuade these few first, then have them help lobby the Corpse Poison Division, using the overall influence of the Poison Tribe to pressure them.
He hadn’t expected Yu Shi to arrive so swiftly, directly controlling the bird corpse to rush here.
The bird’s corpse circled in the sky for a moment. Seeing the situation below was stable and the several tribal leaders of his kind were unharmed, it finally glided down to land, though it kept its distance, watching Granny Heaven Poison and the others from afar.
“You’ve all been taken captive,” the bird corpse vibrated the air, speaking in human tongue. The hoarse, deep voice belonged to Yu Shi.
After the offspring poison inhabiting the walking corpse was killed, he immediately controlled the bird’s corpse to come investigate the situation.
The scene before him made him relax slightly.
The greatest advantage of being a Corpse Poison Master was eternal safety—as long as their hiding place wasn’t discovered, even if countless puppets died, their true body would remain unharmed.
Xu Qi An scrutinized him, while the giant bird Yu Shi controlled calmly returned his gaze.
“We’ve merely reached a reconciliation,” Xu Qi An said.
Yu Shi ignored him. His hollow, lifeless eyes turned toward Granny Heaven Poison, who related everything she had told the other leaders to Yu Shi, word for word.
The giant bird turned its head to look at Luan Yu and the others. After receiving their affirmative response, it remained silent for a while before speaking:
“I have no reason to object. If you want to ally with Great Feng, that’s your business.
“But the Corpse Poison Division’s alliance with Yun Province is our affair. We don’t interfere with each other.”
Luan Yu and the others frowned. The Poison Tribe had always advanced and retreated as one—how could they face each other as enemies on the battlefield?
Xu Qi An pointed at the walking corpse puppet beside him and said unhurriedly:
“I don’t need you to deploy troops. As long as you don’t ally with Yun Province, I’ll return this puppet to you. A Third-Rank physique puppet—isn’t that sufficient compensation?”
Yu Shi didn’t even look at the puppet, coldly laughing:
“You underestimate my Corpse Poison Division too much. We have another puppet of equal rank.”
He was a Third-Rank Poison Master. Limited by his realm, he could only control one corpse of the same rank at a time, plus several Fourth-Rank ones.
If not for this limitation, what arrived earlier wouldn’t have been the “Six-Star God,” but another Third-Rank corpse.
How could the Corpse Poison Division, renowned for raising and refining corpses, with thousands of years of accumulated resources, have only one Transcendent Realm walking corpse? That other Third-Rank corpse remaining in the tribe wasn’t from a warrior, but the remains of a powerful demon race expert.
As expected, with the Corpse Poison Division’s hatred toward Great Feng, it would be too difficult to make him let go of his grudge… Xu Qi An was mentally prepared for this.
Long Tu frowned and said in a deep voice:
“Wei Yuan is already dead. Your vendetta for your father’s death has long been settled. Yu Shi, don’t let one person’s obsession cause the Corpse Poison Division to grow distant from the Poison Tribe.”
“How can vengeance for a father’s death be forgotten just because you say so, or settled just because you claim it is?” Yu Shi snorted coldly. His hollow, lifeless gaze swept across everyone present:
“Those growing distant from the Poison Tribe are you all. Luan Yu, have you forgotten about our tribespeople who were captured by Great Feng’s army and forced into the Teaching Division? Ba Ji, five thousand tribespeople were massacred—your Poison Division remains the smallest tribe to this day.
“You want to ally with Great Feng, but have you considered whether the tribespeople would agree? And what about the Force Poison, Dark Poison, Heart Poison, and Heaven Poison Divisions? Your tribespeople also died in great numbers during the Shanhai Pass battle. Who exactly is going against the will of the Poison Tribe?”
Luan Yu and Ba Ji immediately showed shame on their faces. One coveted Xu Qi An’s body, while the other coveted premium poisonous plants and fruits. Their hearts were in a state of struggle and hesitation.
Yu Shi’s words cut into their hearts like knives, making them wary and resistant.
Compared to other major powers, the Poison Tribe’s population was pitifully small. But the Poison Tribe was an all-warrior society—every tribesperson cultivated poison arts, making their combat strength terrifyingly powerful.
This meant the leaders couldn’t command life and death over ordinary tribespeople or take whatever they wanted, like emperors in the Central Plains.
The tribespeople were not lambs. If leaders lost the support of their people, the tribespeople would seek help from other divisions to overthrow them, or simply flee the Southern Borderlands to live elsewhere.
“Sealing the Poison God is equally a top priority for the Poison Tribe, superseding personal grudges,” Heart Poison Master Chun Yan said lightly.
One sentence broke Yu Shi’s aggressive momentum, leaving him momentarily silent.
This young woman is wise and intelligent, worthy of being a Heart Poison Master… Xu Qi An glanced at her and nodded slightly.
Yu Shi paused, then said:
“Fine. Setting aside personal grudges and speaking only of sealing the Poison God—allying with Yun Province can equally accomplish this. Moreover, you all understand Great Feng’s situation, so why bet on the weaker side?
“Furthermore, choosing to ally with Yun Province would make the tribespeople cheer, make their blood boil with excitement, and make them sharpen their blades in anticipation. But allying with Great Feng means facing estrangement from our people.”
Except for Long Tu of the Force Poison Division, the other leaders furrowed their brows in silent contemplation.
Their wavering and hesitation were almost written on their faces. Yu Shi’s words not only expressed the Poison Tribe’s hostility toward Great Feng but also pointed out the unfavorable situation they might face if they helped Great Feng.
Truthfully, even setting hatred aside and purely weighing advantages and disadvantages, if Great Feng’s situation was as bad as Ge Wen Xuan claimed, the Yun Province Lord with Buddhist support would have a greater chance of overthrowing the Great Feng court.
If they added their full strength to assist, it would be almost certain.
Seeing this, Long Tu had to remind them:
“Don’t forget your current situation. If not for Xu Qi An showing mercy, you’d all be dead already.”
Yu Shi glanced at Xu Qi An and laughed coldly:
“Oh, I forgot—you’re his captives now, forced to accept what you cannot refuse.”
The leaders looked at Xu Qi An, all frowning.
The Force Poison Division isn’t bright enough… Xu Qi An sighed internally.
His show of mercy, and willingness to sit down and talk with the leaders, wasn’t truly returning kindness for enmity. Rather, he hoped they would abandon their alliance with the Yun Province rebels. Therefore, this “kindness” was merely a foot in the door.
It was simply leverage to make the Poison Tribe leaders willing to negotiate.
The outcome would still require him to offer appropriate benefits for the Poison Tribe to agree not to ally with Yun Province, or to send troops to aid Great Feng. Not because Xu Qi An had spared their lives.
If it were extortion, then “your lives are in my hands” would be a valid reason.
But to make the Poison Tribe sincerely ally with Great Feng, this reason couldn’t be mentioned. Such threats only worked for one-time deals. Use them on allies, and they might secretly ally with Yun Province instead, stabbing you in the back.
Yu Shi looked at Long Tu. His hollow, lifeless eyes showed no emotion, but he must have worn an expression of disdain and mockery.
With simple guidance, he could make the foolish Force Poison Division take the bait.
Xu Qi An’s mind raced, considering many possibilities in an instant, including nipping trouble in the bud.
In their current state, I can’t kill the Dark Poison Master—too good at escaping. I could still kill the Heart, Poison, and Emotion Poison leaders, but then the Force Poison Division would pursue me to the death… Accordingly, I’d have to massacre them, which would completely push the Poison Tribe to the opposing side. Moreover, Granny Heaven Poison still hasn’t spoken up, remaining too calm.
Does she trust my character that much? Isn’t she afraid of pushing me to extremes, causing me to start killing? We just met, she doesn’t know me, yet she appears too composed.
Unless she has an ace up her sleeve, so she’s not afraid of me flipping the table.
Xu Qi An narrowed his eyes, suddenly smiling:
“You may not know that apart from the Garuda Tree Bodhisattva and a small number of warrior monks, the Buddhist sect has no strength to interfere in Central Plains affairs because the Southern Demons are about to rise. If you don’t believe me, the Ten Thousand Mountains are also in the Southern Borderlands, not far from Poison Tribe territory—you can send people to investigate.”
The leaders were slightly stunned. Yu Shi suddenly twisted the bird’s head, his dead, hollow eyes fixed intently on him.
Chun Yan nodded slightly: “We will send people to investigate this matter.”
If this were true, then the Central Plains situation indeed wasn’t as certain as Ge Wen Xuan claimed. Even without considering an alliance with Great Feng, they would need to reassess the risks of attacking Great Feng.
Xu Qi An continued:
“A lean camel is still larger than a horse. Although Yun Province is strong in arms, and Great Feng indeed faces internal and external troubles, this doesn’t mean Great Feng must lose. Otherwise, why would Yun Province send people to persuade the Poison Tribe?”
Seeing the leaders lost in thought, Xu Qi An struck while the iron was hot:
“In this situation, the Poison Tribe’s entry becomes key to turning the tide. With the Poison Tribe allied with Great Feng, victory is possible. Therefore, there’s no weakness as Leader Yu Shi claims.
“Whatever Yun Province can offer, my Great Feng can match. As for the Poison Tribe’s popular support, my earlier promises still stand—I will provide a certain quantity of premium poisonous plants to the Poison Division. I will also try my best to satisfy Leader Luan Yu’s requirements.”
Yu Shi laughed coldly:
“Is that all? Thinking you can quell the Poison Tribe’s hatred toward Great Feng with these things—what a fool’s dream.”
Ba Ji and Luan Yu were tempted but chose to remain silent because Yu Shi spoke the truth. Premium poisonous plants and fruits weren’t essential needs. For Ba Ji, who didn’t harbor much hatred toward Great Feng, he would certainly agree happily.
But for the Poison Division tribespeople, this wasn’t enough to quell their hatred over the massacre of half their people.
As for Luan Yu, it was merely a personal desire. She would have an exceptional man to accompany her in cultivating emotional poison, but what did that matter to her sisters in the tribe? Even if Xu Qi An served countless women, letting the sisters all live comfortably, what did that matter to the men of the tribe?
“Very well, I understand your difficulties,” Xu Qi An finally revealed his trump card, sighing:
“I won’t insist on troops. I only hope the leaders can choose neutrality and give up allying with Yun Province. The rewards I promised earlier remain unchanged.”
Luan Yu and Ba Ji were stunned. They looked at each other, almost speaking in unison:
“Agreed!”
If they only needed to remain neutral, not deploy troops against Great Feng, that would be easy to handle. They could use reasons like unclear circumstances and unwillingness to sacrifice tribespeople to pacify their divisions.
This both maintained righteousness and brought rich rewards (poisons) to their people.
Xu Qi An smiled. From the beginning, he never expected the Poison Tribe to send troops to aid Great Feng—the conflict between them ran too deep, so deep that Granny Heaven Poison personally came to remind him.
In a situation where both Yun Province and Great Feng could satisfy the Poison Tribe’s needs, trying to make the Poison Tribe let go of their grudges had an extremely low probability of success.
Xu Qi An’s true plan was to first subdue them, and then find a way to make the Poison Tribe abandon their alliance with Yun Province.
The talk of sending troops to help was merely a negotiation technique—first raise the price sky-high, then drop it cliff-like, creating a psychological contrast of “we’ve struck gold” and “this is acceptable too.”
It wasn’t over yet. Getting the Poison Tribe to cancel their alliance was only the first step.
Next, Xu Qi An still wanted their troops, but he wouldn’t ask the seven Poison Tribe divisions to commit all their forces. He would use grain as leverage to invite the Force Poison Division’s experts to join the war.
Using various resources and goods as bargaining chips, he would invite the Dark Poison and Heart Poison divisions to fight. These two harbored lighter hatred toward Great Feng—with sufficient rewards, hiring them to fight wouldn’t be difficult.
The Southern Borderlands didn’t lack food, but they lacked porcelain, tea, silk, books, and other resources and goods.
As long as he offered enough, they would agree.
However, Xu Qi An still underestimated Yu Shi’s obsession with avenging his father’s death.
Yu Shi had become an insurmountable obstacle to smoothly completing the plan.
If they couldn’t pacify him, given the Poison Tribe’s tradition of unity, the other six divisions would find it hard to truly stand aside.
Yu Shi sneered:
“Whatever you decide is your business. My Corpse Poison Division has decided to ally with Yun Province, and no one can stop us. I want to see just how many people from the Emotion Poison and Poison Divisions will be willing to follow me.”
Ba Ji and Luan Yu’s expressions changed.
The bird’s head turned to look at Xu Qi An: “You might as well try to kill me. Kill me, and the problem is solved.”
“How Leader Yu Shi decides is your business,” Xu Qi An remained completely calm, saying lightly:
“However, I also have a gift for the Corpse Poison Division. Why not look at my bargaining chip first?”
If it were the Heart Poison or Dark Poison divisions, Xu Qi An really couldn’t think of anything that could satisfy them. Though little mares were lovely and tempting, it was still a mare, and Chun Yan was also a woman.
Their preferences didn’t match.
The Dark Poison division’s need was for hidden corners, something that didn’t require others to provide.
But the Corpse Poison Division, as hosts of the Seven Fatal Poisons, Xu Qi An knew their needs all too well.
Yu Shi seemed to have heard the biggest joke, his tone mocking and disdainful:
“Whatever bargaining chip you have, I won’t…”
At this moment, he saw Xu Qi An take out a small jade mirror and tilt its surface.
“Clang!”
A coffin fell out, and as it shook, the coffin lid slid off.
Li Na covered her nose, repeatedly backing away. Just one whiff of the scent emanating from the coffin made her dizzy.
Long Tu hurriedly covered Xu Ling Yin’s face with his fan-like large hand, then threw her far away.
Inside the coffin, an ancient corpse in terrible condition was exposed to everyone’s eyes.
It looked like a desiccated corpse that had slumbered through endless years and had suffered extremely severe damage. Its chest bones and ribs were broken in many places, and its head was also incomplete.
But once Yu Shi’s gaze fell on the ancient corpse, he could no longer look away.