In the end, Shen Tian accepted the Jade Lake Sage Token.
After all, she was the Jade Lake Sacred Leader and one of the most powerful women in Eastern Wilderness.
She had already taken out the token and was offering it to him. If he didn’t accept it, he would be showing complete disregard for her.
When the God of War Pagoda destroyed the Lifeless King’s body, Sages Seven Kill, Broken Army, and Ravenous Wolf were also all captured. This ambush mission had already been done and dusted.
Next up, it was time for the happy task of splitting up the loot.
At the start of the mission, the two sacred grounds and other cultivation sects had already agreed on how they would split the loot.
However, the agreement only covered the various treasures from the treasure trove of the Evil Spirit Sect. It didn’t include the spoils of battle obtained from the Evil Spirit sect members’ deaths.
If people had to give up half the loot gained from killing an enemy in battle, who would be willing to put in all that effort?
As a result, all the spoils of battle from killing those nine Evil Spirit Sect Heavenly Venerables were allotted to Shen Tian.
Actually, he should also be allotted a portion of the spoils gained from the capture of Sages Seven Kill, Broken Army, and Ravenous Wolf.
However, he considered the fact that there were three Sages, and Zhang Longyuan, Heavenly Venerable Azure Lotus, and the Jade Lake Sacred Leader would each take one.
On second thought, Shen Tian wisely decided not to raise the issue of his own share.
After all, the Jade Lake Sacred Leader and Divine Firmament Sacred Leader were both Sacred Leaders. They were not unreasonable people.
Shen Tian had helped to resolve this dangerous situation and assisted in capturing those three Sages. He had done everyone a huge favor.
Given their status, they would not be the sort to deny him his contribution. There was no need for Shen Tian to remind them of it. It might even make him look bad if he did.
As for Heavenly Venerable Azure Lotus, Shen Tian also didn’t ask him about his share. He knew that it would be a useless gesture anyway.
Given this stingy Martial Uncle’s providence, this was probably the biggest loot he had obtained over the past several hundred years. It would be impossible to make him cough up Shen Tian’s share.
Never mind. They were from the same sect, and there was no need to be so fussy.
Anyway, Shen Tian did not lack resources or money.
Shen Tian adjusted his Longyuan Divine Armor back to its low-profile state. He also kept his golden wings.
If not for his exceptionally handsome face, he would really look like any normal person.
Sigh… No matter how Shen Tian tried to keep a low profile, his face would still give him away!
…
As they happily continued splitting the spoils of battle, a massive aura suddenly appeared in the air above the Immeasurable Ancient State.
Streaks of powerful energy were unleashed across the sky. They were extremely powerful practitioners who were all at least Heavenly Venerables or above.
There were four at the front, each exuding an overwhelmingly terrifying power.
They were enshrouded in a divine light, which clearly showed that they had undergone the tribulation. They were Sages!
Boundless avatars floated behind those four, featuring star-strewn skies and roiling purple auras. The epic sight was highly suppressive.
The Jade Lake Sacred Leader’s face turned solemn the moment those people appeared. “Big Dipper Sacred Leader, Purple Mansion Sacred Leader, Sage Purple Myrtle, and Sage True Spirit. What is the meaning of this?”
Yes, these four Sages had come from the Big Dipper Sacred Ground and the Purple Mansion Sacred Ground.
They were the Sacred Leaders and Grand Elders of the two major sacred grounds!
These four Sages and over a dozen Heavenly Venerables had appeared just when the Sacred Ground ambush battle ended.
It was obvious what their intentions were!
The Big Dipper Sacred Leader smiled. “I heard that the Evil Spirit Sect had appeared in the Immeasurable Ancient State. I came here to battle them.”
Came to battle them?
All the cultivators who had just participated in the bloody battle quietly cursed and swore at the Big Dipper Sacred Leader’s words.
If you had really especially come to battle, why didn’t you come when we were trapped in the All Are Equal Domain!?
You guys only turn up when the battle has ended, and we are dividing up the spoils?
Are you guys truly that shameless!?
The Jade Lake Sacred Leader said impassively, “The battle has ended. You guys don’t need to worry about it.”
The Purple Mansion Sacred Leader smiled. “The Immeasurable Ancient State is situated between the Divine Firmament Sacred Ground and the Purple Mansion Sacred Ground. Shouldn’t the Divine Firmament Sacred Leader and Jade Lake Sacred Leader have informed us before leading this ambush mission on the Evil Spirit Sect?”
At that, the Purple Mansion Sacred Leader’s aura surged.
Immense purple energy rumbled and roiled behind him. It felt like a real deity was about to descend.
The Purple Mansion Sacred Leader’s battle prowess had been greatly enhanced because of the Nirvana Immortal Imperial Sutra, which his own disciple, Qi Shaoxuan, had given him.
Among the 12 Sacred Leaders in Eastern Wilderness, the Purple Mansion Sacred Leader’s battle prowess was definitely ranked in the top few. Even the Jade Lake Sacred Leader felt immense pressure from his current aura.
At this moment, a mild voice rang out. “Are you asking us how to resolve this?”
It was the Divine Firmament Sacred Leader. He stepped forward and gazed emotionlessly at the Purple Mansion Sacred Leader.
The Purple Mansion Sacred Leader smiled. “My friends, please don’t misunderstand me. I have no intention of making things difficult for you. It’s just that all the sacred grounds have their own territory.
“Half of the Immeasurable Ancient State is under the Purple Mansion Sacred Ground’s jurisdiction. Hence, shouldn’t we get half the spoils gained from this mission against the Evil Spirit Sect?”
Their true intentions were thus revealed.
Although the three Sages had already been captured, many Evil Spirit Sect disciples were hidden within the Immeasurable Ancient State.
There would definitely be quite a number of core disciples amongst them, and they would surely possess a sizable amount of resources in their storage rings.
It would also be very profitable to sweep out all those Evil Spirit Sect disciples.
Although it would be below that of the items gained from those Sages, it was still enough to tempt the sacred grounds.
“You guys were missing during the battle. Now that the battle is over, you want to share in the harvest? Do you believe that I am going to smash your head in?”
A certain bad-tempered old Taoist priest was happily counting his spoils. It had been several hundred years since he had felt so happy!
But now, the Purple Mansion Sacred Leader was asking them to give up half of the spoils?
The staff in Heavenly Venerable Azure Lotus’ magnified.
He was ready to use it at a moment’s notice—ready to launch a wild attack against those shameless folks.
The Purple Mansion Sacred Leader’s face dimmed. “Half of the Immeasurable Ancient State is under our jurisdiction. You guys should have informed us before entering this state to clear out the Evil Spirit sect members.
“Moreover, this spot where we are all standing now is closer to the Purple Mansion Sacred Ground. I am already being very generous by asking only for half.
“If the Divine Firmament Sacred Leader and Jade Lake Sacred Leader refuse to be reasonable, we will have no choice but to fight it out.”
The Purple Mansion Sacred Leader had thrown down the gauntlet.
The aura of the four Sages and dozen over Heavenly Venerables surged toward the allied troops.
Heavenly Venerable Azure Lotus smirked. He whirled his golden staff around. “You are to benefit just because this Evil Spirit sub-sect is closer to your sacred ground?
“In that case, since the Purple Mansion Sacred Ground is so close to my Divine Firmament Sacred Ground, shouldn’t you guys merge with us then?
“You are such a shameless bunch of folks. I will beat up every single one of you!”
The Jade Lake Sacred Leader’s face had turned icy-cold. “Although I have expended some of my powers to capture those villainous fellows, I can still battle. Go ahead.”
The Purple Mansion Sacred Leader smiled teasingly. He stared straight at the Divine Firmament Sacred Leader. “Zhang Longyuan, are you going to behave like a fool too?”
…
To be honest, the Purple Mansion Sacred Leader had never liked the Divine Firmament Sacred Leader.
For thousands of years, Divine Firmament and Purple Mansion never tussled openly. But there were plenty of secret conflicts.
This was because the Divine Firmament Sacred Ground had lost its forbidden chapter. The Purple Mansion Sacred Ground had taken advantage of that.
But in recent years, the Divine Firmament Sacred Ground behaved like it had received a shot of adrenaline.
Two mighty figures had been born in the past 1,000 years—Zhang Longyuan and Chu Longhe.
It was a grand era for the Divine Firmament Sacred Ground. The two Divine Firmament prodigies had been so dominant over their own generation that the other cultivators could barely breathe.
That was especially so for Chu Longhe. During his younger days, he had once single-handedly beaten up 18 Purple Mansion disciples.
Zhang Longyuan had been much more low-profile than Chu Longhe. But he was smarter and was best at coming up with all sorts of crafty ideas.
Basically, every time Chu Longhe created trouble, this fellow would be in the shadows plotting and scheming and preparing an escape route.
Otherwise, Chu Longhe would have been long dead.
In reality, Zhang Longyuan had been the Divine Firmament Sacred Ground’s true leader.
During that era, all the great Saints in Eastern Wilderness would quake in fear before those two.
Meanwhile, the Purple Mansion Saint had been living under their shadows, making him look too mediocre and common.
He was clearly a rare, once-in-a-lifetime prodigy in the Purple Mansion Sacred Ground. He should have been considered an outstanding cultivator amongst the Eastern Wilderness Saints.
But the same-generation Saints from the Purple Mansion and Divine Firmament Sacred Grounds all had to spar with each other. And the Purple Mansion Saints would typically emerge victoriously.
Unfortunately, for his generation, not only had the Divine Firmament First Senior Brother easily defeated him, but the Second Senior Brother had also beaten him up to a pulp.
Whenever people talked about Chu Longhe and Zhang Longyuan, they would always drag him out for comparison.
The comparisons would always make him tremble with rage.
With those two mighty figures in the neighboring sacred ground, how could he, as the First Senior Brother of the Purple Mansion Sacred Ground, hold his head up high again?
Some people had even given him a humiliating nickname—The Purple Mansion Saint, who suffered the worst defeat in history by a Divine Firmament Saint.
Wow, could there be a more terrible and humiliating nickname?
Humiliation! Utter humiliation!
…
All the way until later on, when Chu Longhe self-destructed…
The Divine Firmament Sacred Leader had found it difficult to handle things alone. He had no choice but to go into seclusion to cultivate the Heavenly Dao Sutra.
Stories about the two mighty Divine Firmament Saints no longer circulated within the Eastern Wilderness. At that point, the Purple Mansion Sacred Leader had finally seen better days.
Even so, the Purple Mansion Sacred Leader still bore his old grudge against those two. It was a grudge that had festered and brewed for 1,000 years!
Certain feelings would grow more intense as the years passed!
Hmph! So what if you two were so dominant during our youth?
In this cultivation world, the one who gets the last laugh will laugh the loudest!
I have already finished cultivating the forbidden chapter of the Purple Mansion Imperial Sutra and also gotten the Nirvana Immortal Imperial Sutra.
At the same time, my disciple, Qi Shaoxuan, has already reached the near-impossible Golden Core 10th Refinement Stage. His talents surpass even Chu Longhe in his youth!
My disciple and I have already surpassed Zhang Longyuan and his disciple.
The humiliation I endured in your hands 1,000 years ago—I must repay you tenfold!’
Shen Tian’s Hariti Rosary Beads started to vibrate gently.
…
The Divine Firmament Sacred Leader remained calm in the face of the Purple Mansion Sacred Leader’s aggravating words. “You want half?”
The Purple Mansion Sacred Leader snorted. “If you are unwilling, I have no choice but to battle you, to see who will emerge the victor.”
“If you can beat me, I will turn and leave right now. If you lose, the Purple Mansion and Big Dipper Sacred Grounds will take our half of the spoils.”
To be honest, getting a share of the bounty was not the main motive here.
The Purple Mansion Sacred Leader had decided that this battle would be his chance to prove himself!
The Divine Firmament Sacred Leader sighed.
“Read more books, read good books. Reading books teaches etiquette and imparts wisdom.”
The Purple Mansion Sacred Leader was taken aback. “What do you mean?”
The Divine Firmament Sacred Leader gazed calmly at the Purple Mansion Sacred Leader. “Do you really think you can beat me?”
