Chapter 515

Chapter 515: Relentless Pressure

"How was this fair trade? You deliberately concealed crucial information! You’d already taken Chongming Ancient Temple’s secret treasure, selling us an empty shell!" Bai Lian Chan Master spat bitterly. "How could that worthless ruin be worth a Thunder Sound Golden Bell? You hid the truth and pawned off trash as treasure—isn’t this outright deception?"

"Ha!" Fang Lie snorted. "Who announces their gains to the world? Since when is discretion a crime? Besides, I only found two treasures. How could anyone know if they came from the Secret Vault? Chongming Ancient Temple was once a major sect guarded by Semi-Immortals, home to countless Thunder Tribulation Immortals. Perhaps I merely stumbled upon some long-dead master’s private stash. Do you truly believe such a grand temple’s entire legacy amounts to two measly items? Does anyone here actually buy that nonsense?"

The Elders at the head of the chamber exchanged skeptical glances.

Coming from major sects themselves, they knew well how sect vaults operated. Their own Secret Vaults held hundreds, if not thousands, of treasures reserved for existential crises. Two items? Clearly some individual’s private collection. Like these Elders, every cultivator maintained personal stashes to pass down. If one died unexpectedly, those treasures became free for the taking.

Seeing the Elders’ doubt, Bai Lian’s composure cracked. "Fang Lie didn’t find common trinkets! He took the Banana Leaf Golden Scripture containing the Past King Fist! Even Chongming’s abbot couldn’t claim such an artifact as personal property—it’s clearly the sect’s heritage!"

"Ah, that changes matters," Feiyun Monk exclaimed. "If true, Fang Lie, you didn’t loot some random cache but seized Chongming’s core inheritance!"

"Fine!" Fang Lie inhaled sharply, voice dripping ice. "Let’s humor your fantasy. Bai Lian claims I cheated him? Then we’ll void the deal! I’ll return your precious Thunder Sound Golden Bell, and you surrender Chongming Ancient Temple. Square accounts, yes?"

The bell was merely a token, worthless if Great Thunder Sound Temple renounced their agreement. Fang Lie discarded it without hesitation.

Feiyun Monk’s eyes brightened. "A noble suggestion, Benefactor Fang. Junior Brother Bai Lian, what say you?"

Bai Lian stiffened before narrowing his eyes. "We’d agree… but Fang Lie never acts without ulterior motives. What strings are attached?"

"None." Fang Lie smirked. "Cancel the trade, and we’re even. But then your sect’s scheme using the Central World against me demands explanation. Feiyun Monk, wouldn’t you agree?"

Bai Lian blanched—the trap snapped shut.

Fang Lie pressed cheerfully, "My terms are simple: revoke the deal! With no debt between us, why should I tolerate your tricks? Isn’t that right, Feiyun Monk?"

"Regrettably… yes." Feiyun Monk sighed. "Junior Brother Bai Lian, grudges should be dissolved, not deepened. Since Fang Lie withdraws his claim, your earlier deception becomes indefensible. Canceling the trade is only just."

"Precisely! When youth show restraint, elders shouldn’t bully!" another Elder interjected.

"All righteous sects must nurture juniors, not scheme against them," added a third.

Bai Lian’s face purpled with suppressed rage.

Fang Lie’s "compromise" was poison. The Eighteen Arhats given to Great Thunder Sound Temple weren’t mere Eighth-Rank Treasures—they contained Śāriputra relics of past high monks, sacred remnants carrying ancestral reverence. Trading ancestors’ bones? Unthinkable heresy!

This was Fang Lie’s gambit: by linking both transactions, forcing Great Thunder Sound Temple to either admit deception or commit sacrilege. Cancel both trades? Return the Eighteen Arhats and be branded ancestor-defiling traitors. Cancel none? Validate Fang Lie’s claims, granting him unchecked demands via the Thunder Sound Golden Bell.

Cold sweat trickled down Bai Lian’s neck. "The first trade can be nullified. But the second involves our founder’s relics—we’ll substitute other treasures of greater value!"

"How generous!" Fang Lie barked a laugh. "Canceled deals mean returned goods! If you keep the relics, shouldn’t I keep the bell and buy Chongming with spirit stones?"

"Sophistry!" Bai Lian’s robes quivered. "The Eighteen Arhats are our ancestors’ holy remains! Their return was divine providence—we’ll never release them!"

"Return? You mean stop hoarding stolen goods?" Fang Lie spread his hands theatrically. "Honored Elders, witness their hypocrisy! I offer fair restitution, yet they cling to plunder while accusing me. Where’s justice?"

The Elders shifted uncomfortably. However sympathetic to Bai Lian’s plight, reason favored Fang Lie. Secretly rigging trades violated sect honor—who’d deal with known cheats?

Feiyun Monk massaged his temples. "Junior Brother Bai Lian, Fang Lie’s logic holds. Voiding one deal while keeping its gains… this contradicts our principles."

"Principles?!" Bai Lian’s composure shattered. "Those relics are our ancestors’ flesh and blood! Returning them would make us eternal pariahs!"

"I comprehend your distress," Feiyun said wearily, "but justice can’t bend for sentiment. Retain the relics, and both trades stand valid—including your underhanded ploy against Fang Lie."

"Unacceptable!" Bai Lian’s fist cracked the armrest. "We’ll offer tenfold compensation!"

"Then I’ll repay the bell’s value hundredfold!" Fang Lie countered. "Let’s see whose ‘sincerity’ runs deeper!"

"You… you viper!"

"You reek of hypocrisy."

"Enough!" Fang Lie turned to the Elders. "I seek the Elder Council’s verdict. Let righteousness prevail!"

The council members exchanged resigned looks. One muttered, "The lad’s wrapped himself in virtue. Great Thunder Sound Temple must choose: cancel both trades and face disgrace, or uphold both and concede defeat."

Another nodded. "Their reputation already bleeds from this scheme. Righteous sects can’t tolerate such deceit."

Feiyun Monk addressed Bai Lian heavily. "You’ve heard the council. Decide."

Bai Lian wiped his damp forehead. "This… transcends my authority. I must consult Mo Sect’s abbot. Grant me time!"

"Go," Feiyun waved dismissively.

Bai Lian fled like a scalded cat, his hurried bow more stumble than courtesy.