Chapter 694

Chapter 694: Battle of Wits

After returning to the Mo Sect, Huo Wufang finally sighed in relief and joked, "As cultivators seeking the Dao, we truly forget our kin! More than half of the people who came just now, I knew, and some of them were even good friends. Yet, to advance to Semi-Immortal, they still wanted to ambush me! From now on, these friendships are truly gone!"

"Just friends for show, it’s better to have none than to see their true colors now rather than when they stab you in the back!" Fang Lie replied calmly. "Alright, let’s hurry. This place isn’t safe; who knows when those two old water element guys might go mad!"

Upon hearing this, Huo Wufang immediately became alert, no longer daring to delay, and swiftly led Fang Lie straight to the Mo family.

Among the more than ten Thunder Tribulation Immortals in the Mo Sect, two were of the water element. Their powers weren’t strong, and their talents had reached their limits; at most, they would remain as mid-level Thunder Tribulation Immortals until death.

However, with the Immortal Spirit Jellyfish, advancing to Semi-Immortal was guaranteed, and they could even have a strong chance of overcoming the Heavenly Tribulation to become Immortal!

Such temptation might very well lead them to betray the sect, so neither Fang Lie nor Huo Wufang dared to assure that wouldn’t happen.

Fortunately, Huo Wufang recognized the urgency of the situation and urged the use of the secret escape technique, reaching swift speeds. After just over half an hour, they arrived to find Mo Qianxun leisurely drinking tea.

Seeing Fang Lie and Huo Wufang return in a flurry, Mo Qianxun was taken aback and couldn’t help but ask, "Weren’t you on Qingyu Island? Why have you suddenly returned?"

"Something important has come up; we need to go back soon!" Huo Wufang replied.

"I hope there’s truly something important!" Mo Qianxun frowned, "Teleporting such a distance costs hundreds of thousands of small spirit pearls. Just your round trip could easily consume over a million!"

"There really is an important matter; a mere million spirit pearls isn’t much!" Huo Wufang said with a wry smile. "Just take a look!"

With that, Huo Wufang displayed the Immortal Spirit Jellyfish and gently passed it over.

Mo Qianxun gasped in shock upon seeing the Immortal Spirit Jellyfish, then trembled as he accepted it, exclaiming, "Immortal Spirit Jellyfish? That’s impossible! This item doesn’t exist in the mortal world; only a drop remains in West Kunlun, brought down by their founder from ancient times! Where did this come from?"

"This one drop is from West Kunlun; Immortal Lan Shan exchanged it for our Earth Fire Dragon Worm!" Huo Wufang explained with a bitter smile.

"Eh?" Mo Qianxun’s eyes almost popped out as he stared in disbelief, "Has that fool Lan Shan lost his mind? I promised him an Eighth-Rank warship for Lanyun, and he wouldn’t trade! Now, he’s using it to exchange for a Seventh-Rank Earth Fire Dragon Worm warship? What’s going on here?"

"You ask me, who do I ask?" Huo Wufang shrugged helplessly. "This matter is too strange; there must be something fishy!"

"Uh-huh," Mo Qianxun lowered his head, speaking to himself, "The only reason Lan Shan would spend so much to acquire Dragon Worm warships is that he can obtain more benefits, possibly even surpassing a drop of Immortal Spirit Jellyfish. But how can the Earth Fire Dragon Worm warship’s value exceed that of the Immortal Spirit Jellyfish? After all, this is a treasured item that suppresses the Fate of West Kunlun and can forcibly cultivate a powerful Semi-Immortal when no Semi-Immortal is present in the sect. It’s essential for ensuring the lineage of West Kunlun continues!"

At this moment, Fang Lie interjected, "That means their goal is to create a treasure that ensures the continuation of West Kunlun, which must be something that can be passed on for a long time; it’s more important than a Semi-Immortal who can only stabilize the sect for a few thousand years!"

"I understand now!" Mo Qianxun suddenly exclaimed in shock. "Replication! They can only survive by creating more Earth Fire Dragon Worm warships! This drop of Immortal Spirit Jellyfish is not just about the price of the Earth Fire Dragon Worm warship but also a compensation to us!"

"But the Earth Fire Dragon Worm has long been extinct, hasn’t it?" Huo Wufang asked, puzzled. "Where will they find the materials?"

"I don’t know, perhaps they have access to some ancient Secret Realm where the Earth Fire Dragon Worm exists?" Mo Qianxun replied, then added, "I’ll find out!"

With that, he waved his hand, revealing a bronze mirror. After casting a series of secret techniques, the face of the Immortal Lan Shan from West Kunlun appeared in the mirror.

"Ha ha, so it’s Dao friend Mo. How have you been!" Immortal Lan Shan greeted with a smile.

"I was fine until now!" Mo Qianxun said sternly. "Stop beating around the bush. Do you have a large number of Earth Fire Dragon Worms?"

"Ah!" Immortal Lan Shan gasped, then chuckled wryly, "You really are the recognized Old Fox; how did you guess so accurately?"

"Isn’t it obvious? Without enough benefits, how could you part with the Immortal Spirit Jellyfish?" Mo Qianxun then asked with curiosity. "But when I asked you for the Immortal Spirit Jellyfish last time, why didn’t you take the opportunity to extort the Earth Fire Dragon Worms? Why do it now?"

"You sly old fox! If I showed any interest in the Earth Fire Dragon Worm warships, you would definitely notice. At that time, I’d have to pay more than just a single drop of Immortal Spirit Jellyfish, wouldn’t I?" Immortal Lan Shan replied exasperatedly.

"Heh heh~" Mo Qianxun smiled awkwardly, then said indignantly, "No matter how you put it, you did something unkind this time!"

"Well~" Immortal Lan Shan’s face reddened as he chuckled ruefully, "It was indeed my mistake, but I have given enough compensation. Since the thing is in my hands, you can’t expect to take it back. Consider it a favor I owe you!"

"Nonsense! Stealing our Mo Sect’s ultimate skills can be paid off with one favor? You have a lot of nerve!" Mo Qianxun fumed.

"What do you want then?" Immortal Lan Shan asked with a grin. "I’m making it clear; for the sake of the sect’s interests, I can even sacrifice my face! No matter what, I won’t retaliate against you, nor will I argue. But this matter is non-negotiable!"

"Ah, I actually met a master! Fine, consider yourself tough; I indeed have no way to deal with you!" Mo Qianxun suddenly said, "But I do have one question, and you must give me an answer!"

"What is it?" Immortal Lan Shan asked warily. "As long as it doesn’t involve sect secrets, I will speak freely."

"Good, then tell me how many Earth Fire Dragon Worms you have!" Mo Qianxun questioned.

"Ha ha~" Immortal Lan Shan chuckled but remained silent, unable to share such vital sect secrets.

However, Mo Qianxun paid it no mind, instead chuckling, "Your willingness to part with Immortal Spirit Jellyfish means you must have at least a hundred Earth Fire Dragon Worms. Only a hundred Seventh-Rank Earth Fire Dragon Worm warships could be more valuable than one drop of Immortal Spirit Jellyfish!"

"Old man~" Immortal Lan Shan couldn’t help but smile bitterly, "Can’t you be a little denser?"

"Ha ha, it’s out of my nature!" Mo Qianxun then smiled. "I’d say, no matter what, this matter reflects a lack of legitimacy; spreading it around could harm West Kunlun’s reputation!"

"You don’t need to worry about that. As long as your Mo Sect doesn’t care, others won’t come to scold us!" Immortal Lan Shan replied cheerfully.

"Of course they won’t leave you alone!" Mo Qianxun laughed. "However, if you’re willing to grant us some Earth Fire Dragon Worm warships, we could definitely help you construct a batch, ensuring they all reach Seventh-Rank. Plus, this would count as a fair transaction, and you in West Kunlun wouldn’t have to hide from shame!"

"Ah, you really are smart for an old man!" Immortal Lan Shan admired. "It seems that everything you do brings in profit!"

"And you stand to gain too! By keeping West Kunlun’s reputation intact, your ancestors will appreciate you!" Mo Qianxun teased.

"Enough nonsense!" Immortal Lan Shan then said, "Let’s talk about the deal. It must be a fair trade; we don’t owe you anything!"

"Alright~" Mo Qianxun quickly said, "You provide three Earth Fire Dragon Worms, and I’ll build you a warship. Does that count as fair?"

"Fair my foot!" Immortal Lan Shan directly cursed. "Why should you get more than us?"

"That’s obvious, isn’t it?" Mo Qianxun sneered. "You’re just providing materials, and only part of them! We also need to source materials and labor. To build a warship that’s over a thousand feet long, capable of holding a hundred thousand cultivators, do you have any idea how many people that requires? With the Thunder Tribulation Immortal in charge, at least ten thousand cultivators are needed, and it would take a hundred years to complete one!"

"Stop talking!" Immortal Lan Shan retorted coldly. "I offer a drop of Immortal Spirit Jellyfish, and you expect me to give up two-thirds of the Earth Fire Dragon Worms just to gain only dozens of Seventh-Rank warships? You sure do know how to count!"

"Then what do you want?" Mo Qianxun asked.

"I don’t want to rely on you!" Immortal Lan Shan said firmly. "A fleet can only be formed when a hundred Seventh-Rank warships join together, allowing various Dao arts to cooperate, significantly enhancing their power. Only such a fleet can provide formidable deterrence; I’d rather work harder myself than trouble you!"

"Hey hey~" Mo Qianxun grinned at this, saying, "You’re overestimating things. How many Seventh-Rank warships have you built? Do you have that much manpower? It’s not that I look down on you, but if you were to manufacture all a hundred Earth Fire Dragon Worm warships, you might not finish after ten thousand years!"

"Indeed, we can only build one at a time, and it takes over a hundred years to finish. Perhaps we wouldn’t be able to produce so many Earth Fire Dragon Worm warships in even ten thousand years." Immortal Lan Shan replied indifferently. "But so what? If ten thousand years isn’t long enough, then it can be twenty thousand years; we aren’t concerned about that bit of time!"

Indeed, for large sects, ten thousand years isn’t much at all. Sometimes, their plans might extend over a hundred thousand years. In comparison, a ten thousand year shipbuilding plan is quite ordinary.