Gentlemen, it's time to enter the Banner of Ten Thousand Souls.

Chapter 305 Parting on bad terms
Upon hearing Chen Ye say that he had been stuck in the Profound Realm for a long time and could not break through, everyone's expression turned strange.

You've gone from spiritual awakening to profound understanding in just over a year, how can you say you've wasted so much time?

Which one of you here hasn't been stuck for a hundred years without even realizing it?
This Crimson Serpent Lord is utterly shameless in his pursuit of the Azure Dragon!

But this shameless behavior is actually in line with the logic of the Demonic Sect. Qingjiao and Chen Ye are already mortal enemies. If they don't hunt him down now, are they going to wait for him to recover and kill them back?
Therefore, no one thought it was wrong for Chen Ye to propose "filling the seats". The only question they needed to consider was whether to stand idly by or take the opportunity to get involved.
No one would consider the Azure Dragon Lord's feelings, except for those "Lords" who had once submitted to him.

Unfortunately, those "Lords" who were being manipulated by the Azure Dragon, whether openly or secretly, were either replaced before the meeting or revealed their true colors on the spot, saying, "I was never of one mind with him."

Such major reshuffling before big events has always happened. Anyway, that array diagram doesn't care who you are, as long as it's from the corresponding sect's lineage.

Youluozi wasn't really waiting for Chen Ye to come; he didn't do anything else.

Before this meeting, Youluozi had eliminated all those who were still loyal to the Azure Dragon Lord.

Therefore, after Chen Ye made this suggestion, no one objected. On the contrary, several "Lords" immediately said that Qingjiao should have abdicated long ago.

However, the opinions of these minor figures at the Nascent Soul stage are not important; only the other four Venerable Lords can truly decide the fate of the Azure Dragon.

Youluozi was determined to exterminate the Azure Dragon.

Having just suffered a severe injury, the Soulfire figure had no grounds for bargaining. Moreover, he was busy going back to cleanse his twelve disciples, so he directly said, "I have no intention of getting involved in this matter. You can settle it yourselves."

With this abstention, only Hu Chang and Fei Lian remain.

Chen Ye had thought that the Fei Lian Venerable, who had just been making things difficult for him, would be the hardest to deal with, but to his surprise, the Fei Lian Venerable quickly relented.

All I heard was Lord Feilian saying, "The Azure Dragon should have died long ago. I have no objection to killing it. But once it's over, give me a dragon tail to taste."

Chen Ye was surprised that this person agreed so readily. Youluozi quickly explained to him telepathically: "The Azure Dragon swallowed several of Feilian's sons."

It turned out to be the case.

The relationships between these demonic cultivators are truly complex.

The Tiger Servant Lord, who was usually the most agreeable, hesitated for a long time before finally managing to say, "I have known Qingjiao for many years and we are as close as brothers. Now that he is in trouble, how can I stand idly by?"

Chen Ye then cut to the chase, saying, "Lord Tiger's Lair, you might as well make your point clearer."

Tiger Lord laughed and said, "Hehe, Chen Ye, you are a smart man, so I won't beat around the bush with you. I can ignore the matter of the Azure Dragon, but I want your 20,000 able-bodied men from the Northern Frontier."

Upon hearing this, Chen Ye replied decisively, "Absolutely impossible."

Tiger Lord immediately revealed an angry expression. Chen Ye's words left no room for maneuver and were far too arrogant.

Lord Feilian added fuel to the fire, saying, "Your Northern Frontier people have a population of at least one million. You only need 20,000 of them, which is nothing to you."

The Tiger Lord thought the same way; 20,000 people was already a very generous gesture, entirely out of respect for Youluozi.

If Chen Ye didn't have this connection, Hu Chang would have directly ordered Chen Ye to open up the northern frontier and let his disciples go on a killing spree.

Chen Ye sneered, "I finally managed to subdue the people of the Northern Frontier. The Yellow Springs Sect relies entirely on the offerings of its incense for sustenance. Twenty thousand able-bodied men may not seem like a large number, but they will be a huge blow to the sect's resources. If twenty thousand men die for no reason, how can I convince the people? Who will still believe in our Yellow Springs Sect?"

"Tiger Lord, you are undermining the foundation of my Yellow Springs Sect. How could I possibly agree to this? Not only can I not agree, but I also want to tell you all that the Northern Frontier is territory I conquered with my own hands. If any of you dare to cause trouble in the Northern Frontier, I will show no mercy. Even if the Crimson Serpent Demon Lord were to be resurrected, there would be no room for negotiation!" Logically speaking, negotiations should not be made so absolutely at the beginning; some room for maneuver should be left, otherwise, the talks are likely to fall apart.

However, Chen Ye was not prepared to play along on this issue, because there was no room for compromise on this matter.

Even if their tone softens slightly, these demons will try every means to take advantage of Chen Ye. They'll secretly kill one today and kidnap two tomorrow, so the Northern Frontier will never have peace.

Why not take this opportunity to make things clear? Maybe that will make these devils behave themselves.

It doesn't matter whether the Tiger Servant Lord agrees or not. At worst, we can just kill them all. He still has a gourd of Qinghe Sword Qi that he doesn't know where to use. At worst, killing one will turn into killing two.

It was precisely because of this confidence that Chen Ye was so resolute.

Seeing that Chen Ye was unmoved by reason, the Tiger Lord said to Youluozi, "Youluozi, is this also your intention?"

Youluozi sighed softly and said helplessly, "I have said before that he is just my ally, not my puppet. I can't do anything about the decisions he makes."

Tiger Lord narrowed his eyes. He had originally wanted to do Chen Ye a favor, as the request for 20,000 people was really very low. However, Chen Ye did not give him any face at all.

Since that's the case, there's nothing more to say.

"Then please, you two. I want to see if you have the ability to kill the Azure Dragon."

After leaving behind these words, the Tiger Lord's avatar disappeared.

Clearly, this person is preparing to cause trouble for Chen Ye.

Although the meeting failed to gain the final approval of the supreme leader, it accomplished most of its objectives.

At least now, the pursuit of the Azure Dragon Lord is justified, and there's no need to worry about the entire Underground Demonic Sect turning against them.

As for the troublesome Tiger Lord, let Youluozi deal with that.

The meeting had no further purpose at this point, and the esteemed leaders on their seats vanished as if they had never existed.

The rare gathering of all eighteen Venerable Lords ended in discord, with the Crimson Serpent Venerable Lord being replaced. Nevertheless, it was quite exciting, suggesting that the power structure of the Underground Demonic Sect is about to change once again.

Chen Ye wanted to immediately discuss the pursuit with You Luozi, but You Luozi said, "No need to rush. Give me a few days to deal with Hu Chang. I'll discuss it with you later. Don't worry, even if you give Qing Jiao ten years, he won't recover his strength. We're not in a hurry. Besides, you have a lot of things to deal with. Take care of your own business first."

Chen Ye thought Youluozi was referring to the founding ceremony of the Yellow Springs Sect, which was indeed just a few days away.

But Chen Ye misunderstood; Youluozi was not saying anything at all.

Just as the meeting was ending, a group of demonic cultivators approached Chen Ye. The one in the lead said tremblingly, "Your subordinate, Peng Zhiyong, pays his respects to Your Excellency."

Behind them was a large group of people, about twenty or thirty in number, who all shouted in unison, "Greetings, Your Majesty," and then knelt down.

Chen Ye asked in confusion, "Who are you?"

Peng Zhiyong quickly replied, "We are all disciples of the Crimson Serpent Sect. Your Excellency, please give your orders."

(End of this chapter)