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

Chapter 369 Fang Hao's Scheme

After carefully recalling what he had seen and heard at the Yellow Springs Sect, Fang Hao finally said to Chen Ye, "Master, I am nothing but a stray dog. I came to the Yellow Springs Sect only to seek a place to stay during the war between good and evil. My motives were not good to begin with, so naturally I am uneasy. Master, please don't blame me for being taciturn. I am just afraid that if I say the wrong thing, I will lose even this place to stay. The world is so big, yet there is no place for me to stand."

Chen Ye sighed. Even a genius like Fang Hao was walking on thin ice in the Burning Incense Sect, becoming so timid and hesitant. The sect's morals had long since gone astray.

Chen Ye said helplessly to Fang Hao, "You've been in the Incense Burning Sect for many years, and this habit can't be changed in a short time. Since that's the case, I'll ask you for advice. You already know Tie Xianrong and Tie Shengrong very well. Guess how they will attack you when you confront them later? Stop saying you're nervous. I'm giving you a chance to show your skills."

Fang Hao pondered for a moment and suggested, "Master, Tie Shengrong was the lord of Xingxuan Mountain back then, and he has a cold and ruthless personality. If you want to use the hostages in your hands to bargain with him, it will probably be useless. These two brothers don't have much affection for each other. And what Tie Xianrong came to ask for in the first place was not the treasures and pills of the Burning Incense Sect, but Elder Pang to help set up a protective formation for the mountain. So that's what they really want. Perhaps we can use that as a key to negotiation."

Chen Ye nodded. Sure enough, Fang Hao knew a great deal about everyone in the Incense Burning Sect.

Chen Ye reached out and patted Fang Hao on the shoulder, praising him, "Not bad, you truly are a good disciple of your master."

Fang Hao quickly replied, "Master, you flatter me."

Chen Ye grinned and said to Fang Hao, "Don't be modest. Since you know so much about Tie Shengrong, I'll leave the negotiation to you. If you don't handle it well, I'll expel you from the sect."

"what?"

Fang Hao was stunned on the spot. Just now, Chen Ye had been talking to him frankly and told him not to overthink things. How could he have been expelled from the sect in the blink of an eye?
Chen Ye's smile remained unchanged as he continued, "However, if you do well, I will give you a gold medal. Even if you make a mistake next time, this gold medal will ensure that you are not expelled from the sect."

Since Fang Hao feels like he's walking on thin ice every day, rather than letting him fantasize about non-existent malice, it's better to put his mind at ease completely.

Looking at Chen Ye's smiling face, Fang Hao understood what Chen Ye meant.

This master certainly seems to be different.

Fang Hao bowed deeply to Chen Ye, suppressing his excitement, and promised Chen Ye, "Your disciple understands and will definitely handle this matter properly."

Chen Ye was also very happy.

Fang Hao is a talented person. He was chosen by Lu Xingzhou from among a group of geniuses in the Burning Incense Sect. He must have great abilities. It is a waste that he is always so cautious and afraid of making mistakes.

Chen Ye asked, "Just talking isn't enough. What benefits do you think the Incense Burning Sect can get from you?"

Fang Hao pondered for a moment, then shook his head and said, "The Incense Burning Sect is now penniless. The little treasure and resources they have are probably not enough for them to rebuild their sect. Otherwise, they wouldn't need to come to the Yellow Springs Sect for help. It's almost impossible to get any real benefits unless the Incense Burning Sect is completely destroyed. The Yellow Springs Sect doesn't lack pills and treasures now, but it is very lacking in real cultivators."

Chen Ye asked curiously, "What is a true cultivator?"

Fang Hao explained, "If one only relies on beast blood pills to condense their Qi Sea but doesn't know what cultivation is, such a so-called cultivator wouldn't even be considered a menial servant in the Burning Incense Sect. Cultivators don't understand formations or spells, nor do they know how to draw talismans or refine pills. They just eat the pills that are put in their mouths and develop brute strength, which is not much different from ordinary people."

Chen Ye understood what Fang Hao meant; he was referring to the group of menial disciples sent to Qingguan Mountain to do odd jobs.

The Yellow Springs Sect's foundation is indeed insufficient; these menial servants can at best be considered "brave individuals." After all, before heading to Green Coffin Mountain, the Yellow Springs Sect had clearly explained the dangers of the trip—it was truly life-threatening and extremely arduous. The only reward was that the Yellow Springs Sect would fully support your cultivation to the level of Gang Sha Body Refinement.

Whether out of gratitude or a desire for a better future, many people signed up, but very few of them were literate. Therefore, it was essentially Pang Duoduo who was doing all the hard work and worrying on the Qingguan Mountain side.

If Pang Duoduo hadn't been a rare array master in this era, anyone else would have quit after three days at most.

But the disciples of the Incense Burning Sect are different. Even when sweeping or doing odd jobs at the Incense Burning Sect, they must be able to tell at a glance whether the trash on the ground is a fragment of a magical artifact or simply a wine pot that was smashed when drunk.

This is the foundation of the Incense Burning Sect. Although the Incense Burning Sect is not as powerful as before, it should still have a large number of menial disciples.

Chen Ye asked in surprise, "You want to borrow those menial disciples from the Incense Burning Sect?"

"Indeed, as far as I know, the half-step body refining method you obtained, Sect Master, is actually better than that of the Incense Burning Sect. Although it is not the complete version, it is easier and simpler to cultivate because of the existence of the Beast Blood Pill. We need the poisonous water produced by the Azure Dragon Body Refining Method to neutralize the corrosive poison, but the Incense Burning Sect lacks the resources, which makes it difficult for a large number of disciples to improve their cultivation."

"Cooperation is mutually beneficial. We can provide this cultivation technique to the Incense Burning Sect and have them send their menial disciples to help at Green Coffin Mountain. This will alleviate the pressure on our Yellow Springs Sect."

Chen Ye felt that there was some truth to what he said. Apart from manpower, the Incense Burning Sect really didn't have much else to exploit. In the end, this negotiation would definitely have to send the people back.

As for the cultivation technique... Chen Ye wished the whole world would learn this body-refining technique, so he could use the pills to directly exchange for a massive amount of poisonous water and resolve the troubles of Green Coffin Mountain within a month.

If it saves lives and effort, what does a mere incomplete demonic cultivation technique matter?

Chen Ye was already quite satisfied, but Fang Hao continued, "Besides that, the Incense Burning Sect must also admit that they obtained a body-refining technique from my Yellow Springs Sect. And this technique was obtained by my Yellow Springs Sect after killing the Azure Dragon Lord. Of the eighteen Lords of the Underground Demonic Sect, my Yellow Springs Sect has already dealt with... three. Master, do you agree?"

Upon hearing this, Chen Ye immediately burst into laughter.

This apprentice is really amazing.

Chen Ye's original plan was to rise to power by stepping on the Incense Sect, but he was tricked by You Luozi and ended up becoming Lu Xingzhou's illegitimate son instead of stepping on the Incense Sect.

Fang Hao's move was brilliant. If the Incense Burning Sect also sought cultivation techniques from the Yellow Springs Sect, it would naturally elevate the Yellow Springs Sect's reputation even further. Not to mention, once the origin of these techniques was revealed, the Yellow Springs Sect's achievements would become known to the world.

Nothing is more exhilarating than killing the Azure Dragon Lord. If anyone doesn't believe it, the Yellow Springs Sect can still take out half of the Azure Dragon's body. At least some fragments of flesh and limbs were preserved by Qu Heng.

In this way, Chen Ye's previous goal can be considered to have been achieved.

Fang Hao's move was indeed impressive. As expected of someone from the Incense Burning Sect, he truly knows how to use cunning and leverage against others.

However, Chen Ye wasn't that confident and asked Fang Hao, "The only problem is, what makes you think Tie Shengrong will agree?"

Anyone who isn't a fool can see Fang Hao's intentions. Tie Shengrong wants to rebuild the Incense Burning Sect, is he really willing to cooperate with the Yellow Springs Sect as a stepping stone? Chen Ye doesn't understand the personality of this new Incense Burning Sect leader and can't make a judgment, but he needs Fang Hao to give him a reason that can convince him.

Fang Hao said confidently, "Master, please rest assured. Tie Shengrong only cares about practical benefits and never cares about saving face. If this half of the body-refining technique is not enough, I have other things he wants."

(End of this chapter)