Only after unifying the world did I realize that immortals existed in this world.

Chapter 114 Cooperation

"Jinglan is truly a gentleman!"

Xie Cangrong raised his glass and said to Qin Song, "I believe that mutual respect is the only way to have any chance of cooperation."

"The immortal's noble character far surpasses that of those petty and scheming individuals."

Xie Cangrong clearly didn't have a good attitude towards the Immortal Alliance.

While praising Jing Lan, he was also subtly mocking certain people.

These people are clearly not from the Demonic Sect.

Qin Song's feelings were somewhat complicated.

Comfort is certainly a given. In the prosperous land of Daxia, those stingy and calculating fellows have all fallen behind Jinglan.

There was a sense of helplessness, after all, the Immortal Alliance was an alliance of the righteous path, and Jing Lan was also a member; they were all a collective.

One glory and one glory.

It's impossible for Jinglan's family to withstand the Demonic Sect on their own.

Qin Song also raised his wine cup and said to Xie Cangrong, "Your Majesty, our Immortal Alliance is not entirely composed of scheming people—"

Xie Cangrong simply waved his hand: "Immortal Venerable, I have eyes, I will see for myself who is truly kind and good, and who is secretly stirring things up behind the scenes during this chaos in the Demonic Sect—I know it all."

"Our Great Xia has always distinguished right from wrong. Jing Lan's willingness to lend a helping hand in times of crisis makes him a friend of our Great Xia, and friends are naturally welcomed. But the enemy has arrived—"

His eyes flashed, and he said coldly, "My Great Xia will not be lenient either."

Wise man!

Presumably, those people in the Immortal Alliance did not expect that the Great Xia, a world that seemed to belong to ordinary people, actually harbored unexpected power, and that they still had not yet fully grasped it.

This monarch was not fooled.

He remembered every single penny.

In the end, Yuan Dao still shot himself in the foot. Those guys should pray for themselves!

Qin Song looked at the imposing monarch before him, then simply raised his wine cup and drank the wine in one gulp.

He sighed softly, "Good wine!"

Managing a sect may also be a form of cultivation. Just follow your heart and pursue the principles you advocate, and don't overthink things.

Xie Cangrong waved his hand: "Hahaha~ My mortal wine can't compare to the fine wines of the immortal sects. You flatter me, Immortal Venerable."

Qin Song laughed heartily, without any intention of belittling: "Who is more noble than whom? Whether we can compare or not, we'll only know after we've tasted it."

""

With a casual wave of his hand, he removed the cork from the gourd and poured a full cup for the two of them.

"please!"

"please!"

Xie Cangrong wasn't afraid of any underhanded schemes. As the immortal wine entered his throat, an invisible force seemed to spread from his tongue to his limbs and bones, bringing warmth to his entire body.

Two simple drinks brought the leaders of two powerful factions closer together upon their first meeting.

After this series of probing questions and verbal exchanges, Xie Cangrong discerned the other party's attitude and finally got to the point: "I've digressed. Now that the Immortal Venerable has arrived, he must be willing to form an alliance with my Great Xia?"

Qin Song nodded matter-of-factly: "Of course, what does Great Xia desire?"

The Immortal Alliance is a righteous alliance that represents the interests of the righteous path.

As long as Xie Cangrong doesn't side with the demonic sect, even if he gives nothing, Jinglan Sect is willing to provide some assistance.

Taking sides is very important.

Ultimately, the Jinglan Sect's stance is very pure; they actually only have one enemy: the Demonic Sect. Qin Song has always believed that as long as the Demonic Sect is eliminated, the world will be restored to order, and everything will settle down.

As long as Great Xia does not side with the Demonic Sect, then Great Xia is a friend of the Immortal Sect.

Xie Cangrong smiled and said frankly, "As the Immortal Venerable sees, our Great Xia is still in the nascent stage of cultivation, and cannot compare with the profound foundation of the Immortal Sect."

"Our Great Xia yearns to learn, to learn the supernatural powers and spells of the Immortal Sect, to learn the Immortal Sect's techniques of weapon crafting, alchemy, and talisman making, to learn the Immortal Sect's formations, and to learn how to cultivate immortal herbs—"

"If Jinglan is willing to teach, our dynasty can provide a reward."

Qin Song frowned slightly upon hearing this, and said only, "Your Majesty, ordinary spells are fine, but some sect secrets are the foundation of our sect's existence and cannot be taught to the Great Xia."

Why is a sect called a sect?

The secret techniques passed down through generations have always been monopolized and kept secret, and naturally, they would not be given away to outsiders for such petty gains.

Even if Qin Song was very optimistic about Daxia, he couldn't possibly hold nothing back.

Xie Cangrong waved his hand with a smile, like a nouveau riche: "It's alright, it's alright! Jinglan can keep what cannot be given; our Great Xia will not force you."

Qin Song nodded and said, "Furthermore, Your Majesty, whether it's magical arts, alchemy, weapon crafting, or talisman making..."

"Formations—these cultivation techniques all require talent and aptitude. Some people can make rapid progress with just a little guidance, while others remain completely clueless even after receiving complete instruction."

Although Chu Xiangyun's words were simple, they were indeed correct in a certain sense.

If you want to establish friendly cooperation, how can you succeed if you don't think about the other party's well-being and only scheme and plot?

Qin Song came in person, which shows his sincerity.

Hearing his explanation, Xie Cangrong couldn't help but smile: "Whether you have it or not and whether you can learn it are two different things. Immortal Venerable, if our Great Xia lacks the talent to master the cultivation methods, then we cannot blame Jing Lan. The reward that should be given to Jing Lan will not be reduced by a single penny."

"good!"

"Furthermore, I hope that our two sides can establish trade relations and exchange goods. Great Xia has things that Jinglan needs, and Jinglan also has things that Great Xia needs, as long as the price is right."

"Can!"

Despite Taihua's repeated attempts to establish contact, the deal was finalized in just a few words during a casual chat over drinks.

This is what Xie Cangrong wanted.

When there is genuine need and mutual respect, cooperation is easily established.

Respect leads to efficiency.

Cooperation certainly involves more than just the exchange of technology and materials.

Xie Cangrong toyed with his wine glass and continued, "I wonder if Jinglan would be willing to send some cultivators to stay in our Great Xia and join forces with us to establish an organization?"

Xie Cangrong is clearly a creative person; his thinking is imaginative and difficult for ordinary people to keep up with.

Qin Song raised an eyebrow: "Oh? Doesn't the Great Xia prohibit sects from setting up shop here?"

"No, no, no—no, Immortal Venerable, our Great Xia simply doesn't want to have an emperor emeritus on our heads! We always welcome friendly and cooperative cultivators."

He didn't want the Immortal Sect to station troops in his territory, but he did want the manpower of the Immortal Sect cultivators.

Even learning and developing one's own cultivation path requires a process, which is slow, inefficient, and prone to chaos and corruption.

During this process, the nation's development can connect with overseas immortal sects with good relations, establishing a multinational corporation that unites Great Xia and the immortal sects.

Qin Song's eyes flickered, indicating his interest: "Your Majesty, please speak."

"I wish to advance national reforms, which will require substantial material and human resources for national development. However, relying solely on the strength of my Great Xia Dynasty may lead to slow progress. Therefore, I hope to borrow the magical power of the Jinglan cultivator to assist my dynasty in infrastructure construction, transportation, spiritual vein mining, immortal herb nurseries, and weapon-refining factories."

"Jinglan can also recruit disciples here, but everything must follow the rules and regulations of the Great Xia Dynasty."

Xie Cangrong's eyes shone brightly, brimming with ambition, as he spoke to Qin Song about his vision for the future transformation of the nation: "Cultivators will work in the joint organization of Great Xia and Jinglan, and Great Xia will be willing to support them, paying them for every action. Jinglan's participation will also grant them a share of Great Xia's profits."

Even Qin Song was a little confused by his train of thought: "Shares?"

"It means that Jing Lan can share in the fruits of Great Xia's development according to a certain ratio. For example, if Jing Lan helps Great Xia open a certain number of spiritual veins, then Jing Lan can obtain control of one of the spiritual mines. Jing Lan can also receive a cut from the number of spiritual herb nurseries she helps Great Xia build—"

"If Jinglan becomes interested in the development of our Great Xia after the opening of the Abyss Sea, we can also establish a joint organization in Jinglan to promote the transformation of Jinglan."

Jinglan is a sect, not a regime or state.

As Xie Cangrong previously stated, their pursuits are in conflict with national governance; they simply lack the energy to manage the people, govern the land, promote national reforms, and drive progress.

The emergence of the Great Xia will exacerbate this contradiction; when the wind blows across the land of immortals and demons, changes are bound to occur.

Sects shouldn't cling to power that doesn't belong to them, unless they want to establish a nation.

Qin Song will figure this out sooner or later.

As long as the Immortal Sect withdraws from secular disputes over territory and population, the conflict between Great Xia and them will be minimal.

You cultivate your immortality, I'll manage my country.

If you want to live in seclusion, then live in seclusion. Resources can be traded, but don't even think about interfering in worldly affairs.

As long as the power of the dynasty is strong enough to suppress everything, the Immortal Sect can completely join the empire, integrate into it, and change its way of life.

While there are indeed conflicts between the two sides that squeeze each other's interests, it is not a life-or-death struggle; they can compromise and coexist.

If the cooperation goes smoothly, Xie Cangrong's territory can expand beyond the Abyss Sea, and Jinglan and Daxia can each get what they need and merge into one country.

Xie Cangrong is a mad creator whose ideas are different from anyone else in this era.

His thoughts and his purpose were difficult for others to understand. Even Ji Qu, one of his own men beside him, was momentarily stunned, let alone Qin Song opposite him.

As for Zhou Xin, who remained silent throughout, he was a combatant and had long since given up thinking.

Qin Song remained silent for a long time before raising his head and saying to Xie Cangrong, "Your Majesty, Jinglan is worth a try."

Forget grand visions for the future and focus only on the present.

Xie Cangrong's cooperation plan was simple: Jinglan Sect would send people to establish a joint organization with Great Xia, using the power of magic to help Xie Cangrong realize some of his ideas and assist Great Xia in building its nation, while in return for their efforts.

This is acceptable to the Jinglan Sect.

The sect's operation method is that the Merit Hall assigns tasks to disciples, allowing them to handle various matters and receive sect rewards upon their return.

In a sense, it was just assigning the sect's disciples a mission that was a bit more distant.

As for the more distant future, what the Great Xia would become, Qin Song couldn't imagine it, nor did he need to for the time being. The Great Xia's crazy experiments wouldn't affect the Jinglan Sect's homeland, so agreeing wouldn't be a problem.

As for what happens next, we should wait and see how the situation changes before making a decision.

"Haha! Good, good!"

Xie Cangrong laughed heartily, "The Immortal Venerable truly has great courage!"

They are both supreme leaders; all they need to do is ascertain each other's attitudes.

This private meeting was far more important than Qin Song's later formal meeting with the civil and military officials of the Great Xia Dynasty.

As long as the leaders of both sides maintain a friendly attitude, the remaining complicated matters, such as transaction pricing, labor pricing, and the establishment and formation of institutions, can be handled by the officials and elders below, through mutual compromise and concessions.

Neither of them could participate in the haggling over the price; they were each other's last resort in the power struggles and concessions.

Xie Cangrong smiled and asked Qin Song, "Has my Great Xia finished stating its demands? Immortal Venerable, why don't you tell me what you desire from my Great Xia?"

The meeting with Jinglan went unexpectedly smoothly.

This is what a proper collaboration should be.

Qin Song shook his head: "What Your Majesty said is fair and just. I, Jinglan, do not oppress Great Xia, nor does Great Xia take advantage of me, Jinglan. We both hope that Great Xia and Jinglan can cooperate and achieve a win-win situation."

"Hehe~"

"That's good!"

Xie Cangrong raised his glass, just about to say that it was a pleasure to cooperate.

Qin Song then changed the subject, looking into Xie Cangrong's eyes and saying in a serious voice, "However—there is one more point. I, Jing Lan, hope to establish an alliance with Great Xia. If either side suffers a major attack from the Demonic Sect and is unable to sustain itself, I hope the other side can do its utmost to provide support, so as to prevent hundreds of millions of people on both sides from being plunged into misery."

Xie Cangrong paused for a moment, then smiled and said, "Okay!"

This alliance doesn't seem to stipulate that Great Xia cannot trade with the Demonic Sect.

"Our Great Xia will never forget Jinglan's kindness in crossing the sea to rescue us today!"

"Come!"

"Dry!"

Both raised their glasses and drank them down in one gulp.

A nation and a celestial sect, a new alliance, took its first step over this cup of wine.

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