I run a casino in the immortal realm.

The first negotiation ended in discord.

The main ship of the Heavenly Demon Sect, the central command tent.

Ye Tianqiong walked in, threw his helmet on the table, and looked rather grim.

Zheng Yifei sat in the guest seat, leisurely sipping his tea, while Xu Tianyang, Su Wanqing, and others sat to his left.

"That old dog Qin Cang is still tough, threatening me with self-destruction."

Ye Tianqiong sat down and looked at Zheng Yifei: "Brother Zheng, what do you think?"

Zheng Yifei put down his teacup and said calmly, "He's right. If we really push them too far, the Heavenly Demon Sect can't afford the losses."

Moreover, once the Nascent Soul cultivators of the Xuantian Sect scatter and flee, resorting to guerrilla warfare in the shadows, even if the Heavenly Demon Sect occupies the entire Southern Wilderness Region, there will never be peace again.

Upon hearing this, Xu Tianyang's expression changed slightly: "Yifei, do you mean to let Qin Cang go?"

"No."

Zheng Yifei glanced at Xu Tianyang: "What I mean is, it's more beneficial to let the Xuantian Sect linger on its limbs than to completely annihilate them."

Zheng Yifei stood up, walked to the sand table, and pointed to the location of Xuantian Sect: "Sect Master Ye, your current goal is to annex Xuantian Sect's territory and resources. If Qin Cang is willing to cede territory, you can accept it."

By confining the Xuantian Sect to this small southern region, they become like a toothless tiger, unable to cause any trouble.

"As for Qin Cang's life..."

Zheng Yifei looked at Xu Tianyang and a cold smile appeared on his lips: "Keep the Xuantian Sect alive, and let Sect Master Xu play with him slowly in the future. With a Nascent Soul Perfection sword cultivator like Sect Master Xu watching him every day, he will never be able to sleep peacefully for the rest of his life."

Zheng Yifei's hatred for Qin Cang was not as extreme as Xu Tianyang's.

The Zheng family is doing well in Tianmo City now. He helped Xu Tianyang more out of team spirit.

Ye Tianqiong pondered for a moment and nodded: "That makes sense. It is indeed better to keep the Xuan Tian Sect alive and barely clinging to life than to hunt down any escapees all over the world. However, I can't swallow this anger just like that."

"Of course we can't just let it go like this."

A cold glint flashed in Zheng Yifei's eyes: "I agree to let them cede territory, but there must be one condition. They must hand over two people—Zeng Feng and Hu Xiaotian."

Upon hearing those two names, Su Wanqing gripped the sword hilt tightly, and Xu Tianyang's breathing became heavy.

Zeng Feng and Hu Xiaotian were the two who led the team that massacred the Qingyun Sect and killed hundreds of thousands of people from the Su and Xu families.

Qin Cang is the mastermind, and these two are the most ruthless executioners.

"it is good."

Ye Tianqiong did not hesitate: "These two people are just Qin Cang's disciples. Qin Cang has no reason to refuse to exchange the lives of two people for the survival of the sect."

The next day, the two sides met again in front of the enemy lines.

Qin Cang was secretly delighted, but remained outwardly calm: "Sect Leader Ye is indeed a wise man. In that case, let's sign the blood pact immediately."

"Wait a minute."

Ye Tianqiong interrupted him: "I have one more condition. Hand over Zeng Feng and Hu Xiaotian; I want their heads."

Qin Cang's face froze instantly.

Zeng Feng and Hu Xiaotian were his most valued disciples and important wings for him to control the Xuantian Sect.

If he were to hand over his personal disciple in front of the entire sect in exchange for peace, his prestige as sect leader would be completely destroyed, and who would dare to risk their lives for him in the future?

"That's impossible!"

Qin Cang gritted his teeth and said, "They are my personal disciples. If I hand them over, what face will my Xuantian Sect have left?"

"Which is more important, your reputation or your life? You decide."

Ye Tianqiong sneered, "I'll only give you one day to consider. If you don't see their heads by this time tomorrow, the Heavenly Demon Sect will spare no expense to raze your Xuan Tian Sect to the ground!"

After saying that, Ye Tianqiong turned and left.

Xuantian Sect, the sect leader's dojo.

The stone door to the secret chamber slowly closed. Qin Cang stood with his back to the door, staring at the portraits of the Xuan Tian Sect's past founders hanging on the wall, remaining silent for a long time.

Zeng Feng and Hu Xiaotian knelt on the ground. Both of them already knew the contents of the negotiations during the day. At this moment, they felt cold all over and didn't dare to breathe.

"Master..."

Zeng Feng's voice trembled as he broke the deathly silence: "You called us here..."

Qin Cang turned around and looked at the two disciples kneeling on the ground. A complex emotion flashed in his eyes, but it was quickly replaced by coldness.

"Night Sky specifically requested the two of you."

Qin Cang's voice was calm, but to Zeng Feng and the other man it felt like falling into an ice cave: "If I don't hand it over, the Heavenly Demon Sect will launch a full-scale attack tomorrow. You know very well the current situation of the sect; it can't hold out."

"Master! You can't hand us over!"

Hu Xiaotian kowtowed repeatedly, blood instantly streaming from his forehead: "Back then, when we destroyed the Qingyun Sect, we were all acting on your orders. We were utterly loyal to you!"

"I know."

Qin Cang stepped forward, helped the two of them up, and sighed, "So, I didn't agree to his request."

Zeng Feng and Hu Xiaotian were stunned, a glimmer of hope appearing in their eyes.

"You are my disciples, how could I possibly exchange your lives for a life of shame?"

Qin Cang took out two jade boxes from his sleeve and handed them to the two men: "Inside, there are three top-grade Swift Travel Talismans and one Substitute Death Talisman in each box. These are my life-saving trump cards that I acquired at great expense many years ago."

Zeng Feng held the jade box, his hands trembling: "Master, what do you mean...?"

"At midnight tonight, Elder Wan will secretly open a crack in a blind spot of the great formation in the back mountain."

Qin Cang patted the two on the shoulders and said earnestly, "Take the talismans and break through from there. The encirclement of the Heavenly Demon Sect is so big, there must be weak points. As long as you break through, hide your identities and come back when the storm has passed or when your master has regrouped."

Zeng Feng and Hu Xiaotian looked at the jade box in their hands, their hearts turning cold.

It sounded nice, but in essence, Qin Cang still gave up on them.

Letting them break through on their own is tantamount to a near-certain death at this point.

If they don't leave, Qin Cang will definitely take their heads as a sacrifice to appease public anger tomorrow.

They had no choice at all.

"Disciple...thanks to Master for bestowing the talisman."

Zeng Feng gritted his teeth, put the jade box into his storage bag, pulled Hu Xiaotian and kowtowed three times heavily, then turned and walked out of the secret room.

Watching the two figures disappear into the distance, Qin Cang's eyes turned completely cold.

"Don't blame your teacher for being heartless; blame your bad luck."

Inside Elder Wan's cave.

After seeing off Qin Cang's trusted messenger, Elder Wan sat quietly on the futon, toying with a black jade slip in his hand.

"You want me to let Zeng Feng and Hu Xiaotian out at midnight?"

Elder Wan's lips curled into a mocking sneer: "Qin Cang, Qin Cang, you really know how to use someone else to do your dirty work. You've preserved your reputation for not killing your disciples while kicking the trouble to the Heavenly Demon Sect."

Elder Wan shook his head. The Xuan Tian Sect was rotten to the core. Following someone as heartless and ungrateful as Qin Cang would only lead to their demise sooner or later.

He had to find a way out for himself.

He probed a wisp of his divine sense into the black jade slip. This jade slip was left to his personal disciple Xu Zhenghai many years ago. Later, when the Qingyun Sect was attacked, Xu Zhenghai fled, but the two maintained this secret connection.

Elder Wan knew that Xu Zhenghai was now following Zheng Yifei, and that Zheng Yifei was very close to the Heavenly Demon Sect.

"Zhenghai, I am your master."

Elder Wan transmitted his voice through the jade slip: "Tonight at midnight, Zeng Feng and Hu Xiaotian will break out from Black Wind Valley in the back mountain. This is Qin Cang's arrangement. Tell Zheng Yifei this news as a gift from me. If Xuan Tian Sect City falls in the future, I hope you will spare my life for the sake of our past master-disciple relationship."

A moment later, the jade slip lit up, and Xu Zhenghai's deep voice came through: "Thank you, Master. My Xu family will remember your kindness."