Starting with being handed over to the Imperial Concubine, building a family with a thousand-year hi

After a moment's thought, Su Mu offered a compromise: "I won't hand over the talismans for nothing. Let's each compromise a little. I agree to join forces to collect all four divine talismans and enter the Martial God's Eternal Slumber Secret Realm together. Inside, we'll each rely on our own abilities to seize opportunities, and settle past grudges on the spot. How about that?"

He had other plans in mind: he would not enter dangerous places himself, but would send his clones into the secret realm to search for treasures.

Seeing the other side hesitate, Su Mu added in an icy tone: "If you are unwilling to negotiate, then fight to the death. You can slaughter everyone in the city to die with you, but I guarantee that none of the three of you will leave this place alive."

Fire Phoenix immediately communicated with the sea turtle through divine sense, and after weighing the pros and cons, decisively agreed.

Their original intention was to seize an opportunity to resolve the crisis of the Ghost Clan, not to fight Su Mu to the death. After this great battle, they fully realized the gap in strength between them and understood that killing Su Mu was simply unrealistic.

"When will we set off for the secret realm?" Su Mu asked.

"Once the sea turtle and I have fully recovered," Fire Phoenix replied, "to prevent anyone from going back on their word, the three of us will make a solemn oath to heaven and earth."

"Can."

Su Mu nodded in agreement, and the three parties took turns swearing a soul oath: to explore the Martial God's Tomb together, and before opening the secret realm, none of them would initiate a fight or betray their allies. Lai Chunshan was unable to swear a valid soul oath, so he could only verbally agree to the agreement.

With the oath fulfilled, the Fire Phoenix and the Sea Turtle simultaneously withdrew their innate divine powers, turned around, and flew away from the sky above the imperial city. Su Mu sheathed his sword, landed, and returned to the imperial palace.

No one won this battle. Su Mu exhausted one opportunity of the Anti-Flight Divine Talisman, but forced the enemy to reveal all their trump cards, while severely injuring Fire Phoenix; meanwhile, the enemy figured out all of Su Mu's trump cards and successfully forced Su Mu to form an alliance.

Su Mu gazed at the distant horizon, pondering to himself: Both demonic beasts had used all their trump cards and were extremely weak after the battle. Once they entered the Martial Mystic Realm, they would certainly not dare to easily use their innate divine abilities. At that time, I could send an avatar to lead the team, along with two puppets, to firmly control the entire situation.

Fire Phoenix Chiyu and Sea Turtle Daijian are bound by a soul contract, trusting each other implicitly, and have always been companions since the war.

Lai Chunshan wanted to go forward and discuss the follow-up plan, but the two demonic beasts deliberately distanced themselves and were unwilling to communicate with him at all.

Lai Chunshan understood. As an outsider Martial Emperor, he hadn't made a soul oath with the two, and given that the two demonic beasts were weakened after the battle, they would undoubtedly be on guard against him sneaking up to steal the token. He dared not give chase and could only watch them disappear into the eastern horizon.

Back with Elder Songhe and his group, Lai Chunshan couldn't help but sigh deeply, his heart filled with vexation.

After days of waiting and a fierce battle, he was only forced into an alliance, all his preparations were in vain, and he still had to continue the long wait. He was unwilling to accept this, because seizing opportunities is not only a contest of strength, but also of luck, and he did not want to leave empty-handed.

"Senior Lai, the battle situation in the sky just now changed rapidly. Why did you suddenly stop fighting and shake hands to make peace?" Elder Songhe asked, full of doubt.

"Both sides were wary of each other, and ultimately reached a cooperation agreement." Lai Chunshan replied in a deep voice, "Su Mu agreed to join forces. Once Huo Huang and the sea turtle have recovered from their injuries, the whole group will go to the place where the Martial God rests to explore for opportunities."

Elder Songhe's expression changed, and he quickly reminded them, "The Fire Phoenix and the Sea Turtle are already in cahoots. Now that Su Mu's combat power is overwhelming, the three-way alliance has actually put us at a complete disadvantage!"

"I understand the current situation." Lai Chunshan waved his hand to interrupt, "Things have come to this point, we have no way out but to continue waiting."

"Senior, why don't you return to Wulong Continent and invite powerful figures to come and help?" Elder Songhe suggested.

Lai Chunshan's eyes flickered: "You mean you want me to go back to the mainland and call for reinforcements?"

"That's right. Relying on luck to seize opportunities is too risky. With the help of our colleagues, our chances of winning will increase significantly."

Lai Chunshan lowered his head, weighing the pros and cons. Going to fetch reinforcements was indeed the safest option, but the round trip would require crossing the Black Mist Ghost Clan's territory twice, a perilous journey. However, once he returned to retrieve his men, crossing the Black Mist again would be much easier.

Recalling the oppressive feeling of Su Mu severing the treasured sword with a single sword strike, as well as the terrifying innate divine abilities of the two great demonic beasts, Lai Chunshan no longer hesitated and made up his mind to return to the Wulong Continent to seek help.

He turned to Elder Songhe and ordered in a firm tone, "Hand over that divine talisman in your hand."

Elder Songhe looked troubled: "Senior, I have already made a soul oath to you, why do you still fear me and take away the talisman?" This talisman was their last resort, and he was unwilling to hand it over.

"It's not that I don't trust you," Lai Chunshan said coldly. "I need to take a talisman with me. Without a talisman, Su Mu and his group can't open the secret realm on their own, and they can't get ahead of us and enjoy the opportunity all to themselves."

"The talismans remain in our hands; they can still restrain them," Elder Songhe argued.

"After I leave, you may face Su Mu's purge or unexpected accidents at any time," Lai Chunshan said firmly. "To ensure your safety, I must keep the talisman. If you wish, you can also return to Wulong Continent with me."

Elder Songhe slowly shook his head: "We have no desire to compete for the Martial God's opportunity. Senior, please give us some cultivation resources as compensation. We will hand over the talisman and withdraw from the conflict. We will be even."

Initially, they followed Lai Chunshan across realms, seeking only to kill Su Mu and obtain a share of the secret realm's opportunities. However, after this battle, they saw through the top combat forces of all sides and realized that they had no right to get a share of the spoils, and only wanted to retreat unscathed.

"You failed to gather intelligence effectively and misled the battle situation. I did not hold you accountable, yet you still dare to demand payment?" Lai Chunshan coldly snorted.

"We reported all the information truthfully without concealing a single word. We have suffered great losses along the way, and we cannot leave empty-handed," Elder Songhe argued.

Lai Chunshan's eyes suddenly turned cold, his words a blatant threat: "I only promised not to harm you within the secret realm, never guaranteeing that I wouldn't make a move before it opened. Besides, it was just a verbal agreement, without any oath of souls binding us."

Elder Songhe felt a chill run down his spine and immediately said, "The talisman is not with you. If you force your way in, we will all destroy our martial forms and our souls will be scattered. You will never find the talisman again."

Lai Chunshan remained calm and confidently replied, "It's alright, I am proficient in advanced soul-searching techniques."

The atmosphere in the room froze instantly.

After a moment, Lai Chunshan spoke slowly, with absolute certainty: "I bet you wouldn't dare risk your lives. It's simply not worth sacrificing your soul and life for a few cultivation resources."

Elder Songhe sighed in despair, utterly powerless to resist. The situation was completely out of control; they had long since become pawns to be manipulated at will.

Yan Qibing, who was standing to the side, advised, "Elder, things have come to this point. The most important thing is to hand over the talisman to save your life." He had long since given up on the opportunity, and his only obsession was to avenge his fellow disciple, Senior Brother Yu.

Elder Songhe knew perfectly well that even with his and his fellow elders' combined strength, they were no match for Su Mu.

Right now, their only reliance is Lai Chunshan, and the other Martial Emperor realm experts that Lai Chunshan plans to invite from the Wulong Continent.

Forced by the situation, they had no choice but to fully cooperate with Lai Chunshan.

More importantly, if they stubbornly refuse to hand over the divine talisman, completely enraging Lai Chunshan, he will most likely abandon them after returning to seek help, never to return. At that time, they will lose both their backer and their chance to seize the martial arts secret realm, ending up with nothing.

After much deliberation, Elder Songhe sighed helplessly and finally came to terms with reality.

"That's enough."

Elder Songhe looked dejected, knowing that he and his group were no match for the powerful and had no choice but to compromise. "Since Senior Lai has made up his mind, we are powerless to stop him and can only follow his arrangements. But I have one request: Senior must keep his promise. When you gather the talismans to open the secret realm, you must take us with you to the place where the Martial God sleeps."

Lai Chunshan remained expressionless and immediately nodded in agreement: "Okay, I promise you."

After receiving a verbal promise, Elder Songhe slowly revealed the exact location where the divine talisman was hidden. The talisman was buried deep underground, with multiple layers of seals concealing its aura, making it difficult for even ordinary Martial Emperors to detect its presence.

To protect themselves and prevent Lai Chunshan from turning on them and silencing them after obtaining the talisman, Elder Songhe and his group did not personally lead the way to the hiding place, and maintained a safe distance from Lai Chunshan throughout the journey.

Lai Chunshan didn't care at all and had no concern about being deceived.