The Undying Immortal System Chapter 490 – Life 120, Age 108, Martial Sovereign 1

After Emperor Li’s “ascension,” I was prepared for an endless stream of envoys, threats, and negotiations from the continent’s various powers. Instead, I was t with more than a month of complete silence. When soone finally did reach out to , it was not a devil from the Northern Anvil or a creature from the Isle of Beasts, but a youthful-looking man wearing the pale blue robes of the Li Clan.

I erged from my cultivation chamber to find this man strutting about my personal residence like he owned the place. I had, of course, installed multiple defensive formations to prevent such intrusions, but they were completely ineffective against this visitor.

“The effects of your Drill of Restlessness have been deed acceptable,” he said, not even sparing a glance. “Begin work on a technique for ascending to Demon Spirit imdiately.”

A quick scan with energy vision revealed that this man was a Martial Spirit, soone I could not yet afford to offend. So, suppressing my irritation, I cupped my fists in a martial salute. “Greetings, Your Excellency. I am Su Fang, Supre Elder of the Amorphous Blade Sect. How may I address you?”

He paused briefly, then let out a dismissive grunt. “I am Li TianYu, Third Elder of the exalted Li Clan. The Amorphous Blade Sect has been placed under my jurisdiction. Obey my orders faithfully, and I will not treat you unfairly.”

“Elder Li,” I began, choosing my words carefully. “As I am sure you are aware, developing a new cultivation technique is neither quick nor easy.”

He rolled his eyes, making no effort to hide his impatience.

“Additionally,” I continued, “developing a new Rank of body cultivation requires studying demon beasts of the appropriate level. Without observing Rank 7 beasts ascend to Rank 8, I will not be able to develop a Rank 8 technique.”

Li TianYu waved off, dismissing my concerns entirely. “This has already been arranged. You need only concern yourself with your assigned task.”

I couldn’t help but stare in disbelief. Did Li TianYu truly think that barging into my residence and issuing orders would secure my cooperation? More to the point, why would the people behind him send soone like this to negotiate with ? A lone cultivator could be dismissed as either arrogant or mad, but dismissing the entirety of the Li Clan would be a mistake.

So, what ga were they playing?

Were they pushing Li TianYu forward to play the villain so that so other negotiator would seem more reasonable? Was this even truly the Li Clan’s doing? The Nine Rivers Saint ca from the Jiu Clan. The Jiu Clan might be using Li TianYu as a pretext to take over as my new handlers.

Of course, this was all rely conjecture. For all I knew, this encounter might have been a sche orchestrated by the Devil Saint or the Saint of Liberation.

I could speculate endlessly, but none of these possibilities was of any real importance. The Li Clan possessed the things I needed, so for the ti being, I had no choice but to work with them, even if that ant dealing with soone like Li TianYu.

I smiled politely and lowered my head. “Very well. I will begin investigating the possibility of creating a Rank 8 wind-based body cultivation technique imdiately. This will take ti, however. To complete it, I must first ascend to Martial Spirit, which will require at least four more mbers of the Su Clan to ascend to Sovereign. If you wish to accelerate this process, you may want to consider granting us control over a few more cities. The larger our territory grows, the faster we can advance.”

Li TianYu had worn a lazy smirk throughout our entire conversation, but the mont I ntioned handing over territory, his expression darkened.

“Fine,” he spat. Then, he turned as if to leave.

I raised a hand to stop him. “There is still the matter of paynt.”

“What?” he growled. “You dare make demands of the Li Clan?”

“Two Heaven-Rank cultivation techniques,” I said. “One must be a wind technique, and the other must be dual-elent. I will also require the corresponding martial techniques.”

Li TianYu’s eyes widened with fury, but I continued before he could interrupt.

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“I will also require access to your clan’s wind-based fire seeds, including at least five Earth-Rank seeds.”

“Absurd!” he snapped. “The Li Clan will never agree to such outrageous demands. You are our vassal. You will do as I say.”

I cupped my fists once more. “Apologies, Elder Li, but these are my requirents. Should the Li Clan find them unacceptable, I will have no choice but to seek cooperation elsewhere. Please let any interested parties know that I am specifically seeking wind-based seeds and techniques. Other elents will not be accepted.”

Li TianYu glared at for several long seconds before slashing his hand through the air to create a portal. Then, he stepped through without another word.

Li TianYu’s departure was followed by another long period of silence.

More troubling, I found myself unable to contact i, Yan, or anyone else from the Nine Rivers Continent. From what I could gather, Emperor Li’s ascension had thrown the continent into turmoil, with the various forces scrambling to carve up everything he had left behind.

I wasn’t overly concerned about the people themselves. If i and the others died, they would simply return at the beginning of the next loop. This might even spare from having to make a decision regarding i’s offer of a permanent alliance.

No, the only thing that truly worried was the whereabouts of Emperor Li’s mory orbs. Losing them would be a major setback, and if they fell into the wrong hands, the information they contained would be far too revealing.

The temptation to kill myself and reset the tiline was almost overwhelming. Still, I forced myself to remain patient. Emperor Li had understood the danger of those orbs when he took them. I had to trust that he knew what he was doing.

After two months of waiting, word finally arrived. The Li Clan had accepted my offer—for the most part.

They refused to provide any martial techniques, and the two cultivation techniques would only be of the Low-Heaven Rank. Furthermore, I would only have one day to study them. As for the fire seeds, the original five Earth-Rank seeds had been reduced to three.

As the Li Clan’s ssenger explained these terms, I could tell he was prepared for a prolonged negotiation.

However, rather than waste ti arguing, I simply accepted. While this offer was far less than what I had asked for, it was enough for to accomplish my objectives.

The sa day I finalized my agreent with the Li Clan, I received a visit from one of the Sect Affairs Bureau’s elders. After observing all the standard pleasantries, the elder took a sip of tea as he fixed with an expectant gaze.

“Supre Elder Su, the Bureau remains hopeful that your sect will join the Heroes Domain. Have you given the matter further thought?”

I shook my head. “No, Elder. At present, we have no intention of swearing any Oaths.”

The elder’s fingers slowly traced the rim of his teacup as he studied . The smile on his face remained polite, but it no longer reached his eyes. “Do not be so hasty, Elder Su. The Amorphous Blade Sect possesses trendous potential. I would hate to see its future ruined by prideful obstinance.”

I calmly raised my own teacup and took a slow sip, offering only silence in response to his attempted persuasion.

The elder’s smile gradually faded. “Elder Su, let be frank. Without joining a domain, there is no possibility of you acquiring a Heaven-Rank martial technique.”

He leaned forward. “If your sect joins the Heroes Domain, we will not only provide Low-Heaven techniques, but also Mid-Heaven techniques that are suitable for Martial Spirits. Furthermore, the Amorphous Blade Sect will imdiately be granted provisional Two-Star status, allowing one of your mbers to ascend to Martial Spirit at the earliest possible opportunity.”

I almost wanted to laugh.

Granting us provisional Two-Star status was aningless. As long as we remained outside the Heroes Domain, we could ignore their restrictions entirely and ascend whenever we wished. The Mid-Heaven techniques were slightly more appealing, but as long as I could acquire the Low-Heaven versions, upgrading them would only cost a handful of credits.

Still, I did my best to maintain a polite expression. “Those are indeed generous terms, Elder. However, there are other ways for us to obtain what we need. As long as we continue trading body cultivation techniques, it is only a matter of ti before soone offers us a martial technique in return.”

The elder gave a condescending smile and shook his head. “I am aware of your arrangent with the Li Clan. However, you should not expect such favorable terms to continue indefinitely.”

He gently set down his teacup. “You are the only person who has successfully developed entirely new Ranks of body cultivation, but each Saint has at least one expert who is capable of modifying existing techniques. The mont you hand that Rank 8 technique over to the Li Clan, your value to the rest of us will vanish. After all, why negotiate with you when the Li Clan already has everything we need?”

I let the silence linger for several monts before speaking. “Are you not worried that, if you do this, I will refuse to develop a Rank 9 technique?”

The elder shook his head without the slightest hesitation. “Unless you submit to one of the Saints, you will not be permitted to ascend to Martial Ancestor. And if you do not advance to Martial Ancestor, you will not be able to create such a technique anyway.”

He paused briefly before continuing. “Even without this restriction, the likelihood of you successfully creating a Rank 9 technique remains extrely small. Very few demon beasts reach Rank 9, and without suitable reference material, completing such a technique is impossible.”

I placed my teacup down with a soft click. “I appreciate your concern, Elder, but my position has not changed. Please, take care on your journey back.”

After seeing the elder out, I returned to my cultivation chamber to focus on expanding my inner world. I didn’t know when matters would co to a head, but I would need to be ready for that day whenever it finally arrived.