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 met with more than a month of complete silence. When someone finally did reach out to me, 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 emerged 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 deemed acceptable,” he said, not even sparing me a glance. “Begin work on a technique for ascending to Demon Spirit immediately.”

A quick scan with energy vision revealed that this man was a Martial Spirit, someone 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, Supreme 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 me 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 someone like this to negotiate with me? 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 game were they playing?

Were they pushing Li TianYu forward to play the villain so that some other negotiator would seem more reasonable? Was this even truly the Li Clan’s doing? The Nine Rivers Saint came 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 merely conjecture. For all I knew, this encounter might have been a scheme 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 time being, I had no choice but to work with them, even if that meant dealing with someone 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 immediately. This will take time, however. To complete it, I must first ascend to Martial Spirit, which will require at least four more members 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 moment I mentioned 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 payment.”

“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-element. 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 requirements. 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 elements will not be accepted.”

Li TianYu glared at me 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 Mei, 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 Mei and the others died, they would simply return at the beginning of the next loop. This might even spare me from having to make a decision regarding Mei’s offer of a permanent alliance.

No, the only thing that truly worried me was the whereabouts of Emperor Li’s memory 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 timeline 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 messenger explained these terms, I could tell he was prepared for a prolonged negotiation.

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

The same day I finalized my agreement 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 me with an expectant gaze.

“Supreme 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 me. 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 tremendous 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 me 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 immediately be granted provisional Two-Star status, allowing one of your members to ascend to Martial Spirit at the earliest possible opportunity.”

I almost wanted to laugh.

Granting us provisional Two-Star status was meaningless. 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 time before someone offers us a martial technique in return.”

The elder gave me a condescending smile and shook his head. “I am aware of your arrangement 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 moment 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 moments 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 extremely 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 come to a head, but I would need to be ready for that day whenever it finally arrived.