Chapter 1212: Difficult Negotiations
"Want to take away ten million drops of Divine Blood? That's impossible."
"After hundreds of thousands of years of consumption, the remaining Divine Blood in the Blood God's divine corpse is already scarce. If we don't use it sparingly, it will be exhausted soon. Without the support of Divine Blood, an ancient sect will inevitably decline."
Elder Yuanxing's attitude was quite resolute, as if Zhang Ruochen would have to step over his dead body first to take away ten million drops of Divine Blood.
Elder Yuanzhou wiped the sweat from his forehead and said, "The energy of Divine Blood is extremely fierce. A single drop falling to the ground can shatter a mountain. A single drop falling on a hundred-pattern sacred artifact can pierce through it. There is no vessel capable of holding ten million drops of Divine Blood."
"I wouldn't be so sure."
Zhang Ruochen took out a jar made from the wood of the Sky-Connecting Divine Tree, holding it in his palm, and said, "This can be used to hold Divine Blood."
The Divine Martial Mark that Elder Yuanxing had awakened was of the wood attribute, so he had a very keen perception of wood-type spiritual treasures.
The wooden jar in Gu Linfeng's hands was undoubtedly an extraordinary wood-type treasure of great significance, containing extremely profound Sacred Dao rules within its wood.
Elder Yuanxing snatched the half-foot-tall wooden jar from Zhang Ruochen's hands, almost as if he were grabbing it.
"This wooden jar... this is... impossible..."
Elder Yuanxing carefully examined the patterns on the wooden jar while channeling a wisp of Saint Qi into it to probe the wood-type power inside.
As an old antique who had lived for hundreds of years, Elder Yuanxing was naturally well-traveled and knowledgeable. He had some guesses, but he still found it hard to believe.
Elder Yuanzhou looked quite surprised, having never seen Elder Yuanxing so flustered. Curious, he asked, "What wooden jar? Is it a jar made from the wood of a medieval sacred tree?"
A medieval sacred tree was priceless; even a single chip shaved off it was worth a Sacred Stone.
If the wooden jar Gu Linfeng had taken out was indeed made from the wood of a medieval sacred tree, it could at least fetch an astonishing price of several hundred Sacred Stones.
Elder Yuanxing shook his head, unable to hide the shock in his heart. Staring at Zhang Ruochen, his voice trembled slightly as he said, "This is a jar made from the wood of the legendary... Sky-Connecting Divine Tree?"
"That's right."
Zhang Ruochen appeared quite calm, not thinking it was anything remarkable.
After all, in the Scroll World, the stump of the Sky-Connecting Divine Tree was enormous, enough to make tens of thousands of wooden jars, cheaper than cabbage.
Moreover, the Divine Wood Qi in the stump had all been used to nurture the new Divine Tree, having been completely drained.
In Zhang Ruochen's view, the wood of the Sky-Connecting Divine Tree had no value left.
Zhang Ruochen added, "It was a chance encounter. I obtained a batch of jars made from the Sky-Connecting Divine Tree, but unfortunately, the Divine Wood Qi in the wood has been completely lost. They can only be used to store Saint Blood and Divine Blood."
Elder Yuanxing was so excited that flames seemed to leap from his eyes. "Who told you that once the Divine Wood Qi is lost, the wood loses its value? This is wood from the Sky-Connecting Divine Tree! Even without Divine Wood Qi, it is a supreme treasure for alchemy and artifact refining."
"When refining Sacred Pills, adding some wood powder from the Sky-Connecting Divine Tree can elevate the pill's grade by a significant margin."
"When refining wood-type sacred artifacts, adding wood from the Sky-Connecting Divine Tree not only increases the success rate of refining but also enhances the artifact's power."
"Moreover, cultivators with a wood-type physique, by refining enough wood from the Sky-Connecting Divine Tree, can absorb it like a Sacred Source, making it easier to cultivate to the Saint Realm."
"Is that so?"
Zhang Ruochen felt somewhat surprised, having previously overlooked the immense value of the Sky-Connecting Divine Tree's wood.
The main reason was that he had so much of it before him; the more abundant something is, the cheaper it seems.
Yet he didn't realize that the greatest dream of alchemy masters and artifact refining masters in the Kunlun Realm was to find a piece of Sky-Connecting Divine Tree wood to refine ancient Sacred Pills and powerful sacred artifacts.
Gradually, Elder Yuanxing's mood calmed down, and he asked, "Sect Leader, exactly how many wooden jars made from the Sky-Connecting Divine Tree did you obtain?"
Zhang Ruochen thought for a moment, then took out nearly a hundred wooden jars of various sizes from his Space Ring, all made from the wood of the Sky-Connecting Divine Tree.
The smallest jar was only the size of a palm.
The largest jar was a full two meters tall.
Elder Yuanxing and Elder Yuanzhou were not particularly surprised that Zhang Ruochen had a Space Ring, as the entire cultivation world was buzzing with rumors that this young Sect Leader had a deep friendship with the Heir of Time and Space. It was perfectly normal for him to have obtained a Space Ring from that heir.
However, the sight of all these jars, large and small, left them dumbfounded once again.
The two Saint Elders looked at each jar as if it were a stunning beauty, eager to pounce and hold them tightly in their arms.
Zhang Ruochen smiled and said, "If the two Saint Elders agree to let me, the Sect Leader, take ten million drops of Divine Blood, all these jars can be handed over to you to handle."
"No."
Elder Yuanxing calmed down, staring at the jars laid out on the ground, then at the Blood God's divine corpse. After much deliberation, he said, "One hundred thousand drops of Divine Blood, no more."
"That's right. One hundred thousand drops of Divine Blood is already the limit that the Blood God Sect can bear. Even when the previous Sect Leader was in power, the most he ever took was thirty thousand drops, and even that faced unanimous opposition from the sect's saints," Elder Yuanzhou said.
Even as Sect Leader, one could not act arbitrarily.
The elders of the Elder Council could veto some of the Sect Leader's more extreme decisions.
For instance, Zhang Ruochen's desire to take ten million drops of Divine Blood was an extremely extreme act that no elder would agree to.
Zhang Ruochen frowned, then said, "Taking ten million drops at once is indeed hard for you to accept. How about this: I, the Sect Leader, will offer some more treasures in exchange for the Divine Blood?"
"What treasures?"
Elder Yuanxing and Elder Yuanzhou looked at him with anticipation.
The Sect Leader was still very young, but his fortune was remarkably strong. He had obtained a large batch of Sky-Connecting Divine Tree wood, and he might even have other supreme treasures.
The wood of the Sky-Connecting Divine Tree could enhance the overall strength of the Blood God Sect, worthy of being called a "Sect-Suppressing Treasure."
If the Sect Leader could produce another "Sect-Suppressing Treasure," the Elder Council might relax the limits and allow him to take more Divine Blood.
Zhang Ruochen took out another wooden jar from his Space Ring and handed it to Elder Yuanxing.
"Another jar made from Sky-Connecting Divine Tree wood? Just how much wood did he get?"
Elder Yuanxing tried to stay calm as he took the jar and opened its lid.
"Whoosh!"
Black light surged out from the jar, releasing a faint medicinal fragrance that spread in all directions in an instant.
Elder Yuanxing quickly closed the lid, his expression uncertain. "Is the jar filled with seventh-rank Sacred Source Spiritual Liquid?"
"That's right. The seventh-rank Sacred Source Spiritual Liquid in this jar is a treasure I seized from the Azure Dragon Ruins Realm. There are five thousand small cups in total, enough to refine five thousand Sacred Yuan Pills. How many drops of Divine Blood do the two elders think this is worth?" Zhang Ruochen asked.
Sacred Yuan Pills could be used to cultivate a large number of Half-Saints, possessing immeasurable value.
Obtaining five thousand small cups of Sacred Source Spiritual Liquid in one go filled Elder Yuanxing and Elder Yuanzhou with ecstatic joy, as these resources could quickly restore the Blood God Sect's vitality.
After some discussion, the two Saint Elders estimated the value of the five thousand small cups of Sacred Source Spiritual Liquid.
Elder Yuanzhou grabbed the jar, moving it and the five thousand cups of Sacred Source Spiritual Liquid behind him, then raised five fingers and replied to Zhang Ruochen, "Fifty thousand drops of Divine Blood."
"One small cup of Sacred Source Spiritual Liquid for ten drops of Divine Blood—that seems reasonable."
Zhang Ruochen didn't haggle with them. Instead, with a slight curl of his lips, he took out twenty more large wooden jars from his Space Ring. "Each of these jars before you contains fifty thousand small cups of Sacred Source Spiritual Liquid, totaling one million small cups. With these, I want to take ten million drops of Divine Blood. The two elders shouldn't have any objections now, should they?"
"One million small cups of Sacred Source Spiritual Liquid... How is that possible?"
Elder Yuanxing and Elder Yuanzhou felt utterly bewildered. Even with their mental fortitude and experience, they were stunned by the treasures Zhang Ruochen kept pulling out.
After all, the Blood God Sect had sent a large number of Half-Saints to the Azure Dragon Ruins Realm to compete for Sacred Source Spiritual Liquid, but all those Half-Saints combined hadn't collected even a thousand small cups.
That this young Sect Leader could produce one million small cups in one go was naturally hard for them to believe.
The two Saint Elders quickly opened the lids of the twenty jars, and indeed, they were all filled with Sacred Source Spiritual Liquid. A rough estimate confirmed there was indeed one million small cups.
Their minds were shaken, and they stood there dazed, their breathing even stopping.
Even at the Blood God Sect's peak, it only had a stockpile of a few thousand small cups of Sacred Source Spiritual Liquid.
One million small cups would be enough for the Blood God Sect to use generously for a thousand years.
Of course, if they could fully utilize all one million cups of Sacred Source Spiritual Liquid, the Blood God Sect could cultivate a massive number of Half-Saints in a short time, rising rapidly to become prosperous and powerful.
How could the two Saint Elders remain calm?
Of course, they didn't know that Zhang Ruochen had seized a vast amount of Sacred Source Spiritual Liquid in the Azure Dragon Ruins Realm, and one million small cups was only a small portion of it.
After a long while, Elder Yuanzhou finally spoke. "Ten million drops of Divine Blood... isn't that too much? Sect Leader, even if you want to train your physical body, there's no need to take so much at once."
As he said this, Elder Yuanzhou stepped forward three paces, shielding the twenty jars of Sacred Source Spiritual Liquid behind him, clearly worried that Zhang Ruochen might take them back.
"I, the Sect Leader, have no intention of wasting the Divine Blood. I plan to use it to refine Blood-Suppressing Talismans to counter the Undying Blood Clan. If we can possess a large number of Blood-Suppressing Talismans, we won't have to fear retaliation from the Undying Blood Clan."
Zhang Ruochen revealed some information about the Blood-Suppressing Talismans to Elder Yuanxing and Elder Yuanzhou.
The two Saint Elders were indeed worried that the Undying Blood Clan might retaliate against the Blood God Sect. Upon learning Zhang Ruochen's true purpose for taking the Divine Blood, they began to waver.
After all, they had witnessed the power of the Blood-Suppressing Talisman. It could suppress even the Sect Leader's wife, let alone other Undying Blood Clan saints.