Chapter 220: Chapter 219: The Immortal City’s Pact, a 100-Year Term

"You want to take control of the Immortal City?!"

Canghai’s gaze suddenly turned sharp and cold.

BOOM!

The aura of his Crystal Perfection Magical Power was like muffled thunder exploding in the void.

An invisible pressure swept out!

He Muyun grunted, as if she were carrying a mountain on her back, unable to bear the weight!

’So strong... So this is the legend among Loose Cultivators... the top grand cultivator in this sea region?’

He Muyun’s heart pounded with fear!

She had never imagined that Canghai’s might would be so terrifying!

During the battle for the Immortal City, she had been on the Ghostly Flood Dragon, sheltered by Jiaojiao and protected by an Array.

Besides, the several Crystal Perfection cultivators had been completely suppressed and severely wounded by the Blind Saintess, reduced to mere foils!

In her subconscious, He Muyun couldn’t help but look down on them a little.

But...

Now, He Muyun realized with terror.

These Crystal Perfection cultivators certainly couldn’t defeat the Blind Saintess!

But that absolutely... did not mean they were weak!

It was just that during the battle for the Immortal City, Su Ye and the Blind Saintess were, in a sense, ’the Favored of Heaven’!

They were existences beyond the normal scale!

Compared to those guys who were basically cheating...

Uh... it was a bit unfair.

Now, directly facing the furious Canghai, He Muyun’s aura wavered, and terror washed over her!

However, in the face of this pressure, Su Ye remained perfectly calm, watching Canghai quietly as if it were nothing more than a gentle breeze.

He even had the presence of mind to take a sip of his Spirit Tea.

Seeing that Su Ye was completely unmoved, Canghai fell silent for a moment before retracting his pressure.

"What do you have in mind? Do you have a specific plan?"

His expression was neutral, showing neither joy nor anger. Clearly, his earlier ’rage’ was just a pretense.

With his several centuries of life experience, the impulsive, short-tempered aspects of his personality had long since settled, transforming into rational calmness.

Moreover, his nearly decaying body had greatly diminished his vigor.

Su Ye smiled and handed over a jade slip.

"Please, take a look."

What he offered was a ’contract’.

It stipulated the rights and obligations of both parties: Su Ye and Weiyuan Immortal City.

Su Ye was very fond of contracts.

He felt that writing things out clearly in black and white, and then having both parties follow the contract to the letter, was an extremely efficient, low-cost way of doing things that also helped build trust between both sides!

That other way of doing things—shrouded in mist, never making things clear, using coded language and veiled threats, making it easy to go back on one’s word and shirk responsibility at any time...

’It’s very satisfying, very stylish, very much the art of a ruler.’

But it also leads to a lack of trust between the two parties.

Without trust, there is no foundation for coexistence and cooperation.

If Su Ye were to do things that way, the invisible costs of controlling Weiyuan Immortal City would rise dramatically.

He would need to spend more time and energy establishing his rule.

Perhaps he would even need to carry out a massacre, purging a group of people?

This didn’t align with his goals.

’After all, factions and all that are ultimately just tools in service of my cultivation...’

Su Ye’s whole intention was to save time and energy.

That was why he planned to take over the Immortal City and its existing infrastructure, like a backdoor listing.

If it was going to be that troublesome, Su Ye might as well build his own faction from scratch!

’So, to ensure our cooperation goes smoothly, this contract is essential.’

The contents of the contract were relatively simple.

The main point was that after Canghai passed away, Su Ye would take control of Weiyuan Immortal City and become its new City Lord.

In return, however, Su Ye would also promise to maintain the Daoist lineage of Canghai Mountain.

Furthermore, after Su Ye, the next City Lord would also be chosen from among the cultivators of Canghai Mountain!

Canghai held the jade slip, his expression shifting slightly.

He had no heir, and his lifespan was nearing its end.

The only thing he couldn’t let go of was his Daoist lineage.

And now, the terms Su Ye offered had hit the bullseye!

Preserving his lineage.

And on top of that, the next City Lord would be handed over to a Canghai Mountain cultivator!

These terms could only be described as exceedingly generous!

However, after a moment of thought, Canghai discovered a loophole.

"The City Lord has no term limit. With your lifespan, you could hold the position for several centuries..."

"Then we can just set a term limit," Su Ye said coolly.

"How about we set the term at one hundred years? I’ll step down when it’s up."

Huh? 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

Now, it was Canghai’s turn to be surprised.

A hundred years?

Compared to the lifespan of a Crystal-stage cultivator, wasn’t that term a bit too short?

A few long sessions of secluded cultivation would eat up a good chunk of that time.

As if sensing Canghai’s confusion, Su Ye smiled faintly and stirred his Magical Power, deactivating the cloaking Secret Technique from the Cyan Profound Sect.

From his Dantian Qi Sea, a perfectly rounded, pure, and profoundly mysterious ripple of Magical Power flashed and vanished.

"This is..." Canghai froze, his eyes widening in disbelief.

"Circulation Magical Power?!"

The aura of Circulation Magical Power has a unique fluctuation, making it very easy to recognize.

That was why Su Ye had been using the Cyan Profound Sect’s Secret Technique, provided by He Muyun, to conceal it.

But now that he had withdrawn the Secret Technique, the aura of his Circulation Magical Power was revealed without a doubt!

"Precisely," Su Ye nodded calmly.

"With the aptitude of Circulation Magical Power, reaching the Golden Core realm within a hundred years is a certainty."

"For a Golden Core cultivator, this sea region is far too barren and small..."

"Even if the Immortal City begged me to stay, I would not linger here for long... let alone cling to power and refuse to leave."

Su Ye’s handsome face revealed an unparalleled confidence and composure.

The afternoon sun spilled down, highlighting his ink-black hair with a golden glow.

Canghai was stunned, speechless for a long time.

After a long while, he finally came to his senses and said anxiously,

"A hundred years is too short! How about we set it at two hundred?!"

Circulation Magical Power!

This was a great personage with the potential to reach Nascent Soul, even Divinity Transformation!

Even having him as a nominal City Lord would bring countless benefits to the Immortal City!

"That’s too long. By then, I’ll... have already left for the Outer Sea."

Su Ye frowned.

The two began to haggle.

It was actually Canghai trying to get him to stay, while Su Ye was trying to refuse?

Watching this scene, He Muyun couldn’t stop the corner of her mouth from twitching.

The two sides argued for a short while before finally settling on a number.

They decided on a term of one hundred and twenty years for the City Lord.

...

After the contract was signed, Su Ye took his leave.

At this moment, gazing at Su Ye’s departing figure, Canghai let out a long breath.

Suddenly, his gaze seemed to lose focus.

A flash of passion and reminiscence appeared in his cloudy eyes!

As well as... admiration!

In Su Ye, it was as if he saw his former self.

’Once upon a time, I too was like him, in the prime of my youth, full of vigor and ambition!’

’Once upon a time, I too was like him, commanding the world and looking down on all with disdain!’

"Remembering the extraordinary years of the past..."

"It truly makes one nostalgic!"

"A pity that I’ve grown old..."

Canghai sighed, a hint of sorrow appearing on his face.

His figure instantly seemed to decay, transforming into the image of a decrepit old man.

Sikong Xin came forward. "Master, are you all right..."

Canghai said, "I’m fine..."

After a moment of contemplation, he suddenly looked up and asked,

"The intelligence report says... Xiao Jiu and this Mr. Su seem to have a good relationship?"

"Master, are you thinking?" Sikong Xin was taken aback.

"Mm."

"But... we won’t force it."

"Go and ask Xiao Jiu what she thinks."