"Mr. Su Ming's request is simple: to protect the tribesmen at his gathering place. Today, the tribesmen of Mr. Su Ming have already entered the city. Initially, I intended to send someone to invite you later, but since we happened to meet today, I thought I'd invite you directly as the timing is just right."

"Is that all?" Ye Shan felt somewhat dissatisfied. With Su Ming doing this, how should I name my price?

As for not cooperating, Ye Shan is no fool. Since the Star Moon Tribe intends to annex the Five Stars Remnant, they must have a certain level of confidence, and with Su Ming joining, Ye Shan doesn't see any issue with this plan.

Not taking a freely offered reward would be too foolish. Ye Shan wants to develop his gathering place into a tribe!

"Leader Ye Shan, feel free to state your demands. Mr. Su Ming is not like you!" Chen Jiuge said calmly.

"Alright, then I won't hold back!" Ye Shan was waiting for Chen Jiuge to say just that!

"First, I want food!"

"No problem, is enough meat for three thousand people for a year sufficient?"

"That works!"

"Secondly, I want weapons, the kind crafted by your Star Moon Tribe!"

The Heavenly Gift Realm is still quite backward when it comes to artifact refining. With the presence of artifact refiners like Dabai from the True Realm, the weapons produced by the Star Moon Tribe are a level higher than those refined by cultivators in the Heavenly Gift Realm, given the same materials.

"That's possible, but you'll need to provide your own materials. We can make up to a thousand weapons for you!"

The Star Moon Tribe is in short supply of artifact refiners. Compared to food, weapons are more sought after; better weapons can bring more powerful combat strength and better hunting capabilities to obtain food.

Ye Shan was somewhat dissatisfied; a thousand was too few in number. The gathering place Ye Shan commands has nearly three thousand people, making it the largest human gathering place in the Sunset Mountain Range.

With Ye Shan's strength, he could have easily become a small tribe earlier, merely by conquering the territory of a small tribe. 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

However, Ye Shan's ambitions extend beyond that. The lands of ordinary small tribes hold nothing special, and their resources are very poor; it's better to lead the strong tribesmen to wander the Sunset Mountain Range for higher yields.

The Sunset Mountain Range shows a strange phenomenon: the gap between tribes and gathering places isn't just about strength and population!

The gathering places can roam the Sunset Mountain Range, but once they enter the territory of those large tribes, they are often enslaved as labor if caught. However, these large tribes usually don't do things too extremely, generally releasing slaves after a few decades.

Gathering places can roam freely; tribes cannot. Once a tribe is established, they can only hunt within neighboring territories. Intruding into another tribe's territory could lead to small skirmishes, or even large wars between tribes, resulting in one tribe remaining.

Therefore, for a gathering place to upgrade to a tribe, the first consideration is strength; only sufficient strength can secure the territory.

The second consideration is whether the occupied territory can produce enough resources to meet the tribe's needs.

These two points seem simple but are actually challenging. After all, almost all the good resource points in the Sunset Mountain Range are occupied.

The more resource-rich an area is, the stronger the occupying tribe tends to be. Ye Shan's strength is not weak, but compared to those long-established tribes, he's still a bit lacking.

Weapons from the Star Moon Tribe provide a shortcut to quickly enhance the strength of the tribesmen.

"Lastly, I want Healing Pills!"

"Agreed, I'll provide ten thousand Detoxification Pills and ten thousand Revitalizing Pills!"

This quantity is considerable, yet it seems a bit little given the size of the Ye Shan gathering place!

"That's not enough, the quantity is too little!" Ye Shan shook his head.

Chen Jiuge nodded: "That's already a very generous offer. If not for considering the strength of Leader Ye Shan, I wouldn't even make this offer."

"After all, I'm only inviting you, Leader Ye Shan!"

"Food and weapons are acceptable, but add three times the Healing Pills. Besides me, I'll also provide three Golden Saber Warriors and two Warrior Kings!" Ye Shan said in a deep voice.

"Are you sure?" Chen Jiuge asked surprised.

The Warrior Kings and Golden Saber Warriors are powerful, but in previous battles with tribes, they don't quite stand the test, as the Five Stars Tribe is not without the ability to counterattack!

"I'm sure!"

Chen Jiuge seemed to glimpse a burning flame in Ye Shan's eyes, leaving him a bit dazed.

"Alright, if someone dies in the subsequent wars, I'll provide some resources to Leader Ye Shan based on their cultivation!" Chen Jiuge decided to back Ye Shan confidently.

Ye Shan was stunned for a moment, seemingly not expecting Chen Jiuge to say such a thing.

When deciding to dispatch other subordinates, Ye Shan was already prepared for the loss of tribesmen.

"You're so generous, then I won't be courteous. If there are any further collaborations, just send someone to notify me, and I, Ye Shan, will never refuse!"

Chen Jiuge merely chuckled at Ye Shan's words; as the leader of a faction, such words are just for listening!

........

"Clan Leader Chen, you still need to be cautious with Ye Shan. He's not like me!"

Su Ming hesitated for a long time before finally speaking the words out loud.

Chen Jiuge chuckled: "I thought Mr. Su Ming would hold back indefinitely!"

"It seems Clan Leader Chen is already aware, I was speaking too much."

"Everyone can see it; Ye Shan's ambition is vast, but alas, the Sunset Mountain Range won't allow someone with such large ambitions to exist!"

Chen Jiuge sighed; the Four Seasons Tribe is strong, but it's merely a power casually supported by the Ghost Fighting Tribe. To the Ghost Fighting Tribe, perhaps the entire Sunset Mountain Range is just a small garden.

"By the way, Su Ming, what do you think of Beng Yu?" Chen Jiuge suddenly shifted the topic.

"Beng Yu?" Su Ming seemed surprised that Chen Jiuge brought him up.

After hesitating for a long time, Su Ming put down his wine glass and said, "It depends on how the clan leader views the Alien Race?"

"How do we view the Alien Race?" Chen Jiuge slightly shook his head: "Why don't you tell me your perspective first!"

Su Ming sighed: "In my personal view, Beng Yu is quite a decent person; at least with him, one doesn't need to worry about betrayal. He's a person deeply loyal to relationships!"

"Moreover, purely in terms of strength, Beng Yu has likely reached the limits of the King Level. I suspect breaking through to the Heavenly King Level wouldn't be difficult for him; he just seems to constantly suppress his cultivation."

"Afraid to break through, probably due to the presence of more powerful tribes, it appears Beng Yu knows quite a bit!" Chen Jiuge speculated internally.

"But unfortunately, he's of the Alien Race. Beng Yu's power is strong, but constrained by the form of the Alien Race, always facing rejection. Plus, he's inherently benevolent. Clan Leader, do you know how many people are in his gathering?"

"How many? It couldn't be more than Ye Shan's gathering, could it?"

Ye Shan has such a large number because he's always been ambitious, continuously developing the population of his gathering place.

"At least ten thousand! But among these ten thousand, almost eighty percent are of the Alien Race!" Su Ming remarked.

Su Ming recalled how he couldn't believe his eyes the first time he met Beng Yu; how he managed to sustain these ten thousand people is a mystery. Such a large number, mostly made up of the elderly, weak, and sick, yet he ensured no one perished from hunger—it's incredible!

"Ten thousand!"

Chen Jiuge was momentarily taken aback and then felt a flicker of greed. If these ten thousand could be absorbed into the Star Moon Tribe, it would be a tremendous boost.

"I don't harbor much prejudice against the Alien Race; after all, I'm not from the Heavenly Gift Realm myself!"

"If I were to seek cooperation with Beng Yu, what sort of conditions do you think he would present?" Chen Jiuge inquired.

Su Ming chuckled: "Hasn't the clan leader already guessed it? It would simply be about accepting the Alien Race under his command."

"I suspect Beng Yu is already on the verge of maintaining this large gathering; as long as the clan leader is willing to provide food, Beng Yu will undoubtedly agree!"

"I think so too; let's send someone to reach out then!"

"Clan Leader, are you truly considering collaborating with Beng Yu?" Su Ming appeared shocked. Collaborating with the Alien Race would undoubtedly cause considerable controversy once the Star Moon Tribe engaged in such an alliance.

Chen Jiuge clenched his fists: "As long as we have sufficient power, as long as it can deliver greater benefits to others, collaborating with the Alien Race is no issue. Even if I directly integrate the Alien Race into the Star Moon Tribe, the best they can do is gossip."

"Clan Leader, that's bold!"

"I've collaborated with Beng Yu a few times before. If the clan leader sincerely wishes to partner with him, I'll reach out on your behalf!"

"Great, thanks for your help!"

"It's no trouble at all; I should be thanking you on behalf of Beng Yu."

"It's simply mutual benefit!"

"There's no time to waste, Clan Leader, I'll get going now!"

"Alright!"