The news Li Tiancheng brought back was like a drop of cold water in a hot pan, instantly causing the situation to erupt.
"Is he insane? The Dragon Blood Ginseng is one of our clan’s most important Spirit Plants! How could we possibly hand it over to him? No! I refuse!" Li Siyang roared, his eyes wide with agitation.
The three main ingredients for the Foundation Establishnt Pill were the Dragon Blood Ginseng, the Foundation Establishnt Fruit, and the Star Tempering Fruit. Each one was exceptionally precious and virtually impossible to find on the open market, as they were all monopolized by major powers.
The Li Clan had only acquired the Dragon Blood Ginseng by a stroke of good fortune; their previous Clan Leader had luckily discovered it while exploring an ancient cave dwelling and brought it back.
Unfortunately, after all these years, they still had no leads on the other two ingredients. Thus, the Dragon Blood Ginseng had remained unused—a veritable white elephant.
Even so, Li Siyang had no intention of handing over the Dragon Blood Ginseng. For one, he was still clinging to unrealistic fantasies. For another, he was voicing his discontent—in a four-clan alliance, why should his clan be the only one with an extra condition?
"Fellow Daoist Li, while the Dragon Blood Ginseng is one of the three main ingredients for the Foundation Establishnt Pill, it is, after all, only one of them. Your Li Clan has been trying to gather the others for so many years; have you ever succeeded?" Yu Chengshan said bluntly, rising to his feet.
Li Siyang retorted, "What do you know? The Song Clan already has the Star Tempering Fruit! If they get the Dragon Blood Ginseng too, how far will they be from collecting all three?"
"With the Song Clan’s deep foundation, they’ll be able to establish a virtuous cycle in less than a hundred years. You know better than I what our fate will be then!"
"Fellow Daoist Li, you worry too much. The Foundation Establishnt Fruit is the rarest of the three ingredients; it’s not so easily obtained. Besides, if we can’t get past this current crisis, will we even be around in a hundred years?"
"Easy for you to say! You’re being generous at soone else’s expense!"
"Enough!"
Seeing the argunt was about to continue, Du Huating slamd his hand on the table, pulling everyone’s attention back to him.
He looked at Li Siyang and said sternly, "Fellow Daoist Li, I hope you can see the situation for what it is. A single Dragon Blood Ginseng in the Song Clan’s hands will, at most, add a little to their foundation.
What does that matter, as long as we can get the Song Clan to join the war?
Do you think you’re the only one making a huge sacrifice? The Song and Wang Families are demanding a sixty-percent share of the Spirit Stone Vein. My Earth Fire Sect is bearing the brunt of that, but have I complained once?
How about this: for the two hundred thousand Spirit Stones’ worth of supplies, your clan and my sect will each contribute twenty percent. Fellow Daoist Yu will contribute fifteen percent, and Fellow Daoist Qiu will contribute forty-five percent. How does that sound?"
The n in the room exchanged glances and ultimately agreed to Du Huating’s proposed distribution.
The Earth Fire Sect and the Li Clan were already making other sacrifices, so their shares were smaller. The Yu Clan’s main base of operations wasn’t in the Liuyun Mountain Range; they were joining the war rely to fulfill their obligations as allies, so they only contributed a token amount.
Even so, they had to admit Du Huating’s arrangent was quite reasonable. Strictly speaking, the Earth Fire Sect was still getting the short end of the stick.
"Alright. Since no one has any objections, send your people back to gather the supplies. We can’t afford any more delays." Du Huating waved his hand wearily, dismissing the eting.
Although Li Siyang was reluctant, he had no choice but to agree. After all, tangible supplies were far more important than a Dragon Blood Ginseng that was, for all intents and purposes, useless to them.
But the four-party alliance had no idea that they would soon co to regret the decision they made that day.
After all, the Star Tempering Fruit wasn’t the only ingredient the Song Clan possessed!
***
The four-party alliance was remarkably efficient. It took them only three days to gather the supplies and deliver them to the Song Clan. After all, the situation was dire.
Li Tiancheng was the one escorting the supplies. It seed their situation was indeed grim; they clearly couldn’t spare anyone else for the task.
"Here are one hundred thousand Spirit Stones, plus supplies worth another one hundred thousand. You can inspect them." Li Tiancheng handed several Qiankun Bags to Song Changsheng, feeling his heart bleed with every word.
Of the two hundred thousand Spirit Stones’ worth of supplies, the Earth Fire Sect had only contributed twenty percent, which amounted to forty thousand.
It might not sound like much. After all, for a power the size of the Earth Fire Sect, their total annual inco was at least thirty thousand Spirit Stones. Forty thousand was less than a year and a half’s inco.
But that wasn’t the reality of it. No clan or sect ever operated without expenditures. From an annual inco of thirty thousand Spirit Stones, they would be lucky to have five thousand left over after covering all their costs. Ending the year with only one or two thousand was the norm.
If they encountered any unexpected circumstances, they’d even have to dip into their reserves.
The Earth Fire Sect’s previous Grand Elder, Cheng Yufei, had taken tens of thousands of Spirit Stones to an auction in Luoxia City, only to die at Song Changsheng’s hands. All that money had gone down the drain.
That sum had represented the bulk of the Earth Fire Sect’s savings for the past decade.
Not long ago, the Earth Fire Sect had spent another forty thousand Spirit Stones to purchase a Foundation Establishnt Pill from an outside source, all to help their lead disciple, Li Guangzong, break through to the Foundation Establishnt realm. That expenditure had all but emptied the sect’s coffers.
So, to scrape together these forty thousand Spirit Stones’ worth of supplies, it was no exaggeration to say the Earth Fire Sect had to sell everything but the kitchen sink. For the next few years, everyone in the sect, from the top down, would have to tighten their belts.
The Earth Fire Sect was in such dire straits, and the other families weren’t much better off. Only the Yu Clan had an easier ti of it.
Song Changsheng accepted the Qiankun Bags. After confirming their contents, a smile imdiately spread across his face. ’Supplies worth two hundred thousand Spirit Stones! Even the Song Clan would need at least ten years to save up this much!’
His heart skipped a beat when he saw the ginseng that resembled a crimson dragon. ’The three main ingredients for refining the Foundation Establishnt Pill... today, I’ve finally gathered them all.’
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