Chapter 231: Chapter 229: Open and Aboveboard Extortion

"It’s actually very simple to get me to come out!"

From behind the stone door, Jiang Chen’s calm voice drifted out, sounding completely unconcerned. It made Elder Zhang’s and Elder Zou’s faces turn as black as a skillet.

Elder Zhang’s face was grim. "Go on, then. What exactly will it take for you to come out?"

"Oho, Elder Zhang seems rather impatient, doesn’t he?" Jiang Chen chuckled mockingly. "This disciple wouldn’t dare offend you. You’re a distinguished Inner Sect Elder, a man of high status and great power. I think I’d better just stay here and cultivate obediently!"

The moment he said that,

Elder Zhang’s expression stiffened.

Beside him, Elder Zou was frantically shooting him meaningful glances.

"Sigh..."

Elder Zhang let out a bitter laugh, his head drooping in resignation. He forced his voice to be as gentle as possible. "Jiang Chen, you must have misheard me. How could this elder be impatient? I’m absolutely delighted to be able to speak with you!"

"Right, right! This is a blessing we’ve earned over ten lifetimes!" Elder Zou chimed in.

Behind the stone door,

Jiang Chen was circulating the Profound Yellow Undying Technique, using the massive influx of Spiritual Qi to bombard the Mixed Element Golden Pill in his Dantian. A smug smile graced his face as he continued, "Oh, I see. In that case, this disciple won’t waste any more of you two elders’ time!"

"Whatever your demands are, just name them, as long as you come out of the Sword Pool as soon as possible!" Elder Zou said quickly.

Elder Zhang also nodded. "Yes, yes! As long as you’re willing to come out of the Sword Pool, we’ll be sure to make you satisfied!"

"This disciple does indeed have a few small matters that require the help of you two elders!"

"What is it? Just say it!"

"As long as it’s within our power, we’ll absolutely get it done for you!"

The two elders promised, patting their chests.

At this moment...

The two elders were on the verge of a breakdown.

As Inner Sect Elders, they were lofty and superior. When had they ever been pushed into such a corner by a mere Outer Sect Disciple?

But the situation was beyond their control. When you’re under someone else’s roof, you have to bow your head.

Jiang Chen’s eyes darted around as he said with a smile, "This disciple needs a few medicinal ingredients. To you two elders, they’re nothing particularly precious."

"Medicinal ingredients? That’s simple! As long as you name them, the two of us guarantee we’ll find them for you!" Elder Zhang said confidently.

The Saint Martial Sword Sect had its own Spirit Medicine Pavilion.

With their status, they could even get their hands on some Tier Four Spirit Medicines.

Jiang Chen’s eyes lit up, and he began to list his demands slowly and deliberately, "I need Flying Immortal Tendon Grass, a Celestial Snow Lotus, ten drops of Beast Blood from an Armor-Breaking Beast, a Thousand-Year-Old Ginseng, and a Bodhi Seed... As for Spirit Medicines, these are all I need for now. They’re not exactly rare treasures, so I’m sure you two elders can handle it! As for my other conditions... well, I’ll tell you what they are after you bring me these ingredients!"

"..."

Elder Zhang and Elder Zou were dumbfounded.

The two of them looked at each other, speechless.

Holy shit!

’Not exactly rare treasures?’

The Flying Immortal Tendon Grass and the Celestial Snow Lotus weren’t a big deal, only worth a few thousand Contribution Points. But the problem was the Armor-Breaking Beast’s Beast Blood.

That was a scarce resource.

Even with the power of the Saint Martial Sword Sect, they only had about a hundred drops of Armor-Breaking Beast Blood in total. Each drop was priced at five thousand Contribution Points. Ten drops... that was fifty thousand Contribution Points!

If they added in the other ingredients Jiang Chen mentioned, just gathering these materials would cost nearly one hundred thousand Contribution Points!

That was an absolutely enormous sum!

"Jiang Chen, aren’t your demands a bit much? This is a hundred thousand Contribution Points..." Elder Zhang said, his expression troubled.

Jiang Chen said coolly, "I’m about to start cultivating. When you bring the medicinal ingredients, we can continue our talk. Or... you could just refuse my conditions. In any case, I can only stay in the Sword Pool for ten days."

"Hey, hey, Jiang Chen..."

"You can’t do this! Let’s talk some more?"

From behind the stone door: "..."

The two elders, Zhang and Zou, looked at each other with miserable expressions. "What do we do?"

"What else can we do? This kid is the type who won’t lift a finger without seeing a reward. Besides meeting his demands, what other choice do we have?" Elder Zou rolled his eyes, utterly exasperated. "Elder Zhang, this whole mess is your fault. Who told you to provoke Jiang Chen for no reason? You’re paying the hundred thousand Contribution Points!"

"I... I’ll pay!"

Elder Zhang gritted his teeth in anger. His gaze toward the stone door grew colder and more venomous.

One hundred thousand Contribution Points was indeed a huge sum.

But guarding the Sword Pool was an incredibly lucrative post, and the two of them had secretly accepted no small number of benefits.

To protect this lucrative post, they could only compromise!

It had to be said, the Saint Martial Sword Sect truly lived up to its name as the most powerful sect in the Saint Martial Dynasty. The reserves in the Spirit Medicine Pavilion were indeed incredibly vast. After paying a grand total of 110,000 Contribution Points, the two elders returned to the Sword Pool with the medicinal ingredients Jiang Chen had listed.

Elder Zhang’s face was grim. "Jiang Chen, we brought back the things you wanted. You can come out now, right?"

"Oh? You brought everything back? As expected of Inner Sect Elders, you two are truly generous. Please trouble yourselves to send the ingredients in!"

A small opening appeared on the stone door.

The corner of Elder Zhang’s eye twitched as he tossed the Storage Ring inside.

Inside the stone door,

Jiang Chen inspected the Spirit Medicines inside the Storage Ring. Nothing was missing. A smile appeared on his face. ’I’ve finally gathered all the Spirit Medicines needed to refine the Second Revolution Tyrant Essence Pill.’

"Jiang Chen, you’ve received the Spirit Medicines. You can come out now, can’t you?" Elder Zhang said, suppressing his rage.

Jiang Chen rolled his eyes and continued, "Don’t be hasty. I have one more condition!"

"Speak!"

the two elders demanded, their faces grim.

Jiang Chen said with a beaming smile, "Elders, this disciple has heard that the Sword Pool is divided into a Main Sword Pool and Sub-Sword Pools. I was cultivating perfectly well in the Sword Pool, on the verge of breaking through to the Heavenly Destiny Realm, but because of you, I have to give up halfway. This disciple hopes you two elders can grant me a spot to cultivate in the Main Sword Pool!"

"In your dreams!"

"Wishful thinking!"

the two roared.

The Sub-Sword Pool cost one hundred thousand Contribution Points a day!

The Main Sword Pool cost one million Contribution Points to cultivate in for a day!

How could the two of them possibly let Jiang Chen go cultivate in the Main Sword Pool?

"Is that a no?"

Jiang Chen put on a disappointed look and sighed. "Sigh... If it’s not possible, then I guess this disciple will have to make do and continue cultivating in the Sub-Sword Pool. But... I can’t guarantee that if I go to another Sub-Sword Pool to cultivate, I won’t... cause some other kind of incident!"

’Damn it!’

’You two old bastards tried to fool me with a Sword Pool that had a damaged Spirit Array.’

’If I don’t make you bleed for this, then my name isn’t Jiang!’

Elder Zou and his companion’s faces were as black as charcoal. They looked at each other, almost grinding their teeth to dust.

"This is infuriating!"

"Jiang Chen, don’t push it too far."

the two said through gritted teeth.

Jiang Chen said coolly, "Alright, since you two elders are unwilling, I suppose this disciple will have to reluctantly persevere here for a few more days. It’s fine. The environment is a little tough, but seeing as you two were so enthusiastic about delivering the Spirit Medicines, this disciple will just grit his teeth and bear it!"

’Bear it?’

’Bear it, my ass!’

’You took over a hundred thousand Contribution Points’ worth of ingredients, and you’re still "bearing it"? Still "reluctantly"?’

The two elders were about to cry. They were sick with regret. Why, oh why, did they have to provoke this difficult little ancestor for no reason?

Elder Zou looked at Elder Zhang with a long face. "Just agree to his demands!"

"But..." Elder Zhang said, unwilling to give in.

Before he could finish, Elder Zou cut in, "This kid is a bottomless pit! We should just get rid of him as quickly as we can! If we keep dragging this out, I’m afraid he’ll just come up with more demands. In the end, we’re the ones who will suffer."

"I... I..." Elder Zhang looked dejected and said huffily, "Fine, let him be smug for a little while longer."

"Jiang Chen, the two of us agree to your demand!" Elder Zou announced, his face grim.

"Oh my, you agree? Then this disciple must thank you two elders in advance... Oh, right, I have one last request..." Under the grim and venomous glares of the two elders, Jiang Chen spoke slowly and deliberately. "You are both Inner Sect Elders. If you were to retaliate against this disciple, I wouldn’t be able to handle the consequences. So... this disciple would like to ask you two elders to swear a Heart Demon Oath that this matter is over and you will not make things difficult for me!"

"Fine, we agree!"

The two swore the Heart Demon Oath through gritted teeth.

Only then did Jiang Chen open the stone door in satisfaction. Under the gazes of the two elders, which were so intense they could have eaten him alive, he walked out with a calm smile on his face, head held high, and strode towards the Main Sword Pool.

Behind him, the two lofty Inner Sect Elders’ eyes were ice-cold, and they were so furious they nearly fainted.

[First Chapter of the day. Second Chapter coming right up. There will be four Chapters today!]