Could it be time to go after that treasure now?
Li Daoqiang entertained this thought—five million taels of silver, and in the shortest possible time.
The only thing he could think of was the treasure from the *Liancheng Jue*.
But that treasure wasn't easy to access.
Any treasure was a curse, a source of trouble.
The *Liancheng Jue* was no different.
Though he couldn't recall which temple housed the treasure, only that its name contained the character "Tian," he did know it was near Jingzhou City.
That meant he couldn't make a big commotion, or it would spell real trouble.
Since ancient times, wealth stirred hearts. If news of that treasure leaked, countless grandmaster-level experts would absolutely come to fight for it.
More importantly, the treasure was coated in a deadly poison.
It defied logic—after all these years, the poison could still kill so many.
Of course, in this integrated martial world, logic didn't always apply; some poisons were incredibly mysterious.
But that made retrieving the treasure even harder.
No large-scale operations, and poison on top of that.
Even his poison immunity didn't guarantee he could withstand that potent toxin.
Better to play it safe.
How to get the treasure out?
Find a poison expert?
The moment that idea came, he dismissed it.
With something this big, one more person in the know meant countless more risks.
He couldn't trust anyone, not even the Black Dragon Stronghold crew.
Thinking it over, there seemed to be only one way.
He glanced at the poison immunity talent and sighed inwardly—he'd have to do it alone.
The top priority was to upgrade that talent.
One million bandit points.
That was what it cost to upgrade the poison immunity talent.
Expensive, but compared to the five million needed for the ninth level of the Dragon-Elephant Prajna Art, it wasn't that much.
In the short term, he could find a way to earn it.
Once he upgraded the poison immunity talent, he'd be fully confident in resisting the poison from the *Liancheng Jue* treasure, and he could retrieve it solo.
Bit by bit, he'd eventually bring it all back.
As for finding the treasure's location, that wasn't hard.
Near Jingzhou City, there couldn't be many temples with "Tian" in their names.
Worst case, he'd search them one by one.
He still had a clear memory of that giant golden Buddha.
Make money, earn bandit points—first, get a million.
With a plan and short-term goal set, Li Daoqiang felt a bit lighter.
He glanced at the nearly twenty thousand bandit points left but didn't use them.
It was a drop in the bucket, too little.
He'd keep them for now; they might come in handy later.
Then, he began to practice and familiarize himself with the power of the eighth level of the Dragon-Elephant Prajna Art.
His Hundred Battles Body talent kicked in, and he quickly mastered it, wielding it with ease and precision, unleashing its full might.
Back in Jingzhou City.
Sun Qian and his four companions returned with the other eight.
Tacitly, they sent the eight back first and had a brief discussion.
They agreed to meet that night to negotiate with other forces that had innate realm experts.
At the Ling Mansion.
Gao Yuan returned and reported in detail to Ling Tuisi.
Ling Tuisi's expression grew more somber.
After a long pause, he sighed meaningfully, "What a Li Daoqiang. I've underestimated him."
Gao Yuan nodded in agreement.
Coming up with this idea, regardless of how greedy it made Li Daoqiang look, showed he was no simple man.
He had both ambition and methods.
"Sir, what should we do next?" Gao Yuan asked cautiously, looking at Ling Tuisi.
Ling Tuisi was silent for a moment, then said without hesitation, "Agree."
Gao Yuan wasn't surprised, but he was worried. "Sir, once we agree, Li Daoqiang might become uncontrollable in Jingzhou."
"Heh." Ling Tuisi smiled dismissively. "So what? That's the martial world's problem. As for the court, what do I have to fear?"
Gao Yuan thought about it and nodded, flattering, "You're wise, sir."
"From now on, handling the smaller factions is your job," Ling Tuisi ordered.
"Yes." Gao Yuan nodded.
Then, Ling Tuisi's face darkened slightly, and he murmured, "From now on, it's really a cooperative relationship. Where did this Li Daoqiang come from?"
Gao Yuan cautiously suggested, "Sir, since we can't trace his origins in Jingzhou, should we report it up?"
"Not yet." Ling Tuisi shook his head, his tone firm. "His strength is enough, but it's too soon. To be safe, let's wait a while and see how things develop."
Then he smiled, confident. "No matter how formidable Li Daoqiang is, he's still just a bandit.
In Jingzhou, only I can show him a bigger world.
So if he wants to keep growing, he can't do without me as his guide."
"You're wise, sir," Gao Yuan said with a smile.
That night.
In a secluded spot, the leaders of all the major forces in Jingzhou City with innate realm experts—the innate masters—gathered.
Gao Yuan was there, representing Ling Tuisi.
Ten people in total.
Having known each other for years, they were familiar with each other's temperaments.
Without hesitation or probing, Sun Qian spoke up, laying out the whole matter.
Wan Zhenshan and the other two chimed in occasionally.
When Sun Qian fell silent, the room was still, broken only by the sound of slightly heated but deliberately restrained breathing.
They exchanged glances, their eyes meeting.
After a moment, Sun Qian spoke again, feigning difficulty. "Ten thousand taels is really a lot, and the Four Southern Heroes aren't easy to deal with."
That broke the silence.
"Yeah, ten thousand taels a month is too much. We have to negotiate with Li Daoqiang to lower it."
"Exactly, it's too much."
"I think two thousand taels is enough. Not counting the Four Southern Heroes, there are fifteen innate masters in Jingzhou. Combined, that's thirty thousand taels a month—already a lot."
"Right, thirty thousand taels a month is plenty."
"Everyone, I don't think Li Daoqiang will agree to two thousand taels. We need to set a bottom line."
"Good point. What should that bottom line be?"
·····
·····
In no time, the ten of them were deep in heated discussion.
Tacitly, they skipped over whether to agree in the first place.
They jumped straight to how to cooperate.
Finally, they settled on a number.
"Everyone, the Four Southern Heroes won't be easy to handle. Their personalities—everyone knows they won't agree to this." After finishing the first point, someone frowned, raising the second issue.
Another few seconds of silence, then someone sneered, "So what if they're the Four Southern Heroes? They may be aloof, but what about their families, relatives, and disciples?
Getting them involved is easy enough.
Once they're in, even if the Four Southern Heroes find out later, what can they do?"
"Well said. The Four Southern Heroes are strong, but Jingzhou is run by us.
If we prepare well and drag their relatives and disciples in, we can turn them into blind, deaf fools." Another chimed in, full of confidence.
"Not just that. I think some of the Four Southern Heroes have weaknesses too." Suddenly, someone else spoke.
A few of them looked thoughtful.
One laughed. "Right. Offer some benefits, and I'm sure they'll look the other way."
After more discussion, they finalized these points and began to disperse.
The next morning, they started their respective actions.
Contacting the other third-rate forces not in Jingzhou City.
Preparing to counter the Four Southern Heroes.
Going up to Black Dragon Stronghold to negotiate with Li Daoqiang.
And so on—there were many matters requiring their joint effort.
At Black Dragon Stronghold, Li Daoqiang waited for Sun Qian and Gao Yuan to arrive.
The negotiations stretched over five days.
They met three times, each time stalling over the monthly silver amount.
Li Daoqiang insisted on ten thousand taels per faction per month. If he'd had any room to compromise before, the five million bandit points needed for the ninth level of the Dragon-Elephant Prajna Art left him with none.
Every bit of silver counted.
Ten thousand taels—not a cent less.
The major Jingzhou forces raised their offer to five thousand taels a month and refused to budge, leaving both sides deadlocked.
But their preparations continued.
During this time, Black Dragon Stronghold even took over another stronghold.
The Jingzhou forces were unhappy about this, even demanding that no more strongholds be annexed.
Li Daoqiang flatly refused, saying that on Floating Cloud Mountain, there could only be one stronghold.
Though dissatisfied, the Jingzhou forces let it slide for the sake of the upcoming cooperation.
So over the next few days, most of the remaining strongholds on Floating Cloud Mountain began to disband.
Half a month passed in the blink of an eye.
That day, Li Daoqiang and the Jingzhou forces finally reached a tacit agreement—the Jingzhou side gave in.
There were sixteen factions in total, including two from the government like Ling Tuisi.
Plus some relatives and disciples of the Four Southern Heroes, making twenty.
The first sixteen paid ten thousand taels each per month.
The last four, since they were being dragged in, paid five thousand taels each per month.
In total, the Jingzhou forces had to give Li Daoqiang one hundred and eighty thousand taels of silver every month.
To some truly wealthy people, this might be a drop in the bucket.
But in Jingzhou, it was a huge sum.
So huge that the major forces in Jingzhou City were green with envy. If not for mutual benefit and Li Daoqiang's strength, they'd never have agreed.
Of course, Li Daoqiang knew they'd given in because they were ready and didn't want to waste more time making money.
With the deal done, Black Dragon Stronghold, which had unified all the strongholds on Floating Cloud Mountain over the past few days, could finally move.
Li Daoqiang smiled.
Time to make another big haul.
With a single order, and with the cooperation of the Jingzhou forces, information poured in.
For the next month, Li Daoqiang was busier than ever.
At his peak, he robbed twelve convoys in a single day.
This time, the entire Jingzhou martial world was in an uproar.
(Chapter 1, seeking support—any kind of support is welcome.)
·····