Volume Two: The Robber's Life Chapter Fourteen: The Grand Scheme

Gazing at the superior-grade divine spirit stone atop the mountain within the spatial ring, Ping Tian stood with his mouth agape, utterly speechless.

“Descendants of the Eight Great Divine Clans possess such wealth?” Ping Tian wiped the sweat from his brow. “I suppose only the Sacred Emperors of the Eight Great Divine Clans could afford such extravagance.”

Though divine spirit stones were not exceedingly rare, the Hongmeng Divine Realm had already seen the birth of more than a thousand eons, and its resources were largely exploited by now.

“This is for you,” Qin Si said with a wave of his hand, and a superior-grade celestial artifact battle armor appeared before Ping Tian. “Since you already possess a superior-grade celestial artifact, we shall gift you this battle armor. Joining the Zixuan Alliance will not come without benefits.”

“A... superior-grade celestial artifact battle armor?” Ping Tian’s eyes gleamed with excitement as he immediately caught the armor to his chest and quickly pledged himself to it with his blood, as if fearing Qin Si might regret the offer.

Such superior-grade celestial artifact battle armor was only possessed by the mightiest divine kings within the great powers of the Hongmeng Divine Realm. For an ordinary divine king, even owning one superior-grade celestial artifact was considered a great fortune.

Accepting the armor, Ping Tian’s heart surged with exhilaration. Had he known this would be the case earlier, he would never have caused any conflict; he would have pledged allegiance to the Zixuan Alliance long ago.

“Ping Tian, you shouldn’t have only six upper-tier celestials under your command, right?” Qin Si’s divine sense swept the area. Apart from the six upper-tier celestials he had detained in the Lock God Tower, there was no other presence nearby the Demon Refining Cave.

“There are nine more upper-tier celestials, but I sent them out earlier, and they have yet to return,” Ping Tian replied.

“Very well, these six upper-tier celestials will now belong to me, while the rest remain under your jurisdiction,” Qin Si said decisively.

“Yes, Alliance Leader,” Ping Tian quickly agreed, not daring to object.

“Ping Tian, the Demon Refining Cave will keep its name and nominally remain under your control. Every century, tributes must still be sent to the Demon Refining Cave. Do you understand?” Qin Shuang spoke with calm resolve. The rise of a new power was not unusual, but it must not happen too swiftly. It had only been a few years; if the Demon Refining Cave were lost so easily, life going forward would be difficult.

“Understood…” Ping Tian, clever as he was, immediately grasped Qin Shuang’s concern. “Alliance Leaders, since the Demon Refining Cave has fully submitted to the Zixuan Alliance, I have some matters to clarify.”

“Oh?” Qin Si was momentarily taken aback. “Were you hiding something earlier?”

“Not exactly hiding, just some points you two didn’t ask about,” Ping Tian smiled awkwardly. Earlier, Qin Si and Qin Shuang had only inquired about the distribution of power in the Divine Realm, so he had only addressed that. As for other matters, he had no intention of revealing the previous arrangements.

“Go on,” Qin Si said, sitting with the commanding air of a leader, ready for the report.

“Alliance Leaders, rogue factions of the Demon Refining Cave’s level are as numerous as cattle in the Divine Realm. Typically, these are divine kings unwilling to be mere underlings who gather some celestials and set up as bandits in remote places. Such cases are abundant.”

“What are you trying to say?” Qin Si’s mind raced; he had a rough idea but wanted to hear Ping Tian’s full thoughts.

“Within three million li around the Demon Refining Cave, there are five cities and over ten thousand villages. Rogue factions at this level number over seven hundred,” Ping Tian explained. “I understand the Alliance Leaders fear the Zixuan Alliance’s growth might attract attention. But if you allow that senior in green robes to assist me, I can guarantee we’ll fully control these rogue factions within a thousand years, even those five cities will be under our command.”

Qin Shuang was stunned. “Aren’t those cities owned by the Eight Great Divine Clans?” In the Linmeng Divine Realm, nearly all cities belonged to those clans.

“Heh, Alliance Leaders, you are unaware. These are small cities built by later ascendants, not the large-scale cities of the Eight Great Divine Clans!” Ping Tian chuckled. “This area, due to its scarcity of resources, has long been ignored by the major powers. Their true target is the spaces expanded every three eons within the Divine Realm. Moreover, these five cities are effectively unclaimed. The Return Heaven Gate that built them was completely destroyed two eons ago. Other powers simply disdained this place and never took control.”

“Spaces expanded every three eons?” Qin Si and Qin Shuang exchanged glances. They were completely unfamiliar with this concept.

“Well...” Ping Tian was surprised that these two alliance leaders knew nothing at all.

“Alright, I’ll start from the beginning,” Ping Tian cleared his throat. “The Divine Realm has existed for over a thousand eons. New divine beings are born constantly, who cultivate to become celestials, divine kings, or even heavenly sovereigns. Though every six eons there is a major war to reduce the population, the population still grows rapidly.

“However, starting five hundred eons ago, every three eons, the Divine Realm naturally expands a new space—either on land or sea—with abundant resources and dense divine spirit energy. These newly created spaces have become the prizes of fierce competition among all factions.

“Yet, by collective agreement among all heavenly sovereigns, aside from the wars every six eons, they do not interfere in conflicts between divine kings, including those over the newly expanded spaces.”

Qin Si and Qin Shuang instantly understood: these new spaces were surely expansions made by the great ancestor Hongmeng. Naturally, these areas would be rich in resources and divine energy.

“Continue—what happens after controlling these factions?” Qin Shuang was sharp but less proactive than Qin Si and did not think far ahead.

“Heh, this is the key point,” Ping Tian’s spirit brightened. “If the Zixuan Alliance can subdue over seven hundred such factions and occupy these five cities, covering three million li, we can add at least a thousand divine kings to our ranks. Then, we would become a new power in the Divine Realm.”

“That sounds easy. If so, why has no one done this before?” Qin Shuang shot Ping Tian a suspicious look. Such an opportunity could not be so effortlessly handed over.

“You misunderstand Ping Tian,” Qin Si smiled. “Little Shuang, what Ping Tian proposes only works for the Zixuan Alliance.”

Qin Shuang frowned and scratched the back of his head, puzzled.

“Vice Alliance Leader, you must understand this place was abandoned by the great powers due to lack of resources. But now that you have resources, naturally, you can make use of this land.”

“Exactly. Using our resources, we can attract several divine kings. Once we have a handful, we can rapidly expand and unify this region under the name of the Demon Refining Cave. Once our brothers reach the divine king realm, we can truly display our strength,” Qin Si’s eyes shone with excitement.

“Very well, we’ll discuss this first and notify you of the decision,” Qin Shuang said after some thought. “Remember, the Zixuan Alliance still nominally belongs to the Demon Refining Cave.”

“Yes, understood,” Ping Tian bowed his head promptly.

The Thousand Insect Valley had now become the main base of the Zixuan Alliance.

“Brother, do you really think Ping Tian’s plan is feasible?” Qin Shuang still harbored doubts, despite its logic.

“It is feasible, but not yet,” Qin Si smirked. “Little Shuang, don’t forget, we’re both still only upper-tier celestials. Only your avatar has reached the divine king level. If we expand too quickly, we won’t be able to manage it.

“Therefore, the immediate priority is to rapidly elevate our own strength to the divine king realm,” Qin Si’s eyes sparkled. “Based on my current estimates, it will take at least one hundred thousand years of seclusion to reach divine king level. Within the Jiang Lan Realm, it will take at least a hundred years.”

“Divine king level…” Qin Shuang remained silent. His intuition told him it might only take ten thousand years of seclusion, but he refrained from saying so, not wanting to dampen Qin Si’s spirit.

“For now, with the Demon Refining Cave managing everything, and nineteen upper-tier celestials under our command, we should be able to handle things,” Qin Si calculated. “Secluding ourselves now shouldn’t be a problem.”

After some thought, Qin Shuang made up his mind. “Alright, inform Ping Tian. We will seclude ourselves for a hundred years and only then proceed with his plan.”

In a remote mountain of the Hongmeng Divine Realm, the divine spirit energy surged wildly, so fierce that even upper-tier celestials would struggle to absorb it. Halfway up the mountain, the Jiang Lan Realm had been reduced to a tiny speck of dust lying silently on the ground, ravenously absorbing the chaotic divine spirit energy around it.

“Haha, Grandfather Lan, this Jiang Lan Realm is truly a treasure. It can even absorb such turbulent divine spirit energy,” Qin Si and Qin Shuang sat quietly within the third layer of the Jiang Lan Realm, able to absorb divine spirit energy more rapidly through it.

“Little Shuang, I hope that when I open my eyes again, your realm will surpass mine,” Qin Si sincerely said before entering a seclusion that would last a century.

Qin Shuang smiled. “Naturally. I’m afraid this time, big brother, you’ll feel inferior again.”

(To be continued)