"Father, I..." Xiang Chengyuan was about to reply after completing the task his father had entrusted to him, but he was startled as soon as he stepped inside. His father was not in much better shape, covered in sweat.
"Sit down." Song Xia looked at the two of them lightly, but it almost scared them out of their wits.
"Sir, please have some tea."
"I won't have the tea. I've arrived a day early, please excuse me."
"Not at all, not at all." The father and son forced smiles. Even if they had truly been impolite, how could they dare to blame them?
"You've come at the right time, sir. I've already imprisoned all those disciples who bullied Lord Song Luo in the past," Xiang Chengyuan said, as if seeking credit.
Song Xia raised an eyebrow: "Oh? I didn't expect you guys to have this kind of thought."
She chuckled softly, making their hearts skip a beat: "I heard from Xiao Luo that he received a lot of care from you when he was in the Tianyuan Sect."
"No, no, it's all what we should do." The two calmed down a bit. "But because Qin Taiming was too powerful at that time, we weren't able to help much."
“My son was too young then to tell whether someone meant well or was taking advantage of him.” She said meaningfully, and the father and son lowered their heads again.
Song Xia chuckled: "But he was lucky after all; he survived such a difficult time."
"Yes, yes, yes."
"I won't personally deal with those who bullied Xiao Luo. After all, they are disciples of your Tianyuan Sect, and I have to give Sect Master Xiang some face. I'm here today for another matter."
Song Xia brushed it off lightly, not because she was merciful, but because she knew that even if she didn't deal with it, given the father and son's timid and cowardly nature, they probably wouldn't let those people off easily.
"Sir, please speak."
"This is a list of goods that went missing from my Song Clan during the great war. This is a list of compensation for the monsters that died or were injured in Sunset Forest. And this is a list of forest restoration for Sunset Forest that was damaged. Sect Master, please take a look and see if my calculations are correct."
Xiang Hengguang's hands went limp, but he dared not refuse.
The very first order made his eyes widen, and he stammered, unable to speak. He had never heard of paying back money after a war like this before.
"My lord, this..." The smile on his face was more like a grimace, "It's not just our Tianyuan Sect that's participating in the battle."
"I never said that your Tianyuan Sect should pay back the entire amount. Sect Master Xiang can just give it according to the proportion. However, Tianyuan Sect was the number one sect in Qingyang Continent before. I believe that Sect Master Xiang will not let me down, right?"
How was Xiang Hengguang supposed to respond to that? So he could only take more and not less?
But how much is too much? Can their Tianyuan Sect withstand such turmoil? If all the resources are given away, how will the sect recover its strength in the future? Xiang Hengguang felt a wave of dizziness wash over him.
He chuckled sheepishly, "Sir, as you know, most of the resources within the Tianyuan Sect were previously used to support Jianfeng, and the good stuff is all with Qin Taiming..."
"Hmm?" Song Xia glanced at him.
Xiang Hengguang immediately shut up. So what if it was with Qin Taiming? Qin Taiming had already been expelled from the Tianyuan Sect. Naturally, whoever won would get his items.
"My lord, it's not that I'm unwilling, but Tianyuan Sect simply can't afford to produce so many things right now. How about I give you a portion first, and Tianyuan Sect will repay the rest gradually?"
"I have never liked being in debt, and I especially dislike others owing me debts. If you can't pay them back, I think your Tianyuan Sect's peaks are quite good."
Xiang Hengguang's heart skipped a beat again. This was the foundation of their Tianyuan Sect. How could they let it go?
These few peaks alone contain several top-grade spiritual veins. If they were to be given away, what would become of the Tianyuan Sect?
"You flatter me, sir. Sunset Forest is far better than these few small hills of ours. I suddenly remembered that Tianyuan Sect has a few mines and some stock in the warehouse. If there's anything left that you can't gather, I'll go and borrow it. I'll definitely make sure you have enough."
Song Xia smiled slightly: "I hope you won't make things difficult for Sect Leader Xiang."
Xiang Hengguang smiled with a pained expression: "No trouble at all, no trouble at all, please sit for a moment, sir."
Two hours later, the father and son saw Song Xia off. Looking at the empty warehouse and storage ring, they were on the verge of tears. Several elders also had dark faces. This time, Tianmen Tianyuan Sect was completely wiped out. They would not even have any income in the future. Did they have to go out into the wild to find resources like the rogue cultivators?
"Qin Taiming, this is all your doing! I swear I will not rest until I have tortured you to death."
Xiang Chengyuan whispered, "Father, neither she nor Song Luo killed Qin Taiming. Wouldn't it be bad if they died at our hands?"
Xiang Hengguang sneered: "If he doesn't die, then torture him until he breaks down. I'm going to vent this hatred on him."
What he didn't know was how deep the hatred those sects felt towards him was when Song Xia took the list to other sects and told them how much Tianyuan Sect had contributed. With so much, wasn't this going to drain all the sects' resources?
Although everyone knows he had no choice, it doesn't mean other forces don't hate him.
As a result, in the days that followed, Tianyuan Sect not only had to face poverty, but also the exclusion by other forces.
This has led to increasingly difficult times for the disciples. They have joined the sect, but their lives are even more tiring than those of independent cultivators. What are they still doing here?
Then came the exodus of disciples from the Tianyuan Sect. In just a few months, the Tianyuan Sect went from being the number one sect in the world to a third-rate sect, its members deserted and overgrown with weeds. Xiang Hengguang, a Mahayana cultivator, was so worried that his hair turned white.
In one month, Song Xia traveled to all the major powers on the Qingyang Continent and returned to Sunset Forest with a fortune in hand.
"This is enough to severely damage their human race, and they will not be able to recover in a short period of time."
She didn't touch those small sects that tried to take advantage of the situation, because she understood that these sects, which had once thought of taking advantage of the chaos, would inevitably be severely damaged. What would the major sects do if they ran out of resources? Swallowing these small sects would be the fastest way.
That's how the world develops—big fish eat little fish—but for the Qingyang Continent as a whole, it's a good thing.
With fewer humans and demons, the demand for this continent will decrease, eliminating the need for over-exploitation.
But Song Xia knew that this was only temporary. After a period of rest and recuperation, the two tribes would inevitably clash again over survival, leading to war.
But what could she do? She could only manage the present. No one could predict the future. Perhaps another chosen one would appear and lead the Qingyang Continent down a completely different path.
"Mother, why are you unhappy?"
"It's just a lament about the impermanence of life; nothing in the world is static."
Song Luo pursed his lips. After the victory, he was not as happy as he had imagined. Instead, he felt a little uneasy, as if his mother might leave at any moment. He didn't like this feeling.
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