Lin Zhen looked at Qi Lanzhi's indifferent face, and then at his angry but powerless clansmen below. His heart felt as heavy as if it were being crushed by a boulder.
He knew that the five major powers were not there to uphold justice, but to "take over" the Xuanqiong Realm; they were more greedy and domineering than the demons.
What the demons want is the land and blood of the Xuanqiong Realm, while what the five major powers want is the Xuanqiong Realm's continuous resources, to completely turn this world into their "resource colony".
"senior,"
Lin Zhen suppressed his anger, trying to gain some leeway, and he also knew that there was a huge gap between his strength and theirs.
"Nine and a half percent of the resources is far too much... We cultivators still need to cultivate and defend ourselves, and half a percent of the resources is simply not enough to sustain us. We beg you, senior, to be merciful and reduce the percentage..."
"Show mercy?" Qi Lanzhi finally looked at Lin Zhen directly, his eyes filled with a hint of mockery. "Giving you half a percent of the resources is already an act of kindness on our part."
"If this world didn't still have some value, do you think you'd still be standing here talking?"
These words struck Lin Zhen like a slap in the face. He opened his mouth, but couldn't utter a single word.
Faced with an absolute disparity in strength, any attempt to fight is futile; the weak don't even have the right to bargain.
The atmosphere on the city wall instantly plummeted to freezing point; the angry chatter gradually faded away, leaving only a heavy silence.
Despair was written on everyone's face. They were not afraid of fighting to the death with the demons, but they were afraid of the frustration of being crushed by power and unable to even resist.
Xiao Chen looked at the five powerful figures from the major forces high above in the sky, then at Jiang Li, Su She, and Shi Tou beside him, their faces pale. His heart was filled with icy coldness.
Is this the attitude of the higher realms towards the lower realms? Treating human life as worthless, resources as their own, so domineering that they leave no room for compromise.
He gripped the rusty iron gun tightly in his hand, his knuckles turning white. He would remember the humiliation of today.
One day, he will let these high and mighty "strongmen" know that cultivators in lower worlds also have the right to resist and the dignity to not be arbitrarily exploited!
"Three days! I'm only giving you three days!"
Then Qi Lanzhi's voice faded into the air.
His figure vanished into the sky in an instant, as if he had never been there at all.
Four powerful figures from the Po Yuan Sect and the War God Sect followed closely behind. The five auras completely faded away, leaving only a deathly silence inside and outside Sunlight City.
Outside the city, Xuan Yin hovered in front of the demonic army formation, his face so gloomy it could drip water.
The five major sects never gave the demon race a second glance, nor did they mention any plans for them.
This clearly excludes them completely, treating the Xuanqiong Realm as "prey" exclusively for the five sects.
The situation he painstakingly built with his army ultimately became someone else's prize. Faced with the strength of the five sects, he didn't even have the courage to question them and could only watch the opportunity slip away.
"My lord, what should we do now? Should we continue to besiege Sunlight City?" the demon leader asked cautiously.
Xuan Yin clenched his fists, his nails digging into his palms, black blood seeping out, yet he still suppressed his anger: "Withdraw ten miles and hold back for now."
He knew very well that attacking now would only anger the five major sects, and once the five sects made their move, the demons would not even have a chance to retreat to the Boundless Realm.
"Let's see how things go first. We'll look for an opportunity when the conflict between the Five Sects and the Xuanqiong Realm intensifies."
The demon soldiers slowly retreated, and the originally tense battlefield temporarily fell into an eerie calm due to the arrival of the five major sects.
Inside Sunlight City, in the council hall of the city lord's mansion, the atmosphere was so oppressive that it was hard to breathe.
Lin Zhen sat in the main seat, his gaze sweeping over the leaders of the various forces below, his voice heavy: "Everyone, the five major sects have only given us three days."
"Three days from now, you either hand over the regional map and a list of your forces and accept 95% of the resources you're exploited for, or you face certain death. Feel free to speak your mind."
No sooner had he finished speaking than Yi Yanzhuo, the sect leader of Liuyun Dao Sect, suddenly stood up. He was dressed in a purple Daoist robe, but his face was full of anger, and his voice was firm and powerful: "I believe that only a fight to the death is possible!"
"What is the purpose of our lifelong cultivation? It is to pursue endless lifespan, to break free from constraints, and to seek freedom!"
"But the conditions set by the five major sects are to treat us as black slaves to work for life, and to deprive us of even basic cultivation resources! Such a life is worse than death!"
Yi Yanzhuo's words were like a thunderclap, exploding in the hall.
"Rather than prolong our lives, let's fight to the death! Even if we can't defeat the five major sects, we must let them know that we cultivators of the Xuanqiong Realm have the spirit to fight to the death!"
"Sect Leader Yi is right! Fight to the death!"
The Xuan Tian Sect Master immediately echoed, "Our Qing Yun Sect has a thousand-year history and has never bowed to power! Even if it costs the entire sect its strength, we will never become someone else's vassal!"
"Fight to the death!"
"Never compromise!"
The leaders of the various factions rose to their feet, their eyes filled with determination.
They were all powerful figures in their respective regions, and the path of cultivation was inherently fraught with thorns; they had long since disregarded life and death.
But the humiliation of being "exploited and enslaved" was something they could never accept.
The purpose of spiritual cultivation is to seek freedom. If even freedom is lost, what is the point of cultivation?
Looking at the determined eyes of the crowd, Lin Zhen felt a surge of warmth in his heart, but also a sense of worry.
He knew very well that the strength of the five major sects far exceeded that of the Xuanqiong Realm, and the result of a deadly battle would likely be the annihilation of the entire Xuanqiong Realm.
But he also understood that everyone had made up their minds, and there was no turning back.
At this moment, Lin Zhen's gaze unconsciously drifted towards the corner.
Xiao Chen, Jiang Li, Su She, and Shi Tou sat there silently, listening quietly to the discussion.
Since the arrival of the five major sects, these four cultivators from other regions have not expressed any opinions, but Lin Zhen has always kept them in mind.
He knew all too well the strength of Xiao Chen and the other three. Jiang Li, at the late stage of the Creation Realm, fought against four peak Creation Realm experts; Su She crushed the demons with his righteous aura; and Xiao Chen's spear intent and stone body were invincible among his peers.
The masters who can cultivate such disciples must be unfathomable beings, perhaps even stronger than the elders of the five major sects!
A thought sprouted in Lin Zhen's mind: if he could get Xiao Chen and the other three's master to help, perhaps he could fight against the five major sects and change the fate of the Xuanqiong Realm!
But Lin Zhen suppressed the thought as soon as it came to mind. Xiao Chen and the other three were not from the Xuanqiong Realm and had no obligation to risk their lives for its survival.
He already owed them a favor by asking for their help in resisting the demons, and now he was too embarrassed to ask their master for help again.
Lin Zhen could only steal glances at Xiao Chen again and again, his eyes filled with conflict, but he could never bring himself to ask for help.
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