Chapter 926: This Is a Man-Made Disaster

Min Tianxi wiped the sweat from his brow. Provoking an ancient monster like this made him feel immense pressure. "Okay, the King of Gloom Serpents should have received the signal."

The signal was that He Lingchuan held the Heavenly Scroll of Adherence, allowing him to communicate normally with it.

If they could communicate, they could negotiate.

"Alright, let's head back."

At He Lingchuan's command, the ship turned and sailed towards Blade Harbor.

Min Tianxi asked, his surprise evident, "Young Master, aren't you going to negotiate with the King of Gloom Serpents?"

Didn't He Lingchuan want that precious scroll precisely to communicate with the King of Gloom Serpents? They had come all this way, only to leave without even talking?

He Lingchuan simply replied:

"It's not time yet."

Min Tianxi wanted to ask when it would be time, but the pain in his little finger reminded him of his new status. So, he touched his nose, shut his mouth, and helped steer the boat.

After the boat had sailed over a hundred zhang, the roar of the King of Gloom Serpents echoed from behind.

As for the King of Gloom Serpents, it was filled with fury and vital energy, indicating that the cut-off supply of malevolent energy was not yet a fatal blow to it.

"Huang Zhao, the sect master of the First Path, has always been on good terms with me. It shouldn't be difficult to persuade him," Min Tianxi mused. "But Yue Pinghe, the sect master of the Third Path, is a cunning and ruthless person, full of schemes. I've heard he's broken his word several times. I'm not confident about him."

"However, both the First and Third Paths have been thrown into turmoil by the Gloom Serpents. Huang Zhao was attacked again the night before last, and more than a dozen people died. He's already considering moving away from the archipelago to make a living elsewhere..."

Sure enough, when He Lingchuan and his group docked their boat and stepped onto Fishbone Reef, a large crowd of people jumped from three pirate ships and surrounded them tightly.

This time, everyone understood its confusion without needing to hold the precious scroll.

He was becoming increasingly adept at reading the Young Master's mood and acting accordingly.

The malevolent energy that even immortals had been helpless against for thousands of years was tamed by this young man in an instant. The Gloom Serpents that roamed the Yangshan Sea and devoured countless people were also dried like salted fish by him. After witnessing this, Min Tianxi was both shocked and completely convinced.

So, his mindset was much calmer now.

This was due to the tight schedule; coincidentally, half of the pirates from the Second Path were still out today, otherwise, even more ships would have arrived.

Fishbone Reef was too small to accommodate everyone, so many pirates stood calf-deep in the water, while about a hundred more supported them from their ships, holding gleaming weapons.

They had been out since early morning, and after all this commotion, the sun was already beginning to set in the west.

Everyone looked at Min Tianxi, who let out a dry chuckle: "My subordinates were worried about me, so they went home to call for reinforcements. Please forgive me, Young Master!"

Fencing stolen goods and purchasing supplies were usually handled by the same group of people, commonly known as "fixers."

First, they drained the island's malevolent energy, then indicated a desire to negotiate, and then simply left... What exactly had these humans come here to do?!

He Lingchuan sat down to drink again, not looking back. "Ignore it. We'll do what we need to do."

"Also, why don't you publicize the fact that the Gloom Serpents won't attack the Second Path's territory?" He Lingchuan asked him. "Wouldn't it be a great opportunity for you to expand if other pirates came to join you?"

It turned out that both the Gloom Serpents and the pirates were all part of his calculations.

"Relax," He Lingchuan said, leaning back in his chair. "Do you understand now why I bought the Yangshan Archipelago?"

He and the pirates had previously mocked He Lingchuan as a profligate heir who squandered money, but now, of course, they dared not mention it again.

"It's good that you can see that," He Lingchuan said, swirling his cup. "What about the other pirates? Do you think they can see it?"

A pirate, who had previously been beaten black and blue by Qiu Hu, now emboldened by the large crowd, shouted, "He, release our sect master, or else—"

That's right, this was probably also Young Master He's plan: to use the Gloom Serpents to force the pirates into submission.

Seeing is believing.

"Within six days."

"Since Huang Zhao intends to leave, he'll be easy to persuade," He Lingchuan smiled. "You handle this matter first."

After an hour of sailing with the wind.

At that moment, he understood that the Yangshan Archipelago would likely no longer be a foothold for pirates in the future.

He Lingchuan was not surprised. "How confident are you?"

Min Tianxi agreed readily, "No problem."

"I understand," Min Tianxi said without hesitation. "You can dispel the malevolent energy, so the Yangshan Archipelago will no longer be a cursed land and can be developed and managed normally. The Lu family is secretly mocking you, but they don't realize they're the biggest fools of all time!"

"Let me take care of it, as a sign of my respect for you..." He Lingchuan frowned, and Min Tianxi immediately corrected himself, "Okay, okay!"

The Young Master was asking him if he could persuade the other pirates to surrender.

Following a strong leader was always better than being chased away like a stray dog.

When He Lingchuan's ship returned to Fishbone Reef, everyone saw from afar that the Second Path pirates were still there.

He Lingchuan patted the chair, signaling him to sit down for the second time.

"What sin?" He Lingchuan chuckled. "Your subordinates are quite loyal. They didn't abandon you and run." Instead, they went back to gather more people.

The Gloom Serpents killed people everywhere, and the pirates originally thought it was a natural disaster, an unavoidable act of nature. But Min Tianxi now knew, it was a man-made disaster!

A slight tremor went through him as he thought of this.

"Then go get me a hundred jin of Shaoling ore," He Lingchuan said reasonably. "I'll pay for it."

He Lingchuan glanced over, estimating there were about three hundred people.

That's why He Lingchuan said it wasn't time yet.

The Yangshan Archipelago was very dangerous at night; even he didn't want to stay at sea.

"My lord, allow me to speak with them first."

The boats were still there, and two more had arrived.

He understood perfectly the meaning of "rats and snakes in one nest" (i.e., collaborators or a den of vipers).

Min Tianxi's face was bitter. "This is just a temporary, small gain. I'm afraid that once the authorities hear about it, they'll come demanding explanations and seize my treasures." "Just like you, Young Master He!"

He Lingchuan chuckled. "You know that possessing a treasure can bring trouble; you're not entirely naive."

If he didn't comply, Min Tianxi would become a pawn.

On the way back, Ling Guang changed Min Tianxi's dressing because the wound on his hand had gotten wet from the seawater again.

Min Tianxi looked awkward, unsure if it was a compliment or an insult.

"Yes!"

Min Tianxi opened his mouth to reply, then suddenly realized something and swallowed.

Disobey, and they would be encircled and annihilated.

He Lingchuan continued, "You've been a pirate leader for so many years; you must have channels for fencing stolen goods in and around Blade Harbor, right?"

This time, Min Tianxi sat up straight.

"Uh, yes, I do."

Qiu Hu gave him a look, and he instinctively slumped, wanting to shrink back into the crowd.

He Lingchuan said to Min Tianxi behind him, "It's your turn."

Min Tianxi stepped forward, standing at the boundary between the two confronting sides, a small space less than two square meters.

Qiu Hu lowered his gaze, concealing his killing intent. His right hand hung at his side, fingers twitching. This fellow had been arrogant at first, and even tried to play tricks after being captured, but the Young Master hadn't bothered with him. Now, if this bandit leader dared to go back on his word and violate the blood oath he had just sworn, Qiu Hu would immediately unleash a fatal move to make the untrustworthy scoundrel pay.