Chapter 3972: Marriage Alliance

"Friend Jiang, that's very kind of you," Wang Changsheng said politely. "By the way, Friend Jiang, we were injured while attempting to reach the Golden Immortal stage and need second-tier immortal pills for healing. Could your sect offer some assistance? We can exchange them for chaos beast cores." Wang Changsheng held no good feelings towards the Jiang, Meng, and Bai families, as Meng Yudie's schemes against Wang Qingshan and others had almost killed them.

Jiang Tianfeng nodded, and with a flick of his right hand, an exquisite green jade box appeared in his grasp. He opened the box, revealing two green pills inside. "These are Azure Oak Pills, and their healing effect is excellent," Jiang Tianfeng explained. "They are refined using million-year-old Azure Oak Grass as the primary ingredient, supplemented by hundreds of fifty-thousand-year-old immortal herbs. They are extremely precious; even for me, obtaining Azure Oak Pills is not easy. Friend Wang, you can exchange them for twenty five-colored chaos beast cores from True Immortals!"

"Twenty five-colored cores, Friend Jiang? We cannot provide that many," Wang Changsheng said with a frown.

"A large quantity of single-colored cores would also work," Jiang Tianfeng said with some dissatisfaction. "According to market price, you would need two thousand single-colored cores. It's not easy for us to collect these materials either; we can't just give them to you for free!"

"We don't have that many single-colored cores," Wang Changsheng said politely. "How about we exchange three pure three-colored cores for two Azure Oak Pills?" According to market price, three pure three-colored cores were equivalent to two thousand seven hundred impure single-colored cores.

"Pure three-colored cores!" Jiang Tianfeng was stunned. He quickly recovered and nodded, "No problem."

Wang Qingfeng shook his sleeve, took out three three-colored cores, and handed them to Jiang Tianfeng. "Pure cores!" Jiang Tianfeng exclaimed, taking the three-colored cores. He could clearly feel the pure energy contained within them. The Nine Immortal Sect also had no method to purify chaos beast cores, always using them to purchase cultivation resources from major powers. Jiang Tianfeng himself didn't possess any pure cores. He had never imagined that the Wang family could produce such pure three-colored cores. Could it be true, as the Meng family claimed, that the Wang family had obtained the inheritance of Immortal Chi Meng? He somewhat regretted that his asking price had been too low; if he had known this, he would have asked for more.

"It's a deal!" Jiang Tianfeng said enthusiastically. "Friend Wang, if you acquire more pure cores, you can exchange them with our Nine Immortal Sect—no, with me directly. Your Wang family's foundation is shallow, and our Nine Immortal Sect has many excellent items; you will definitely be satisfied." Wang Changsheng agreed, and after chatting for a while, Jiang Tianfeng bid farewell and left.

Leaving Qinglian Island, Jiang Tianfeng saw a golden glowing flying boat approaching. Qi Tongguang and over a dozen other Qi family cultivators were standing on it, including Qi Hongfeng, who had already advanced to the Golden Immortal stage. "Friend Qi, your Qi family has gained another Golden Immortal cultivator. Congratulations!" Jiang Tianfeng said with a smile, though his heart was heavy. It seemed the Qi family had hidden many masters, and Qi Hongfeng had surely not just advanced to the Golden Immortal stage. Qi Tongguang's personal visit to Qinglian Island had an obvious purpose. The Nine Immortal Sect's greatest fear had materialized: several powerful affiliated forces uniting, which already threatened the Nine Immortal Sect's status and rule.

"Hongfeng only recently advanced to the Golden Immortal stage," Qi Tongguang said with a smile. "We heard that the Qinglian Immortal Couple also advanced, so we specifically came to pay a visit." In reality, Qi Hongfeng had advanced to the Golden Immortal stage tens of thousands of years ago, but they had kept it private. The Qi family was growing stronger and was unwilling to remain subordinate. Now that both the Qinglian Immortal Couple had reached the Golden Immortal stage, the Qi family intended to form a marriage alliance with the Wang family. Such a powerful union would give them greater influence. Previously, the Qi family hadn't formed a marriage alliance with the Wang family mainly because the Wang family was too weak; with the Qinglian Immortal Couple reaching the Golden Immortal stage, the situation was different.

Jiang Tianfeng nodded, saying nothing. The young woman in the green dress spun in place, transforming into a massive green peacock. Jiang Tianfeng walked onto its back. A clear and loud cry rang out as the green peacock gently flapped its wings and flew high into the sky.

After flying for tens of thousands of miles, Jiang Tianfeng asked, "How is it? Are their injuries feigned?" His spirit beast was a mutated one, possessing a unique divine ability: within a certain range, it could perceive the strength of other living beings' vitality and blood. "Their vitality and blood are very weak; they are indeed severely injured," the green peacock replied. Jiang Tianfeng's expression relaxed. The authenticity of the Qinglian Immortal Couple's injuries no longer mattered. The Qi family was likely to ally with the Wang family, making it difficult for the Nine Immortal Sect to command them any longer.

In the reception hall of Qinglian Island, Wang Changsheng and Wang Ruyan were seated at the main positions, while Qi Tongguang and Qi Hongfeng sat on either side, chatting. "Friend Wang, was Friend Jiang also here to congratulate you?" Qi Tongguang asked casually.

Wang Changsheng truthfully recounted the details, and Wang Ruyan complained, "Friend Jiang's asking price was too high. Twenty five-colored cores? How could we possibly provide that? Fortunately, we had obtained a few pure three-colored cores beforehand." "Twenty five-colored cores? I thought they would just give them to you for free," Qi Hongfeng said with a laugh.

"Where would you find such a cheap deal? When has the Nine Immortal Sect ever been so generous?" Wang Changsheng complained. Qi Tongguang and Qi Hongfeng's visit at this time made their intention to win over the Wang family obvious. Wang Changsheng understood the implication and proactively began complaining.

Qi Tongguang gave Qi Hongfeng a meaningful look, and Qi Hongfeng understood immediately. He took out an exquisite golden jade box, handed it to Wang Changsheng, and said, "Friend Wang, these are two Golden Pineapple Pills, refined with the cores of Golden Immortal-stage five-colored chaos beasts. Their healing effect is excellent. Thanks to you, I would have perished long ago. This is a small token of my appreciation." They had prepared multiple gifts and originally intended to give only a bottle of ordinary healing pills. However, since Jiang Tianfeng had come to Qinglian Island and exchanged two ordinary healing pills for a high price with the Wang family, the Qi family naturally couldn't offer mere ordinary healing pills anymore. Both were visits, but Jiang Tianfeng demanded a high price for Azure Oak Pills, while Qi Hongfeng directly gifted them. With this comparison, Wang Changsheng naturally felt more favorably towards the Qi family. "Many thanks, Friend Qi," Wang Changsheng said, not declining as he accepted the pills.

"Friend Wang, to be frank, we have come this time to propose marriage for one of my descendants," Qi Tongguang said earnestly. "He is very fond of one of your descendants. Might Friend Wang be able to make this union happen?" Wang Changsheng did not agree immediately; instead, he inquired about the Qi family descendant's situation. Qi Tongguang answered truthfully. "I have also heard about this descendant of Friend Qi; he is indeed a talented individual. I agree to this marriage," Wang Changsheng said. Wang Changsheng agreed, knowing that a marriage alliance between the Wang and Qi families would grant them greater influence. Qi Tongguang and Qi Hongfeng showed joy, their smiles deepening. After chatting for an hour, they bid farewell and left. Both parties agreed that the wedding would be held ten years later.

"The Nine Immortal Sect's vision is limited to this; they fear our alliance with the Qi family and also fear our quick recovery," Wang Ruyan sneered. "No matter what the Nine Immortal Sect does, we will ally with the Qi family," Wang Changsheng said. "If there's blame, it falls on the Nine Immortal Sect for its dishonorable actions, allowing Meng Yudie to scheme against Qingshan and the others. Over the years, the Nine Immortal Sect's inspectors have continuously made things difficult for us." He had long been dissatisfied with the Nine Immortal Sect but had chosen to tolerate it in silence.

A few days later, the news of the marriage alliance between the Wang and Qi families spread throughout the Tianchen Sea Domain, leading to more business collaborations between the two. The news of Qi Hongfeng's advancement to the Golden Immortal stage also spread, with a Golden Immortal Grand Ceremony to be held ten years later, marking a double celebration. With the Nine Immortal Sect's three affiliated cultivation families—the Zhang, Wang, and Qi families—forming marriage alliances and all now having Golden Immortal cultivators, anyone with discernment could see that this already threatened the Nine Immortal Sect's status, unless the Nine Immortal Sect was willing to concede most of its benefits and effectively become an affiliated power itself.