Radix Notoginseng remained silent, just quietly watching the two leave.

There was no other choice but to continue the stalemate, Radix Notoginseng didn’t have any better ideas for the moment.

As time passed, the battles on both sides began to thin out. The occasional outbreak of a fight was of low intensity, almost a touch-and-go situation. Neither side wanted to fight to the death.

No wonder, the only ones who really wanted to fight to the death were the three elders of the Vast Gold Sect. The people they had invited had no intention of fighting to the death. They were here to take advantage of the situation, not to risk their lives.

The elders of the Heart Sect were also unwilling to fight to the death. They had a way out. If they were in danger, they would retreat into the defensive formation. Moreover, they were more afraid of getting injured. Given the current situation, they were the mainstay of the sect’s survival. If they were damaged, the sect would be in even greater danger.

The situation strangely calmed down, and both sides were nervously planning.

Radix Notoginseng gathered everyone to discuss strategies in the ruins at the foot of the mountain. This was where Mi Xiaojing’s home, the Gathering Spring Villa, used to be.

The ancient trees and small buildings in the front yard were all shattered, and the bamboo pavilion in the back yard was the same. However, the Three-Eyed Spirit Spring was still there, so the Spiritual Qi here was still abundant, which was why Radix Notoginseng chose this place.

Radix Notoginseng said, “The existence of this defensive formation prevents us from attacking their sect’s base. We must find another way to attack. This delay is not in our favor!”

“If only we had another Deadly Thousand Thunder, we could break the defensive formation in one fell swoop!” someone said.

Radix Notoginseng twitched at the corner of his mouth. The Deadly Thousand Thunder was not a Spirit Stone that could be obtained just by asking for it. The sect had only collected two, and they had already been used up in the attempt to seize the Heart Sect’s base. Where could they find another one?

Xu Zhongqing said, “Actually, I have an ancient spiritual treasure that can break their defense, but this ancient spiritual treasure… requires a lot of Spirit Stones, and they must be top-grade Spirit Stones. The cost is a bit high…”

Radix Notoginseng’s eyes lit up immediately. He asked, “What kind of ancient spiritual treasure?”

The Thousand Holes and Hundred Pores Linglong Mountain!

Radix Notoginseng heard of it for the first time, but there were countless spiritual treasures, and it was impossible for anyone to know them all. The others also looked confused, only Thousand Poisons showed a hint of surprise in his eyes.

“Is it called… Thousand Holes and Hundred Pores Linglong Mountain?”

Xu Zhongqing looked surprised. This guy was really knowledgeable, he actually knew about the Linglong Mountain!

“That’s right, it’s the Thousand Holes and Hundred Pores Linglong Mountain!”

Thousand Poisons nodded and said, “If it’s this ancient spiritual treasure, then breaking the defensive formation is not a big problem. However, I heard that this thing… although it’s powerful, the cost is not small. The number of Spirit Stones required…”

Xu Zhongqing said, “Yes, you’re right. At least a hundred top-grade Spirit Stones are needed to activate it once… If you want to exert its full power, then even more Spirit Stones are needed!”

Everyone around fell silent. It was a joke, more than a hundred top-grade Spirit Stones, the cost was not small at all.

Xu Zhongqing said, “That’s why I hesitated and didn’t take it out.”

Radix Notoginseng and another person exchanged glances, both showing a hint of helplessness in their eyes. This was clearly extortion, and they couldn’t refuse.

“How many top-grade Spirit Stones are needed for one attack? How many in total?”

“Three hundred top-grade Spirit Stones can activate the Linglong Mountain, and then each attack requires eighteen top-grade Spirit Stones…”

“What do you mean?”

Thousand Poisons suddenly interrupted, “Isn’t it clear? The Linglong Mountain has never been activated before, it needs… three hundred top-grade Spirit Stones to activate, and the subsequent attacks are calculated separately, each requiring eighteen top-grade Spirit Stones.”

“What?”

Someone exclaimed, “Why do we have to pay for the activation of the Linglong Mountain?”

Xu Zhongqing spread his hands and said with a smile, “The Linglong Mountain is in my hands, and I’ve never used it. I’m a rogue cultivator, and Spirit Stones are always in short supply. I really can’t activate it… If you don’t need it, then forget it.”

With an indifferent expression, Radix Notoginseng knew he had been taken advantage of, but he couldn’t refuse.

The extortion was such that it was impossible to refuse. Xu Zhongqing was indeed cunning, just seizing one opportunity made Radix Notoginseng in a dilemma.

After communicating with each other, Radix Notoginseng finally gave in. He knew he couldn’t delay any longer, and what finally made him make up his mind was a sentence from Thousand Poisons.

“What’s there to hesitate about? Once the main peak of the Heart Sect is broken, there will be as many Spirit Stones as you want.”

This sentence immediately tempted Radix Notoginseng. No matter what, as long as they defeated the Heart Sect, everything the Heart Sect had collected would belong to the Vast Gold Sect. Even if they didn’t seize many Spirit Stones and treasures, the foundation would belong to the Vast Gold Sect. Would they still be afraid of not having Spirit Stones in the future?Handing over three hundred and eighteen top-grade Spirit Stones, Radix Notoginseng’s face turned green. This transaction had depleted almost half of his collection. He knew very well that this was extortion, but Xu Zhongqing was using an open strategy, a blatant form of extortion. You could choose to give or not to give, but could Radix Notoginseng really refuse?

Xu Zhongqing was overjoyed. The Linglong Mountain was an ancient spiritual treasure he had obtained by chance. After some research, he regretfully discovered that this thing consumed a large amount of Spirit Stones, and the higher the grade of the Spirit Stones, the better. As a Rogue Cultivator, Spirit Stones were hard to come by, so of course he was reluctant to activate it, so this treasure had always been carried with him.

This opportunity was excellent. For a Rogue Cultivator like Xu Zhongqing, if he didn’t seize the opportunity, he would be a fool.

He had studied it for a long time and had a deep understanding of Linglong Mountain, knowing how to use it. However, this thing was too exploitative, each attack required the consumption of top-grade Spirit Stones.

Unless a sect held this thing, he, as a Rogue Cultivator, really couldn’t afford to use this treasure.