But unlike Haoyue, Tieshan was experienced enough to know how to pick her fights, and firmly believed that any attempt to play Xinzi would only result in her getting played more splendidly. A part of Tieshan wondered if there was no hope for Haoyue, and how her connection to Haoyue would impact her relationship with Xinzi? Another part argued that it was all for the best. That the longer she allowed her desires to fester for Xinzi, the more likely things were to end poorly for all parties involved.
At the end of the day, they…weren’t compatible. As Tieshan’s thoughts reached this point, she balled up her fist. Yet, at the same time, her body relaxed, and her lips curled into a charming smile.
”As you like. Let’s move on to the Celestial Farm’s matters,” Tieshan said, pulling the topic back to business.
”I want to keep the 100,000 Cow Demonesses. As agreed beforehand, you can keep all of the Celestial Farm’s resources, what remains of the 10,000 years of accumulation, and treasures that I might not have been able to draw out from the 20,000,000 acres of Spiritual Farmland. This farmland is of the immortal grade, so I’m sure they’re many.” Tieshan said, starting the concession talks.
Just like treasures, pills and all things of the sort, Spiritual Farms had grades. Going from the yellow grade all the way to the immortal grade. An immortal grade farm didn’t mean that all products yielded would de facto be of the immortal grade.
After all, though Spiritual Farms were mostly self-sufficient and occasionally produced products on their own, in general, they still needed crops tending, planting, and some level of irrigation. These processes all affected the harvest’s grade. Without the Immortal Founders to direct the farming process, the Celestial Farm’s citizens couldn’t produce optimal results. And many of the resources that the farm yielded were of too high rank for them to successfully exploit.
Xinzi had expected this. The Spiritual Farm would naturally disseminate the resources that the Longevity Cows failed to harvest, causing a plethora of treasures and oddities to form in the underground. These oddities would add to Xinzi’s treasure stash, bolstering his resources.
”You can keep the Cow Demonesses, but give me a platoon of 100. I will erase the demonic energy signature and make them pose as Fertility Goddesses for my upcoming project.”
”Junior or senior generation?” Though Tieshan had many questions about a project that required Cow Demonesses to pose as Fertility Goddesses, she kept her curiosity on lockdown.
”It really doesn’t matter, so you can pick at will.”
”Fine. As a show of good faith, I will give you 100 junior Cow Demonesses,” Tieshan said.
This wasn’t a show of good faith. Or said otherwise, Tieshan wasn’t doing it just for Xinzi. By staying with Xinzi, the Cow Demonesses would have access to far superior resources than what they could get from Tieshan in the Dark Moon Cult—ensuring that should they one day return to Tieshan’s side, they’d immediately become the sharpest swords at her disposal. If they never did, they were only 100 unproved gals with unknown future prospects. In a sample size of 100,000, this was a negligible loss. A loss that’d enable her to strengthen an already favorable partnership.
Didn’t most men prefer nubile to mature beauties?
”Sure.” As a monk of culture, Xinzi could appreciate varied delicacies, and so didn’t have a strong preference. Afterward, the two went over various points, ultimately returning to Tieshan’s former patron: the Heart-Wrenching Demon Noble.
”My former patron, the Heart-Wrenching Demon Noble, was the one that caused the spread of the two drugs, Paradise and Ignition. Both are highly addictive, especially for cultivators, but function in drastically different ways.
Paradise makes the consumer enter a state similar to the Yang Rapture, where their worries, fears, doubts and pains, all vanish, replaced by skyrocketing levels of ecstasy and all the dreams that the consumer yearns for. But not long after the peak, the drug induces a violent crash, with all the fears and pains coming back with twice the punch. This forces the consumer to quickly get another dose of Paradise, which also as the effect of improving soul-related cultivation. The unending cycle of heaven and hell ultimately causes the consumer to break down, making Paradise an excessively destructive drug.
Ignition is a lot more practical, yet arguably worse. At the cost of some lifespan, it heightens the consumer’s senses and ignites their potential so much so that a Three Spiritual Roots ordinary talent can compete with a Single Spiritual Root genius in raw cultivation talent. Battle prowess and reflexes also improve massively, making this drug a life-changing opportunity for average or outright hopeless cultivators. Even top talent will struggle to resist the temptation.” Tieshan explained the mechanism of the two drugs.
”The trap here is that, as a drug like Ignition gets popularized, even top talents will get pressured into buying it. Otherwise, in a world where everyone is consuming Ignition on the daily, they will not be able to compete with the most random of street thugs,” Xinzi chimed in.
If not nipped in the bud, drugs like these could have disastrous domino effects, putting into jeopardy the future of an entire society.
”Precisely. And while losing some lifespan for such perks might seem entirely acceptable, Ignition gives its consumers heavy pyromaniac tendencies. As soon as the incendiary cravings kick in, they obtain a unique ability known as the Reckless Flame and use it to set fire to all infrastructure. In the advanced stages of drug consumption, Ignition can make them prefer the burning of people over infrastructure.”
When Tieshan reached this point, her teeth clenched in frustration, and for a second, the Cow Demoness marveled at the Heart-Wrenching Demon Noble’s insanity.