The Ethereal Domains

Chapter 494: Extortion!

Extortion! . . .

Ling Wuxie found himself bewildered by Cha Eun Xiao\'s peculiar smile and asked, "What do you mean by \'heh, heh\'?"

Cha Eun Xiao replied nonchalantly, "It means \'heh, heh.\'"

"Are you still doubting me? Do you not believe me?" Ling Wuxie inquired with a tinge of irritation.

Cha Eun Xiao adopted a calm tone and responded, "Please explain, Brother Ling. How can I believe you? It\'s only natural to have doubts. The dan divine punishment involves being struck by lightning and the annihilation of one\'s soul. Who can truly withstand lightning strikes and emerge unscathed? It\'s an impossible feat. Even with my considerable dan-making skills, I would suffer severe injuries from the strikes. Do you know of a superior dan-maker to me?"

Ling Wuxie was taken aback and replied, "I\'m not aware of a better dan-maker. Even if I were, they wouldn\'t be here at the moment. However, the crux of the matter is how to defend against the lightning strikes. It\'s perfectly feasible to safeguard against lightning; isn\'t it a common occurrence? I\'ve seen people resisting lightning strikes almost every day. How could you..."

"What?" Cha Eun Xiao feigned astonishment and widened his eyes. "What did you say? Every day? People resisting lightning strikes?"

Ling Wuxie nodded, now wishing he could let out that sigh he had avoided earlier.

[What a novice. A complete novice. I\'ve finally witnessed the depths of a novice\'s ignorance!]

[I forgot that I\'m currently in such a low realm. In this realm, the novices haven\'t even heard of resisting divine punishment. I was mistaken!]

Regret washed over Ling Wuxie. He felt pitiful and melancholic.

Cha Eun Xiao questioned with apparent surprise, although he found it humorous. [I must act foolish to ensure the plan goes smoothly.]

"Brother Feng, allow me to clarify. With the treasures from our realm, you\'ll have complete and perfect protection against the divine punishment in your realm," Ling Wuxie asserted. "Furthermore, your cultivation is not sufficiently advanced for the divine punishment to manifest its full potential. I\'m highly confident in this! I have absolute certainty! Without a doubt!"

Cha Eun Xiao responded casually, shaking his head, "I don\'t believe that human power can thwart the divine punishment. Even a mythical tale wouldn\'t fabricate such a ridiculous narrative. Brother Ling, do you think I\'m naive enough to be swayed by fabricated stories? Do you believe you can deceive me by inventing tales? You\'re underestimating me!"

Ling Wuxie reclined in his chair, gazing up at the ceiling in silence. [I have no idea how to explain this. I\'d rather face certain death than continue explaining it to him.]

At that moment, a realization struck him, and a tear welled in his eye. He exclaimed, "Master... Now I understand how challenging it must have been for you to teach me..."

"Feng Monarch, you fail to comprehend. You can\'t appreciate the wonder of it. You lack knowledge. That\'s understandable. We come from different backgrounds and realms, with different experiences. The ability to withstand lightning strikes through human power is real. Using a single object to repel the lightning is real. It\'s not as bizarre as you believe."

Xiu of the Heavens spoke with a solemn tone. Having interacted with Feng Monarch on numerous occasions, she began to suspect that he was toying with them.

In truth, Xiu of the Heavens held a strong conviction that Feng Monarch was merely playing a game. However, she refrained from voicing her suspicions at this moment. To do so would derail the conversation once more. Having disrupted it earlier, she now had no choice but to let Feng Monarch continue his charade.

Feng Monarch remained stubborn, his determination unwavering. He shook his head and declared, "I don\'t believe it, and I won\'t!"

Xiu-Er felt a mixture of frustration and helplessness.

"Brother Feng, please, just tell us what it would take for you to believe," Ling Wuxie implored, his voice quivering.

"It\'s not enough to convince me through words alone. I must witness it with my own eyes," Cha Eun Xiao asserted. "I need to experience this miraculous feat personally. Only then will I have faith that I need not fear the divine punishment, as long as I possess the treasures you provide."

Ling Wuxie found himself at a loss for words, as did Wan of the Clouds and Xiu of the Heavens.

Finally, Feng Monarch unveiled his true intentions. This was his intended outcome all along – to acquire a treasure capable of protecting him from lightning strikes.

Such a treasure wasn\'t inherently difficult to obtain. Ling Wuxie could procure it for himself and provide several to Cha Eun Xiao. However, Ling Wuxie had committed to utilizing these treasures to shield Feng Monarch from lightning strikes personally.

Feng Zhiling, however, wished to do it himself. This implied that the treasure had to be more potent than what Ling Wuxie required. While high-level cultivators could use lower-class treasures to defend against lightning strikes, the same wasn\'t necessarily true for lower-level cultivators. Feng Monarch was woefully deficient in terms of cultivation and would never be able to activate a treasure for this purpose.

Certainly, there was a particular item even someone as weak as him could employ to ward off divine punishment. It needed to be a treasure capable of autonomously erecting a defensive barrier. Moreover, it had to be compatible with Feng Monarch\'s Mai, or else he wouldn\'t be able to use it as an extension of himself.

Such a treasure would be considered a top-tier item even in the Human Realm Upon Heavens. It was indeed a challenging request, but not one beyond Ling Wuxie\'s capabilities. He had such a treasure in his possession at this very moment. However, a significant hurdle stood in his way – the treasure had already bonded with its owner and could only function when merged with their spiritual essence. In other words, Feng Monarch was seeking a treasure that would fuse with his soul and remain inseparable from him.

It would become an integral part of him, and he clearly intended to seize it. Once merged, as the dan beads were created, this treasure would become Feng Monarch\'s unconditionally. No one could take it from him. This meant Ling Wuxie would have no choice but to relinquish it, whether he liked it or not.