On Yan Mountain, the mesmerizing fragrance of spiritual plants drifted about as Chen Ming enjoyed Zhuo Qingyao’s little hand pushing strand after strand of sword energy into his body, wandering around his joints. There was no doubt about it, it was a truly relaxing experience!

  Black Python reported, “Mountain Lord, those Archfiends are shocked to the core. I guarantee that they didn’t get a wink of sleep last night!”


  Chen Ming nodded, “Great since we have them under control then what follows will be easier. Bring them all in.”


  Many Archfiends, who waited for Chen Ming’s summons, didn’t know how to meet him. Chen Ming walked in the hall, but at his first step, the Archfiends were already standing. They felt fear from what they have come to know last night. They didn’t even dare to guess what capabilities Chen Ming’s body hid within.

  Chen Ming took his seat of honor, then waved for them to sit, and began a speech for joint development of Yan Mountain, “Everyone has seen the Alchemy House yesterday.”


  Many bobbed their heads, “We bore witness to the uncanny workmanship of Yan Mountain!”


  “It’s too frightening!”


  “Before, we only saw through a crack and searched for death in fighting against Yan Mountain.”


  Chen Ming followed with, “Since you all wish to serve Yan Mountain, then you must all follow Yan Mountain’s rules. And the first rule is that no military force will exist beside Yan Mountain’s. Every equipment will be turned in to Yan Mountain, who in turn will compensate with spirit stones accordingly. All manuals are to be brought to Yan Mountain, be them arts, arrays, or pill recipes. All shall be handed over!”


  Voicing all these, Chen Ming caused a commotion among the Archfiends, “You are taking all our power!”


  “Mountain Lord, do you still doubt our loyalty? ”


  “We only want a part of the fiend army to protect ourselves, we don’t have any thoughts of opposing you!”


  Chen Ming continued, despite their discontent, “Withing Yan Mountain’s borders, all cultivators will have their credentials renewed every ten years. In the case of missing credentials, when discovered, he will be put in jail until his identity is investigated. From this point on, the safety of all cultivators will fall on Yan Mountain. As long as you are within Yan Mountain, it will work without rest to make sure to remove all the dangers to your lives!”


  “If you’d like to venture outside, you can employ the services of Yan Mountain’s newly established Yan Mountain Escort Agency for protection.”


  “Within Yan Mountain, everyone will hand over a tenth of their income as tax.”


  “For added protection, Yan Mountain will establish the Yan Mountain Bank. Everyone can deposit their spirit stones within Yan Mountain Bank and can, at any time, withdraw or deposit according to your credentials.

  The Archfiends were lively in their discussions, sensing the strict nature of Chen Ming’s rules. He wanted to control all withing his borders, every cultivator. He wanted to deprive the right to raise their own armies. From now on, only Yan Mountain would have a fiend army.

  This was something they couldn’t accept.

  As far as the other clauses went, they were acceptable. Since they lacked a fiend army, then the biggest worry was that of safety, which Yan Mountain was ready to guarantee. To prevent any from having evil designs or chasing riches, he made them entrust all of their spirit stones to Yan Mountain. Towards the tax, they had no complaints since it was far lower then Moon King Hall’s.

  “Mountain Lord, we won’t rebel. We just want our own army to protect us!”


  “We can accept a smaller army, but not eliminate it. That is impossible!”


  “Mountain Lord, it’s better not to be so ruthless. How will we defend our domains if we have no military?”


  Chen Ming snorted, “You should all know that I’m not consulting with you! I’m just informing you of the rules! Furthermore, each Dao Seed Archfiend that agrees now will have their own Alchemy House like the one in Yan Mountain, and any Divine Palace three! You can send your subordinate Great Fiends over and Yan Mountain will train them. They will return when they have successfully completed the course, letting you manage them as you please!”


  Following strict rules came with some benefits. But to the ears of these Archfiends, how can this be small? Ah, this was more like a large bonus!

  They’ve all experienced Yan Mountain’s Alchemy House. That was uncanny workmanship, and since the alchemists were fiends, then any fiend could learn. With how many they had, they would definitely learn!

  Ten thousand spirit stones a day. That meant more than three million a year. An Archfiend turned to Bai Yue, “Fellow Daoist Bai Yue, I was wondering, how many spirit stones did that traitor, Moon Fiend, accumulated in a year?”


  As Bai Yue thought, his heart cried in alarm, “No more than a few hundred thousand spirit stones.”


  The other Archfiends’ thoughts ran wild, Isn’t it just a fiend army? Yan Mountain guarantees our safety. Can’t we hire Yan Mountain Escort Agency for protection with several million spirit stones a year? An army needed spirit stones, needed cultivation resources. The purpose of the army was to stabilize their position, but now they had Yan Mountain to look after them.

  It required several tens of spirit stones to raise those guys, a year. While their cultivation was always lacking. And now it gets better! I needn’t bother raising troops, while my income will be in the millions! Since I have spirit stones to cultivate, why on earth would I need an army?

  But that equipment collecting rule caused them no little dissatisfaction.

  Chen Ming could see where their worries laid, “If an Archfiend has exceptional behavior within Yan Mountain, I will allow him to have spiritual weapons, denoted with a special mark on their credentials.”


  Yan Mountain’s rules might cut off a lot of their power, but gave them many opportunities to make spirit stones. Who would complain at this point? Bai Yue was the first to say, “Mountain Lord is of magnificent reputation and generosity. I am willing to accept Mountain Lord’s conditions!”


  Chen Ming was very pleased with him, “Stay for a while longer Bai Yue, I have something to tell you.”


  Bai Yue was overjoyed. He thought he would get something extra from being the first to accept!

  Many Archfiends were afraid of being last, as they rushed to give their consent!

  Chen Ming smiled broadly, and waved, “Alright, alright, go find Black Python and White Fox, and they will handle the rest.”


  After the others left, Bai Yue bowed towards Chen Ming, “Is there something Mountain Lord needs of me?”


  Chen Ming smiled, “Your display wasn’t half bad. I decided to let you have four Alchemy Houses. What do you think?”


  Bai Yue was over the moon with joy. He was the only one with this benefit, “Many thanks Mountain Lord!”