"What rights and obligations does the Vice Leader of your [Buddha's Dharma Infinite Alliance] hold?" Yang Hong asked directly, a hint of curiosity in his voice.
"As long as Master Yang joins my [Buddha's Dharma Infinite Alliance], you will be able to command all cultivators below the ninth tier within our alliance. As long as the number does not exceed ten thousand, the alliance will mobilize them in the shortest possible time.
We cannot say we will let Master Yang do as he pleases, but for almost all normal needs in the cultivation world, the alliance will assist you!"
"As for Master Yang, you only need to help the alliance cultivate spirit plants, preferably those designated by the alliance. You will not be required to participate in any combat missions!" Monk Tong Yuan immediately stated the conditions from the Buddhist sect upon hearing Yang Hong's question.
"Oh, so you're interested in my spirit plant techniques and want me to be a farmer? That's not bad either." Yang Hong nodded, somewhat surprised but also understanding after hearing the old monk's terms.
He then turned to Ancestor Chaoyang and asked, "What are the conditions from your [Immortal Alliance]?"
Ancestor Chaoyang first glanced at Monk Tong Yuan, then shook his head with a wry smile. "The Immortal Alliance also hopes you will cultivate plants, and that your spirit plants will be supplied exclusively to the Immortal Alliance. As for rights, you will be a Vice Hall Master in the Yu Rou Plain cultivation world, with a status second only to mine."
"I see."
Both the Buddhist and Immortal sects recognized the cultivation and planting abilities of Yang Hong and Qingfeng Villa, hence they attached great importance to Yang Hong, though the degree of importance differed. Clearly, the Buddhist sect valued Yang Hong more and was willing to invest more heavily, while the Immortal sect was relatively weaker in comparison.
However...
"Alright, I understand. Then let's begin. I still wish to remain neutral, as I dislike being constrained."
Ancestor Chaoyang asked in surprise, "Does Master Yang not want to consider it?"
Monk Tong Yuan narrowed his eyes and threatened, "Master Yang, once the fight starts, there might be casualties."
"Heh, at least you must present strength that can make me submit, right?" Yang Hong truly did not want to be cannon fodder. Although both alliances spoke beautifully now, when war truly broke out, even if he were a farmer, he could be thrown onto the battlefield as cannon fodder. The selfishness of cultivators far surpassed that of ordinary mortals.
"Does Master Yang want to gauge our strength? Then come. I will tell the disciples to go easy on you." Ancestor Chaoyang stopped trying to persuade him. It was already a great honor for him, a ninth-tier Mahayana realm cultivator, to be so polite to a sixth-tier Soul Transformation realm cultivator. Since Yang Hong was ungrateful, he would make him regret it.
"This old monk will also tell his disciples to go easy." Monk Tong Yuan's eyes narrowed, a dangerous glint flashing within them. He then produced five tokens carved with [God-Suppressing Stones]. "Master Yang, please draw for the order of battle next."
"Drawing lots? How do we draw?" Seeing the tokens inscribed with characters like "Qi Refining," "Foundation Establishment," and "Nascent Soul," Yang Hong immediately understood their meaning, but the method of drawing was crucial. Even with tokens carved from God-Suppressing Stones, one could accurately draw the desired card by remembering its position.
"My cards will be shuffled by fellow Daoist Chang Jia, and then you and I will draw in turn. You draw first. Afterwards, fellow Daoist Chang Jia's cards will be shuffled by me, and you will draw first again."
"Heh, quite fair?" Although it seemed like an unnecessary step, Yang Hong saw it as a straightforward selection of the battle order. Yang Hong chose to fight the group he considered strongest first, and then the Buddhist side would also have their strongest group fight, all to guarantee their own victory. Then came the second and third matches, which would test combat wisdom and foresight, the wisdom of "Tian Ji's Horse Racing." [Original Chinese idiom: "Today, I will use your inferior horses against their superior ones, use your superior horses against their mediocre ones, and use your mediocre horses against their inferior ones."] That is, using the weakest team against the opponent's strongest, the second weakest against the opponent's weakest, and using one's own strongest team against the opponent's second-best. However, a best-of-five match is more complex. Moreover, since one only knows the strength of their own team but not the opponent's, it becomes even harder to judge and decide which team to send. But to Yang Hong, these were all just boring tricks, utterly useless. In the face of absolute strength, everything else was just a paper tiger.
"Then I shall begin. Both of you prepare." After Ancestor Chaoyang, Chang Jia, shuffled the cards in a flurry of fancy moves, Yang Hong's divine sense still remembered the positions of the five cards.
"Master Yang, please go first." Monk Tong Yuan made a gesture, a confident smile playing on his lips.
"Qi Refining." Yang Hong said as he reached out and flipped over a card, one bearing the inscription [Qi Refining].
"..." Monk Tong Yuan looked at Yang Hong with some surprise, unsure if he was surprised by Yang Hong's powerful divine sense or by Yang Hong's choice to select a Qi Refining realm disciple for the first match. After a moment of thought, he flipped over a card: [Nascent Soul]. He directly chose the match with the highest cultivation as the second round.
"Foundation Establishment..." Yang Hong did not pause, stating the content of the next card and flipping it over.
"..." Monk Tong Yuan seemed to anticipate Yang Hong's choice and directly flipped over the [Golden Core] card. Thus, the battle order between Qingfeng Villa and the [Buddha's Dharma Infinite Alliance] was set: Qi Refining, Nascent Soul, Foundation Establishment, Golden Core, and Integration.
Ancestor Chaoyang looked at the five revealed cards, thought for a moment, and then said directly to Yang Hong, "Master Yang's divine sense is powerful, and even God-Suppressing Stones cannot shield it. Let's dispense with the fancy shuffling and directly state our desired battle order?"
"Heh, for the first, third, and fifth matches, my order will still be Qi Refining, Foundation Establishment, and Integration. You only need to adjust the order of the second and fourth matches."
"Haha, straightforward. Then for the second match, I choose Golden Core realm, and for the fourth, Nascent Soul realm." Ancestor Chaoyang was also direct, settling the battle order, and seemed quite satisfied with it.
As soon as the battle order between Qingfeng Villa and the [Immortal Alliance] was set, Monk Tong Yuan began to urge, "Master Yang, please designate two battle areas. We can begin the competition."
"Hmm, both groups of battles will start together? Not one by one?" Hearing the old monk's urging, Yang Hong was momentarily stunned. Was there that much of a hurry?
"Heh, for fairness, we require Master Yang to select ten disciples each from your five cultivation realms." Monk Tong Yuan and Ancestor Chaoyang exchanged glances, both with confident smiles. Clearly, this was a rule set by the two alliances, and it was also a trap they had set.
Yang Hong's expression immediately sank, and he asked, "What will happen to those sects that cannot gather fifty opposing cultivators and wish to remain neutral?"
"Heh, Master Yang, you need not worry. We will not make things difficult for those small sects. They can still freely choose to join either the [Buddha's Dharma Infinite Alliance] or the Immortal Alliance."
"Master Yang, those small sects will not want to remain neutral at all. They are scrambling to join our two alliances." Both spoke with pride, while Yang Hong listened with disgust. The meaning of these two scoundrels was very clear: the weak have no right to choose. He was unaware that, up to this point, all sects that wished to remain neutral had been directly dismantled by the two alliances, their resources and populations divided. The most disgusting part was that, according to their announcements, those sects had passed the test and become neutral factions, bestowed with advanced mountain-protecting formations. Qingfeng Villa was the next important prey for the two major alliances!