Chapter 612: Choice
It was a very strange feeling!
After Qing Chi fully grasped the complete Army Morale, she was able to investigate the military situation of her own side.
As her control over military intelligence deepened, she naturally came to understand the three forging directions for the army branch.
“The first is Paper Money Nether-Pass Soldiers. It requires one hundred thousand jin of hundred-year Green Sandalwood pulp, mixed with Chenzhou cinnabar to create talismans, forming blue-violet coins. While burning the blue-violet coins, nine hundred jin of South Sea agarwood must also be burned to temper the Sea of Consciousness. Finally, countless Yin Energy must be infused into the body until saturation for twenty-seven consecutive days before it can be completed.”
“The second is Yin Talisman Calamity-Suppressing Guards. It consumes three thousand jin of Thunder-Magnet Refined Iron, then Taihang Five-Colored Stone Gall, followed by eight hundred strands of Military Killing Aura, and finally three days and three nights of closed-door cultivation.”
“The third is Ghost-Weeping Gate-Sealing Soldiers. One must draw the Gate-Sealing Formation, gather more than ten thousand ghosts, and arrange them into the Ten-Thousand Ghosts Paying Homage Formation. Then three thousand-year zombies are refined to produce corpse oil, which is used to coat the army branch. After that, the army is cast into a tide of Yin Energy, devouring vast quantities of Yin Energy like a whale until the corpse oil completely transforms into corpse wax. Only then is it considered successful, and it must be withdrawn quickly.”
After learning the exact costs, Qing Chi froze in place.
The price was simply far too enormous!
The Ghost Race Girl knew clearly that even if she sold herself together with the entire Qing Family, they might still fail to gather such resources.
She informed Qing Yan of the exact costs.
After hearing it, Qing Yan’s face turned slightly pale. He forced himself to comfort her.
“Girl, don’t panic. At this stage of building an army, relying on ourselves alone is definitely impossible.”
“Let’s ask the City Lord for help!”
“Once our army is successfully established, it will greatly benefit White Paper Immortal City. They will certainly be willing to support us!”
“From the current situation, this is actually the best opportunity for us to build an army.”
Qing Yan saw the situation very clearly.
Li Xiangshang and Qing Chi reported the matter together. As expected, it quickly gained the attention of White Paper Immortal City.
The City Lord’s avatar personally handled the matter. After learning the exact cost, she instead said:
“Only this little?”
In the past history of White Paper Immortal City, they had attempted to build armies many times.
Most attempts had failed at the very first stage—condensing Army Morale. Without Army Morale, everything afterward was merely empty talk.
Now Qing Chi had not only condensed Army Morale, but had even advanced to the stage of army branch selection.
The White Paper City Lord’s avatar looked at Li Xiangshang and sincerely sighed.
“Your aptitude, Inferior Fish Filling the Numbers, is indeed practical. It not only lowers the standard for condensing Army Morale but also reduces the resources required to cultivate army branches. This must have reduced the cost by at least thirty percent, right?”
Qing Chi immediately turned her head to look at Li Xiangshang.
Only now did the ignorant Ghost Race Girl realize that the cost she had learned was already reduced by thirty percent!
Li Xiangshang also looked at Qing Chi.
“My aptitude isn’t the key. The key is Miss Qing Chi. Not everyone can condense Army Morale. It must gain the genuine support of many people.”
The City Lord’s avatar slightly nodded, acknowledging his words.
After pondering for a moment, she said slowly,
“The cost of cultivating the army branch—White Paper Immortal City can cover it entirely. However…”
Her tone shifted as she proposed a condition.
The requirement was simple and straightforward.
The cultivated army branch could be temporarily kept under Qing Chi’s command, but from that point onward it would belong to White Paper Immortal City.
Li Xiangshang looked at Qing Chi. The army branch was not his, so he had no right to make the decision.
Qing Chi was stunned.
She felt uncomfortable. After all, she had exhausted herself to condense it—how could it suddenly belong to someone else?
The White Paper City Lord saw the girl’s hesitation and spoke calmly.
“In the past, White Paper Immortal City has tried to build armies many times, but all failed.”
“Successful condensation of Army Morale actually happened quite often.”
“But there are many steps in building an army, and the process has a time limit. The most regrettable attempt reached the final step, yet time ran out and it failed at the last moment.”
“Your attempt this time is even more reckless than all previous attempts by our city.”
“The only advantage lies in Li Xiangshang’s aptitude.”
“To cultivate the army branch, can you provide even one-tenth of the required resources? Without resources, failure is certain.”
“Even with resources, success is not guaranteed. At that time, these astronomical losses would have to be borne solely by White Paper Immortal City.”
“And even if the army is successfully built… frankly speaking, this new army may not change the larger situation for White Paper Immortal City.”
Every sentence the City Lord spoke made sense.
Qing Chi was rendered speechless.
As for Li Xiangshang, he was a pure ascetic cultivator who was clumsy with words. He could only stand there silently.
After thinking for a while with a worried expression, Qing Chi said heavily,
“City Lord, I cannot make this decision alone. I want to return and discuss it with my father.”
The City Lord nodded with a smile.
“Go ahead.”
On one hand, even if the agreement was made, Qing Chi would still need to command the army for a long time. On the other hand, she was very confident that Qing Chi would accept the condition.
“Oh right, there is one more requirement.”
“If our city provides the funding, then the army branch must be Ghost-Weeping Gate-Sealing Soldiers.”
Not only would the army branch belong to White Paper Immortal City, even the type of army branch had to be fixed.
Qing Chi kept her head lowered while walking back, remaining silent the entire way.
The pressure of that silence made Li Xiangshang uncomfortable, so he took the initiative to comfort her.
Qing Chi sighed.
“Sigh… giving the army branch to someone else does make me uncomfortable. But I believe the White Paper City Lord won’t treat us unfairly.”
“But I just heard that even after the army branch stage, there are still many hurdles ahead. In the end, the army might still fail to form.”
“If that happens… do you think I could still use such a condition to take Jiao Ma back?”
Li Xiangshang: …
He had not expected that this was the real issue troubling Qing Chi.
But after thinking carefully, he found it completely reasonable.
The demon cultivator sighed deeply.
“Let me tell you another piece of bad news. Since we started building the army, I’ve been maintaining my aptitude. But my strength cannot last much longer. At most half a month more before I must stop.”
“Once that happens, failure will be almost certain.”
Qing Chi was shocked.
“Ah? How could that be?”
“I already told you—we are only forming a temporary army,” Li Xiangshang spread his hands apologetically. “Fortunately, even if we stop halfway, this temporary army can still use Military Art, though it will be far weaker than a regular army.”
But Qing Chi shook her head.
“That’s not what I’m asking. I want to know how much you’ve paid to maintain your aptitude. If the price is too high, we should stop now.”
“It’s true I want to take Jiao Ma back. That’s my genuine wish and my own matter.”
“But I don’t want my friends and family to suffer losses because of my selfishness!”
“Hahaha, you girl.” A warm current rose in Li Xiangshang’s heart.
He sincerely advised,
“My aptitude can only last a short time, and the White Paper City Lord doesn’t know that. So I suggest we stop while we’re ahead and let White Paper Immortal City take over.”
“While there’s still time, go clarify your feelings to the City Lord and try to persuade her to release the boy from the Jiao Family first.”
Qing Chi shook her head hesitantly.
“Can I even bring that up? I’m not very brave about it… It’s like I’d be stealing the City Lord’s man. Jiao Ma is so good—the City Lord probably won’t let him go easily!”
Li Xiangshang: …
After thinking for a moment, he said,
“I think you can boldly raise this request.”
“The matter of Army Morale was reported long ago. After this time, the White Paper City Lord must have investigated you already.”
“She definitely knows that you and the boy from the Jiao Family are close and that you privately pledged yourselves to each other.”
“Taking advantage of the army branch deal, I think there’s a high chance the City Lord will agree.”
Qing Chi’s eyes immediately lit up.
“Is that really so?”
Then she shook her head slightly.
“This is too important. I’m worried that if I take Jiao Ma away, the City Lord might suppress our family. I still need to discuss it with my father.”
The two communicated through spiritual sense all the way back to their temporary residence in the city.
But upon arrival, they learned that Ning Zhuo had come to visit.
Qing Chi instantly brightened, throwing her worries aside as she rushed through the doorway.
“What? Little Ma came on his own? Where is he? Take me to him quickly!”
Li Xiangshang suddenly said,
“Not good!”
He reached out and grabbed Qing Chi.
She turned around, confused.
Li Xiangshang sighed.
“The City Lord’s methods are truly brilliant.”
“She knows the boy from the Jiao Family has great influence on you, so she sent him as a lobbyist to persuade you to accept the deal.”
Qing Chi blinked.
“Is that really the case?”
Li Xiangshang nodded confidently.
“Nine times out of ten!”
A moment later.
Jiao Ma (Ning Zhuo) shook his head.
“I came here purely for my own selfish reasons.”
Qing Chi immediately showed a joyful expression.
“Little Ma, you came specially to see me, didn’t you!”
Ning Zhuo nodded.
“I did come to find you.”
“You’re trying to cultivate an army branch. The cost must be enormous.”
“If you seek help from White Paper Immortal City, you will likely become controlled by them.”
“Tell me the specific requirements. Perhaps I can help fund it.”
Qing Chi sighed and shook her head.
“Little Ma, you don’t know. The cost of cultivating an army branch is terrifying.”
She explained the full price and the conditions set by the White Paper City Lord.
Qing Yan nodded, showing little surprise.
“Cultivating an army branch—there’s no way we can do it ourselves.”
“Letting it belong to White Paper Immortal City is actually inevitable. If I were the City Lord, I would make the same request. After all, we are Ghost Race, not even Human Race, and certainly not the City Lord’s trusted subordinates.”
“If we controlled an army independently, then in the future there would be a second voice in the Yin Soul Black Marsh Wetlands.”
Li Xiangshang suddenly understood.
“So that’s it.”
He was a hard-working cultivator but not stupid. Through many experiences, his wisdom had gradually improved.
“A second voice? What does that mean?” Qing Chi looked confused.
After Qing Yan explained briefly, Qing Chi immediately waved her hand.
“But we’re already citizens of White Paper Immortal City. Our village only survived thanks to the city’s protection. How could we oppose the City Lord?”
“That’s not certain,” Li Xiangshang thought subconsciously while glancing at Ning Zhuo.
Qing Yan frowned and said firmly,
“We can accept the army branch belonging to White Paper Immortal City. But the type of army branch is wrong. We should choose Yin Talisman Calamity-Suppressing Guards!”
Qing Chi was surprised.
To her, any of the three choices seemed fine.
She hadn’t expected Qing Yan to insist on this detail.
Qing Yan sighed and explained to his daughter.
“Ghost-Weeping Gate-Sealing Soldiers place formation arrays on the soldiers’ bodies, sealing various ghosts inside them like prisoners.”
“On one hand, they can temporarily imprison troublesome ghosts on the battlefield. On the other hand, soldiers can train those ghosts and form spirit beast contracts.”
“If we choose that branch, White Paper Immortal City would effectively gain two or three times the number of troops.”
“For many years, the city has imprisoned countless ghosts.”
“But raising those ghosts requires huge resources. Maintaining such an army would cost dozens of times more than the other two branches.”
“That would make us even more dependent on them.”
“And there’s another point.”
“Sealing ghosts inside your own body feels extremely unpleasant. Even though we Ghost Race naturally possess dense Yin Energy and are more suited than Human Race cultivators for this.”
“Ghosts are still foreign entities. Cultivating alongside them is difficult and painful. Many of our elders would suffer.”
Hearing this, Qing Chi immediately shook her head.
“Then we won’t choose that one.”
Her expression was firm.
Most of the cultivators around her were relatives of the Qing Family—uncles and elder cousins. It was their support that had allowed Army Morale to form in the first place.
Naturally, the Ghost Race Girl did not want them to suffer.
Li Xiangshang said,
“Since we’re not choosing Ghost-Weeping Gate-Sealing Soldiers, we can only pick between the other two.”
Qing Yan nodded.
“We choose Yin Talisman Calamity-Suppressing Guards.”
“We already possess the Bearing Soldiers and Carrying Killing Aura Art. Choosing this path will reduce future costs and allow us to sustain ourselves through battle.”
“Every soldier will carry Killing Aura that suppresses ghosts.”
“Even if the army ultimately fails to form, the Killing Aura will remain. It will still benefit our relatives.”
“Moreover, this option requires the least time—only three days and three nights.”
Qing Chi nodded.
“Then let’s choose that.”
“Ahem, ahem, ahem.” Ning Zhuo coughed three times and interrupted.
“No. You should choose Paper Money Nether-Pass Soldiers.”
Qing Chi looked at him.
“Little Ma, what’s your reason?”
Ning Zhuo looked at Qing Yan.
“I was about to explain earlier before I was interrupted. I came this time intending to fund the creation of your new army.”
“One of my conditions is that you must choose Paper Money Nether-Pass Soldiers.”
Li Xiangshang was confused.
“Paper Money Nether-Pass Soldiers take the longest time—twenty-seven days. They consume the most resources, and their combat power is the weakest among the three branches. Their only notable advantage is allowing the entire army to freely travel between the Yin and Yang realms, giving them more versatility.”
Qing Yan also frowned deeply.
“Our enemy is the Forget River Lord. Are you suggesting we build such an army to charge into the Underworld, straight into the enemy’s lair?”
“That would be suicide!”
Ning Zhuo opened his mouth, about to explain.
Qing Chi immediately said,
“Alright, Little Ma. I’ll listen to you!”
Everyone: …