Dragon's Origin

## Chapter 517: The Elders' Dilemma (Part 1)

The Gan and Shi families needed Wang Sheng to acquire the peerless treasures. Without Wang Sheng's help, they wouldn't have enough time to evade the notice of other families.

Wang Sheng couldn't monopolize the peerless treasures either. The two families would never easily relinquish them. If Wang Sheng really did that, he would likely face an endless feud with both families. This wasn't a scenario Wang Sheng wanted to see.

Since both sides were in this awkward situation, why not cooperate? Wang Sheng needed one or two items from within, while the two families wanted the treasures themselves. Anyway, if the two families were to hire Wang Sheng, they would pay a considerable price regardless. So why not use the items from the peerless treasures as payment?

After all, no one knew what exactly was inside the peerless treasures so far. Although the Shi and Gan families had treasure maps and legends, no one knew how many good things were inside. In other words, they simply didn't know how much the future gains would be. In this situation, if they paid Wang Sheng a hefty price but only dug up some items that weren't very valuable, wouldn't that be a loss?

Of the items from five hundred years ago, who knew how many could still be used now, or were still valuable or had value? Perhaps by then, as long as Wang Sheng wasn't too excessive, the two families should be able to accept it.

After explaining the origin and history of the peerless treasure map, Wang Sheng also revealed the Shi and Gan families' previous target in the core area of the Thousand Layered Lands. Of course, Wang Sheng didn't forget to add his own plans. After speaking, he asked the old Taoist, "What do you think?"

Wang Sheng's meaning was very clear. He only wanted one or two items from within, and the remaining would be divided among the Shi family, the Gan family, and the Old Lord Temple. It could be said that the Old Lord Temple basically didn't have to pay anything to get a share, maybe thirty percent, maybe a little less, but in any case, the Old Lord Temple would definitely make a profit.

"How confident are you?" The old Taoist wasn't a pushover. Hearing Wang Sheng ask this, he immediately retorted with a question.

"I can't guarantee thirty percent, but I think I should be about twenty percent confident," Wang Sheng pondered for a moment and gave Lingxu Old Taoist an estimated number.

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's do it!" The old Taoist immediately made a decision without saying a word: "If we don't take the benefits that are offered to us, wouldn't we be fools?"

"Well, we'll bring a batch of Qing generation disciples in to see the world and divide the spoils," Wang Sheng continued along the old Taoist's train of thought, "You and I will find a suitable time to go into the inner circle and help protect me. I'll try to advance in the core inner circle of the Thousand Layered Lands and see what it feels like."

"..." The old Taoist suddenly didn't know what to say. Advancing in the core inner circle of the Thousand Layered Lands, perhaps Wang Sheng was the only one who dared to think about it and actually do it!

But on second thought, even if Wang Sheng advanced inside, he would only be upgrading to the eighth level, and wouldn't touch the aura of the legendary peak, which wouldn't trigger a riot of the super demon beasts inside. With Lingxu Old Taoist protecting him, and with Wang Sheng plus Lingxu Old Taoist's Nine Syllable mantra to drive away the demon beasts, from this perspective, there shouldn't be any safety issues.

If there were no safety issues, then it could be said that a major part of the problem had already been solved. But were there any benefits to advancing inside?

As soon as Lingxu Old Taoist asked this question, he knew the answer himself. Obviously, the answer was obvious, there were definitely benefits. Just the concentration of spiritual energy alone, how much effort would Wang Sheng save in condensing and compressing spiritual energy?

Moreover, once he successfully tempered his body with spiritual energy inside, Wang Sheng would no longer have to worry about the effects of entering and exiting the core circle of the Thousand Layered Lands in the future, and wouldn't suffer from decompression sickness like ordinary experts.

By the way, the word decompression sickness was said by Wang Sheng, and the old Taoist thought it was very appropriate, so he used this name.

In short, there were a lot of benefits and very few drawbacks. Did this matter need further study? The old Taoist looked at Wang Sheng and suddenly frowned and scolded, "Did you plan this all along?"

"No!" Wang Sheng replied with a smile: "I only thought of it just now when I asked you and you frowned."

"Get out!" The old Taoist suddenly lost the mood to drink: "Hurry up and talk to those two families. A'Qi, you come with me, I'll teach you a few life-saving skills."

A'Qi followed the old Taoist happily. Wang Sheng slowly stood up, didn't tidy up, and leisurely walked from the long tunnel to the ground. He greeted the senior and junior Taoists, left the camp, and headed to the Gan family's camp. Anyway, there were still a few days left, even if the man-eating ants marched at a normal speed, it would be enough to get there.

In these twenty days, the Shi and Gan families didn't know how many times they had discussed internally, and the two families didn't know how many times they had exchanged messages via messenger birds. They finally reached a short-term agreement, but the specifics still had to wait for the Shi family's high-level officials to arrive at the Gan family's camp to discuss together.

When Wang Sheng commanded the man-eating ant army to slowly arrive, the high-level officials of the two families had already arrived two days in advance and had been discussing for two days.

Both families attached great importance to Wang Sheng's cooperation, and they all sent their respective Great Elders to discuss in person. In addition to the elders from both families who were in charge of the base, the four elders from both families gave Wang Sheng enough face.

In a month's time, the two team leaders who were brought back by Wang Sheng in a dying state had now barely recovered to normal. It couldn't be said that they had fully recovered, but there were no problems with their actions, sitting, lying, and walking. However, whether they could enter the inner circle of the Thousand Layered Lands again would have to be discussed.

"Several elders, let's not talk nonsense. Your people have been inside for more than a year. Next, I'm afraid I have to take other families' people in," Wang Sheng didn't waste time with them. He guessed that they didn't want to listen to nonsense either, so he was very direct and straightforward: "If your people inside need to bring supplies, I can take a trip along the way. The reward will be calculated separately."

The two Great Elders of the Shi and Gan families looked at each other and suppressed the anxiety in their hearts. What Wang Sheng said was the truth. Although it sounded very uncomfortable, they had no reason to get angry. Moreover, how stupid would they have to be to turn against Wang Sheng at this time?

"Duke, let's talk it over!" The Great Elder of the Shi family said with a smile. He didn't know how many years it had been since he had become an elder of the Shi family after experiencing hardships, and he had never spoken to anyone in such a humble manner. Even when facing the head of the Shi family, the dignified Great Elder could stand up to him, but now, he had to bow his head to Wang Sheng.

"Yes! Yes!" The Great Elder of the Gan family also had a smile on his face, and cooperated with a slightly pleading tone: "Duke, let's talk it over!"

"Someone has already come to my door. Do you think I should agree or refuse?" Wang Sheng smiled wryly and spread his hands to the two of them. Anyway, the problem was this, you guys figure out a solution yourselves.