Chapter 999: Chapter 523: The Elf Clan Shows Goodwill (Part 2) "If you wish to leave here alive today, hand over the token at your waist to me." After Gu Sheng finished speaking, the Heisha Sect Leader was startled and hurriedly reached to cover his waist. "This... this is absolutely impossible..." Seeing that he dared to refuse, Gu Sheng’s expression immediately darkened. "Impossible? Is this token more important than your life?" "Not exactly, but this token signifies my status as Sect Leader. If I hand it over to you, what’s the difference from handing the Black Xia Sect over to you? If it were you, would you hand over Stone Village to someone else in exchange for your life?" After he finished speaking, Lan Yao stepped forward without hesitation. "If you don’t want to hand over your Sect Leader’s token, then hand over a symbol to prevent you from regretting it later and targeting Stone Village again." Seeing the Elf Clan stand up for Gu Sheng once more, the Heisha Sect Leader gritted his teeth. After pondering for a while, he took out a black porcelain bottle. "This is an elixir pill exclusively made by our Heisha Sect, never circulated outside. Is this acceptable?" Lan Yao turned to look at Gu Sheng, and Gu Sheng shook his head. "No, I don’t want the black one. I want the golden one." After he said this, the Heisha Sect Leader was almost grinding his teeth. He had deliberately suppressed it just now, fearing they would notice, but unexpectedly, Gu Sheng still saw it with his sharp eyes! "Gu Sheng, can we negotiate further?" "There’s no room for negotiation; if you want to live, then use that bottle for the exchange." As he spoke, Gu Sheng took out the Fire Spirit Dagger again, looking as though he was ready to take his life. Seeing his actions, Lan Yao stepped back, showing that he would leave it up to him. Seeing their movements, the Heisha Sect Leader panicked, and biting his teeth, he took out the red bottle. "Here you go!" Gu Sheng took the bottle and gently touched it with his fingers, feeling the abundant spiritual energy on it. He nodded with satisfaction. "Don’t forget, today you saved your life with a treasure. If you dare target Stone Village again, don’t blame me for using this as a token to announce the matter, making you lose face before taking the lives of your Heisha Sect members!" Hearing Gu Sheng’s threat, the Heisha Sect Leader didn’t dare make a sound and could only nod. Gu Sheng ignored him and turned to leave. Lan Yao followed him closely, and the two of them reached the foot of South Mountain together. Seeing many teams preparing in the distance, Gu Sheng stopped in a place with few people. Taking out the red bottle, he poured out half of the pills inside and handed them to Lan Yao. "Thank you for your help. This is your due reward." Looking at the pills in his hand, Lan Yao couldn’t help but sigh. "Gu Sheng, I consider you a friend, which is why I’m willing to put myself out there. Why be so clear-cut about it? Our Elf Clan doesn’t lack this kind of thing." "The Elf Clan is well-supplied, but such elixirs are still rare. If you hadn’t helped me, I might have caused a huge disaster, so this should be yours. Just take it." Lan Yao originally didn’t want it, but Gu Sheng insisted on giving it. The two of them pushed back and forth for quite a while, and in the end, Lan Yao accepted it. "Gu Sheng, I’ve accepted the items, but like I said, I’m helping you not for anything else, just because I consider you a friend." Seeing the sincerity in his eyes, Gu Sheng nodded. "Alright, this is the first time." Realizing what he meant, Lan Yao’s eyes sparkled a bit. However, Gu Sheng didn’t give him another chance to speak, and directly left with the people of Stone Village. At the foot of South Mountain, Gu Sheng and the others passed through numerous teams and finally arrived at the purple spirit stone. Gathering divine power, Gu Sheng glanced at a few individuals, who tacitly raised their hands and pressed them together on the purple spirit stone. A gleam flashed across the spirit stone, and Gu Sheng and his people had essentially obtained the ticket to enter the mountain. After handling everything, they found a corner to rest and rejuvenate. As they regained their strength, Gu Sheng kept observing the surroundings. He looked again and again, but didn’t see anyone from the Qingxia Sect or Purple Mist Peak, and couldn’t help but frown. According to the letter, the Peak Master of Purple Mist Peak had already arrived at the foot of South Mountain two days earlier than them. Logically, they should be here, but they hadn’t appeared, could they be hiding in the dark? Thinking of this, Gu Sheng had a bit of a headache. They had made too many enemies recently, besides Purple Mist Peak and Qingxia Sect, they also encountered the Heisha Sect on the road, facing three opposing factions. Once they enter South Mountain, it’s bound to be perilous. At this moment, Huang Shan suddenly spoke: "Brother Sheng, we seem to have a lot of enemies. Should we find a team to ally with? This could help eliminate future troubles." After thinking it over, Gu Sheng shook his head. "Everyone is here for the Spiritual Pearl. Even if you form an alliance, it’s only a temporary solution. In the face of the Spiritual Pearl, alliances often fall apart. It’s better to fight solo than to nurture a potential threat." "But with Purple Mist Peak and Heisha Sect..." "Don’t worry. Once we enter the mountain, they won’t join forces, as I said, in front of the Spiritual Pearl, there are no alliances, no one wants a potential threat beside them." Thinking about it carefully, Huang Shan felt he made sense. "In that case, before entering the mountain, let’s hide first to avoid any mistakes." Gu Sheng nodded: "Once we’re in, let’s try to move with large teams to prevent giving them a chance to strike. Only split when it’s crucial." "Brother Sheng, moving with a big team, will they target us first? After all, we Stone Village have no name, no faction..." "No, in South Mountain, everyone won’t act rashly. With the Spiritual Pearl there, no one wants to risk losing its spiritual energy. Any injury would mean losing years’ worth of divine power, unless someone has a personal vendetta, otherwise, there will be no problems." Knowing Gu Sheng was thoroughly prepared, Huang Shan felt at ease. At this moment, at the foot of the mountain, the Elf Clan had already infused divine power, but Lan Yao couldn’t find a trace of Gu Sheng despite searching around. "Did any of you see Gu Sheng?" "No, but their aura is on the spirit stone, so they should be entering South Mountain." Hearing his subordinate’s words, Lan Yao sighed. "It seems he deliberately avoids me. Meeting for the second time might be difficult." "Boss, why are you insistent on befriending Gu Sheng? He’s just someone from Stone Village..." "Silence! Whom I choose to befriend is not for you to comment on! I have decided to befriend Gu Sheng!" Adding on, Lan Yao warned: "Don’t look down on others with shallow eyes, and don’t underestimate them, or you’ll suffer later." After saying this, he found a place to settle down, ignoring everyone else. The Heisha Sect members arrived swiftly and soon saw Lan Yao. Seeing the Elf Clan, the Heisha Sect Leader deliberately stepped back. He looked around but didn’t see Gu Sheng. For a moment, he couldn’t help frowning. "Where did that Gu Sheng go? He’s not with the Elf Clan?" Upon hearing this, one of his subordinates asked softly, "Sect Leader, since he’s not with the Elf Clan, should we..." As he spoke, he made a slicing motion across his neck, his meaning was obvious. The Heisha Sect Leader thought for a moment, then smirked and nodded. "Alright." After infusing spiritual power, the Heisha Sect members wandered among various teams. Gu Sheng and others rested in a corner, with no one else nearby. They rested comfortably. Before long, everyone had restored their peak physical condition. Glancing at the sunlight, Shi Lou asked a bit bored: "Brother Sheng, when can we enter South Mountain?" "Tomorrow at noon. Get through this night, and you’ll be ready to prepare tomorrow." Upon learning they needed to stay another night, Shi Lou sighed lightly. "Another night, just afraid of long nights with many dreams." As he finished speaking, Er Gou gave him a tap. "Pah, pah, pah, don’t talk nonsense. Say something nice instead." Realizing his mistake, Shi Lou lightly slapped his own mouth and quickly spat twice. "I was talking nonsense, Brother Sheng, don’t take it to heart. We’re sure to be safe and sound all the way." Gu Sheng chuckled but didn’t say much.