: The Choice

What a peculiar feeling!

Once Qing Chi grasped the full military morale, she could survey her own army's situation.

Along with her control over the military affairs, she naturally became aware of the three forging directions for the military seed.

"The first is the Paper Money Nether Soldiers, requiring a hundred thousand jin of century-old green sandalwood pulp mixed with Chenzhou cinnabar to create talismans, making blue-purple coins. While burning these coins, also burn nine hundred jin of South Sea agarwood to refine the divine sea. Finally, saturate the body with endless yin energy continuously for twenty-seven days to achieve completion."

"The second is the Yin Talisman Calamity Guard, consuming three thousand jin of thunder-magnet iron, along with Taihang's five-colored gallstones, and eight hundred strands of military baleful energy, followed by three days and nights of secluded cultivation."

"The third is the Ghost Wail Gate-Sealing Troops, involving drawing the Gate-Sealing Array, gathering over ten thousand ghosts to form the Ten Thousand Ghosts Paying Homage Grand Array, then refining corpse oil from three millennia-old zombies to envelop the military seed. Throw it into the flow of yin energy to voraciously absorb endless yin energy until the corpse oil completely transforms into corpse wax, then quickly retrieve it to succeed."

After learning the specific costs, Qing Chi was stunned on the spot.

The price was simply too enormous!

The ghost girl knew very well that even if she and the entire Qing family were sold off, they might not be able to gather such resources.

She told Qing Yan the specific costs.

Upon hearing this, Qing Yan's face paled slightly as he tried to comfort her, "Don't worry, lass. At this stage of building the army, relying solely on ourselves is definitely not enough."

"Let's seek the city lord's help!"

"Once we successfully build the army, it will greatly benefit White Paper Immortal City. They'll surely be willing to support us!"

"Looking at the current situation, this is actually the best timing for us to build the army."

Qing Yan saw things clearly.

Li Xiangshang and Qing Chi reported it together and indeed gained the attention of White Paper Immortal City.

The city lord's avatar personally handled the matter and, upon learning the specific costs, remarked, "So little?"

In the past, White Paper Immortal City had attempted to build an army many times.

Often, they got stuck at the initial stage of consolidating military morale. Without military morale, everything that followed was just empty talk.

Now, Qing Chi had not only consolidated military morale but had even advanced to the stage of the military seed.

The city lord's avatar looked at Li Xiangshang and sighed sincerely, "Your innate talent, 'Rotten Fish Fills the Count,' is indeed practical. It not only lowers the standard for consolidating military morale but also reduces the resources needed for nurturing the military seed. It's cut by at least thirty percent, right?"

Qing Chi immediately turned to look at Li Xiangshang.

The ignorant ghost girl only then realized that the cost she had learned was already reduced by thirty percent!

Li Xiangshang also looked at Qing Chi, "My innate talent isn't the key; the key is Miss Qing Chi. Not everyone can consolidate military morale; it requires genuine support from many people."

The city lord's avatar nodded slightly, acknowledging Li Xiangshang's words.

After pondering for a moment, she said thoughtfully, "The cost of cultivating the military seed can be borne by my White Paper Immortal City. However..."

The city lord's avatar changed the subject and顺势 proposed a requirement.

It was simple and straightforward: the cultivated military seed could be held in trust by Qing Chi, but from then on, it would belong to White Paper Immortal City.

Li Xiangshang looked at Qing Chi; the military seed wasn't his, so it wasn't his place to decide.

Qing Chi was taken aback, feeling uncomfortable. This was something she had put immense effort into consolidating; how could it belong to someone else?

The White Paper City Lord saw the girl's hesitation and said calmly, "In the past, White Paper Immortal City has tried many times to build an army but failed."

"The number of successful consolidations of military morale is actually not small."

"But there are many steps in building an army, and this process has a time limit. The most regrettable time was when we reached the final step but ran out of time, failing at the last moment!"

"Your attempt this time is more reckless than any of our city's past attempts."

"The only advantage lies in Young Friend Li's innate talent."

"Can you come up with even ten percent of the resources needed to cultivate the military seed? Without resources, you are doomed to fail."

"Even with resources, success isn't guaranteed. By then, these astronomical losses would have to be borne solely by White Paper Immortal City."

"Even if, in the end, the army is successfully built, to be honest... my White Paper Immortal City may not change the overall situation much just because of your new army."

The White Paper City Lord's words were all reasonable, leaving Qing Chi speechless.

As for Li Xiangshang, he was a pure ascetic cultivator, clumsy with words, and could only watch dryly now.

Qing Chi thought for a while, frowning with worry, and said heavily, "Lord City Lord, I can't make this decision. I want to go back and discuss it with my father."

The White Paper City Lord nodded with a smile, "Go ahead."

On one hand, even if the military seed's ownership was agreed upon, Qing Chi would still need to lead the army for a long time to come. On the other hand, she was quite confident that Qing Chi would agree to these terms.

"Oh, and one more requirement."

"If our city is to provide the funds, the military seed must be set as the Ghost Wail Gate-Sealing Troops."

Not only would the military seed belong to White Paper Immortal City, but even its type would be predetermined.

Qing Chi kept her head down, silent all the way back.

This silent pressure made Li Xiangshang somewhat unable to bear it, so he took the initiative to comfort her.

Qing Chi: "Sigh, giving the military seed to others does make me uncomfortable, but I believe the White Paper City Lord won't treat us unfairly."

"But I just heard that even if we pass this stage of the military seed, there are many hurdles ahead, and we might still fail in building the army."

"If that's the case, do you think I can still rely on such a condition to win Jiao Ma back?"

Li Xiangshang: "..."

He hadn't expected that this was what truly troubled Qing Chi.

But upon careful thought, Li Xiangshang found it very 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 innate talent all along. But my strength can't keep it up for long; at most, I can only last another half month before I have to stop."

"Once that happens, failure is almost certain."

Qing Chi was shocked, "Ah, how can that be?"

"I mentioned before that we're only forming a temporary army." Li Xiangshang spread his hands, looking somewhat guilty, "Fortunately, even halfway through, our temporary army can still employ military tactics, though their effectiveness is much weaker than that of a regular army."

Qing Chi shook her head, "I'm not asking about that. I want to know, Senior Li, what price have you paid to maintain your innate talent? If the cost is too high, let's stop right now."

"I want to win Jiao Ma back, that's true. It's my sincere wish and my own business."

"But I don't want to see my friends and family suffer losses and hardships because of my selfish desires!"

"Hahaha, you girl." Li Xiangshang suddenly felt a warm current in his heart.

He sincerely advised, "My innate talent can only be maintained for a short time, which the White Paper City Lord doesn't know. So, I suggest you cut your losses and let White Paper Immortal City take over."

"Take this opportunity to clarify your intentions to the White Paper City Lord and strive to have her release Young Master Jiao first."

Qing Chi shook her head, hesitantly saying, "Can I bring it up? I don't dare. It's like I'm competing with the city lord for a man. Jiao Ma is so good; the city lord probably won't let him go easily!"

Li Xiangshang: "..."

He thought for a moment and said, "I think you can boldly make this request!"

"We reported the matter of military morale long ago. After this time, the White Paper City Lord must have already investigated you."

"She definitely knows that you and Jiao Ma are close and have pledged yourselves to each other."

"With such a good opportunity as the military seed transaction, I feel there's a high chance the city lord will agree to your request."

Qing Chi's eyes immediately lit up, "Really?"

But she shook her head slightly, "This matter is very important. I'm worried that if I take Jiao Ma away, the city lord will suppress our family. I still need to discuss it with my father."

The two used their spiritual sense to talk privately all the way back to their temporary residence in the city, only to find that Ning Zhuo was visiting.

Qing Chi was overjoyed, casting her worries aside, and rushed ahead, stepping over the threshold, "What? Xiao Ma came on his own? Where is he? Take me to him quickly."

But Li Xiangshang said, "Not good!"

Then, he reached out and stopped Qing Chi. She turned her head, looking at him in confusion.

Li Xiangshang sighed, "The city lord's methods are truly ingenious."

"She knew that Young Master Jiao would have a huge influence on you, so she sent him to act as a persuader, to convince you to agree to this transaction."

Qing Chi: "Is that so?"

Li Xiangshang nodded肯定ly, "Most likely!"

A moment later.

Jiao Ma (Ning Zhuo) shook his head, "I came here purely out of my own selfish motives."

Qing Chi immediately showed joy, "Xiao Ma, you came specifically to see me!"

Ning Zhuo nodded, "I did come to see you."

"You want to consolidate the military seed; the cost must be hefty."

"Seeking help from White Paper Immortal City will likely put you under their control."

"Tell me the specific requirements; perhaps I can help!"

Qing Chi shook her head and sighed, "Xiao Ma, you don't know how high the cost of nurturing the military seed is; it's terrifying!"

She laid out all the specific costs and the conditions set by the White Paper City Lord.

Qing Yan nodded, showing little surprise.

"To cultivate the military seed on our own is impossible."

"Belonging to White Paper Immortal City is actually inevitable. If I were the city lord, I would also make this demand. After all, we are just ghosts, not even humans, let alone the city lord's confidants."

"If we truly commanded an army independently, then in the future, there would be a second voice in the Yin Tide Black Damp Marshlands."

Li Xiangshang, upon hearing this, had a sudden realization, "So that's how it is."

He was just an ascetic cultivator, not foolish; this experience had enlightened him multiple times.

"Second voice? What does that mean?" Qing Chi looked completely confused.

Qing Yan briefly explained, and Qing Chi immediately waved her hand, "We are already subjects of White Paper Immortal City. Our village owes its peace to the city's protection. How could we possibly oppose the White Paper City Lord?"

"That's hard to say." Li Xiangshang thought to himself, instinctively glancing at Ning Zhuo sitting nearby.

Qing Yan frowned slightly, gritted his teeth, and said, "We can accept the military seed belonging to White Paper Immortal City. But the choice of military seed isn't good; we'd better choose the Yin Talisman Calamity Guard!"

Qing Chi exclaimed in surprise again; in her view, it didn't matter which of the three military seed directions they chose.

She hadn't expected Qing Yan to fixate on such a small detail.

Qing Yan sighed and explained to his daughter, "The Ghost Wail Gate-Sealing Troops involve setting up an array on the soldiers' bodies, sealing various ghosts inside the array, equivalent to locking them up."

"On one hand, it can be used on the battlefield to temporarily imprison troublesome ghosts. On the other hand, the soldiers can use various means like arrays to train and discipline the ghosts, forming pet contracts."

"Choosing this military seed would allow White Paper Immortal City to have two or three times the military strength."

"Over the years, White Paper Immortal City has imprisoned far too many ghosts."

"But raising these ghosts requires massive resources. The maintenance cost for an army of Ghost Wail Gate-Sealing Troops is at least dozens of times that of the other two military seeds!"

"This would make us even more dependent on them."

"And one more thing."

"Sealing ghosts inside one's own body feels quite awful. Even though each of us ghosts has considerable yin energy, making us more suitable for this than human cultivators."

"Ghosts are still foreign entities; cultivating alongside them is difficult and painful. By then, many of our elders would suffer!"

Hearing this, Qing Chi果断ly shook her head, "Then we won't choose this direction."

She showed a firm expression.

The cultivators around her were all relatives of the Qing family; some were uncles, some were cousins. It was their recognition and support of Qing Chi that provided the basic conditions for consolidating military morale.

The ghost girl certainly didn't want these relatives and elders to suffer.

Li Xiangshang: "Since we're not choosing the Ghost Wail Gate-Sealing Troops, we can only choose from the remaining two."

Qing Yan nodded, "We choose the Yin Talisman Calamity Guard!"

"We already have the 'Art of Bearing Soldiers and Shouldering Baleful Energy.' Choosing this direction will save us more in the future, allowing us to sustain ourselves through battle, with the lowest maintenance cost."

"Moreover, each soldier will have baleful energy suppressing their body, strongly restraining ghosts."

"Even if our army fails to form in the future, the baleful energy will remain, a benefit we've secured for our relatives and friends."

"Also, choosing this option takes the least time, requiring only three days and nights of cultivation."

Qing Chi nodded, "That's good, let's choose it then."

"Ahem, ahem, ahem." Ning Zhuo pretended to cough three times and interjected, "No, we should choose the Paper Money Nether Soldiers."

Qing Chi looked at Ning Zhuo, "Xiao Ma, what's your reason?"

Ning Zhuo then looked at Qing Yan, "Earlier, I was about to state my purpose but got interrupted. I came here to provide funds to help us build the new army."

"One of the conditions is that we must choose the Paper Money Nether Soldiers."

Li Xiangshang expressed confusion, "The Paper Money Nether Soldiers take the longest time, twenty-seven days, consume the most resources, and their combat power after formation is the weakest among the three directions. Their standout feature is allowing the entire army to move freely between the yin and yang realms, offering more functionality."

Qing Yan also frowned deeply, staring at Ning Zhuo, "Our opponent is the Forgotten River Prefect. Forming such an army, are we planning to charge into the yin realm, the enemy's lair?"

"That's simply suicide!"

Ning Zhuo opened his mouth to explain.

Qing Chi: "Okay, Xiao Ma, I'll listen to you!"

Everyone: "..."

(End of )