“Lady Sun Yu, to what do I owe the pleasure of your visit?” Lian Qian asked, trying his best to retain a neutral expression.

On the inside, he couldn't help but feel conflicted. Why would the Sun Clan wish to involve themselves in this mess at this juncture? If they wanted to prevent damage to the city, why did she wait until the battle was won to take action? Lian Qian couldn't help but think this had been premeditated on their part to help the Ma Clan, yet he found that ludicrous. How could they have predicted that things would take such a sudden turn?

Lian Qian could find no answers in Sun Yu's countenance. She only showed a radiant smile for the world to see, carefully masking her inner thoughts. For all the time he had known her, Lian Qian had never known her true stance on things, which was also mirrored by the entirety of the Sun Clan.

In fact, Lian Qian could barely remember the last time he had met with the City Lord, as Lady Sun would always act as his proxy. Even at the recent wedding at the Qin Clan, only Sun Yu was present. Still, that was hardly cause for concern, as Sun Yu's father had always been somewhat of a recluse, even in his younger years.

"Let me get straight to the point. How much would it take for you to back off and let this matter go?" Sun Yu said, her voice as beautiful as a rose, yet her thorns were just as apparent.

Lian Qian could clearly feel the threats hidden within, and he couldn't help but sigh. Nothing was ever simple when it involved the various clans' politics. Sometimes, he wished he could do away with this whole patriarch thing, as he was a merchant to the core. While politics and business were closely related, he felt people were more genuine in their wants when only money was involved.

"Is this your personal stance, or are you here in your official position as your father's proxy?" Lian Qian asked, yet he couldn't help but keep his eyes from narrowing slightly.

“Does that truly matter?” Sun Yu replied dismissively as she shrugged.

While Lian Qian was disappointed in her non-answer, he also realized she was right. Just her presence alone spoke volumes about what the Sun Clan thought of this matter. In fact, what they thought was irrelevant, as most wouldn't dare cross this woman. Fortunately, Lian Qian wasn't most people but the patriarch of an entire clan. Cowering here would only make his clan look weak before all these witnesses.

"The Lian people are merchants to the core. Of course, we are open to negotiation. Still, this all depends on what you are willing to offer for his life," Lian Qian said as he passed the ball back to her. While he could have retained the initiative by asking for an exorbitant price, he much preferred the burden to be on them to figure out how to appease him.

Deep inside his watery prison, Ma Yongzheng could hear the full extent of their conversation, yet it couldn't help but make him more enraged. Never have the Ma Clan been so belittled by these two clans as they dismiss his existence, only to bargain for his survival without even considering his input.

Ma Yongzheng struggled with all his might, exuding all the Qi stored within his Qi centre in a last-ditch effort to break this jail, knowing that if he were to expend all his Qi, he might shrivel up and die. In fact, the more one climbed the realms of cultivation, the more one became dependent on Qi for survival. If, somehow, one was to be deprived of Qi for whatever reason, only death would ensue. While cultivators could survive without breathing, they couldn't survive without Qi.

Still, Ma Yongzheng's struggles were in vain, as Lian Qian had already predicted such a turn of events, and Ma Yongzheng's personality traits had always been on full display. Lian Qian knew full well that Ma Yongzheng would prefer death over being used as a pawn to threaten his clan. The shame would be much too hard for him to bear.

As such, Lian Qian had prepared something special inside his bell during the previous battle. He had done this discreetly, and Ma Yongzheng was too riled up to pay attention, so it went unnoticed.

Dark blue characters lit up inside the bell, pulsing with an energy resembling Lian Qian's Qi signature. In fact, these had been inscribed upon the bell's surface using his own Qi, so it wasn't that surprising.

Once the characters lit up, chains of light sprung from them, aiming straight for Ma Yongzheng as he expended his energy. In normal circumstances, these chains wouldn't be enough to restrain someone at the Peak of the Nascent Soul Realm. However, Ma Yongzheng was far from his previous peak, and the bell and water prison had ground away most of his remaining Qi. What little resistance he could offer was much too little to stop those chains of light.

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Furthermore, those runes had been expertly crafted by one of the two mysterious black token holders for just such a purpose before being infused with Lian Qian's Qi, just as the pillars that Qin Yun destroyed earlier this month. While their powers were lacking compared to what Qin Yun had encountered, it was enough to restrict a cultivator's Qi usage. Unless they possessed the same amount of physical strength as Qin Yun, there would be nothing they could do once trapped.

“Was that necessary?" Sun Yu asked, yet her expression didn't falter a bit, as if anything that occurred on this battlefield could not pique her interest. Somehow, Lian Qian felt unnerved by this lack of reaction. Still, bluffing was a required skill to have during negotiations. As such, he, too, masked his own intentions perfectly.

“Of course it is," he replied with a slight smile. "It wouldn't do for the prize to get away until its owner is decided."

The tension between the two was palpable. Even Lian Huiling, deep in her hole, couldn't help but gulp nervously even though she was spared from the intense oppression filling the air, thanks to the hole mitigating most of it. While a crater like this would be irrelevant for accomplished cultivators like them, Lian Huiling was mostly ignored by the residual pressure as she wasn't one of its targets. Despite all this, she could still feel it, which spoke massively of the depths of their cultivation.

Surprisingly, Sun Yu seemed comparable to Lian Huiling's father in some aspects. While the differences in their Qi reserves were unmistakable, the quality and purity weren't that far apart. Yet, the last she heard, Sun Yun was only near the mid-level of the Golden Core Realm. How could she leap that much in such a short time? Something important eluded her.

While Lian Huiling pondered the implications of all this, Qin Yun wasn't that interested as this conversation didn't seem to involve him. Unless they addressed him directly, Qin Yun had no intentions of meddling in any of it. He already had more than enough problems to deal with.

No, something else held his attention. This broken armour on Ma Zhiqiang’s corpse was worth examining. Qin Yun crouched down, tracing the contours of the runes displayed on the armour's surface. While they seemed familiar, Qin Yun was quite sure they didn't originate from the Western Region. At least he hadn't seen anything similar in these parts.

Besides, he had met with the old woman who had inscribed the formation around his residence. She was deemed the foremost expert in arrays and runes in the whole Western Region, and even she couldn't compare to the runes of this armour. While some hidden master might exist, Qin Yun doubted so. In fact, he could hardly believe someone of that calibre would wish to involve himself with the Ma Clan, much less someone like Ma Zhiqiang. There were always more mysteries to uncover.

As Qin Yun examined the runes individually, trying to uncover the mechanisms behind their effects, he noticed movements within Ma Zhiqiang's abdomen. At first, he thought he would come back to life, as necromancy, although frowned upon, wasn't that scarce a discipline. In fact, there were countless ways to make a corpse move again: Spirit possession, undeath reanimation, puppet sorcery, live artifact forging... Indeed, nothing was impossible for those who dared to tread the path.

Yet, Qin Yun dismissed it all since only his abdomen showed movement. Carefully, he peeled away the tattered cloth blocking his sight, only to uncover something that made him frown. This was so far removed from what he had suspected, yet somehow, he found it relatively easy to believe.

A long insect, sporting countless legs and dual pairs of wings on its back, emerged from Ma Zhiqiang's belly, using his belly button as a gate. Despite all of Qin Yun's experiences and knowledge, this was the first time he had encountered such a creature. Still, insects burying into people's bodies was quite common, even if he wished it wasn't. As such, he could easily infer the reasons it did so.

In fact, Qin Yun could hardly explain Ma Zhiqiang’s behaviour in this incident, yet this easily shed some light on some of them. If one attributed this peculiar behaviour to this insect, then it started to make sense, even if more questions emerged from this revelation. Besides, controlling others through insects was also quite common in this world, sadly.

With quick and precise movements, Qin Yun caught the insect between his fingers just before it was poised to take flight. Still, as Qin Yun needed to ensure the insect would remain alive, he made sure not to use too much strength. Yet, this would have proven fatal for anyone but Qin Yun.

As the insect was only lightly held with his fingers, it spun its body, aiming for Qin Yun's hand, hoping to burrow within his flesh. Unfortunately, Qin Yun's flesh couldn't be pierced by something as flimsy as its mandibles, even if they had evolved for this express purpose.

Seeing as the insect posed no threat to himself, yet it would be disastrous for others, Qin Yun chose the safest option. He removed a reinforced transparent jar from his black box and put the insect within. While he was dying to uncover its secrets, such a thing would have to wait. He had more pressing concerns, such as the broken armour still attached to this corpse.

While it was unusable in its current state, it wasn't something he couldn't fix. Besides, to the victors went the spoils or something along those lines. Even if this would make him a thief, the Ma Clan owe him compensation for barging into his home and trying to rob him. It was only fair he claimed something in return.

Behind his back, Lian Huiling had seen the whole scene play out. She had many questions, and her expression betrayed her conflicted mind. While she knew Qin Yun was uncaring and apathetic, sometimes she didn't realize its depths. How could he ignore the conflict overhead and just do his own thing?

“Is this satisfactory?” Sun Yu said, after much negotiations.

Yet, Lian Qian was still reluctant to let Ma Yongzheng go. This involved more than his petty wants as patriarch. It involved the sect as a whole and its prestige. How could he sell it all for just a momentary gain? That would only be his failure as a leader.

“I’m afraid not, Lady Sun,” Lian Qian replied, making sure his words were firm yet apologetic. “This involves more than myself. How could I let the clan down when they rely on me to seek justice for them? As the next leader of the Sun Clan, I’m sure you must understand my difficulties.”

While Lian Qian knew Sun Yu wouldn't wish to let it go, she should at least be reluctant to let things escalate further. Yet, what he saw next left him stunned. Sun Yu had just taken out a black token and had shown it for all the audience to see. Worst of all, Lian Qian could see it was genuine.

"Would this be enough to change your mind?" she asked, smiling radiantly.