The arrival of this enemy is rather sudden.
No one came for the half month spent at the Ten Thousand Sword Sect, so why have they suddenly appeared now?
This thought only flashed through Ling Feng's mind for a moment before he dismissed it.
Immediately, Ling Feng raised his hand and opened the door, standing up at the same time.
Regardless of anything else, the opponents were three great powers in the Tribulation Stage. If their cultivation was truly formidable, then resolving them would indeed be quite a difficult matter.
In this situation, it was absolutely impossible for Ling Feng not to step forward.
"Big Brother, your aura seems to have strengthened again. Heh heh, you can definitely handle those three fellows!"
Lin Shuai Nan grinned when he saw Ling Feng emerge, all his previous worries gone.
Ling Feng raised an eyebrow at Lin Shuai Nan, "Who are they? What are they here for?"
"This... it seems they're here to collect protection fees. They say they are two deacons from the Ying Tian Sect!"
Lin Shuai Nan frowned with some shame and annoyance.
Upon hearing this, Ling Feng's eyes narrowed slightly.
Ying Tian Sect was naturally the name of a sect. According to Ling Feng's current understanding of the entire Kunlun Immortal Mountain, the Ying Tian Sect was one of the eight top-tier powers.
Although the Ying Tian Sect ranked relatively lower.
However, the Ying Tian Sect was still a top-tier power.
This was not something that the second-rate sect, the Ten Thousand Sword Sect, could be compared to.
Furthermore, these were merely three deacons from the Ying Tian Sect, yet they possessed Tribulation Stage cultivation. This fact alone was enough to show the gap between the Ten Thousand Sword Sect and the Ying Tian Sect.
The visitors cannot be forcefully controlled!
The first thought that flashed through Ling Feng's mind was that he could not act forcefully.
If the opponents were of equal level, or if they were of a comparable level, then resolving them through action would not pose much trouble, and might even be beneficial.
The Ten Thousand Sword Sect was always meant to expand externally.
Therefore, taking action against outsiders was only a matter of time.
But now, the visitors were from the top-tier great power, the Ying Tian Sect. These people were not so easily dealt with.
The moment action was taken, it would inevitably lead to great trouble.
Moreover, Ling Feng had thought it through clearly: they could not be forcefully controlled, meaning they could not be forcibly subdued.
To resolve a powerful enemy force, acting from within the enemy's ranks was definitely an excellent method.
At first, Ling Feng had thought that if the opponents came looking for trouble, he would directly seize their soul blood, making them obey him in the future. They could then return and prepare things for him, creating an opportunity for an inside-and-outside attack to resolve the power behind them.
But for the Ying Tian Sect...
The difference in level was too great. This method, or rather, this tactic, would not work.
"What do you mean by protection fees?"
Ling Feng continued to question as he walked out with Lin Shuai Nan.
Lin Shuai Nan scratched the back of his head, "I only heard it from Zuo Tong Xin. Ostensibly, Zuo Tong Xin is still the Sect Master of the Ten Thousand Sword Sect, and Zuo Tong Xin is currently hosting them. I only vaguely heard that they seem to be here to demand spirit stones and spirit herbs!"
At this point, Lin Shuai Nan's expression clearly changed.
Ling Feng's footsteps paused slightly, and he turned to look at Lin Shuai Nan.
"Have you not been asking the Ten Thousand Sword Sect for alchemy materials these past two days?"
Lin Shuai Nan awkwardly scratched the back of his head.
"Big Brother, this matter..."
Ling Feng shook his head speechlessly, "Don't you have enough alchemy materials on hand? You're not in a hurry to improve your cultivation right now, so why continue to squeeze the Ten Thousand Sword Sect? Doing so, even if the Ten Thousand Sword Sect doesn't complain, it will still damage their foundation!"
Lin Shuai Nan secretly glanced at Ling Feng's expression a couple of times. Seeing that Ling Feng was not extremely angry, he then gave Ling Feng a wry smile and shook his head.
"Big Brother, this matter, the entire high-ranking leadership of the Ten Thousand Sword Sect is very supportive of me. The pills I refine are also for them, and I'm doing it to help their cultivation improve faster. So they are all very happy and have no complaints. It's just that I didn't expect that the people of the Ten Thousand Sword Sect themselves wouldn't have the final say over their own things. Now people have suddenly come to collect protection fees, this..."
At this point, Lin Shuai Nan's words faltered.
It was clear that Lin Shuai Nan had already revealed the true crux of the problem.
Ling Feng shook his head helplessly. When he heard Lin Shuai Nan mention these things, he had already anticipated the purpose of their visit.
Indeed, Lin Shuai Nan's actions were all for the sake of the entire Ten Thousand Sword Sect, and they were welcomed by the Ten Thousand Sword Sect.
But to have depleted the entire Ten Thousand Sword Sect's spirit herb reserves in such a short period, if the Ying Tian Sect suddenly came to collect protection fees and they couldn't produce them, this matter would be quite troublesome!
"So the situation is that you can't produce spirit herbs? What about spirit stones?"
Ling Feng continued towards the central peak. The visitors were over there, and Ling Feng could vaguely sense their aura. Although these people hadn't released much of their aura, Ling Feng could already feel that the cultivation of at least two of them was not weaker than his own. Calculating this way, only one person's cultivation was comparable to his, or slightly weaker.
If a fight were to break out, what would be the winning odds?
This thought only flashed through Ling Feng's mind for a moment before it was immediately cast aside.
Because, it had already been decided that he would not act, and acting now would definitely be an extremely irrational thing to do.
"Heh heh, well, spirit stones are also not abundant. I used a lot of spirit stones to set up formations to help them cultivate spirit herbs. Now that the formations are all set up, I can't possibly take out all these spirit stones, right?"
Lin Shuai Nan again wore an embarrassed and helpless expression, truthfully stating the situation.
Ling Feng's expression grew even more grim.
"So, you have nothing? If the protection fees cannot be paid, what are the consequences?"
Ling Feng could completely understand the Ying Tian Sect coming to collect protection fees.
When you reach a sufficiently powerful level, if you want to curb the development of the sects below, these protection fees must be collected.
If the other party resists, it would instead give you the excuse to directly swallow them up, and then arrange for more obedient individuals to manage the Ten Thousand Sword Sect.
And sects like the Ten Thousand Sword Sect, under normal circumstances, would only obediently pay all the protection fees for self-preservation.
Therefore, in this situation, there was basically no second option.
But Ling Feng still needed to clarify, if the protection fees were not paid, what would be the consequences.
"This, specifically, Zuo Tong Xin didn't tell me. He just said that they could be delayed a little, but now they need to be given some benefits to those three people. It's just that I feel the attitude of those three people doesn't seem to be easily appeased."
Lin Shuai Nan still spoke the truth.
A cold glint flashed in Ling Feng's eyes.
"Do you want me to make the decision, or do you already have some ideas?"
Lin Shuai Nan's mouth twitched upon hearing this, and he then gave a sheepish smile and shook his head, "Heh heh, Big Brother, of course I will listen to you. Whatever you say, I will do!"