Chapter 347: Unequal Distribution
Translator: SoupHunter Editor: Milkbiscuit
After the rest had stepped down, Miao Yi raised a hand to his face, allowing specks of stardust to flow out from his storage bangle and into his lungs. A cool, refreshing feeling quickly spread throughout his body and started to mend his wounds. He could feel the stardust quickly repairing his wounds. As expected of the divine panacea of the cultivation realm.
The reason he was so sneaky about it was not that he didn't trust everyone else, but because in this place of carnage, the Glorious Star immortal herb was a treasure even more heavily sought after than any transcendent artifact. It was a remedy for all ailments that everybody desperately needed. If he could help it, he wouldn't choose to show it. Otherwise, he might attract some nasty trouble.
After absorbing plenty of stardust to recover, Miao Yi flexed his arms as his and Charcoal's armor immediately morphed into a black mist, enveloping them both. Then, he tossed out over a dozen First Grade Yao Cores for his armor artifact to absorb and replenish its energy.
Using the cover of the mist to his advantage, he blew specks of stardust into Charcoal's nose. This one had suffered heavy wounds as well from the fight just now.
The black mist enshrouding them compressed itself and reverted back to its armor form, and by then all the dents had already been repaired.
On the battlefield, black smoke rose from the corpses of the Ghost Cultivators as they slowly turned to ash under the sun.
Brimming with energy once again, Charcoal galloped over to Sikong Wuwei and the rest. Miao Yi jumped down and invoked his arts to first dispel the cold Yin aura within Sikong Wuwei's body, before proceeding to Lu Siping. Sikong Wuwei groaned as he slowly regained consciousness.
Zhao Fei and the rest soon came over and helped him up.
"Sikong. How do you feel?" asked Zhao Fei.
"That son of a bitch. What kind of shitty item is that? I was completely frozen stiff. For a second there, I thought I was going to die from the chill. Eh!? What happened to those Ghost Cultivators?"
"We vanquished them all already."
"Are you serious? You were all able to withstand the effects of that transcendent artifact?"
"We have the Alliance Master to thank for that. He risked life and limb to single-handedly kill the Ghost Cultivator wielding that artifact…" They recounted the situation and at the same time, told Sikong Wuwei that Miao Yi was the one who saved him.
Sikong Wuwei turned around and watched as the others and their mounts slowly got back to their feet after Miao Yi invoked his arts to save them. He clicked his tongue in astonishment. "As expected of the Alliance Master. To think he was able to triumph over such a powerful transcendent artifact."
After Miao Yi saved the troops in that area, he swiftly dashed back to the beach. There were still people there waiting to be saved by him. If he took too long, he might not be able to rescue them.
Everyone was afraid he would meet some kind of mishap after being so heavily injured and followed closely behind him.
When they came to the beach and saw the twenty people frozen on their dragon steeds, everyone felt a chill run down their spines. Fortunately, the Alliance Master was the one who took the initiative to lure the enemy in. If they were in his place instead, they might not have been able to escape.
After saving everyone, they all returned and met up with the troops who were cleaning up the battlefield. Then, they retreated back to the lake at the mountaintop together.
Qi Xiuhong was startled when she saw Miao Yi returning with a trace of blood on the corner of his lips. She instantly knew that he was wounded and rushed over, her face full of worry as she wanted to ask what happened.
Miao Yi waved his hand and suggested that explanations would come later. There were more pressing matters to attend to now.
Everyone gathered around and began dividing the loot.
They made a quick tally of their numbers. In this battle, they had the superior numbers. It was a few hundred of them against a mere one hundred; several people fought against one person at a time, but still, their Red Scarves Alliance had about thirty casualties. Their numbers which were originally over a thousand had now fallen below that. It was because their opponents had almost fully equipped themselves with Second Grade Transcendent Artifacts, and none of them had been pushovers. It had not been as easy a battle as they thought it would be.
However, the spoils of war were equally bountiful. They already found several Second Grade Transcendent Artifacts on a single Ghost Cultivator. Once they had taken everything into account, the number of Second Grade Transcendent Artifacts came up to about eight hundred. There were almost nine hundred golden bangles as well. It was easy to imagine how many cultivators had died at the hands of these Ghost Cultivators on the Western Star Sea. There was also a huge pile of First Grade Transcendent Artifacts and Yao Cores. And as usual, the number of Orbs of Will were pitifully low.
Miao Yi only took two hundred First Grade Yao Cores and ten golden bangles. He told the crowd, "I already possess a transcendent artifact. Piece together a set of Second Grade Transcendent Artifacts for Qi Xiuhong. I don't want the rest. You can all divide them amongst yourselves."
Qi Xiuhong wanted to decline, but the words caught in her throat. When she saw Miao Yi cast a glance at her and slowly shake his head, she decided to keep quiet.
Even though Qi Xiuhong wanted to keep some distance from Miao Yi, they had slept together after all, and more than once. They would still live together after this and would definitely continue sleeping together as well. She couldn't treat it as if nothing had happened between them.
Miao Yi's words made it clear that the Mystic Yin Mirror would belong to him.
Anyone would have selfish desires. Several people in the crowd thought to themselves, 'That single transcendent artifact of yours is equal to a hundred treasures. If I had it, I wouldn't need the other treasures either.'
Everyone witnessed the might of the Mystic Yin Mirror. With such a powerful transcendent artifact, their chances of survival in the Sea of Constellations would surely skyrocket. No one wouldn't want it.
However, the reality before them was clear. There was only one Mystic Yin Mirror, and only one person could have it. They couldn't share it with everyone. Miao Yi was the one who had taken it upon himself to kill the enemy and steal the mirror. Not to mention, he was the Alliance Master. Besides Miao Yi, no one else in the entire Red Scarves Alliance had the right to take this treasure for himself. If it were in the hands of another, there would undoubtedly be discord within the Red Scarves Alliance.
In spite of this, they held back their objections, even though none of them truly agreed with it. It was because the might of the Mystic Yin Mirror was too overwhelming. Everyone coveted it. As long as one possessed some strength, why wouldn't one try to obtain it?
Many of them already had a plan. Once the situation became unmanageable, they might be able to fight for a fair method to decide who would obtain the Mystic Yin Mirror. They didn't even mind drawing straws because then they would still have a chance to obtain the mirror. It was fine even if they failed to acquire it in the end. They just couldn't give it up so easily.
Miao Yi swept a cold gaze across the crowd and scoffed to himself, 'As I thought, it's hard to stay loyal when such temptation lies right before you. If I hadn't risked my life this time, do any of you think you'd still have the chance to split the loot right now?'
Not to mention, he'd earned this Mystic Yin Mirror and had no reason to hand it out. Miao Yi finally realized how shameless these people could be.
Sikong Wuwei knew what everyone else was thinking. He immediately readied his long axe and slowly brought his dragon steed before Miao Yi. He chuckled at the crowd and said with an air of nonchalance, "There is only one of this transcendent artifact. We can't split it. What's more, the Alliance Master himself was the one who managed to steal it away. Obviously, it should go to him. I don't have any objections against the Alliance Master's words, and with this, I shall be the first one to accede. Come on, you all should stop being so wishy-washy. Consider this matter settled!"
The way he was waving about that long axe of his so boastfully gave everyone the impression— 'Anyone who dares to oppose will first have to go through me.'
Zhao Fei immediately nodded in agreement, "I agree." He then moved his dragon steed to stand beside Sikong Wuwei.
The other leaders all exchanged glances.
Seeing how the situation was escalating, even though Qi Xiuhong didn't know what had happened, she could see that it was because the loot was not being 'equally divided'. It seemed like Miao Yi had obtained a treasure that everyone coveted.
Qi Xiuhong could sense an encroaching danger. The unequal distribution of treasures was the easiest way for internal conflict to rise within an organization. Countless people had died because of this.
Sikong Wuwei scanned the crowd and seeing that they still did not wish to relent, began to feel incensed until he suddenly burst out in anger. Waving the long axe in his hand, he pointed at Lu Siping and bellowed, "You, surnamed Lu! I understand if the rest of them choose to keep quiet, but what are you playing coy for? I am a simple man and might not know much, but I do know how to repay an act of kindness. The Alliance Master was the one who just saved your pitiful life. Have you forgotten this already? Did you feed your conscience to the dogs!?"
Sikong Wuwei's words were too straightforward and didn't leave a shred of dignity for Lu Siping. After being reprimanded so, Lu Siping's face contorted. It was hard for him to swallow, but eventually, he cupped his fists and said, "I don't have any objections."
"Sikong Wuwei, you can't just put it simply like that," Dong Quan objected. He turned to the crowd and continued, "If we're going to talk about saving lives, then when the Alliance Master was in trouble just now, the other Captains and I had fought to save him as well. If we are to follow Sikong Wuwei's logic, then wouldn't that mean this transcendent artifact should be divided among us Captains then?"
Then he turned to Miao Yi with cupped fists and said, "Alliance Master! I mean no disrespect. That transcendent artifact wouldn't fall into my hands anyway since I don't have that kind of luck. I just mean to set things right. Our Red Scarves Alliance has to fight our enemies as one, so we should treat one another equally. I believe we should look for a fair method to resolve this."
Truth be told, even if Dong Quan and the others hadn't come to his rescue just now, with Charcoal's speed, Miao Yi would have managed to escape as well. But he felt there was no need for him to dispute this. Miao Yi smiled and said, "Oh? What fair method do you have in mind?"
"It might be a little too much to say that all who bore witness deserves a chance. So let's keep it simple. Such a powerful transcendent artifact will do more harm than good for those whose cultivations are not high enough anyway. I believe us Blue Lotus Ninth Grade cultivators should still be able to protect ourselves. As the saying goes, opportunities should be given to those who are capable. I believe it is rather relevant in this situation. So why don't the ten of us draw straws to decide then? We'll leave everything up to fate. The transcendent artifact shall go to whoever manages to draw the right straw. The rest can only blame their luck and will not be allowed make any objections." Dong Quan turned back to the crowd and cupped his fists. "Everyone. What do you think of my idea?"
"Good idea…! This works…! This definitely works…!"
His fellow disciples, who were spread out in the crowd, immediately shouted in agreement.
"This is a great idea!" Yu Baixing, Fei De-an, Jia Zifeng, Hu Zhiyuan, and Wang Yuetian all nodded and voiced their agreement.
Because he had already agreed to relent, it wouldn't be good for Lu Siping to suddenly change his mind. However, from the subtle reactions on his face, it was clear that this idea was to his liking as well.
As soon as these people nodded, their fellow disciples immediately shouted in agreement as well.
Of course, among those who didn't have the chance to participate, some shouted that they should all draw straws. Why should it be just among the ten of them? However, no one paid heed to these voices.
"Bullshit!" Sikong Wuwei barked. With a wave of his axe, he bellowed, "Insubordination! You'll all have to go through me first!"
Zhao Fei brought out his Square Sky Decorated Halberd as well and shouted, "Everyone. Listen to me. This transcendent artifact can only go to one person in the end. It is most suitable in the Alliance Master's hands. If not, and it falls into the hands of someone from one of the sects, then that particular sect will assume that they possess an advantage over the others. In the face of benefit, they might even lay their hands on the people beside them. When that happens, the entire Red Scarves Alliance will fall into chaos. We will no longer be able to work together to survive until our nine years are up. We mustn't let the greed of a few people ruin us all! Don't you all want to live for a few more years? Only by surviving until the end will we have the chance to leave the Sea of Constellations. Otherwise, everything is but a pipe dream!"
"Why are you blabbering so much? Both of you, stand down!" Miao Yi abruptly shouted.
Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei turned back to look at Miao Yi, confused as they thought, 'We're helping you out here. Why are you blaming us instead?'
"Stand down!" Miao Yi reminded them.
The two of them exchanged glances and were at a loss for words. In the end, they turned their dragon steeds around to stand behind Miao Yi.
Dong Quan immediately cupped his fists and asked, "So Alliance Master thinks Dong Quan's words are correct then?"
Miao Yi replied indifferently, "I think your words are bullshit!"