I established the Eternal Immortal Clan by taming beasts.

"Then let's start with the division of the Crimson Ape Territory." Wan Yue put down her teacup, and lightly traced a line on the table with her fingertip. A cyan spiritual light spread out under her fingertip, transforming into a miniature map.

The map marked the terrain outline of the eastern section of the Fulong Mountains, with every detail of the mountains, rivers, valleys, and spiritual veins clearly outlined by delicate lines of spiritual light.

The area of ​​Red Ape Territory was covered by a layer of dark red aura, clearly distinguishing it from the surrounding territory.

"The entire territory of Crimson Ape Territory spans approximately 600 li from east to west and 2,000 li from north to south. The core area includes the three spiritual veins of Crimson Ape Ridge and Flame Valley. This area, with the most concentrated resources, belongs to us. The remaining 6,000 li is left for you to develop. What does True Lord Lin think?"

Lin Che did not respond immediately.

His gaze fell on the map, his fingers gently stroking his chin.

Crimson Ape Territory is the core territory of the Burning Sky Crimson Ape Demon Emperor. Even without exploring it, Lin Che understands that it definitely occupies the majority of the resources in the eastern section of the mountain range.

However, this place is located in the middle of the Fulong Mountains, almost 8,000 miles away from Chuyang City, which is too far away. Even if the Lin family occupies it, it will still be an exclave.

Those eight thousand li were not a straight road; they were separated by countless mountain ridges and valleys, and each section could take several days to trek.

It's fine to hand it over to the Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox Demon Emperor.

In this way, the Crimson Ape Territory became the Lin family's pioneering area and a buffer zone between the deep Fulong Mountains.

To the east lies an endless wasteland and ocean, to the west and south are the territories of the Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox Demon King, and to the north is Chuyang City. This ensures that the new development area will not be disturbed by external demonic beasts.

Moreover, aside from the two thousand miles of influence radiating from the Crimson Ape Territory, the Lin family can still expand into a vast area of ​​six thousand miles, which is already quite exaggerated.

After a moment, Lin Che spoke up: "Your plan, Lady Wanyue, is very reasonable. It is indeed in the interests of both of us."

The division of the Red Ape Territory has thus been preliminarily settled.

After discussing the matters concerning the Crimson Ape Territory, Lin Che shifted the topic to a broader scope: "So, regarding the direction of cooperation between the Lin family and the Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox clan, what specific ideas does Lady Wanyue have?"

Wan Yue put down her teacup, her long, silvery-white hair shimmering softly in the light of the spirit lamp. Her voice was more formal than before: "What the Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox clan can provide first and foremost is intelligence."

She turned her head slightly, her silver-gray pupils reflecting the swirling light on the table. "We have connections with several demon beast tribes in the Iron Spine Mountains and the Fallen Soul Mountains, allowing us to obtain information on the movements of the three lineages' demon beasts immediately. If any unusual events occur in the Southern Region in the future, the Lin family will receive the news earlier than most other forces."

She held up her second finger. "Secondly, our territory forms a pincer movement with Chuyang City. After the territory of the Burning Sky Crimson Ape is incorporated, the defensive depth on the east side will increase significantly. If the demon beasts want to harass Chuyang City from that direction again, they will have to cross our territory first."

Lin Che nodded slightly, organizing this information one by one in his mind.

These are the things he values: intelligence and strategic depth. In the Southern Region, these two things are often more valuable than some resources.

"What we can offer the Lin family first is spirit beast breeding technology."

"Our Lin family possesses methods for purifying and breeding spirit beast bloodlines, which we can provide to some of the core members of the Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox clan. Furthermore, the Lin family's pills and formations can also be supplied to you at cost price in future collaborations."

Wan Yue listened quietly, a thoughtful glint in her silver-gray eyes. Then she nodded. "These are all very useful to the Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox clan. Bloodline purification and array defense are precisely the two technologies we need most right now. In addition, I'd like to add something." She picked up her teacup again. "If the Lin family can gradually build up a patrol force with demons as the main fighting force, it will be of great help in preventing the infiltration of other demon beasts in the future."

Lin Che's eyes lit up slightly.

He hadn't thought about this suggestion in detail before, but after Wan Yue pointed it out, he immediately realized its value. The perception of demon beasts is far superior to that of human cultivators.

A patrol team composed of demons can detect traces that are difficult for human scouts to spot.

Those scouts of demonic beasts who roam between dense forests and mountain ridges can smell the traces of different races in the air and sense the slight differences in ground vibrations. When facing demonic beasts, they often do a better job than human cultivators.

Lin Che nodded: "This is a good suggestion. I will discuss it with the Green-Faced Fox King when I get back and implement it as soon as possible."

The two then had an in-depth discussion on details such as the exchange of spiritual materials, personnel training, and military cooperation.

The quota ratio for spiritual material exchange was adjusted several times, the batches and cycles of training personnel were finalized item by item, and the activation conditions and response time of the cooperation agreement were also reached after repeated deliberation.

Just as the teacup was emptied and they were about to refill it, Wan Yue suddenly turned her head slightly and glanced towards the door: "It seems our conversation will have to end for now."

Lin Che followed her gaze and, sure enough, heard footsteps coming from outside the courtyard gate.

A moment later, a Lin family cultivator strode in, holding a stack of jade slips shimmering with spiritual light. He stopped outside the door and said, "Patriarch, the official contact letters from all the various forces have arrived."

…………

General Affairs Area, Council Room.

The light from the lamp illuminated the entire room as if it were daytime, and the light fell evenly from the patterns on the ceiling, spreading a bright, unmoving area on the table.

A row of neat jade slips was laid out on a long, narrow rosewood table, each one radiating a unique spiritual light.

Some glow with a cold, bluish light, some radiate verdant vitality, some exude a heavy, dark gold hue, and some are as deep as ink.

Different forces have different styles, different production processes, and different raw materials.

Lin Che sat in the main seat, Lin Xuanqi sat to his left, and Lin Xuanjing, Lin Xuanfeng, Lin Xuandong, Lin Xuanqing, Zhihei, Lin Xinyao and others took their seats in turn.

The long table was packed with people, and everyone's eyes were fixed on the jade slips on the table that were emitting a spiritual light.

"Open it," Lin Che said.

Lin Xuanqi picked up the Fang family's first one.

It was a long, rectangular jade slip with a dark gold color throughout. The edges were engraved with fine cloud patterns. It felt heavy in my hand, with a warm, smooth feel as if it had been repeatedly carved, like holding an old piece of jade polished by time.

The Fang family's letter was written with great restraint, its wording carrying the composure and prudence characteristic of an established power. It made no mention of their experiences during the beast tide or the collapse of Burning Bone Pass, but instead steered the conversation directly to the future.

"The Lin family has just advanced to the Nascent Soul stage, and the situation in the Southern Region is undergoing changes. The Fang family is willing to establish a formal liaison with the Lin family. If there is any intention to cooperate, an envoy can be sent to the Fang family headquarters for further negotiations. Specific matters can be discussed." It can be said that he is a Nascent Soul cultivator, and the name of Fang Tianheng, a Deity Transformation cultivator from the Fang family, is engraved at the end.

After Lin Xuanqi finished reading, he put the jade slip back on the table and looked in Lin Che's direction: "The Fang family's attitude is very ambiguous. They neither showed goodwill nor put pressure on us. It's more like they are waiting for us to take the initiative to speak."

Their statement that "specific matters are all negotiable" is actually giving the Lin family a position of "you propose your conditions, and we'll decide whether to accept them based on the situation."

Zhihei's voice came from behind the mask, cold yet carrying his accurate judgment: "The Fang family's biggest problem right now is fighting on two fronts. They have to suppress the remaining forces of the Qingyun Sword Sect and Baicao Valley, and also guard against the Reverse Fate Demon Palace. If they can stabilize the eastern front, they won't have to spend too much energy on the southern border. For the Fang family, our Lin family is the best ally to contain them."

Lin Che did not immediately express his opinion; instead, he turned his gaze to the next jade slip.

It was a completely black jade slip with an almost invisible dark red glow on its surface, like a layer of slowly flowing mist. Each time light passed over its surface, it left a brief feeling of stagnation.

The correspondence from the Demon Palace of Rebellion was much more direct than Lin Xuanqi had anticipated.

They were very direct, starting with a straightforward statement: "The Lin family has recently become a Nascent Soul cultivator and has crossed paths with our sect at Burning Bone Pass. Now that the situation in the Southern Region has changed, our sect is willing to establish a non-aggression pact with the Lin family. If the Lin family is interested in further cooperation, they can send an envoy to Black Wind Ridge to discuss specific terms, or our Rebellious Demon Palace can send someone to discuss it."

After Lin Xuanqi finished reading, his brows twitched slightly: "The Demon Palace of Rebellion is quite straightforward. They didn't mention the Undying Battle Soul at all. They neither questioned nor tested it, as if they deliberately avoided that topic." He gently ran his finger along the edge of the jade slip, feeling the brief warmth of the dark red light lingering on his fingertip.

Zhi Hei continued expressionlessly, "The Demon Palace of Rebellion is most wary of the Fang family right now. They have just broken through to the Nascent Soul stage and their foundation is unstable. If they were to antagonize the Lin family now, and the Lin and Fang families were to join forces, they would be caught in a pincer attack. So it is easy to understand why they want to negotiate peace with us."

Lin Xuanqi then picked up the third jade slip.

This jade slip is dark green in color, with a faint scent of medicinal herbs emanating from its surface. The scent is so pleasant that it makes one feel refreshed, as if one could smell the aroma of the repeatedly roasted medicinal herbs even through the jade slip.

"Baicao Valley has no prior grudges with the Lin family, and there was no conflict between them during the beast tide. Now that Baicao Valley is facing a predicament, it is willing to form an alliance with the Lin family to help each other. If the Lin family is willing to lend a helping hand, Baicao Valley is willing to exchange its fifth-order alchemy inheritance."

After listening, Lin Xuanjing clicked his tongue, leaned back in his chair, and put his hands behind his head: "This Hundred Herbs Valley wants to drag us onto their bandwagon, even going so far as to use their own fundamental heritage to win us over!"

Unfortunately, everyone understands that this legacy is of no use to the Lin family today.

It seems that Baicaogu has brought out its most core inheritance, but even if the Lin family obtains it now, it will be useless because they do not have a fifth-level alchemist!

Lin Xuanqi pushed the fifth jade slip to the center of the table.

It was a bluish-gray jade slip, slightly larger than the palm of your hand, with a miniature sword-shaped pattern engraved on its edge. Its surface shimmered with a water-like luster, and each time light flowed across its surface, it would pause briefly at the edge of the sword-shaped pattern.

That was a letter of communication from the Qingyun Sword Sect. It was stamped with a sword-shaped seal at the end, and the handwriting was as sharp as a sword. The contents of the letter were different from those of the previous ones: "If the Lin family can assist the Qingyun Sword Sect in restraining the Fang family's main force, the Qingyun Sword Sect can unconditionally recruit members of the Lin family as core disciples, with no upper limit on the number."

Lin Che shook his head with a smile upon seeing the contents: "It's obvious that Hundred Herbs Valley and Azure Cloud Sword Sect look down on us!"

Everyone nodded in agreement. Although they had made promises compared to the Fang family and the Demon Palace of Rebellion, what they offered was rather unappealing.

Of course, this is understandable. In their minds, the Lin family's greatest reliance is only that puppet, which can only be used for defense and is not strong enough to shake the current situation.

The promises made were merely a gesture of goodwill.

Lin Xuanqi didn't reply; he picked up the last jade slip.

The material of this jade slip is different from the previous ones.

Its entire body is silvery white, with fine scale patterns engraved on its surface. It exudes a clear, cool aura, like the snow and wind on a mountain peak. It is a secret message from a certain demon clan force deep in the Iron Ridge Mountains.

The letter was more direct than Lin Che had expected: "Some of the demon beasts already know that your Lin family is the inheritor of the Ten Thousand Beasts Sect. It is estimated that someone will contact you soon. If you want to establish a foothold in the Southern Region, establishing connections with more demon races is a viable path. I hope True Lord Lin will consider it."

Zhihei's gaze lingered on the silver token for a moment: "The internal divisions within the demon race are more severe than we anticipated. Some have chosen to bow their heads under the watchful eyes of the Great Qian Dynasty, while others are secretly seeking opportunities to turn the tide."

The demon clan force willing to join forces could represent either the old guard or the new. The Lin family needs to ascertain the other party's true intentions before making a statement.

We can ignore the token for now, find out the specific movements of the Iron Ridge Mountains through Wan Yue, and then decide whether to respond.

After listening, Lin Xuanqi turned his gaze back to his father: "Father, these conditions each have their own focus. Currently, the Fang family's attitude is the most restrained. The Reverse Fate Demon Palace wants to stabilize its rear, Hundred Herbs Valley is pleading for help, and the Azure Cloud Sword Sect wants to restrain the Fang family. Each family's calculations are out in the open. What should we do next?"

Lin Che pondered for a moment, and the plans that had been repeatedly considered were gradually coming together in his mind: "The division plan for the Crimson Ape Territory has been finalized with Wan Yue, and the cooperation direction with the Nine-Tailed Heavenly Fox Clan has also been initially clarified."

As for other forces, don't rush to respond. Let them wait. Time is on our side. The longer it drags on, the more advantageous it is for us, and the higher their demands will be.

He paused, then glanced at the jade slips that were emitting spiritual light one by one: "In general, the Lin family will not align itself with any party. We will not choose the Fang family, the Reverse Fate Demon Palace, the Hundred Herbs Valley, or the Azure Cloud Sword Sect for the time being."

He picked up the now-cold teacup in front of him and drank it all in one gulp: "Continuing to develop is the most important thing the Lin family should be doing right now!"

"I hereby declare the Family Development Conference officially open!"