"Mr. Shitang! Don't push it too far! We've already made significant concessions!" Standing behind Sifuer, Bailang's freshly quelled anger flared up again at the sight of Pei Yan's triumphant expression, and he stepped forward to growl.

Pei Yan turned his head, glanced at Bailang, and snorted coldly, retorting, "Concessions?" Pei Yan leaned back into his chair, fingers lightly tapping the armrest, and looked up at the ceiling, recounting as if enumerating treasures, "Mr. Bailang, mistakes come with a price! This is an eternal truth in any plane of existence. Do you think you've already made concessions? If I recall correctly, you initially tacitly allowed Raphael to launch a plan to capture me. I didn't trouble you about it afterward but instead reached a cooperation agreement with you. Later, when your footing wasn't stable, you used my name to steady morale, and I risked being a target but said nothing. I tacitly approved of all this and helped you intimidate Kodwen and his group. Then I personally led your subordinates on a dangerous mission to the Foundation Plane to establish contact with other planes, and finally, I brought my subordinates here for reinforcements."

Pei Yan said this while lowering his eyelids and glancing sideways at Bailang with scorn, "I've done so much, and what have you given me in return? Saying you've made significant concessions is laughable! Or is it that the Hell Plane is inherently full of ingrates who bite the hand that feeds them? If you admit it, then I have nothing more to say and will take my people and leave. You Hell Plane inhabitants deserve to be wiped out! If not, then please shut your mouth; I'm speaking with your master!"

Every word from Pei Yan was like a dagger piercing Bailang's heart, making him ashamed and angry yet unable to refute, as everything he said was true, and as the aided party, they indeed had not yet proven their worth.

"Mr. Shitang, insulting my uncle doesn't bring you any real benefit." Feeling his uncle's heavy breathing due to anger, Sifuer retorted with a darkened expression.

"But it pleases me!" Pei Yan said while taking out a cigarette from his dimensional ring. After Zhao Yuanhu lit it, he blew out a smoke ring and laughed, "Given your capricious behavior, I've long stopped hoping that you would fulfill your promise after the war, Miss Sifuer. You must be confident to have come here, believing you could stop this conflict. I presume you didn't come with just empty promises, right? Don't waste anyone's time—show something tangible."

"The Demon God Core!"

"What?"

"Sifuer!"

Pei Yan and Bailang exclaimed in unison, while Sifuer, watching the changing expression of Pei Yan, slightly raised the corners of her mouth, lifted her hand to stop her uncle from saying more, and took out a small box from her bosom, gently stroking its dragon bone-carved body with her jade fingers. She looked up at Pei Yan with an amused smile and said, "Mr. Shitang, you want this thing, don't you?"

Noticing his previously unguarded expression, Pei Yan adjusted his mood, knowing that the Demon God Core she mentioned was indeed the original fragment he urgently needed. Pei Yan, recovering his composure, chuckled, "Oh my, you've truly brought out a gift I can't refuse, but expecting just one piece to quell my anger underestimates me a bit, doesn't it!"

"Shitang, you!" Before the angry Bailang could finish his words, Sifuer stopped him, and with a smile, said, "Even among our nobility, a Demon God Core is an extremely rare item. It reached my hands by chance, but during this great war, the Demon God suffered severe injuries, and the Demon God Cores were scattered all over the world. I think the core in Raphael's hand was obtained by chance during the battle, and we know how to find the Demon God Cores, Mr. Shitang. Could this be a condition for renewing our cooperation?"

"Are you willing to give me all the Demon God Cores you find?" Pei Yan, now interested, clipped out his cigarette and asked seriously.

"Of course, it's impossible to give them all to you, a fifty-fifty split, and you may choose first."

"Eighty-twenty!"

"Sixty-forty!"

"Seventy-thirty!"

"Mr. Shitang, stop arguing. Sixty-four is my final limit; the Demon God Core isn't something easily obtained. Whether we can find all ten pieces is still unknown." Sifuer, long accustomed to Pei Yan's blatant greed, firmly refused.

"Alright, you win! May our cooperation be fruitful!" Pei Yan said, reaching out and taking the box from Sifuer, opening the lid, and holding a dark fragment in his hand. After a moment, he suddenly opened his eyes wide in anger and said, "This fragment contains no laws?"

"Mr. Shitang, cores containing laws are exceedingly rare and cannot be sought after opportunistically. You're already quite lucky to get one of these. Although this core doesn't contain laws, it harbors immense energy that will greatly aid your cultivation!" When Sifuer heard Pei Yan's words, she nearly fainted with exasperation—how greedy was he to still want a core containing laws? Did Sifuer have one? She indeed had one, but that was left to her by her mother, stored in her body for careful study and absolutely impossible to give to Pei Yan. The one she offered was already the largest Demon God Core in the Kataraga Autonomous Territory, containing the Demon God's energy, which was why Bailang was so distressed.

Seeing that Sifuer's expression didn't seem fake, Pei Yan, knowing he had shown his weakness, awkwardly returned the original fragment to the box, put it in his pocket, and smiled, "Let's leave today's dealings at that. I'll be secluding myself for cultivation in the next couple of days. Postpone the reconnaissance mission for now and have your guide ready at all times. I'll start the reconnaissance action as soon as I'm out of seclusion!"

Half a moment later, in Sifuer's study, where various soundproofing enchantments were in place, Sifuer, looking through the star chart, lightly said without looking up, "They've gone back!"

"Yes, they've dismissed all summoned troops and imposed a lockdown right after returning to their residence." Bailang, pouring himself a drink at the table, sighed, "This time, it's my misjudgment that let the opponent grasp our weakness and put us in a passive position—apologies!"

"Uncle, you need not blame yourself at all; we've gained much from this!" Sifuer said, picking out a star chart, placing it under a lamp for close observation, and smiling, "This time, we not only made the opponent expose their strengths but also discerned their reality!" She raised her head to look at Bailang and said, "Uncle, don't you find this Shitang's behavior very peculiar?"

"Peculiar?" Bailang tilted his head in puzzlement, then nodded, "It is a bit peculiar!"

"These inter-plane probes are practically a customary tactic, and his reaction was too intense!" Sifuer said, placing the chart on the table and taking out a pen, sketching as she spoke, "Such a reaction indicates two things: first, he's insecure and eager to display his power, and the second!" Holding the pen, Sifuer gave a slight smile, "He's impatient; he's very anxious!"