Hmmph... this junior is a good seed [Cultivation Management Quest]

[occipitallobe]

Good Seed and Omake Spreadsheet Rules:

Firstly, if you have questions about Good Seeds and the like please read here. If that doesn't answer your question please ping me in thread, or on Discord.

If you write a new Good Seed, or write an omake, please update the spreadsheet if you have access.

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This is mandatory. If a Good Seed does not record their omake by pinging collabs (or just requesting access and editing things themselves - this is the preferred option), I won't give out awards. If a new Good Seed is not recorded here, they won't advance. By doing this it makes the whole thing manageable for me - it's gotten pretty unwieldy!

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Omake Writer Instructions:

There are four fields you need to fill out.

Omake Link, which is just a link to your first omake for the turn. This makes it easier for me to read them as I do the update - without this it's tough to know off the bat which omake were written this turn, and to properly

Requested Bonus, which is your requested bonus for your omake. You can leave it up to me if you like. You can see more info in the Good Seed infopost here.

Cultivation Aims. For those following unorthodox paths - higher than 9th Heavenstage or later than 7th Dao Pillar paths. Please put in what you are aiming for before you break through. I have left it as 'default'. If you do not edit it, I'll go with that.

Turn Notes - Do you want to do something specific? Enter a Secret Realm? Help the Clan out in some way? If you have something specific you want to accomplish on this turn, put it in turn notes so I can adjust your Fate around it.

All other fields are for QM use to record character information to properly run the flow of the game.

 

[Chronic]

Mochinator the reason that the Jingshen Clan are at this at all is because they want money from the Righteous Sects sending cultivators to heal at the Oasis. If we're charging the normal tariffs, then those Righteous Sect Cultivators are going to be more strapped for cash when they arrive, meaning that the Jingshen clan will have a harder time negotiating to Jack up the price.

This isnt about helping the Righteous cultivators. This is about filling the Jingshen Clans pockets.

Click to shrink...

Indeed, which is very dangerous, because the Jingshen Clans long term plan is almost certainly to amass enough resources to afford a third Nascent Soul, then drive us out of the desert. Sabotaging their income is good for us in the long term.

 

[DangerKitty]

[X] Disagree. Moderate Income boost from Cultivators traveling to the Spirit-Refreshing Oasis. More likely to cause trouble in your lands due to tariffs charged. Fall in Jingshen relations.

 

[TehChron]

If the Blood Cannibals have to choose between breaking themselves on the teeth of our defenses in the Burnished Crags and Uncast Molds for minimal gains and going all in on the less fortified Oasis Region that has something as potent as that healing Oasis in it...

That's another few years of peace for us, and a chance for Jingsen to be weakened for our benefit. Old Cannibal is no fool, and so I'm looking forward to seeing how things wind up playing out.

 

[Humbaba]

Mochinator the reason that the Jingshen Clan are at this at all is because they want money from the Righteous Sects sending cultivators to heal at the Oasis. If we're charging the normal tariffs, then those Righteous Sect Cultivators are going to be more strapped for cash when they arrive, meaning that the Jingshen clan will have a harder time negotiating to Jack up the price.

This isnt about helping the Righteous cultivators. This is about filling the Jingshen Clans pockets.

Click to shrink...

Well yes they want to fill their pockets, but the Jingshen clan do want the righteous sect goodwill as well. After all, to them the goodwill is actually worth something. It's just that something might well be 'help in stabbing the Golden Demons from both sides', which is obviously unacceptable.

I am very, very glad we went with Manuel as a protagonist here. This seems like the sort of thing where, between Lady Jiao's dao and the death of Mortal-Protecting Heavenly Bandit Huang Li, a heaven defying genius protagonist might have been suckered into auto-agreeing to stick it to the Demonic Altar sect who just killed his friend.

 

[TehChron]

Well yes they want to fill their pockets, but the Jingshen clan do want the righteous sect goodwill as well.

Click to shrink...

That, too, is a form of currency

 

[Zephias]

[X] Disagree. Moderate Income boost from Cultivators traveling to the Spirit-Refreshing Oasis. More likely to cause trouble in your lands due to tariffs charged. Fall in Jingshen relations.

This is very much a competitive market, and I don't see the value proposition of helping Jingshen here - not really. Goodwill doesn't let you buy cultivation resources, after all.

Hey, it's Dao of Acceptance woman again! Has Jingshen not yet learned?

 

[Mr. Prokosch]

[X] Disagree. Moderate Income boost from Cultivators traveling to the Spirit-Refreshing Oasis. More likely to cause trouble in your lands due to tariffs charged. Fall in Jingshen relations.

 

[Alectai]

Yeah.

I mean, materially speaking, I'm not unwilling to set up some kind of deal for the specific territory going on to keep the Demonic Altar Sect from getting out of control, but just the same, I don't want to fill the Jingshen Clan's coffers--since they're just going to turn around and fuck us regardless of what our relations are at. So the question here is "How do we ensure we don't get too fucked by our deal here?"

And the answer is. "Hit them in their own wallet, in a matter that they can't legitimately say no to."

[X] Negotiate
-[X] You are not materially opposed to this arrangement, none wish to see the Demonic Altar Sect move unopposed after all, but you must also see to the well being of your people, and the last thing any of us want would be spies from the Demonic Altar Sect slipping through and setting up camp here, or bolstering the weakened Blood Cannibals, no? The Golden Devil Clan is willing to charge reduced tariffs on those who seek the springs for healing--but the Jingshen Clan will be responsible for paying the difference--such resources will be committed to the establishment of a secure road and other methods of heightened security for the duration of this agreement.

AKA "This isn't about making more money, this is about costing them more. Hence the extra income we squeeze out of it being committed to the cause of easing travel and increasing security on the road--after all, if they're going to use a healing spring, then isn't it for the best that a special effort is made to ensure the wounded can get there easily and have less to fear from Blood Path infiltrators or bandits? If you want to get a big diplomatic coup then fuck you pay us"

 

[LordEdric]

Personally, I want to see how long of a truce they signed with the blood cannibals, if not long, I would love to see the two tear into each other. I don't think the cannibals care about the oasis that much, they might try to strike the main territory of Jingshen while they are distracted forting up their new land.

 

[Alectai]

Personally, I want to see how long of a truce they signed with the blood cannibals, if not long, I would love to see the two tear into each other. I don't think the cannibals care about the oasis that much, they might try to strike the main territory of Jingshen while they are distracted forting up their new land.

Click to shrink...

They cared about it a fair amount because it was one of the places they were hoping to tap to recover from their depletion. Jingshen managing to pry it out of them in a separate negotiation is concerning because it implies they offered them something that would do a better job recovering from.

 

[Somerandomdude]

[X] Disagree. Moderate Income boost from Cultivators traveling to the Spirit-Refreshing Oasis. More likely to cause trouble in your lands due to tariffs charged. Fall in Jingshen relations.

 

[uri]

I think something like taking a big onetime payment (about thirty years of our income?), removing the clause of them committing to fortifying the oasis (they probably would fortify the place even without the deal and if they don't its batter to us), allowing our core formation cultivators use the oasis for free or for a heavy discount and if we need to lower tea munt of time they won't allow for the cannibals to move through the oasis to a hundred and sixty years ( one turn after the next trail).

What do you guys think?

 

[LordEdric]

They cared about it a fair amount because it was one of the places they were hoping to tap to recover from their depletion. Jingshen managing to pry it out of them in a separate negotiation is concerning because it implies they offered them something that would do a better job recovering from.

Click to shrink...

Or the old monster is planning something big, a demonic sect won't give up something like this without a way to make your enemies sorry.

 

[The Fourth Monado]

[X] Negotiate
-[X] You are not materially opposed to this arrangement, none wish to see the Demonic Altar Sect move unopposed after all, but you must also see to the well being of your people, and the last thing any of us want would be spies from the Demonic Altar Sect slipping through and setting up camp here, or bolstering the weakened Blood Cannibals, no? The Golden Devil Clan is willing to charge reduced tariffs on those who seek the springs for healing--but the Jingshen Clan will be responsible for paying the difference--such resources will be committed to the establishment of a secure road and other methods of heightened security for the duration of this agreement.

This is p well worded, so I'll follow Alectai's lead on it

 

[LordEdric]

I think even if we negotiate successfully the Jingshen Clan will probably still make mint. Core level fighters are pretty important to any group

 

[ReaderOfFate]

[X] Negotiate
-[X] You are not materially opposed to this arrangement, none wish to see the Demonic Altar Sect move unopposed after all, but you must also see to the well being of your people, and the last thing any of us want would be spies from the Demonic Altar Sect slipping through and setting up camp here, or bolstering the weakened Blood Cannibals, no? The Golden Devil Clan is willing to charge reduced tariffs on those who seek the springs for healing--but the Jingshen Clan will be responsible for paying the difference--such resources will be committed to the establishment of a secure road and other methods of heightened security for the duration of this agreement.

 

[TehChron]

I'm willing to give this a shot

[X] Negotiate
-[X] You are not materially opposed to this arrangement, none wish to see the Demonic Altar Sect move unopposed after all, but you must also see to the well being of your people, and the last thing any of us want would be spies from the Demonic Altar Sect slipping through and setting up camp here, or bolstering the weakened Blood Cannibals, no? The Golden Devil Clan is willing to charge reduced tariffs on those who seek the springs for healing--but the Jingshen Clan will be responsible for paying the difference--such resources will be committed to the establishment of a secure road and other methods of heightened security for the duration of this agreement.

 

[Humbaba]

Yeah.

I mean, materially speaking, I'm not unwilling to set up some kind of deal for the specific territory going on to keep the Demonic Altar Sect from getting out of control, but just the same, I don't want to fill the Jingshen Clan's coffers--since they're just going to turn around and fuck us regardless of what our relations are at. So the question here is "How do we ensure we don't get too fucked by our deal here?"

And the answer is. "Hit them in their own wallet, in a matter that they can't legitimately say no to."

[X] Negotiate
-[X] You are not materially opposed to this arrangement, none wish to see the Demonic Altar Sect move unopposed after all, but you must also see to the well being of your people, and the last thing any of us want would be spies from the Demonic Altar Sect slipping through and setting up camp here, or bolstering the weakened Blood Cannibals, no? The Golden Devil Clan is willing to charge reduced tariffs on those who seek the springs for healing--but the Jingshen Clan will be responsible for paying the difference--such resources will be committed to the establishment of a secure road and other methods of heightened security for the duration of this agreement.

AKA "This isn't about making more money, this is about costing them more. Hence the extra income we squeeze out of it being committed to the cause of easing travel and increasing security on the road--after all, if they're going to use a healing spring, then isn't it for the best that a special effort is made to ensure the wounded can get there easily and have less to fear from Blood Path infiltrators or bandits? If you want to get a big diplomatic coup then fuck you pay us"

Click to shrink...

I feel like the problem with this vote is that it doesn't seem to gain us that much comparatively.

Ok, we'd get our tariffs back up to the normal levels and force the Jangshen to pay for it, but they still accomplish a major portion of their objective. Since they're offering the healing and the righteous core formation cultivators aren't paying us through the nose (directly) the Jangshen still massively deepen their contacts with the righteous sect alliance and put many of them is a situation where they owe them a favour.* Which is bad for us because the fact that the Heavens hate us mean it's much easier to persuade the righteous sects to mount an attack on us, probably at the same time as the Jiangshan and maybe even timed just after one of our trial periods.


*Especially since with a big war on, if we look a couple of hundreds of years into the future I think it's probable that at least one of those core formation cultivators will become a nascent soul.

 

[George]

Gain in Jingshen relations.

Click to shrink...

what could this do for us?

 

[Somerandomdude]

what could this do for us?

Click to shrink...

Literally nothing, it's why they keep sending this woman to negotiate. They plan to keep giving us bad deals, banking on the fact of this ladies Dao is still brain washing us.

 

[Humbaba]

Oh hell I just realised the Jangshen's big ploy.

Never mind the money. The medicine is just the lure. The trap is Lady Jiao. They stick their nascent soul brainwashing diplomatic nuke down right in the centre of their healing palace and watch the core formation fish walk right in.

Core formation cultivators will be massively vulnerable to her Dao of Acceptance, especially if they're already wounded. Just imagine her ability paired with the emotional synergy of her being responsible for caring for their wounds.

Providing the healing alone would be a decent sized thing. Coupled with Lady Jiao their relationships will shoot through the roof.

And if a few of those injured cultivators who feel like they owe so much to Lady Jiao make it to Nascent soul during the war? We've gotten a huge problem on our hands.

 

[kalugin]

[X] Negotiate
-[X] You are not materially opposed to this arrangement, none wish to see the Demonic Altar Sect move unopposed after all, but you must also see to the well being of your people, and the last thing any of us want would be spies from the Demonic Altar Sect slipping through and setting up camp here, or bolstering the weakened Blood Cannibals, no? The Golden Devil Clan is willing to charge reduced tariffs on those who seek the springs for healing--but the Jingshen Clan will be responsible for paying the difference--such resources will be committed to the establishment of a secure road and other methods of heightened security for the duration of this agreement.

 

[Alectai]

Oh hell I just realised the Jangshen's big ploy.

Never mind the money. The medicine is just the lure. The trap is Lady Jiao. They stick their nascent soul brainwashing diplomatic nuke down right in the centre of their healing palace and watch the core formation fish walk right in.

Core formation cultivators will be massively vulnerable to her Dao of Acceptance, especially if they're already wounded. Just imagine her ability paired with the emotional synergy of her being responsible for caring for their wounds.

Providing the healing alone would be a decent sized thing. Coupled with Lady Jiao their relationships will shoot through the roof.

And if a few of those injured cultivators who feel like they owe so much to Lady Jiao make it to Nascent soul during the war? We've gotten a huge problem on our hands.

Click to shrink...

That's not something we can do anything about, they're establishing this site regardless, the question is how much we profit from it, and how expensive it is for them.

 

[Raron]

What is the material difference between rejection and write in?

One refuses the deal. Other one demands that the difference in cost be paid to us (so we lose no profit), along with us committing that money towards security (which we probably would have done anyway since it's turbulent times from tariffs).

It's the same thing from their perspective and ours, unless I'm missing something.

 

[Alectai]

What is the material difference between rejection and write in?

One refuses the deal. Other one demands that the difference in cost be paid to us (so we lose no profit), along with us committing that money towards security (which we probably would have done anyway since it's turbulent times from tariffs).

It's the same thing from their perspective and ours, unless I'm missing something.

Click to shrink...

The point is costing the Jingshen Clan, not profiting ourselves.

Their wincon is building enough money that they can crash raise three Nascent Souls and then take over the entire Desert. And they got a hefty, permanent income boost thanks to that tariff forgiveness we gave them.