Chapter 1512: Power Source

Revered Master Lingxu's anger stemmed from the incessant conflicts in the Divine Realm over the past few years, which led to frequent eruptions of the Emperor's Sap and a recovery of spiritual energy in the human world far beyond expectations. Furthermore, the ultra-large-scale Emperor's Sap eruption, stemming from recent Divine Realm conflicts and expected in just over three months, would further tip the balance of power between the two realms. Even a slight tilt toward the human world was intolerable to the Heavenly Gods.

"I still remember the successive grand surges of Emperor's Sap during the Panlong City era more than a century ago. Is history repeating itself?" Qingyang looked up. "Spiritual energy in the mortal world has revived before, but I didn't see you this anxious."

True Monarch Tongming replied indifferently, "Times have changed."

Qingyang gave a faint smirk.

Having dealt with Heavenly Gods her entire life, she knew they loved to be evasive. True Monarch Tongming insisted on sounding profound, but in reality, it simply meant the Emperor's Sap eruptions were out of control. Previously, the Heavenly Gods strictly controlled the spiritual energy in the human world, making it ebb and flow like tides. This regulated the rise and fall of living beings' populations to meet the Divine Realm's demands. Now, however, it was starting to spiral out of control again.

"In contrast, the Chakravartin Heaven faction has done well in the west," True Monarch Tongming continued. "The human forces they supported have launched successive wars, contributing a large amount of Nightmare Qi. But since Chakravartin Heaven initiated it, they gain the most."

Qingyang frowned. "The Yuan Kingdom?"

"He Chunhua, the human leader supported by Chakravartin Heaven, now occupies eighty percent of the Yuan Kingdom's territory and is about to defeat his opponents. We believe his victory is beyond doubt." True Monarch Tongming chuckled. "Currently, he is Chakravartin Heaven's new favorite. It's said that Naraka Heaven has even mobilized its forces in the human world to provide him with substantial support."

"You've heard how secretive and stingy Naraka Heaven can be, haven't you? The fact that He Chunhua has received its full support indicates it has placed a heavy bet on this human."

Qingyang raised an eyebrow. Even a meticulous and cautious righteous god like Naraka Heaven was starting to act freely and place bets, which indicated that the situation in the Divine Realm was becoming increasingly dire.

"The Nightmare Qi contributed by the Glittering Gold Plain is even less than in the west. Qingyang, you don't have much time left," True Monarch Tongming said in a deep voice. "If you continue to be inactive in the Yao Kingdom, Myriad Sound Heaven will find someone to replace you."

A flicker of anger crossed Qingyang's face. "Replace me?"

"The war between the Allied Forces and Bisha is not intense at all. A few coups in the western Glittering Gold Plain ended without even a fight; and in the eastern Glittering Gold, it's... not on a significant scale," True Monarch Tongming said. "You tried to incite the Yao Kingdom to join the war, but you didn't succeed, did you?"

"The Yao Kingdom cherishes its reputation, and King Yao is slippery with excuses, always claiming an empty treasury and refusing to personally engage," Qingyang said coldly. "The entire nation worships Myriad Sound Heaven; Myriad Sound temples and followers are everywhere in Tianshui City. Even descendants of divine envoys hold official positions in the royal court. Ha, even so, Myriad Sound Heaven cannot command the Yao Kingdom. Why should I be the one replaced?"

When it came to joining the war, the Yao Kingdom didn't even heed divine oracles. How could it obey the orders of an foreign supervisor?

True Monarch Tongming fell silent for a long moment before saying, "The Yao Kingdom used to worship Chakravartin Heaven. You also know that one of the conditions the Yao Kingdom put forth to switch allegiance to Myriad Sound Heaven was that its monarch would not take the secret elixir!"

Qingyang pursed her lips.

When ascending the throne, the vassal demon monarchs of Beijia were required to take a secret elixir from the Heavenly Gods, essentially placing their lives in the gods' hands. Otherwise, how could Beijia's dozen or so vassal demon states have maintained stability for six hundred years? What are powerful demons like? They'd overturn the table at the slightest provocation. The vassal demon kings controlled by the Heavenly Gods could, in turn, counterbalance the Demon Emperor. The Yao Kingdom was a regional hegemon. Beijia and the Heavenly Gods found it difficult to directly interfere in the Glittering Gold Plain. Therefore, back then, to win the Yao Kingdom over from Chakravartin Heaven, the Lingxu deities agreed to several exorbitant conditions, one of which was that the Yao monarch would not take the secret elixir. This meant King Yao's life was not controlled by the Heavenly Gods, giving him more autonomy in state affairs.

The hidden dangers the Heavenly Gods had sown back then were now starting to surface. Otherwise, why would Beijia need to send a supervisor here?

Qingyang closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and looked up at the sky. Then she softly said, "My apologies, I was impulsive. The Heavenly Gods are never wrong." The fault could only be hers.

True Monarch Tongming simply said, "Solve the Nightmare Qi problem as soon as possible, or I won't be able to help you either."

Seeing that it was about to leave, Qingyang quickly asked, "I want to know Myriad Sound Heaven's true attitude toward the Yao Kingdom."

"In the past decade, the Yao Kingdom has only built four small temples for Myriad Sound Heaven, but eleven for the Lingxu deities. This frequency is the lowest of any Yao monarch in history," True Monarch Tongming said. "Furthermore, because of the Yao Kingdom's inaction, both Revered Master Lingxu and Myriad Sound Heaven are highly dissatisfied. Do you understand now?"

No sooner had the words fallen than the mist in the air dispersed. The deity's lecture was over.

Qingyang opened the doors and windows to air out the room. After a long time, she sighed softly, gazing at the night sky to the west. She was just an old woman banished to Glittering Gold, no longer the Grand Imperial Advisor of Beijia who could command wind and rain. Now powerless and without influence, how could she persuade the Yao Kingdom to join the war? Furthermore, she always felt that a hidden force was secretly stirring up trouble in the Glittering Gold Plain. Otherwise, why had the recent turmoil in this troubled land been decreasing? And the mysteriously appearing Great Emperor of the Nine Underworlds always bothered her. The Heavenly Gods were pressing hard, and Qingyang could feel their deep concern.

On second thought—she sat back down on the couch, resting her chin on her hand—the Heavenly Gods wanted Nightmare Qi, the more the better, regardless of its source, right? If that was the case, she didn't necessarily have to focus on getting the Yao Kingdom to join the war. Qingyang gazed at the night sky to the west, her eyes deep in thought. At this point, it was time to contact the Emperor.

The Red Citadel auction had just concluded, and He Lingchuan left without looking back.

"Raking it in!" the Soul-Capturing Mirror mumbled. "These noble families in Tianshui City are truly wealthy!"

Most of the villas, costing over a hundred thousand each, were purchased by prominent noble families, not by others. Otherwise, the source of such a large asset would be questionable, and King Yao would later cause them trouble.

As soon as He Lingchuan returned to the inn, he first checked on Dong Rui. Dong Rui was fine, busy tinkering with experiments behind closed doors.

"Nothing happened?"

"Everything's excellent."

Only then did He Lingchuan return to his room. The Soul-Capturing Mirror saw him sigh with relief and couldn't help but ask, "The auction is over, why don't you look very happy?"

"As soon as the second phase of the Quiet Lake Villa began, the prices exceeded my estimates." When he had discussed the Quiet Lake Villa project with King Yao, he thought a single villa would sell for at most thirty to forty thousand taels, and those in the back rows for just over ten thousand. He figured that the total proceeds from both phases would only be several hundred thousand taels, which wouldn't easily attract envy. What seemed like a fortune to commoners was small change to royalty and noble families.

After washing up, He Lingchuan lay down on the couch, feeling mentally exhausted. He had been thinking and strategizing too much lately, while also worrying about the progress of the Quiet Lake Villa construction.

"Isn't a high price good? What are you worried about?"

"I've earned too much; I'm afraid some people will get jealous." He Lingchuan closed his eyes to rest.

The mirror was also a little anxious. "Speaking of which, King Yao's birthday celebration is over. When are we leaving?" Their official reason for coming to the Yao Kingdom was to attend the ceremony. Now that King Yao's birthday had passed, the Soul-Capturing Mirror always felt that its master was in constant danger in the Yao Kingdom. Why not leave as soon as possible?

"Leave?" He Lingchuan chuckled. "After the last few villas are auctioned off, even after taxes and commissions, I'll still have millions of taels of silver from the Yao Kingdom. So many people are watching; do you think they'll let me just walk away easily?"

"Then what do we do?"

"We have to finish what we started—my business," He Lingchuan said slowly. "I'm currently carrying a huge sum of money and am still safe and sound. Do you know why?"

The mirror thought for a moment. "King Yao still wants to use you against Qingyang?"

"Exactly." He Lingchuan smiled. "So the situation is getting more interesting. Because Qingyang is here, King Yao still has to be polite to me." From a strange perspective, Qingyang had become his protective charm.

The mirror asked, "Hey, I don't understand. Previously, the court officials were still wavering, unsure whether to side with Qingyang or King Yao. I even thought King Yao was at a disadvantage then. Why are they now willing to pay over a hundred thousand to buy loyalty?"

He Lingchuan chuckled. "Because they finally understood."

"Understood what?"

"They understood where their power truly came from," He Lingchuan said. "Qingyang is an outsider. Why did many Yao officials originally intend to side with her?"

"She represented Beijia, and the Yao Kingdom pledges allegiance to Beijia?" the mirror pondered. "So, by extension, it meant they had to bow to Qingyang?"

"That's exactly what they thought. And Qingyang's methods were indeed harsh; she'd often denounce officials and have them imprisoned, always accurately, which spread fear among them. But through the Quiet Lake Villa subscription, they discovered a crucial point—" He Lingchuan said slowly, "bowing to Qingyang brought them no substantial benefits." He then corrected himself: "Or rather, only a few could gain real benefits, like General Zhongwu. Most officials who sided with Qingyang not only failed to get promoted but also found their existing positions precarious. This is because Qingyang needed to rely on the Yao royal court to exert her influence and get things done!"

"'Rely on'—what does that mean? It means she herself has no power!"

"Only at this point did the officials realize that Qingyang's demonstrated ability was 'punishment,' while King Yao's true power lay in 'promotion.' Whether it was promotion or demotion, a raise or a pay cut, King Yao ultimately had the final say!"

The mirror understood. "In the Yao Kingdom, only King Yao truly holds the power of life and death."

"Isn't it interesting that most officials in the Yao Kingdom didn't see through such a simple truth before?" He Lingchuan smiled. "All I did was lift that veil of confusion."

"Were they blinded by Beijia's power?"

"More than that." He Lingchuan shook his head. "Even now, many officials in the royal court are secretly aligned with Qingyang, whether due to leverage or vested interests. I believe King Yao himself knows this best."

"Oh, right, you don't think Qingyang will just let you off the hook, do you?" the mirror reminded him. "You killed her beloved disciple, Heyang!"