Chapter 1560: Mysterious Power

In this regard, King Yao remained rational, still refusing to let his regular army directly enter the fray.

The second piece of news was that the Miaozhantian Temple had begun to contact the Situ family, leaders of the Allied forces.

This was not good news; He Lingchuan frowned deeply.

From his perspective, this was a mutual endeavor. Miaozhantian sought to extend its influence into the Allied territory, which could only be achieved through the Situ family—just as, over a century ago, the King of Yao had led his entire nation to worship Miaozhantian as their principal deity.

The war between the Allied forces and Bixia now appeared to be turning in the Allies' favor. Miaozhantian perhaps recognized their potential and considered them a worthy investment.

As for Situ He, leveraging Miaozhantian’s immense influence in the Blazing Gold Plain would further solidify the Situ family’s leadership over the Allied forces post-war.

Situ He had conveyed to He Lingchuan on multiple occasions that he and his father hoped to leverage Beijia’s power. And what was Beijia’s ultimate power if not the Heavenly Gods? If they could align themselves with Miaozhantian, a formidable and righteous deity, the Allied forces would gain significant leverage for their future actions in the Blazing Gold Plain, particularly when engaging with the Yao Kingdom.

He Lingchuan also recalled the Situ father and son’s ultimate goal: to end the Yao Kingdom’s dominion over the entire Blazing Gold Plain and completely obliterate its influence. To achieve this, Situ He, at the very least, could not afford to offend Miaozhantian.

The problem was that He Lingchuan was well aware of the true nature of the Heavenly Gods. Once the Allied forces acquiesced to Miaozhantian’s demands, they would ultimately shackle themselves.

Observing him silently holding the note for a long time, the Soul-Capturing Mirror couldn't help but ask, "Is there some significant hidden truth behind these two developments?"

“Most people believe the Yao Kingdom is the source of all turmoil in Blazing Gold; before I arrived in the Blazing Gold Plain, I, too, thought our greatest obstacle would be the Yao Kingdom,” He Lingchuan said, shaking the note. “Wrong.”

The Soul-Capturing Mirror played its part, asking, “What is it then?”

“It’s the Heavenly Gods,” He Lingchuan stated calmly. “More specifically, it’s Miaozhantian.”

“The Heavenly Gods’ true intention is that no matter how these factions in the Blazing Gold Plain fight amongst themselves, they must ultimately worship them.” He sighed softly. “Indeed, for the past several centuries, this has been the case. So many heroes and powerful figures have come and gone, yet Blazing Gold remains the same Blazing Gold, offering its blood and flesh to satisfy the gods’ demands.”

“Therefore, to truly conquer the Blazing Gold Plain, our real obstacle, beyond the Yao Kingdom, is Miaozhantian!” He Lingchuan declared calmly, his words startling. “We must weaken the Heavenly Gods’ influence on this land, or all our efforts will merely perpetuate another cycle within the Blazing Gold Plain.”

The true rise of Emperor Jiuyou would be directly proportional to the gods’ decline in Blazing Gold.

“Hey, don’t just arbitrarily increase your own difficulties,” the Soul-Capturing Mirror protested. “What you’re currently trying to achieve is already incredibly challenging.”

“What I set out to do is largely complete,” He Lingchuan replied with a smile. “My next concern is how to safely extricate myself from these turbulent currents.”

“King Yao won’t let you leave,” the mirror stated, now understanding clearly. “Not even if you give him all your money.”

Given the current state of affairs in the Yao Kingdom, He Lingchuan had played a significant role. The relationship between King Yao and Qingyang was irreparable, much like the Yao Kingdom’s relationship with Beijia could never return to what it once was. Once King Yao realized the extent of things, he would certainly not let He Lingchuan off the hook.

“Therefore, timing is crucial.” He Lingchuan had no intention of giving away the money he’d earned entirely through his own efforts. “The entire Yao Kingdom has descended into madness, and that marks a significant step towards its ultimate end.”

“Furthermore, I find Miaozhantian’s attempt to infiltrate the Allied territories rather peculiar.”

The mirror asked, puzzled, “Don’t all Heavenly Gods operate this way, vying for faith?”

“Something isn’t right,” He Lingchuan mused, stroking his chin. “Miaozhantian is not like the minor or wild deities found elsewhere on the Blazing Gold Plain. It is not only a righteous god but also a pivotal figure among the Lingxu deities. Consider how, for over a century, the Yao Kingdom has desperately built temples and offered worship, yet Miaozhantian remains largely unsatisfied. This demonstrates just how arrogant and greedy this particular deity is.”

“A righteous deity of such stature, enjoying the full devotion and offerings of the entire Yao Kingdom, would previously never have even deigned to look at the Allied forces. Much less would it command its own temple to actively make contact with them.”

The mirror hypothesized, “Perhaps the conflicts in the divine realm are intensifying, causing deities to place greater emphasis on the struggle for faith?”

“That’s not impossible. However, conflicts in the divine realm typically lead to unrest in the mortal world. Don’t forget that the Yao Kingdom is currently supporting Bixia in the war, yet its spiritual overlord is actively extending an olive branch to Situ He. That sounds rather contradictory. I suspect King Yao might not even be aware of this development yet.”

“An olive branch?” The mirror didn’t understand the idiom.

“It means to actively show goodwill,” He Lingchuan mused. “For Situ He to have caught Miaozhantian’s attention, beyond the Allied forces’ growing stability, I suspect Miaozhantian might have other calculations in mind—perhaps to nurture yet another influential faction?”

Once the Allied forces defeated Bixia, they would become a new power rising in central Blazing Gold. Would this alone be enough to catch Miaozhantian’s eye?

If it were other minor deities initiating contact with the Allied forces, He Lingchuan wouldn't find it strange. But for Miaozhantian to do so, wasn’t it a bit condescending?

As the principal deity of the Yao Kingdom, receiving offerings from the strongest nation in Blazing Gold, did it truly need to actively court an emerging power on the plains?

Hmm, unless...

The next day, Wang Fubao, who was serving as Gu Lin’s personal guard for Tonglinji, sent back a report: Tonglinji had attempted to purchase grain from four southwestern regions but was informed there was no stock available.

This year’s autumn harvest had gradually entered the market. Apart from a few major granaries like Mangzhou and Taoshui, grain from other regions had also been harvested and sold by farmers to merchants, thus entering standard distribution channels.

He Lingchuan had instructed Tonglinji to race against time to acquire grain directly from these merchants.

This was far easier than purchasing grain from official granaries or from individuals like Lu Yuanzheng. Grain merchants, both large and small, operated independently, subject only to guild regulations. As long as the price was right, there was no reason for them not to sell.

Yet, Tonglinji discovered that the grain in several southwestern regions had already been bought out.

This amounted to tens of millions of catties of grain.

Who had bought it?

No one knew.

He Lingchuan admitted he was outmatched at this scale. He was merely an external merchant, and Tonglinji was not an organization of that magnitude.

The opposing party truly possessed extraordinary reach and influence.

Gu Lin took this seriously, activating his network to investigate, but his inquiries vanished without a trace, yielding no information.

These individuals, operating in secrecy to acquire grain, were clearly not simple.

After receiving this intelligence, He Lingchuan pondered for a long time before finally saying, “Let’s observe further.”

Over the next few days, Tonglinji reported several more updates. The supply and output of several materials He Lingchuan had requested to gather had sharply declined. Inquiries revealed that others were also acquiring them.

He Lingchuan was rushing to convert money into goods and then transport them to fill his fifty-plus storage locations. What, then, was the opposing party’s objective?

Indeed, it was unclear how many factions were operating in the shadows.

He Lingchuan had consistently monitored market prices. In the preceding two months, while the cost of residential land in the new city had surged, prices for common necessities like food, clothing, and everyday items had not significantly increased. The market consistently experienced robust supply and demand.

This was hardly surprising: the upper-class elites, middle-tier merchants, and lower-class commoners were all eager to convert their goods and assets into cash, either to acquire another plot of land in Tianshui New City or to settle their debts.

With everyone liquidating assets, even those not rightfully theirs, market supplies had become incredibly abundant, affordable, and high-quality in a short period.

He Lingchuan understood that if a nation possessed exceptionally robust production capabilities, such a strategy wouldn’t be detrimental; in fact, it could stimulate commodity circulation.

Money, after all, only holds value when it circulates.

The question, however, was whether the Yao Kingdom’s resources could truly be infinite.

While it was a powerful nation in Blazing Gold, in terms of sheer size and national strength, it was but a child compared to the Mou and Beijia nations.

Such advanced methods might not necessarily be a good thing.

“We’ve acquired most of the valuable items; continuing would inevitably draw attention from either the authorities or the opposing party.” He Lingchuan decided to stop while he was ahead. “Suspend all material acquisitions. Instead, have Gu Lin collect Dark Crystals for me, as many as possible.”

Dark Crystals were highly valuable commodities, often measured in tens of thousands of taels, and easily transportable, making them ideal for monetization. Moreover, their price on the black market had recently seen a slight decrease. He Lingchuan knew this was likely due to the impending, reportedly “unprecedented,” major eruption of imperial fluid. High-ranking officials and nobles, having received advance notice, were seizing the opportunity to offload some Dark Crystals before prices dropped even further.

As with any commodity, its value naturally adhered to certain laws.

Soon, Gu Lin uncovered some clues: those buying large quantities of grain were typically shell companies. Evidently, the tactics employed by Tonglinji were also well understood by the hidden factions.

However, one of them did reveal a weakness: they employed a group of individuals known to Gu Lin.

The force behind them didn’t sound particularly prominent; at least He Lingchuan had never heard of them—just a minor local clan named Shi. Yet, Gu Lin became unusually serious:

“The Shi family has produced two generals in the past twenty years, both of whom have seen combat. Do you know under whose command they served at the time?”

“Who?” He Lingchuan’s curiosity was piqued.

“Bai Tan, known as General Bai,” Gu Lin replied. “Everyone in our line of work knows that the Shi family actually operates on General Bai’s behalf.”

Bai Tan was no longer involved in combat, but he still maintained his old connections with former subordinates in the military.

This revelation even surprised He Lingchuan: “How could it be General Bai?”

He had assumed it would be Qingyang.

Wouldn’t it have been simpler for Bai Tan to content himself with his official salary, perhaps occasionally allowing his subordinates minor corrupt gains in exchange for a share, and thus honestly adhere to the typical bureaucratic practices of Tianshui City?

What was his objective in instructing his old subordinates to gather materials everywhere?

Gu Lin continued, “They haven’t acquired a large quantity, at least not according to my investigations, and we can’t rule out the possibility that it’s for their own use.”

“That simply means there are more factions operating in the shadows, engaged in the same activities,” He Lingchuan said, feeling relieved that he wasn’t the only one undermining the Yao Kingdom, and that these others were quick and aggressive. “You also mentioned that you couldn’t uncover their background.”

“They are incredibly discreet and leave no trace.”

“More people mean greater power; that’s interesting,” He Lingchuan commented, stroking his chin. “If you could catch the Shi family slipping, it only means they’re amateurs. The true magnates are still lurking beneath the surface.”