Chapter 1963: Here Also Painting Cakes

Chapter 1944: More Empty Promises

To be honest, no one truly knew the extent of Emperor Jiuyou's personal strength. Even Qingyang was intrigued, because five years ago, when he caused havoc in the Heavenly Palace, she had chased him all over the place. Now, he dared to claim he had personally slain Miaozhantian. How could anyone make such rapid progress in just five years?

If this claim had come from anyone else, it would have sounded completely false. But coming from He Xiao, it seemed almost plausible.

Of course, Qingyang knew what these people were hoping for.

So, she gave a slight smile and generously declared, "Even with all the experts around Jiuyou, they are but a drop in the ocean compared to the entire Shanjing Plains. Your chances of encountering them are minuscule."

Naturally, this statement alone couldn't reassure the crowd. So, she immediately added, "However, the gods are benevolent and wish to alleviate your worries. Therefore, I have eight divine descent bodies here, available for your needs."

The envoys' hearts stirred. One of them immediately asked, "Which deities might we be able to summon?"

"The true forms or subordinate gods of Baizhan Tian, Duowen Tian, Guangli Tian, and Tongming Zhenjun. Depending on the battlefield situation, even the Holy Venerable Lingxu might descend personally!"

Everyone was astonished. "Is this true!?"

That was the chief of the Lingxu deities. Was it possible he would appear just to defeat Emperor Jiuyou?

"I am a Protector of the Heavenly Palace. My words and actions represent the will of the gods!" Qingyang's voice echoed through the courtyard, each word striking fear into their hearts. "Anyone with doubts may rise and leave now, but from this moment forward, you will be cut off from the gods' sight!"

Hearing this, everyone was startled.

Whoever dared to leave would be ignored by the gods forevermore.

Mortals whom the Lingxu deities chose to ignore would certainly be disregarded by lesser gods and wild spirits. Such a faction in Shanjing would then lose all its foundations and would have to rely solely on themselves in the future.

The Heavenly Palace Protector couldn't afford to appear too patient or accommodating, otherwise, these human factions would consider themselves indispensable and become even more insolent.

This was Shanjing Plains, and when dealing with its local inhabitants, might was more effective than benevolence.

Qingyang waited deliberately, but the envoys seemed glued to their seats, not moving an inch.

"Later, even more divine descent bodies will arrive to support Shanjing." Qingyang finally smiled. "In short, now is the perfect time for you to unite and launch harassing attacks behind enemy lines. The Heavenly Palace's aid has also arrived. This window of opportunity is fleeting; once you miss these next few months, I don't need to tell you what you'll face."

At this point, the Heavenly Palace's ultimatum was clear:

Either the powerful factions of Shanjing would deploy their forces, taking advantage of Emperor Jiuyou's training period to incite unrest throughout his territory, with strong support from the gods.

Or, they could continue to cower within their own domains and avoid provoking Emperor Jiuyou. However, he would very likely invade their lands eventually, and by then, their pleas would go unanswered because the gods would have long abandoned them!

Cooperate with the gods to fight Emperor Jiuyou, or be abandoned by the gods and then destroyed by Emperor Jiuyou.

Choose one.

For these powerful factions, there wasn't really a choice.

Heroes and strongmen came and went on this plain, none of them meeting a good end. Only the gods were eternal.

Qingyang further sweetened the deal:

"Of course, those who distinguish themselves in the upcoming war will undoubtedly receive even greater resources from the gods!"

With the meeting concluded, the envoys departed, carrying Qingyang's terms and the gods' "sincerity" back to report to their lords.

Yuan Xuan stood by, listening in silence. Even after seeing the guests off and returning, he dared not speak.

The Palace Master had eight divine descent bodies? Why didn't he know about this?

And the Palace Master also claimed that various true gods would personally descend to the mortal realm to fight Emperor Jiuyou's army?

This... this was...

It sounded truly outrageous, yet the envoys departed with noticeably lighter steps.

A group of ignorant mortals, they had no idea what the descent of a true god truly implied.

Simply put, only an opponent of the caliber of the True Lord Qianhuan was worthy of Miaozhantian's personal descent. As for the rest, well.

As if hearing his inner thoughts, Qingyang said without raising her head:

"What do you think they lack the most?"

Yuan Xuan's heart skipped a beat. He tentatively asked,

"An army?"

"If I give them an army, they'll lack weapons; if I give them weapons, they'll lack food; if I give them food, they'll lack tactics. The more I give, the greater their deficiencies become, like a bottomless pit." Qingyang scoffed, "What they lack is competence!"

There was a reason why the local forces of Shanjing Plains could only hold their "local" positions and couldn't sweep across Shanjing like Emperor Jiuyou. Simply put, they weren't capable enough.

"Competence must be cultivated by oneself; I cannot bestow it. But I can give them 'confidence.'" Everything provided by the Heavenly Palace, whether ghost beasts or divine descent bodies, was, in essence, just something to embolden and support the various powerful factions. "See? They really want it."

"If they want it, I'll give it to them," Qingyang said, raising her cup and taking a sip of cold tea. "However much they want, that's how much I'll give."

Her movements were graceful, as always, but Yuan Xuan detected a lioness's cruelty and shrewdness.

"When will the next group of envoys arrive?"

"Probably by evening."

Within two days, Qingyang, as a Heavenly Palace Protector, received three groups of envoys. Her rhetoric was largely similar, and she made similar promises to each.

When she returned to Yaodi, Baitian came directly to her after hearing the news:

"Palace Master, I heard that those envoys took quite a few divine descent bodies. Is... is that true?"

"Indeed," Qingyang replied without batting an eye. "They need assistance, and the gods are always generous."

Generous? Hearing that word, Baitian almost let out a cynical laugh.

If the gods were truly generous, they would have helped him end the chaos in Yaodi long ago! He would have had more time to train troops, consolidate his rear, and bring order to the turmoil.

Instead, the gods not only allowed internal strife within Yaodi but secretly supported his rivals!

It was only when Emperor Jiuyou suddenly emerged, burning temples everywhere, that the gods became anxious and finally considered supporting him!

However, he dared not show his dissatisfaction. "Then, how many divine descent bodies do you still have? May I..."

According to his intelligence, Qingyang had distributed over a dozen divine descent bodies, one after another!

Those were vessels for the gods' descent, each requiring careful selection. If they had all been given to the "dirt monkeys" of Shanjing Plains, would he still be able to get any?

"Don't worry, you are most favored by the heavens, so your allocation will naturally be the largest." Qingyang extended five fingers towards him and wiggled them slightly.

"Excellent, the Divine Venerable is truly magnanimous, and the Palace Master has worked hard!" Reassured by her promise, Baitian finally relaxed, exchanged a few more pleasantries, and then hastily departed.

Before turning away, a thought flashed through his mind:

Were there really that many divine descent bodies?

But the thought was dismissed almost instantly.

Yuan Xuan, who had been accompanying Qingyang, had become numb from listening over the past two days.

The "divine descent bodies" the Palace Master had promised to the various envoys, including the one just pledged to Baitian, already totaled over twenty!