Chapter 2080: Flowering and Withering Are Uncertain, Lights Burning and Going Out Have an End

The second point was the outstanding combat effectiveness of the Black Armored Army and the high efficiency of local officials appointed by He Xiao. Both these aspects were fully demonstrated when powerful forces from across the Pan-Continent invaded the Dragon God territory.

To defend their homeland, the military and civilians within the Dragon God territory fought one arduous battle after another, displaying a resilience and tenacity that even Qing Yang found astonishing.

Qing Yang had meticulously planned and expended great effort to mobilize the powerful forces of Blazing Gold, but the final outcome was far less than anticipated. The main reason was not He Xiao himself, but rather the local administrative system and the fighting spirit of the military and civilians.

In contrast, in Beijia, the Celestial Palace was arrogant and conceited, officials were redundant and embroiled in internal conflicts, and the Royal Court was inefficient and corrupt. Edicts were distorted multiple times before even leaving the capital. When He Xiao returned to the Blazing Gold Plains from the Upside-Down Sea, Qing Yang immediately requested support from Beijia, a request that was undeniably timely.

The Demon Emperor also agreed, but due to internal procrastination and wrangling within the Royal Court, the team meant to support Qing Yang was finally assembled and departed more than a month late.

The war in Blazing Gold was raging, and a month's delay meant the opportunity was lost. Qing Yang had originally intended to use this force to inflict widespread damage on the Dragon God territory and the Black Armored Army, but it could only later be used for a swift attack on He Xiao himself.

This was despite Qing Yang's relationship with the Demon Emperor, and it was a task personally overseen by the Demon Emperor. If even this was so inefficient, the state of other political affairs in Beijia could be imagined.

It was no wonder Beijia and Mou Country had been fighting for so many years without the war coming to an end.

Therefore, Qing Yang suggested to the Demon Emperor that Beijia could establish another independent military corps, modeled after the Black Armored Army's structure, to improve combat efficiency. If the experiment proved feasible, it could then be widely adopted.

As for Beijia's administration, it required drastic reforms. As a rising star, He Xiao's power was flourishing and burgeoning, giving him an advantage in this area without any burdens.

Sometimes, 'old' was the greatest sin.

Qing Yang did not elaborate much on such an important issue in her letter. She knew perfectly well how difficult reforms in Beijia would be; it wasn't something the Demon Emperor could change simply by wishing it, as it also involved Celestial Gods and tributary demon nations.

Therefore, she merely touched upon it and said no more.

She also specifically reminded the Demon Emperor that since the fall of Miaozhan Tian, many laws between heaven and earth had subtly changed. In particular, the laws of primal energy seemed to be quietly transforming, not only providing greater enhancement to armies and commanders themselves, but also appearing to affect divine arts and powers.

As the former National Master responsible for allocating fate and primal energy, Qing Yang was highly sensitive to this power. However, the world's exploration of primal energy had always been like searching in a foggy box, hazy and impossible to quantify like true energy or spiritual energy; no one could explain its specific mechanism.

Moreover, the Blazing Gold Plains where she was located was originally a place with very weak primal energy. Qing Yang could hardly find any other samples for study apart from Yao Country.

However, He Xiao must have mastered deeper secrets of primal energy. Five years ago, when he caused havoc in the Celestial Palace, he was clearly without an army, yet he was able to use primal energy. This was inconsistent with the known laws of primal energy.

It was difficult to imagine how surging He Xiao's primal energy would be once he established his own nation in the future. The Blazing Gold commoners' reverence for the Dragon God could very likely transform into popular support, stimulating powerful primal energy.

One hundred and fifty years ago, the Panlong Wilderness, united in spirit between its military and civilians, caused great trouble for Beijia. The area and population of Blazing Gold were more than ten times that of Panlong City. If He Xiao uncovered more secrets of primal energy, he would inevitably become an even more formidable opponent.

Incidentally, all previous individuals associated with the Grand Square Gourd had been able to unleash surging primal energy.

Hearing this, the Demon Emperor nodded: "Primal energy has indeed changed."

Beijia's generals had reported the changes in primal energy long ago. Current primal energy had a greater amplitude of fluctuation, but once unleashed, its effectiveness was stronger than before.

Qing Yang was correct; Beijia's army was also actively preparing to adapt to the new characteristics.

Among all the powerful figures in Beijia, only Qing Yang had directly confronted He Xiao. Now that He Xiao was about to step onto the world's highest stage, the lessons learned from Qing Yang's experience were extremely valuable.

Nie Xiaolou stopped reading here: "Your Majesty, the rest is in code."

"Let me see," he said.

Qing Yang knew the Demon Emperor too well; His massive size meant He disliked reading small characters on paper, usually having eunuchs or ministers read to Him.

She specifically switched to writing in code, indicating a secret that could not be exposed to a third pair of eyes.

Nie Xiaolou held up the letter, and the Demon Emperor slightly lowered His head, reading every word without missing a single one.

This section spoke of the Celestial Gods.

According to the intelligence Qing Yang had gathered herself, several Celestial Palace experimental sites in the Blazing Gold Plains, including 'Red Hut' managed by Cao Wendao, focused primarily on the 'humanization' of demon puppets and ghost beasts. This meant making them increasingly human-like, both in appearance and internal characteristics.

The experimental sites she sent people to take over included some built in mountains, some by lakes, and one even more astonishingly, built directly at the bottom of a lake. These sites housed not only land-based demons but also lake and sea monsters, not only ghost beasts but also the offspring of Jin Du's Ghost Mother, clearly indicating an intent to study something specific from these unusual creatures.

The Celestial Gods were also very interested in the demon puppeteer Dong Rui, believing he possessed certain methods that could keep demon puppets clear-headed and calm, enable them to fight autonomously, and simultaneously ensure the stability of their bodies, thereby extending their lifespan.

Cao Wendao had once unintentionally told her that even if humanized demon puppets could be successfully developed, they would have too many limitations and be too few in number, making mass production impossible within thirty years. Therefore, the Venerable Lingxu's requirement for Cao Wendao and others was to strengthen individual ghost beasts.

What Cao Wendao meant by 'mass production' was manufacturing in quantities of thousands or tens of thousands.

Furthermore, beyond the Blazing Gold Plains, there were other Celestial God ghost beast experimental sites, all strictly confidential, and Cao Wendao was unaware of their progress.

Synthesizing all the intelligence, Qing Yang believed that the Celestial Gods' future plans might undergo some changes, and Beijia should prepare early.

"Cannot mass produce... strengthen individuals..."

The Demon Emperor scratched His chin with a claw; these were two very important pieces of intelligence.

"Could it be...?"

"Hmm, if that's truly the case, the Celestial Gods' descent plan might be brought forward!"

The Demon Emperor's gaze finally fell upon the last two lines of exquisite small script. The strokes were no longer as meticulous as the preceding text, but rather elegant, flowing, and unconstrained:

"My lifespan is nearing its end, yet I have been able to contribute a small effort for Beijia; I have no regrets. May Your Majesty enjoy blessings and long life, and may Beijia's grand enterprise prosper forever."

"Flowers bloom and wither in impermanence; lamps ignite and extinguish with finality. Qing Yang departs; Your Majesty, do not dwell on it."

Upon reading this, the Demon Emperor exhaled a long, long breath of dragon's fire, and the Chonghua Hall was quickly filled with white mist again. This time, the sunlight could not penetrate it, and it faintly glowed with a greenish hue.

A cluster of white mist transformed into a human figure: clad in white, with hair tied up, moth-like eyebrows and starry eyes, possessing seven parts beauty and three parts heroism.

This was Lu Wushuang at twenty years old.