Chapter 895: Undermining the Root Cause

In the Imperial Palace, Qin Mu and Ling Yuxiu invited Yu Chenzi, Dao Master Lin Xuan, Wang Muran, Si Yunxiang, and others. Many of them were former members of the Heavenly Alliance, all young people, gathered to discuss how Yankang Nation should operate after this drastic change.

The Heavenly Alliance was originally formed by only four people: Qin Mu, Lin Xuan, Wang Muran, and Xu Shenghua.

Later, while Qin Mu and his companions were roasting fish at the Imperial College, Ling Yuxiu, Si Yunxiang, Hu Ling'er, Monk Mingxin, Mu Qingdai, Long Yu, and others also joined. Qin Mu later recruited the Ape Demon Zhan Kong into the Heavenly Alliance.

As for Hu Ling'er, she enjoyed lively gatherings and joined the Heavenly Alliance merely to make up numbers. She didn't take it seriously, nor did Qin Mu and the others.

Xing An and Emperor Yanfeng were also present at the time, but they were quite dismissive of the Heavenly Alliance formed by Qin Mu and his companions and did not join.

At this Imperial Palace gathering, Xu Shenghua was absent, and Hu Ling'er, Mingxin, and the Ape Demon also did not arrive. However, Yu Chenzi was a new addition.

Yu Chenzi said, "The New Heavenly Map is extremely vast and difficult to forge. Even if the Heavenly Court's Dao Sect forges it, it will take thirty to fifty years to complete. Furthermore, since my Azure Cloud Heaven designed the New Heavenly Map, we can naturally leave some tricks hidden within it. Although the New Heavenly Map is very dangerous, it is not without a glimmer of life. The most difficult part now is the eight decrees in the Heavenly Court's imperial edict."

Ling Yuxiu said, "Actually, there are only seven decrees. My father and Imperial Advisor Jiang are imprisoned, so we don't need to consider them for now. We only need to focus on the first seven and devise countermeasures. Should Yankang halt its reforms and changes from now on, or continue? If we continue, how can we overcome these seven decrees?"

Yu Chenzi looked at Qin Mu. Qin Mu said, "Naturally, we must continue. If we don't continue, merely the emperor's annual sacrifice would be enough to destroy the foundation of Yankang's existence."

Everyone was puzzled.

Yu Chenzi explained, "The powerful demigods in the Heavenly Court consume blood sacrifices. Each year, the emperor's sacrifices to heaven involve offering young boys and girls to the Heavenly Court. Offering young boys and girls as blood sacrifices to the Heavenly Court is enough to shatter the people's morale. The people would not dare to resent heaven but would instead direct their anger towards Yankang."

"That's too cruel."

Wang Muran frowned and said, "This single decree is enough to destroy Yankang."

Ling Yuxiu said, "That's why we need to devise a countermeasure. The Heavenly Court wants to seize Yankang's minting rights. How can Saintess Xiang solve this?"

Si Yunxiang thought for a moment, then smiled and asked, "Will the Heavenly Court's currency circulate only within Yankang, or throughout the entire Primordial Realm?"

Qin Mu said, "The Heavenly Court won't create a special currency just for Yankang. Now that the Heavenly Court has unified the Primordial Realm, naturally all factions will use one currency."

Si Yunxiang clapped her hands and laughed, "If a currency were designed specifically for Yankang, and the Heavenly Court controlled its minting, then Yankang's economy would cease to exist, and it would be beyond saving. However, if all factions throughout the entire Primordial Realm use one currency, that's not necessarily a bad thing!"

The others, not well-versed in this area, asked many questions.

"If the entire Primordial Realm uses one currency, the Heavenly Court can exploit the realm like a parasite. They can simply mint currency to plunder the realm's wealth. However, the Heavenly Court must also ensure that the currency can be used to buy and sell goods."

Si Yunxiang smiled, "Yankang people are most skilled at business. Through trade, we can earn more money from other parts of the Primordial Realm and secure our people's livelihoods. The Heavenly Court will exploit the entire Primordial Realm like a parasite, plundering its resources, while we will extract resources from other factions in the Primordial Realm through trade. Emperor Yanfeng once said that the Great Abundance Coin should be used in all nations, and he struggled for many years to achieve this. The unification of the Primordial Realm's currency ironically fulfills his dream. It's just that now we have an extra 'Heavenly Master' above us."

Qin Mu said, "Then you shall be responsible for trade and commerce."

Si Yunxiang said, "I'll need your fox spirit to help me."

Qin Mu nodded and said, "The minting rights are the third decree. We'll leave this to Si Yunxiang to plan and resolve, stabilizing the people's livelihoods. The first decree is to burn all reformist texts and forbid reforms; since all texts have backups, we can ignore this. The second decree is to restore ancestral systems, with sects governing the nation, people revering gods, and sects revering gods, thereby controlling Yankang through both sects and common folk. This is a strategy to keep the populace ignorant and weary. How can we break this?"

Wang Muran asked, "Among these seven decrees, is there anything prohibiting the establishment of elementary schools, universities, or imperial academies?"

Ling Yuxiu said, "There is no such decree, but all elementary schools, universities, and imperial academies have been destroyed by those gods, and their books burned."

Wang Muran smiled, "Then rebuild them! Don't use the names 'elementary school,' 'university,' or 'imperial academy'; change them to something else, like 'Jade Capital Sect,' 'Heavenly Sage Sect,' or 'Daoist Branch Academy,' aligning the names with sects. Elementary schools, universities, and imperial academies are fundamentally not different from sects anyway."

Qin Mu said, "Let's do that. The fourth decree, 'no manufacturing of heavy divine artifacts,' means we temporarily won't make them; we don't need to pay attention to it. The fifth decree, 'no unauthorized alteration of divine arts and dao methods,' only applies to a few capable of such changes, so we can also ignore this. The sixth decree is the sacrifice to heaven; this one is too cruel. How can we break it?"

Yu Chenzi pondered, "I have some connections in the Heavenly Court's Dao Sect. Perhaps I can ask a respected figure from the Heavenly Court's Dao Sect to step forward and alter the sacrificial items. At the very least, we cannot allow the emperor to sacrifice humans as livestock."

Qin Mu said, "Thank you, Senior Brother Yu Chen. The seventh decree is to destroy all 'ingenious devices and extravagant crafts.' This isn't a major issue, as after this catastrophe, the common people have basically lost all their valuable possessions anyway."

He looked around, a smile on his face: "So, let's start thinking about how to counterattack."

Everyone was startled.

Counterattack?

What grand talk was this?

How could they counterattack?

Qin Mu said, "I've had a nascent idea these past few days. I've been walking around the capital and noticed many Heavenly Court soldiers and generals breaking into wealthy households in the capital, seizing what they call 'ingenious devices and extravagant crafts.' The Heavenly Court's deities seem to be quite fond of these items. Since that's the case, we can manufacture them for free, accepting only Heavenly Court currency, and the cheaper the price, the better. Yankang has an abundance of skilled artisans; by having them create common goods for the people, we can preserve their abilities."

The others still didn't quite understand.

Qin Mu continued, "Senior Brother Yu Chen, can you use your connections within the Heavenly Court's Dao Sect to arrange for some of the Heavenly Court's divine artifacts to be manufactured in Yankang?"

Yu Chenzi frowned and said, "You want Yankang to manufacture the New Heavenly Map? Impossible! The Heavenly Court would absolutely not entrust the forging of the New Heavenly Map to Yankang! Such divine artifacts can only be personally manufactured by the Heavenly Court's Zaofu Palace! The Heavenly Court's Zaofu Palace is where the most crucial divine artifacts are made! Almost all of the Heavenly Court's heavy armaments are forged there, and it is heavily guarded! To work there, one must be identified daily using the Book of Life and Death!"

Qin Mu smiled, "My intention is for Yankang to first manufacture some everyday items for the Heavenly Court, such as ice chambers, windmills, and similar things. Then, we can produce weapons like divine armor, divine weaponry, battle towers, and formation maps needed by the Heavenly Court's army. The Heavenly Court can then directly purchase the treasures we manufacture from Yankang using the currency they mint."

Yu Chenzi was stunned.

The others frowned deeply, still somewhat confused.

"The Heavenly Court would naturally be willing to agree to such a favorable proposal. However..."

Yu Chenzi hesitated, saying, "Yankang's artisans would painstakingly forge treasures only to receive the Heavenly Court's currency in return. This seems rather..."

Qin Mu said, "As long as the minted currency can circulate throughout the Primordial Realm, we don't need to care how much profit we make. Can you arrange this?"

Yu Chenzi replied decisively, "Yes!"

Qin Mu exhaled, "Then, how long will it take for Yankang's manufacturing facilities to overwhelm the Heavenly Court's facilities, leaving the Heavenly Court with only Zaofu Palace for forging heavy divine artifacts?"

Yu Chenzi was greatly shocked and smiled, "You're drawing the firewood from under the cauldron, severing the root of the Heavenly Court's civilian economy! The Heavenly Court's factions are complex, and with divine weapons and artifacts available almost for free, their manufacturing facilities won't last long before Yankang replaces them! By then, Yankang will have manufacturing facilities capable of forging divine weapons and artifacts everywhere, while the Heavenly Court will have no manufacturing facilities left!"

He paced back and forth, saying, "The Heavenly Court governs the Four Extremities, Xuandu, Primordial Realm, Youdu, Mingdu, Southern Heaven, Northern Heaven, Eastern Heaven, Western Heaven, and also has thirty-six Heavenly Palaces, seventy-two Treasure Halls, and myriad worlds! If Yankang can supply the Heavenly Court's civilian and military needs, the myriad worlds will inevitably see their industries hollowed out, leaving them with no funds. At that time, with the people's livelihoods in myriad worlds in decline, rebellion will be inevitable."

Qin Mu said, "I only asked how many years you'll need."

Yu Chenzi declared with conviction, "A century at most!"

Qin Mu thought for a moment and said, "A century is enough. Can you use free divine weapons and artifacts to exchange for the emperor's heavenly sacrifices no longer requiring blood sacrifices of young boys and girls?"

Yu Chenzi considered it and said, "It's worth a try."

"As for other details, you all are more proficient than I am. How to resettle the populace, how to revive their households, cultivate fertile land, plant crops, and overcome the current famine—many civil officials in the court are skilled in these matters; you can consult them. My various elders are masters of sword dao, formations, forging, medicine, calligraphy, painting, and other ultimate arts; feel free to seek their guidance."

Qin Mu stood up and bowed, saying, "Then, Yankang is entrusted to all of you!"

Everyone was startled and quickly rose to return the bow. Dao Master Lin Xuan said, "Cult Master, why do you say such a thing? Aren't you staying in Yankang? You are now the Imperial Advisor of Yankang, and you also hold the title of Heavenly Venerate Mu; countless eyes are on you. Your current condition is somewhat off; it's better not to wander around."

Qin Mu straightened up, feeling somewhat dizzy, and smiled, "If I stay in Yankang, the Heavenly Court will keep a tight watch on this place, not on Yankang itself, but on me, Heavenly Venerate Mu. As the Imperial Advisor of Yankang, if I wander around, Yankang will paradoxically gain a chance and time to breathe. There's no need for further discussion."

Si Yunxiang looked at Ling Yuxiu. Ling Yuxiu's expression was complex as she asked, "Imperial Advisor, when you leave the capital, when will you return?"

Qin Mu said, "When I return, I will come to find you all. As for when that will be, I currently have no specific plans."

"How about returning on this day next year?"

Ling Yuxiu looked at him and said softly, "I know your health isn't good. Return at this time next year, just to let me know you're still alive."

Qin Mu burst into laughter, nodded heavily, and said, "On this day next year, I will return!"

He turned and walked out, reaching the palace gates. He woke up the Dragon Qilin, and together they headed towards the Imperial Advisor's residence.

"Is Cult Master Qin's condition dangerous?" Wang Muran watched him leave, asking in a low voice.

"He has no soul."

Yu Chenzi whispered, "I've never seen anyone survive without a soul."

"The Cult Master isn't going to hide away in a corner and quietly die, is he?"

Si Yunxiang suddenly grew worried, her eyes reddening as she whispered, "I'm afraid he might hide away and slowly die, so as not to cause us grief. Even if someone finds his body, no one will know he was Heavenly Venerate Mu, Cult Master Qin, the Imperial Advisor of Yankang..."

Ling Yuxiu shook her head, "He will return. On this day one year from now, he will reunite with us here!"

There were two Imperial Advisor's residences in the capital: one belonged to the former Yankang Imperial Advisor, Jiang Baigui, and the other was Qin Mu's personal courtyard, which contained a lush Primordial Tree.

Qin Mu went to the Primordial Tree and stroked its trunk. Suddenly, Gongsun Yan, in a green dress, emerged from behind the tree, carrying a small watering can. She smiled and said, "Brother, you're back? Yan'er, your young master is back!"

From a bird's nest in the treetop, Yan'er poked her head out. Then the plump green sparrow flew down and perched on Qin Mu's shoulder, laughing, "This bird's nest is so comfortable, I don't even want to get up. Young master, are you planning to go out?"

Qin Mu nodded and smiled, "Sister Yan'er, since the bird's nest here is comfortable, you can stay. You can also look after Yankang."

Yan'er hesitated, then shook her head and said, "Her Highness told me to follow you, so I can't stay. Besides, Yan'er is better at taking care of people than I am; she's made me perfectly comfortable. That phoenix nest has everything; she prepared all sorts of fruits and even bugs for me to eat! I've never seen anyone more considerate than her—I've even gotten fat."

The Dragon Qilin poked his head out from behind Qin Mu, about to speak, when the plump green sparrow glared at him fiercely and snapped, "Fat Dragon, shut up!"

The Dragon Qilin dared not speak.

Gongsun Yan looked troubled and said, "I also want to go out with you, but I'm rooted here..."

Qin Mu smiled gently, "Then stay here. This place is also my root, and I will return."