A million spirit stones, undercurrents stirring
In the Astral Battlefield, before an extremely hidden spatial node.
The Dongfang Yueming, and I stopped walking.
Following the guidance of the token given to him by Qin Rushuang, he finally found this... Profound Grade small world, which belonged to the Martial Sect!
Without the slightest hesitation, he changed his hand seals and unleashed a profound and mysterious spiritual light!
"Buzz--!"
In an instant!
The Xukong ahead rippled like water, revealing a spatial portal that emitted a soft light!
And at that very moment, the portal to the space opened!
The Great Qian Dynasty, the Imperial Palace, the Imperial Astronomical Bureau.
"Report!"
"Your Majesty! The ' Heaven-Reaching Mirror ' is responding!"
"The envoy from the 'Supreme Sect' has arrived!"
On the Golden Throne Hall, the Emperor of the Great Qian, who had been waiting there, and his civil and military officials, all had an unprecedented glint in their eyes the moment they heard the news!
"They're here!"
"Finally, it's here!"
Princess Changle was the first to step forward!
"Father!" Her eyes were filled with boundless confidence and fighting spirit! "Your subject requests permission! Go and meet this envoy from the 'Upper Sect'!"
A moment later.
A golden streak of light pierced the sky and arrived in an instant!
Princess Changle hovered in mid-air, looking at the figure in blue robes who had just emerged from the spatial portal with a gaze filled with scrutiny and... provocation.
[Hmph, I thought he was some kind of superhuman being with three heads and six arms.]
[I never expected this...]
[It turns out, he's just a young man who looks younger than me...?]
Her disdain grew stronger.
"So, you are the envoy from the Martial Sect?" Her voice was filled with innate arrogance.
Dongfang Yueming glanced at her, then calmly nodded.
"Very well." Princess Changle raised her chin slightly. "Since you're here, then follow me."
Having said that, she turned around and transformed into a golden streak of light, speeding towards the palace!
That speed was incredibly fast!
Clearly, they wanted to give this arrogant envoy from the "upper sect" a taste of their own medicine!
However, the smile on her face froze completely the next moment!
Because the figure in green robes followed her at a leisurely pace, as if taking a stroll in a garden!
It was as if her speed, which she was so proud of, was nothing more than... child's play in front of her opponent!
"You!"
Just as she was filled with horror and preparing to accelerate again!
A shout filled with jealousy and anger came from below!
"How dare you! How dare you ride alongside Her Highness the Princess?!"
Suddenly, a young man dressed in a python robe, whose cultivation had also reached the Golden Core stage, soared into the sky and blocked their path!
He was Princess Changle's fiancé—the son of the Great General Who Protects the Nation!
Who are you?!
He looked at Dongfang Yueming with a gaze full of hostility.
However, Dongfang Yueming didn't even bother to glance at him.
He simply waved his hand casually.
"Bang!"
That arrogant "Prince Consort" didn't even have time to react before he was sent flying as if by an invisible hand!
Above the Golden Throne Hall.
The atmosphere was incredibly oppressive!
The Emperor of the Great Qian Dynasty sat high on his dragon throne, looking down with a majestic gaze at the calm figure in blue below.
And standing around him were already the most elite Golden Core experts in the entire Great Qian Dynasty!
"Your Excellency, aren't you being far too disrespectful to the Great Qian Dynasty?"
The Emperor of the Great Qian Dynasty's voice was icy cold and devoid of any emotion.
However, Dongfang Yueming simply smiled calmly.
With a single glance, he saw through the other party's so-called "majesty," and realized that beneath it all was a facade of bravado and a facade of weakness!
"No need for acting."
He spoke slowly, his voice carrying throughout the entire hall.
"Speak."
"To offer sacrifices, to pay, or not to pay?"
Upon hearing this!
The entire venue was deathly silent!
The Emperor of Great Qian's face instantly turned extremely ugly!
He never dreamed that the other party would be so... direct!
"Presumptuous!"
Princess Changle was the first to step forward!
"Our Great Qian Dynasty is no longer the ignorant fool we were a hundred years ago!"
"Now, the nation is prosperous and its military is strong!"
"You want to make offerings?!"
"Dream!"
"Good!"
"We are born as human beings, how can we remain subservient to others for long?!"
In an instant, the entire hall was filled with fervor!
However, Dongfang Yueming seemed not to have heard their "bold words".
He simply looked calmly at the Emperor of the Great Qian Dynasty.
There was not a trace of surprise in his eyes.
[So be it.]
He remembered what Hong Ling had told him before he came.
[Hey bro~]
That little world is no longer useful.
They have forgotten 'reverence'.
[This time, after collecting all the offerings and making the final offering, let them fend for themselves.]
Dongfang Yueming spoke slowly, his voice calm and even, yet seemingly containing an undeniable... divine decree.
"Today, I have come to collect the offerings you have owed over the years."
"I've submitted it this time."
"From this day forward, the Martial Sect will have no further connection with this world."
[The prestige of the Martial Sect, though it may, can still protect this realm for a time.]
[But, with a great era approaching, chaos is inevitable.]
We will no longer get involved.
[Naturally, there won't be any more charges.]
Upon hearing this!
An eerie silence instantly fell over the entire Golden Throne Hall!
All the civil and military officials, who had been indignant, were completely stunned the moment they heard these words!
They prepared countless grand pronouncements and were prepared for the worst-case scenario of "fighting to the death"!
But unexpectedly...
The other party actually... gave up on it first?!
this...
This made them feel as if they had used all their strength to punch... cotton!
Is that really true?!
Finally, one of the Golden Core elders couldn't help but ask, "How can we trust you?!"
"What if you take the money but break your promise? What if you send someone else next time?!"
However, Dongfang Yueming simply smiled dismissively.
"Next time, just don't give it to me, okay?"
"Do you really intend to continue this relationship willingly indefinitely?"
"..."
Upon hearing this!
The entire venue fell into a deathly silence once again!
The civil official, who had originally intended to argue his case, was now sweating profusely with anxiety!
[No... that's not right!]
[That's not how it's supposed to be in the script!]
Why aren't you guys fighting?!
[If you don't fight, how can my demonic path just sit back and reap the benefits?!]
He quickly stepped forward and said righteously, "Even if what you say is true, sir!"
"But one million low-grade spirit stones is simply too much!"
"That's right!" Princess Changle, who had just been slapped away by Dongfang Yueming, immediately stepped forward and echoed, "Although our Great Qian Dynasty has a full treasury, it will never allow itself to be slaughtered by others!"
"At most, five hundred thousand!"
"Take it or leave it!"
"Oh?" Dongfang Yueming looked at the two clowns jumping around in front of him, a cold impatience flashing in his eyes. "It seems you two want to fight?"
"This..."
Upon hearing this!
Inside the main hall, most of the Golden Core experts who were initially undecided made their decisions instantly!
[beat?]
[What the hell are you talking about!]
[Anyway, this is the only time I'll give it to you! Isn't it better to pay to avoid trouble?!]
Seeing this, the civil official became even more anxious!
But he knew that if he said another word, he might get himself into trouble!
Just then!
The Emperor of the Great Qian Dynasty, who had been sitting silently on the dragon throne, finally spoke!
"Give!"
His voice, loud as a bell, was filled with an unquestionable authority!
"Not only should we give!"
"Furthermore, besides the originally planned one million low-grade spirit stones!"
"I want another dose of my royal family's treasured 'elixir'!"
"Your Majesty is wise!"
Below, all the Golden Core experts who didn't want to fight breathed a sigh of relief the moment they heard those words!
A moment later.
A storage ring filled with one million low-grade spirit stones, and an exquisite jade box made entirely of ten-thousand-year-old warm jade, imprinted with countless profound restrictions, were respectfully presented to Dongfang Yueming.
Dongfang Yueming shook his head.
All he wanted were spirit stones.
However, the Emperor of the Great Qian Dynasty stated with unwavering firmness. "Your Excellency, this is a small token of our Great Qian Dynasty's gratitude for the protection shown to the Martial Sect!"
"I urge Your Excellency to accept this!"
Although Dongfang Yueming was not interested in the so-called "elixir".
However, since the other party was so "enthusiastic," he felt it would be impolite to refuse.
He pocketed both items.
Then, he nodded to the Emperor of the Great Qian Dynasty.
Goodbye.
Having said that, he turned around and disappeared from the main hall.
After that figure, like a god or demon, completely disappeared.
The civil official's heart was filled with endless... resentment!
And just then!
A Golden Core cultivator, a family head on good terms with the royal family, asked with curiosity, "Your Majesty, what kind of divine pill did you just give to that senior? Why did it need the ' Nine Dragons Yang-Sealing Box ' to seal it?"
"Hehe..."
Upon hearing this, the Emperor of the Great Qian Dynasty merely smiled faintly.
"It's just a ' Nine-Turn Calamity-Breaking Pill '."
"What?!"
"Nine... Nine-Turn Calamity-Breaking Pill?!"
Upon hearing this!
All the Golden Core experts present were utterly horrified!
That's a supreme divine pill that could allow a Golden Core Sixth Layer expert to bypass bottlenecks and directly break through to the Golden Core Seventh Layer...
Unexpectedly...
Your Majesty, you are actually so... generous?!
"Hehe..." The Emperor of Great Qian looked at the shocked and greedy expressions on everyone's faces and slowly said, "Just a mere pill."
"In exchange, my Great Qian Dynasty will have no more worries about the future."
"Worth."
Having said that, he simply waved his sleeve!
"Dismiss the court!"
After the meeting adjourned.
The moment the heads of the various powerful families stepped out of the palace, their eyes blazed with an unprecedented... greed!
[One million low-grade spirit stones!]
[Plus, one ' Nine-Turn Calamity-Breaking Pill '!]
[This is indeed the perfect time for us to strike!]
"Pass on my order!"
"Summon all Golden Core cultivators within the clan!"
"Target..."
"... Outside the city!"
Meanwhile, in the Golden Throne Hall...
Only the Great Qian Emperor and that civil official, who was still filled with "resentment," remained.
"My dear minister, stay."
The voice of the Great Qian Emperor drifted over.
The civil official, who was an undercover agent for the demonic path, froze!
[Could it be...?]
He discovered my identity?!
However, what the Emperor of Great Qian said next left him completely stunned!
"The Demonic Path issues a command."
"While those powerful clans and the envoys of the Martial Sect are locked in a fierce battle, both sides are severely weakened..."
"Encircle and annihilate them!!"
"Wh... what?!"
The civil official stared in disbelief at the emperor before him, whose face had suddenly turned sinister. He felt as if his brain was simply not up to the task!
[Wait... wait...]
[So the Emperor... is actually the current Demon Lord?!]