Chapter 933: The Weakness of Celestial Venerable Mu
The monk and the Taoist were stunned by the woman's beauty, only coming to their senses after a moment. The Taoist quickly said, "Miss, this is Yankang. Where have you come from?"
"Yankang?"
The young woman was none other than Yun Chu Xiu. Upon hearing this, her face lit up with a smile. "So that means this is the Yuan Realm. Yankang is that little fellow Celestial Venerable Mu's territory. I've heard he's also the Yankang Overlord Body, one of the so-called Three Heroes of the Yankang Reformation. This spirit energy transfer bridge connects two altars. I had one built in the Heavenly Court, and he left one in Yankang, so the two bridges are linked..."
Thinking this over, she said, "Monk, Taoist, go and summon your emperor."
The monk and the Taoist hurried back to Yankang's capital. Before long, Ling Yuxiu led the civil and military officials to the scene. Yun Chu Xiu's eyes lit up, and she laughed, "The emperor of Yankang is actually a woman. I've always said there's nothing wrong with a woman being emperor, but those old stubborn fools always come up with all sorts of excuses to brush it off."
Ling Yuxiu led the crowd forward to pay their respects: "The Son of Heaven of a small realm below pays homage to the Heavenly Court's upper deity."
Yun Chu Xiu smiled and said, "No need for such formalities. A woman being emperor is a fine thing; it's not as shocking as they make it out to be. I admire you. Since the Heavenly Court and the Yuan Realm are now connected, you can come to the Heavenly Court from time to time to keep me company and relieve my boredom. You don't have to stay in the lower realm forever."
She handed over a waist token and said, "Take my token, and you'll have free passage to and from the Heavenly Court."
Ling Yuxiu thanked her and accepted the token, then asked, "Yankang is barren, and the people lack means of livelihood. However, Yankang has many manufacturing plants. Could we trade goods in the Heavenly Court?"
Yun Chu Xiu thought for a moment and smiled, "What can your Yankang manufacturing plants produce?"
Ling Yuxiu replied, "Everything from daily necessities to divine weapons and fleets."
Yun Chu Xiu's eyes sparkled as she laughed, "Can you manufacture spirit energy transfer bridges?"
Ling Yuxiu nodded. "Our kingdom's craftsmen have built such bridges before."
"And what's the price?"
Ling Yuxiu summoned the Minister of Works, who quoted a price in the currency of the Heavenly Court. The Heavenly Court minted coins called Heavenly Coins, but the currency circulating within Yankang was still the Dafeng Coin, requiring a conversion.
Yun Chu Xiu flew into a rage and sneered, "That old dog from the Zaofu Heavenly Palace has been embezzling so much of my money! The cost for Yankang to build one spirit energy transfer bridge is less than one percent of what Zaofu Palace charges!"
Ling Yuxiu dared not speak.
Yun Chu Xiu said, "Emperor of Yankang, come with me to Zaofu Palace. Your Yankang will be responsible for manufacturing the components of the spirit energy transfer bridges, and Zaofu Palace will assemble them. The price won't be low."
Ling Yuxiu was overjoyed and brought the Minister of Works along with several high-ranking officials skilled in mathematics as she followed Yun Chu Xiu onto the spirit energy transfer bridge.
Yun Chu Xiu looked them over and noticed that among these officials, two were women. One of them was a fox spirit who didn't bother to hide her white fox tail behind her.
"Yankang has a female emperor and many female officials. The Heavenly Court doesn't have so many female officials," Yun Chu Xiu thought to herself.
She didn't realize that the female officials accompanying Ling Yuxiu were Hu Ling'er and Si Yunxiang. This negotiation with Zaofu Palace was crucial to Yankang's future development, so they had to be brought along.
Beside the spirit energy transfer bridge, the monk watched them walk onto it, a worried expression on his face. He muttered, "Bai Gui, is Lord Qin's plan of biding our time, building our strength through manufacturing, and revitalizing the nation really feasible?"
The Taoist, with an immortal air, said solemnly, "We can't defeat the Heavenly Court, so we have to integrate into its system and avoid becoming its enemy. Our Yankang will take this opportunity to develop and slowly grow stronger. However, if the Heavenly Court's system has no internal strife and no external threats, Lord Qin's strategy will only make the Heavenly Court more stable. But once the Heavenly Court faces internal and external troubles, that will be the time for Yankang to rise and soar!"
The monk's gaze was distant, and he sighed, "Can a behemoth like the Heavenly Court really have internal strife and external threats?"
"The Supreme Emperor doesn't need to worry about that."
The Taoist smiled. "If the Heavenly Court has no internal strife, Lord Qin will create it for them. If it has no external threats, Lord Qin will create those too. He has that kind of skill."
The monk thought of Qin Mu's actions in Yankang and couldn't help but laugh. "He really does have that kind of skill."
The Taoist continued, "And our Yankang only needs to focus on cultivating our internal strength during this time. Relying solely on manufacturing to revitalize the nation won't be enough to uproot the Heavenly Court. We also need Yankang to become strong on its own. If Yankang has many Emperor Throne-level experts, or even Heavenly Court-level experts, the future will be promising."
Ling Yuxiu arrived at the Heavenly Court and looked around, stunned by its opulence and splendor. It took her a while to come to her senses. She tentatively asked, "Upper deity, is Celestial Venerable Mu in the Heavenly Court?"
Yun Chu Xiu glanced at her and said with a half-smile, "Are you his little lover?"
Ling Yuxiu's face flushed slightly, and she shook her head.
"He's living in the Jade Pool now, watched closely, but he still can't resist causing trouble."
Yun Chu Xiu shook her head and laughed. "There are many in the Heavenly Court who want to deal with him, but now they've all been worn down by his antics."
Ling Yuxiu breathed a quiet sigh of relief. Yun Chu Xiu's gaze swept over her, landing on her chest, and she thought to herself, "I see. I originally thought Celestial Venerable Mu had refined tastes, valuing a woman's appearance as well as her inner qualities. I didn't expect him to be so vulgar and lowbrow, only caring about chest size. So this is where I lost..."
Ling Yuxiu blinked, noticing that in the blink of an eye, Yun Chu Xiu's chest seemed to have grown a size. She was puzzled.
The connection of the spirit energy transfer bridge to the Yuan Realm caused quite a stir. The bridge's utility was immense, allowing the Heavenly Court's forces to quickly reach all the myriad realms. Any discerning person could see that this was extremely beneficial for the Heavenly Court's rule over all realms!
If such transfer bridges could connect all the myriad realms, the Heavenly Court's rule would reach an unprecedented height. The Heavenly Court might even be able to reduce its military forces!
With all realms connected to the Heavenly Court, unnecessary armies could be cut back, and there would be no need to station so many divine demon armies in various worlds to guard against rebellion!
If a rebellion occurred in any realm, the Heavenly Court's army could directly cross through the spirit energy transfer bridge and crush it!
This would save an enormous amount of supplies, provisions, and elixirs. The Heavenly Court's expenses could be greatly reduced, and its rule would be even more stable than before!
Additionally, with tributes from all realms, the losses during transport would be eliminated. Heavenly Court deities descending to the lower realms to throw their weight around would also be incredibly smooth!
However, upon learning that the spirit energy transfer bridge originated from Qin Mu, many were surprised and began to speculate about his intentions. Nevertheless, envoys continued to stream into the Jade Pool's Manhui Corridor Pavilion, bringing various treasures in hopes of obtaining the blueprints for the bridge.
Long Qilin accepted the treasures brought by these envoys with a smile and said, "The Sect Leader has already ordered the blueprints to be sent to the Heavenly Court's Dao Sect. You may go there to request them."
Some envoys tried to reclaim their gifts but were driven out by Yan'er.
Over the past few days, Yan'er, Qi Jiuyi, Yun Jianli, and others had returned to the Manhui Corridor Pavilion to help Qin Mu handle various affairs.
More than ten days later, another batch of spirit energy transfer bridges was completed. Beams of light shot into the sky, creating a magnificent spectacle above the Heavenly Court.
"Celestial Venerable, I will descend to the lower realm."
Yun Jianli bid Qin Mu farewell, saying, "Now that the Heavenly Court and the Yuan Realm are connected, descending has become incredibly simple. I will go to Yankang to see what this reformation is all about."
Qin Mu nodded, wrote a few letters, and handed them to him. "Brother Yun, after you descend, you can go to the Western Lands' Shangcang Divine Sect to see Xu Shenghua, the Yankang Dao Sect to see Sect Leader Lin Xuan, Sumeru Mountain to see Zhankong Tathagata, and the Little Jade Capital to see Wang Muran. They are all leaders of the reformation in the lower realms."
Yun Jianli carefully put away the letters, stood up, and took his leave.
Qin Mu looked at the funnel-shaped beams of light in the Heavenly Court's sky and breathed a sigh of relief. His eyes flickered as he thought, "This way, Yankang will be safe."
Just then, Yun Chu Xiu's voice rang out from afar, laughing, "Celestial Venerable Mu, you're about to die!"
Qin Mu followed the sound and saw the woman sailing toward him on a small boat from the sea. She seemed a bit different from before. He said irritably, "You're the one who's about to die!"
His gaze involuntarily fell on her chest. Yun Chu Xiu was very pleased and unconsciously puffed out her chest.
The small boat reached the shore, and she jumped off. Qin Mu's eyes couldn't help but follow the bounce of her chest. Long Qilin noticed his gaze and his heart skipped a beat. "Oh no! The Sect Leader has been caught by the Empress's weakness!"
Yun Chu Xiu walked over quickly, giggling, "You really are about to die! Celestial Venerable Hao has summoned the Heavenly Court's bigwigs for a meeting. They said that Celestial Venerable Huo and Celestial Venerable Xu have sent word from the Great Void that there have been strange changes there lately. They've asked the Heavenly Court to send strong experts to prevent the Great Void's disturbances from affecting the Heavenly Court. After discussion, the bigwigs decided to send a Celestial Venerable to lead a vanguard force to rendezvous with Celestial Venerable Huo and Celestial Venerable Xu. Guess who this Celestial Venerable is?"
Qin Mu grunted, "It wouldn't be me, would it?"
Yun Chu Xiu hooked her arm around his left arm, pressing it between her breasts, and beamed, "Exactly! The famous Celestial Venerable Mu! Although some ancient gods opposed it, they were in the minority. And the Heavenly Emperor himself nodded, saying that Celestial Venerable Mu must be sent."
Qin Mu tried to pull his arm free, but Yun Chu Xiu held it tightly. His heart stirred, and he didn't force it.
"The Sect Leader is finished!"
Long Qilin's heart pounded as he watched, thinking, "Oh no! The Sect Leader has been caught by his weakness!"
Qin Mu's eyes flickered as he probed, "I haven't met the Heavenly Emperor yet. Was His Majesty created using the Creation Divine Artifact?"
Yun Chu Xiu glanced at him and said with a smile, "Celestial Venerable Mu doesn't seem at all worried about his own safety, instead changing the subject. To be honest, most of those accompanying you to the Great Void are people who want to take your life. Besides the disciples of various Celestial Venerables, there's also a strong expert who holds quite a grudge against you. Guess who it is?"
Qin Mu shook his head. As she held his arm, he couldn't help but follow her toward the Manhui Corridor Pavilion, feeling the warmth and softness of his left arm.
"The Sect Leader is doomed!"
Long Qilin's face turned pale. "That's the Heavenly Emperor's wife!"
Yun Chu Xiu laughed, "The leader of the Spirit Xiu Army, the One-Armed Divine Blade, Luo Wushuang! When Luo Wushuang heard that he would be going to the Great Void too, two beams of blade light shot from his eyes. You can imagine how happy he is!"