Chapter 1685

"The civil and military officials of Tianshui City have all surrendered to me, and the elite troops and fierce generals have all submitted." Bai Tan said sternly, "I hope Zhongwu can also make the right choice." Thanks to his thunderous methods, those in Tianshui City who didn't submit had either fled or died.

Those who were the first to surrender to him were immediately given important positions.

He then added: "Zhongwu is not a Yao person after all, and he is leading Yao troops now; he cannot establish himself here at all."

Zhongwu was a Pixia person, an outsider, and his subordinates were not Pixia troops; he had no qualifications or justification to form his own faction within the Yao nation! Now that the Yao court was finished, why was he still staying? Zhongwu's situation was different from Luodian's; his current position in the Yao nation was actually very awkward.

"You want him to depend on you?" Qingyang laughed, "Do you know what his reason for leading troops back to the capital is?"

Bai Tan pursed his lips.

Qingyang gave him the answer: "To serve the King."

General Zhongwu had only been sent to the northern front to lead troops for three months and had not yet established absolute authority in the hearts of the northern Yao troops. This was very different from old generals like Xue Zongwu.

Luodian was pressing hard on the border, yet the army was able to follow him back without a fight just because he raised the banner of "serving the King."

If he dared to defect to the murderer who killed the King of Yao, wouldn't his subordinates turn the world upside down? "I know. I just want to ask him to turn north and resist Luodian!" Bai Tan took a deep breath, "Resisting foreign aggression, that shouldn't be a problem, right?"

Bai Tan killed the King of Yao and occupied Tianshui, causing the situation in the Yao nation to be unprecedentedly chaotic. Even if Zhongwu led his troops to attack, he wouldn't have a guaranteed victory and would instead be doing a favor for others.

Under these circumstances, Zhongwu maneuvering within the Yao nation and attacking Luodian to recover lost territory for the Yao nation was not necessarily a bad choice.

This guy was quite thoughtful. Qingyang snapped a branch off a tree.

It looked thick, but it was actually very brittle; a light snap made a "crack" sound.

But the fresh snow on the branch wasn't shaken off at all.

"By the way, Master Bai, why did you bring so many people to my Quiet Lake Lodge?"

Her residence was at the highest point on the island, and she was sitting under the tree, so she could see Bai Tan had brought an entire army, at least five hundred strong, with elite soldiers and fine armor. Looking down from her angle, the swords and halberds were chillingly reflective, and the access routes to the Quiet Lake Lodge were all controlled.

Bai Tan sighed: "The situation today is not stable. I encountered an assassination attempt this morning when I went out, so I had to increase my guards. I was just worried about my own life, and I've let the Palace Master laugh at me."

The situation was so chaotic; who knew how many people in Tianshui City hated him, the culprit, to the bone? He had to be careful, right? "I thought Master Bai wanted me to speak carefully." Qingyang said with a forced smile, "I am seriously injured, and my subordinates have withered away; I am just an old woman who can be easily manipulated."

She emphasized the words "easily manipulated."

"I wouldn't dare, I wouldn't dare, I absolutely wouldn't dare, I am terrified!" Bai Tan waved his hands like a rattle-drum, and the expression on his face was indeed very panicked, "My current status and achievements were all given by the Heavenly God and the Palace Master; how would I dare to have any disrespectful thoughts toward the Palace Master?"

He said indignantly: "Why did that old thing, the King of Yao, bring disaster to the country? First, he offended the Goddess, and second, he opposed the Palace Master at every turn! With him as a warning, I have nothing but twelve points of respect and twelve points of gratitude for the Palace Master!"

This dead old woman was truly outrageous; she was so seriously injured yet still so sharp! Bai Tan immediately turned his head and ordered: "Come, bring it up!"

Three carriages slowly approached, each carrying three large copper-inlaid boxes. Regardless of what was inside, the three boxes themselves were very grand, with even the lock rings engraved with a gluttonous beast.

"Palace Master, this is a small token of my sincerity, please accept it with a smile!"

Qingyang glanced at Yuan Xuan, who immediately stepped forward and opened a large and a small box.

The treasure light soared into the sky, dazzling everyone around to the point they wanted to close their eyes.

One box was gold, plain and unadorned gold, without any extra design, just solid square bricks of pure gold, the kind that could kill a person if thrown, stacked neatly one by one with no gaps between them.

The contents of the other small box were even simpler: a dozen high-quality black crystals as a base, topped with a brass short staff, with four beast-head carvings inlaid on the staff head, each beast mouth holding a treasure.

"Your treasure staff was damaged when you fought the Dharma body of the Thousand Illusion True Person, which is a great pity. This is a supreme treasure privately hidden in the King of Yao's treasury, the life-bound magic weapon of the ancient Yellow Heaven Immortal, the Yellow Heaven Staff, which is said to have many wonderful uses. I think only this treasure staff is worthy of the Palace Master's great divine powers!"

Qingyang didn't even look at the red black crystals in the box and casually picked up the Yellow Heaven Staff and shook it twice. The snake head on the staff head suddenly moved and actually crawled out of the staff. The entire golden snake coiled around the staff twice, stretched its head toward Bai Tan, and flicked its tongue, its ruby snake eyes glowing with an eerie light.

"A good staff." Qingyang praised softly, "And well maintained."

Three thousand years from ancient times to the present, to keep an immortal treasure so well-maintained required great effort.

Time, energy, and massive amounts of money. As a collection of the Yao Palace, the value of this staff was immeasurable.

Seeing her brow relax, Bai Tan knew he had passed this hurdle and felt a slight relief. He knew the Green Palace of Beijia collected all the treasures in the world, and this old Palace Master had an outrageously high standard; how could she look at ordinary good things?

Needless to say, the other boxes were all rare treasures.

Bai Tan took the Yao Palace yesterday and opened the King of Yao's treasury, and was so scared he almost took two steps back—

Six large warehouses were stuffed to the brim, and the doors could barely be closed.

The jewelry and treasures were so dazzling that even Bai Tan, who had seen big scenes, was wide-eyed, cursing the King of Yao for competing with the country for profit and scraping the people's fat and cream.

The treasury was only for the King of Yao and the palace's own use. Thinking of how many years the King of Yao had been shouting that the national treasury was empty and the treasury was tight, calling on officials to live frugally, and asking officials and merchants to find ways to make money, Bai Tan felt he didn't die unjustly.

Fortunately, the treasures the King of Yao collected in his lifetime now belonged to Bai Tan. The treasures he gave Qingyang were just him being generous with the King of Yao's property.

Qingyang lowered her hand, and the Yellow Heaven Staff was stored in her ring, her expression relaxing.

She didn't lack these treasures or this wealth, but the act of Bai Tan sending a generous gift represented his respect for her.

"Good, then you and Zhongwu can meet at my Quiet Lake Lodge."

She was willing to act as the intermediary, and Bai Tan breathed a sigh of relief. He hesitated and asked again: "I went to probe Elder Liang's tone earlier; in the short term, the Goddess does not intend to hold a blessing ceremony in Tianshui City."

Every once in a while, the Heavenly God would bestow grace in Tianshui City, allowing the Yao people who received the blessing to have sharp ears and eyes and have their hidden illnesses removed. On one hand, this demonstrated divine power, and on the other, it could buy people's hearts.

Of course, the blessing ceremony was usually not performed by Miaozhantian herself, but by the subordinate gods under her.