Chapter 2032

Naluo Tian laughed, at first two or three chuckles, then a great guffaw, full of mockery.

The laughter was so resonant it made He Chunhua's ears ache.

What had he said wrong, to make Naluo Tian adopt such an attitude?

After a good while, Naluo Tian's laughter gradually subsided, and he spoke word by word: "He Lingchuan is the Nine Nether Great Emperor!"

"How is that possible!" He Chunhua blurted out, "Venerable God, your information must be mistaken, right?"

With his depth of scheming, he originally shouldn't have openly doubted Naluo Tian.

But right now he was truly shocked beyond measure, unlike his former self who thought deeply before acting.

Naluo Tian didn't hold it against him either, merely saying coolly: "Do you think the probability of me being wrong is very high?"

"I wouldn't dare!" He Chunhua also came back to his senses, immediately salvaging the situation, "Venerable God's magic power is boundless, nothing in the world escapes the Venerable God's discerning eye. Chuan... how did He Lingchuan become this Nine Nether Great Emperor?"

His heart was still in chaotic doubt without end, but that didn't hinder him from starting to pick up Naluo Tian's conversational thread.

"He first seized the Yangshan Archipelago behind Mou Kingdom's lines, styling himself Island Lord; then he moved about Shanjin as a foreign merchant, secretly building up power; later he used a scheme to destroy the powerful Shanjin state of Yao Kingdom, and personally killed Miao Zhantian; a few months ago he rose in revolt across all of Shanjin." Naluo Tian summarized He Lingchuan's achievements in a few words, "Now, outsiders call the war he launched the 'Dragon God War'. Heh, you father and son are also interesting, neither of you stays put, both love waging war."

He Chunhua was momentarily struck mute.

Naluo Tian didn't rush him, letting him slowly digest these few pieces of earth-shattering news.

After a long while, He Chunhua finally found his voice again: "Pe-personally killed Miao Zhantian?"

These words came out somewhat trembling, because he truly could not imagine it.

Ever since Naluo Tian placed a heavy bet on him, the intelligence he received was also more than before. Those gods in the Heavenly Realm not only split into factions, but also had distinctions of strength, and Miao Zhantian was a genuine Great Heavenly God, ranking very high in the entire Heavenly Realm — Naluo Tian never spoke of it, but He Chunhua inferred that His ranking order was definitely after Miao Zhantian.

He Lingchuan could kill Miao Zhantian?

One cannot blame He Chunhua for being shocked; this was an ant single-handedly biting an elephant to death, this was a grain of sand suddenly crushing a mansion; to describe it in three words:

Impossible, absolutely impossible!

But Naluo Tian truly had no need to deceive him.

"This was personally admitted by him."

He Chunhua said hoarsely: "You, you've also made contact with him?"

"Correct, he sought me out on his own initiative."

He Chunhua was even more surprised.

His eldest son had once been the physical vessel he promised to Naluo Tian; logically speaking, He Lingchuan should greatly fear Naluo Tian, avoiding him as if his life depended on it.

But on second thought, He Lingchuan was no longer what he used to be; his state of mind perhaps also differed greatly.

If he truly could personally kill Miao Zhantian, what would he fear Naluo Tian for?

"What does he want to do?"

"He wants to establish diplomatic relations with Shen Kingdom." Naluo Tian was also very surprised when he heard He Lingchuan's request, "To be precise, he wants to do business with Shen Kingdom."

"... Business?"

"The Shanjin Plains are a place where barrenness and fertility coexist. Before the Di Liujiang Great Eruption, the land there was not fertile, crops didn't grow well, and grain was insufficient. But other resources and specialties are very abundant, and also very unique." Naluo Tian said seriously, "He Lingchuan hopes to deal with Shali Tian and with me; then he must first establish relations with Shen Kingdom, exchange what each has for what each needs."

Just as the Lingxu Gods' ground representative is Between Between Between Beijia, the nation Shali Tian supports in the mortal world is Shen Kingdom. He Lingchuan wanting to interact with Shali Tian, the most practical method is to conduct trade and diplomacy with Shen Kingdom. This truly counts as "maintaining contact," unlike him going to minor gods and field gods every few days to wheedle some intelligence.

He Chunhua's mind spun rapidly, beginning to calculate pros and cons, but on the surface he still had to ask: "What is the Venerable God's intention?"

"No harm to you either, agree to it."

In fact, He Lingchuan's overture appeared quite sincere, because he also gifted Naluo Tian one hundred Punishment Dragon Pillars!

This thing is currently the true hard currency of the Heavenly Realm.

Naluo Tian knew that Miao Zhantian's fall caused the Lingxu Gods' Punishment Dragon Pillars collected over many years to be mostly lost, and they were currently red-eyed and snatching them in the heavens. Then where were the Punishment Dragon Pillars Miao Zhantian brought to the lower realm?

Naturally in the hands of He Lingchuan, the sole survivor of the Upside-Down Sea battle!

This kid, every move is astonishing.

Naluo Tian felt that dealing with the Nine Nether Great Emperor was a good choice; at least they both hate the Lingxu Gods, right?

"Yes." He Chunhua also agreed very readily, "I'll write a letter, and dispatch personnel right away; should they go to the Yangshan Archipelago or the Shanjin Plains?"

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Why not? Establishing relations with Shanjin, he couldn't see any downside.

Shanjin is ten thousand li away, doesn't border Shen Kingdom and has no conflicts; how pure an international interest relationship is this?

"You just need to dispatch envoys to the Yangshan Archipelago; He Lingchuan's true lair is still on that archipelago." Naluo Tian chuckled lowly, "Also, conduct this matter secretly first; don't let Between Between Between Beijia find out."

He Chunhua started: "How so?"

"Between Between Between Beijia is displeased that he seized the Shanjin Plains, and is currently blockading the Yangshan Archipelago's trade routes."

No wonder He Lingchuan courted Naluo Tian and sought another trade route.

In the past, if He Chunhua knew his son had desperately offended Between Between Between Beijia and the Heavenly Gods, he would inevitably feel the sky had fallen.

But now, why was there no feeling at all?

After seeing Naluo Tian off, He Chunhua took the opportunity during the morning court session to summon officials from the Commerce Bureau, asking in detail about the sea route from Bai Sha Bay to Yao Kingdom. Coincidentally, this official had previously worked at Bai Sha Bay for ten years, and knew the shipping lanes very well.

Bai Sha Bay is Shen Kingdom's southern sea outlet; originally the Yuan Kingdom managed it poorly, and trade volume was small. But after He Chunhua took power, he attached great importance to maritime trade, rebuilt Bai Sha Bay's wharves and roads, and promoted many officials to specialize in maritime affairs. In just one short year, the maritime trade throughput had already become more than five times the original.

Because the Between Between Between Beijia territory bordering Shen Kingdom was vast, if He Chunhua wanted to do business with other countries to the east, he had to open a sea route.

After hearing the official's introduction, he was a bit surprised: "Oh? From our Bai Sha Bay to Daofeng Port, it only takes a little over a month?"

The journey is this short? He had thought Yangshan was at the ends of the earth.

"Originally the time was indeed longer; in spring and summer with favorable winds, only two months were needed; in autumn and winter against the wind, an extra ten days to half a month were needed." The official replied, "There were originally two major difficulties going to Daofeng Port: one, many hurricanes in summer and autumn; two, many pirates on the shipping lanes. Eastern merchants mention that the pirate problem is no longer prominent now, because the pirates on the shipping lane from Between Between Between Beijia to Daofeng Port have been suppressed seven or eight parts by the Yangshan Archipelago."

The four words "Yangshan Archipelago" came out, and He Chunhua's brow twitched.

"However, three years ago the volcano at Bai He Cape on the shipping lane from Between Between Between Beijia to Daofeng Port erupted, reportedly lasting over two months. The entire cape was split in two; the front part of the cape turned into an archipelago, and a new waterway appeared at the rear, very deep and very easy to navigate."