Chapter 2179: Human War Flames Never Cease

He was used to scheming; even across a realm he could smell the scent of conspiracy.

The gloomy heavens of Naraku said coldly: "You measure the divine by your own yardstick."

He Lingchuan laughed heartily and then stopped asking.

"The next great eruption of Imperial Flowing Elixir—ah, it will surely come in a month."

Naraku Tian's purpose was already achieved; finally he said:

"If I were you, what I would worry about most would certainly be myself."

"How so?"

"You have too many treasures in your hands—both the Great Square Vessel and the Divine Mandate of Fate; which one is not needed by the gods? Once the heavenly deities can descend to the mortal realm, they will certainly not let you go."

"Thank you for your trouble." He Lingchuan laughed, "Just bring it on."

He knew deep down that although Naraku Tian had traded with him repeatedly, seeming to cooperate pleasantly, in fact, because the Divine Mandate of Fate had been seized, Naraku Tian hated him to the bone. If he could descend to the mortal realm, Naraku Tian would certainly try every means to seize the Divine Mandate of Fate and the Great Square Vessel from him.

Naraku Tian said no more and retreated in an instant.

He Lingchuan put away the small figurine, opened the window, and drew a deep breath of cool air.

After the spiritual energy concentration rose, even the evening breeze carried a refreshing fragrance.

The Soul-Capturing Mirror in his bosom spoke: "No wonder Naraku Tian is anxious for the formula and materials of the characteristic weapon—it turns out Shari Tian has obtained many Punishing Dragon Pillars and wants to quickly absorb more nightmare energy. You give these to Him, will the West not suffer endless ravages of war?"

"If I don't give it to him, will he not wage war?"

"Um... you are right."

"These materials of Flash Gold also sold to Beika and Mu State—do you think they bought them back just to enshrine them?" He Lingchuan said lightly, "He Yue asked me, since war will let the demons suck humanity's nightmare energy, why would the elder brother provoke the Dragon God War, unify Flash Gold?"

The Soul-Capturing Mirror has a good memory: "Yes, the master's answer back then was: prolonged pain is worse than short pain."

The source of Flash Gold's disaster is endless warfare.

The Nine Abysses Great Emperor established his state through the Dragon God War, using war to end war, only then could peace be brought back to the Flash Gold Plains.

"He Yue still has another question."

"The war the elder brother provoked, and the past wars on the Flash Gold Plains—what exactly is different?"

"After the war." He Lingchuan answered him thus: "If we cannot achieve long-term peace and order, national prosperity and people's strength after the war, then in the end there is really no difference."

"The Flash Gold Empire a thousand years ago could not achieve these two points; in the end it did not just collapse?"

"So He Yue said, this is also the father's ambition."

He Chunhua also told him exactly the same words: prolonged pain is worse than short pain!

To the west and south of Shen State, vast lands have also been in chaos for a long time. Dynasties change every twenty or thirty years—commonplace. To the people there, who is the Son of Heaven makes no difference; it's merely the royal banner changing on the city walls.

Therefore, after Shen State's foundation was stabilized, He Chunhua again conceived the idea of external expansion. This is called: the fertile lands of the world belong to the virtuous.

He Lingchuan could only say: no wonder it's He Chunhua.

This of course catered to Shari Tian's mind. Shen State only needs to launch a war, and Shari Tian, who recently obtained many Punishing Dragon Pillars, will be able to reap abundant nightmare energy.

For many years past, Shari Tian has watched the Lingxu crowd develop and grow strong, always losing in battles, and if not anxious in heart, it would be strange. Now that someone has power and Punishing Dragon Pillars, of course they must ruthlessly harvest a wave of nightmare energy.

"Can He Chunhua bring lasting peace and order to the western part of Beika?"

"That depends on his ability; now it's too early for prophecies. However, as of now, He Chunhua is indeed a diligent and capable emperor—Shen State's commerce is gradually reviving, the people live in peace and contentment, far surpassing the former Kite King by several grades."

He Lingchuan exhaled lightly: "Speaking of the demon realm, do you think the Lingxu crowd will stand by and let Shari Tian comfortably absorb nightmare energy and grow strong? They look down on their opponents, but now the Punishing Dragon Pillars outnumber theirs, and even the neutral great heavenly deities have turned to Shari Tian, who faintly shows signs of a comeback."

"As for the Lingxu crowd themselves, they have recently lost many important members, and their strength has consequently suffered." He Lingchuan asked the mirror: "If you were the Lingxu crowd, what would you do?"

The mirror pondered: "Then we must seize the moment before Shari Tian's momentum rises, quickly suppress them, and by the way snatch the Punishing Dragon Pillars. Oh oh, then the heavens will be even more chaotic!"

"Even if the demons know full well, the greed storm arising from the Punishing Dragon Pillars will never cease again." He Lingchuan said lightly, "Before, Shao Jian used only two thousand Punishing Dragon Pillars to cause turmoil in the demon realm for decades; just wait and see—this time with eight thousand Punishing Dragon Pillars, how great a storm they will stir up in heaven!"

Every time the Imperial Flowing Elixir erupts and spiritual energy revives in the mortal realm, the demons must find ways to stir things in the mortal realm to urge the reflux of nightmare energy to the demon realm.

No matter—He Lingchuan will just make the demon realm more chaotic!

The two realms compete, seeing which obtains more abundant spiritual energy or nightmare energy.

……

Cangyan established its state; the Nine Abysses Great Emperor originally created unparalleled achievements, and now having defeated Ya State and captured Bailie, the prestige of the Dragon God has reached its zenith, like the sun at high noon!

Many places among the Flash Gold people, in daily greetings, casual talk, and business discussions, the first words spoken are always "The Dragon God is above."

He Lingchuan had just returned to the capital Ju Cheng of Cangyan when he heard that Ya State, after seven days of bitter fighting, successfully held the Frost Plains, so the two armies' combat thus paused for several days.

The Frost Plains produce Ya State's finest warhorses; winning this battle greatly boosted Ya State's morale.

There is fundamentally no signed agreement between these two states, unlike the clear and explicit terms binding Ya State and Cangyan. Mu State also did not withdraw its troops, remaining within Ya State's territory. It has already occupied a large tract of fertile land in western Ya State, but both sides are exhausted from fighting, so they took a midfield rest.

Everyone knows this is the calm before the next storm arrives.

The tactic of "knowing when to be content" He Lingchuan employed to perfection; Mu State changed its chief minister, yet still failed to grasp its essence.

This result was not beyond He Lingchuan's expectation.

The Soul-Capturing Mirror also exclaimed in surprise: "Originally Ya State's foundation is this solid; good thing you withdrew troops after defeating Bai Qiuyuan!"

If He Lingchuan had been a bit greedier then, wanting to swallow Ya State whole, he might have ended up like Mu State, mired in the war mire unable to extricate himself.

"I'm not crazy; Cangyan now simply cannot swallow Ya State." He Lingchuan said angrily, "Capturing Bai Qiuyuan is already Cangyan's limit; that was still my careful planning, plus the debut of the characteristic weapon."

The characteristic weapon's might fiercely intimidated Ya State, making it then panic and lose composure. Otherwise, how could such a stalwart nation easily admit defeat?

Cangyan lacks the capacity for prolonged warfare; fighting further would be counterproductive.

"How long has Cangyan been established? Formerly a thousand wounds and holes, now still far from healed. Forcing to fight these few more battles would merely be to give Cangyan's future development a favorable external environment." He Lingchuan sighed, "This time I return to the state, I will shift focus to domestic governance and economy."