Chapter 2191

He Lingchuan rolled up his sleeves and clenched his fists: "I'll set out tomorrow!"

He Lingchuan waved his hand, and the sea eastern green perched on the screen flew to Dong Rui's side: "This is the Blood Demon. It has an exceptionally keen sense of danger and possesses several skins, enabling it to fight, scout, and ambush. Let it protect you—it will surely be of great use."

The Blood Demon itself is immensely powerful, with countless transformations; even the True Person of a Thousand Illusions could not easily destroy it, so it was sealed beneath the divine altar to slowly wear down.

He Lingchuan spoke casually, but Dong Rui bowed solemnly to it as a sign of respect for the strong:

"Your labor, Demon Lord."

The sea eastern green half-closed its eyes, looking at it as if rolling its eyes.

"It's the Blood Demon—does it look like a nanny to you?"

"This is the intelligence from the Thousand-Eyed Cavern. Use it wisely." He Lingchuan then produced a thick stack of documents and handed them over, adding again: "Be extra careful. If you're unfortunately captured, the Heavenly Palace will have hit the jackpot."

In Dong Rui's mind lay the knowledge the heavens desired.

"Don't worry." Dong Rui had long seen through it: "As long as I don't go with you, I probably won't have any trouble."

The next morning, He Lingchuan summoned Zhu Xiuer and Miao Zhantian again, giving them detailed instructions. With these three immortal-level masters guarding him, Dong Rui's chances of mishap should be very low.

The two demons assented.

Miao Zhantian was about to shrink his form into a gecko when He Lingchuan, looking at him, felt a sudden thought and recalled a question he had never raised before: "Wait, I have something to ask you."

"Hmm?"

"Back then, when Miao Zhantian entered the Inverted Sea, did he descend in his true form into the skin of Zangxi True Lord?"

"Yes." Miao Zhantian replied, "I saw it with my own eyes."

He had been summoned by Miao Zhantian to attack the Phantom Sect. Later, captured in the Inverted Sea, and after Miao Zhantian and the other heavenly demons suffered a crushing defeat, he defected to He Lingchuan. Since he had traveled alongside Bai Ziqi, he had observed Miao Zhantian's true form descending in full detail at close range.

"What was the spectacle when Miao Zhantian descended in his true form? Tell me." He Lingchuan had witnessed divine descents more than once, but they were always heavenly demon avatars descending to the mortal realm—he had never seen a true form fully descend.

"Um..." Miao Zhantian recalled, "There wasn't anything particularly special—just a purple light ball flying down, smashing into Zangxi True Lord's body."

"Oh, that light ball was about the same size as your head."

His description of the scene was even more plain and unadorned than He Lingchuan's.

Miao Zhantian thought for a moment, then finally found a fitting descriptor: "Let's put it this way—it's like a purple fluorescent spore!"

"And then?" He Lingchuan wondered oddly, "After all, it's the descent of a true god—could it really be this unremarkable?"

Like a purple fluorescent spore, just like that?

The large lizard tilted its head, carefully replaying the entire process from beginning to end, ensuring nothing was omitted:

"The speed was beyond compare, but aside from that, there didn't seem to be anything particularly special."

Zhu Xiuer remarked coolly from the side: "Do you still hope they'd make a grand spectacle when they descend, performing for whom? Since they have power, why not wait until after they've taken over the skin to use it?"

He Lingchuan snapped his fingers and pointed at her: "Makes sense—still, it's got to be you, Auntie!"

Zhu Xiuer added: "My sister also witnessed the true descent of a heavenly demon, roughly a thousand years ago—you can ask her."

"Good." He Lingchuan nodded, then summoned Dong Rui and personally saw them off the city.

￥￥￥￥￥

Time flew by.

Half a month later, He Lingchuan received three more documents and thus summoned Du Shan.

"Three pieces of intelligence, two major matters." He Lingchuan handed him the secret reports: "What do you think?"

One of the benefits of being an emperor is being able to, from time to time, openly and righteously make things difficult for others.

The first was a battle report.

In the battle at the Eight-Foot Terrace three days prior, the Ya army suddenly unleashed unprecedented demon beasts and mighty warriors, whose combat strength was extraordinarily fierce, performing outstandingly on the battlefield and directly reversing the outcomes of multiple local engagements.

Not to mention, there's an old acquaintance of He Lingchuan here:

The Wind-Rushing Beast clan—taller and sturdier than ordinary warhorses, with sharp horns on their foreheads, killing anyone they strike—under the command of General Ling, has already been rampaging across the battlefields of Ya and Mou.

Needless to say, this is support from Between Between Between Beijia.

Between Between Between Beijia and Ya are separated by a vast Mou state, but the war has lasted so long that Between Between Between Beijia has been able to dispatch reinforcements slowly and steadily.

This is a powerful stimulant sent to Ya, telling it:

Hold on tight—I'm coming to help you.

The second is also a battle report. Mou State again dispatched forty thousand troops to the western front against Between Between Between Beijia and achieved a complete victory in the Battle of New Fortress, greatly boosting morale!

The third is a secret report from Mou Du, concerning the conversation between Mei Wuniang and Chief Assistant You Huan.

Mei Wuniang herself makes no judgments, merely gathering intelligence for the hidden big boss behind the scenes to decide.

Du Shan read Mei Wuniang's report word for word, then fell into deep thought.

He Lingchuan also waited patiently.

After a long while, Du Shan said: "Between Between Between Beijia's dispatch of reinforcements to Ya is also motivated by not wanting the Ya-Mou war to end quickly. But now, Ya's battlefield is going well, while Mou's performance is somewhat lackluster; and on the Between Between Between Beijia front, Mou has recently gained the upper hand more often."

He Lingchuan nodded: "Mou State itself has vast territory, and fighting on two fronts makes the allocation and distribution of military supplies extremely difficult for them. Allocating more to the western front against Between Between Between Beijia inevitably means less for the eastern front against Ya."

"That's not what Between Between Between Beijia wants to see. Between Between Between Beijia hopes Mou will expend more energy and manpower on the Ya front." Du Shan picked up Mei Wuniang's secret letter: "The horses of Mou Du might be conscripted—if so, they can only come from the east. The advance sale by the Great Passage Horse Stable is merchants avoiding risk, uncertain; but coming from Chief Assistant You Huan's mouth, it's as good as set in stone—meaning the eastern front will definitely see continued fighting. Thus, the Ya-Mou war cannot possibly end anytime soon; our original estimate was overly optimistic."

"As for You Huan's inquiry about the poison flower—how to swindle the rich old man out of his family fortune." Mei Wuniang's codename here is "Poison Flower." "I believe what's being discussed is still about the Ya war. You Huan, as Chief Assistant, holds too many secrets—sometimes he just lets them slip out casually."

If someone constantly deals with secrets, they easily blur the line between confidential and ordinary information—this is why intelligence work is so difficult. You can't remain vigilant twelve hours a day, every day.

"Who is the 'rich old man' referring to?" He Lingchuan needed a sharp mind to help verify this himself.

"It's Ya State." Du Shan said solemnly: "The rich old man's wealth is money; Ya State's wealth, naturally, is—"

He paused: "—Territory!"

When he said the two words "swindle clean," he raised his thumb.

He Lingchuan then posed a second question: "If so, why does Mou State still keep negotiating with Ya State?"