Chapter 2656

Three to five years—this interval spans over seven hundred days. Even though three and a half years have already passed, could the Earth Mother still appear in more than a year? How could Endu Heng accurately judge its whereabouts?

"I received a transmission from the Heavenly Palace: the Earth Mother recently appeared in the capital of Cangyan, and a massive mirage appeared in midair. Someone drew it based on that, and a heavenly deity recognized it—it was Panlong City." Endu Heng mused, "What the appearance of the mirage signifies, the heavenly deities are still contemplating, with no result yet. But several eyewitnesses in the supply convoy saw up close that the architectural city walls on the Earth Mother's back had faded to grayish white, even exuding sea salt crystals on the surface. Clearly, the nutrients it drew from its birthplace have been exhausted."

"As for why I'm certain it will soon return to Balin—" Endu Heng paused, "Actually, it's simple: it undertook two consecutive tasks, one in the sea, one on the sea. As I know, seawater has extreme erosive effects on the Earth Mother's plains. After all, it's called 'Earth Mother,' not 'Sea Mother'—when it ventures into the sea, expelling the ingested salt requires great effort."

"Two consecutive tasks?" Zhao Huanzong, also a sharp-minded person, felt a chill run down his spine upon reflection. "Could it be… could these two tasks be…?"

"Yes, it was I who arranged it." Endu Heng said calmly, "Jiuyou built its foundation on maritime trade; Cangyan conducts business with the whole world, operating more maritime trade routes than Between Between Between Beijia does. I ordered the major sea clans to fully raid Cangyan's sea lanes, preventing Cangyan from delivering goods and deterring foreigners from trading with it—how could Jiuyou tolerate that? These major sea clan nests are like fortresses on and under the water, sturdy and complex; ordinary armed fleets cannot handle them, so he had no choice but to send the Earth Mother."

He paused: "Over the past year, the frequency of the Earth Mother going to sea has noticeably increased. The more often it runs, the earlier its return schedule to its birthplace becomes."

"Lord Endu's wisdom is profound—even the Earth Mother, which appears and disappears mysteriously across ten thousand li, has been calculated by you into the palm of your hand." Zhao Huanzong suddenly understood, "I've heard the Heavenly Palace once had a Envoy of All Clouds named Bai Ziqi, shrewd and capable, highly favored by the heavenly deities and the Heavenly Palace. I reckon you, compared to him, are a new generation surpassing the old."

Endu Heng grabbed a handful of fish feed to throw; hearing this, he stopped, tilted his head, and stared at him.

His gaze was sharp; Zhao Huanzong felt his heart creep under that look—had he misspoken?

Endu Heng slowly said: "The abilities of Envoy Bai Du Shi, the Heavenly Palace values; the sacrifice of Envoy Bai Du Shi, the heavenly deities all regret."

"Yes, yes." Zhao Huanzong thought secretly, had he just patted a horse's leg?

"Envoy Bai Du Shi was finally killed by Jiuyou on the Jinjin Plains; the Heavenly Palace traced his past life, concluded that Jiuyou had disguised itself too well in the Between Between Between Beijia immortality elixir case years ago, causing Envoy Bai Du Shi to let his guard down and miss the best opportunity to kill him." Endu Heng paused, "But I don't think so, because Envoy Bai Du Shi later met him again."

Having said this, he stopped. Zhao Huanzong waited for his continuation.

But there was nothing after.

Endu Heng scattered another handful of fish feed into the water—this time the amount was greater, and the fish in the pond became even more frenzied.

Plop-plop, several fish were squeezed out of the school, unable to eat, anxious and leaping, landing in the center of the fish school.

Only then could it be seen: they were flat-bodied, red-bellied, with transparent fins; from the side, they looked like half-red leaves, somewhat cute. But when they opened their mouths—crack! —full of razor-sharp teeth!

Piranhas.

Those few later-arriving fish, having just eaten a few pellets, actually suffered a frenzied attack from their companions!

They were very dissatisfied with those who jumped up from behind to snatch food.

If it's your turn to eat, do you dare come and steal?

What use is the agreed-upon order?

The pond water surged with blood; all the piranhas ignored the fish feed and swarmed to attack those few doomed ones.

Zhao Huanzong stood by the pond, watching, his scalp tingling—he dared not imagine what would happen if a person fell into this water.

Endu Heng brushed off the debris on his hands—he was feeding them chicken strips:

"Lord Zhao. Those who come later wanting to succeed can only act abruptly, can only forge a new path. But abruptness must have a cost—dumping it onto others is their failure; bearing it yourself is your own backlash."

"…Yes." Zhao Huanzong, having spent decades in officialdom, admitted this statement was extremely reasonable.

Take himself as an example—he had long seen that the Zhao family's development in Balin had reached its limit, making further progress impossible. No, it should be said that Balin's development had reached its limit, because it was the prevailing trend, and Between Between Between Beijia, this great mountain, pressed down so hard he could barely breathe. So in his youth, he turned toward Between Between Between Beijia—this is what is meant by a fine bird choosing its tree to roost.

For Balin, his doing this was of course abrupt and shameless, but he and the Zhao family had genuinely tasted the dividends and benefits of climbing upward. Without Between Between Between Beijia's support, how could he have become Vice Premier? Without Between Between Between Beijia's support, these past years, where would he have found room to maneuver?

Endu Heng murmured again: "Best to succeed; otherwise, one must inevitably suffer backlash."

This wasn't directed at Zhao Huanzong, but Zhao Huanzong thought it over and still replied: "Since the path has already been chosen, one can only proceed single-mindedly to the end, until success is achieved."

Only he knew how much pressure Endu Heng bore. These past years, he had been by Endu Heng's side, personally witnessing how he strategized, how he exhausted his mind and energy. Even Bai Ziqi, even the Qingyang Old National Master, even the entire Between Between Between Beijia and the Lingxu deities—none could subdue the Jiuyou Great Emperor, yet the heavenly deities hope Endu Heng will use one successful plan to destroy him!

How high the heavenly deities' expectations are, so great is Endu Heng's pressure.

As he himself said, wanting to come from behind to surpass requires originality, requires forging a new path, and thus requires bearing the cost!

Endu Heng glanced at him, a hint of surprise in his eyes, yet he replied cheerfully:

"Well said."

After the report ended, Endu Heng casually asked him: "How is your cultivation progressing?"

"Very smoothly." Zhao Huanzong smiled, "The Heavenly Palace's secret method and elixir—indeed, they are unlike any other."

Even peers of his age who have begun cultivation are far behind him in state, far slower in progress.

The cultivation method and elixir bestowed by the Heavenly Palace—its effects cannot be compared to ordinary methods.

"Good, if there's anything unclear, feel free to come ask me."

"Thank you, Lord Endu!" Zhao Huanzong then tactfully took his leave.

Endu Heng brushed off the debris on his hands, quickly walked back to the retreat, closed the doors and windows, lit a pale gold wax candle, closed his eyes, and murmured incantations.

The candle flame swayed without wind, suddenly flaring up high.

The candle smoke condensed into a faint shadow, and then a voice came from the void:

"What is the matter?"

Endu Heng bowed to it: "Heavenly Venerable Helu, the Crown Prince of Shen State continues advancing toward Balin; the battlefield will gradually be guided from Ounancheng to the old fields."

(End of Chapter)