Chapter 530

"Only three times?" He He Lingchuan felt it wasn't worth it.

"Three times is already quite a lot."

The craftsman explained it to him. Both the Jin Jia Copper Man and the Guard required the master to split their focus to control them, otherwise, they would either not move or go berserk.

How many people could multitask, especially in the midst of intense combat?

Then what about multitasking three or four ways?

Therefore, the number of Golden Armors one person could control was limited; this thing was naturally better to be refined than numerous—building one that could equal three was best.

It saved worry and mental energy.

Moreover, a Divine General actually had some autonomous capability and could execute relatively vague commands. If you told it to move bricks, it would move them for you non-stop, moving the nearby ones before moving the distant ones, and it would even take the flat path in between to save energy.

He He Lingchuan remembered the Jin Jia Divine General he saw in the Yuan Nation dreamscape; it was indeed fighting with great power and momentum, its might astonishing. Even facing so many great demons, it didn't flinch at all.

How energy-consuming must that thing be? He didn't dare to imagine.

"Since it's so useful, do you think a fifteen-fold cost is expensive?"

"... Expensive." He suspected this glib-tongued craftsman was actually a cunning merchant with a loyal face.

Of course, the craftsman's last sentence was the fatal blow:

Things like this had high costs and high consumption, usually only used in war; they weren't things normal people should play with.

Fine.

But regardless, the Jin Jia Copper Guard had been built. Young Master He optimistically stated that for normal people... or rather, their opponents, this might also be a dimensionality-reduction strike; there was nothing bad about it.

￥￥￥￥￥

Treasure Tree Kingdom, Bai Yun Mountain.

Tonight, the rain and mist were thick, and the mountain forest was secluded, truly living up to the poem: "Deep in the white clouds, there is a home."

The lakeside was as quiet as ever; Chancellor Tang stood alone in the corridor bridge, having dismissed his guards to a hundred paces away.

There was no place safer than by the side of the Treasure Tree King.

An aged voice sounded in Chancellor Tang's heart: "Has the whereabouts of the Spirit Seed still not been found?"

"This subordinate is incompetent. I can only find that on the day the guard team crashed, the Spirit Seed transformed into a root ball to imprison the Mount Fengmo, but it broke free after eating the Meridian Divine Wind. We found some root ball fragments in Mount Fengmo Mountain, but no Spirit Seed. It cannot be ruled out that it fell into a crevice in Mount Fengmo Mountain. That... that is the entrance and exit for the Meridian Divine Wind."

Who would dare go down, who could go down? "No witnesses?"

Chancellor Tang shook his head: "There are some white bones at the scene, likely cut by the Meridian Divine Wind, but there are several bodies in the middle of the terraced fields that are intact, yet their necks were twisted; perhaps they were killed to silence them."

"The Spirit Seed has already been taken by someone; I fear you won't be able to find it." The Treasure Tree King said firmly, "I called you here today for another important matter."

Chancellor Tang lowered his head and said: "My King, please command."

"The Chi Yan King sent an urgent flight message to the Fragrant Continent Tree Guard, saying that a wave of private refining of Immortality Pills has appeared in Lingxu City again."

The missing Spirit Seed was originally meant to grow into the Northern Frontier Tree Guard, but it was hijacked halfway. Then, the one closest to the Chi Yan Kingdom was the already-grown Fragrant Continent Tree Guard.

"Once this case is settled, that book will be yours." Fu Fu Shanyue stretched and stood up. "I snuck into the Imperial Library three or four times to find it; you must be worthy of my hard work."

The Chi Yan King's flight message stopped at the Fragrant Continent Tree Guard; this saved the most time.

"Immortality Pills?" Chancellor Tang was startled. "This kind of thing has surfaced again?"

The Treasure Tree King said indifferently: "The bloody storms of the past have passed for too long; apart from an old man like me, others have long since forgotten."

"The cause was the disappearance of the White-Shouldered Eagle messenger sent by Lingxu City to the front lines. The Chi Yan Crown Prince took over the case and discovered that people in the kingdom had been hunting demons for pearls for years. The clues finally pointed to Cen Poqing, the eldest son-in-law of Between Beijia Grand Minister of Agriculture Yao Mao. I estimate this matter will have follow-ups."

"Taking pearls?" Chancellor Tang pondered. "Sure enough, these pulp pearls were all used to refine Immortality Pills."

Chancellor Tang didn't get his official position for nothing; the more he thought, the more alarmed he became. "Since it involves the face of Between Beijia and the Immortality Pills, I fear the Emperor will be furious."

"This matter cannot end well." The Treasure Tree King asked him, "What do you think, is the Chi Yan King unable to hold his temper, or is he intentionally stirring up trouble?"

Chancellor Tang pondered for a long time before replying: "In this subordinate's humble opinion, it is both. But the Chi Yan King sending you a message means he does not want this matter to pass lightly and wants to seek my King's support."

Among all the demon kingdoms, only the Treasure Tree Kingdom has stood tall; among all the demon kings, only the Treasure Tree King has remained evergreen for eight hundred years.

If the Chi Yan King wants to stir up waves in Lingxu City, he cannot do it alone.

The Treasure Tree King chuckled, ten thousand leaves and a thousand branches rustling in the rain: "How do you think I should reply?"

"It is entirely up to my King's will." Chancellor Tang said, "If you want to help him, you can take the opportunity to smooth over the contradictions between Chi Yan and our kingdom; if you don't want to help him, there is no need to reply, just drag it out for a month or two."

The Treasure Tree King gave a long "Hmm": "If it were Chancellor Sha, he would be giving me ideas right now."

Chancellor Tang lowered his head and pursed his lips slightly.

"It is about time. You should organize the cases of demon-hunting for pearls that have occurred in our kingdom, picking the most recent ones." The Treasure Tree King indeed had a decision. "You personally draft a memorial and send it urgently to Lingxu City, and at the same time, tell the Chi Yan King. Those with intentions are all watching with wide eyes; we cannot let them wait too long."

It exhaled again: "Strike while the iron is hot. If important matters are dragged on and on, they are easily dragged into nothingness."

Chancellor Tang bowed and agreed; he should have withdrawn, but he hesitated.

"Is there anything else?"

"Just seven days ago, the Grand Historian observed an unusual flash of the Heavenly Luo Xing in the east." Chancellor Tang said, "You mentioned that if there is an anomaly in the ten stars of the Big Dipper, it must be reported, but you were in a short seclusion at that time..."

The wind and rain on Bai Yun Mountain seemed to freeze instantly.

After a full ten breaths, the Treasure Tree King asked: "An unusual flash?"

"The Heavenly Luo Xing, which is opposite the Heavenly Pivot Star, is usually invisible to the naked eye in this season. But that night, it flashed twice suddenly, unusually bright." Chancellor Tang said, "And then it returned to darkness and didn't light up again."

"Is that so?" The Treasure Tree King muttered to himself, as if sighing, "The Heavenly Net shines again; disaster is about to rise. No wonder a mere messenger disappearance case is growing larger and larger."

Chancellor Tang didn't understand: "My King, the Heavenly Luo Xing shines regularly from autumn to early spring every year. This year it is only a month early, how can it be a sign of disaster?"

"The Heavenly Luo Xing shining on time is the regular path of heaven. But an accidental flash represents military upheaval; your lifespan is too short, you haven't witnessed the trouble it brings." The Treasure Tree King said coldly, "Just speaking of the last time it started flashing wildly, that was a hundred and sixty or seventy years ago."

A hundred and sixty or seventy years ago, what military upheaval did Between Beijia encounter? Chancellor Tang's knowledge was considered profound; after a slight recollection, he was a bit shocked: "Is it the rise of Panlongcheng?"

"A dozen years before that, it was the Yuan Nation rebellion." The Treasure Tree King said, "I won't mention the one two hundred years ago."

"If disaster is coming, how should our kingdom respond?"

"Let the Grand Historian monitor it closely to see if the Heavenly Luo Xing flashes again, and then decide based on Lingxu City's reaction." The Treasure Tree King said in a deep voice, "Our kingdom must also take precautions. Pass my order: starting from today, strictly audit taxes, simplify administration and increase troops, and take inventory of the granaries. From the Royal Court to the local level, all redundancies must be cut, and capable generals must be promoted. Also, the purchase of weapons and horses..."

Chancellor Tang said at the right time: "My King, these two things are not urgent, so as not to cause Lingxu City to misunderstand."

"... Hmm, you are right. Let's not move on these two things first; as for the others, they should have been done long ago."

￥￥￥￥￥

In the night sky over Baishajuan, the moon was bright and the stars were sparse, but He He Lingchuan had no heart to appreciate it.

He calculated the time and tightly closed the doors and windows, and also called Fu Fu Shanyue's guards to stand guard at the door, forbidding anyone from entering or leaving.

The sealing effect of the beech wood doors and windows was top-notch; he lit incense to test it, and the smoke column went straight up, with almost no wind in the room.

Very good.

He He Lingchuan then took out a tree branch the thickness of a chopstick, threw it on the table, then lit two more sticks of incense, and muttered words in his mouth.

When all three sticks of incense burned out, the smoke lingered in the room, gradually turning into the shape of a human head.

This was a small avatar left behind after the Hundred-Faced Nightmare was defeated by his hand—no, defeated by Panlongcheng.

"You're out?" He He Lingchuan frowned looking at it. "Why are you a circle smaller again?"

His attitude toward the Nightmare was by no means as pious as Cheng Yu's earlier, who was begging and pleading, using all kinds of flattery.

Facts proved that the Nightmare didn't need those things at all to come out.

"I've said it before, I am a Nightmare, I can only live in the dreamland! Staying in your soul-land doesn't provide any nourishment, I will only get weaker and weaker!" The monster-headed Nightmare complained, "You've been ordering me to find people lately, the energy consumption is too high!"

With power going out and none coming in, it would be strange if it weren't weak!

He He Lingchuan acted as if he didn't hear it, took a short hair from an oil-paper package, and burned it to ashes in the candle flame.

Then he took out a note, wrote down the name and birth date, and burned it to ashes as well.

The monster head leaned over and took a deep breath, as if carefully distinguishing, before saying:

"A seven-year-old boy? Have you changed your taste? How do you plan to deal with him this time?"

"Don't hurt him, just find him." He He Lingchuan said, "Someone has placed a concealment array on him to isolate tracking techniques. You find his hiding place for me."

"That's simple, I'll go look in his dreams." The monster head shook its head and was about to float away when it suddenly said, "Hey, let me go!"

Half of its tail was still in the tree branch.

This was a branch of the Julao tree seedling, the only thing He He Lingchuan could bring out of the Panlong dreamscape besides the Floating Life Blade.

The underwater wooden sculpture the Nightmare was originally connected to was broken, so He He Lingchuan casually broke off a tree branch for it to inhabit. Anyway, the Julao tree was also a type of underwater wood, more precious and more powerful.

"Let it go." He He Lingchuan shook the small tree branch, and the latter reluctantly released the Nightmare's tail.

He He Lingchuan wasn't afraid the Nightmare wouldn't return; this thing was being watched by the Three-Corpse Worms.

Afterward, the Nightmare passed through the door crack and slipped away.

Its form could only be seen by He He Lingchuan who summoned it; the guards at the door were completely unaware.

In the long night, He He Lingchuan simply sat down and adjusted his breathing cross-legged.

(End of chapter)