Chapter 614: He Lingchuan's Opportunity

The audience was quiet, all imagining a demon with a height of a hundred zhang, wondering how powerful it must be. He Lingchuan, however, remembered the Mount Fengmo of the Piaomiao Sect, which had also been the guardian spirit beast of an immortal sect, but had been defeated by the Treasure Tree King a few hundred years ago.

"Such a natural element must be favored by fortune to grow into a demon with intelligence; even in ancient times, it was one in a billion. Otherwise, why is the number of powerful monsters born from the wind, volcanoes, rivers, and lakes of the world so limited?"

He Lingchuan immediately thought of the magma rolling endlessly in the crater of Tian Shu Shanfeng.

It seemed his imagination back then wasn't wrong; there was a giant beast lurking inside.

Was the warning of the Floating Life Blade aimed at it?

Fortunately, he hadn't taken a single step further back then.

Someone in the audience immediately asked: "Why would such a powerful demon submit to Beijia?"

It was already a guardian spirit beast, which meant it was guarding the gate; didn't that count as submission?

"That's the same reason it submitted to the Great Return Sect back then." Xu Shichu said slowly. "The opponent was stronger."

He continued: "According to literature, after the Great Return Sect was destroyed, this rock-fire monster was also subdued by the Heavenly Gods and the Demon Emperor, continuing to serve as the mountain swamp of Shou'an Mountain, that is, Mount Xu, and serving the new master. But how the Northern Demon Nation defeated the Great Return Sect and how Zu Ju was subdued, the whole process is vague."

"The entire Mount Xu is Zu Ju's territory." He Lingchuan suddenly asked, "Can the Northern Demon Nation defeat the landlord here?"

A small Mount Fengmo that had slept for many years returned to Mount Fengmo Mountain and only absorbed the Zi Wu Divine Wind for a few days, and it could cause heavy casualties to the Treasure Tree Nation's seed-protection team; that was the advantage of fighting on home turf. The entire Mount Xu was Zu Ju's home turf, or rather, the entire Mount Xu and it were one; how exactly did the Demon Emperor defeat it?

Besides, the Great Return Sect wasn't a vegetarian either; could they sit idly by while their guardian spirit beast was beaten? "There are many factors that determine victory on the battlefield, not just a simple comparison of strength. Besides, Zu Ju has survived from ancient times to the present; although its intelligence hasn't been worn away, its power has also been weakened, and it is no longer the giant demon of three thousand years ago."

"Being a creature of this world, it shares honor and disgrace with the human world. Wanting to stay out of it, or wanting to damage the public to benefit the private, is going against heaven." Xu Shichu said slowly. "Ultimately, there won't be a good end."

He Lingchuan felt he was implying something.

And Beijia also had the Heavenly Gods behind it; this was the Demon Nation's confidence and trump card.

When the Northern Monster Kingdom attacked the Great Return Sect, it had not yet reached the peak of its power. Although the Great Return Sect might have been riddled with deep-seated problems and long since weakened, the Northern Monster Kingdom likely still needed the power of the Heavenly Gods to take it down.

Xu Shichu was subtle and didn't express this layer of meaning.

He Lingchuan asked directly: "Does this giant monster have any weaknesses?"

If there were no accidents, he might have to go up the Star-Plucking Tower later to find that divine object. If he wanted to go up the mountain, did he have to pass the guardian spirit beast first? The people around all laughed: "What, you still want to compete with it?"

"We know you are powerful, Broken Blade, but you really want to single-handedly fight it?"

He Lingchuan also laughed: "Know the enemy and know yourself. If I can know the weakness of this fire monster, maybe I can infer Beijia's capabilities and means. Isn't such precious intelligence something we need?"

The laughter around him thinned out immediately.

Xu Shichu nodded: "Well said, well said. Every piece of intelligence, every correct inference, might be the key to defeating the enemy. When the Northern Demon Nation wanted to surprise the Great Return Sect back then, it must have also tried its best to do its homework. Instead, the Great Return Sect was numb and arrogant, which is why it suffered this disaster."

He said solemnly: "According to the historical facts I have verified, Zu Ju did not suffer serious injuries in this ten-day and ten-night battle. Because after the Northern Demon Nation took Shou'an Mountain, it still listened to the new master's request and moved two mountain peaks."

This guy has the ability to move mountains? The crowd was moved.

Xu Shichu saw their expressions and knew what they were thinking: "Zu Ju was born in earth fire, the son of the Earth Mother, and served as a mountain swamp; moving one or two mountain peaks there is not surprising; have you heard of the Piaomiao Sect's guardian spirit beast, the Mount Fengmo?"

The crowd shook their heads, only He Lingchuan nodded.

"That Mount Fengmo was born in the Zi Wu Divine Wind. During the heyday of the Piaomiao Immortal Sect, the Mount Fengmo could even carve mountain shapes, open terraces on high mountains and ridges, chisel river channels, and even transport objects weighing tens of thousands of jin up the mountain without human labor; changing the terrain is Zu Ju's specialty."

He Lingchuan exhaled gently.

No wonder Beijia could reshape the Spirit Gathering Array, corresponding the main peaks on the ground to the stars in the sky, even the shape and position were very similar; it turned out there was this mountain swamp helping! "However, it only moved two small hilltops at the time, taking more than half a year; this work is probably extremely energy-consuming and time-consuming." Xu Shichu returned to the topic. "According to the Great Return Sect materials I have studied, Zu Ju's intelligence is very high, not inferior to humans, and even bargains with the Great Return Sect. This point is completely different from other natural elements like wind, earth, fire, and water."

"If the Immortal Sect couldn't satisfy its requirements, Zu Ju would slack off, or cut corners. Therefore, the Great Return Sect had to specially allocate personnel to appease it, and even negotiate with it. It can be said that Zu Ju itself is an outlier."

"After the spiritual energy of heaven and earth declined, Zu Ju still demanded sufficient spiritual energy supply. In the early medieval period, the Great Return Sect could still grit its teeth and persist, but as time passed, the supply became more and more difficult." Xu Shichu picked up his cup and drank water. "On one hand, Zu Ju wanted too much, almost accounting for twenty percent of the spiritual energy absorbed by the Great Return Sect; on the other hand, the Great Return Sect's old rivals had all disappeared in the great catastrophe, and new forces that could threaten the sect hadn't been born yet, so it wasn't cost-effective for them to spend great effort to support Zu Ju."

The crowd was silent.

This guy Zu Ju could eat too much; after the Immortal Sect declined, of course they couldn't afford it.

"Later, the contradiction between Zu Ju and the Great Return Sect became more and more acute, often causing volcanic eruptions." Xu Shichu sighed. "When the Great Return Sect saw this, the environment on the mountain was no longer suitable for living, so most of them simply moved back to the ground. It is conceivable that from then on, the relationship between the sect and the fire monster might have become even more indifferent."

If they didn't need each other, they would just look at each other with disgust? "Combining what was said above, the Northern Demon Nation's battle to destroy the Great Return Sect lasted ten days and ten nights, and both sides suffered heavy casualties, but Zu Ju was fine. It can be seen that it wasn't deeply involved in the war, didn't give its all for the Great Return Sect, and even..."

He didn't continue, just sighed.

The evidence was insufficient, so he didn't say much, but smart people all understood his implication. Zu Ju might have even been turned by the Northern Demon Nation, and at the critical moment, it stabbed its original master in the back! Once both sides of the battle entered the end of their strength, whoever received the support of fresh troops would greatly increase their chances of winning.

He Lingchuan's brows were tightly furrowed.

This Zu Ju was indeed a fire monster with personality, but what use were these secrets to him?

There was no doubt that the Spirit Gathering Array completed by Ling Xu City over a decade ago must have had the participation of Zu Ju, the landlord. In other words, whether he wanted to get Zhu Erniang's remains or the divine object on the Star-Plucking Tower, he would likely not be able to bypass Zu Ju, this big guy.

It was the landlord of Mount Xu; for his invasion, it might be more sensitive than the Heavenly Gods and the Emperor.

Did

Someone couldn't help but ask, "Can having intelligence also be considered a weakness?"

If that were really the case, who among those present wouldn't be full of weaknesses? "If they have intelligence, they can converse, unlike other natural elements that are 'no humans allowed'; if they can converse and communicate, there is a possibility of being persuaded, defecting, or even negotiating," Xu Shichu laughed. "Six hundred years ago, the Northern Monster Kingdom likely did exactly this, and they have already set an example for us."

He Lingchuan stroked his chin.

In other words, collecting the recent situation of Zu Ju was also a mandatory task for him next?

This fire monster's appetite was so large that even its original owner couldn't afford to feed it, so would it be easy for Beijia to feed it?

In reality, at least a dozen years ago, Zu Ju was still working for Beijia, putting in effort for the new Spirit-Gathering Array. To this day, the power of such a monster is not only failing to grow, but one should be thankful if it can be maintained without decreasing.

The conflict between Spirit Void City and it is probably not small either; if everyone were on good terms, why bother setting up a grand array to suppress it?

The vast Pianxiang Shanzhuang was cleaned for three full days before it basically met the conditions for moving in.

The dust inside the buildings and the courtyards outside all needed to be cleared; the guards were busy moving in and out, purchasing all kinds of daily necessities.

So much so that when He Lingchuan came to Pianxiang Shanzhuang three days later, he felt it was a refreshing change.

The weeds on the outer walls and the spiderwebs in the corners were all gone, and even the wildflowers in the garden had been ruthlessly removed, leaving only the bougainvillea cascading down from the mountain walls like a waterfall, blooming even more exuberantly in autumn than in spring. Besides that, the villa only kept a few hundred ancient trees, including sweet osmanthus, phoenix trees, and camphor trees, all at least two hundred years old, with swaying branches and leaves.

Pianxiang Shanzhuang was originally famous for its potted plants. After the Chunyu family was convicted, the potted plants were all moved away by those in the know, with only seven or eight pots left near the weasel's den; these were pruned and placed on both sides of the entrance to welcome guests, while new flowers and trees would have to wait until next spring to be acquired.

Although it was late autumn, the villa still radiated a brand-new vitality.

Even the back mountain had new residents moved in: a hive of bees that had signed a contract.

Which dignitary's back garden wouldn't keep a few beehives? Sweet and fragrant pastries must use the freshest, first-hand ingredients.

"Let me tell you, this place is truly not bad!" Fu Shanyue pulled him behind the beehive and pushed aside a few bushes, saying, "Look."

(End of chapter)