Chapter 445: 444. Chapter 439: Soil of Fenbao Cliff and Immortal Spirit Rice

444. Chapter 439: Soil of Fenbao Cliff and Immortal Spirit Rice

"You old dog, you're just a parasitic worm, sucking up vast resources of my Immortal Court and dragging it down."

"When my Immortal Court fights the demon clans, you old dog dares say this has nothing to do with my Jiachen Division? Pah! I'll teach you this: when demons attack my Immortal Court, everyone is involved." Ji Mi exploded in rage.

Li Ku stared at Ji Mi charging toward him and instinctively stepped back several paces.

He was a Rite Priest of the Immortal Rites Bureau—how could he possibly fight Ji Mi?

"Snap!" The Wu Chang Emperor slammed his hand on the Immortal Dragon Wood before him, and Ji Mi finally halted.

At that moment, a man of medium stature in purple robes stepped forward, bowed to the Wu Chang Emperor, then spoke slowly:

"Great Emperor, the Demon Court's arrogance toward our Immortal Court cannot be tolerated. If we tolerate this now, there will be a next time. Demon nature is insatiable—it cannot be reformed."

"Therefore, I support Commander Ji's view: we must make the Demon Court understand that while our Immortal Court loves peace, we are not a people to be bullied."

"But this incident arose because another matter occurred: our envoy to the Demon Court left the negotiations rudely, without even a farewell—and that enraged the Demon Court into launching war early."

"The Immortal Court's Nine Courts Law upholds fairness and justice: merit must be rewarded, faults must be punished."

After speaking, the man in purple robes stepped back.

The Immortal Court Hall fell silent; everyone knew the lead negotiator had been Du Yue, one of the Ten Star Lords.

The Ten Star Lords held real power in the Immortal Court—originally there had been eighteen, now reduced to ten, yet their authority had only grown, not diminished.

So even if everyone knew this man had erred, no one dared confront him directly.

Now someone had confronted him face-to-face.

And even if Du Yue was powerful, he dared not retaliate against the man who accused him—because that man was Luo Yu, one of the Four Great Emperors, Brother Pingwei.

Du Yue was strong—but not strong enough to challenge Luo Yu.

Du Yue could only step forward, bow deeply, and say: "Great Emperor, I indeed mishandled this matter, but there were extenuating circumstances."

A flicker of killing intent passed through the Wu Chang Emperor's eyes—if he weren't occupied now, he would have killed Du Yue on the spot.

This fool had ruined his grand plan.

War with the Demon Court was inevitable; he had sent envoys to negotiate precisely to stall them—at least for now.

Du Yue had completely ignored his orders, utterly betrayed his hopes: instead of stalling the Demon Court, he had given them an excuse to launch war early.

"Speak," said the Wu Chang Emperor, just one word.

Du Yue involuntarily shuddered—he knew he had made a grave mistake.

Too bad he hadn't obtained the soil beneath Fenbao Cliff—if he had, his strength would have soared again; even Luo Yu wouldn't have mattered, let alone the Wu Chang Emperor.

One misstep, and all else followed in ruin.

"Great Emperor, my son was threatened with death—I was consumed by anguish…"

Brother Pingwei cut him off: "Your son's life threatened, so you disregarded the safety of our Immortal Court? Are you fit to be a Star Lord?"

"Brother Pingwei's rebuke is just. I was indeed blinded by grief—I should not have prioritized my son…"

Du Yue's words were interrupted again: "Du Yue, stop lying with your eyes open…"

Du Yue flew into rage—he was a Star Lord, and Brother Pingwei interrupting him he could endure. But now someone else dared interrupt him? Did they think he was a paper tiger?

Yet when Du Yue saw who had spoken, his fury instantly vanished.

The speaker was Pei Pei Yishui, Northern Dao Lord—one of the Four Dao Lords. What could he do?

"Great Emperor, Du Yue didn't go to save his son—he didn't even care whether his son lived or died. He left the Immortal-Demon negotiations to seize the soil beneath Fenbao Cliff."

Pei Pei Yishui's words stunned everyone; hearing "soil beneath Fenbao Cliff," all were instantly alert.

Even the Wu Chang Emperor fixed his gaze on Du Yue—this substance was useful to him right now.

Du Yue's heart sank—he had gotten no meat, yet ended up covered in filth.

He didn't know how Pei Pei Yishui had learned of this—he had to explain clearly, or even his Star Lord title wouldn't protect him.

Du Yue spoke again: "Great Emperor, I did hear of Fenbao Cliff's ruins and intended to obtain the soil."

"I learned of Fenbao Cliff while rescuing my son. By then, my son was already dead—I could do nothing but suppress my rage and pursue the killer."

"On the way, I met one of my son's maidservants, who revealed the location of Fenbao Cliff's ruins."

"But when I arrived, all the soil beneath Fenbao Cliff had already been excavated—I obtained nothing."

As he explained, Du Yue was certain Pei Pei Yishui had learned of this because he had encountered the man Du Yue had been chasing.

The Wu Chang Emperor had no more questions—he would summon Du Yue alone after court to inquire about the Fenbao Cliff soil.

The Wu Chang Emperor declared loudly: "Star Lord Du Yue neglected the Immortal-Demon peace talks, abandoned his post, and caused the Demon Clan's invasion, resulting in countless deaths. Take Du Yue away for separate trial."

Du Yue's eyes turned bloodshot—he could only watch helplessly as two Immortal Court enforcers dragged him away.

He was an Immortal Emperor—but he dared not resist in the Immortal Court Hall.

The Wu Chang Emperor continued: "Ji Mi, I appoint you Commander of Both Armies, grant you the Great Emperor's Sword. Take command of the Jiachen and Dingyin Divisions, lead a million troops, and counterattack the Demon Court. All matters shall be fully supported by Chancellor Bu Yue."

"Yes, Great Emperor! I, Ji Mi, will drive the demons out and restore purity to our Immortal Court. Let the demons know—we are not a court they can come and go as they please!" Ji Mi stepped forward, elated.

Bu Yue hurried forward: "The Left Ming Office will fully assist Commander Ji in all military preparations."

The Wu Chang Emperor nodded, then continued: "Now, the second matter: it is time for our Immortal Court to collect Immortal Spirit Rice—why, until now, have we received no reports? Where is the Flag Bearer of the Immortal Agriculture Bureau?"

A middle-aged man stepped forward; his aura and appearance revealed he had suffered greatly.

"Flag Bearer of the Immortal Agriculture Bureau, Chu Xingren, bows to the Great Emperor. May the Great Emperor enjoy eternal health."

"This year, the Immortal Agriculture Bureau has yielded nothing—all our Immortal Spirit Rice has failed. We have already discovered the cause."

"A junior Immortal Botanist named Lu Renjia illegally used forbidden techniques to cultivate the Immortal Spirit Rice…"

"Crack!" The Wu Chang Emperor slammed his palm onto the Immortal Jade Desk before him:

"Chu Xingren, is this your excuse? You blame some lowly Immortal Botanist to erase an entire year's Immortal Spirit Rice harvest?"

The Wu Chang Emperor was truly furious—last year's failure was one thing, but this year he urgently needed the Immortal Spirit Rice.

How long had he been in seclusion? Already, one crisis after another had erupted.

The Star Lord Duyue, who had been sent to the Demon Court to negotiate, completely disregarded the Immortal Court's interests for his own private affairs.

Chu Xingren, who was in charge of planting immortal spirit rice, was equally useless—a figurehead who drew a salary without doing a lick of work. When a problem arose, he actually tried to drag a passerby in to take the blame—simply unforgivable.

Wait, what's the name of the guy he dragged out? Lu Lu Renjia…

The Great Emperor Wushang nearly spat blood in fury. You couldn't even be bothered to find a proper passerby to take the blame—did you get so lazy you couldn't even bother to come up with a name?

And it's 'Lu Lu Renjia' too—good, truly wonderful.

Is it because this Emperor's hand has grown too soft, that I can no longer kill you all?

Bu Yue stepped forward in the nick of time:

"Great Emperor, to leave such a fool in the Immortal Agriculture Department as the Banner Immortal would be the greatest harm to our Immortal Court. This old minister suggests throwing this man into the dungeon for a thorough interrogation…"

Chu Xingren gave a start—this was the rhythm of someone trying to finish him off. He instinctively glanced at Emperor Jinhe.

He was Emperor Jinhe's man; Emperor Jinhe should step forward and speak up for him now.

To his disappointment, Emperor Jinhe acted as if he hadn't seen him at all, showing not the slightest reaction.

Just as Chu Xingren was growing increasingly anxious, his communication bead suddenly lit up.

Seeing one of the messages within, Chu Xingren was overjoyed.

Before he could speak, the Great Emperor Wushang sighed: "Where are the Immortal Court Enforcers…"

How would Chu Xingren dare hesitate any longer? He urgently called out: "Great Emperor, because the Immortal Agriculture Department encountered a problem with the immortal spirit rice disaster, we worked hard to remedy it.

Finally, within one month, we managed to plant and harvest top-grade mid-grade immortal spirit rice…"

The Great Emperor Wushang was stunned, then asked in disbelief: "You say you planted and harvested top-grade mid-grade immortal spirit rice?"

At this point, Chu Xingren could only trust his own subordinate: "Yes, may the Great Emperor see clearly. Not only is it top-grade mid-grade immortal spirit rice, but among them there is also one grain of upper-grade immortal spirit rice."

The Great Emperor Wushang waved off the Immortal Court Enforcers, stared at Chu Xingren, and said: "Immediately have someone bring the immortal spirit rice here."

"Yes." Chu Xingren hurriedly sent out the message—this was his one and only chance.

With his backer Emperor Jinhe refusing to lift a finger for him, what could he do? He could only rely on the immortal spirit rice to protect himself first.

Bu Yue frowned. He had long since schemed to secure that Banner Immortal position in the Immortal Agriculture Department.

His son-in-law had investigated very clearly within the Immortal Agriculture Department—it was simply impossible for them to plant immortal spirit rice again. So how had things reversed now?

Because Chu Xingren's request was so urgent, in just over a dozen breaths' time, two men appeared in the Immortal Court's Treasure Hall; they had both come through transmission talismans.

"Shen Guan, the duty officer of the Immortal Agriculture Department, and Jiti, the guard officer of the Immortal Agriculture Department, pay our respects to the Great Emperor. May the Great Emperor enjoy boundless health." The two men dropped to their knees the moment they arrived.

? ￠O

Their positions were far too low; upon arriving at the Immortal Court's Treasure Hall, they could only speak while kneeling.

"Rise. Immediately present the immortal spirit rice." The Great Emperor Wushang's entire mind was on the immortal spirit rice.

Where would he find the heart to think of anything else?

Jiti hurriedly took out three winnowing baskets and handed them one by one to the enforcers beside him.

Every gaze and every divine sense in the room now fell upon the contents of those three winnowing baskets.

Is this mid-grade immortal spirit rice?

The color is indeed a greenish hue, but those distinct five-element patterns, that rich fragrance of rice—why, one can even smell the aura of the Great Dao within. This would not be an exaggeration even for upper-grade.

(Fellow Daoist, good night. May I ask for your support with monthly tickets)