Chapter 1230: Jade Cannot Be Spoken Of, Feng Shui Turns

Jade!

Real jade!

Jade cannot be spoken of!

"How wonderful——not talking to you."

Brushing aside the ninety-degree folded long whiskers.

Liang Qu squatted down, his fat hands cupping it like a newly hatched chick, and lifted a "bird's nest" from the ground.

The jade-white "mountain-character" wutong leaves shimmered brilliantly, interlocking and overlapping, layer upon layer wrapping around; viewed from a specific angle, they seemed to give off a layer of silver light like ginkgo in water, or some southern border specialty, blue-green sweet-dew condensed Qi floating like fish in water, drifting, rotating——

Magnificent and splendid.

Looking out, the entire stretch of land was exactly the same as what was in Liang Qu's hand, nearly a one-to-one replication of "bird's nests"——the whole Qiankun space had a full hundred portions.

A hundred strands.

One person dancing the Rainbow Skirt Feather Dress Dance is beautiful; ten people dancing a sword dance is martial; a hundred people dancing, whether the Rainbow Skirt Feather Dress or a sword dance, becomes a shock to the soul! No matter how beautiful the scenery, no matter how moving the sunset, none compare to even half of this moment!

Cultivating to now, it has been over ten years.

Liang Qu had never seen, never touched, never harvested such an astonishing quantity of Chang Qi.

What trypophobia?

Absurd!

Feet stepping on the ground felt like stepping on soft, fluffy clouds.

The inner Qiankun held by Yin Yunzhi was similar to the Qiankun treasure cave of Chen Shixuan, the Great Shun Qiankun Master invited by Su Guishan when Liang Qu once attacked the Guimu Sect's meridian; the ground was laid with a layer of thick, loose soil, a small earth-walled courtyard in the center.

No miscellaneous items, presumably cleared in advance for the purpose of placing Chang Qi.

Those who can open up a Qiankun space basically never have complete ownership of the space; it is more like a CEO who passed an assessment, while forces like Great Shun and Southern Border are the chairmen holding shares——naturally one shouldn't place too many private items, in case of sudden conscription——

Cupping the "bird's nest" in his hands, he stepped carefully.

Afraid his movements might "startle awake" the fledglings in the nest, causing them to spread their wings and fly away. Counting the ten strands of reward Chang Qi the little Shenlong got, plus the six strands on hand, all the Chang Qi added up to a hundred and sixteen strands——six, seven, eight, nine, ten——

"No, not just that." Liang Qu recalled the Tiger Amber Chang Qi from the past; many strands of Chang Qi had value several times higher. "Among the Chonggu Festival's reward Chang Qi there are five strands of superior Chang Qi, which might not be unable to be exchanged for two portions of Xuanhuang; overall three or four extra strands, making it a hundred and twenty!"

"Huu——"

Struck it rich.

Thoroughly struck it rich!

Taking a deep breath, exhaling the tension of contending for every second with the Southern Border Da Xi, the Five Gu and Nine Du, Liang Qu set down the bird's nest in his hands.

Although he really wanted to use it now, to elevate the Vertical Green, too many matters had not been dealt with since just coming out of Southern Border; he turned and left the inner Qiankun, returning to the reed marsh.

Yin Yunzhi babbled and drooled; both at the Zhen Xiang realm, there wasn't too great a gap. With Bai Awei's devoted preparation, the "Obedient Water" efficacy could last a long time.

E Qirui sat upright in alarm, guarding the unconscious Heart-Eating Sha; seeing the black fat "fish-man" walk out of the inner Qiankun, he abruptly stood up, reporting what he had seen and heard during the transport.

"You say not just your batch." "Yes, also heard from peers; since the Chonggu Festival began, the Tusi have started secretly transporting Sweet-Dew Condensed Qi to Jiuzhai; routes, times, quantities all unknown. By the time it reached me, it absolutely wasn't the first batch; whether it's the last batch remains unknown."

River wind blew.

Liang Qu stroked his chin.

Not just one batch——expected, reasonable; originally the Tusi's precautionary measure to avoid risk and simultaneously distribute political risk.

Point to point, the most dangerous is the middle line.

Don't know who takes it, don't know how they take it, don't know why they can take it; therefore they dare not invite the Grand View, dare not expose Chang Qi coordinates. Able to leverage the Chonggu Festival grand gathering to deploy the Grand View to route nodes for convenient support, setting up deceptive formations——that is already the limit.

And because they don't invite the Da Xi, it's even more impossible to succeed in one stroke; if there's a mishap, the whole army is wiped out.

"One batch delivers a hundred strands? At least several times; so speaking, Southern Border already has four or five hundred strands of Sweet-Dew Condensed Qi?"

Thousand Strands Chang Qi Method.

Gather a thousand strands of the same kind of Chang Qi, there is a probability of directly attracting scattered rules, completing the Position Fruit supplementation.

Liang Qu clearly remembered the message Ze Ding gave back then. 【Sweet-Dew Condensed Qi, all things grow. Cleanse the turbid, raise the clear; dry well springs forth.】

Most likely would manifest a corresponding water-attribute Minor Position Fruit, or even a Medium Position Fruit; given to the Pseudo-Dragon, relying on "Cleanse the turbid, raise the clear; dry well springs forth," it could greatly broaden the Lu Cang River's water volume, making the rivers swell.

A major river of Huaijiang's grade is unrealistic, but becoming like Huangsha and Ehe, advancing into a natural True Dragon, making the Lu Cang River a moat isolating Great Shun is more than sufficient.

Can advance to attack, retreat to defend.

Strategic significance is extremely great, especially with the Dragon Lord's existence, suspected to be able to make rivers flourish.

Southern Border's Nine Villages, one village contributing three strands a year is not much; twenty-seven a year, fifteen years is four hundred. And although the Pseudo-Dragon plan was only put on the table in the recent ten-odd years, clamorously, the preceding years might not have lacked execution; counting twenty years, it comes to exactly five hundred and forty strands.

To really get a specific Position Fruit seems not as difficult as imagined, yet highly concentrating an entire force, expending decades of effort, directing strength to one place, and Sweet-Dew Condensed Qi itself is not complex——yet again seems like something only extraordinary heroes can accomplish.

Liang Qu today single-handedly seized a hundred strands, equivalent to rendering Southern Border's years of effort useless.

But there is another possibility.

E Qirui's batch delivered a comparatively larger amount.

Two Nine Du, eight Twenty-Four Sha, plus the Holy Maiden and the remaining Zhen Xiang several; if each batch swapped a team, the scale cannot be easily replicated; from this view, batches of fifty, a hundred, fifty, or other amounts being transported are not impossible.

Pity can't get them.

"The Tusi are so cautious even in the transport process, splitting it up, sending intermittently, blocking information exchange; the remaining Chang Qi must be hidden by the Nine Villages in unknown places; without an inside man, it's not something that can be easily found out now——"

Thoughts converging, Liang Qu waved his palm and knocked Yin Yunzhi unconscious.

"Your family?"

"Already departed from the designated place according to plan; they should be waiting."

"Go." Liang Qu's body rapidly shrank, turning back into the size of a rat. "First go pick up your family, then return to Great Shun."

"Many thanks."

E Qirui cultivated to become a Heavenly Human, growing all the way to now; naturally he has relatives, and must bring them along.

A defector who lightly abandons family, becoming a "naked official"; even if the receiving side gains enormous benefit, they would still harbor doubts in their heart.

Flood waves surged, the water sac burst open.

Under the dim night curtain, a broad boat lay quietly anchored offshore. The incident happened suddenly, and the news could not be transmitted in time; Nanjiang remains utterly confused, with no time to arrest the relatives of E Qirui.

"Master!"

Seeing E Qirui, the boatmen on board jumped down first, spotting the small fat man in a straw hat by the foot, initially thinking it was a large rat, but upon closer inspection realized it was not a house mouse, but a tailed—frog?

The black frog leapt onto the window sill, peering inside the cabin to see a dense crowd of people lying together, men and women separated, their bodies marked with wet traces from the water channel that had not yet dried.

"You are decisive."

E Qirui replied: "The situation is urgent; persuading them one by one risks leaking the news, and there's no time, so I simply cut the Gordian knot with a swift blade— as for the aftermath, we'll discuss it later."

"Only the decisive can avoid future hardship; Marquis Gu, you truly have talent!"

E Qirui's face broke into a smile.

"Go! Return!"

Liang Qu waved his hand broadly.

E Qirui hurriedly asked: "May I ask, great fish, where are we headed on this journey? Is it the imperial capital of Dashun, or——""Pingyang!"

E Qirui's eyes burst forth with endless light: "But isn't that the homeland of the Huai King, Pingyang Prefecture?"

"Yes." Liang Qu glanced sideways, "The imperial court has already sent people to Pingyang to receive you; Marquis Gu, upon arriving at the locality, may briefly settle, bring your family to rest and recuperate, and incidentally experience the local customs of my Dashun, after which you may proceed to the imperial capital to receive your ennoblement— my Dashun Holy Emperor never fails to reward those who have served, treating all equally."

E Qirui drew a deep breath, gazing up at the starry sky, clenched his fists, and felt an inexplicable tension rise, followed by a surge of fervor.

Marquis of Xingyi!

Huai King!

For three thousand years, the greatest genius under heaven, none surpassing him, bearing the posture of ascension to immortality!

E Qirui still cannot forget the canyon on the Blood River, nor forget the scene by the Jianghe River where three hundred Entering Zhen Xiang fell silent in unison—a soul-stirring shock.

Since parting at Jianghe, it has been a year and a half since we last saw him; even if he never reappears on the Nanjiang front lines, his stories have never vanished from Nanjiang. Rumor has it his domain resembles a fairyland on earth, heavenly bliss, towering jeweled tree pavilions never ceasing day or night, and even dream-wandering—

"Splash."

The water swallowed the boat, people and all, rushing into the water channel, heading north toward Dashun! "Pfft!"

Bubbles burst, leaving a small circular outline.

A mud-brown claw gripped the tree branch tightly, trembling as it dragged downward, the mud-covered rat straining left and right, struggling to crawl out of the swamp, flopping over, its tiny chest heaving violently, its tail pressed flat against the tree trunk like an earthworm, oozing mud.

The twilight sky glowed with a halo.

Alive, I have lived on.

Quietly, not even a bird in the sky, the mouse caught its breath, sat upright.

The air pressure felt heavy and dull.

In the distance, a group of people knelt on the ground.

For some reason, the mouse felt this scene was deeply sorrowful.

It lowered its head, thought for a while, could not understand, then lay down again, arms and legs spread, gazing at the sky.

What a wonderful sky. Why would it be sad?

The cart wheels spun idly, the heavenly horse half-sunk in the swamp, insect gleam, Gui Ling Feng knelt long unable to rise, the tribal chief silently endured for a long time, face up, two lines of clear tears streamed down.

"This matter— does not blame you."

——

In the Chong Valley, the bustling duel temporarily halted, the bonfire blazing, everyone stared at the half-collapsed Chong Valley tower, at a loss, waiting for someone to come and explain the reason.

Li Xianghan stared blankly at the sky.

A faint sense of loss and sorrow welled in the heart.

——

Cicadas chirped without cease, fireflies danced and paired in the corners.

"Whoosh—"

Liang Qu opened his eyes, moved his limbs, stretched and clenched his fingers, the surging power again gave him boundless security.

From frugality to extravagance is easy, from extravagance to frugality hard. Having experienced the strength after promotion to Martial Saint, the 【Soul Summoning】 water creature's body ultimately differs from his own, especially in combat, the feeling of being unable to control the battlefield is unpleasant.

In the mental link, the light spot of the fat carp darted swiftly closer, the little Shenlong was a step ahead, having not yet entered the steps of Yin Yunzhi's inner universe, already arrived at the pier.

Rose from the meditation cushion.

"Otter otter, go to Pingyang Prefecture to call Governor Su, my master, and the angel."

Bathed in moonlight, the otter otter who had trained his tendons and bones did a backflip, drew his feet together, leapt into the pond, and took the water route to rush to the government office.

"Big boss big boss, huff huff, I'm back!"

The little Shenlong lifted a yellow skin bag, flew from within the full moon toward the small courtyard, no need to open it.

In an instant.

The Ze Ding trembled.

【Obtaining a wisp of the grudge-drinking air of a thousand cups, if merged with the essence of ten thousand marshes, gives birth to a spirit fish, which can be elevated to the verdant.】

【Thousand-cup grudge-drinking air: drinking a thousand cups of grudge, all things turn to emptiness. Striking the enemy once, reflecting it back upon them— only grudge can be carried.】

【Obtaining a wisp of the earth's pulse air, if merged with the essence of ten thousand marshes, gives birth to a spirit fish, which can be elevated to the verdant.】【Earth's pulse air: wandering earth's pulse, rootless duckweed. Borrowing soil to dwell, seizing earth's spirit for one's own use.】

【Obtaining a wisp of the thousand-blades war air——】

【Thousand-blades war air: gold essence nurtures the soul, the vessel becomes spirit-aware. Grasping weapons as an arm, wielding blades generates radiance, the edge splits the void, weapons and warfare cease.】

【Obtaining a wisp of the myriad poison return-to-origin air——】

【Myriad poison return-to-origin air: a hundred poisons gather in the abyss, myriad impurities condense into crystal. Poison is drunk as broth, refining evil into rain— although the poison-feather soaked in wine, one can still sip to renew oneself.】

【Obtaining a wisp of the renewed light long air——】

【Obtaining a wisp of the golden cicada world-cutting air——】

【Obtaining a wisp of the deep flow, if merged with the essence of ten thousand marshes——】

【Abyssal Flow: The sea is vast and boundless, the floodwaters surge and mingle, the currents gather and swirl, the waves roar and surge.】

【Obtaining divine mechanism to nurture consciousness and Qi——】

【Obtaining court-origin Qi——】

【Obtaining gold-devouring Qi——】 In an instant, numerous streams of varied-colored long Qi "squeezed" into the Ze Ding, mingling with two strands of crimson Qi, as twelve strands of azure long Qi surged and intertwined in a vibrant, overflowing dance.

The luminous information of the different long Qi flickered, and even a few strands exhibited astonishing effects.

Laden with abundance, Liang Qu nearly felt the illusion of having too much long Qi.

The fat catfish was approaching; there was no time to examine the various effects closely, so Liang Qu stepped out of the courtyard.

The tide spread out, the river wind pushing and shoving the reeds along the bank.

Reeds swayed everywhere, and when combined with the scenic atmosphere of Yixing, they became a distinctive landscape feature. In Liang Qu's construction plan, there was indeed a long plankway encircling the entire Yixing, with several key sections already completed, and visitors walked together in pairs.

"Huai Wang!"

"Angel!"

Liang Qu and Eunuch Li exchanged greetings.

In mid-July, a report was submitted to the imperial court; on the third day, the capital dispatched personnel. With the vortex evasion path and the Grand Canal complementing each other, the connection between the capital and Southern Zhili became exceptionally close.

"Master!" "Uncle!"

Yang Dongxiong and Su Gusha, as officials of Pingyang, jointly rushed forward to welcome.

The travelers couldn't help but whisper among themselves.

Exactly who possessed such prestige as to warrant the Huai Wang's personal reception?

The river wind fluttered the robes, dispelling the summer's dry heat.

"Here." Liang Qu reminded.

"Splash."

The wide boat broke through the water, white foam clinging to the hull and overflowing.

At the bow, E Qirui firmly gripped the railings.

The first thing to catch his eye was not the bustling dock, but the rotating luminous curtain on the Wan Gu Ying Chun Lou, upon which what appeared to be not a cloth shadow?

This single scene alone caused E Qirui to feel a sense of dazed dislocation, an indescribable feeling of misalignment.

His gaze followed the Baoshu Lou downward. Lights blazed, stars dimmed.

Even at night, the entire Yixing shone as brightly as by day, with the painted boats on the ship adorned with colorful lanterns, the stages built upon the water singing without cease—humans, merfolk, river otters, monkeys, octopuses, water spiders—every race could be seen, harmoniously blended.

A deep breath.

In the air, there were no vicious mosquitoes from the southern borders, no sudden rush into the nostrils from overly vigorous inhalation; in the water, there were no red wriggling worms, no transparent worm eggs—

It was simply fragrant and sweet.

Everywhere exuded a vibrant surge of life.

The words "prosperity" found their most fitting expression!

"This is——Great Shun."

No one felt surprised by the wide boat breaking through the water; it seemed as ordinary as a common sight.

Until E Qirui disembarked from the wide boat, strode forward, and walked toward the dock, where the Huai Wang came to greet him, a wave of astonishment erupted.

The whispers continued, speculating on identity.

What a wonderful sound? The Huai Wang's face broke into a smile, the angel in his mouth praising and congratulating.

To the left, the old man with short, bristly beard—was he the Huai Wang's master? The Imperial Bestowal Mr. Zhaowu, head of the Number One Martial Academy under the Holy Emperor of Great Shun?

To the right, two specks of scallion clung to the shoulder, exuding a faint aroma of grilled meat, as if, just before arriving at the dock, he had put down his chopsticks—the magistrate of Pingyang Prefecture?

E Qirui stood dazed, lifting his gaze to the luminous curtain on the horizon.

On the screen, precisely the Huai Wang spearing the southern border centipede, the centipede colliding and crashing against the frame, heavily smashing into the ground.

That very person, whom countless southern borderers regarded as a nightmare, who caused the Blood River's southern bank to form a canyon, who silenced the three hundred Entering Zhen Xiang, who diminished the Five Poisons and Nine Toxins—stood beside oneself?

Suddenly, a surge of pride and courage welled up, rising from the back to the crown of the head.

From now on, he too was——a person of Great Shun?