Chapter 1321

White snow covered the deck, as if a layer of fluff had been pasted on.

Originally the monkey and river otters were going to shovel the snow away, but Long Yao and Long Li thought it looked nice and insisted on keeping it to build snowmen, only shoveling out two intersecting passages.

Beside the "X"-shaped passage, there was also a small exposed circle of deck; inside the circle, Otter Kai led the otter family in standing on one leg like a golden rooster, straining to hold the stance, unmoving, the wind and snow placing a little white cap on its head.

Creak, creak.

The monkey paws passed by with uneven steps, the white snow freezing the Monkey King's soles red; it rubbed them, lifted a foot to look at the white snow on its sole, spread its five toes, looked at the snow fluff stuck to its toes, and while Otter Kai wasn't paying attention, stomped hard on its face.

"Hou hou hou, ha hou ha hou! Oh!"

"Auspicious snow heralds a bountiful year."

Heavy snow swirled into the room; he closed the windows, shutting out the water beasts' clamor, and Liang Qu sat at the desk, laying out the Great Creation Elixirs.

One Demon King, two portions of inferior Great Creation Elixir; three of them totaled six portions.

Half the precious elixirs Liang Qu had never even seen before; all were Southern Frontier specialties.

Great Shun resolved obstacles and continued focusing on governing the Yellow Sand River; the Yellow Sand River Demon Kings gained benefits without needing to make enemies; Liang Qu took another step toward the thousandfold Root Sea; Li Xianghan raced toward becoming the greatest Holy Maiden of all time; as a rising star, she drove the Southern Frontier to rally from the despondency of defeat; everyone had a bright future.

With the New Year approaching, he was worrying about preparing New Year's goods.

A thousand li journey, the gift is weighty, the sentiment even more so.

In just over a month, the Southern Frontier showed such generosity that Liang Qu didn't know what to say.

He looked inward at himself.

Six hundred fifty-threefold Root Sea; the yellow earth vast and solid, at its center a towering peach tree.

【Ding Master: Liang Qu】

【Refined Marsh Spirit: Water Ape Great Sage (Deep Orange)】

【Marsh Spirit Favor: Martial Dao Penetrating Spirit 17th Layer; Yinglong Patterns: 10 Layers; Tian Wu Yu Patterns: 2 Layers】

【River Rule Degree: 5.4 (River Favor Degree: 83.4712)】

【River Favor Degree (Yellow Sand): 18.8974】

【Marsh Essence: Thirty-three million】

【Heaven and Earth Long Qi: Twenty】

【Dew Seeds: Three】

【Dragon Species Qi: Nine】

He counted them one by one.

A trip to the East Sea and the Underworld swelled the Marsh Essence to thirty million; Dragon Species Qi grew by two; Dew Seeds were for the Time Insect glue water, decreased by three; after the New Year, once winter passes, they should recover to four.

Regarding Heaven and Earth Long Qi, aside from the mother stock and the Yellow Mud Mother copied by the Whale Emperor, there were nine total: seven Sweet Dew,

one Return Fire Reverse Wind, one See Gap.

The Whale Emperor gave fifteen Yellow Mud Mothers; plus the mother stock Yellow Mud Mother, seventeen total.

Among them, Liang Qu gave two to the imperial court, exchanged for three Xuanhuang; fusion used thirteen, leaving two "mother stocks." And after giving two to the imperial court, six Xuanhuang Tokens were swapped out together. Xuanhuang Tokens were the reward from the old Beiting Great Battle, when he and Eying jointly slew a Martial Saint Master; that makes nine Xuanhuang remaining in total, two Yellow Mud Mother main bodies.

At this point, the Xuanhuang Tokens are cleared out.

Twenty Heaven and Earth Long Qi — quantity-wise already enough to sublimate the River Master once more, but all are superior grade; using them to sublimate would be a loss; at minimum they must be exchanged for inferior grade; even among superior grades, things like Yellow Mud Mother are reluctant to exchange.

Besides what's recorded in the Marsh Cauldron, the displayable Long Qi, Dew Seeds, and Marsh Essence, there are also the Whale Emperor's and Heavenly Fire Sect's physical feedings not displayed.

From the Whale Emperor: ten Small Root Sea Elixirs; to counter the Jiuyi Mountain, Liang Qu ate five, five remain; among them four and the King's three portions of Great Creation Elixir are in the capital's elixir workshop, gestating into Ten Complete Great Tonifying Elixirs.

Heavenly Fire Sect: seventeen super-grade Blood Treasures; function unknown, suspected to enhance strength.

Now add the Southern Frontier's six portions of inferior Great Creation Treasures.

Just the Whale Emperor's and Southern Frontier's treasures alone can conservatively push another seven thousandfold Root Sea; normally eighty, exceptionally ninety!

"Cultivation grows stronger, the two-faced feedback surges higher, yet my Marsh Spirit is stuck at Water Ape Great Sage for a long time, only feeling the feedback weakening; perhaps after passing seven hundred, there won't be the current terrifying speed of growing two or three fold Root Sea per month just from cultivation."

Liang Qu sighed, momentarily envying Li Xianghan.

Same cultivation feedback; Li Xianghan just sits in the deep rear organizing gatherings, wine pools and meat forests, hands over some intelligence, and sits secure as the Southern Frontier's number one genius; he survives in the cracks and has much more to consider.

He flipped through the pages again, checking the intelligence and analysis Li Xianghan gathered. By the way, he asked about the little mirage dragon's tracking situation via the spirit link.

Currently the Southern Frontier's primary task is focused on the Yellow Sand River's inner Demon Kings; they believe the Yellow Sand River Demon Kings can cause greater obstruction; overseas Demon Kings will be attempted after the New Year.

The Yellow Sand River is also easier to intercept than the East Sea Demon Kings; compared to the Jianghuai Great Marsh, the Yellow Sand River is more linear; as long as the approximate time is confirmed, 【Strong Control】 ten million myriad large fish spread across the river channels can net them out like a fishing net.

The planned time freed up between the Yellow Sand River and the East Sea is enough for him to happily celebrate the New Year.

"The Whale Emperor, the Great Li Founding Emperor, one old thing after another, both want to fatten a pig; regardless of what they have or don't, eat first, talk later."

"Eat until fat enough, like A Fei; one stab down and the blade can't even pierce the fat layer."

He wrote a note, stuffed it into a bag together with the six portions of Great Creation Elixir.

"Otter Kai!"

On the deck, snow dust flew; Otter Kai grabbed the Monkey King's tail, spun it into a giant pinwheel; hearing the call, it flung the Monkey King flying, dropping into the Yellow Sand River.

"Take all these to the capital, hand them to Mr. Lan at the Imperial Observatory; he'll understand."

Otter Kai took the bundle, strapped it on, folded its single claw at ninety degrees, stepped on the window sill, and leaped into the river.

Liang Qu felt his Qiankun Bag, took out a Fetal Pearl Elixir that could revive him two more times.

"For the New Year I'll definitely have to bring Eying back; that leaves only one chance; if there's an accident — sigh, can only wrong Pai Pai Xiao Xing for a bit; Round Head, you go trip to Jianghuai."

Liang Qu happily prepared for the New Year.

On the other side, the Rakshasa Sha lost sleep for several nights; after multiple methods and repeated confirmation, the Yellow Sand River Demon King had indeed taken their Southern Frontier's Great Elixir!

The Vermilion King and Lord Qinghe are too brutal; not only did they seize their things, they killed the dispatched envoys; truly impossible to approach.

The Yellow Sand River's Demon King is too impolite; they took the things and that was that; the various strongholds brought things out never intending to take them back; originally if it succeeds give it all, if it fails give half, so future meetings go smoothly.

—

Why kill people?

The Yellow Sand Long Wang was tyrannical, and the other demon kings of the Yellow Sand River were also tyrannical.

The Tusi and the Black Water Poison entrusted him with the mission, and he returned with such painful results—Raksha Sha thought it over and decided to take a risk, personally contacting the king.

On the Yellow Sand River, a small boat drifted.

The Third Prince flew in the sky and immediately sent a message: "All units, please take note, all units, please take note, Nanjiang is about to be in position, Nanjiang is about to be in position, oh fa!"

In the mental link, Liang Qu, as the intermediary, immediately notified the Fierce Fang Commander and Tie Mu Shan.

The fat fish faced the mirror, tidied up his appearance, swung the big hammer, and struck a few poses.

The long whiskers fluttered, twisting left and right.

Duke, general, pillar of the state, Jianghuai's beautiful-bearded gentleman as well.

Glancing askance at "cannot move".

Fond of eating and lazy to do, muddled and muddle-headed, greenish in hue, a pair of wooden horns, extraordinarily ugly, hot in summer, cool in winter.

As a minister, without soft and elastic skin, without a broad, round, and moist big belly, how could one bear the august posteriors of the Heavenly God, the Goddess, and the State Preceptor?

Sycophantic minister!

"Cannot move" scratched its buttocks, flicked its tail, aimed at the fat fish and let out a loud fart; before the bubbles dispersed, the fat fish erupted, immediately undertaking the Heavenly God's 【Spirit Descent】.

The fat fish angrily cursed the sneakiness, hastily put down the big hammer, and folded the long whiskers.

In an instant, outside the small boat, the vortex water began to flow silently, enveloping the ten-li radius of heaven and earth, ensuring that any battle occurring within would generate no qi, thus preventing the king hundreds of li away from knowing.

"Is this the place?" Raksha Sha looked around.

"Exactly, we encountered the Left General of the King here!" Yuan Zhou gazed at the river surface, still with lingering fear.

After completing the mission to the king, Yuan Zhou returned to report to Raksha Sha, and only after hearing the ordeals of Yan Zhi and others did he learn that the three demon kings of the Yellow Sand River, the three envoys, were actually the only ones to return safely, while the other two suffered heavy casualties.

It was too terrifying.

"Or perhaps the demon beasts of the Yellow Sand River share the same tyrannical nature as the Yellow Sand Long Wang, requiring caution, but I see that Left General, he is honest and straightforward, born with a simple and honest appearance, somewhat crude for a demon, yet he did not directly attack."

Raksha Sha had heard these circumstances before; hearing them again, he felt a bit more confident.

"Can we contact it again?"

"It should not be difficult."

Yuan Zhou took the wood pulp and began to strike the water surface according to a certain rhythm, while calling out: "Left General! Left General! Left General!"

Again and again, the calls accompanied by the cold wind echoed across the river surface.

For a long time.

Raksha Sha raised his hand: "Here it comes!"

Yuan Zhou did not notice, but he trusted Raksha Sha.

After waiting a moment, sure enough, a huge shadow emerged, the water bubbled and surged upward, the top split open, blossoming like a flower, revealing the colossal beast within.

The lantern-like giant eyes slightly lowered, fixed on Raksha Sha, making Raksha Sha unusually tense.

A truly domineering and majestic great demon, black-backed and white-bellied, with half a tiger's mouth visible, showing a hint of simplicity, eyes bright and shining, worthy of being the Left Great General under the demon king.

Raksha Sha prepared his words, just about to speak.

"Ha te!"

Bang!

Raksha Sha tightly shut his mouth, lest he accidentally swallow it.

A large mouthful of saliva poured from head to foot; the great demon's body was so huge that one gulp directly filled the small boat, submerging the instep.

The hammer-head was massive, pressing against Raksha Sha's chest, pushing hard, forcing Raksha Sha and Yuan Zhou to the bow of the boat, nearly toppling into the water.

"How come again? The General said, having come, you shall spit at you!"

Nameless fire burned fiercely; as one of the Twenty-Four Sha, when had Raksha Sha ever suffered such humiliation in Nanjiang? Even those great jue could not do such a thing, yet being in the Great Shun, bearing the hopes of the Tusi and Nanjiang—

Endure!

Drawing a deep breath, Raksha Sha raised his hand to wipe the saliva from his face, showing the fat fish the sincerity of Nanjiang.

The fat fish tilted its head: "Not seeing!"

"Hurry up and leave! I, the great demon king of the Yellow Sand River, do not accept Nanjiang's commission."

"The king is in seclusion!"

"Not even once!"

No matter what Raksha Sha said, the flatly refused. Originally intending to follow the original plan and drive away the few people, seeing Raksha Sha growing increasingly distressed, it suddenly turned its eyes, recalling the Heavenly God's earnest teachings.

"My king is in seclusion, fully entrusted to me; in the fish clan, I am the most talented, most promising, most handsome and suave; besides me, no one could possibly go to disturb or dissuade, even if I disturbed, I would inevitably leave a bad impression! Last time I already let the king scold me, just two portions, causing offense to the Great Shun, not worth it, not worth it!"

"Left General, please do me a favor—"

Seeing the other still requesting, completely ignoring his own meaning of "meaning something", the fat fish secretly cursed the other as stupid as the Third Prince, and had to be more blunt, producing a fish fin, slightly rubbing: "This bad impression for the king, at least worth many portions of great medicine! How much great medicine needed to compensate? No, no."

Raksha Sha was stunned.

What does it mean?

Is this—bribery?

He looked at Yuan Zhou, who nodded.

Raksha Sha felt numb.

A fish demanding bribes, from him?

Do demon beasts also observe human affairs?

The demon kings of the Yellow Sand River, some killed, some extorting bribes.

Hun! Hun ah!

"Today I truly have not prepared—"

"Ha te!"

Another large mouthful of saliva poured down from above, the fat fish flicked its tail, directly flipping the small boat, then turned and dove, disappearing without a trace.

"Splash."

Raksha Sha and Yuan Zhou emerged from the icy river water, hair disheveled.

Yuan Zhou, at a loss: "Raksha my lord, what do we do now?"

"What can we do?" Raksha Sha gritted his teeth, "Loss of troops and generals, no treasure medicines left—now that it's come to this, we must seize even the slightest chance! Can we return empty-handed, with nothing gained? Regardless of success or failure, how will the tribal leader view us? I refuse to believe these demon kings have all become Buddhas, eating only vegetables, no meat, yet fear the Great Shun so greatly!"

"But—we have no treasure medicines left on us."

"Write a letter! Say progress has been made, requiring greater investment—"

Hundreds of li away.

The Fish King slept soundly, suddenly startled awake, scratched his belly, smacked his lips.

Strange.

I had a dream, dreaming I was greedily eating treasure medicines, only to seem as if someone else had eaten them.

After much thought.

Who could send it treasure medicines?

The Fish King turned over, continued sleeping—this half-year, Great Shun's transformation of the Shahe River has left it restless, truly noisy, its sleep quality deteriorated.

Jianghuai East Waters.

【Descent】Round Head, transforming limbs, Liang Qu patiently explained the pros and cons to Pai Xiao Xing.

Previously, Pai Xiao Xing roamed freely, its agile limbs now tightly coiled.

"What are you afraid of? You have so many subsidiary bodies, feel no pain—you don't need much, one-third will suffice."

Pai Xiao Xing coiled even tighter.

"Upper realm! I will give you two evolutions! Only A Fei's realm can compare to yours!"

After a long while.

The tightly coiled limbs half-relaxed, extended outward, while the other half covered its core, as if shielding its eyes, unwilling to look.

"Excellent! Blood River Realm Head—none but you!"

Liang Qu patted Pai Xiao Xing.

【Consumable: 999,864.2 points of water marsh essence to promote the growth of Manxing Senluo.】

【Manxing Senluo: Lord of Senluo, severed body becomes spy, relocates stars to deploy eyes】

Aside from surveillance, in terms of sheer strength, Pai Xiao Xing is utterly below demon king level—hardly even a minor sprite—yet over the past half-year, relying on "surveillance," Round Head has captured many treasure fish, while he himself has gained scarcely any essence.

The Guimu Sect's ritual requires flesh-and-blood offerings, quantity varying with the target's strength—best results with same kind, achieving great feats with minimal lives; if foreign kind, there is risk of mental confusion after resurrection.

Formerly, the Guimu Sect raised mountain ghosts, harmed many Great Shun civilians, refined fetal pearl pills—precisely because they sought to resurrect a person, a master of the Entering Zhen Xiang Sect.

Liang Qu differs—he has always resurrected Pai Xiao Xing's subsidiary bodies; the fetal pearl pills in his hand were also refined from the remains of the former "Net My Lord"; now the fetal pearl pills are exhausted, he can only impose hardship on Pai Xiao Xing, while simultaneously making it, under his command, one of only two upper-realm demon kings!