Chapter 240: with translation of chapter title

240. Chapter 240: the details, occasionally came to tease.

Enfeoff the ancestral witch Hou Tu as the Heavenly Venerable of Mighty Manifestation of the Central Earth, assign her to the Department of Three Mountains and Five Peaks, and assist the Heavenly Venerable of Vast and Mighty Spiritual Power of the Vast Sea.

Ranked third grade, each great cycle receives seventy-two bottles of Golden Core, ten thousand drops of spiritual dew, and twelve zhang of rosy silk.

As Qi's words fell, a golden plaque appeared, and everyone's gaze focused on Hou Tu.

Hou Tu naturally knew this was to take her as a hostage, but seeing that the ennoblement was also generous, she felt no objection, and knelt again, saying: "Your subject Hou Tu, thank you for Your Majesty's bounty."

Qi nodded, knowing the matter was settled, merely offering a word of comfort, letting her continue to serve well in the Heavenly Court, and then departed with Taiyi.

After Qi and Taiyi left, Di Jiang and many brothers and sisters gathered around, some feeling guilty, saying to Hou Tu: "Younger sister, we are ashamed before you; we can only let you stay alone in the Heavenly Court as a hostage—this is the elder brothers' fault."

Di Jiang felt somewhat ashamed but didn't know how to make amends, when Zhu Rong said bluntly: "Younger sister, cultivate well in the Heavenly Court for now; when we brothers become stronger, we'll come fetch you back."

"If you suffer any grievance during this period, just tell your brothers; at worst we'll rebel, so don't wrong yourself."

Hou Tu, hearing this, said somewhat helplessly:

"The Heavenly Court is not some den of tigers and wolves; I am merely valued by His Majesty Qi and employed here—there is none of the danger you speak of."

"Moreover, enjoying the third-grade qi fortune, if we talk about the share of qi fortune, it may not be much less than yours."

"Moreover, Golden Core and spiritual dew have been bestowed; in cultivation, I fear I will advance ahead of you."

"That rosy silk is also top-grade, truly extraordinarily beautiful; in terms of luster, I am not inferior to you."

"In the Heavenly Court there are many experts; if war arises, the Thunder and Fighting Departments will step forward; compared to myself, I actually worry more about you."

"Going west, conflict will surely arise; I fear there will not be too little fighting. Although the West is poor, it is not without strong people."

"You still need to be careful on your journey; do not be careless, and I observe that the two westerners are not exactly benevolent—you must not trust them lightly."

Seeing Hou Tu like this, Di Jiang felt even more guilty, yet helpless; in the end he could only reply solemnly:

"Younger sister's words, elder brother will certainly keep in mind; heading west, I will definitely be extra careful."

Hou Tu saw they had listened, then satisfiedly nodded, turned to Xuanming and said:

"You and I, sisters, I entrust the Hou Tu tribe to you; Dayi and Kuafu are elites of the tribe, but their temper is too impatient; elder sister needs to keep a closer watch on them ordinarily."

"My going to serve in the Heavenly Court is not a helpless move, nor is there any danger; you need to make this clear to them."

"Otherwise, given their temperament, they might cause trouble; even if it's just an argument, that would be fine, but we must not let them delay the Wu Clan's grand plan."

"If we really cannot persuade them, then trouble sister to help; if truly impossible, we can only slay them, without being soft-hearted."

When Hou Tu spoke to this point, her heart felt as if dripping blood; she would inevitably not be able to leave the heavenly realm thereafter, and if she let those two cause trouble, it would surely create complications affecting the Wu Clan.

Death at the hands of one's own people would at most make the clansmen feel resentful; but if they were allowed to charge into the Heavenly Court and die at its hands, the problem could become great.

This would surely arouse the anger of the Hou Tu tribe; their followers might together march to assault the Heavenly Court, destroying the Wu Clan's future in one fell swoop.

She entrusted the Hou Tu tribe to Xuanming, meaning to have Xuanming annex it, so as to integrate the Wu Clan's strength to meet the forthcoming challenges in the West.

Xuanming naturally understood Hou Tu's meaning; though hesitant at heart, he finally agreed.

With the Hou Tu tribe in her hands, those two might still survive; but if they fell under the hands of Gonggong and Zhu Rong, and caused trouble, there would likely be no good outcome.

As for Di Jiang's tribe, the two were not considered at all; the great witch Chiyou of Di Jiang's tribe is extremely ruthless and would certainly not tolerate them.

Dayi and Kuafu enjoy too high prestige in the tribe, with a word followed by a hundred responses; integrating the two tribes would make them the greatest obstacle.

These ancestral witches, if not provoked, might still be tolerable, but the senior witches under them would not tolerate the existence of such people.

Even regarding the previous tribal divisions and annexations, they freely considered them; each great witch's temperament must be taken into account, otherwise we would only fall into internal strife.

In the Lingxiao Treasure Hall, Di Jun and Fuxi were still discussing tax matters with everyone, deeply troubled, when they saw Qi and Taiyi return to the hall.

Di Jun gave a light cough, the discussion stopped, Qi saw the situation, waved his hand, and dismissed the attendants.

After everyone had withdrawn, Qi then spoke: "The Wu Clan affair is settled; I have driven them all to the West, and promised the West as their pasture."

Di Jun and Fuxi were startled, not knowing why Qi would do so, making such a heavy promise; Di Jun directly asked: "Qi, you are not a reckless person; please explain your considerations."

Fuxi and Taiyi also turned their gazes to Qi, seeking an explanation; the Wu Clan, as a future enemy capable of contending with the Heavenly Court, why would he give such generous treatment?

"Regarding this, I naturally have my considerations; please listen as I explain them one by one."

"I have placed the Wu Clan here; first, to give them a barren place, so they do not spoil the fertile Eastern Continent."

"Second, as previously mentioned, the immortal dao's qi fortune is now mighty; inevitably there will be ambitious sorts wanting to cause trouble; if we truly let them collude with the West, I fear we would still not handle it well."

"Better to plant a hard-to-chew bone in the West first; if anyone wants to collude with the West, the Wu Clan will be a great mountain they cannot cross."

"Moreover, you know the Wu Clan's way of life; if left to develop, the two westerners' goals could never be fulfilled."

"If Jieyin and Zhunti want to develop the West, they will inevitably target the Wu Clan and the twelve ancestral witches first; the Heavenly Court can then simply sit on the mountain and watch the tigers fight."

"After all, to control a continent, one must pay some price; the Heavenly Court is not their nanny, to escort and guard them."

Qi said thus far, his face slightly cold, then continued: "If they abandon the West, that would be naturally even better; now the Eastern, Southern, and Northern Continents, under my Heavenly Court's control, have recovered much vitality."

"In these three regions, the Heavenly Court has an unsurpassable advantage; if they dare to act outstandingly, their followers will surely be few."

"Thus the flames of war that arise will surely not be too large; for the Heavenly Court to suppress them, it would be merely a casual effort."

As for them, if they could persuade the Wu Clan to join them, that would be acknowledging the Heavenly Court's position as the protagonist of heaven and earth. Their actions could not be said to become heaven and earth, overturning this great mountain pressing on their heads; they could only be considered rebellion.

"The distinction here, and the difference in impact it brings, you should be able to understand."

"Moreover, the Western Continent is a place of poverty; letting the Wu Clan survive there also amounts to an indirect restriction on their development."

"Moreover, the tax I have set is quite high, equal to the average of the other three continents; its heavy burden will inevitably produce internal strife among them."

"Moreover, we only need this number; if the Wu Clan people harbor ill intentions, the taxes the Western Continent must pay will be far more than that."

"The benefits therein are great, known best to the Heavenly Court; but if the Wu Clan ever oversteps even slightly, it will provoke endless popular resentment, which will surely consume most of their energy."

"In the long run, I do not believe the Wu Clan are all people of noble character; they will surely produce no small amount of trouble later."

"Moreover, the high taxes will also dash the West's hope of becoming strong again; Jieyin and Zhunti will surely hate them to the bone and contend with them."

"Such a move killing several birds with one stone requires only a continent presently not important; what is there to be reluctant to give up?"

"After all, you and I have allotted the West to the Wu Clan; thereafter, any repairs naturally must be their own concern."

"Thus, the manpower and material resources saved thereby can be called astronomical; of course, even so, I think among the myriad tribes, those willing are unknown in number."

Qi said, smiling, "This is truly a poisonous honey, yet all beings will inevitably savor it like sweet syrup, even if they must risk their lives to drink it."

Translation: Qi said this, smiling, for this is indeed a poisonous honey, but all beings will inevitably take it as sweet as candy, even if they risk their lives to drink it.

We need to keep single line.

Fuxi and Emperor Jun kept pondering the crux, agreeing it wasn't a bad plan, but suddenly Emperor Jun winced, saying, "Qi, you've caused me and Fuxi great trouble—you never considered that by giving away the Western continent, countless tribes will come knocking!"

Translation: Fuxi and Di Jun were also constantly pondering the crux of it, and they felt this was indeed not a bad plan, but suddenly Di Jun seemed to think of something and said with a headache: "Qi, you've caused me and Fuxi great trouble; you never considered that by granting away Xifang Dalu, how many races will come knocking in the future!"

We need to keep quotes.

"Although we see how deep the scheme runs, those tribes can't see it—and even if they could, they'd willingly close their eyes for the sake of the benefits."

Translation: "Although we know how deep the scheming is, those races cannot see it; even if they did, they would surely shut their eyes tightly because of the interests involved."

Fuxi winced, thinking, "Every tribal leader is a sharp one—who can resist the lure of those benefits?" Taiyi merely chuckled, "The able take on more work; as Heavenly Emperor, big brother naturally bears more worry—and doesn't he enjoy it?"

Translation: Thinking of this, Fuxi also felt a headache; the chieftains of all those races are all cunning—who could resist the benefits involved? Taiyi merely laughed: "The able bear more work; as the eldest brother, you are the Heavenly Emperor, so naturally you must worry more, and aren't you happy to do so?"

Emperor Jun smirked, then said, "Qi, you truly are the remarkable one the Yangmei Great God spoke of—name your price and let my brother go."

Translation: Seeing this, Di Jun chuckled helplessly, then after a moment said: "Qi, you truly live up to the extraordinary person Yangmei Dashen spoke of; name your price, and let my brother go—how about that?"

They all burst out laughing; Taiyi blushed, while Fuxi exclaimed, "Even throw in Nüwa's share—just name your price, Qi, and I'll give up everything I own to buy him back."

Translation: Upon hearing this, everyone burst into laughter; Taiyi felt a bit embarrassed, while Fuxi laughed and said: "Even mention Nüwa's share, Qi—just speak up, and I will give up my lifetime's estate to redeem it."

Qi glanced at Fuxi with contempt and said:

Translation: Qi gave Fuxi a disdainful glance and laughed:

"Emperor Jun says that because he controls most of the heavenly treasury and is quite rich—what wealth do you have that could impress me?"

Translation: "Di Jun says this because he happens to occupy most of the Heavenly Court's treasury and is thus wealthy; what wealth do you have that could catch my eye?"

They laughed again; Taiyi clapped, saying, "Exactly—plus Nüwa is incredibly wealthy, rare in the world—why not have Qi negotiate with her and let her buy you out?"

Translation: Everyone laughed again; Taiyi clapped, praising it, then added a jab: "Exactly so, and Nüwa's wealth is so vast, rare in the world—why not let Qi talk with her and have her buy you out?"

"That way, you and Nüwa would still be together—both would belong to Qi."

Translation: "That way, you and Fellow Daoist Nüwa would not be separated; you would both simply belong to Qi."

Fuxi, pleased yet embarrassed, retorted:

Translation: Upon hearing this, Fuxi felt pleased but also a bit annoyed and angry:

"Step aside—why not buy your older brother and send him to Qi instead of letting Nüwa sell me to him?"

Translation: "Step aside; rather than let Nüwa sell me to Qi, why don't you buy your elder brother and send him to Qi instead?"

Taiyi took the joke in stride, laughing, "I'd thought of that too, but my elder brother is rich while I have nothing—I can't afford to buy him back."

Translation: Taiyi, however, could take such jokes unrelated to him, and since it had just begun, he wasn't offended, so he laughed: "I naturally thought of that too, but my elder brother is now wealthy while I own nothing, so I cannot redeem him."

Emperor Jun fell silent, unable to laugh.

Translation: At that moment, Di Jun could not laugh out loud.

Seeing the mood settle and having gained the upper hand, Qi spoke up to chide Fuxi and Emperor Jun:

Translation: Seeing the mood right and having taken full advantage, Qi then spoke up to reproach Fuxi and Di Jun:

"You two, when will you be as willing as Taiyi to open your hearts to me?"

Translation: "You two, look at when you will be as willing as Taiyi to open your hearts to me."

He turned to Emperor Jun, teasing, "Although you can't ransom him, Fuxi is still worth considering—just take out the treasury; I only need half as a broker's fee."

Translation: He then turned to Di Jun and teased: "Although you cannot redeem him, Fuxi is still worth considering—why not take out the treasury? I don't need much; just half as a brokerage fee."

"I'll use the other half to help you negotiate with Nüwa—she'll surely agree to sell Fuxi to you, sealing your inseparable bond."

Translation: "The other half I will use to help you negotiate with Nüwa, surely getting her to sell Fuxi to you, thus perfectly fulfilling your inseparable bond."

Emperor Jun finally smiled, while Fuxi's smile faded—indeed, smiles don't vanish, they just move elsewhere.

Translation: Di Jun then broke into a smile, while Fuxi's face lost its smile—indeed, smiles do not disappear, they merely shift.

Though it was just banter, Fuxi thought that if Nüwa were there, she might actually agree.

Translation: Although it was just verbal teasing, Fuxi felt that if Nüwa were present, she might really agree.

Having known her for long, he understands her sister's nature completely, fearing the world would lack chaos.

Translation: After long association, he understood his sister's character all too well, fearing nothing more than chaos in the world.

As long as it creates amusement without harming others, she'll dare to do anything.

Translation: As long as it brings joy and does not affect others, she dares to do anything.

But Fuxi also wishes Nüwa would stay as she is—optimistic and lively.

Translation: However, Fuxi also hopes Nüwa's nature stays unchanged, continuing her current optimistic and lively demeanor.

If Nüwa were to adopt his mindset, Fuxi can't imagine how much injustice she'd endure, or how much inner conflict and sorrow would arise.

Translation: If Nüwa were to grow to his mindset, Fuxi dare not imagine how much injustice she would suffer, nor how much inner turmoil and sorrow would arise.

Thinking this, Fuxi smiled involuntarily, leaving Qi and the others puzzled about what wild thoughts he's having.

Translation: Thinking of this, Fuxi involuntarily smiled, leaving Qi and the others puzzled, wondering what he was daydreaming about now.

Seeing the mood settle, Qi spoke of how to treat Hou Tu—though it is a heavenly essence, it must not be taken lightly.

Translation: Seeing the atmosphere finally calm, Qi then spoke of how to deal with Houtu; although she is a quality of the Heavenly Court, she must not be taken lightly.

Moreover, as the earth's ancestral shaman, joining the Three Mountains and Five Peaks would be a good post, allowing him to keep an eye on Kunpeng as well.

Translation: Moreover, as the ancestral shaman of earth, joining the Three Mountains Five Ridges Division would be a good option, and it would also allow monitoring Kunpeng's actions.

Qi doesn't know why—Kunpeng often shows loyalty and his conduct is flawless, yet deep down Qi finds it hard to trust him.

Translation: Qi also did not know why, for although Kunpeng often shows loyalty and his conduct is blameless, deep down Qi still finds it hard to trust him.

At his birth, Qi tried to recall his memories, but aside from creating heaven, he couldn't remember anything else.

Translation: Recalling his birth memories, Qi had repeatedly reflected, but aside from the act of creating heaven, he could remember nothing else.

Qi suspects his distrust stems from forgotten memories he can't recall, convinced that those lost memories conceal some secret.

Translation: Qi felt that the reason for his distrust must lie in the forgotten memories, but since he could not recall them, he knew that those lost memories must hide some secret.

"Let's go find Nüwa—after all, this concerns a continent; my seal alone can't win heavenly approval."

Translation: "Let's go find Nüwa, after all this concerns a continent; merely with my mark cannot trigger the Heavenly Court's acknowledgment of its fortune."

"Tell me, will my move cause the heavenly fortune to rise or fall?"

Translation: "Tell me, will this act of mine cause the Heavenly Court's fortune to rise or fall?"

Qi wondered: carving out the Western continent and placing a ruler who heeds music but not decrees will surely affect heavenly fortune.

Translation: Qi felt a bit curious; judging from now, carving out Xifang Dalu and shaping on it a lord who heeds neither tune nor proclamation will inevitably affect the Heavenly Court's fortune.

But according to Qi and the others' calculations, this should resolve a major heavenly problem, so the fortune ought to rise.

Translation: But if, based on the information Qi and the others have obtained, this move is meant to solve a major problem for the Heavenly Court, then its fortune should rise.

In everyone's anticipation, Nüwa finally arrived riding the azure phoenix. (End of chapter)