Chapter 645

Azure Hill City, inside the Imperial City.

Translation: "Azure Hill City, inside the Imperial City."

Azure Hill City, inside the Imperial City.

Heavy snow fell across the sky, and a eunuch skilled in water magic cast a secret technique, turning the accumulated snow into a material like jade glass.

Translation: "Heavy snow fell across the sky, and a eunuch skilled in water magic cast a secret technique, turning the accumulated snow into a material like jade glass."

Heavy snow fell across the sky, and a eunuch skilled in water magic cast a secret technique, turning the accumulated snow into a material like jade glass.

Thus every palace hall and pavilion became snow‑white and crystal bright, shining in the sunlight like a crystal palace, gorgeous and splendid, not of this world.

Translation: "Thus every palace hall and pavilion became snow-white and brilliant, shining in the sunlight, like a crystal palace, gorgeous and splendid, not of this world."

Thus every palace hall and pavilion became snow‑white and crystal bright, shining in the sunlight like a crystal palace, gorgeous and splendid, not of this world.

We'll output: "Thus every palace hall and pavilion became snow-white and brilliant, shining in the sunlight, like a crystal palace, gorgeous and splendid, not of this world."

Moreover, countless lovely palace maids shuttled through the palace halls, likewise performing the secret art of turning spring winds into rain, causing the myriad exotic flowers and grasses in the gardens to bloom in gorgeous profusion, crimson and purple piled like brocade, truly a scene of immortals.

Translation: "Moreover, countless lovely palace maids shuttled through the palace halls, likewise performing the secret art of turning spring winds into rain, causing the myriad exotic flowers and grasses in the gardens to bloom in gorgeous profusion, crimson and purple piled like brocade, truly a scene of immortals."

Moreover, countless lovely palace maids shuttled through the palace halls, likewise performing the secret art of turning spring winds into rain, causing the myriad exotic flowers and grasses in the gardens to bloom in gorgeous profusion, crimson and purple piled like brocade, truly a scene of immortals.

We'll output: "Moreover, countless lovely palace maids shuttled through the palace halls, likewise performing the secret art of turning spring winds into rain, causing the myriad exotic flowers and grasses in the gardens to bloom in gorgeous profusion, crimson and purple piled like brocade, truly a scene of immortals."

Linghu Qingqing sat on a platform by the water, holding a warm cup of thousand‑year Daughter Red wine with a cheerful smile.

Translation: "Linghu Qingqing sat on a platform by the water, holding a warm cup of thousand-year Daughter Red wine with a cheerful smile."

Holding a warm cup of thousand‑year Daughter Red wine with a cheerful smile.

Daughter Red wine, this too is something extremely famous among the people.

Translation: "Daughter Red wine, this too is a famous thing among the people."

Daughter Red wine, this too is something extremely famous among the people.

In the southeastern provinces of the Qingqiu Divine Kingdom, when a commoner family has a daughter born, they will, according to family wealth, brew ten or more jars, or a hundred, a thousand, ten thousand jars, and so on, to be used to entertain guests when the daughter marries.

Translation: "In the southeastern provinces of the Qingqiu Divine Kingdom, when a commoner family has a daughter born, they will, according to their wealth, brew ten or more jars, or a hundred, a thousand, ten thousand jars, and so on, to be used to entertain guests when the daughter marries."

In the southeastern provinces of the Qingqiu Divine Kingdom, when a commoner family has a daughter born, they will, according to family wealth, brew ten or more jars, or a hundred, a thousand, ten thousand jars, and so on, to be used to entertain guests when the daughter marries.

Thousand‑year Daughter Red wine, rich and delicious, can be called an absolute masterpiece.

Translation: "Thousand-year Daughter Red wine, rich and delicious, can be called an absolute masterpiece."

Thousand‑year Daughter Red wine, rich and delicious, can be called an absolute masterpiece.

Just thinking about the meaning behind the Daughter Red wine, and again examining the thousand‑year Daughter Red wine in hand… Linghu Qingqing's mouth curled up, revealing a hint of an understanding, mischievous smile.

Translation: "Just thinking about the meaning behind the Daughter Red wine, and again examining the thousand-year Daughter Red wine in hand… Linghu Qingqing's mouth curled up, revealing a hint of an understanding, mischievous smile."

Just thinking about the meaning behind the Daughter Red wine, and again examining the thousand‑year Daughter Red wine in hand… Linghu Qingqing's mouth curled up, revealing a hint of an understanding, mischievous smile.

His mood was pretty good.

Translation: "His mood was pretty good."

His mood was pretty good.

On the western battlefield, good news had been arriving for several days straight.

Translation: "On the western battlefield, good news had been arriving for several days straight."

On the western battlefield, good news had been arriving for several days straight.

The siege of Qinglangyuan has already been lifted; Linghu Jiu that little bastard suffered a crushing defeat, leading his army in a sorry retreat. Prince An Huoxiong is pursuing them from behind, and every day reports of how many prisoners have been captured come back.

According to reports from the spies planted in the army, Prince An Huoxiong's troop movements and formations are very steady and solid; indeed, he is far more mature than the famous generals from renowned military families.

"He's a talent…… as long as his loyalty isn't problematic, he can be entrusted with important duties." Linghu Qingqing laughed brightly.

Yin Yu'er sat in a waterside pavilion several dozen feet away, cradling a pipa, playing a tune. Several female musicians versed in music sat beside her like stars surrounding the moon, holding flutes and pipes, carefully accompanying Yin Yu'er's performance.

Among the jade towers and palaces scattered everywhere, myriad flowers bloomed, fragrant breezes wafted, and heavenly music could be heard.

Such enjoyment made Linghu Qingqing's heart and mind ever more at ease; his face even flushed slightly, and he involuntarily let out a deep sigh—it was not in vain that he had paid such a price, finally taking the place of the Sima clan.

Such supreme bliss can be enjoyed only by the supreme being of the mortal realm.

Hmm, if Prince An Huoxiong could be relied upon, is it…… is it possible…… to strike back and tear a huge chunk of flesh from either Great Wei or Great Wu?

If we could break through that mire of the Three Kingdoms battlefield, we could occupy a large tract of land within Great Wei or Great Wu.

Linghu Qingqing lightly tapped the armrest of his chair with his fingers, his eyes shifting slightly as he calculated the trump cards he held and the entire wealth and foundation of the Qingqiu Divine Kingdom.

As for the Qingqiu Divine Kingdom today, there is no doubt that its number of state-protection divine artifacts can overwhelm Great Wei or Great Wu.

If we mobilize all the state-protection divine artifacts, and mobilize all the divine powers that the Linghu clan has accumulated over the years...

Do we have even a twenty or thirty percent chance of annihilating a nation?

Linghu Qingqing furrowed his brows, sinking into contemplation…… destroying a nation, destroying a nation…… this allure is truly too great, too great.

Light footsteps came from afar; You Ruo, now grown to the appearance of a seventeen- or eighteen-year-old youth, wearing a loose white fur robe, walked lightly along the stone path between the flowerbeds toward this place.

Several hundred feet away from Linghu Qingqing, a dozen or so eunuch guards wearing soft armor underneath their upper garments flashed out from the flowerbeds, lining up in a row to block You Ruo's path.

A eunuch chief clad in a great red official robe spread his arms to block You Ruo, shouting sharply: "Where did this brat come from? His Majesty is currently……"

You Ruo waved his right hand; a flash of cold light passed, and a dozen or so eunuch guards instantly turned into ice sculptures.

With a 'crack-crack' sound, the ice sculptures shattered; the flesh and blood of those eunuch guards collapsed into the finest ice crystals, flowing like water with a 'rush-rush' across the ground. The terrifying Cold Qi spread from those ice crystals, instantly freezing the flowerbeds within a radius of several hundred feet.

A gust of cold wind blew, and all the strange flowers and herbs in the flowerbeds simultaneously turned into ice crystals and drifted away.

You Ruo merely struck lightly, and all life within a radius of several hundred feet was extinguished.

Linghu Qingqing heard the commotion here, rose to his feet, and said in a deep voice: "Please summon Master You Ruo at once…… you all, keep your eyes sharp from now on; Master You Ruo is my benevolent teacher and friend, and you should treat him as you would treat me."

Before this, You Ruo's essence-blood avatar had been secretly nurtured by Linghu Qingqing; aside from his confidant Linghu Ayi, no one else knew of the existence of this avatar.

At this moment, You Ruo suddenly appeared; although we did not know why, Linghu Qingqing immediately gave him his due status.

You Ruo is the great leader of the Ice Spirit Divine Clan, of exalted status and noble lineage, with an astonishing backing; Linghu Qingqing must attend to and flatter him with utmost care, lest he provoke You Ruo's wrath.

With his hands behind his back, You Ruo strode like the wind, swiftly arriving before Linghu Qingqing.

Before thousands of nearby guards, eunuchs, and palace maids, You Ruo extended his right hand and delivered a sharp 'slap' across Linghu Qingqing's face.

Linghu Qingqing's eyes widened in disbelief as he stared at You Ruo.

That slap was extraordinarily heavy, nearly shattering half of Linghu Qingqing's face. Fortunately, his cultivation was profound; the almost shattered cheek was restored by a surge of his qi and blood in an instant, showing no sign of injury.

In the pavilion, the strings of Yin Yu'er's pipa suddenly snapped; the thin string twanged with a 'ding', cutting a deep wound on her finger, and several drops of blood spurted along the rebounding string, splashing onto the window of the pavilion pasted with fine white gauze.

White gauze and red blood—truly a striking sight.

Linghu Qingqing gritted his teeth, bowed his head slightly, and looked at You Ruo: "Lord You Ruo, have I shown any disrespect?"

You Ruo fixed Linghu Qingqing with a deep gaze and asked in a low voice: "Do you still remember your promise? The offerings you pledged to me and to us…… the southwestern battlefield aside, the daily casualty count is barely enough to satisfy us."

But on the western battlefield, what sort of thing did you send over?

After continuous fierce battles, with tens of millions of troops engaged, that fellow utterly annihilated a joint army of Great Wei and Great Wu, yet the death toll was less than ten thousand?

You Ruo, furious and exasperated, jabbed his finger hard into Linghu Qingqing's forehead: "Linghu Qingqing, you've got guts, daring to deceive the heavenly gods? Believe it or not, we can raise you to the throne, and we can also cast you down, leaving you to die a myriad deaths without rebirth."

Linghu Qingqing stared, dumbfounded, directly at You Ruo.

"Lord You Ruo…… could it be because Prince An Huoxiong fought too well?" Linghu Qingqing murmured to You Ruo.

You Ruo's face twisted with ferocity as he gritted his teeth and said: "Exactly, he fought too well…… but we don't need him to fight that well…… we like the violent madmen of the Xiang family, not a famed general like Prince An Huoxiong…… you, figure it out yourself, see how to handle it."

Linghu Qingqing blinked his eyes, looking helpless and innocent at You Ruo.

That slap, he really took it…… damn his mother!

Straightening his body, Linghu Qingqing looked at the eunuchs, guards, and palace maids in the garden, then sighed helplessly and shook his head.

On the edge of the Three Kingdoms battlefield, inside the White Wolf River, Wu Tie was building a city.

Millions of dwarves and gnomes skilled in earth and stone work were busy in the mountains, digging tunnels, building walls, while earth spirits cast spells to assist, making the construction speed astonishing.

The earth spirits' innate divine powers are astonishing; moving mountains and opening roads, building walls—these are child's play for them.

Adding the dwarves and gnomes, well-fed and warmly clothed, laboring desperately, plus countless captives working hard, in just a few days a wall stretching over ten thousand miles, nearly sealing off the exit of the Three Kingdoms battlefield, began to take shape.

All that remains is for the Qingqiu City to send enough formation masters to set up defensive formations on this wall, and then supplement it with a huge number of fixed emplacements, after which this line of defense will be secure.

Standing atop the highest beacon tower on the mountain peak, gazing out at the endless white expanse of the Three Kingdoms battlefield, Wu Tie laughed exuberantly.

"What do you say, why should there be such a thing as the Three Kingdoms battlefield? Three families mixed together, hacking and slashing at random—how boring is that?"

It would be better to give up all our holdings in the Three Kingdoms battlefield, let them fight over it, let them clash and bleed, while we sit on the mountain watching the tigers fight—what a great thing that would be!

Wu Tie's companion Xi Feiyu coughed heavily and said, "Prince An, you seem to have forgotten the precious resources in the Three Kingdoms battlefield."

Wu Tie lightly shook his head and said calmly: "Precious resources—can they be appointed as precious? After all, the Three Kingdoms battlefield is just this small place; using its resources to train soldiers, how many elite troops can it produce?"

"But each year, for the Three Kingdoms battlefield, how many elite troops must we lose?"

Wu Tie sighed: "I have carefully calculated the accounts; the precious resources in the Three Kingdoms battlefield, setting aside the luxury goods enjoyed by the royalty and nobility of the three states, the rest of the output cannot even match the soldiers who die fighting for those resources."

"This is a losing deal." Wu Tie snorted coldly: "On the other hand, fighting for the Divine God's Order has some merit, but how many soldiers and officers would be killed or wounded in that struggle, and how many resources would be needed to train them?"

Xi Feiyu gave a dry laugh: "But the Divine God's Order is, after all, a risk‑free shortcut to godhood."

"But since this could be done with money, why risk soldiers' lives?" Wu Tie pointed at Xi Feiyu: "It's nothing but money. Are the gods also taking bribes?"

Xi Feiyu stared blankly, realizing he could not continue the conversation with Wu Tie.

Indeed, secretly offering sacrifices to the gods and spending astronomical wealth can also reduce the power of the heavenly tribulation by half when the elders of the clan break through to the divine realm.

But if sacrificing a few ordinary soldiers can achieve the same, why spend one's own vast wealth to obtain it?

Moreover, even if the heavenly tribulation's power is reduced by half, there is still a risk of falling.

Who among the elders of all families and clans would not wish for a smooth, risk‑free breakthrough to the divine realm?

Ask Linghu Qingqing: would he rather take a Divine God's Order and become a god with no risk or pressure, or spend vast resources to exchange for an opportunity that still carries a risk of falling?

"Prince An, are you really going to abandon the Three Kingdoms battlefield?" Xi Feiyu asked Wu Tie, somewhat confused.

"No, I never said that. I only said the Three Kingdoms battlefield is a bit boring… I have never said we should abandon it. I never said, thought, or mentioned such a thing—don't speak nonsense."

Wu Tie quickly denied Xi Feiyu's question, saying seriously: "I am merely considering how to eliminate the enemy before us with the smallest possible cost."

"What is this smallest cost?" a soft, effeminate voice called from afar.

Wu Tie turned around and saw a specially made, bird‑shaped flying vessel speeding toward them, its speed at least ten times that of the military's standard warships.

Along the way, the patrol warships under Wu Tie's command cleared the route, daring not to block this flying vessel.

Because the prow of this flying vessel bore a heavy round emblem, about a zhang in diameter, depicting a proud nine‑tailed celestial fox lying on a great stone, glancing sideways and gazing up at the sky in relief.

This is the emblem of the Qingqiu Divine Kingdom's royal family; this flying vessel comes from the imperial city.

"What sharp ears." Wu Tie flicked his tongue in his mouth, producing an extremely loud "pa" sound.

"We servants must have sharp ears; otherwise, if the master gives an order and we miss a word, it will be a calamity." That soft voice came from afar; the flying vessel trailed a stream of light and arrived before Wu Tie at the beacon tower after a few breaths.

Several individuals dressed in deep blue robes with gold‑embroidered python patterns, their faces pale and eyes gloomy, stepped on shadowy clouds, floated down from the flying vessel and landed before Wu Tie. The leader, a man appearing about fifty or sixty with an extremely grim visage, extended his hand and slapped Wu Tie's face with a swift "swish".

Wu Tie stepped back, and the eunuch's slap missed.

The eunuch's gaze suddenly turned vicious and ferocious, fixed on Wu Tie as he shouted hoarsely: "Huo Xiong!"

"Go to hell!" Wu Tie kicked forward, lightning‑fast, striking the eunuch's belly, sending him flying to crash into the rear of the flying vessel: "What the hell is this?"

With a loud bang, the flying vessel, no longer than twenty zhang, shook violently from the impact, its prow nearly dented inward.

The eunuch spat blood profusely, his body lodged in the dented prow, unable to recover for a long while.

Several other eunuchs stared dumbfounded at Wu Tie; after a moment, one pointed at him and shouted sternly: "Outrageous, outrageous! Prince Wu Tie, we have come by imperial decree to reprimand you—you, you, you, you dare to strike someone?!"

"You dare to assault the emperor's heavenly envoy—do you intend to rebel?" The eunuchs, as if their ancestral graves had been dug up, jumped and pointed at Wu Tie, cursing him.

Wu Tie narrowed his eyes and gave a cold chuckle.

"Someone, send a message to Qingqiu City: say that several of the emperor's heavenly envoys delivering orders were ambushed and slaughtered midway by the remnants of the Wei army—none survived."

Several eunuchs' faces turned pale in an instant, with a "gudong" sound they dropped to their knees without hesitation.

The eunuch whom Wu Tie had kicked half‑to‑death also turned ashen, stared blankly, then forced out a wry smile.

"Prince An, Prince An, it's a misunderstanding…"