Chapter 588: with translation of chapter title

On the other side, the Lingyun Immortal Dynasty also welcomed numerous unfriendly visitors.

Above the clouds, a massive convoy of flying carriages sped forward, all carrying officials of the Radiant Divine Kingdom's Ministry of Rites.

Following the Eight Light Envoys, they had been collecting tribute all the way here, and each official's face glowed with red, obviously having reaped great gains.

Tribute is what you ought to give, and shouldn't you also pay for the trouble of this official personally making the trip?

Water-Bathing Immortal

Likewise, if I don't take it and you don't take it, how can the Minister take it? If the Minister doesn't take it, how can we make progress?

Of course, among the more than ten thousand vassal immortal states, some cannot or do not wish to pay tribute, after all, wartime tribute is nothing like peacetime—it is ten times as much!

Then it's simple—just raid and annihilate them one by one. With the Eight Light Envoys present, these immortal states cannot resist; along the way we have already destroyed dozens of them.

"We've arrived at the Lingyun Immortal Dynasty; this should be the last immortal state for this tribute collection, right."

"Exactly, only Lingyun hasn't been collected yet. Let's finish the collection and hurry back—the air here is terrible, lacking the fragrance of our Radiant Divine Kingdom; I'm coughing as I breathe."

"My hundred thousand concubines are still waiting for this official to return and indulge them."

Lingyun Immortal Dynasty

Radiant Divine Kingdom

Qinghan Immortal Prefecture

"Is this the Lingyun Imperial Dynasty? It's a damned barren place where even birds won't defecate—I have no idea why the court insists we come here on this mission."

"Don't be careless; the court sent us for its own reasons. In my view, although the Lingyun Imperial Dynasty is poor and weak, the cultivators beneath it are in fine spirit—it seems under the rule of the mysterious Six Lords, Lingyun is indeed rising."

Two Heavenly Light Envoys and six Earthly Light Envoys stood before the flying carriage convoy, carefully observing everything in Lingyun.

Their mission from the court is to investigate the Lingyun Immortal Dynasty and the mysterious Six Lords; if proven to be linked to the Eternal Night Empire, they are to be eliminated immediately.

Eternal Night Empire

"What nonsense Six Lords—nowadays any Tom, Dick, or Harry can call themselves a lord! They're just frogs in a well, only able to jump around in this backwater."

Immortal States

In his eyes, only the Radiant Divine Kingdom is the true hegemon of the Qinghan Immortal Province; even if the Lingyun Six Supreme Lords truly came from the Eternal Night Empire, they still wouldn't be fit to stand on the stage.

Immortal Empress

Ministry of Rites officials

With such a grand arrival, surely it ought to cause quite a stir, right?

Yet the cultivators in the Lingyun Immortal Capital went about their own business as if they hadn't seen them, and even the palace maids and guards on duty in the Lingyun Immortal Palace paid them no heed.

"This Lingyun Immortal Dynasty is outrageous! We came in person, and while it's forgivable that the Lingyun Empress didn't lead the civil and military officials to greet us, she didn't even arrange a welcome ceremony!"

All the Ministry of Rites officials frowned in dissatisfaction, their impression of the Lingyun Immortal Dynasty sinking to rock bottom.

We have been treated as honored guests wherever we have gone; the rulers of every big and small immortal state have personally received us.

Not to mention the grand welcome ceremonies and lavish tribute gifts; some even sent their consorts and empresses for us to enjoy.

Heavenly Vast Divine Lord

"I don't know who gave them the nerve, but in my view it's almost certainly the Eternal Night Empire—those Six Supreme Lords must be its emissaries."

Heaven-rank Light Envoys

The Minister Chen he spoke of is one of the two Heavenly Light Envoys on this mission, named Chen Tian-sheng, with the honorific Heaven Victory God Lord; his fame is such that in the Qinghan Immortal Province everyone knows him.

The other Heavenly Light Envoy is Wu Tian-guang, honorific Heaven Vast God Lord; his cultivation equals that of Heaven Victory God Lord, both being third-stage God Lords.

Faced with the complaints of their subordinates and the Ministry of Rites officials, the two showed no change in expression, gazing indifferently at all of this.

"No rush; after we see those Six Supreme Lords, I, the Emperor, will have a verdict in my heart," said Heaven Victory God Lord calmly.

Lingyun Six Great Venerables

The vast immortal palace court was unusually quiet; all civil and military officials of Soaring Clouds did not attend court, and only Empress Ouyang Ning and the six figures behind her were present.

Empress Ouyang Ning sat upright on the throne, her delicate brows slightly furrowed, her soft, smooth little hand tightly clutching her robe, showing that her heart was not at peace.

"Upper Venerable, they have come!"

Her words had just fallen.

Several dozen officials of the Ministry of Rites from the Radiant Divine Kingdom strode into the immortal palace with an imposing presence.

The eight Light Envoys were waiting in a side hall beside the immortal palace, a proposal made by the Heavenly Light Envoy, Heavenly Broad Divine Lord, to first let these Ministry of Rites people test the depth of Soaring Clouds' Six Upper Venerables.

If Soaring Clouds obediently paid ten times the usual tribute, it would be easily settled.

As for their safety? Sorry, the kingdom has no shortage of these worms.

"You are the Empress of Soaring Clouds? Poor talent, weak cultivation, insufficient aura—truly a joke," a Ministry of Rites official stepped forward, arrogantly sizing up Empress Ouyang Ning on the throne, and spoke contemptuously.

"Exactly, no wonder Soaring Clouds' hospitality and everything else are so terrible; with such an empress, it would be strange if they were doing well."

"Do you know your crime, Empress of Soaring Clouds? As the suzerain state of Soaring Clouds, the Radiant Divine Kingdom is your superior; now we stand here while you sit there—is this how you treat your superiors? Clearly you intend to rebel!"

The other Ministry of Rites officials joined in the condemnation; they had been holding in their anger, and upon arriving here and finding no seats prepared for them, they immediately lost composure.

"Oh? Then what hospitality do you want? Speak, let this seat hear."

Shi Hao took the lead, walking from the rear, followed by Lin Bai, Hua Qingyu, Lin Feng, Mu Shuixian, and Lin Anye—five people.

Huh? Upon the sudden appearance of these six people, the Radiant Divine Kingdom's Ministry of Rites officials were startled for a moment, then all reacted.

Six people, six venerables…… they must be the Six Upper Venerables of Soaring Clouds!

No! What the hell are these four brats?

Is this the Six Upper Venerables that made the court officials wary? The ones specially dispatched two Heavenly Light Envoys and six Earthly Light Envoys to deal with?

We've been completely played!