Chapter 140 Epilogue – Asking the Ancestor for Money
The old ancestor was determined to die.
Duan Jiuyou was greedy; he always wanted more and more.
The Twenty-Third Heaven is closest to her parents, and she can't bear to give up this advancement. She must claim the position of God-Emperor. What about the person she loves? She never intended to be separated from him from the very beginning.
She wants both, so she has to use some clever tricks.
For example, the Heavenly Realm and the Ten Realms, which are in dire need of repair right now, were almost reduced to ruins after a great battle.
The divine palaces need to be rebuilt, and the immortal villages need to be reconstructed. The two clan leaders are so poor they're practically begging for food. Where will the money come from? Of course, it will come from her, the wealthiest ancestor in the Heavenly Realm.
Now that the money has been lent out, shouldn't we oversee the repairs? What kind of bricks, stones, and wood should be used in which areas? How should the manpower of the immortal officials from each continent be allocated? Since the Ancestor has spent the money, he should personally supervise this matter.
As for those who wish to remain in the Heavenly Realm after the repairs, they can find other things to do. As long as the immortals petition and there is a valid reason, the Twenty-Three Heavenly Venerables can descend to the mortal realm.
She had a clever plan. On the day of her ascension, she even gave Emperor Jiang a hint, telling him to focus on repairing the palace and rebuilding the fairy village.
Logically, with Emperor Jiang's wisdom, he should have guessed her intentions even without any hints. However, he didn't listen at all and was so angry that he was stunned on the spot. He was angry for more than half a month, and she waited alone in the Twenty-Third Heaven for the immortals to petition, but she waited and waited without any response.
Looking back on the events of that day, I realized how ruthless that person was.
Fortunately, Bai Yanxing was a wise man and went to remind Di Jiang. So, on the sixteenth day after they parted, the Supreme God appeared again in response to the voices of the people of both realms and the requests of the emperors of both races.
This trip to the mortal realm was quite grand, arguably the biggest event Duan Jiuyou had ever witnessed in his life.
—The gods of the thirty-six divine lands stood together in reverence to welcome them, and the immortals of the two realms bowed in supplication.
Duan Jiuyou hadn't expected such extravagance. She, who only wanted to reunite with the Emperor, briefly peeked out from the clouds before quickly returning to the palace to change into more presentable attire.
After a cup of tea, Duan Jiuyou, dressed in a jade-colored flowing cloud robe, wearing a lotus jade crown, and holding a star-shaped flowing cloud pearl, descended into the clouds with solemn elegance.
The two emperors greeted each other with clasped hands. Duan Jiuyou glanced at Di Jiang, but did not look at her. His attire was different from usual; he had changed into a black imperial robe with cloud and mountain patterns of the ten realms. He was dignified but aloof. Behind him was the Earth Breath Palace where she had lived for many years.
Duan Jiuyou stepped inside and sat down in the main seat of the hall, clasping his hands in front of his abdomen, with his sleeves hanging naturally to his sides.
Emperor Jiang and Bai Yanxing each took their seats at the head of the table, with their respective immortal ministers below them. The two clans stood in separate rows and then performed the welcoming ceremony.
Duan Jiuyou cleared his throat.
With such a high status, one must inevitably act in accordance with the rules and regulations.
She said with an air of composure, "I have come here regarding the repair of the two realms. I wonder if the emperors of the two races have detailed regulations for this? What specifications should be used to repair the palaces of the divine race, and where are the settlements of the people planned to be located? The currency of the ten realms does not circulate with that of the heavenly realm. Now that we share the heavenly realm, are the emperors of the ten realms willing to follow the regulations of the heavenly realm and exchange the currency for spiritual treasures to facilitate trade between the two races?"
The last one is the will of Heaven. Her trip was not in vain. She not only has the responsibility of supervising the repairs, but also the responsibility of overseeing the coexistence of the two realms.
There has never been a precedent of two emperors jointly ruling the Heavenly Realm. Now that this precedent has been set, constraints must be established in advance. Those that can be integrated should be integrated, and those that cannot be integrated should be negotiated.
The current Tenth Realm Emperor, Di Jiang, twirled the thumb ring on his thumb and said, "Our clan is naturally willing to exchange spiritual treasures. Trade can be conducted by exchanging documents at the Heavenly Sea Stone Gate. Celestial beings of the Heavenly Realm can freely enter and exit the Ten Realms, but Dragon Clan soldiers and immortals of the Seventy-Two Divine Continents are not allowed to enter." He looked at the gods of the Heavenly Realm and said, "No one may enter without an imperial edict."
"I think it's feasible. What does the Heavenly Emperor think?"
Duan Jiuyou looked at Bai Yanxing.
The Wilderness Clan has an extremely strong sense of territory. Even if no one attacks them, they will still try to seize two pieces of land they covet. The best outcome is for them to have no dealings with each other.
Moreover, the Imperial Frontier was the overlord during the War of the Gods. Despite its young age, it seized the most territory. Where there is conflict, there will inevitably be casualties. Although the gods and demons cooperated in this war, there are still quite a few people who privately hate and fear it.
Since there are so many, let's not move around and just open the door of convenience to the immortals of both races.
Bai Yanxing's ideas differed from Di Jiang's. His vision of the two races jointly ruling was actually one of mutual integration and free movement.
He did not want to divide the two races into two countries that were too clearly defined. Otherwise, if the world were to be divided, and there was already a coexisting demon realm within the Heavenly Realm, further division would only escalate the situation, and the thirty-six Divine Continent Immortal Lords under Bai Yanxing's command would once again consider ruling independently.
Bai Yanxing knew that Dijiang would not easily change his mind, so he took a step back and said, "I am willing to give up the eighteen divine continents of the Heavenly Realm to be under the rule of the emperors of the Ten Realms. The Heavenly Realm will not set any thresholds for the Ten Realms. The immortals of the Ten Realms can go to the Heavenly Realm to do business or even live. Soldiers and immortal officials can also freely enter and leave the Ten Realms."
He was the complete opposite of the emperor, even opening doors of convenience for them.
Duan Jiuyou whispered to Di Jiang, "They're more generous than you. Why don't you back down a bit?"
Duan Jiuyou could tell that Bai Yanxing really wanted to merge the two realms, and that giving up half of the authority over the thirty-six divine continents was his way of establishing a brotherly relationship with the imperial realm.
The emperor's smile was fleeting.
Duan Jiuyou doesn't manage state affairs and has no idea about the intricacies involved. Is Bai Yanxing delegating power? What he's given is clearly trouble.
Before the thirty-six continents were recovered, they were a tough nut to crack. These people may have submitted on the surface, but they may not have truly submitted to Bai Yanxing in their hearts. If he were the common ruler of the continents, he could share some of the power with Bai Yanxing and suppress both sides, making them dare not act even if they wanted to.
In contrast, the ten realms where the Imperial Territory is located consist of only the people of the local tribe and the immortals of the ten realms. Originally, it was peaceful and worry-free. But with Bai Yanxing opening this convenient door, he has no choice but to worry about things.
Emperor Jiang said, "The Heavenly Emperor is willing to relinquish power to the Ten Realms. Although I admire the Emperor's magnanimity, I really dare not accept it. Everyone knows that I suffer from a cold ailment and have a weak constitution. I have been ill since I was young and cannot bear the burden of hard work."
After speaking, he looked at Duan Jiuyou and said, "The Supreme God should know this best."
"I understand," Duan Jiuyou testified.
In fact, Duan Jiuyou had already seen through Bai Yanxing's intention to "concede profits" at this time, but this time she was biased towards Bai Yanxing. The Heavenly Realm was indeed more difficult to manage than the Tenth Realm, and he was more difficult to manage than the Imperial Realm.
He then advised Emperor Jiang: "However, the capable should do more work. If you can help him manage some of the affairs, wouldn't the entire land under his jurisdiction also belong to you?"
Emperor Jiang readily agreed: "Since that's the case, why not give them all to me? I never intended to share power with him in the first place. It was only because the Heavenly Realm was too broken that I chose the Ten Realms. Now that you're providing the money and they're providing the labor, it'll be perfect for repairing and giving it to me."
Duan Jiuyou tried to be as tactful as possible: "If you're still thinking about fighting for territory, I won't give you the money to cultivate the Tenth Realm."
"Where will you live if you don't build the Tenth Realm?" Di Jiang leaned against the armrest, raising his eyes indifferently. "The houses are all leaky, and there are ruins everywhere. Why don't you stop building on either side and go back to the Twenty-Third Heaven? There, the immortal energy surrounds the jade palaces and pavilions, which suits your taste better than the Heavenly Realm."
That was clearly meant to put her down.
Duan Jiuyou knew that he had been holding back this anger.
On the day she was promoted to the Venerable God, she left without hesitation. Even if she had a plan to have the best of both worlds, he was still unsettled and injured, longing to reunite with her. When she said she was leaving, his mind went blank, and he had no time to pay attention to her little scheme.
He was shrewd and could often guess her thoughts, but he could also miscalculate and be heartbroken by her "heartlessness" that day.
Duan Jiuyou also knew that he had done something wrong that day, so he whispered to him, "I was wrong about this. Don't be angry. I'm dressed so well today and have such a grand entrance. Let's talk about it in private."
At this moment, their roles seemed to be reversed. She was a husband who was afraid of his wife but also cared about his image, while he was a wife who was not to be trifled with and was good at stabbing her in the back with cold words.
Di Jiang remained silent.
Duan Jiuyou straightened up and continued to discuss the repairs with Bai Yanxing, trying to finish all the arrangements as quickly as possible. After that, the gods left, leaving only the Ten Realms Emperor and the Supreme God in the hall.
Duan Jiuyou loosened his stiff sitting posture.
It's been too long since I've put on airs, and sitting too upright is actually not as comfortable as my previous lazy posture.
Di Jiang remained seated below her, his posture consistently lazy from beginning to end.
The two sat facing each other. Di Jiang glanced at Duan Jiuyou's left hand, and the string of Starry Cloud Beads that she used to show her status was now in his hand.
Duan Jiuyou was holding back a lot of nice things to coax him, but when he saw that Duan Jiuyou had taken the string of beads away, he quickly flattered him, saying, "I often admire your amazing magic. You can get whatever you want with just a glance, unlike us martial arts practitioners who rely on brute force."
Emperor Jiang responded politely: "Your Excellency flatters me. Such magic can be performed by anyone in the Heavenly Realm. It is not much better than magic tricks performed in the human world."
When it comes to being sarcastic and eccentric, who can compare to him?
Duan Jiuyou persisted, ignoring his ridicule. He got up, moved the chair that Bai Yanxing had been sitting in, and sat down next to Di Jiang. He leaned closer, his face beaming with a smile, his attempt to ingratiate himself quite obvious.
“When I travel through the human world, I often see couples in love escorting each other with tokens of their affection. If you like this string of beads, I will give it to you.”
Emperor Jiang returned the string of beads, saying, "This was the object in the hand of the Venerable God on the day of his ascension. How could I dare to accept such a precious item? I only brought it to admire it; I dare not take what the Venerable God cherishes."
"I don't care about this stuff." Duan Jiuyou pushed the string of beads aside and said solicitously, "I already have the one I love most in my heart, everything else is just material possessions."
"External possessions?" He looked at the jade crown on her head with interest. "Why didn't you hesitate before? What about your divine will? Why isn't it on your head anymore? Supreme God, I'm envious of you."
When she ascended to heaven, she deliberately unfolded the divine decree and let it float above her head. The four characters "Supreme God" on the paper were large and dazzling, like a horizontal scroll above her head. She did not forget to show off before leaving.
She hugged his arm and said, "What's there to envy? I envy you more. You were originally going to marry the Supreme Heavenly Emperor, but now you've become the Supreme God. I haven't been promoted in seventy million years, and I'm blinded by ambition. How could I bear to give you up? Besides, so many things happened that day, and my mind was in a state of flux. My parents are back. The sooner I ascend to the next level of heaven, the sooner I can see them. I've never been held by my parents before."
These words are truly heartbreaking.
There were indeed too many changes that day. The two deities awoke at the bottom of the sea and rushed into the Dragon Phoenix Bell to save the girl. They both thought it was goodbye forever. Fortunately, there was another destiny, and there was a day when they would meet again. Di Jiang could understand Duan Jiuyou's mixed feelings of sorrow and joy.
Then she said, "Of course I admit that I meant to tease you that day. I deliberately said that I was going to the Twenty-Third Heaven to take up my post. I thought you would understand my intention after being angry for two days. I didn't expect to make you so angry that Xiao Siji rushed up and said that you were sulking in the Ten Realms Palace all day long, and you didn't even know to move to another place when the roof was leaking."
"That's utter nonsense," Di Jiang glanced at Duan Jiuyou. "Don't make things up. Who would be stupid enough not to move when it's raining and leaking?"
Duan Jiuyou said, "I'm so stupid that I can't even move. I sat there for fifteen days in the Twenty-Third Heaven, unable to eat or drink, thinking to myself, how could I be so foolish? Even if I wanted to take the divine position and stay with you forever, I should have quietly told you my feelings on the day I left. Otherwise, how could there have been these fifteen days of separation?"
Di Jiang pinched her face, not being fooled by her lies at all: "The spiritual energy in the Twenty-Third Heaven is abundant, you don't need to eat or drink at all."
Not only did she not need to eat, she also gained weight, her cheeks becoming plump and rosy. She took very good care of herself in the 23rd Heaven.
Even after being exposed, Duan Jiuyou remained calm and held Di Jiang's hand earnestly, saying, "So you should also accumulate merit as soon as possible and enter the Twenty-Third Heaven with me. There, your cold illness can be cured, and you will no longer be troubled by cold. The wound here was inflicted by me."
She pressed her hand against his chest. This time, there was no joking, nor was it a deliberate attempt to please him. In the battle to seize the heavens, she left a scar on his heart. His primordial spirit was rebuilt, and his cold illness was supposed to be cured. But on Dragon Breath Mountain, well, let's not talk about that. The two of them had some unpleasantness. In order to alleviate her pain, he also scooped out bowl after bowl of his heart's blood.
Inside the lava pool, he anticipated that she would retrieve the cauldron and venture into the pool ahead of time, using his severe injuries to retrieve the four-headed dragon-phoenix.
In his heart, she was never some god who should sacrifice herself to save others; she was simply the person he loved.
All the immortals and gods in the world praise your strength, but I only care about the wounds on your body.
Duan Jiuyou said sincerely, "Dijiang, I love you very much and care about you a lot. I really just wanted to tease you on the day I ascended to godhood. In addition, the Emperor was present that day, so I couldn't say it too clearly. Please don't be angry with me, okay?"
Di Jiang paused for a moment, then raised his hand and pulled Duan Jiuyou into his arms, which could be considered a "reluctant" forgiveness.
He wasn't angry anymore, but he wouldn't let her off easily, so that she would remember to be careful next time she teased him like that.
With his other hand, he made a hand seal, and a contract appeared in his hand.
Duan Jiuyou didn't notice these subtle actions and continued to say to Di Jiang, "Your temperament was not as good as it is now. Now that you can share control of the Heavenly Realm with Bai Yanxing, it can be considered that I have guided you back to the right path."
Di Jiang casually hummed in agreement, then unfolded the contract with one hand.
Duan Jiuyou was still saying, "This time I'm going down to the mortal realm to oversee the repairs. There's no need to rush to rebuild the palaces of the immortals. First, build fortresses for the immortals. Then, we can deal with the rest one thing at a time. The slower the repairs, the better."
Di Jiang grasped Duan Jiuyou's hand and lightly scratched her thumb with his fingertips.
Duan Jiuyou felt pain differently than ordinary people. She hissed and was about to question him when Di Jiang had already placed her thumb on the contract.
As if sensing something, the contract emitted a red magical light. Di Jiang picked up the contract to examine it. He had already stamped his handprint on it yesterday, and now with Duan Jiuyou's handprint added, the two handprints overlapped, and the contract was complete.
Duan Jiuyou took a closer look.
This is……
"A marriage certificate?!"
Di Jiang said that he only admired it briefly, and seemed to be wary of Duan Jiuyou changing his mind, so he did not intend to let her look at it closely and directly put the marriage certificate into his pocket.
She had long promised to marry him, but various unforeseen circumstances prevented it from happening. Now that she had been elevated to the status of a supreme deity, he felt increasingly uneasy. Only by signing a marriage contract with her could he feel at ease.
"Now everything's fine, all that's left is the wedding."
This time, Di Jiang smiled. Duan Jiuyou rarely saw him smile like this. To sum it up, he was extremely proud, very satisfied, and overjoyed.
Di Jiang said, "I have no objection to repairing the Immortal Village first. Can the funds be allocated for the abandoned house at the same time? Let's hold the wedding banquet first, at the abandoned house. We can invite the gods of the Heavenly Realm to attend the ceremony. We can also write a separate invitation to Zhao Fengchen. He came to the Ten Realms Palace to mock me before. I'm petty and can't stand this insult."
Duan Jiuyou said: So you know you're petty?
Not to mention Zhao Fengchen, even when she provoked him, he had to coax her for a long time.
Di Jiang said, "I know. Don't worry about whether I'm magnanimous or not, just tell me whether the funds can be disbursed."
Duan Jiuyou said, "Go and ask around in Tianjing. There's no reason for a man to pressure a woman to give him money to host his wedding banquet."
Di Jiang said, "What's wrong with that? Isn't this something that can be done as long as you're shameless? I'm different from those people. The Wilderness Clan was originally quite wealthy. They were just fighting with Bai Yanxing for territory. You can marry me with peace of mind. I will definitely pay you back the money I owe you for the wedding banquet and the repair of the Wilderness House within three years."
Duan Jiuyou had never seen such a tough man before. He wasn't logical, but his words were.
Seeing that she didn't move, he urged her, "Call Liantang in and have them do it now."
He knew she had many secret stashes of money; she had one key herself, Liantang had one, and Lianxi had one.
Duan Jiuyou, pressed by him, had no choice but to summon Liantang and immediately allocate funds to rebuild the abandoned house. Looking at Dijiang, who was not idle at all, he beckoned to his vassals and immediately began to plan the next steps.
Duan Jiuyou couldn't help but laugh at his focused expression.
In this relationship, Di Jiang was incredibly busy. He was busy demanding a formal title, busy competing with a bunch of former immortal lovers, busy confirming her feelings, busy fighting the war between gods and demons, and busy holding her thumb and pressing his handprint on the marriage certificate.
Because of his busy schedule, she constantly felt his care and sincerity, which dispelled her suspicions and anxieties.
When love runs deep, she becomes a coward, afraid that the other person isn't serious enough, worried that she's getting too deeply involved. Fortunately, he makes her feel secure, even too secure. He's always more anxious than she is. She doesn't need to confirm with him whether he loves her, because when you love someone enough, you don't need to look with your eyes or listen with your ears; you can feel it in your heart.
Duan Jiuyou connected the two people's married life to their original forms.
He felt that Di Jiang was like a big white dog that wouldn't run out even when the door was open—heroic and dashing, and somewhat cunning. There were always memorials in front of him, and creatures like phoenixes, gluttons, and red leopards surrounding him, waiting for his orders.
And her?
It's basically a fat turtle sunbathing next to a big white dog, occasionally taking a few sips of a sweet drink from the cup, and then letting out a satisfied sigh.
These days are wonderful!
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