Chapter 347: Demon Emperor Observing the Sky
In the afternoon, the sun sets in the west, and the afterglow of the setting sun illuminates the dim autumn sky with a golden hue.
Instructor Cao packed up his things and moved to the inner courtyard with the help of everyone.
Ji You also helped. He sat in a wheelchair and held a soup spoon to help him into the new yard. He used this as an excuse to force Lao Cao to voluntarily go to Hongding Tower to set up a banquet to celebrate.
"Evil disciple!"
"I have three months' salary, you can't ask me to help you move things for nothing. If not now, when?"
"?"
In the following days, Ji You stayed in Tianshu Academy and rarely went out, concentrating on recuperating from his injuries.
His body was already strong, and with Danyangzi prescribing a variety of medicines to strengthen his constitution and replenish his vital energy, the deficiencies in his body were quickly made up.
With Ding Yao and Zhuo Wanqiu accompanying him closely, sometimes pushing him out for a walk, and sometimes chatting with him, the days were not boring.
The only things that needed to be slowly nourished were his atrophied meridians.
During this period, Kuang Shusheng returned from the epidemic area and visited Ji You with Wei Rui.
Ever since the self-recovered patient appeared in Qibao County, some other patients also began to get better inexplicably. Until a few days ago, the epidemic there had been completely eliminated, so they hurried back to Shengjing.
Ever since Ji You went out to cultivate his body in the spring, and also because of the incident with Danzong, they hadn't seen each other for more than half a year, so they chatted a lot.
"Sister Jianzhu is so majestic on the mountain, not at all as cute as she is in front of Master Ji."
"real?"
"Really, every disciple in the mountain looks up to her. She seems even more majestic than the Emperor of Daxia."
Wei Rui strongly demonstrated the superiority of the young master.
She admired Yan Shuyi so much, but she couldn't understand why such a cold and aloof person would touch her belly as if she wanted to have a baby when she had some free time.
Hearing Wei Rui's words, Ji You could vaguely imagine her unrivaled appearance, and felt a little bit of longing in his heart.
In fact, Ding Yao had already written a letter yesterday and sent it to Lingjian Mountain with the news that Ji You had woken up. According to the date, it would be delivered in two or three days.
However, the Qingyun world is now facing internal and external troubles. She is busy with the affairs of the sect and cannot get away, and she still needs to recuperate. It is still unknown when she will be able to see him.
Another letter was sent to Danzong to report safety, but Danzong still did not lift the mountain closure.
Ji You looked at Kuang Cheng at this time and asked: "Where will you live after returning to Beijing?"
"Live in Mutis's house."
The ancestor of the Chu family came to Shengjing and fought with the headmaster of Tianshu Academy, directly destroying the entire Chunhua Lane.
Kuang Shusheng finally became a civil servant and was allocated a small official residence, but he became homeless again after living there for only a few years.
"You can't always live in someone else's house. Not only will it bother you, but it will also be inconvenient for you to have a tryst with Wei Rui."
"Brother Ji is really reckless!"
Kuang Cheng and Wei Rui's cheeks flushed instantly.
Ji You's mouth twitched as he looked at Kuang Cheng, thinking, "You've been together day and night at Lingjian Mountain for months, and you're still being reckless by saying you're having a tryst?" The two of them at home are both studying for their children.
"During the snowstorm before Xinyuan, I donated most of my family's wealth. I'm really short of money. I'll take my time with the house repairs. After all, Mutisi is still unmarried and lives alone."
Kuang Cheng knew that Ji You was going to bring up the idea of eternal life in the next second, so he immediately brought the topic back to the house.
"I said I could lend it to him, but he didn't want it."
After hearing his description, Wei Rui raised her eyes and looked at Ji You and said.
Kuang Cheng pursed his lips and said, "How can I spend Miss Rui'er's money to renovate my own house?"
Ji You raised his teacup after hearing this and said, "There's no need to borrow. Fengzhou's grain is almost gone, and the spiritual seedlings have been harvested twice. We still have some Snow Region Demon Stones in our inventory in Fengzhou. There's a lot of work to be done in this world, and there's plenty of money to be made."
"There are so many chaos nowadays. Making money is secondary. The grain has to be sold eventually." Kuang Cheng continued.
"Then I'll leave this matter to you. In the next few days, think of a way to circulate food and spiritual seedlings. Then, take this opportunity to find those low-income people to sign some employment agreements and have them move to Fengzhou. Once my injuries have improved, we'll start and make a big move."
"That's great."
Kuang Cheng has always been a restless person. He liked to meddle in other people's affairs in Yuyang County. Now that he has been entrusted with an important task, he has begun to think.
So he didn't stay for too long and took Wei Rui away, intending to use this time to think things over carefully.
Not long after, Jixiang Hall welcomed two more visitors, the Lu sisters who had returned from Yunzhou thousands of miles away.
Ding Yao and Zhuo Wanqiu entered the back hall early and did not meet the two of them.
During the New Year's Day last year, they were ordered by their own master to meet with the Lu sisters. They asked whether the sisters' service was true and whether it hurt. It was not appropriate to meet them now.
The two sisters quickly walked into the hall. The elder sister was wearing a plain white fairy skirt, while the younger sister was wearing a light yellow skirt embroidered with intertwined branches, and they came dancing.
It can be seen that the two of them did not have an easy trip back this time. Their handsome faces were tired and haggard, and there was a bit of delicate beauty.
“Senior Brother!”
"Are you back?"
Lu Hanyan nodded obediently: "Just arrived today."
"It was Sister Zhengxin who sent the message," Lu Qingqiu explained, "and when we learned that Master Ji had woken up, we rushed back."
"Your relationship with Senior Sister Wen is...very good now?"
When Ji You heard Lu Qingqiu addressing Wen Zhengxin, he looked a little surprised.
Previously, Lu Hanyan and Fang Jincheng had a private fight in the bamboo forest, which eventually led to Elder Fang's secret attack. Not only did he make things difficult for Ji You many times, he also restricted him from using kendo in the Tiandao Association preliminaries.
Therefore, Wen Zhengxin disliked them very much. He felt that the Lu family was very merchant-like and was clearly trying to exploit them. He did not have a good impression of the sisters.
Although they went through a lot together later and their relationship improved a lot, it was still cold compared to other people.
But on the day he woke up, Wen Zhengxin was obviously friendly when he mentioned the Lu sisters. He even ignored their surnames and called them Qingqiu alone, which made Ji You feel a little suspicious at the time.
"On the expedition, our relationship improved."
Hearing the question, Lu Qingqiu couldn't help but whisper.
As both of them have family businesses, Lu Qingqiu and Yuan Caiwei have similar personalities. They are quite well-educated and have a bit of coldness and arrogance. But at this moment, a hint of pink could not help but appear on their pretty faces.
At this moment, Ji You couldn't help but think of the three women who were rushing forward on the road to conquest, and he thought to himself that he understood.
Senior Sister Wen and Miss Lu must have discovered that they had pretended that Lu Hanyan was spanked, and they became close because they shared the same secret.
Sisters...
This means that the generations have been arranged in the backyard without informing me, right?
Ji You couldn't help but think of Yuan Caiwei, who always wanted to call Yan Shuyi sister, and thought to himself why all women look the same.
The key point is that it would be fine if it was just Lu Qingqiu and Lu Hanyan, but how come even Senior Sister Wen, who is always serious, got involved and acted as the boss among the three of them?
You're too impolite. Even if you're in good health, you can't do this. You should at least inform them.
"How is Yunzhou now?"
Ji You lamented the fickleness of human nature. After a long moment of sighing, he finally remembered what he cared about most.
After hearing this, Lu Qingqiu spoke up, "Currently, both Youyun and Youyun states are in chaos. The Barbarian-Demon coalition has already reached the Rege Plain and is currently stationed in the upper reaches of the Nujiang River."
"Halfway?"
"Well, so this time it's not just the two of us sisters who are returning to Beijing. My parents and other people from the Spirit Stone Chamber of Commerce are here too. We've rented a house in West City and are planning to stay out of the spotlight for a while."
The Rege Plain spans the two states of You and Yun. Since the two tribes of Man and Yao have arrived in the hinterland of the two states, it means that half of the area has been occupied, and naturally the largest mine in Yunzhou has also been affected.
The Lu family is a century-old family, and the Spirit Stone Chamber of Commerce is not weak when combined. However, facing the two tribes of Barbarians and Demons, their strength still seems too small. They have no chance of resistance and can only withdraw from Yunzhou first.
Fortunately, Lu Hanyan is still an inner court disciple, and Tianshuyuan still has the responsibility to protect her family.
"Evil disciple!"
"?"
While talking with the Lu sisters, Cao Jinsong, Ban Yangshu and Wen Zhengxin, who came to visit them every day, walked into the hall.
Seeing the two sisters return, Wen Zhengxin went over to ask them some questions and found out that the sisterhood was quite deep.
After talking for a long time, she came to Ji You, looked at him indifferently, and asked him seriously how he was feeling. However, she found that Ji You was looking at her with scrutiny.
In the following days, the Tianshu Academy was relatively calm, but war reports from the north often came.
The two tribes of barbarians and monsters who arrived at the Rege Plain began to plunder the occupied territories, and at the same time built up layers of defensive fortifications from east to west, and completely demolished the western section of the northern city wall.
Even though they were thousands of miles away, the human soldiers guarding the upper reaches of the Nujiang River could still see the smoke and dust raised by the collapse of the towering northern border.
At this time, they gradually slowed down the pace of attack.
This was the same as Zuo Qiuyang had expected. Although they came with great momentum, they were still afraid of the power of the holy weapon.
"call--"
North of the Northern Wall, where the wilderness and the snowfield meet.
In the biting cold wind, several powerful monsters as tall as mountains were flashing their huge wings that covered the sky and sweeping across the endless frozen land, rolling up the vast amount of broken snow and heading north.
And carrying on the broad backs of these monsters were none other than the demon prince Ye Han, who had commanded the army to tear apart the two states of Youyun a few days ago, and the young patriarch of the Lin clan, Lin Dou.
Soon, as the monster fell into the snow-covered Demon Emperor City, the two entered the Demon Emperor Palace side by side.
The deep palace was quiet and solemn. The Demon Emperor sat on the throne in the palace. His huge and majestic figure exuded a deep and mysterious pressure.
Sensing the two people entering the hall, the Demon Emperor slowly opened his eyes, revealing his pair of golden vertical pupils.
"How is the war going in Youyun Province now?"
"Reporting to Emperor Father, the battle is going smoothly. The western section of the northern city wall has been demolished. Although the human immortal sects and aristocratic families have sent some people to resist, slowing down the army's progress southward, I am confident that we can completely conquer the entire Yunzhou before next spring."
The Demon Emperor nodded after hearing this: "You did well."
Ye Han bowed and said, "Thank you for the compliment, Father. However, I think our clan shouldn't be satisfied with just Youzhou."
"What do you think?"
"Although the Barbarians are now allied with our tribe, they are probably unwilling to share an inch of land with the Demons. We must remember the lesson of being a bridesmaid thousands of years ago. We need to quickly multiply and expand our tribe, which requires more land and resources."
The Demon Emperor half-opened his eyes. "Do you mean to continue south from Youzhou and fight for Qingzhou?"
Ye Han nodded when he heard this: "Qingzhou is huge and borders Youyun and other states. We can't let the barbarians take the lead."
"What do you think, Lin Dou?" The Demon Emperor couldn't help but ask.
The class gap among the demon race is not as insurmountable as that among the human race, so the young patriarchs of the five tribes of scale, tooth, hair, claw and feather are not much worse in status than the demon prince.
Especially Lin Dou, who is considered a genius in the demon clan, so naturally he has a say.
Upon hearing the Demon Emperor's question, Lin Dou immediately spoke up, "According to the intelligence I've gathered, the Chen clan leader has been in seclusion since the human race's catastrophe and has not been seen since. I believe he may no longer be alive. Qingzhou may be within our grasp."
"The Chen clan leader is not dead yet."
"?"
The Demon Emperor looked at the wind and snow outside the palace with his vast eyes: "It is true that he is seriously injured, but he is still breathing."
Lin Dou's eyes narrowed upon hearing this: "Is there any chance of him recovering?"
"Like the Xuanyuan Sect Leader, he has been preparing to ascend for years. His body has long since withered and decayed. A body devoid of vitality cannot heal any wounds. He is merely struggling to hold on."
"Even so, he must be extremely weak in his severely injured state and may not be able to control the holy weapon. This is an excellent opportunity."
The Demon Emperor shook his head slightly. "The timing was crucial for us to successfully cross the northern border. We took advantage of the fact that the human race had suffered a devastating catastrophe and was severely damaged, leaving them unable to react. However, the immortal sects have already stabilized. Not to mention the Chen clan leader, I'm afraid the other sect leaders are also keeping an eye on our clan's movements."
Lin Dou pursed his lips and said, "But it is said that other members of the human race who have reached the Immortal Realm have also been injured."
"Yes, these people are all injured to varying degrees, but if even one of them can activate the sacred weapon, we will lose everything we have gained. The two states of Youyun are still a little easier to deal with, but continuing south is like plucking hair from a tiger's mouth."
"this……"
The Demon Emperor looked at Lin Dou and Ye Han and said, "Sometimes conquest doesn't necessarily rely solely on force. We also have the demon stones that the human cultivators rely on. Especially after conquering Yunzhou, 70% of the world's spirit stones are in our hands. We can also make some use of this aspect."
Lin Dou raised his eyes when he heard the voice: "Your Majesty, do you want to use spirit stones to open up Qingzhou?"
"The human race's loyalty to their tribe is practically nonexistent, unlike our demon race. To be more precise, they are even more like scattered sand. There may be people willing to be controlled by our race for the sake of spirit stones. Although this move is gentle and slow, it can still give us an advantage over the barbarians."
"Your Majesty is wise."
Just as the Demon Emperor said, spirit stones are extremely important to the human race, and now 70% of Qingyun’s spirit stones have fallen into their hands.
Now they have returned to Jiuzhou, but because the human race has the holy weapon in their hands, they cannot continue to move south. This method of boiling the frog in warm water has become the lowest risk and most effective method.
"Besides that, what Ye Han just said is correct. Expanding the tribe is also a top priority. In your opinion, when can the tribe members move to Yunzhou with the army?"
The Demon Emperor's deep voice sounded from the hall again.
After hearing this, Ye Han said, "The war hasn't subsided yet. Half of the territory of Youyun Province hasn't been conquered yet. It will take until after spring at the earliest."
"Spring is not far away. For thousands of years, we have used Kyushu to give our people hope. Now we can finally let them see Kyushu."
"God bless your majesty, God bless the demon race."
The Demon Emperor nodded and looked at Lin Dou: "Go see your father. I heard that he has been thinking about you since you left for the war. He has been ill in recent days and didn't even attend the morning court."
When Lin Dou heard that his father was ill, he immediately raised his hand and said, "I'll take my leave."
The Demon Emperor watched him leave, then looked at Ye Han: "You go too, and see your mother."
"I have made preparations in advance. I have brought some gifts for my mother and my sister."
"I'm so thoughtful, but don't go to Feng Yang for now. She's about to break through the barrier, so don't disturb her."
"yes."
Ye Han bowed and left the hall, then went towards the harem, visited his mother, and told her a lot about Yunzhou.
When I came out of the Demon Queen's bedroom, heavy snow had already started falling outside.
This is the snowy land. Out of the 365 days in a year, it snows for 300 days. Crops cannot grow and children are difficult to raise.
This is also the reason why they have to return to Kyushu.
Ye Han walked along the vast snowy road through the Demon Emperor's Palace, and soon arrived at the Star-Picking Platform.
For thousands of years, the lineage of the Demon Emperor has always resented that Heaven has never bestowed fortune upon their tribe, so they built this Star-Picking Platform to observe the sky, hoping to use their own strength to explore the laws governing the operation of this world.
At this time, the Demon Emperor was standing on the Star-Picking Platform, with heavy snow drifting all around him.
After gazing at the ground for a while, Ye Han couldn't help but step forward and said, "Father."
"Have you finished meeting your mother?"
"Yes."
"The matter on the front line is serious. Don't stay in the Snow Region for too long." The Demon Emperor gave an instruction.
Ye Han immediately said, "I won't stay for long. I will set off back to the front tomorrow."
"That's great."
After he finished speaking, Ye Han seemed to be hesitant to speak, as if he had something to ask but didn't know how to start.
As the supreme ruler of his clan, the Demon Emperor naturally saw this expression. He turned and looked at him for a long moment before speaking softly, "You were suddenly silent in the palace just now. Is there something you wish to ask me privately?"
Ye Han raised his eyes upon hearing the voice. "I simply don't understand. Father clearly possesses the means to deal with the Sacred Artifact. While he cannot truly suppress it, it should be more than enough to deal with the dying Chen clan leader. Why did he hesitate to seize Qingzhou?"
For thousands of years, both the barbarians and the demons have wanted to return to their homeland.
The barbarians fight to support their wars, but the demons are not completely without plans either.
As far as Ye Han knew, his father had been studying how to deal with the holy weapon and had achieved some success.
"Do you remember what I said when the Barbarians wanted to form an alliance with my Demon Tribe and I refused?"
"You said the time is not right, and we have to wait for the old man from the Heavenly Academy to leave so that we can spy on the secrets of the heavens before we can act. But the dean of the Heavenly Academy is clearly dead, isn't he?"
The Demon Emperor looked at Ye Han and said, "I saw him pass away in a radiant light that day, but I discovered that he didn't ascend to heaven, nor did he die."
"?"
Ye Han's eyes trembled instantly, and he was very confused by this sentence.
The Qingyun human race has only two ways to leave the world: death or ascension. He doesn't understand how there could be any other way.
"I've always felt this person was plotting something, and I thought his death was the end. I never imagined even his death would be so strange, and it seems there's a lot of hidden secrets behind it."
Ye Han raised his head after hearing this: "Is this a risk to my demon clan?"
Upon hearing this, the Demon Emperor looked at Feng Xue in front of him and said, "What can a deceased person do, no matter how powerful their methods are? Since my demon clan has entered the Nine Provinces, we will never give up. I just want you to be cautious and not be too impulsive."
"Your son will obey your order."
Ye Han bowed slightly and then left from the Star Picking Platform.
At this time, the Demon Emperor stood with his hands behind his back, continuing to look up at the Heavenly Dao.
Although the human race is the only race favored by heaven after the survivors, the King of Snowland has never looked down on the human race.
Because they are selfish, greedy and cunning, they have inherited almost all the shortcomings of the survivors, but they are not as strong as them.
But the only one that the Demon Emperor dared not ignore was the old guy from the Heavenly Academy.
That man has spent his entire life trying to comprehend the secrets of heaven, and is the one who has the deepest understanding of the way of heaven in all of Qingyun. Although the two have never met, the Demon Emperor has sensed his aura, which is definitely not as simple as Linxian.
He can ignore anyone's actions, but he will never ignore him.
Now that he has left Qingyun, he has not ascended to become an immortal, nor has his soul returned to heaven, which means that there must be something hidden behind this matter.
The most important thing is that after that person left, the obscured way of heaven gradually became clear. He had already realized that the human race had lost its luck, but everything in the world seemed to have not changed. This was what made him think deeply.
On the snowy land lives a species of unintelligent rats, who live together in highly strict hierarchical groups.
Each tribe has only one queen, and this queen will have five spouses who are responsible for reproduction.
Apart from these six, the other family members have no fertility and will never be able to give birth to children in their entire lives.
But once the queen dies unexpectedly, a female in their tribe will suddenly be chosen, inexplicably awaken her fertility, and succeed her as the new queen.
Similarly, if one or two of the five mates die, other males in the group will become fertile and become the queen's mates.
This is the choice made by the heavens.
But this time, it doesn't seem to have made any new choices.
“…”
"Father."
"Are you back?"
On the east side of the Demon Emperor City, in an ancient city built of huge stones.
Lin Dou stepped into his father's room and bowed slightly to the Lin Clan leader, who was sitting behind the investigation. "I have lived up to the trust of my clan and, together with the prince, have conquered half of Yunzhou. I just went to the palace to see His Majesty and learned that my father has been ill in recent days. I wonder what happened?"
The Scale Tribe leader waved his hand after hearing this. "It's an old problem. There's no need to worry. The most important thing right now is the tribe. You must remember to be wary of the barbarians. They are not a solid ally."
"I have already discussed this matter with His Majesty when I entered the palace."
"What does your Majesty say?"
Lin Dou then repeated the conversation in the palace: "Your Majesty feels that the sacred artifact is difficult to resist and does not want to use force. Instead, he wants to make a move on the spirit stone."
The Scale Clan leader narrowed his eyes instantly: "Your Majesty is still too indecisive. I'm afraid that your pride has been worn away by this endless frost and snow."
"Father, this is disrespectful..."
"It's just a few words between us father and son behind closed doors."
The Lin Clan leader then pulled out a brocade box from his sleeve and said, "When you return to Yunzhou, take this with you and find a way to get it to Yandang Mountain."
Seeing this, Lin Dou looked at the brocade box and said, "Isn't Yandang Mountain in Zhongzhou? Who does father want me to give it to?"
"It is buried under the third tree behind the mountain monument. This is of great significance to our tribe and must not be neglected."
"yes!"
The Scale Clan leader raised his head after he finished speaking and said, "You must be exhausted from leading troops to fight and traveling between the nine states. You should rest well today."
Upon hearing the voice, Lin Dou said goodbye to his father, then pushed the door open and walked out of the room.
When he came back this time, he received many visiting cards. Some old friends wanted to meet him and ask about Yunzhou.
But just as his father said, he was indeed a little tired, so he didn't plan to attend the banquet today and wanted to go back and have a good rest.
However, before he walked out of the courtyard, Lin Dou heard a sound of slamming the table suddenly coming from his father's room, followed by a low and angry roar.
"Stop arguing!"
"I said, stop arguing!"
"?"
Lin Dou was slightly startled and turned to look at the closed door.
He had just come out from inside, so he naturally knew that he was the only one in his father's house, and he was a little confused about who he was talking to.
Perhaps because he knew his father was ill, he felt a little worried, so he turned around and opened the door.
The Scale Clan leader was sitting in the room at this time. His posture was not much different from when he left, except that his shoulders were a little tense and his eyes were a little red, as if he was exerting some effort in secret.
"Father, what happened just now?"
The Scale Clan leader took a breath and said, "It's okay. It's just that there were some issues with my innate cultivation. I've recovered a lot after these few days."
A trace of worry flashed in Lin Dou's eyes: "Is father really okay?"
"As the head of the clan, I've seen all sorts of storms and waves. Don't worry, go ahead."
"I will be going home soon, so please take good care of yourself, father."
“…”
Ye Han and Lin Dou did not stay in the Snow Region for too long after returning. They were treated to several banquets by various ethnic groups before hurriedly returning.
While walking, Lin Dou looked at the box in his hand and fell into deep thought.
In the past, the demons traded with humans, and there were indeed members of their clan in every state and county. However, after the catastrophe that befell the human race, some died and some fled, and there were not many left.
In other words, the box his father asked him to send to Zhongzhou might be for the human race.
Could it be that there has always been a connection between my father and the human race?
Lin Dou felt that this matter was very strange, but he had no way of guessing what was going on.
The journey was thousands of miles long, but it took only ten days for the monsters to reach the destination while flying through the sky. After a rest, the barbarian-monster coalition forces continued to move south.
(asking for monthly ticket)
(End of this chapter)
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