Chapter 494: Giving in to the Talented (2)
Ze Peng then stood up and slowly bowed to Ji Rong again, saying, "Master, this is the second time I'm asking you for your help. I hope you will grant my request."
Ji Rong spread her wings and helped Ze Pengxu up, saying, "I can grant your wish, but you must first take over the management of the Nine Provinces for your master. We will expand our territory outside, while you and the Mountain and Water God will manage the Nine Provinces internally. Once you find the next leader and pass my approval, I will take you to the heavens. How about that?"
Upon hearing this, Zepeng was overjoyed and said, "Thank you, Master. As for Xiaohua and the others..."
Ji Rong rolled her eyes in exasperation and said, "I didn't call them back before because I was thinking of you, but you didn't want them. We won't see each other for many years in the future, so of course I have to call them back. Let's have a good reunion as master and disciples."
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After a few leisurely days, Ji Rong and Qing Pingzi saw Qing Guanzi off and then returned to the Dragon and Phoenix Palace.
The news that one could hold an Ascension Token and ascend to the outer heavens had already spread throughout the Nine Provinces, and the local officials were gradually collecting the wishes of the tribal cultivators within their jurisdictions who held the tokens.
After examining them closely, it became clear that not a single token holder was willing to go up and see them just once. They all expressed their willingness to continue contributing money and effort to support the Lord's territorial expansion.
Jiao Jue tossed the rosters onto Ji Rong's chair and squinted, saying, "Lord Cai Niao, your job has come. Pick a sunny day and take them up for a stroll."
Ji Rong nodded and said, "Okay."
Since the tribes behind these two thousand tokens unanimously chose to leave their tokens behind, Ji Rong could not possibly send them all up at once, as that would be both time-consuming and costly. First, the three groups that contributed the most would go up, one hundred tokens each, and then the rest would be arranged in order.
With this premise in mind, without Ji Rong saying a word, the tribes rushed to the Dragon and Phoenix Palace with gifts, waiting outside for Ji Rong's summons.
But Ji Rong did not see them, because Shan Baishu, riding a phoenix and followed by ninety-eight bird cultivators, arrived.
This time, He brought rare gifts from several mountains, but it was simply a gift-giving gesture, not for ascending to heaven. At the temple gate, in front of the tribal leaders, He loudly proclaimed, "The hundred gods of Kunlun Mountain, along with ninety-nine riders carrying precious materials, have come to pay homage to the Lord."
As the successor of the Kunlun Mountains, Shan Baishu finally outlived several of the old servants of the Golden Mother Goddess forty-six years ago and obtained the true treasures of the Golden Cauldron Palace.
Upon obtaining the treasure vault, He excitedly informed Shanshui through the underground spiritual veins that He wanted to clean out and send over any usable items from the vault. After discussing it with Jiaojue, Shanshui sent a message telling Him not to rush and to wait for further information before offering the items.
So this time, as soon as Shanshui sent the message, Shan Baishu brought his air cavalry over. These items were all antiques that had been gathering dust in the warehouse.
These ancient artifacts are made of high-quality and solid materials and are no longer practical, but their large quantity makes them valuable. They can be melted down and used to build the Sky Road.
This will also serve as a demonstration to the tribal leaders who hold the Ascension Orders, letting them know that the path to ascension is not solely supported by their tributes.
Ji Rong accepted the gifts one by one in the hall, and generously left a simple meal for each tribe before having the servants carrying baskets of spirit fruits warmly see them off from the mountain. Unsurprisingly, all three hundred tribal leaders received low-grade fruit baskets from Lord Ji.
Only Shan Baishu was left behind by Ji Rong, and he received five small bottles of pale golden source water.
Inside the hall, Ji Rong looked at Shan Baishu, who was wearing a white bone skull as a hat, and said, "Baishu, do you like this gift?"
Shan Baishu opened it as instructed, took a bite, and nodded, saying, "I like it."
“Good,” Ji Rong laughed, “If you still have this kind of stuff in your warehouse, bring it over in a big way next time. The construction of the road to ascension will need your support.”
Shan Baishu said apologetically, "Lord Ji, the valuable treasures in the storeroom should have been given away by the Golden Mother long ago. All that's left are these worthless, old items that are hard to move."
Ji Rong smiled and said, "We know that, but the other cultivators in the Nine Provinces don't. They will only see that the Kunlun Mountain God is wholeheartedly following Lord Ji and has given away his entire fortune to support the construction of the Ascension Road."
Shan Baishu blushed and said, "Lord Ji, I understand. If my elder brother calls me again next time, I will take some bricks from the storeroom."
Hearing this, Ji Rong's smile deepened, and she said with satisfaction, "That's right, a hundred or so, you understand, that's exactly it."
Having accepted the treasure and chosen an auspicious day, Ji Rong led a hundred tribal leaders to Haiya Mountain.
They entered Juju from the fiery Tanghe Pass and flew into the frozen, thousands-of-foots-high Haiya Mountain.
Along the path with the spatial inscription, Qing Tanzi and She Shu were already waiting.
This time, they will bring fifty array weapon cultivators who are repairing roads with them, along with Ji Rong, and take the opportunity to replace Qing Yangzi and Wu Hao.
These tribal leaders used to only contribute money, but never actually participated in the construction of Tang and Shan.
Seeing the inscription half-hidden in the air, they were already six-tenths convinced.
When the inscription sent them up to the heavens and soared into the sky, they believed it completely.
When they stood on that ascension platform, looking at the boundless void, the land suspended in the air, and the dazzling starry sky, they were completely mesmerized, their eyes not knowing where to look first.
Ji Rong stood in front of them, pointed to the sun in the distance, and said, "Do you see that? That's where Lord Xi resides now."
Then, she pointed to a small star that was emitting a hazy white light and said, "That is the territory designated by Senior Yuanjun."
Don't think I'm being biased. This star was moved here by Senior Yuanjun himself, and the Ascension Path that is currently under construction was also fixed by Senior Yuanjun exercising his divine authority.
Otherwise, no matter how much money we spend, we can't build another piece of earth in this void.
Finally, she pointed to the void in front of the sun and said, "Look over there, that's where Senior Yuanjun moved his stars. There are also Golden Jade Stars and places rich in spiritual energy. Once our road is repaired, you can go there and become mine owners."
"Hoo." As soon as Ji Rong said this, the breathing of all the cultivators standing on the Ascension Platform became heavy.
Ji Rong let them watch for another quarter of an hour, and when she saw Qing Yangzi and his group flying over, she said, "We've seen what we needed to see, it's time to go back."
"Staying here consumes our spiritual energy every moment. Once the road is repaired, you'll have plenty of time to look around. Who knows, by then, none of you might want to come up here anymore."
Seeing such a miracle, all the cultivators obediently followed Ji Rong back.
In this way, over three years, while the cultivators who were building roads and arrays were changing shifts, Ji Rong took the three hundred cultivators who had contributed the most to the heavens in three separate trips, barely managing to gather the first layer of materials needed to consolidate the Heavenly Road.
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