NOVPUB
Chapter 364: Chapter 361 Traveling Companion
Emperor’s Sword!
This was the very Emperor’s Sword that could represent imperial authority!
The Refining Demon Hall Master watched the Dao Artifact in Gu Jinlai’s hand, holding his breath, not daring to let out even a whisper.
Not just him, after Xin Tianqi’s gasp of astonishment, he too dared not say more.
Nor did he dare to offer half an analysis on the Emperor’s Sword or the Emperor Qian who had bestowed it upon Gu Jinlai.
"The Emperor’s Sword... this is indeed a top-grade Taoist Device,"
said Gu Jinlai.
A top-grade Taoist Device’s worth could fully match five ordinary Taoist Devices.
But what a pity...
He had never wanted to exchange his Taoist Device to leverage its power for battling targets, but rather to use it as a vessel, to contain the energy within the Eternal Furnace, transforming it into something akin to a disposable killer weapon for a one-hit kill on his target.
If such a top-grade Taoist Device were squandered in this way, it would be far too wasteful.
Keep in mind that even Earthly True Immortals, like him, often only made use of top-grade Taoist Devices.
"Emperor Qian... is thoughtful indeed,"
Gu Jinlai remarked.
After transmitting the Emperor’s Sword, the light of the Heaven and Earth Qiankun Map gradually dimmed.
But before the light completely faded, the child map of this Dao Artifact shook once more, and then a book materialized before him.
Only after Gu Jinlai took the book did the light of the Heaven and Earth Qiankun Map finally dissipate completely.
"This is..."
Gu Jinlai examined the book in his hand.
Balance Holy Scripture!?
Another Balance Holy Scripture?
He quickly understood.
It was likely that the Balance Holy Scripture was part of the creator’s inheritance owned by the Divine Weapon Forces, including the Sanqing Hall and the Heavenly Immortal Palace.
After all, the vast Holy Sanctuary Relics they’d acquired belonged to the Libra Star Lord.
"It’s a repeat, huh."
Gu Jinlai felt somewhat regretful, "At this point, sending this creator’s inheritance is meaningless."
He flipped through the Balance Holy Scripture...
And after a moment, he noticed something.
The Imperial Family’s Balance Holy Scripture wasn’t completely without value.
The book contained many annotations from the Imperial Family and the Heavenly Monarchs who served them.
Each annotation was like a crystallization of the intelligence and hard work of the Heavenly Monarchs.
These elements would be of great help to Gu Jinlai’s future comprehension of the Balance Holy Scripture.
"Let’s go,"
said Gu Jinlai as he shifted his gaze away from the Heaven and Earth Qiankun Map and started to walk out of the Demon Refining Hall, "Next, we must set off for Mu State and have a true battle with the devils—a defense battle for Mu State."
...
Baihe City.
A man dressed in a long gown, wearing a conical hat, was sipping tea and enjoying some snacks at a tea stand.
His gaze was constantly surveying the city gate.
Even though it was outside the city, one could still see numerous tea stands, peddlers, traders, and pedestrians coming and going near the city gates.
They each had smiles on their faces that came from deep within their hearts, and their eyes were full of hope and anticipation for the future.
"Star State... it’s really as the rumors say..."
The man muttered to himself, "Master, Senior Sister... if we’re going to rebuild the Frost Sword Sect, we should do it in Star State. That way, we can cultivate in peace, live peacefully, and do what we wish to do, without any disturbances."
He slightly raised his head, revealing a face that was nearly universally recognized due to the notices spread by the Sanqing Hall.
Tian Ji’s Venerable Xuan Tian.
He watched the constant stream of people coming and going at the city gate.
As well as the soldiers guarding the gate...
The soldiers maintained order at the city gates without charging a fee.
Or to say it another way, in all cities throughout Yellow State and Star State unlike other places, there was no entrance fee to enter the cities.
There were no checkpoints asking for fees on the many official roads either.
Travel between cities was completely free.
"Moreover, thanks to the continuous purging by the soldiers, there aren’t even any fierce beasts within a hundred li around the city..."
Venerable Xuan Tian said.
Living in such a city...
Even its outskirts could be considered truly safe.
However, after watching for a while, Venerable Xuan Tian couldn’t help but turn his gaze towards the south.
He didn’t possess the Qi Observation Skill, but his special perception still faintly alerted him to a brewing storm to the south.
"Master Wushi is dead, the devils are getting bold,"
said Venerable Xuan Tian.
For a moment, he grew silent.
He needed to do something.
But...
Go kill demons?
Join the ranks of Lingxiao Palace?
No!
He wouldn’t place his trust in anyone else again.
So...
"The Heavenly Immortal Palace has always coveted the unification of factions like Cold Moon Sect and Purgatory Sect, yet now these forces are merged by Lingxiao City into Lingxiao Palace. Filled with resentment toward this, the Heavenly Immortal Palace is despite the fact that Lingxiao Palace has drained their forces for the battle in Mu State..."
The sacred decrees once issued by Emperor Daqian used to deter the Heavenly Immortal Palace.
But now, with Sanqing Hall uncovering the meddling of the Daqian Royal Family in the death of Master Wushi, a confrontation was inevitable.
With Sanqing Hall blocking the pressure from the Daqian Dynasty, the Heavenly Immortal Palace unquestionably had much more room for maneuver.
Especially in facing the completely hollowed Lingxiao Palace...
Venerable Xuan Tian didn’t know if the Heavenly Immortal Palace would truly take action.
But, he was accustomed to suspecting the worst intentions in his opponents.
Besides...
"Wu Tiandi, the Vice Hall Master of the Heavenly Immortal Palace, happens to be my nemesis... Although their Hall Master, Blood Demon Emperor Luo, is extremely powerful, his Undying Will nearing Perfection, surpassing even Immortal Wu Zhong, I am not confident in defeating him... But to kill some protectors, elders, and collect some interest first, why not?"
Venerable Xuan Tian took some broken silver out of his pocket and put it down: "Check, please."
He stood up, holding his sword, and headed straight north.
...
Emperor Tower.
Outside the study where Emperor Qian, Jiang Tianji, was reviewing petitions, a series of rapid footsteps were heard.
"Tap, tap, tap!"
Soon, a voice rose: "Your Majesty, your ministers Wang Yizhi, Zhao Riyue, and Long Yuantu request an audience."
"My beloved ministers, come in."
Jiang Tianji stood up.
Compared to a few months ago, his Essence Qi Spirit seemed outwardly buoyant, but internally there was a tinge of despondency.
Yet he masked it so well that not even the three ministers entering the study noticed anything amiss.
"Your Majesty, I’ve heard from Pavilion Master Fang of the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion that you’ve just bestowed three Taoist Devices? To King of Tian Nan, Gu Jinlai? Including the Emperor’s Sword?"
As soon as they entered the study, Wang Yizhi couldn’t wait to inquire.
"Everyone has witnessed the achievements of the King of Tian Nan in the past few months; the count of Demon Kings that have fallen by his hand is nine, and the number of Great Demons is even greater. When he requested to exchange his merits for Taoist Devices, was there anything inappropriate in granting him three Taoist Devices?"
Jiang Tianji responded.
"Your Majesty, although Gu Jinlai claims to have slain nine Demon Kings, the exact number still needs verification."
Wang Yizhi said.
"Right, if there were so many Demon Kings within the Mu State, how could Blue State withstand a full-scale northern advance from Mu State?"
Long Yuantu chimed in.
"Your Majesty, even if you bestowed two Taoist Devices to Gu Jinlai, we wouldn’t have any complaints, but... bestowing him the Emperor’s Sword, this..."
Zhao Riyue also spoke up.
"What about it?"
Jiang Tianji replied coldly, "Is fighting to defend the Three Thousand Marshes from demon invasion, and guarding the territories of the Daqian not a good cause? If we cannot offer him any military or material support, why can’t we grant him the Emperor’s Sword, to temporarily control the states to better resist the demons?"
"Guarding the territories..."
The three ministers exchanged glances, "We just fear that once Gu Jinlai obtains the Emperor’s Sword and special authority, he might disregard Your Majesty completely, even establishing a state within a state... "
"You three should know, the difficulty in repelling the demonic invasion from the Three Thousand Marshes. If I don’t make my stance clear and Mu State falls, followed by Tian Nan, then half of Qiantian will collapse under the demon tide."
Jiang Tianji said, his gaze falling upon the trio: "Of course, if you ministers have a better strategy to repel the demons of the Three Thousand Marshes, I will fully support it."
"This..."
The three ministers looked at each other, at a loss for words.
Jiang Tianji had no intention of letting them answer and directly stated, "The matter is settled. You all should discuss how to address the application from Sanqing Hall for rehabilitating Master Wushi’s name."
This issue troubled the three as well.
Rehabilitating Master Wushi’s name!?
If the world learns that the number one man in Qiantian had silently defended it for a hundred years, the already highly revered figure would become truly deified and Sanqing Hall’s fame would skyrocket, rapidly conquering all thirty-nine states.
But if they don’t rehabilitate Master Wushi’s name...
Sanqing Hall would never consent.
The best outcome would be the independence of Moon State.
One misstep and they might even resort to warfare, triggering a full-blown conflict between the Daqian Dynasty and Sanqing Hall.
...
Gu Jinlai, accompanied by Zhang Lihuo and Zhou Yi, hurriedly returned to Mu State.
However, on their way back to Mu State, upon passing through the Qiushan base of Lingxiao City, Gu Jinlai made a point to stop and use the Qiushan radar to send a message to Blue Star.
He hoped to acquire the technology for the Laser Cannon and repulsion shield from Blue Star.
Despite concerns that the Laser Cannon might not be very powerful due to power issues, its speed was undeniable.
Moreover, he considered mounting the Laser Cannons on Mystic Bird Fighting Machines or even the Qingluan Mother Ship, using larger energy reactors to boost power and striking from the sky.
As for the repulsion shield technology...
This technology held vast development potential.
If he could obtain the complete repulsion shield technology, adding a repulsion shield to the outside of the Cheng Ying Mecha and Mystic Bird Fighting Machines would undoubtedly greatly enhance their defensive power.
Particularly for the Cheng Ying Mecha.
If it possessed both an Immortal Gold Level body and a defensive shield, he would truly have the confidence to stand up to Saints.
But for now...
No.
It wasn’t possible. The Saints who lived through the great war a hundred years ago couldn’t be judged by ordinary standards.
That was why he would not rashly provoke any side.
After sending the message, he arrived in East Wood State as quickly as he could.
And it was almost at the moment of his arrival in East Wood State that news came from the retreating troops in Southern Mu State: a vast number of demons had poured into Southern Mu State from the Three Thousand Marshes.
The true trial of the Battle of Mu State was only just beginning.
