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Chapter 376: Chapter 373 Cooperation
"It has been transmitted, Supreme Elder, all two hundred portions of Immortal Essence Gold have been transmitted over."
In the Demon Refining Hall of Starlight City, Zhang Lihuo was filled with excitement.
"It’s been transmitted just like that?"
Gu Jinlai himself felt somewhat surprised.
The Cheng Ying Mecha had been exposed, and it was refined with Immortal Essence Gold.
Each time Gu Jinlai went into battle, the reason he could erupt with Saint Level combat power was because of the Cheng Ying Mecha.
Now, he again proposed to Jiang Tianji the exchange for two hundred portions of Immortal Essence Gold...
With just a bit of thought, Jiang Tianji could guess that in the battle at Mu State, his set of Cheng Ying Mecha, made with Immortal Essence Gold, must have been seriously damaged and desperately needed Immortal Essence Gold as a material for repairs.
If he was to lose his Saint Realm level combat power, this Emperor Qian, if he wanted to manipulate him, would have to agree to his terms, as long as it didn’t touch upon fundamental interests.
He was even ready to part with the Sword Heavy Cannon and even the Mystic Bird Fighting Machine design diagrams.
But...
Emperor Qian said nothing more and directly sent over two hundred portions of Immortal Essence Gold.
It was a price paid with damage to the Heaven and Earth Qiankun Map, a Dao Artifact, which couldn’t be used for one or two months; the Immortal Essence Gold was sent over with that cost.
This decisiveness and resolve greatly exceeded Gu Jinlai’s expectations.
Gu Jinlai stood in this special room of the State Lord Mansion, looking at Jiang Tianji, who also appeared within a pillar of light, like a virtual projection.
Whatever the reason, for Emperor Qian to make such a decision, it was indeed an act of benevolence and righteousness.
"Outside Qiantian, it’s already a living hell, but the Qiantian World... cannot be considered very strong. Only Master Wushi has reached the Earthly True Immortal level, but it has maintained relative peace for a hundred years against the continuous assault of the devils."
Gu Jinlai said, "I think, I understand the reason now."
"King of Tian Nan, Master Gu, Heavenly Monarch Gu..."
From within the light and shadow, the virtual figure of Jiang Tianji slowly spoke, "No matter what your true identity is, at the very least... you have protected the land of Tian Nan, maintained its stability, and enabled the people of Tian Nan to live in abundance and happiness. That is enough, and I will strive to fulfill any requests within my power."
"Fulfill..."
Gu Jinlai looked at Emperor Qian and after pondering for a moment, he said, "Then, does Your Majesty have any interest in further strengthening our cooperation?"
"Strengthen cooperation? How?"
"I have heard that there are still many portions of Immortal Essence Gold in Your Majesty’s treasury; how much is there?"
"Thanks to the rich accumulation of the nation’s efforts, as well as almost a hundred years without anyone achieving Saint status, Immortal Essence Gold... we still have about one thousand seven to eight hundred portions."
Jiang Tianji looked at Gu Jinlai with some surprise, "The King of Tian Nan wouldn’t be someone close to achieving Saint status, would they? If so, in addition to Immortal Essence Gold, there are also several hundred other materials that can be used to forge a Saint Body."
"That’s good to hear."
Gu Jinlai looked at Jiang Tianji, "These resources currently have no significance lying in the treasury. If Your Majesty is willing, you could turn them over to me. At most within a year, I can offer a Cheng Ying Mecha in return to Your Majesty. How does that sound?"
At these words, Jiang Tianji involuntarily stepped forward, "Is King of Tian Nan serious!?"
"Yes, I am."
Gu Jinlai nodded his head.
Handing over a Cheng Ying Mecha to another party wasn’t as simple as a normal trade.
One must know, the Heavenly Masters have strong imitating capabilities.
As long as they have a physical item as a reference, there is no Spiritual Artifact the Heavenly Masters cannot duplicate.
It is only a matter of how much time is required.
If Gu Jinlai truly handed a Cheng Ying Mecha to Jiang Tianji, and if Jiang Tianji was intent on it, he could completely let the Heavenly Masters thoroughly understand this Mecha. Even without understanding the principles within, they could still forcefully recreate it with ten times, or dozens of times more effort.
"I know that a thousand to two thousand materials to forge a Saint Body are extremely valuable and to make this decision is not easy. Your Majesty can take some time to think over it. My promise remains valid at any time," Gu Jinlai said.
Jiang Tianji nodded, "I will give a response to the King of Tian Nan as soon as possible."
"I’ll be waiting for the great news," Gu Jinlai replied.
With that, the exchange between the two came to an end.
Once the light in the communication room faded, Zhang Lihuo commented with some emotion, "Emperor Qian is quite farsighted in his actions. His bold decisions, like the Demon Refining Hall and the autonomy granted to the various regions, have motivated the civil martial forces, turning them into Demon Hunters who voluntarily hunt down devils that infiltrate the human world."
He glanced at the City Lord Mansion, "Granting the officials the power over troops is the root of chaos across the world, but in order for each state and each city to have sufficient self-defense capabilities, he still made the decision without any hesitation."
Gu Jinlai remained silent.
Emperor Qian wasn’t a qualified ruler.
Because of limited capability.
But to the people of the world, he had done what was just and without guilt.
"Which Demon Realm Rift has recently opened?" Gu Jinlai asked.
Next, they had to repair the Cheng Ying Mecha as quickly as possible.
"Qiushan!" Zhang Lihuo answered, "In half a month."
"Qiushan?"
Gu Jinlai frowned slightly.
The Demon Realm Rift in Qiushan Mountain was too small.
Unless...
Like the last time with the Tianhe Rift, he decided to enter the Demon Realm.
"Besides the Qiushan Rift, there is another large rift that will open soon," Zhang Lihuo said gravely, "It’s the one in Central State."
"Central State..."
Even though Emperor Qian Jiang Tianji left a good impression on him, Gu Jinlai wasn’t interested in going to Central State, the political center of the Daqian Dynasty, when he was at his weakest.
Because...
Jiang Tianji couldn’t represent the Daqian Dynasty.
Moreover, he had no intention of using this precious trust to test the limits of human nature.
"Let it be Qiushan Mountain!"
Gu Jinlai said in a deep voice.
If needs be, he would make thorough preparations before entering the Demon Realm this time and store up several more Qingguangs.
Furthermore, with Zhou Yi, who had also reached the Third Step of Heavenly Monarch, the pressure he would face at that time would be significantly lessened.
...
After issuing the order to once again cleanse the overseas territories and purge the atmosphere within the jurisdiction of Lingxiao Palace, Gu Jinlai returned to Lingxiao City.
At this moment, the Military Workshop outside Lingxiao City was in full swing.
An endless stream of cannonballs and Sword Heavy Cannons were being produced and delivered to the frontlines.
Apart from the regular heavy cannons, they even spontaneously developed other equipment such as mortars and anti-aircraft guns.
Moreover, the Radiant Platform also gained further development as they learned to utilize wavelengths and frequencies on their own.
The Thousand-mile Light and Shadow Mirror was no longer limited to one-on-one communication like before; it could now facilitate multi-person, multi-channel conversations.
There were even more minor improvements and small inventions of the like.
Indeed, war is the primary driver of technological advancement.
Gu Jinlai conducted an inspection and soon began superficial repairs on the Cheng Ying Mecha with Zhang Lihuo and Zhou Yi included.
As for meticulous repairs...
They would have to be conducted through the Co-spirit.
...
True Immortal Palace.
Blood Demon Emperor Luo violently threw a precious cup on the ground.
"Bang!"
The shards scattered in all directions.
"Venerable Xuan Tian, Tai Yuan!"
This Demon Saint’s eyes were flickering with rage, "They dare to come to our domain to kill, completely disregarding us."
"The current situation is such that if we go after Tai Yuan, Venerable Xuan Tian will come and slaughter in our True Immortal Palace, and if we chase after Venerable Xuan Tian, Tai Yuan will uproot our True Immortal Palace..."
The speaker was Vice Palace Master Chi Yan.
This Deva had pushed the power of Heaven and Earth to its limits, and though he was not considered top-tier in combat strength due to the lack of Divine Skills and Dao Artifacts, he was still a notch below the likes of top-tier Devas like Kunwu.
"Are we just going to defend passively?"
Baofeng spoke with some reluctance on the side, "Or, we could concentrate our forces and settle life and death with one of them..."
As he spoke, a cold light flashed in his eyes, "Let’s take Venerable Xuan Tian! With the full power of the True Immortal Palace, we can eliminate Venerable Xuan Tian and if successful, even reclaim the Sky Extreme Sword from his hands and restore our Divine Weapon to the True Immortal Palace!"
"Venerable Xuan Tian... that fellow is too slippery..."
Emperor Luo said.
In reality...
He would rather confront Tai Yuan, whom they knew well, than Venerable Xuan Tian.
After all, not only did Venerable Xuan Tian assassinate Master Wushi, Qiantian’s first expert and an Earthly True Immortal, but he also later overwhelmed Immortal Wu Zhong and forcefully seized the World Sword from his hands.
Although he had never fought him, he understood that he might not be able to achieve the same against Immortal Wu Zhong.
"Not long ago, news came from Mu State, that Warlord, with one strike, annihilated three Great Demons, and now with Venerable Xuan Tian and Tai Yuan lying in wait with bated breath..."
Emperor Luo frowned heavily.
The situation was becoming increasingly unbearable for the True Immortal Palace.
"Is Senior Brother not confident he can kill Venerable Xuan Tian with one strike?"
At this moment, a voice came in from the outside.
Right after, Wu Tiandi strode in.
"Venerable Xuan Tian... it’s not difficult for us to defeat him, but with the Sky Extreme Sword in hand, if he wants to flee, we have no way to stop him..."
Emperor Luo narrowed his eyes and spoke.
"The sharpness of the Sky Extreme Sword indeed cannot be stopped by Senior Brother alone... but what if another Saint were to join?"
"Hmm!?"
Emperor Luo’s gaze suddenly fell upon his junior brother.
Quickly, he thought of something, "Immortal Wu Zhong? He wants to collaborate with us to take back the World Sword from Venerable Xuan Tian?"
"Exactly."
Wu Tiandi nodded, "The helmsman of the Yuxu Lineage from Sanqing Hall has been having a hard time lately. Being overpowered by a previously equal junior brother with the force of a divine weapon, how much resentment must he harbor? Especially since he had a divine weapon himself not long ago, such resentment has been magnified to the extreme."
"To cooperate with Immortal Wu Zhong..."
Emperor Luo pondered for just a moment and already made a decision.
Venerable Xuan Tian was already their enemy.
Especially for Wu Tiandi, the man who annihilated the entire Frost Sword Sect, the enmity between them meant that neither side would rest until the other was dead. With such an opportunity to kill Venerable Xuan Tian, how could they easily let it slip by?
"If we kill Venerable Xuan Tian and manage to take back the Sky Extreme Sword... and even if we could get our hands on the World Sword, then we wouldn’t have to worry too much about being at a disadvantage against the two Saints from the Sanqing Holy Temple."
Emperor Luo spoke and looked at Wu Tiandi, "Then, get in touch with Immortal Wu Zhong directly."
Wu Tiandi nodded.
In fact, he had received another piece of information.
Information about that Warlord, and about the World Sword.
However, the authenticity of this news still needed to be tested in battle against Venerable Xuan Tian.
If that news turned out to be true...
He, Wu Tiandi, might just have a chance to wield a divine weapon.
