My Silly, Sweet Wife

On the watchtower.

Qin Cangqiong also fell silent.

He could see Ye Guichen’s movements, but he clearly didn’t know much about this unofficial history.

”State Preceptor, is this really true?” Qin Cangqiong asked the State Preceptor.

The State Preceptor let out a sigh as well. ”Indeed, our Daqian Dynasty’s unofficial history does record such a thing. Our Daqian Dynasty may be immensely powerful, but in the eyes of Immortals, we’re nothing more than a chess piece. As for whether this matter is true or not, no one alive can say. After all, no one has truly seen an Immortal, and no one will come forward to prove that our Daqian Dynasty exists solely to suppress that evil dragon.”

Qin Cangqiong’s brows furrowed deeper and deeper.

He had originally only wanted to trap Ye Guichen in the Barbarian Demon Arena so that Ye Guichen would remain within his control.

But if Ye Guichen really insisted on his own way and dragged that stone coffin out, the entire Dragon City would likely suffer a great catastrophe.

”Your Majesty, people from the Xuantian Sect have come again.”

At this moment, someone came to report.

Qin Cangqiong’s brows arched. ”They’re here again? What for this time? Don’t tell me, something’s happened with the Demon Clan again?”

Qin Cangqiong could no longer spare the effort to worry about Ye Guichen. He directly ordered the State Preceptor and the Astrologer to keep an eye on the Barbarian Demon Arena, then descended the watchtower himself to meet the people from the Xuantian Sect.

This time, the Xuantian Sect had sent an elder.

The elder’s hair and beard were completely white, yet he had the air of an immortal sage, like some Banished Immortal from the heavens.

Behind him followed two Disciples.

The elder’s surname was Lu, and he was a genuine Golden Core Realm expert.

Although he had just stepped into the Golden Core Realm, he was still one of the rarest of the rare in the entire Daqian Dynasty.

”Elder Lu, what wind has blown you here today!”

Seeing Lu Changqing, Qin Cangqiong’s face was wreathed in smiles, his manner extremely courteous.

He had no choice. Though Qin Cangqiong was the Emperor of the Daqian Dynasty, and the Xuantian Sect was located within the territory of the Daqian Dynasty, in terms of the number of experts, the entire Daqian Dynasty couldn’t compare to the Xuantian Sect.

If we’re only talking Golden Core Realm, the entire Daqian Dynasty likely had only the Astrologer.

As for the Xuantian Sect, every elder and above had reached the Golden Core Realm.

The Xuantian Sect’s Sect Master’s cultivation was probably even higher, but for many years the Sect Master had never appeared, and no one knew how deep his cultivation ran.

Lu Changqing returned the greeting to Qin Cangqiong with equal courtesy. ”Your Majesty, I’ll speak plainly and not beat around the bush. At present, in the Northern North Desolation the Demon Clan runs rampant and the beasts are raging wild. Already more than a dozen villages near the Northern North Desolation have been slaughtered by demon beasts, rivers of blood flowing. Those people are all citizens of the Daqian Dynasty—Your Majesty’s subjects. Do you feel no pain over this?”

Qin Cangqiong said with an angry expression, ”Elder Lu, what are you saying? Of course it pains me. But though the Daqian Dynasty has no small population, as you well know, true cultivators are only one or two percent, and experts are as rare as phoenix feathers. Under such circumstances, my hands are tied.”

”Your Majesty, I came this time precisely to discuss with you how to deal with those of the Demon Clan.” Lu Changqing pondered for a moment, then continued, ”To be frank, over the past half year our Xuantian Sect has continuously sent Disciples to intercept the Demon Clan. At first there were results, but those demons have developed too quickly. Very soon we were unable to cope. Our Xuantian Sect originally had over a thousand Disciples, nearly half of them at Foundation Establishment Realm and above. But now, the casualties are heavy. If this continues and we can’t wipe the Demon Clan out, I fear even our Xuantian Sect will be defeated.”

Qin Cangqiong said regretfully, ”That truly is a pity, Elder Lu. For that, I offer my deepest condolences.”

Seeing Qin Cangqiong continually shirk responsibility, Lu Changqing had no desire to waste more words and spoke bluntly. ”Your Majesty, regrets are regrets. I came this time to negotiate terms with you. Our Xuantian Sect cannot shirk the duty of fighting the Demon Clan, but you have been turtling behind your walls, never coming out. That is not appropriate.”

Qin Cangqiong lifted his head, his expression inquiring. ”Then I wonder what terms Elder Lu has in mind?”

”No matter what, you must dispatch one hundred thousand soldiers to at least hold the North Desolate Border for us and keep the demon beasts from running unchecked. Only then can we concentrate on dealing with those half-demons. Otherwise, relying on the Xuantian Sect alone, we simply cannot attend to everything. Also, I hope Your Majesty will purchase medicinal herbs on a large scale throughout the dynasty and supply them to our Xuantian Sect. We now need a huge supply of pills. Otherwise, many times some Disciples clearly could be saved, yet end up dying due to the lack of pills. That should not be happening.”

Qin Cangqiong fell silent.

Strictly speaking, these two conditions weren’t excessive.

Facing the Demon Clan, they were all humans and could fight side by side.

But Qin Cangqiong had his own concerns.

If troops were really dispatched, then they would have to focus their attention on the Northern North Desolation. Once something went wrong with his own body, the matters in Dragon City would be hard to handle.

At that time, the fate of the Qin Family Imperial Court would be worrying.

Seeing Qin Cangqiong hesitate, Lu Changqing’s expression turned unpleasant. ”Your Majesty, last time I sent Disciples and they returned empty-handed. This time I came in person only hoping Your Majesty would not refuse. I know you have your concerns, but with a great enemy at the gates, if the entire Daqian Dynasty is truly overrun by the Demon Clan, everyone will become fodder for those demon beasts. By then, I fear the Demon Clan from the Chaos Sea will return to the land as well. That will be true devastation, and no one will be able to stay out of it!”

The corners of Qin Cangqiong’s mouth twitched twice.

How could he not understand what Lu Changqing was saying?

Sending one hundred thousand soldiers was not an issue, but those hundred thousand men needed someone to lead them.

Yet under his command, how many people could truly fight?

At this thought, Qin Cangqiong’s eyes lit up as he suddenly remembered Ye Guichen.

Yes, this might be an opportunity.

With Ye Guichen’s temperament, it would be hard for him to stay in the Barbarian Demon Arena for long.

If one day he really dragged that stone coffin out and released the evil dragon, would they even need the Demon Clan to destroy the Daqian Dynasty?

The evil dragon alone might wipe them out.

Of course, no one knew if this matter was true or false.

But better to believe it exists than to risk that it doesn’t.

If they brought Ye Guichen out and had him lead men to fight the Demon Clan, wouldn’t that solve everything once and for all?

Yes, that’s it!

Qin Cangqiong felt this possibility was very promising.

At least for now, Qin Muge was his son, and Qin Muge and Ye Guichen had a very good relationship.

Ye Guichen shouldn’t do anything too outrageous.

Once Ye Guichen was sent to the Northern North Desolation to face the Demon Clan, whether he could even come back alive was an open question.

It could be said this would resolve the great hidden danger in his heart.

”Elder Lu, rest assured. As for the matter of the Northern North Desolation, I, Qin Cangqiong, cannot shirk it. Please allow me two days. I will go back and discuss it, and tomorrow morning I will give you an answer. How about it?”

Lu Changqing had never come intending to make trouble for Qin Cangqiong.

Their Xuantian Sect was already struggling against those half-demons. Coming to Qin Cangqiong was only to get him to deal with the demon beasts, so they could spare more energy to handle the half-demons.

Seeing Qin Cangqiong relent, Lu Changqing did not say more and simply nodded. ”Very well, Your Majesty. Then I’ll come again tomorrow.”

After taking his leave of Qin Cangqiong, a Disciple behind Lu Changqing asked doubtfully, ”Elder, this Qin Cangqiong clearly doesn’t want to cooperate with us, as if those of the Demon Clan can’t threaten him at all. With the strength of our Xuantian Sect, we could just replace the Emperor and it wouldn’t matter. Why do we have to lower ourselves before him like this?”

Lu Changqing sighed. ”You don’t understand. Our Xuantian Sect is, after all, a cultivation sect, yet we must still rely on these worldly dynasties. After all, we still haven’t reached the Fasting realm where we can go without food or drink, and we have no time to mine Spirit Stones ourselves. Many things must be done by them. Qin Cangqiong, for all his little schemes and deep calculations, is hard to match when it comes to ruling as Emperor. Before I came, some other elders did suggest we could always switch to another Emperor, but that proposal was quickly rejected. With calamity in the Northern North Desolation, the Daqian Dynasty is already in no condition to withstand successive blows. If we replace the Emperor now, the Daqian Dynasty will plunge into chaos, and that would be bad for us as well.”

Speaking up to this point, a trace of worry flashed deep in Lu Changqing’s eyes as he looked toward the very back of Dragon City, at the mountain range stretching into the distance. ”Furthermore, it seems there is an evil dragon suppressed within that Barbarian Demon Arena. If that rumor is true and the Demon Clan learns of it, they will surely stop at nothing to release that evil dragon. At that time, I fear that even ten Xuantian Sects would not be enough to stand against the Demon Clan.”