80: Chapter 80 Getting More and More Backwards

The flying ship shuttled above the clouds.

Gu Sheng leaned on the soft couch, fiddling with that golden Bodhi seed.

The System notification popped up in his mind.

"Settlement complete. A total of 280,000 destiny points earned from the trip to the Western Wasteland."

"Host's current balance: 650,000 destiny points."

"High-concentration Law fragments detected, automatically converted to System upgrade progress. Current progress: 30%."

"Only 30%?" Gu Sheng tossed the Bodhi seed into his storage ring. "The foundation of the Great Leiyin Temple is nothing more than this."

"Be content. If the karma monument hadn't cracked, you wouldn't even have been able to scrape together this 30%." The System's text was laced with disdain. "If that old monk had risked the Heavenly Tribulation to strike you down, those two Saint bodyguards of yours would have been skinned alive."

Gu Sheng didn't take the bait.

He rolled over and looked at Luo Qingxue, who was sitting by the porthole.

Luo Qingxue was wiping the nine nether soul-suppressing zither. The frost condensed on the strings dissipated with her movements.

"After returning to the Central Plains, what are your plans?" Gu Sheng asked.

"Senior Brother sent word that Xuanming Hall has several old sites in the Central Plains that need to be cleared," Luo Qingxue stopped her movements. "Additionally, I still need to make a trip to the Taichu Holy Land."

Gu Sheng raised an eyebrow.

"The Taichu Holy Land has sealed its mountain," Gu Sheng reminded. "If you go now, you won't even be able to find the entrance."

"Formations always have flaws."

Gu Sheng sat up and poured a cup of tea: "Xuanming Hall has just been reorganized, and that old geezer Jun Wudao is very shrewd. He didn't just have you come to the Central Plains to clear old sites, did he?"

Luo Qingxue didn't speak.

Gu Sheng didn't press the matter. Xuanming Hall had its own calculations, and the Everlasting Gu Family had its own game of chess. Everyone took what they needed.

Three days later, the flying ship landed in Heavenly Saint City.

On the top floor of the Star-Plucking Tower.

Gu Sheng had just changed into a clean robe when Su Jiuer pushed the door open and entered.

"Pavilion Master, the Empress of Great Xia has arrived."

"Let her come up."

Before long, Xia Qingyue walked into the room wearing casual clothes. She wasn't wearing her dragon robes, but the aura of a superior in her every gesture had already taken shape.

"Pavilion Master Gu." Xia Qingyue cupped her hands. "I have heard about the affairs in the Western Wasteland. Pavilion Master, you have excellent methods."

Gu Sheng pointed to the chair opposite him: "Sit. The Western Wasteland was just a matter of convenience. What is the situation here in the Central Plains?"

Xia Qingyue sat down: "After the Taichu Holy Land sealed its mountain, they secretly sent people to contact the Wuji Holy Land and the Wan Jian Holy Land. They suffered losses in the Western Wasteland and have pinned the blame on the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion."

"Normal." Gu Sheng picked up his teacup. "If you can't beat them, you gang up on them; it's an old tradition of the Cultivator world."

"The secret guards that Great Xia deployed around the periphery of the Taichu Holy Land sent back news that they are waking up a sleeping Ancient Ancestor," Xia Qingyue lowered her voice.

Gu Sheng's tea-drinking motion paused for half a second.

An Ancient Ancestor.

Anyone who could use this title was at least at the Saint King level, or perhaps had even touched the threshold of a Quasi-Emperor.

The Golden Great Era had started early, and the Heavenly Dao's suppression had loosened. These old monsters were finally unable to restrain themselves.

"How is the recovery of Great Xia's dragon vein?" Gu Sheng changed the subject.

"With the Formation left by the Pavilion Master, the dragon vein has already stabilized. However, it will still take a hundred years to return to its peak."

Gu Sheng put down his teacup: "A hundred years is too long. I will point you toward a bright path."

Xia Qingyue straightened her posture.

"Underneath the Great Leiyin Temple in the Western Wasteland, there is an abandoned earth vein." Gu Sheng tapped the table. "I extracted the Law fragments from it, but the Spiritual Qi of the earth vein remains. If Great Xia can divert that earth vein over, the dragon vein could recover in less than three years."

Xia Qingyue' eyelids twitched.

Go under the Great Leiyin Temple to extract an earth vein? How was this any different from declaring war on the Buddhist sect?

"Pavilion Master is joking. Great Xia cannot afford this kind of trouble right now."

"Who told you to go openly?" Gu Sheng unfolded his folding fan. "The Heavenly Secrets Pavilion can provide the route map and a Formation to conceal the Heavenly Dao. After success, give me 30% of the Spiritual Qi."

Xia Qingyue fell into deep thought.

Great Xia had just experienced internal strife and was in urgent need of resources. If she could really extract the Western Wasteland earth vein without anyone knowing, Great Xia's national strength would double.

"Fine." Xia Qingyue gritted her teeth and agreed.

After sending Xia Qingyue away, Gu Sheng opened the System panel.

"Host, you are pushing Great Xia into a pit of fire."

"This is called maximizing resource utilization." Gu Sheng pulled up the draw interface. "The Taichu Holy Land wants to wake up an Ancient Ancestor, so we also need to prepare some heavy artillery."

650,000 destiny points.

Gu Sheng dumped 500,000 directly into the Supreme card pool.

The wheel spun rapidly, and golden light flashed.

"Obtained three Creation Realm Peak experience cards."

"Obtained Saint-Grade Formation Plate 'Nine Dragons Locking the Heaven'."

"Obtained top-tier character experience card: Li Chungang."

Gu Sheng looked at the last card and sat up straight.

On the card, an old man with a missing front tooth was draped in a sheepskin coat, holding a piece of rotten wood.

Cultivation: Half-step Quasi-Emperor.

Characteristic: Sword Opens the Heaven Gate, becomes stronger when encountering stronger opponents.

"The drop rate of this card pool is wrong." The System was also shocked.

Gu Sheng put the card away.

With this trump card, even if the Taichu Holy Land dug up all their ancestors from their coffins, he could handle it.

Eastern Region.

Tianshui City, Haiyue Inn.

Ye Yuan sat on the second floor, looking at the bustling street below.

Nie Xiao stood behind him, holding a broken saber.

After the Dragon Clan's third ancestor was hacked back with a single saber strike, the East Sea had been quiet for a few days. But Ye Yuan knew that a race as vengeful as the Dragon Clan would not just let it go like this.

"Young Lord." Chu Kuangren came up from the stairs, wiping the sweat from his forehead. "People from Lingxu Pavilion have arrived."

"Who?"

"That Old Beggar, and he brought a scholar with him."

Ye Yuan tapped his fingers on the table.

"Invite them up."

A moment later, the Old Beggar and the scholar walked up to the second floor.

The scholar held a roll of worn-out bamboo slips in his hand, and there was no fluctuation of Spiritual Qi on him; he looked just like an ordinary schoolteacher.

But Nie Xiao's hand had already gripped the hilt of his saber.

The scholar glanced at Nie Xiao and smiled: "Such an overbearing Saber Intent. The Ye Family lives up to its reputation."

Ye Yuan didn't stand up: "The Lingxu Pavilion has graced us with their presence; what is your advice?"

"I wouldn't dare offer advice." The scholar pulled out a chair and sat down. "I've just come to give the Ye Divine Child a reminder. That Old Ancestor of the Dragon Clan has come out of seclusion."

Ye Yuan's eyes flickered slightly.

An Old Ancestor, likely at least a Saint.

"He has come out of seclusion, what does that have to do with me?"

The scholar placed the bamboo slips on the table: "He has threatened to flood Tianshui City and use the blood of all the living beings in the city to memorialize the dead Dragon Clan."

Ye Yuan laughed.

"Flood Tianshui City? He has a big mouth."

The scholar looked at Ye Yuan: "The Ye Family has a deep foundation and is naturally not afraid. But all these Mortals and low-level Cultivators in the city cannot withstand the rage of a Saint."

"Is Lingxu Pavilion trying to teach me how to do things?" Ye Yuan's tone turned cold.

"I wouldn't dare. I just want to make a trade with the Ye Family." The scholar tapped the bamboo slips. "Lingxu Pavilion can step in and stop the Dragon Clan ancestor. The condition is that the Ye Family withdraws from the Eastern Region."

Ye Yuan looked at the scholar as if he were an idiot.

"Withdraw from the Eastern Region? What kind of thing do you think you are, to be worthy of negotiating conditions with me?"

The smile on the scholar's face faded.

The Old Beggar stepped forward, and a startling brilliance erupted from his cloudy eyes.

Half of Nie Xiao's saber blade was unsheathed.

The air on the second floor of the inn became extremely thick.

"Lingxu Pavilion has been in seclusion for so many years that your bones have gone soft." Ye Yuan stood up. "Go back and tell your Pavilion Master that if the Dragon Clan ancestor dares to come, I will slaughter him too. As for the Eastern Region, the Ye Family will determine its fate, and no one can stop us."

The scholar gave Ye Yuan a deep look and picked up the bamboo slips.

"The Ye Divine Child has great spirit. I hope you can still say these words when the Dragon Clan army presses upon the border."

The two turned and left. Ye Yuan watched their backs.