Chapter 487: The Empire's New War

In the peach orchard at Yongding in the empire of Dazheng, Xiao Nanfeng stood with hands clasped behind his back. He watched the blood peach tree's roots wrap around a large number of spiritbeast carcasses and drain their essence. Bright blood peaches slowly condensed at the top of the tree.

Beside Xiao Nanfeng was Mr. Wen, Wen Zhong.

"Your Majesty, did you kill all these spirits in the Sieve of Heaven? The blood peach tree is truly a formidable treasure!" Wen Zhong exclaimed with a smile.

"Indeed. I suppose there's enough for another hundred blood peaches here."

"The empire of Dazheng is growing incredibly rapidly. The previous hundred blood peaches resulted in a hundred Immortals, and there's soon to be another batch. What empire could catch up to us?" Mr. Wen praised.

"It's far from enough," Xiao Nanfeng replied, sighing. "Each of the Imperial Court's Martial Aspects command tens of thousands of Immortals."

"Your Majesty, you can hardly compare us to the Imperial Court," Mr. Wen replied, smiling wryly.

"You're aware of my confrontation with Yin Tianci. The empire of Dazheng is going to be in conflict with the divine empire of Dayin sooner or later, and we have to take every opportunity to advance."

Mr. Wen was taken aback. He knew that Xiao Nanfeng planned for the long term, but wasn't this taking it a bit too far? The empire of Dazheng had only been established less than a year ago, and it was still on the weaker side in the grand scheme of things, but Xiao Nanfeng was already thinking about challenging a divine empire...

"Over the last few months, You Jiu has been engaging in covert warfare under your guidance. How are your plans coming along?"

Wen Zhong replied, "The rise of Dazheng poses a considerable threat to the five kingdoms that neighbor it. In order to counter Dazheng, they have formed an alliance. They constantly send spies into Dazheng and harass our borders with their border troops to probe our defenses. Over the last few months, I've been secretly providing support to various princes and lords in those empires in preparation for a hostile takeover. On your command, Your Majesty, the spectral guards shall instigate coups to subvert the leadership of those five kingdoms, which will then swiftly join our fold."

Xiao Nanfeng smiled. "You truly are an ingenious strategist, Mr. Wen. With your help, Dazheng shall rise by the day."

Mr. Wen lowered his head. "This is all experience that I accumulated from instigating a coup in the past, Your Majesty. It's nothing to speak of. Furthermore, the spectral guards are an incredibly elite force. It's thanks to your foresight in giving all hundred blood peaches to the spectral guards that I was able to put this plan into action."

"Very well done, but I'm afraid you'll have to modify your tactics," Xiao Nanfeng said.

"Indeed?" Wen Zhong replied, surprised.

He was particularly confident in his schemes, and he was confident that this was the approach that would take down those five kingdoms as quickly as possible and with the least expenditure. Wasn't it good enough?

"I received word that in a few days' time, a large group of spirits will attack the borders of Dazheng in conjunction with the five kingdoms. There will be a fair number of Immortal spirits among them," Xiao Nanfeng said.

"Truly? Where from?" Wen Zhong exclaimed.

He had been paying careful attention to the five kingdoms recently, but there had been no news of this planned assault. How did Xiao Nanfeng learn of this?

"They'll come from Thousand-Spirit Island," Xiao Nanfeng replied.

"Thousand-Spirit Island? That's a spirit stronghold on the Eastern Sea..." Wen Zhong murmured, clearly familiar with the area.

"That's right. The Eastern Sea is particularly large, and our naval activity has been too limited. The spirits of the Thousand-Spirit Island are working together with the five neighboring kingdoms on Yin Tianci's orders," Xiao Nanfeng explained.

Wen Zhong gaped at Xiao Nanfeng. He knew that there was great enmity between Xiao Nanfeng and Yin Tianci, and had also learned of what had happened in the Sieve of Heaven not too long ago. However, he hadn't expected that Xiao Nanfeng would have such detailed information on Yin Tianci's movements. Could Dazheng boast a separate intelligence system aside from the spectral guards that he was unaware of?

"What's your goal, Your Majesty?" Wen Zhong immediately asked.

"I intend to transform the Immortal spirits from Thousand-Spirit Island into strength for the empire of Dazheng. We'll take down every spirit that shows up."

Wen Zhong glanced at the blood peach tree to his side. "Your Majesty, you intend to kill those spirits and use them as fertilizer?"

Xiao Nanfeng smiled. "Precisely, Mr. Wen."

Wen Zhong considered the proposal for a moment. "I'll have to modify our strategy, then. We can't make use of all our forces against the five kingdoms. We'll have to lose just enough battles to make the five kingdoms think that they'd be able to win against us with just a few more reinforcements, causing them to continuously seek aid from Thousand-Spirit Island."

"That's right, Mr. Zheng. It sounds easy, but balancing these demands will be a complex endeavor. The slightest miscalculation could enlighten the Thousand-Spirit Island regarding our plans and waste our efforts. I'll need your full attention on it."

Wen Zhong gave Xiao Nanfeng a wry smile. He knew how difficult this would be, and that Xiao Nanfeng was skilled enough to do this on his own. Even so, Xiao Nanfeng intended to make him work.

"I will do my best, Your Majesty," Wen Zhong replied.

"I'm grateful for your assistance. Worry not. The spectral guards, Croak, Warble, Ye Sanshui, and Ye Dafu will all be yours to command."

"Understood! The frontline troops will be able to take the opportunity to train as well."

"We'll have to work hard to compensate for Dazheng's relatively modest foundation, I fear. Otherwise, we would have a much easier time of things. Fortunately, there's a new batch of particularly promising scholars from Xiao Academy. They simply need to broaden their horizons, so I'm counting on your instruction, Mr. Wen. You'll be able to use them as helpers once they're trained." Xiao Nanfeng smiled.

"Understood, Your Majesty." Wen Zhong nodded. The entire affair seemed a little absurd.

Xiao Academy was an academy that Xiao Nanfeng had erected long ago, and he was its principal. The scholars that emerged from it would surely be completely loyal to him.

Impending war was no small affair, but Xiao Nanfeng seemed to be dissecting it for every opportunity he could gain.

The empire of Dazheng might be weak at the moment, but it was growing at a rapid clip and surely had an illustrious future ahead of it. The vitality and burgeoning growth were almost palpable; he couldn't help but be expectant as to what Dazheng's future would entail.

In a small courtyard on Thousand-Spirit Island, Yin Tianci sat at a stone table sipping tea. Tang rushed over, followed by the right division leader of the Taiqing Demonic Sect, Mo Lengxuan.

"Your Highness, everything is settled. The kings of the five kingdoms have agreed to the plan, and two hundred Immortal spirits from the Thousand-Spirit Island have snuck into the five kingdoms, ready to be deployed at will. Xiao Nanfeng will surely be defeated by this force," Tang stated in excitement. [1]

"Well done," Yin Tianci praised.

Tang frowned. "Your Highness, there's something I'm not sure if I should say."

"Say it."

"Given my understanding of Xiao Nanfeng, these two hundred Immortal spirits will be far from enough. They're only Earth Immortals at best; how can we take Xiao Nanfeng on without any Heaven Immortals? Xiao Nanfeng's very skilled at hiding his trump cards, and we can't be at all careless. In my opinion, not only do we need Heaven Immortal spirits, we'll even need True Immortal spirits in reserve."

𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

"I see. I'll consider it. I'm very satisfied with how you've handled things, and I'm a generous man. This is a pill that will help you improve your cultivation to better assist me."

Yin Tianci handed a pill to Tang.

"'Thank you, Your Highness!" Tang left with the pill and immediately entered secluded cultivation.

After Tang departed, Mo Lengxuan bowed toward Yin Tianci.

"How do you feel about Tang's capabilities?" Yin Tianci asked.

"I've been observing Tang these last few days. He has worked hard, and he's very skilled as well. He coerced the five kings into agreeing with his plan, allowing me to gain an understanding of his abilities. He hid his own involvement with the use of intermediaries, making it difficult to identify the mastermind behind the attack. He's particularly careful and cautious."

Then, he described in detail how Tang had managed to convince the five kings to adopt his plan.

"You introduced Tang to me, but you're rather on guard against him, aren't you?" Yin Tianci smiled.

"It's precisely because I introduced him to you that I need to be careful," Mo Lengxuan replied with a smile.

"Do you think he's suitable for the task, then?" Yin Tianci pressed.

"I don't see anything wrong, but..." Mo Lengxuan trailed off.

"But?"

"I feel like he's gone crazy. Two hundred Immortal spirits, including over a dozen Earth Immortals, is far more than sufficient for a fight against an empire. It might not be a match for Xiao Nanfeng himself, but surely it'll easily take over Dazheng's borders. It's an incredibly overpowered force, but Tang's still not satisfied. He stubbornly insists on sending out Heaven Immortals, and even True Immortals at that! Isn't that crazy?"

Yin Tianci laughed. "No, no, that's perfect. You don't understand Tang's mentality, but I do! He's willing to use everything he can against Xiao Nanfeng. It looks like he really does hate him!"

"Please be careful, Your Highness."

"I will. As for you, since everything's prepared, command the five kingdoms to set out and attack Dazheng immediately."

"Understood!" Mo Lengxuan replied.

1. What I translated as 'Thousand-Spirit Island' is literally supposed to be 'Ten-Thousand-Spirit Island', but I chose to avoid the literal translation because of how awkward it sounds. I'm clarifying this now because there's a big difference between 200/1,000 spirits and 200/10,000 spirits. ☜