Chapter 952 — The Heavenly Monarch's Fatal Flaw

The monk and the Daoist were stunned by the woman's beauty, and for a moment they could not recover themselves. Then the Daoist said hurriedly, "Young madam, this place is Jingping. Where have you come from?"

"Jingping?"

That young woman was none other than Yun Chuxiu. Hearing this, her brows and eyes bloomed with delight, and she said, "Then this is the Primordial Realm. Jingping is the domain of that little fellow, the Shepherd Heavenly Monarch. I have heard he is a Jingping Overlord Physique, one of the so-called Three Heroes of the Jingping Reforms. This spirit-energy translocation bridge links two altars together. This palace built one in the Heavenly Court, and he left one in Jingping, and so the two bridges have joined as one..."

At this thought, she said, "Monk, Daoist, go and summon your emperor here."

The monk and the Daoist hurried back to the capital of Jingping. Before long, Ling Yuxiu arrived at the head of her civil and military officials. Yun Chuxiu's eyes lit up, and she laughed, "The emperor of Jingping is actually a woman. I have always said there is nothing so remarkable about a woman being emperor; it is only those old sticklers who find one excuse or another to put it off."

Ling Yuxiu led her host forward and paid homage: "The Son of Heaven of a small nation in the lower realm pays respect to the high divinity of the Heavenly Court."

Yun Chuxiu laughed, "No need for such ceremony. A woman as emperor is a fine thing; in truth it is not so shocking to the world. This palace admires you greatly. Since the Heavenly Court and the Primordial Realm are now joined, you may also come to the Heavenly Court from time to time, and keep this palace company to relieve my boredom. You need not remain forever in the lower realm."

She handed over a waist-token, saying, "Carry my waist-token, and you may come and go through the Heavenly Court without hindrance."

Ling Yuxiu thanked her and accepted the token, then said, "Jingping is barren, and the common folk have no means to make a living. But Jingping has a great many Directorate of Works factories. Might we go to the Heavenly Court to trade goods?"

Yun Chuxiu thought for a moment, then laughed, "What can your Jingping Directorate factories produce?"

Ling Yuxiu said, "From small daily necessities to great divine-weapon fleets, we can manufacture them all."

Yun Chuxiu's eyes rolled, and she laughed, "Can you manufacture spirit-energy translocation bridges?"

Ling Yuxiu nodded, saying, "The artisans of our nation have built such spirit-energy translocation bridges before."

"And the price?"

Ling Yuxiu summoned the Minister of Works, and the Minister of Works quoted a figure, using the currency of the Heavenly Court. The Heavenly Court minted its own coin, called the Heaven Coin, though the currency circulating within Jingping remained the Great Abundance Coin, and a conversion had to be made.

Yun Chuxiu was furious, and sneered, "That old dog of the Zaofu Heavenly Palace actually embezzled so much of this palace's money! What Jingping spends to build a single spirit-energy translocation bridge is not even one percent of what the Zaofu Palace spends!"

Ling Yuxiu did not dare speak.

Yun Chuxiu said, "Emperor of Jingping, come with this palace to the Zaofu Palace. Your Jingping will manufacture the components for the spirit-energy translocation bridges, and let the Zaofu Palace assemble them. The price will not be low."

Ling Yuxiu was overjoyed, and taking the Minister of Works and several heavy ministers skilled in the arts of calculation, she followed her into the spirit-energy translocation bridge.

Yun Chuxiu looked them over, and saw that among these heavy ministers there were actually two women. One of the young girls was a fox-spirit in transformation, making no effort to conceal the white fox tail behind her.

"Jingping has a woman emperor, and many women officials as well; the Heavenly Court does not have so many women officials," Yun Chuxiu thought to herself.

What she did not know was that the women officials attending Ling Yuxiu were Xue Hu'er and Si Yunxiang. This negotiation with the Zaofu Palace concerned Jingping's future development, and she had to bring the two of them along.

Beside the spirit-energy translocation bridge, the monk watched them enter, his face full of worry, and said in a low voice, "Baigui, the strategy the Shepherd Hierarch set down — to bide one's time, to build up the nation through manufacture — is it truly workable?"

That Daoist of immortal bearing and Daoist bone said in a heavy voice, "We cannot defeat the Heavenly Court, so we can only merge into the Heavenly Court's system, and keep ourselves from becoming its enemy. We in Jingping will seize the opportunity to develop, and grow strong by slow degrees. But if the Heavenly Court's system has no internal troubles and no external threats, the Shepherd Hierarch's scheme will only make the Heavenly Court more firmly established. Yet the moment the Heavenly Court has internal troubles and external threats, that will be the hour of Jingping's rise, of its soaring to glory!"

The monk's gaze was deep and far-reaching, and he sighed, "A colossus such as the Heavenly Court — will it truly have internal troubles, will it truly have external threats?"

"Your Retired Majesty need not consider such things."

The Daoist laughed, "If the Heavenly Court has no internal troubles, the Shepherd Hierarch will manufacture internal troubles for it. If it has no external threats, the Shepherd Hierarch can manufacture external threats for it as well. He has that kind of ability."

The monk thought of Shen Mu's deeds in Jingping, and could not help but laugh, saying, "He does indeed have that kind of ability."

The Daoist continued, "And we in Jingping need only cultivate our inner strength bitterly during this time. Building up the nation through manufacture alone is not enough to eradicate the Heavenly Court; Jingping must also strengthen itself. If Jingping has many Imperial Throne powerhouses, or even powerhouses of the Heavenly Court realm, the future will be worth looking forward to."

When Ling Yuxiu arrived at the Heavenly Court, she looked all around, and could not help but be shaken by its opulence and luxury. It was a long while before she recovered herself, and she ventured, "High divinity, is the Shepherd Heavenly Monarch in the Heavenly Court?"

Yun Chuxiu glanced at her, and with a half-smile said, "Are you his little sweetheart?"

Ling Yuxiu's face reddened slightly, and she shook her head.

"He is staying at the Jade Pool now, watched over so closely he cannot move, yet he still cannot resist stirring up trouble."

Yun Chuxiu shook her head and laughed, "There are many in the Heavenly Court who wish to deal with him, but by now he has worn them all down until they have no temper left."

Ling Yuxiu secretly let out a breath of relief. Yun Chuxiu's gaze measured her, and came to rest on her chest, and she seemed to ponder something: "So that is how it is. This palace had thought the Shepherd Heavenly Monarch was a man of refined tastes, who valued a woman's outward appearance and her inner qualities alike. I never expected him to be so vulgar and low, valuing only the chest. So this palace lost out on this one point..."

Ling Yuxiu blinked, and noticed that in the blink of an eye, Yun Chuxiu's bosom seemed to have grown a size larger, and she felt doubt in her heart.

The spirit-energy translocation bridge connecting to the Primordial Realm caused no small stir. The function of the spirit-energy translocation bridge was immense; it could let the Heavenly Court's forces reach the myriad heavens and worlds with great speed. Any clear-eyed person could see at a glance that this was immensely advantageous to the Heavenly Court's rule over the myriad heavens and worlds!