It was silent for a long time at the Lingxiao Palace. Everyone was processing the huge information.
The Empress said with seriousness, “The expert chose our eldritch world, we have to appreciate it! We must ensure the expert has a nice experience here!”
Ziye hurriedly nodded. She said, “You’re right, Empress. The expert’s a blessing to our world. We can’t make him unhappy.”
“As we all know, cultivators love to travel. Immortals would constantly travel across the three realms. The expert…travels in the Chaos. He’s like us, but holy cow, the difference is huge! I’m so puny, I didn’t expect this.”
Juling Shen’s eyes were wide. His voice was filled with respect when he said, “To the expert, we’re just like ordinary people. Anything we find remarkable is just toys to him.”
“Nonsense!” the Jade Emperor scolded. “You overestimated yourself. To the expert, we’re insects!”
Juling Shen kept nodding. “You’re right, Emperor. Insects indeed.”
“I’m not sure if you realize this,” said Mosquito Taoist all of a sudden.
The Empress said, “Go on, cultivator Mosquito.”
Mosquito Taoist said with shock and confusion, “When the expert rewarded us with Deluxe Merit, Saint Dog didn’t get any!”
Blackie took care of the intruder from another realm. Logically, he should be the one to get the most Deluxe Merit. However…the expert did not reward Blackie!
Everyone at the Lingxiao Palace was exasperated for a moment. The Jade Emperor said, “It’s not odd at all.”
He paused. Then, he said, “Actually… The Empress and I realized the key to our realm when the expert guided us last time. I discovered that Dao was endless. The limits that we see are nothing but the bottom of the well. Once we hop out of said well, everything would be revealed!”
The Empress nodded. She asked rhetorically, “We’re beings of the realm so we naturally value Deluxe Merit of the realm. However… Once you’re beyond the realm, would you think highly of Deluxe Merit?”
“This…this…” Everyone instantly understood. “Probably not…”
It was like how Immortals would bless an ordinary person with a whiff of Immortal Qi. To the ordinary person, it was priceless. However, if an Immortal gave another Immortal some Immortal Qi, it was idiotic.
“Of course, we can’t analyze the expert with our point of view. We were too shallow!” Lord Kunpeng shook its bird head. Then, it suddenly stared at the Jade Emperor and the Empress. “The expert guided you? The key to our realm? Do you mind if I take a look?”
Lord Kunpeng was anxious and excited.
‘The Jade Emperor and Empress are so sneaky and quiet. They started to cultivate and learn from the expert. This is so sneaky!’
Mosquito Taoist also looked at the Jade Emperor and Empress with intrigue.
‘I’d die for this information.’
Cultivators were all passionate about knowledge.
“Fine. This is supposed to be confidential information of the Heavenly Palace. However, you two cultivators are considered to be working for the expert. We shall pass it on to you.”
The Jade Emperor made a painful decision. “Juling Shen, go to the treasure vault later. Get a Periodic Table of Elements for the two cultivators.”
Lord Kunpeng and Mosquito Taoist were overjoyed. They said, “Thanks, Emperor. Ol’ wise Emperor!”
They did not know that everyone had one at the Heavenly Palace…
The Jade Emperor brushed his beard and laughed. “It’s all for the expert.”
“Naturally. Anything about the expert is our concern! Pleasing the expert’s our motto!” Lord Kunpeng immediately chanted. Then, it said, “Since the expert chose our world, we naturally have to try our best to maintain our glory! We can’t let small things affect the mood of the expert. We need to clean up and get our world back on the right track.”
Mosquito Taoist kept nodding with agreement. She could not wait to say, “So true, count me in! I have to work hard! And I already have a target, the Styx!”
At the four-part architecture.
Li Nianfan was cleaning up his backyard.
The feast was too grand. He used up a lot of resources. Half his fruits were gone. If he kept attending grand feasts like that, he would go broke.
Even his honey, eggs, and milk supplies were greatly reduced.
He volunteered to handle the cooking at the feast. However, after being cool, his backyard was filled with chicken feathers…
“My chickens, milk cow, and bees truly worked hard.” Li Nianfan told Nanan. “Nanan, go to the front yard and tell those chickens to lay more eggs.”
“Alright, brother Nianfan.” Nanan immediately ran out with a devilish smile. She thought of how she would threaten those poor chickens to lay eggs.
Li Nianfan planted a few peach pits. 20 peach trees in total.
He previously planted eight trees. They grew nicely with the growth serum. Some sprouts came out from the ground.
“Brother, brother.”
Dragin ran over with a flushed face. She said with excitement, “That gourd vine grew another gourd. This time, it’s a red gourd.”
“Oh? Another one?”
Li Nianfan smiled and stopped whatever he was doing. “Let’s go take a look.”
The gourd vine was not far. Li Nianfan could see a red gourd hanging on the green gourd’s vine.
It was a fiery red gourd. It looked like flames on the green vine. The contrast looked nice.
Li Nianfan did not notice the gourd growing out.
He walked closer. His first thought was, ‘This gourd goes nicely with the Fire Phoenix.’
Fire Phoenix was into fiery red items. Her outfits were fiery red and so was her hair and eyes. She looked like fire herself. The gourd was suitable for her.
“Too bad this gourd isn’t an Immortal Item. I feel like it’ll be too cheap for her.”
Li Nianfan felt troubled. “Whatever. I’m just an ordinary man, I can’t give her any Immortal Items anyway. We’ve been living together for so long. I should do this as a friend regardless if she’ll accept it or not.”
He looked at the gourd and groaned for a moment. Finally, he flicked his wrist, and out came his carving knife. He started carving on the gourd.
“I should work on it so she’ll be pleasantly surprised.” Li Nianfan smiled and told Dragin, “Dragin, sit and watch. Check out how I’m going to carve it.”
Meanwhile.
At the Southern Sea.
The Southern Sea Dragon King widened his eyes in shock. “Kunpeng’s dead? For real?”
“For real!” Ao Feng looked serious. He said, “Recently, the Heavenly Palace had a feast. They invited guests from everywhere. It was a Kunpeng Feast. This isn’t a secret at all. They said that Kunpeng was so huge, he couldn’t fit in a normal pot. Thousands of Immortals and Demons were full and satisfied from eating Kunpeng.”
Another Dragon added, “I also heard that the Kunpeng soup was unimaginably delicious with shocking effects. Everyone that ate it felt as light as a bird. All their injuries were healed. Truly the soup made from the meat of a bigshot.”
“How dare they?! This is treachery! Treachery!”
The Southern Sea Dragon King did not look happy at all. He was furious. “Did they not know how to invite me, the Southern Sea Dragon King? Is the Heavenly Palace instigating me?!”
He had just become a Quasi-Saint. Just when he felt confident, the treatment he received was making him crazy.
He squinted and said coldly, “Kunpeng died. The Demons have no leader, then. This is our opportunity to rise. I must make the Heavenly Palace pay the price for not inviting me to drink soup!”
Ao Feng looked at the enraged Southern Sea Dragon King. He felt like something was off. He jolted without a warning as if he was enduring some sort of pain. Then, he groaned and frowned. He seemed to be in extreme agony.
Blood dripped out from his mouth.
Lord Kunpeng had died. The Demons were left with the Southern Sea Dragons and the Kirins.
The two species were tamed. However… Their leaders were strong cultivators. They were also ambitious.
Thus, that was the start of the destructive plan!