The main hall of the former Gu Tai Dynasty was brightly lit. With all the doors and windows thrown open, the bright and strong light shone miles and miles away. Li Yifeng and Zi Qianyan were sitting on the thrones at the head of the hall, while hundreds of men stood in neat formation under them. Some wore ragged clothes like beggars while others wore plain clothes and hats like common people. None of them was dressed like an official.
These men were the former officials of the Gu Tai Dynasty. Three years ago, Yuan Hua Dynasty had made a clean sweep across the entire planet, completely wiping out all the dynasties in just half a month. They descended like Mount Tai, and had caught everyone unprepared. Defeated, Li Yifeng and Zi Qianyan fled with their pigeon pair, as well as hundreds of loyal guards. The rest of the officials, both civil and military, were either killed, fled, or surrendered. As a result, the former emperor and empress could only summon hundreds of officials now, who were bold enough to come into the palace and meet them in the dark of the night.
It could be easily seen that these officials who once served the dynasty had not been living well in the last three years. All their properties were seized, some even had their homes forcibly taken away by others, and were living on the streets with their family members like refugees. Apart from the few lucky ones who could find jobs to put food on the table, most of them were living in poverty and misery.
Wu Qi was standing next to Li Yifeng's throne, with the pigeon pair nestled to his left and right. The kids had just passed their fifth birthday, their skin so fair and smooth that they looked like a pair of dolls made of silver. They were very likable; while gently pinching their little faces, Wu Qi looked smilingly at the hundreds of officials in the hall. He could hardly contain his joy.
During the purge, half of the former high-ranking officials of the Gu Tai Dynasty surrendered, and the other half was killed. The hundreds of loyal officials here were actually the former middle and lower-ranking officials, who were responsible for the specific affairs of the various ministries and departments. Simply put, they were all talents who performed the real services!
What Wu Qi lacked right now was talented people. Dong Hai County was huge. With its land a few times greater than all the lands on White Cloud Planet combined, there were many affairs that needed people to take care of. If he could bring these men back to Pangu Continent, he would have a group of competent administrative personnel. On top of that, he could also bring Li Yifeng and Zi Qianyan back together, who could always serve as the chief executives. What could be more cost-effective than this?
He even began to think of an evil plan — perhaps, he could recruit a few more emperors as disciples in outer heavenly realms, then secretly fund their enemies to annihilate their states after a few years, and ultimately avenge them. Finally, after infinitely increasing their loyalty, he could take these emperors and their subordinates back to Pangu Continent!
The more he thought about it, the more he felt it was doable. However, he must be very careful, as things would turn very ugly if the cat got out of the bag!
For the moment he cast aside the absurd idea and gave Li Yifeng a look.
Li Yifeng was still immersed in the thrill, even though several hours had passed since Wu Qi had saved him, his wife, his children, as well as his last few loyal guards from the attackers. When he saw Wu Qi giving him a signal with eyes, he took a deep breath and cried out in a deep voice, "My Subjects, are there any more former officials of Gu Tai Dynasty coming?"
The many officials in the hall exchanged looks, then together went down to their knees and bowed to their emperor and empress. A civil official, whose ranking was the highest among the rest, and was in charge of ritual ceremonies in the past, said in a low voice, "Your Majesty, apart from those traitors who had surrendered and went over to Yuan Hua Dynasty, those who survived the calamity are all here now!"
Li Yifeng heaved a deep sigh as he gave Wu Qi a complicated look.
Wu Qi nodded slowly and said with a gentle and warm tone, "You are Yifeng's loyal subjects, and you have not betrayed him during the calamity. I'll certainly reward you for that. Now, you have one day to gather all your family members and loyal subordinates. When you are done, I'll bring you to a good place!"
After considering for a moment, he said again, "In that place, each of you will be able to play to your strengths, and the benefits you will get will be far greater than you can imagine."
All of a sudden, dull and heavy footsteps were heard coming from all directions. Lines of torches and lanterns were swarming toward the main hall like flaming dragons, accompanied by the loud cries of military officers and the even louder answers of soldiers. Judging by the clamor, the palace had been surrounded by an army of at least one hundred thousand soldiers. Tens of thousands of them had already barged into the palace, and were rounding up the main hall.
Wu Qi looked at Li Yifeng with a smile on his face, "I reckon that this army was once yours, right?"
Li Yifeng rose to his feet and bowed respectfully to Wu Qi. "They are at Master's disposal." Gritting his teeth, Li Yifeng said in a hideous voice, "Those generals and soldiers who were loyal to me are long dead. The soldiers who came here today are either the army of Yuan Hua Dynasty or the rebels who defected to my enemies. Master, do whatever you want with them!"
Wu Qi laughed, then nodded and said, "Well, they do come at the perfect timing. I just happen to be short of people!"
He opened his mouth and shot out a great sheet of chaotic light, which enveloped the entire territory of the former Gu Tai Dynasty in a flash. All the officials and armies in countless cities, towns, and villages, as long as they were serving Yuan Hua Dynasty, were brought up into the air. Then, they flew across thousands of miles and were thrown into Wu Qi's mouth, screaming in shock all the way.
Everyone was imprisoned in his interstitial world, suppressed by the primordial runes. Wu Qi was not some cruel, brutal, unbridled Fiend immortal, so he could never allow himself to randomly kidnap common people for blood sacrificial ceremony. However, he had all the reasons to capture these people who had betrayed his disciples and served his disciples' enemy, and he would never feel any burden on his conscience while sacrificing them.
In the chaotic light, countless figures howled and shrieked as they flew into Wu Qi's mouth. In just a few short breaths of time, all the officials, military officers, and soldiers stationed in the former territory of Gu Tai Dynasty, as well as their family members and those who served them, were imprisoned in his interstitial world. The total number was more than a million. The soldiers who were assembling outside the main hall were gone as well, and the thunderous footsteps could no longer be heard. The sudden silence made all the officials in the hall shudder, and they felt as if they were in a nightmare.
"That's one mighty divine ability, Master!" Li Yifeng cried out in wild joy.
Led by Zi Qianyan, all the officials in the hall dropped to their knees and bowed to Wu Qi. None of them had ever seen such an incredible divine ability. Even though some members of the imperial clan of Gu Tai Dynasty were disciples of White Cloud Immortal Sect, the one with the strongest cultivation base was only a Nascent Soul cultivator. So, how could they have the power to accomplish such an amazing result?
In the next twenty-four hours, Wu Qi let Ao Buzun stay with Li Yifeng to protect those civil and military officers while they gathered their family members. In just twenty-four hours, the hundreds of officials had brought tens of thousands of people into the palace; some family members of those former officials who died in the calamity even came forth themselves when they heard the news, all pledging their loyalty to Li Yifeng. Naturally, Li Yifeng would not reject these loyal subjects.
Wu Qi had told them clearly that he was short of people now, and he would take in anyone who could read, write, calculate, and perform tasks as ordered. In any case, the family members of these courtiers had at least learned to read and write since childhood, and had some of the most basic administrative abilities. That made them much better than the people on Pangu Continent, who were still living in a simple state. Even the servants of those courtiers were skilled in all kinds of affairs, and could lead a few common people to accomplish many tasks.
During the same twenty-four hours, Wu Qi and Princess Zhang Le had repeated what they did on Green Cliff Planet, seizing almost all the energy veins on White Cloud Planet, and leaving only a small, ten thousand miles-long energy vein for the common people. Other resources, such as mines, were also taken away, and some famous landscapes were completely moved into Princess Zhang Le's interstitial world.
It wasn't just natural resources and landscapes, they had also taken away all the extraordinarily luxurious and gorgeous palaces and pavilions. The once imperial cities were uprooted, and the beautiful estates belonging to the powerful disappeared without a trace. With a little modification, these palaces and estates could be turned into a magnificent Daoist rite temple. It would save Wu Qi a lot of effort!
In addition to these things, there were also many isolated villages in the remote mountains and forests of White Cloud Planet, where simple villagers lived. Wu Qi also brought them away, who numbered about one million.
These one million villagers could be used to replenish the population of Dong Hai County. They were simple and honest, and rather easy to control. Wu Qi would not have dared to take them back to Pangu Continent if they were the shrewd and cunning people who lived in the cities. With just a careless mistake, they would probably leak his plan!
After a day and night of plundering, Wu Qi and Princess Zhang Le had almost emptied the entire planet. When they could no longer find anything of value, the couple flew to White Cloud Peak in a fit of rage. They looted all the ships in the immortal market, and moved thousands of cultivators who were too late to escape into Wu Qi's interstitial world.
Wu Qi and Princess Zhang Le's raids on White Cloud Planet had stirred the natural energies and caused countless natural disasters, such as earthquakes. The immortals and cultivators who were not related to Yuan Hua Sect had long since left the planet. Those who remained in the immortal square were all disciples loyal to Yuan Hua Sect. Wu Qi had no reason to speak with these cultivators, so he just kidnapped them all.
As Wu Qi and Princess Zhang Le prepared to travel to the capital of Yuan Hua Dynasty and take the whole city and all the people inside away, Immortal Green Staff stopped them with a complicated expression and a group of immortals.
Holding hands and grinning coldly, the couple stared at Immortal Green Staff.
Immortal Green Staff gritted his teeth and kept sizing up Wu Qi. Finally, he opened his mouth after a quarter of an hour as he was about to say something.
But he had just opened his mouth when Wu Qi sprinkled a ray of light and abducted him along with all the people behind him.
"I'm not here to drink to your reason," Looking at the capital of Yuan Hua Dynasty which was already in chaos, Wu Qi cried out in a ferocious voice, "I'm here for revenge!
"Immortal Green Staff, it is you and others who owe me, and I've never done anything wrong to Yuan Hua Sect!"
Then, he pointed a finger out, causing the entire capital city to be uprooted. It floated up into the sky with a layer of rock stratum hundreds of miles deep underneath, and was imprisoned in his interstitial world.
Their next destination was Myriad Immortals Planet!