Chapter 383 - 26: Petroleum Grows Mold, Gang Qi Nurtures a Divine Monarch

Chapter 383: Chapter 26: Petroleum Grows Mold, Gang Qi Nurtures a Divine Monarch

In short, Shen Wanshang came up with countless justifications for supporting Zhong Ming, all for the sake of her own path toward the Dao.

At the same time, her thoughts raced as she began to calculate how to divert more resources from the Celestial Sea King’s Mansion to help Zhong Ming’s cultivation reach the next level.

And she didn’t just think about it; she had already taken action.

Upon learning that Zhong Ming was engrossed in studying the art of Divine Talismans, Shen Wanshang went straight to the Celestial Sea King’s Mansion Treasure Vault. She retrieved an Imperial Divine Seal, inscribed it into the Great Dream of Thousand Years, and ensured Zhong Ming comprehended it. This single act caused his progress in projecting the dream’s authority into the outside world to surge by more than thirty percent in an instant!

’So talismans can also serve as a medium for projecting authority... I remember I once had a Divine Talisman of my own—the Cyan Thunder Tribulation Seal!’

...

The Flying Ship cut through the wind. In a blur of fleeting light, three days passed in the blink of an eye.

On this day, Zhong Ming finally managed to complete the deductions for his Cultivation Technique. When he pushed open his cabin door, he found the Flying Ship had arrived at the border between the Frost Moon Immortal Dynasty and the Celestial Cloud Kingdom.

Gazing into the distance, he saw a line of heavily fortified military camps stretching for dozens of miles along the Frost Moon Immortal Dynasty’s border, with no end in sight.

People bustled about the camps, their steps hurried. The vast majority of the human Cultivators stationed there were wounded, their faces etched with the exhaustion of drawn-out battles.

Beyond the military camps, the scene on the wasteland was even more harrowing.

The vast, once-fertile fields were shattered and cracked. Towering mountains had crumbled like rotten wood. Swaths of land were shrouded in a dark green poisonous fog, from which the incessant shrieking of venomous insects could be heard as they gnawed on what little vegetation and rock remained.

There was also a lake, stained a glaring shade of red. Countless corpses and severed limbs bobbed beneath the murky water, and the overwhelming stench of blood hung heavy in the air.

The horrific scene looked as if a titan had rampaged across the land.

"This is the aftermath of an all-out battle between Golden Core Cultivators," Shen Wanshang explained quickly, noticing the surprise in Zhong Ming’s eyes.

Her words made Zhong Ming raise an eyebrow. "I thought there were rules on this battlefield. Aren’t Golden Core Cultivators forbidden from getting involved so easily?"

"That rule was established later..." Ji Qingyue, who was usually gentle, spoke with a voice now tinged with a chill from the grim surroundings. "When the Silver Moon Legion first arrived, we were pure enemies with the Quanrong Tribe. There were no rules at all. Not only did Golden Core Cultivators join the fray, but both sides even deployed their ultimate trump cards."

"In that battle, countless Qi Cultivation and Foundation Establishment Cultivators died. Even a Golden Core Cultivator fell."

"It was precisely because that battle was so brutal that both sides were exhausted. Only then did the Silver Moon Legion make a pact with the Quanrong Tribe to limit the scale of the conflict."

This wasn’t cowardice. It was a rational choice made after gauging the enemy’s strength—a way to de-escalate the war while waiting for reinforcements. The Silver Moon Legion’s decisiveness improved Zhong Ming’s opinion of them somewhat.

HUMMM—!

Zhong Ming gazed at the distant battlefield, his mind churning as he silently compared his own strength to that of the Golden Core Cultivators. Just then, guided by a Silver Moon Legion patrol, the Flying Ship slowly descended into a corner of the military camp.

SHUFFLE... ℴ

The hull had barely touched the ground, and before the group could even settle, a clamor of hurried footsteps approached from a distance. A group of luxuriously dressed people, surrounding a little girl of about eight or nine, was rushing toward the Flying Ship.

"Are you Princess Wanshang from the Celestial Sea King’s Mansion?!"

The voice was filled with anxiety, yet tinged with cautious respect. Shen Wanshang raised a delicate eyebrow but still stepped forward. Her cool voice rang out, "I am Shen Wanshang. And who might you be?"

"I am the third son from the house of Count Shuiyun in the Celestial Cloud Kingdom..."

"I am an advisor from Marquis Zhenbei’s Mansion..."

Following a jumble of explanations, Shen Wanshang, and Zhong Ming behind her, learned that the newcomers were direct descendants of the Celestial Cloud Kingdom’s nobility.

Of course, this was merely a remnant force. The main army of the Celestial Cloud Kingdom had either been wiped out in the Quanrong Tribe’s major offensive a few days ago, or was trapped within the Immortal Cities, struggling to hold on by relying on the City Defense Arrays.

These people before them were merely the last embers of the Celestial Cloud Kingdom, gasping for survival.

They had sought her out so desperately for two reasons. First, they hoped to use Shen Wanshang’s connections to escape into the territory of the Frost Moon Immortal Dynasty or to seek refuge under the banner of the Celestial Sea King’s Mansion. This was because the Silver Moon King, in an effort to stabilize morale, had already issued a strict decree: anyone who retreated back into the Frost Moon Country without permission would be executed on the spot. They had nowhere else to turn.

Second, they wanted to persuade Shen Wanshang to speak to the Celestial Sea King on their behalf and ask that the newly arrived Celestial Patrol use their full strength to drive the Quanrong Tribe completely out of the Celestial Cloud Kingdom.

"Princess, the Quanrong Tribe are savage and ambitious. It is absolutely impossible for them to coexist peacefully with your Frost Moon Immortal Dynasty."

"They’re only using this treaty to bide their time and build up strength. Once they are powerful enough, those Barbarian Ghosts will tear up the pact and march south!"

"Rather than fighting an even stronger host of Barbarian Ghosts in the future, it’s better to wipe them all out in one fell swoop while they have yet to gain a firm foothold!"

...

To persuade Shen Wanshang, these remnants of the Celestial Cloud Kingdom exhausted every argument they had. Their persuasion wasn’t just based on reason; they also promised great benefits.

"Princess, our families have been in the Celestial Cloud Kingdom for centuries, and we have accumulated considerable resources. If you can help us reclaim our lands, we are willing to hand over everything to you."

"And our Spirit Fields, our Spiritual Ores... If you, Princess, can persuade the Celestial Sea King to help us reclaim them, we are willing to give you seventy... no, eighty percent of all future yields..."