Just like the Great Emperor in Shrouding the Heavens, who dominated an era, shattered galaxies with a flick of his finger, and with a long roar, all races bowed down. But they only had a lifespan of tens of thousands of years. Even some fake gods in ordinary worlds had a lifespan much longer than them. How tragic!
Therefore, Xu Le never became immersed in the powerful influence of the Rubik's Cube. He always understood that only the living can possess everything.
With a thought, Xu Le instantly saw the space change and arrived in a desolate world, which was his inner world.
Compared to the desolate landscape he had just created, the world now had a touch of life, especially after he advanced to the Qi Refining stage, when mist began to appear in the world and gathered into clouds.
Although there were no sun, moon, stars, mountains, rivers, or even birds and beasts yet, clouds slowly formed, and the world began to gradually improve.
On the earth, shadowy warriors carried baskets filled with all sorts of seeds, which Xu Le had collected after creating the world.
He did not have the means to create things from nothing; he could only use resources from other worlds to enrich his own world until the inner world could operate on its own.
The shadow warrior carefully buried the seed in the soil, then diluted the life force he had collected from the pillar with water and sprinkled a little on the seed. The seed seemed to have taken a stimulant and germinated and grew rapidly.
In just a few hours, thanks to the work of these hundreds of shadow warriors, a lush green meadow was created.
Fortunately, he has a large number of subordinates to do the work; if Xu Le were to handle it all by himself, it would be impossible to know when he would be able to finish.
The inner world is like a continent, like the ancient Chinese description of a round sky and a square earth. There is no starry sky or universe; the continent is the world.
In the center of the continent, a shadow covers this land. This is where the Shadow Warriors live. Since he created the Inner World, Xu Le has used this place as a storage bag, a space where he can store living things.
The same applies to the Shadow Legion. They no longer need to find underground habitats; they can simply slumber in space, making them easier to summon in the future. They no longer need to worry about being cut off from contact after entering Jinghongzi's world, as they did last time.
The vastness of the inner world gave Xu Le more ideas. There were still many empty spaces, seemingly enough to accommodate more people or things. There were countless types of soldiers in the myriad worlds, many of which could be obtained under certain conditions. Just imagining how, with a wave of his hand, he could overwhelm and tear apart the enemy with an overwhelming number of soldiers, Xu Le couldn't help but feel a surge of excitement.
After the grass was planted, the shadow warrior began planting trees and other plants. Xu Le checked that everything was proceeding in an orderly manner, and then left the inner world.
Xu Le returned to his secluded bedroom, where the shadow warrior had already prepared a meal. He then walked into the hall.
In the hall, Wan'er and Yiming sat in the lower seats of the servants. When they saw Xu Le, who looked like an immortal, Yiming stood up and bowed. Wan'er hesitated, but after thinking that she was just a servant, she felt dejected and bowed with her brother.
Xu Le noticed Wan'er's unusual behavior, but he didn't want to comfort her. After all, he was focused on pursuing power, so he didn't want Wan'er to get into trouble. It was fine as it was.
With this in mind, Xu Le sat in the head seat, and the beautiful concubines serving him began to serve him his meals, ladling soup or feeding him food. Life was very pleasant.
Suddenly, a flurry of footsteps sounded outside the door. Xu Le's divine sense spread out and he knew who it was, but he didn't intend to greet them. After a while, Yin Que pushed open the door and came in, followed by several eunuchs and guards. He smiled at the people who were still eating and said, "Does Your Majesty have the honor of dining with the Immortal Master?"
"Your Majesty, please." Xu Le remained calm, politely responding to Yin Que's request while seated in his chair. He made no attempt to rise to greet him, as if the person before him were not an emperor but an ordinary person.
Yin Que was taken aback. Seeing Xu Le's indifferent attitude towards him, he felt a little angry, but thinking of what happened that morning, he could only suppress his anger, sit down with a smile, pick up a set of unused chopsticks and bowl, and put a piece of braised pork into his mouth.
"What delicious meat!" Yin Que ate delicacies every day, but he had never tasted such fragrant braised pork. A strong aroma and spicy flavor spread throughout his body, as if he were in the ocean, being constantly pounded by the waves. This feeling was truly exhilarating.
"I never imagined that an ordinary piece of meat could be made into such a delicacy. These chefs were the ones I presented to the immortals that day, but neither I nor I have ever tasted such delicacies before."
Yin Que spoke with a smile, but the dissatisfaction hidden in his tone was obvious to everyone. In his view, these chefs had not done their best to make delicious food, which was simply deceiving the emperor.
"These were made by my Shadow Warriors. I've been using the cooks His Majesty sent me to do odd jobs," Xu Le said nonchalantly, stretching and putting his arm around the slender waist of the beautiful woman beside him.
At this moment, he was more like a spoiled brat than an immortal. The only difference was that there was no lust in his eyes, only calmness and indifference. It seemed that nothing could arouse his interest.
That makes sense. Xu Le has already received the inheritance, and Yin Que is unlikely to give up the medicinal herbs in exchange for the longevity pill. So he is sitting on the sidelines, not worried about the fish not taking the bait, and naturally has no interest in smiling and welcoming the emperor of this mortal kingdom.
Yin Que chuckled awkwardly, his anxiety growing as he saw Xu Le's indifference towards him. That's just how people are; when you show eagerness, they like to play hard to get; when you treat them coldly, they'll stick to you like glue.
"Your Majesty, please speak plainly." Xu Le had no interest in continuing the pretense and asked directly.
Yin Que hesitated for a moment, but considering the urgency of the situation, he still spoke up, "The chief of the grassland tribes, Lang Teng, led all his tribes to attack from the east of the Shang Kingdom, and has already captured more than a dozen villages and towns, and a city."
"Oh, with the strength of the Shang Kingdom, it shouldn't be that they can't defeat the grassland people, right?" Xu Le asked casually, only to find that Yin Que's face had darkened even more.
"King Wuyai is dead. His eldest son, Yin Henshui, seized the throne with the help of his mother and then declared a rebellion. Nearly a million troops marched towards Chaoge. At this time, the Shang Kingdom was caught in a pincer attack and had no other choice."
Yin Que gritted his teeth in hatred. Although he disliked King Wuya, at least that guy was composed in all things. He never expected him to die like that, and the one who ascended the throne was a hothead. As it turned out, this hothead was lucky. He caused trouble when the grassland people attacked, and the Shang Kingdom couldn't spare any troops. In addition, his dead father had left him nearly a million well-equipped troops. The timing, location, and popular support were all in place.
If things continue like this, the Shang Kingdom might really perish in his hands. How could he face his ancestors then? So he had no choice but to ask Xu Le for help.
"Oh!" Xu Le replied casually, squinting as he looked into the distance.
"Immortal Master, the founding emperor of my Shang Kingdom was personally enlightened by your master. Our ancestors were practically family. You can't just stand by and watch him die!" Yin Que disregarded all decorum, covered his face and wept bitterly, directly begging Xu Le to help.
The eunuchs and guards behind him lowered their heads awkwardly, silently reminding themselves that they were blind and deaf, fearing that Yin Que would execute them all when he returned.
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Chapter 57: Crisis
"Your Majesty, please calm down. I'm in a difficult position because of this. After all, interfering in mortal conflicts is against the natural order and not conducive to my cultivation." Xu Le coughed twice, a troubled expression on his face.
Yin Que looked at Xu Le's predicament and felt a pang of pain in his heart, knowing that he was bound to have to bleed money. But thinking of the crisis, he gritted his teeth and said, "If the immortal is willing to help, I am willing to give the immortal two hundred more beauties."
"Alas, the struggles in this mortal realm are too dangerous, this humble Taoist..." Xu Le rolled his eyes. Yin Que was still making wishful thinking, wanting to use women as payment. Unfortunately, he already had enough of these eight beauties to serve him, and besides, he didn't have much need for beautiful women.
"How about I add another ten thousand taels of gold?" Yin Que knew what Xu Le wanted, but still wanted to try to negotiate a little more.
"Your Majesty, this humble Taoist is not suited to participate in mortal affairs..."
"I am willing to give all the medicinal herbs I have collected to the immortal." Yin Que felt his heart bleed as he looked at the impatience on Xu Le's face, but he had no choice but to endure the pain for the sake of the throne.
"Then this humble Taoist priest will offer his meager strength for the sake of all living beings, for the sake of the common people to be free from the ravages of war." Xu Le's face showed a compassionate expression, as if he really only cared about the common people.
"Then I'll take my leave first. I'll have the medicinal herbs delivered this afternoon." Yin Que clutched his chest, looking at Xu Le's compassionate expression, his brain began to tremble. He felt that if he stayed any longer, he would be driven mad with anger.
"Take care." Xu Le smiled slightly, watching Yin Que leave. The smile vanished, replaced by utter indifference. He murmured, "I hope it's the same truth about this world as I imagined."
Meiji, standing nearby, was startled by Xu Le's unpredictable personality. She dared not look at him or listen to him any longer and obediently lowered her head to gently massage him.
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