Chapter 1780: A Small Windfall
Lu Yin lowered his gadget, suddenly looking much more relaxed from before. Arch-Elder Zen actually knew Mister Mu, and had spoken of Lu Yin’s master in a very respectful manner. This made things easy to deal with.
His gadget suddenly beeped, and Lu Yin answered the call. “Master, we’ve defeated their masters! The Innerverse is ours. Little Wei will lead the colossal giants to sweep the Innerverse, and all who disobey you will be caught and forced to follow! I picked a few beautiful women to warm Master’s bed. Master..."
Lu Yin frowned. "Shut up."
Ku Wei quickly fell silent and did not dare say another word.
A display opened, and Lu Yin saw Ling Qiu, Mountain G.o.d, Ling Taizu, and Abel Phoenix. All of the Envoys looked quite pathetic, particularly Mountain G.o.d. Half of his body was cracked and leaking sword qi from Liu Huang’s attack.
One of Ling Qiu"s arms had been sliced off. Blood dripped from Ling Taizu"s mouth. The man sat cross-legged and stared back at Lu Yin with eyes that expressed his helplessness.
Around the wounded Envoys stood Liu Qianjue, Chen Huang, Emperor Luo, Madam Yōu, and even the Frost Emperor, who had an indifferent expression on his face.
There were nine Envoys in the single image that Lu Yin was looking at. Together, these people represented most of the power in the entire Innerverse.
"Can any of them resist?" Lu Yin asked.
Emperor Luo was the one to answer in a respectful tone, "All of them have been sealed by the Frost Emperor."
Lu Yin nodded. "Lock them up, and I"ll talk with them after I return. Anyone in Beast Tamers Flowzone or Soulseal Flowzone who dares to try to resist will die."
"Understood."
After ending that call, Lu Yin immediately called Liu Huang. "Who was that?"
Liu Huang shook his head. "I don"t know. I"ve never fought that person before, and they felt very odd. Still, they weren’t very strong, just very strange. Their power level should be about the same as Liu Qianjue’s."
Lu Yin"s eyes flickered. "What did they want?"
"I noticed them as soon as they arrived at the fortress. I don"t think they ever imagined someone like me would be hidden there," Liu Huang replied.
Liu Huang was not the only Envoy that Lu Yin had hidden, as the Sea King was also in hiding. Lu Yin had been on guard against the Court of Seven Names. However, no one from the Seven Courts had shown up, but instead an unknown powerhouse. If Lu Yin was right, that person should have been Leaf King.
Lu Yin had already believed Leaf King to be a powerful expert, as well as someone with extensive plans, but had never considered the possibility that Leaf King might be capable of escaping from Liu Huang.
Leaf King"s goal had clearly been Sapling.
While Lu Yin was in Venom Flowzone, in addition to forcing the Divine Venom Dynasty to join the Great Eastern Alliance, he also needed to look into the wireless jincan and gather more information about Infernal Zone. Anything else was not important, and he wanted to return as soon as possible.
Since Forgotten Ruins G.o.d suspected that Lu Yin had some connection to the Horned Galaxy incident, there was no way the Neohuman Alliance would simply drop the matter. Lu Yin needed to find a way to get in touch with Kui Luo, but he had no idea what the old man might be doing.
Lu Yin spent most of his day in the ruins of the imperial palace. He called and spoke with w.a.n.g Wen, Wei Rong, Qiong Xi"er, and Shui Chuanxiao, mostly about plans for the unification of the Innerverse.
Qing Li, Qing Longlong, Yuan Miaomiao, and others stayed far away from Lu Yin, simply watching him. Everyone else from the Divine Venom Dynasty kept their distance as well. Even though many of them wanted to attack Lu Yin, they knew they were unable to do anything at all to him.
Night had completely fallen by the time that Lu Yin put his gadget aside. The various details regarding the great and minor flowzones of the Innerverse joining the Great Eastern Alliance could be handled by his various subordinates after the major issue of the eight great flowzones’ resistance had been dealt with. The other powers were not any problem at all.
At the moment, Lu Yin was eager to inspect the Divine Venom Dynasty’s treasury.
History had so far proven that Lu Yin would be able to reap great profits every time he defeated a powerful organization.
Lu Yin looked at Qing Li with glittering eyes, and slowly said, "Qing Shaohuang previously asked me to go to the imperial treasury to choose something that I want. Is that offer still valid?"
Qing Li"s face twitched. "Of course, of course. I’ll show you there myself."
Lu Yin nodded and waved at Yuan Miaomiao, who hurried over to him.
She had perked up a great deal after the threat of Yuan Taishi had been removed.
"Head on back for now and wait for me. I’ll find you," Lu Yin quietly told the girl. When he looked at her face, his eyes lit up.
For many people, this would be their reaction simply when gazing upon the woman’s beautiful face, but Lu Yin was actually staring at Progenitor Chen’s emblem that was hidden beneath the love flower that covered half of Yuan Miaomiao"s face.
Yuan Miaomiao hummed a quiet agreement, but stopped just as she was about to leave. She was looking at Qing Longlong. Yuan Miaomiao opened her mouth, but she had no words to speak.
Qing Longlong remained standing where she was in silence.
Lu Yin casually asked Qing Li, "Do you want to bring Qing Sheng back?"
Qing Li nodded. Everyone who had been present had heard Qing Shaohuang’s last words as he had been taken away. Qing Sheng was the future ruler of the Divine Venom Dynasty, as he was Qing Shaohuang"s only son. King Qing Li could only function as a regent.
"Honestly, I feel you’re very well suited to ruling the Divine Venom Dynasty," Lu Yin said as he followed the king towards a certain corner of the imperial palace.
Lu Yin"s words left Qing Li momentarily stunned, and he immediately remembered that Lu Yin had spoken similar words to him once in Fennel Flowzone. This was the second time that Lu Yin had suggested such a thing to Qing Li, yet the king refused once again, "Qing Sheng is the inheritor of the Divine Venom Dynasty, and the people all know this."
Lu Yin laughed. "It’s always debatable whether or not an inheritor will receive their inheritance, it’s just that normally the inheritors of your empire are too powerful and no one can resist them. If someone had the strength to resist, who would be willing to be ruled by someone else? Did you really not mind when Attendant Yi spoke down to you so much?"
Qing Li quietly answered, "Thank you, Alliance Leader Lu, for thinking of me, but I really don’t want such a position. It sounds exhausting."
Lu Yin gave the man a hard look before shaking his head and dropping the matter.
After Qing Shaohuang had been arrested, Qing Li had resolved the Divine Venom Dynasty’s crisis with just a few words. At that time, everyone had gazed at the man with great admiration. Lu Yin had also believed that the king had the heart to guide the Divine Venom Dynasty, but at the moment, it seemed that Qing Li had given the matter more thought.
Additionally, there was only way path forward for Venom Flowzone, which was to join the Great Eastern Alliance. If things did not work out well and the Divine Venom Dynasty was pushed into an even worse situation, Qing Li knew that he would be the empire’s greatest sinner.
Regardless of whether or not Qing Li was willing to take control of the Divine Venom Dynasty, the current situation required that Qing Sheng take the throne.
Lu Yin had learned to never underestimate people who seemed to be lazy and unmotivated. He had learned this from Ming Zhaoshu. That experience had taught Lu Yin that there were people who were not actually weak or worthless, but rather that they would not take action until they deemed that it was the right time.
Lu Yin had reached a higher level, and so he had become able to see through many such people. However, there were still people like Ming Zhaoshu or Qing Li who might be at Lu Yin’s level or an even higher level. What about Undying Yushan? Who could possibly see through such a person?
Intelligence was its own version of strength, and there could be perfectly ordinary humans whose wisdom might surpa.s.s even that of a Semi-Progenitor.
They finally reached a section of the imperial palace that Lu Yin had never visited before. This was their destination.
The area was heavily guarded, and there were even Enlighters among the guards.
At the moment, Qing Li was in charge of the Divine Venom Dynasty on behalf of the new emperor, so the king was able to pa.s.s through all of the security without any fuss or difficulty. However, all of the guards glared at Lu Yin with open hatred.
"You should warn them, as if anything happens, I won’t be able to hold myself back, and it might lead to a ma.s.sacre," Lu Yin commented as he followed Qing Li underground.
Qing Li"s heart skipped a beat. "Understood, Alliance Leader Lu."
The Divine Venom Dynasty’s treasury was located within a spatial crack, just like the Bizarre Sect’s ruins on Aegis Planet. The Blaze Realm’s treasury had also been hidden in a similar spatial fold.
…
Lu Yin looked around at the star essence that formed mountains, as well as countless poisons, raw materials, jincans, and more. The joy in his eyes was visible to anyone who saw him.
"Your Divine Venom Dynasty is this rich?" Lu Yin was surprised, as he saw more star essence in the treasury than he had obtained anywhere else in the Fifth Mainland. Even if it was not able to compare to what he had seen on the Perennial World’s Junior Progenitor Planets, it was still an absurd amount.
Qing Li looked at Lu Yin"s ecstatic expressions. It turned out that the rumors were true, this person"s greatest pleasure came from gathering star essence. "Even though my Divine Venom Dynasty doesn"t interact with the outside world, countless people still enter Venom Flowzone every year to buy jincans or poisons. Many people have also lost their lives while in Venom Flowzone, and whatever possessions might have been on them aren’t returned to the outside world, but are instead collected by members of the empire.
"Over the course of time, my Divine Venom Dynasty has acquired a great deal of resources."
Lu Yin quickly understood. The truth of the matter was that while outsiders might enter Venom Flowzone, the citizens of the Divine Venom Dynasty did not really leave the empire. This meant essentially a one-way flow of funds. Wealth would flow in, but would not leave Venom Flowzone. They possessed an ideal seller"s market.
Lu Yin remembered how Qiong Xi’er had once complained about how it was impossible to do business with people from Venom Flowzone. She claimed that the people were idiots, and that their prices were completely arbitrary. Frequently, the prices would be very high, and they would not hesitate to cheat people.
"3.4 billion star essence," Qing Li said.
Lu Yin sucked in a deep breath. "I like your Divine Venom Dynasty."
Qing Li shrugged. "Actually, a considerable portion of our resources were already taken away by our emperor."
Lu Yin’s eyes narrowed. "What a pity."
Aside from star essence, the most common goods in the treasury were poisons, jincans, certain types of materials, as well as a few items and natural treasures. Of course, there were also a few battle techniques and such.
Given Lu Yin’s current strength, most things no longer held any appeal to him. Despite that, he still found some things that he wanted. He found even fatesand, and while it was only a single bit of it, that was still quite good.
He also picked up a few strange poisons and materials that he would be able to trade with Aurora Enterprises or First Edition City.
"What about Transience?" Lu Yin asked. He had never been able to forget this poison, as it was invisible, scentless, and did not even possess any runes.
Qing Li had already expected Lu Yin to bring up Transience. "Transience is the emperor’s most important poison, and it is not something that can be stored in this treasury. He always carries it on him."
Lu Yin stared at Qing Li, and the king returned the stare without any fear.
Lu Yin felt that there was no need for Qing Li to try to hide Transience at this moment.
Lu Yin pulled out his Escape Orb that he had been given. "Is there Transience on this?"
Qing Li hesitated for a moment. "I’m not certain, but most likely, yes."
"Why didn"t Qing Shaohuang trigger the Escape Orb in order to poison me?" Lu Yin asked.
"Most likely because he was worried about the Chief Justice," Qing Li guessed.
Lu Yin"s expression hardened. "No, he didn’t poison me because he’s certain he’ll be able to return. Basically, he didn’t poison me because he was worried the Chief Justice would be able to remove the poison from my system, but more importantly, because he actually didn’t cooperate with the Neohuman Alliance. Even if he was dragged down by his a.s.sociation with Yuan Taishi, Qing Shaohuang will only be locked up for a while at worst, but he’ll come back."
Qing Li was surprised. "Alliance Leader Lu believes my royal brother to be innocent of colluding with the Neohuman Alliance?"
Lu Yin laughed. "Not just be, but the Chief Justice as well. If that weren’t the case, you and Qing Longlong wouldn"t still be here. You both would have been hauled off as well."