Reincarnated as a Ginkgo Tree: I Create an Eternal Divine Kingdom - Chapter 112

The capital was in turmoil, yet within the Misty Forbidden Zone, everything remained calm. It seemed that nothing from the outside world could disturb the tranquility of the Misty Forbidden Zone. The areas previously damaged by the Kongtong Seal had already been restored, and order had returned to its usual state.

When Su Yao relayed the intelligence to Su Mu, he was slightly surprised. He hadn’t realized that, without his knowledge, Su Yao had managed to build such a vast network of influence within the Empire. Of course, much of this success was due to Xia Yuerong’s contributions. However, if the people of the Empire thought that simply handing over Fang Zhaodong would be enough to calm everything down, they were far too naive.

Fang Zhaodong was merely a Grand Seer assistant. In Su Mu’s eyes, his status was far from sufficient to settle the matter.

At the Southern King’s estate.

“What did Mount Longhu say?” asked the Southern King, Fan Ying, pacing back and forth in agitation.

“Lord, they said they have more important matters to attend to and can’t spare the resources to deal with this for now,” replied Eunuch Feng.

“Damn it,” Fan Ying cursed in frustration. “What nonsense about ‘refining great pills on Mount Longhu, with the Devil’s Bone as cold as hair.’ They don’t even dare to avenge their own being killed—what a bunch of cowards.”

The old man in linen who had been in Nanjing City earlier had been summoned by the Southern King from Mount Longhu. Eunuch Feng quickly lowered his head. Mount Longhu was one of the oldest sects in the world. The Southern King dared to speak this way because the first Southern King had done them a great favor. But as a eunuch, Feng wouldn’t dare show any disrespect to Mount Longhu.

“Send another message immediately,” Fan Ying said, his eyes flickering. “Tell them that there are peerless elixirs in the Misty Forbidden Zone, and that the ginkgo demon tree cultivated its Dao with those elixirs.”

Eunuch Feng’s eyes widened. “Lord, is there really a peerless elixir in the Misty Forbidden Zone?”

“How would I know?” Fan Ying retorted. “But if we don’t say that, how will Mount Longhu be interested? And the Misty Forbidden Zone is indeed strange—maybe there really is a great elixir there.”

Eunuch Feng instantly understood Fan Ying’s meaning. Whether or not there was an elixir in the Misty Forbidden Zone, they had to claim there was, to entice Mount Longhu to deal with the Misty Forbidden Zone.

“Lord is wise,” Eunuch Feng quickly flattered.

But then, he hesitated. “Lord, even if Mount Longhu decides to take action, it will be days before they do. In the meantime, won’t the Misty Forbidden Zone retaliate against us?”

“Retaliate against me?” The Southern King scoffed. “If the Misty Forbidden Zone dared to retaliate against me, they wouldn’t have stopped at Nanjing City—they would have taken all of Qingzhou. At most, they might retaliate against Fang Zhaodong. There’s no way they would dare to retaliate against me.”

Clearly, in his mind, his importance was on par with, if not greater than, that of the entire province of Qingzhou.

Eunuch Feng blinked. In the Southern King’s heyday, his status might indeed have rivaled that of Qingzhou. Back then, Qingzhou was practically a fiefdom of the Southern King. But now, the Southern King’s estate had long since fallen from its peak. Nevertheless, Eunuch Feng wasn’t overly concerned. He also didn’t believe the Misty Forbidden Zone would dare to retaliate against the Southern King. Even in decline, the Southern King’s estate still held an imperial title.

“Bad news, Lord!”

A panicked voice suddenly called out from outside.

A servant stumbled in, clearly terrified.

“What is it?” Fan Ying asked, his irritation growing.

The servant, trembling, replied, “A beast tide, there’s a beast tide outside.”

“What did you say?” Fan Ying almost thought he had misheard.

Eunuch Feng shuddered.

Before the servant could respond, the two of them heard the roar of beasts coming from outside.

Fan Ying and Eunuch Feng rushed outside and climbed to a high point in the estate.

When they looked out, they saw a vast, dark mass of beasts stretching as far as the eye could see.

Leading the pack were enormous wolves, bears, and apes. In the sky, large crows led a flock of flying creatures.

The Southern King’s estate was completely surrounded.

“Surrender the Southern King, and the rest will be spared,”

A giant bear called out to the estate.

Despite the world’s familiarity with demons, a talking beast still instilled a special kind of fear. The atmosphere within the Southern King’s estate became even more chaotic.

“If you don’t decide within thirty breaths, we will raze the estate,” the bear said coldly.

“Outrageous, outrageous!” Fan Ying fumed, his anger boiling over.

“Lord,” Eunuch Feng spoke up.

“Eunuch Feng, organize the men to hold off the beasts. We’ll escape through the secret passage,” Fan Ying ordered, quickly regaining his composure.

He wasn’t foolish—he knew that the Southern King’s estate couldn’t withstand the beast tide outside.

But before he could finish speaking, he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his back. He turned around in disbelief, only to see that Eunuch Feng had stabbed him with a sword.

“Lord, don’t blame me. I just don’t want to die,”

Eunuch Feng said, his face twisted with a sinister expression.

At that moment, many people stormed in from outside, clearly harboring ill intentions. When they saw that Eunuch Feng had already mortally wounded the Southern King, they hesitated for a moment, then turned their gaze toward Eunuch Feng.

Eunuch Feng, not wanting to offend these people, quickly smiled obsequiously. “This is a joint effort. What do you all think?”

The group’s expressions softened.

They then tied up the seriously injured Southern King.

There were certainly loyalists within the Southern King’s estate, but they were in the minority and were easily overwhelmed by those driven by a strong desire to survive. After all, the Southern King’s estate had long since decayed.

Outside, the Earthquake bears were stunned.

They hadn’t really expected this to work—they had merely been using psychological tactics. Yet, before thirty breaths had even passed, the gates of the Southern King’s estate opened.

To their amazement, they saw a group of people from the estate carrying out the bound Southern King.

If the Southern King’s estate had been filled with heroes, they would have gladly fought them. But now that they saw the estate’s inhabitants were cowards, they lost all desire to fight.

“Let’s go!” The Earthquake bear ordered, waving a paw.

A demon beast grabbed the Southern King.

Then, the Misty Army began to withdraw, leaving the surrounding residential areas untouched—showing more discipline than even the armies of humanity.

As soon as the Misty Army retreated, news of the event spread.

When the people of the Empire heard that the Southern King had been captured by the Misty Army, it was another massive shock to them.

In the imperial court, the atmosphere grew even more tense.

The Southern King’s estate held little significance in the current Great Xia Empire, but the Southern King’s noble title was a sensitive matter.

“They’re pushing their luck—they’re pushing their luck!”

The Grand Seer’s eyes burned with fury. “We just agreed to hand over Fang Zhaodong, and now they’re pushing their luck by capturing the Southern King. I’ve said before, we cannot compromise with such beasts, or they’ll only escalate their demands.”

But unfortunately, his words found little resonance.

The ministers of the court all seemed disinterested.

The noble title of a king was indeed sensitive, but it was also something that didn’t concern most officials. Moreover, the Southern King’s estate had long since fallen into decline and held little influence in the court.

The capture of the Southern King was, to most, merely a blow to the empire’s dignity, with no real impact on their interests. Some even felt that the Southern King’s estate had been a blight on Qingzhou and that its removal was a blessing in disguise.