Chapter 650
Gleanings from the Human World
The Huoshan Medicinal Herb Garden case was made public in a special way, immediately putting the Nanyue Divine Palace in the spotlight.
More than half a month has passed since the case of the Huoshan medicinal herb garden was closed, but the turmoil it caused has only just begun.
A 'official gazette' made the entire world of Yama aware of the Huoshan Herb Garden case, and this gazette was the 'Human World Remnants' founded by the Western Mountain Divine Palace.
The "Human World Gazette" was founded under the leadership of Shennong, the "Crimson Flame True King" of the Western Mountain Divine Palace, and received strong support from the Fire Spirit True Immortal of the Jade Palace of the Mortal Realm.
When the "Human Remnants" gazette was first published, Shennong sent one of his disciples to the Southern Continent to open a branch.
The reason for establishing a branch in Nanzhanbuzhou first was because Shennong learned from Huoling Zhenxian that Zhuang Yan had come to Nanzhanbuzhou.
As expected, Shennong's prediction was very accurate. This branch had just been established when it encountered such a large case as the Huoshan Herb Garden.
Thus, thanks to the dissemination of information through the Renjian Shiyi Dibao (a local gazetteer), the Huoshan Medicinal Herb Garden case became known worldwide in just half a month.
Zhuang Yan also held a copy of the official gazette in his hand and saw the Huoshan Herb Garden case on the homepage, but the information on it was not detailed.
"Who is in charge of the Southern Continent branch of this official gazette?" Zhuang Yan asked.
Chi Ling replied, "Your Majesty, the branch manager is Qi Ying'e, a disciple of Shennong Zhenwang. She is currently a sixth-rank immortal official in Zhongyuan and serves as the branch manager of the Human Remnant Branch in Nanzhanbuzhou."
Zhuang Yan laughed and said, "You've got some nerve, daring to directly expose the family affairs of the Great Emperor of Nanyue."
Chi Ling said, "Shennong Zhenwang was an ancient human emperor, and in terms of status, he was equal to the Five Sacred Mountains Emperor. Qi Ying'e is Shennong Zhenwang's disciple, so there is indeed nothing to be afraid of."
Zhuang Yan nodded slightly, then asked, "How much does one copy of this gazette cost?"
Chi Ling said, "One purple coin per unit."
"So expensive?" Zhuang Yan was somewhat surprised.
Buying a piece of paper with various messages with one purple coin is indeed a bit expensive, considering that many cultivators can't even earn a few purple coins a month.
Chi Ling said, "Your Majesty, this official gazette is actually quite good value for money."
"Oh?" Zhuang Yan asked, "How so?"
Chi Ling stepped forward, turned the official gazette over, and said, "Your Majesty, please look this way."
Zhuang Yan looked closely and immediately understood, saying, "This is a summary of my experience in planting herbs and refining pills?"
“Yes.” Chi Ling nodded and said, “Each issue of this gazette includes a report on Shennong Zhenwang’s experience in planting immortal herbs and refining immortal pills. This is something that many cultivators would never dare to dream of in their daily lives.”
Zhuang Yan nodded slightly and said, "Indeed, the fact that Shennong Zhenwang is willing to share his insights makes a purple coin truly worthwhile."
At this point, Zhuang Yan suddenly saw another message, which was accompanied by a portrait.
The background of the portrait is a vast, boundless plain, where thousands of horses gallop.
At the very front of the portrait stand three people. The one in the middle is a kind and benevolent middle-aged man dressed in imperial robes. Next to him is a line of annotations: "Great Emperor of the Northern Peak, the Heavenly Mysterious Saint".
To the left of the Great Emperor of the Northern Mountain stood a tall, stout man wearing a celestial robe embroidered with spirit horses. Zhuang Yan did not recognize this man.
On the right side of the Great Emperor of the Northern Mountain, the True Immortal of Fire Spirit stood there with a smile on his face, exuding divine might.
Finally, below the portrait is a line of text titled: "The 'Spirit Horse Journey' of Beiju Luzhou is officially established, and the Great Emperor of Beiyue and the Lord of Fire Spirit attended the plaque-hanging ceremony."
"Oh? Lingma Journey?" Zhuang Yan was very interested when he saw this news and immediately began to read it carefully.
It turns out that a family in Beiju Luzhou who was skilled at raising spirit horses established the Spirit Horse Guild, which received strong support from the Beiyue Divine Palace and the Chenhuan Jade Palace.
According to information in the official gazette, this family has been able to breed spirit horses that can travel 30,000 li a day.
"Travel 30,000 li a day?" Zhuang Yan silently calculated that an ordinary Earth Immortal without any special escape techniques should be able to fly about 10,000 li a day.
This spirit horse can fly 30,000 li in a day, which is equivalent to the distance an ordinary immortal can travel in three days.
It should be noted that anyone can ride a horse; even an ordinary person riding a spirit horse can travel 30,000 miles a day.
"What is the price?" Zhuang Yan had barely finished speaking when the price was announced.
The sign read: "Lingma Company is now open for business! The 'Flying Cloud Horse,' which can travel 30,000 li a day, is on sale for a limited time for only 8,888 purple coins. The 'Swift Land Horse,' which can travel 20,000 li a day, is on sale for only 6,666 purple coins, and the 'Galloping Cloud Horse,' which can travel 10,000 li a day, is on sale for only 3,888 purple coins."
After reading it, Zhuang Yan smiled and said, "You do know how to do business."
He then looked at other news, but apart from the Huoshan Medicinal Herb Garden case and the opening of Lingmahang, the rest were just trivial matters.
After reading the report for a while, Zhuang Yan handed it to Chi Ling. Just then, the Great Emperor of Nanyue arrived at Zhuang Yan's palace with Ye Meicang and Ling Feiling.
Zhuang Yan received the Great Emperor of Nanyue directly in the courtyard. After exchanging greetings, Zhuang Yan asked, "Fellow Daoist, have you seen the 'Records of the Human World'?"
The Great Emperor of Mount Heng nodded and said, "I see."
Zhuang Yan smiled and said, "What do you think, fellow Taoist?"
The Great Emperor of Nanyue showed no emotion and said, "If you don't want people to know, then don't do it in the first place. The shameful thing has already happened, how can you not let people talk about it? It was Minister Ye and his group who requested an imperial decree to shut down the Human World Gazette branch, but I rejected it."
Ye Meicang, who was standing to the side, said indignantly, "We should always speak out of respect for the elders! It's not good for these people to go around spreading rumors."
Zhuang Yan said with a smile, "It is a very wrong idea to avoid mentioning the faults of the venerable ones. The Huoshan Medicinal Herb Garden case is extremely heinous. Making it public can serve as a warning. Don't stop people from talking about it just because Zhu Yu is the son of the Great Emperor of the Southern Mountain."
Ye Meicang was taken aback upon hearing this; he hadn't expected Zhuang Yan to be so disrespectful to the Great Emperor of Nanyue.
The Great Emperor of Nanyue remained silent. Zhuang Yan continued, "Besides, this Human World Gazette was founded by the Western Mountain Divine Palace. If you shut it down, you will inevitably have to compete with the Western Mountain Divine Palace."
Ye Meicang said, "Our Southern Mountain Divine Palace is not afraid of our Western Mountain Divine Palace."
Zhuang Yan laughed and said, "Is that so? The Western Mountain Divine Palace now has eight Human Emperors in charge."
The Great Emperor of the Southern Peak waved his hand and said to Ye Meicang, "Don't worry about such things. But how can his Western Peak Gazette, which is now being delivered to my Southern Peak, possibly bypass my Southern Peak Divine Palace?"
Upon hearing this, Ye Meicang quickly asked, "What does Your Majesty mean?"
The Great Emperor of the Southern Peak glanced at Zhuang Yan and then said, "Regional jurisdiction: the branch of the Human Relics in the Southern Continent must be subject to the jurisdiction of the Southern Peak Divine Palace." Upon hearing this, Ye Meicang immediately replied, "Yes, Your Majesty, I will go and communicate with the Western Peak about this matter."
After Ye Meicang left, the Great Emperor of Nanyue looked at Zhuang Yan and asked, "I have come here specifically to discuss with Your Majesty the matter of those who made meritorious contributions in the Huoshan Herb Garden case."
Zhuang Yan laughed and said, "There's nothing to discuss about that. The Dust World Jade Palace will reward Chi Ling and the others for their contributions, while your Southern Mountain Divine Palace can just consider the contributions of the people from the Southern Continent."
The Great Emperor of Nanyue nodded and said, "Since His Majesty Shenxiao has said so, then I will not discuss the merits of the people of Zhechong Prefecture."
"Okay." Zhuang Yan nodded.
After finishing this matter, the Great Emperor of the Southern Mountain said to Zhuang Yan, "There is one more thing I need to discuss with His Majesty the Divine Firmament Emperor."
"Please speak," Zhuang Yan said.
The Great Emperor of Mount Heng said, "Although the old ginseng king was also a victim of the Huoshan herb garden, he killed a thousand divine generals and Marquis Rongxiang Jia Yuan in the past. This crime cannot be let go."
Zhuang Yan asked, "What do you mean, fellow Daoist?"
The Great Emperor of Mount Heng said, "Naturally, the crime must be punished. Killing Heavenly Lords and Generals is an unforgivable crime. According to Heavenly Law, he should be stripped of his celestial status and be executed."
Upon hearing this, Zhang Xianzong rushed forward to speak, but was pressed back down by Chi Ling.
Zhuang Yan glanced at Zhang Xianzong, who looked anxious, and then said to the Great Emperor of Nanyue, "If you want to discuss the crimes of the Old Ginseng King, then the Jade Palace of the Mortal Realm should also discuss the crimes of the Divine Palace of Nanyue."
The Great Emperor of Nanyue was stunned, and asked in astonishment, "What? The crime of the Nanyue Divine Palace?"
"Yes." Zhuang Yan said calmly, "The Southern Mountain Divine Palace's crime of negligence: When the Old Ginseng King escaped from the Huoshan Medicinal Garden, why did the Southern Mountain Divine Palace issue a warrant for his arrest even though they knew he was a Medicine King Immortal? Why didn't they search the Huoshan Medicinal Garden even though they knew a Medicine King Immortal had escaped?"
"Why did the Old Ginseng King kill those divine generals? Why did he kill Marquis Rongxiang? Wasn't it because the Southern Mountain Divine Palace indiscriminately issued a warrant for the Old Ginseng King's arrest, while turning a blind eye to all the abnormalities in the Huoshan Herb Garden?"
"From this perspective, the Southern Peak Divine Palace is guilty of extremely serious negligence. If the Southern Peak Divine Palace wants to hold the Old Ginseng King accountable, then the Mortal Realm Jade Palace will pursue the Southern Peak Divine Palace for its own crimes."
After saying that, Zhuang Yan calmly looked at the Great Emperor of the Southern Mountain.
The Great Emperor of Nanyue was already ashen-faced and breathing rapidly. After an unknown amount of time, the Great Emperor of Nanyue suddenly stood up, first clasped his hands in a fist salute to Zhuang Yan, then snorted coldly and turned to leave.
Seeing the Great Emperor of Nanyue leave, Ling Feiling, who was stunned in place, suddenly realized what was happening and quickly followed.
At this moment, Zhuang Yan called out to him: "Grand Commandant Ling."
Ling Feiling stopped and turned to bow to Zhuang Yan, asking, "What are your orders, Divine Firmament Emperor?"
Zhuang Yan asked with a smile, "Would Grand Commandant Ling like to take up a post in the Jade Palace of the Mortal Realm?"
Ling Feiling's expression froze for a moment, then she solemnly bowed to Zhuang Yan and said, "Thank you for your kindness, Emperor Shenxiao, but I am deeply grateful for the favor of Emperor Nanyue and have long sworn to follow him. Please forgive me, Emperor Shenxiao."
Zhuang Yan was not surprised at all by this answer; how could such a person easily change his appearance?
"Okay, I understand. Go ahead." Zhuang Yan nodded and smiled.
Ling Feiling bowed respectfully, then turned and left, catching up with the Great Emperor of Nanyue.
Chi Ling watched the Great Emperor of Nanyue leave, frowned slightly and said, "He killed his own son without hesitation, so why is he suddenly going to prosecute the Old Ginseng King?"
Zhuang Yan smiled faintly and said, "He just wants to use the old ginseng king's head to resist my interference."
Chi Ling said, "When he executed Zhu Yu and the others, I thought he was a wise and righteous emperor. It turns out he's no different from Lord Huang Zhou."
"This has little to do with whether it's clear or not," Zhuang Yan said. "Can you tolerate the Fire Spirit True Immortal interfering in the affairs of your Zhechong Prefecture every day?"
Upon hearing this, Akaya immediately felt the impact: "That is indeed intolerable," Akaya said.
Zhuang Yan said, "My coming to Nanzhanbuzhou is equivalent to the Fire Spirit True Immortal coming to your Zhechong Mansion and staying there every day, teaching you how to do things and interfering in the internal affairs of your Zhechong Mansion. It is only natural that you would resist."
Chi Ling remained silent for a moment, then asked, "If that's the case, why did Your Majesty still do this?"
Zhuang Yan laughed and said, "Do you think I would still interfere in the affairs of the Western Peak, the Northern Peak, and the Eastern Peak now?"
Chi Ling suddenly realized, and then Zhuang Yan said, "The divine path of Nanzhanbuzhou has accumulated countless problems over the years, which the Great Emperor of Nanyue cannot eliminate."
At this point, Zhuang Yan pointed out a cruel truth: "Without my intervention, would the Huoshan Herb Garden incident have been exposed? Without my intervention, would the Great Emperor of Nanyue have handled the Huoshan Herb Garden case so swiftly? Even if the Huoshan Herb Garden case had been exposed without my intervention, would Zhu Yu and his wife have received the punishment they deserved?"
Finally, Zhuang Yan slowly said, "The Heavenly Laws and Jade Laws are there, but how many can actually be enforced? In the end, in this world where great power belongs to oneself, it is always 'rule by man'."
"In the Southern Continent, who would dare to handle his son's case unless the Great Emperor of the Southern Peak speaks up?"
Upon hearing this, Chi Ling was greatly shaken. "I understand Your Majesty's will."
Then Chi Ling asked, "So, next, Your Majesty will purge the Shinto sect of Nanzhanbuzhou?"
Zhuang Yan nodded and said, "That's right." Then, Zhuang Yan said to Chi Ling, "Go and do something now."
Chi Ling cupped her hands and said, "Please give your orders, Your Majesty."
Zhuang Yan said, "Go to Bailongjiang Water Mansion in Wenzhou now and recruit Zhu Yuyang's private army. I need it."
Chi Ling immediately bowed and said, "Your subject obeys the decree." Then she took her leave of Zhuang Yan and left the Nanyue Palace, heading straight for Wenzhou.
At the same time, the Great Emperor of Nanyue returned to the main hall of the Nanyue Divine Palace and said to Ling Feiling below, "It seems that the Great Emperor of Shenxiao has come with ill intentions."
Ling Feiling said, "Your Majesty, this was actually to be expected. In the early days, when the Divine Emperor Shenxiao was in charge of affairs in Dongyue, he even allowed the True Immortal Huoling to hold power in the Dongyue Divine Palace for several decades. It is said that the Dongyue Divine Path underwent a change as a result."
"Later, the Great Emperor Shenxiao went to the north and personally supported the Great Emperor Beiyue in stabilizing Beiju Luzhou."
"Then came Xiniu Hezhou, which directly led to the Great Emperor of the Western Peak being stripped of his title. In fact, we had long suspected that the Great Emperor of the Divine Firmament's next target was our Southern Peak Divine Palace."
Upon hearing Ling Feiling's words, the Great Emperor of the Southern Peak sighed and said, "How could I not know? But the authority of the Five Emperors to govern is something we obtained from the Heavenly Court with great difficulty, and now we are subject to the control of the Jade Palace of the Mortal Realm. It is truly unacceptable."
At this point, the Great Emperor of Nanyue slammed his hand on the table, his face contorted with pain, and exclaimed, "Why has Zhuang Yan appeared in this world?!" (End of Chapter)