CHAPTER 470: CHAPTER 95_2

Under the guidance of Huo Tian, the City Lord of Jiangshui City, the group quickly arrived at Dragon Lake.

Dragon Lake was vast, covering an area of thousands of square kilometers. It was set like a gem in the center of an enormous basin.

Hundreds of majestic Dragon Horses galloped freely on the ground, gentle Barbaric Dragon Beasts licked at lush Spirit Grass, and various other Spiritual Beast species lived freely among them.

Yu Niang, who had been hidden in the carriage on the back of the Earth Dragon Beast, finally revealed her true appearance.

Her lovely appearance made Jiang Ming’s eyes light up, but City Lord Huo Tian harbored no improper thoughts.

"City Lord Huo, is this Dragon Lake?" Yu Niang’s voice, like pearls dropping on a jade plate, rang out.

"Miss Yu, this is Dragon Lake. It produces dozens of fine Dragon Horses every year, and my Jiang Family even holds a ten percent share!" Jiang Ming stated proudly.

Yu Niang rolled her eyes imperceptibly. Dragon Lake used to be the Jiang Family’s private property, and now only a tenth remains, yet you still have the gall to brag about it.

"Oh, is that so?" Yu Niang feigned surprise.

"Lord Chen, do you think this Dragon Lake is suitable for raising Black and White Deer?" Yu Niang called towards the carriage.

Chen Jiuge, somewhat reluctantly, emerged from the carriage and gazed at Dragon Lake.

Abundant Spiritual Vitality, dense Spiritual Energy, and even a faint trace of Dragon Energy—this place was indeed fertile land.

"It is possible, but raising Black and White Deer will require some preparation," Chen Jiuge said lightly.

The Golden Finger could guide the Black and White Deer to mutate and revert to their ancestral Yin Yang Deer form. Once the mutation was complete, it would also transmit the breeding methods for these Spiritual Beasts to Chen Jiuge. However, such methods were generally too time-consuming and labor-intensive for him to undertake.

"Let’s begin then. I’m really not fond of this place," Yu Niang said, sounding somewhat vexed.

"Commander Chen, we will need your assistance for this matter," Chen Jiuge stated politely.

"It is part of my duty," Chen Xiu replied tersely.

The highest-ranking member of the expedition was Yu Niang. Although she held no official position, she was an imperial envoy. Next in rank were Chen Jiuge and Chen Xiu. One was responsible for protection, while the other was in charge of establishing the breeding program for the Black and White Deer.

"First, set up a Five Elements Formation, leaving about a quarter of the area untouched," Chen Jiuge instructed.

Five figures from the Forbidden Army swiftly darted out. Five Array Flags rapidly descended, and they executed intricate hand seals. As the formation gradually neared completion, Chen Jiuge distinctly sensed the changes in the Five Element Spiritual Energy around Dragon Lake.

"Commander Chen, you truly have an abundance of talented individuals under your command!" Chen Jiuge praised sincerely.

The Five Elements Formation was a basic array; easy to learn but difficult to master. These five individuals clearly possessed a high degree of skill with the Five Elements Formation, managing to trigger changes in the Five Elements Power in such a short time.

"Lord Chen is too kind," Chen Xiu replied with a hint of pride.

After about an hour, a soft sound resonated in everyone’s minds: the Five Elements Formation was complete.

Multicolored halos appeared over Dragon Lake, though there was one gap, like a slice taken out of a whole cake.

Casting a Divine Movement Technique on himself, Chen Jiuge took a step and arrived within this gap. He spread out his Divine Soul, sensing the continuously drawn Five Elements Power, and a hint of satisfaction appeared on his face.

Then, he took out a complete set of Array Plates. Unlike Array Flags, which needed to be manually set up, an Array Plate only required activation. As long as its core remained intact, the formation could exist indefinitely.

Chen Jiuge pressed a pale blue Crystal Stone into the Array Plate, and a black-and-white halo filled the last gap in the sky.

"A Dual Yin Gathering Array!" Huo Tian exclaimed, somewhat shocked.

"Hehe, I didn’t expect City Lord Huo to possess such knowledge," Yu Niang said, slightly surprised.

"Thank you for the compliment, Your Excellency. This humble one just happens to read a bit more when I have free time," Huo Tian said, his portly figure bowing deeply.

Yu Niang chuckled softly and said casually, "Since City Lord Huo is familiar with the Dual Yin Gathering Array, you must be aware of its value. I hope the City Lord will properly look after this place in the future."

Huo Tian said earnestly, "Rest assured, I will establish a military camp here."

"That’s good."

While the two chatted, Chen Jiuge, leading a large contingent of the Forbidden Army, had already cleared all the Spirit Grass and Spiritual Beasts within the Great Array.

Spirit Grass seeds containing trace amounts of Yin Yang aura were generously scattered about. After this, Chen Jiuge carefully took out a purple-crystal Jade Bottle.

Greedily taking two deep breaths of the dense life energy from within, Chen Jiuge felt extremely envious and thought, Truly the Water of Life from the True Realm! It’s tens of thousands of times richer than that of the Heavenly Realm.

Drawing on the aura of the Water of Life, Chen Jiuge growled, "Sky Blue."

Countless Spirit Grass shoots burst from the ground, and black-and-white Spirit Grass instantly covered the entire area. Then, Chen Jiuge continuously released the Black and White Deer from his Spiritual Beast Bag.

To think that an all-powerful minor Divine Skill from the True Realm is just a technique for tending to flowers and plants here. How disheartening.

The unfamiliar environment agitated the Black and White Deer. They snorted irritably, just a spark away from erupting into a chaotic brawl.

Fortunately, Chen Jiuge had already guided these Black and White Deer to mutate on the way here. Their relationships with him had also grown much closer, so he could still manage the situation for now.

"My Lords, I still need to calm the Black and White Deer herd. I’ll be staying here for a while. City Lord Huo, I’ll have to trouble you to deliver some food to me daily."

"Alright," Yu Niang agreed on behalf of everyone.

The group waited for a while longer, and seeing that their presence was indeed unnecessary, they slowly departed.

After keeping up appearances for the better part of the day, Chen Jiuge saw that everyone had left and promptly sat down on the ground with a thump.

Lying on his back on the grass, chewing on a black-and-white Spirit Grass stalk, Chen Jiuge muttered, rather speechless, I wonder how long I’ll have to stay here this time.

The Bloodline of a Mutant Spiritual Beast would not degrade. The offspring of these Mutant Spiritual Beasts would be far more formidable than unmutated ones.

According to their plan, Chen Jiuge was to establish a breeding farm here for producing Yin Yang Deer. The idea was good, but in reality, the outcome would likely be very different, and results certainly wouldn’t be apparent in a short time.

Even if I use my full abilities, it’s impossible to enable this place to self-sufficiently produce Yin Yang Deer in a short time. At best, it might produce some Taiji Deer, Chen Jiuge mumbled.

Wait, Taiji Deer? A flash of Spirit Light crossed Chen Jiuge’s mind. What if this idea didn’t come from Snow Concubine?

Then who could it be? The Yu Family?

No, Wu Yao? Even less likely.

Hiss... It couldn’t be the King, could it?!

Chen Jiuge was startled by his own thoughts. They were just Taiji Deer, after all, not worth that many Spirit Stones. It wouldn’t be worth the King’s direct involvement.

In the capital, Qingming Zhao, dressed in a golden robe, stood with his hands behind his back, gazing at the nightscape. He asked indifferently, "How is that little girl from the Yu Family doing?"

From the seemingly empty space behind him, a soft voice responded, "Reporting to Your Majesty, she has reached Jiangshui City. Assistant Minister Chen has already set up the Great Array and should be breeding Spiritual Beasts by now."

Qingming Zhao nodded slightly, then said with some hesitation, "Old Feng, do you think it’s possible for them to independently breed Yin Yang Deer?"

The plump Feng Dong silently appeared behind Qingming Zhao and shook his head. "That should be impossible. The Bloodlines of the Yin Yang Deer that Assistant Minister Chen has cultivated over the years are, at best, only so strong—not reaching the level required for independent reproduction."

"Indeed, I was overthinking. It would be good enough if we could breed Taiji Deer. At least, after I step down, there will still be a steady income of resources," Qingming Zhao said, shaking his head.

"By the way, Old Feng, do you think that child of mine is capable of shouldering great responsibility?" Qingming Zhao abruptly changed the subject.

Feng Dong’s chubby, fair face stiffened. He quickly knelt and said, "Your Majesty, this servant does not know."

Qingming Zhao said blandly, "If you won’t speak, then don’t."

But I can’t let this bunch of brats ascend to power so easily. Back then, I went through countless hardships to wrest this position from those old geezers.

Let me think, let me think!

Feng Dong knelt motionlessly on the ground, his heart filled with sorrow. Once His Majesty steps down, my days will surely be difficult.

An Emperor of the Qingming Ancient Country had to possess, at minimum, a True Immortal Cultivation. This was because Immortals had such an incredibly long Life Span that it was impossible to wait for an emperor to die of old age before abdicating.

Therefore, the imperial family had a rule: abdication after thirty thousand years. If one wished, they could step down earlier, but the maximum term of office was thirty thousand years.

As for whether you *wanted* to abdicate, that was not up to you. Those retired old powerhouses in the imperial family would not let you remain on that throne.

"I’ve got it! Old Feng, what do you say I send them out to expand our territory? It just so happens that those few Families have seen their strength surge recently; even the Yu Family now has a Heavenly Immortal," Qingming Zhao said with a hearty laugh.

Feng Dong was inwardly speechless. His Majesty’s dissatisfaction with those Families is growing stronger. I wonder if those Families will beat me to death after he abdicates.