Chapter 572 - 309: Jin Yuexi: My Husband Accepts All Comers...

"...How are things outside?"

After a long silence, a cold, sharp voice spoke up.

"Not good,"

another voice, as biting as a frosty wind, replied. "Our clan’s warriors have suffered heavy casualties. Although they were all Low Grade clansmen, the Human Race’s Primordial Demon Palace is intentionally using them as cannon fodder. This is unacceptable!"

"Hmph! These Human Race Cultivators never had good intentions. They’re making our clan pay such a high price just so they can seize territory and gather Soul Crystals. When have they ever cared about our interests?"

an elderly voice said, filled with dissatisfaction.

"Exactly. On paper, we’re allies, but those cunning humans just want to use our power to fulfill their own ambitions!"

yet another voice added.

"Elder, we can’t let this continue. The spatial passage to the Outer Heaven isn’t stable enough yet. We don’t have many clansmen who can make it through, and their strength is relatively weak. We can’t just let them be sacrificed for nothing!"

"Yes, our forces should be used for more important things, like conquering and managing our own territory, not fighting wars for the Human Race!"

"We should negotiate with that Daoist Monarch Qianhuan. Make him withdraw all of our warriors and fulfill some of the conditions he promised us ahead of time. Otherwise, we’ll stop cooperating..."

"That makes sense. We should have done this long ago! These cunning Human Race Demon Cultivators can’t be trusted at all..."

The crowd of high-ranking Exotic Race members chimed in, all speaking at once.

Back when the Seal was broken and the long-sealed spatial passage was reopened by the Primordial Demon Palace, when Daoist Monarch Qianhuan first successfully contacted their Exotic Race, the two sides had enjoyed a brief honeymoon period.

But those not of our kind are sure to have different hearts. From the very beginning, the upper echelons of the Primordial Demon Palace had never seen these Exotic Race members as their own. All their schemes were merely for the sake of using them.

Once the Primordial Demon Palace achieved its goal of conquering this world, the Exotic Race would have outlived its usefulness. At that point, they would naturally turn on them and strike a fatal blow without a second thought.

However, the Exotic Race’s upper echelon wasn’t so easily fooled. Many Elders had already figured things out and felt it was necessary to take action and show the Primordial Demon Palace what they were made of.

No one could scheme against the great Divine Race without paying a price, and the Primordial Demon Palace would be no exception.

After a moment of discussion, the Elders all turned their gazes to the Grand Elder standing in the center.

The Exotic Race’s Grand Elder held a Dark Gold Scepter, its top inlaid with a crystal-clear, three-eyed skull. His heavy, blood-red robes were covered in magnificent dark gold patterns and tassels, and his aura was unfathomably deep.

He pondered for a moment before speaking slowly, "Our great Wang Clan had, in fact, anticipated the ambitions of the Primordial Demon Palace. But we still chose to accept their offer of an alliance.

"Over the long, changing eons, our clan’s territory in the Outer Heaven has become less and less suitable for survival. Resources are scarce, Spiritual Qi is depleted, and far too many of our clansmen have perished as a result.

"For our clan to continue to propagate and pass on its legacy, we urgently need to find a new world, a new territory, to give our people a more prosperous and vast space to live.

"Therefore, cooperating with the Primordial Demon Palace is essential. Only with the help of these human traitors can our great Divine Race enter this bountiful world as quickly as possible and secure the chance to propagate and pass on our legacy!

"As for the clansmen we’ve lost so far, they are not actually important. Theirs is a necessary sacrifice.

"Our most urgent task is to find a way to stabilize the spatial passage and expand it further. Only then can large numbers of our stronger clansmen enter this world."

The Outer Heaven Little World where the Exotic Race resides is barren of resources, and the living environment is exceptionally harsh. Especially in recent years, with constant natural disasters and calamities, a massive number of their people have died.

The Wizards within the clan have already issued a warning: if they do not find a new world soon, their population will plummet by about seventy percent within the next millennium.

Therefore, after the spatial passage opened unexpectedly and contact was made with the upper echelon of the Primordial Demon Palace, the Wang Clan immediately agreed to Daoist Monarch Qianhuan’s proposal for an alliance.

It wasn’t that the Wang Clan was unaware of the Demon Cultivators’ malicious intentions; it was that the Divine Race’s future was so dire they simply couldn’t afford to delay.

For the Divine Race, conquering a new world and carving out a new living space was destined to be anything but smooth sailing. A great sacrificial price was unavoidable.

Thus, the upper echelon was fully prepared mentally. To achieve this supreme goal, any price was acceptable.

"So, are we to remain silent for now and continue with the previous plan of cooperation?"

one of the voices asked after the Elders had muttered amongst themselves for a moment.

"Of course. To make those Demon Cultivators lower their guard, we should even allocate more of our warriors to them and let them command the operations!"

the Grand Elder said coldly. "We just need to stall until the spatial passage is expanded. Once our clan’s true elite forces descend, this world will become our people’s hunting ground!"

...

「Inside the inner chambers of the palace.」

Ling Changqing had been inside for a full three months. The spacious Beautiful Jade Embroidery Bed, the hot spring baths, beneath the coiling dragon pillars, beside the Crystal Jade Corridor, in the Inner Garden Flower Hall... the battlefield had spread to every corner.

Having tasted the sweet benefits, the women served Ling Changqing with tireless effort. Whenever they had a free moment, they would flock to his side, thinking up all sorts of ways to request Dual Cultivation and doing everything to please and curry favor with him.

Fortunately, these new clan women had low Cultivation, so Ling Changqing could handle them without any pressure. Even with Shangguan Qingying, the twin sisters, and the stunningly beautiful Jin Yuexi, he could manage them all with ease.

However, the good times didn’t last. With the arrival of reinforcements—the Female Cultivators from Zuiyun Pavilion—the situation began to shift in a direction unfavorable to Ling Changqing.

In the Inner Garden Flower Hall, a crowd of beauties was gathered. As far as the eye could see, there was a dazzling splendor of pearl and jade, a vibrant scene of chattering women as lively as a flock of orioles and swallows.

"...Senior Sister, so this is the husband you’ve chosen?"

a cool and pleasant voice asked faintly.

The speaker was an elegant, mature beauty with a cool and refined air. She wore a moon-white, plain gauze long dress with wide, floor-trailing sleeves. The magnificent front of her dress was embroidered with silver thread in a pattern of a thousand layers of snowy waves.

Her waterfall of black hair was styled in a ’startled swan’ coiffure, into which was tucked a gleaming cyan jade plum blossom hairpin. Her face was like cold jade, her brow like distant, ink-blackened mountains, and her features were as exquisite and beautiful as a painting.

She was Jin Yuexi’s junior sister, Song Qingyan, a Core Elder of Zuiyun Pavilion with Middle Stage Nascent Soul Cultivation.

At this moment, she was sizing up Ling Changqing with curious eyes. The more she looked, the more surprised her expression became, tinged with a faint sense of shock.

"If I’m not mistaken, he is to be our husband as well, is he not?"

an elegant, mellow, and magnetic voice followed.

This speaker was a gentle and demure mature beauty. She wore a lotus-root-pink brocade ruqun, over which was a sunset-hued shark-silk half-sleeve. Her sash was adorned with tassels of tiny pearls that rippled with soft light as she took graceful, lotus-like steps.

The beauty’s oval face was blushed with begonia-pink rouge, and beneath her willow-leaf brows, her almond eyes seemed veiled in mist. She held a round silk tapestry fan with an ivory handle, and her waist was as supple as a spring willow dipping into water. As she walked, her jade pendants chimed softly, making her seem like a court lady from a painting.

She was Jin Yuexi’s martial aunt, Xue Yuqing, a Supreme Elder of Zuiyun Pavilion. Her current Cultivation was also Late stage Nascent Soul True Monarch.

"Mm, Martial Aunt is correct!"

Jin Yuexi said with a smile, "Given our husband’s true identity, it wouldn’t be too much for you, Martial Aunt, to become his Dao Companion, would it? And you too, Junior Sister."

Song Qingyan’s beautiful face flushed slightly, and she turned her head away, no longer looking at Ling Changqing. With her cool and reserved nature, she was naturally not one to state her feelings so directly in front of everyone.

Xue Yuqing, however, nodded with a composed expression. "If he has no objections, then shall we consider the matter settled?"

Taking a graceful, lotus-like step forward, she approached Ling Changqing and gave him a delicate curtsy, her voice soft and melodious.

"This humble one is Xue Yuqing. Greetings, Child of Destiny. I wish to accompany you for the rest of my life, Husband. I only hope you will not find me lacking!"

"You’re too kind, my lady."

Ling Changqing did not refuse. He raised a hand in a gesture of helping her up and spoke gently.

"By the way, Senior Sister,"

Song Qingyan suddenly turned her head back and asked haltingly, "We’re with our husband now, but... Junior Sister Yan and the others who stayed behind at the Sect... will they all... be promised to him in the future, too?"

Ling Changqing: "..."