Conferred God: Got cramped at the beginning

Chapter 705: The Strategy of Devouring the World

In the court of Chu, the king and his ministers were all thinking about the impact of the news brought back by Yun Zhongjun on the State of Chu.

For the State of Chu, the mountain elves and water monsters, with their strength and lifespan far exceeding that of ordinary people, were a great help to the State of Chu no matter how they were used - but their unruly nature, which was not restrained by any rules or laws, was a burden to the State of Chu.

The demon race, from the demon gods to the spirits, are unwilling to accept any laws or restrictions, because this goes against their traditions.

Therefore, the rulers and ministers of the Chu State have always had a love-hate relationship with those mountain spirits and water monsters. They want to use their power, but they don't know how to start and dare not try.

But now, the demon gods of the Chu State have expressed that they are willing to let Yun Zhongjun manage those mountain spirits and water monsters, and are willing to let Yun Zhongjun punish those mountain spirits and water monsters.

Whether it is management or punishment, it means one thing.

That is, the three demon gods within the territory of Chu State still intend to establish a set of rules belonging to the demon clan in the State of Chu.

It is not yet known what the rules are - but as long as there are rules, it is a good thing for the entire experience of traveling abroad.

As long as they have rules, the State of Chu will naturally be able to summarize the rules of the demon clan through Yun Zhongjun's punishment of those mountain spirits and water monsters, and then through these rules, establish a stable channel to use the power of the demon clan, truly incorporate the demon clan into the power system of the State of Chu, and truly turn the demon clan into a part of the State of Chu.

Of course, this is the follow-up to the battle for hegemony.

What is really important at the moment is still the struggle for hegemony.

When those demon gods were persuaded by Yun Zhongjun and were willing to restrain those mountain spirits and water monsters to show their support for Chu's hegemony, the king and ministers of Chu could send troops abroad without any scruples to participate in the competition for hegemony among the princes.

"Your Majesty, when nations fight, they pretend to be weak when they are strong."

"This time, the princes of the Central Plains are fighting in chaos, and the other princes have many plans against our Chu State, either to appease us or to lure our Chu State into the game."

"Especially Jin, in order to get Chu to join the game, it convened a meeting with the princes in the name of our country to resume its hegemony."

"And their reliance is nothing more than the demon gods of our Chu State, who refuse to obey."

"Now the demon gods in the country are willing to be restrained - this matter should be kept secret."

“In this way, when our country steps into a dispute, Jin will give us convenience. Other princes, even if they know that Jin will deliberately exaggerate our country’s strength, will be happy to watch and let Jin suffer losses in order to weaken Jin’s strength, and then form an alliance with Jin.” General Xiang Ping said in a deep voice, his eyes cast over the important officials in the hall with a covetous look.

"Under the change of the demon god, the power that our country can mobilize will definitely far exceed everyone's expectations."

"Your Majesty, if this matter is handled properly, our Chu State may be able to seize the opportunity given by Jin State itself and defeat Jin State in one battle. Then, with the momentum of destroying Jin State, we can overwhelm the other princes and establish our hegemony for a thousand years in one battle."

All I can say is that he is worthy of being a general in charge of conquests - in just a short moment, he had already used this news to start planning for war, and in just a moment, he had the intention of conquering the world.

Under this fierce gaze, all the officials in the palace felt their hair stand on end in horror.

The importance of what Xiang Ping mentioned is self-evident.

If the news about the demon god can be kept secret, then the other princes, including the State of Jin which is bent on bringing the State of Chu into the game, will have an estimate of the power of the State of Chu that is far lower than the actual power that the State of Chu can mobilize.

If the matter of the demon god were known to other princes, they would have an estimate of the actual force that the State of Chu could mobilize.

For such things, being anticipated and not being anticipated, being prepared and not being prepared are completely different concepts - if there was preparation, Jin would have held a meeting with the princes early, and the other princes would have stopped watching the fun and then surrounded Chu. In this way, even if Chu could win, the price it would have to pay would have been far beyond expectations, and the results it would have achieved would have been far less than expected.

On the other hand, if the other princes failed to anticipate the power that Chu could mobilize and were less prepared, then if Chu made a full-scale attack, it would really be possible, as Xiang Ping said, to defeat Jin in one battle, and then take Jin's defeated army with them, pursue them to the north, and directly collapse Jin before the other princes could react.

No matter how decadent the State of Jin was, it was still the overlord among the princes today. If other princes wanted to challenge its position of overlord, they had to unite with each other and test the waters cautiously; no one dared to stand out first.

Under such circumstances, if the State of Chu could defeat the State of Jin in one battle, one can imagine what kind of impact it would have on other princes.

In this situation, even if the State of Chu colluded with the demon tribe, even if the State of Chu was excluded by other princes, when the State of Chu made it clear that it wanted to become the overlord and wanted to form an alliance with the princes, how many princes dared to say no to the State of Chu?
To establish hegemony in one battle, one can imagine what a great achievement this is.

The Xiang family is also the royal family of the Chu State, and shares weal and woe with the Chu State. If hegemony can be achieved in one battle, Xiang Ping, who leads this battle, will surely be engraved in the history of the human race.

No mortal can resist such temptation.

Therefore, the ministers in the hall had no doubt at all whether the general in front of them, who was at the same rank as them, wanted to silence them all in order to block the news and build his own achievements and the hegemony of the Chu State - because he must have this intention.

While the ministers were in panic, King Xiong Xin of Chu in the palace was also hesitating.

Indeed, the strategy proposed by this general was an extremely tempting and feasible one.

But the risks of this strategy are naturally self-evident.

If the whole country mobilizes, then success will be achieved. However, if the news leaks out and the offensive goes wrong, or if the demons and immortal sects within the Chu territory suddenly rebel, then the Chu State may find it difficult to recover for thousands of years.

So, do you want to gamble?

Bet the news won't leak out.

I bet that Yunzhongjun and the three demon gods can control the mountain spirits and water monsters in the country, and can also hide the truth from the immortal sects in the country.

"The sect of immortality in the country has connections with thousands of countries and is friendly with many other countries."

"The whole country is mobilized, and the army is sent out together. If you want to block the news, there cannot be any cultivators in the army."

"Otherwise, if those practitioners knew about the movements of our Chu State, it would be equivalent to the immortal sects knowing about it."

"If the immortal sect knows about it, then the whole world knows about it."

As he spoke, Xiong Xin's gaze fell on Xiang Ping again.

"Xiang Qing, with the power of the human world, can our army of Jingchu defeat the immortal gods of Jin?"

"As a minister, I will personally brave the arrows and stones and fight to the death," Xiang Ping said.

Before the war, saying whether you can win is all empty talk - but after the war, as long as the army does not disperse, with the surge of military morale and national power, even if immortals and gods are involved, they will surely die.

"Mr. Qu, if the whole country is mobilized, can Yunzhongjun and the demon gods hide it from the cultivators in the country?"

On the surface, this question was asked to Qu Jie, the chief priest, but in fact, he was asking Yun Zhongjun.

Obviously, Xiong Xin already had a preference in his mind as to whether or not to implement the strategy proposed by Xiang Ping.

If you can guarantee that the news will not leak out, then do something big. If you cannot guarantee that, then be honest and follow the original plan, slowly eroding the Central Plains in order to achieve hegemony.

In the cave, Yun Zhongjun was also pondering, thinking about how to hide it from the many practitioners of the Chu State and how to hide it from the Heavenly Court.

From his standpoint, he would like to see Chu rise to the top in one step and become the overlord in one battle. Only in this way can Chu, with full confidence, covet the Nine Cauldrons without worrying about the backlash caused by coveting the Nine Cauldrons. If Chu becomes the overlord by taking every step carefully and forming an alliance, then other princes will not have such a strong fear of Chu. In this case, if Chu peeks at the Nine Cauldrons and gives other princes an excuse, it is possible that other princes, such as Qi and Jin, will use this as an excuse to re-form the alliance and push Chu back to the land of Jingchu.

Although the situation of heaven and earth has changed now, those Daluo who have returned from Guixu are not necessarily all enemies - but no matter what, it is never wrong to move the Nine Cauldrons to the most dangerous place, the State of Chu.

Having a sword in hand but not using it is completely different from being unarmed, and it has nothing to do with trust and faith.

However, with such a large army gathering and moving forward, how could the news be kept secret?

These immortals and gods in the sky and the countless practitioners traveling among the human world are not deaf or blind.

"Perhaps, we can start with the demon clan." After a moment, Yun Zhongjun's gaze fell on Xiong Ba.

This immortal god, who could be regarded as the source of the Chu State's bloodline, never left the Cave Heaven in the Clouds, but continued to stay as a guest in the cave heaven - the same was true for Wu Ling.

According to them, they could sense a slight aura originating from Taiyi in this cave in the clouds.

For their demon race, such aura has great significance.

"Old Bear, tell me, if we put on a show, can we hide it from the immortals and gods in the Chu State?"

"I'm afraid it won't work if it's just a show." Wu Ling understood Yun Zhongjun's implication in an instant.

"If you want to hide the truth, you have to make it real."

"Only when our demon race takes action, will those immortal sects and gods within the Chu State turn their attention away from the human race. At that time, using the power of humanity and incense as a cover, the king and ministers of the Chu State can quietly transfer the country's power to the chaos in the Central Plains and unexpectedly establish victory."

"However, since it is a fake play that becomes real, what if the fake play also becomes real?"

"With the gods and immortals holding us back, if the Chu army turns against us and strikes us again, all the monsters here will be turned into dust."

"Lord Yunzhong, we have already made concessions to cooperate with the Chu army and order you to restrain and punish the monsters of Chu. How dare you go even further and make us really bet on the lives of the monsters?"

"The Goddess of Wushan is wrong." Yun Zhongjun looked surprised. "What the king and his ministers of Chu are planning is also a stake in the fate of Chu."

"Just imagine, if the Chu army came out in full force, and people like you and me or those immortal sects suddenly rebelled, wouldn't the Chu Kingdom be destroyed in an instant?"

"The Kingdom of Chu was completely destroyed, and I, along with the Taiyi myth, was turned into dust."

"I'm also risking my life."

"You two, this round is a gamble with your lives."

"If it succeeds, it will be a win-win for all three parties - Chu will achieve hegemony, and I may be able to see the opportunity of Daluo, and even if you can't win Taiyi, you can still tie the relationship between the demon race and the human race more closely."

"And from now on, there will be no need to worry about suspicion between the Chu State and the demon race, and there will be no need to be on guard against each other."

"Isn't this bad?"

"But if we don't gamble, there's no loss for us, right?" At this time, Xiong Ba hid aside and let Wu Ling and Yun Zhongjun talk.

"Is there really no loss?" Yun Zhongjun asked back.

"Since Emperor Xin of the Shang Dynasty, the demon race has been trying to merge with the human race. The Taiyi myth has been rooted in the Chu State for nearly ten thousand years and has not been allowed to expand. Outside of the Chu State, other princes rarely take Taiyi seriously, let alone the demon race."

“But if the State of Chu were to rise to power in one step, the demons would be able to carry out their orders in the human world. The influence of the demons, as well as Taiyi’s myth, would then spread from the State of Chu to the human world.”

"How much effort did this save the demon race?"

"Even you, Wu Ling and Zao Ge, may be able to take this opportunity to understand the mysteries of humanity and get a glimpse of the opportunity to achieve Daluo."

"Isn't it a loss if we can't get what we deserve because of mutual suspicion?"

"The rulers and ministers of the Chu State in the mortal world saw an opportunity to achieve hegemony, but were unable to do so due to the suspicion of the demon tribe. Will they pass on their suspicion and resentment of the demon tribe from generation to generation?"

"With no hegemony to be achieved, the king and his ministers of Chu can only focus on their own people. Under the suspicion and resentment passed down from generation to generation, will their internal purge target the demon race or the immortal sects?"

"You have been working in the State of Chu for thousands of years to achieve the current situation, but because of a momentary suspicion, it was destroyed in an instant, and there will be endless troubles in the future."

"Is this a problem?"

"Fellow Daoist Wu Ling, since you have already begun to trust the human world, why don't you just trust it to the end? Why do you have to hesitate and let that hope be vague, so that what should have been friendship between us ends up being enemies?"

"What's the point of saying nice things?"

"Do you dare to gamble on this trust?" Wu Ling stared at Yun Zhongjun with his narrow eyes.

"Give my demon race a door to the Cloud Cave Heaven, and then my demon race will prepare to besiege the cave heaven."

"At that time, the princes of Chu will order the immortals and gods to gather here to help Yunzhong Dongtian. As they fight each other, and with the cover of incense, the traces of the army's mobilization will naturally be covered up."

"But my demon clan holds the gate to the cave heaven, and we can break into the cave heaven at any time, kill you, Lord Yunzhong, and take over Lord Yunzhong's authority."

"Do you dare to bet?"

"We, the demon race, besieged the Cloud Cave Heaven to cooperate with the Chu army, not to really take your life."

"Why not?" Yun Zhongjun said immediately.

Wu Ling was speechless - the Cave Heaven in the Clouds was the foundation of the immortal Yun Zhongjun. After mastering the Five Immortals, this Cave Heaven was also the mysterious support for him to become an earthly immortal. One can imagine how important this Cave Heaven in the Clouds was.

Wu Ling originally thought that after her proposal, even if Yun Zhongjun would not refuse, he would at least hesitate.

By then, I will be able to speak with Yun Zhongjun's own attitude - even you, Yun Zhongjun, do not dare to gamble with the Yunzhong Cave Heaven on the word trust, so why should we, the demon clan, the demon clan in Chu, gamble with these two words?

But who would have thought that Yun Zhongjun agreed without hesitation.

No, how dare he!
This is the cave in the clouds, his foundation.

Moreover, at this moment, both he and Xiong Ba had revealed the significance of the Cave Heaven in the Clouds to the demon clan, and also revealed the possibility that the demon clan had the intention to seize the Cave Heaven in the Clouds.

But even so, Yun Zhongjun still agreed to his casual proposal without hesitation.

Wu Ling fell silent all of a sudden.

(End of this chapter)