From Cold Palace Princess to Celestial Empress Ch. 194
Previously, the allied forces of the nine nations attacked the Fire Dragon Nation, annihilating all their Divine Sea and Spirit Seed Realm cultivators.
Later, the allied forces of the nine nations were turned into blood puppets by the demon and perished in the True Demon Sacrifice.
It could be said that the cultivators of these ten nations were almost entirely wiped out, with barely any survivors!
In Great Xia, except for the capital, all the people were annihilated, and the territory became a barren wasteland. If the people from the capital were to migrate out and reproduce, it would likely take several centuries to restore the population to a thriving state.
Moreover, due to the sharp decline in Great Xia’s population and excessive consumption, she probably wouldn’t be able to use such power for a long time.
“I need to find a way to quickly restore Great Xia’s national strength.”
Xiao Minghuang murmured softly.
She made this issue public, allowing all the remaining people of Great Xia to brainstorm solutions.
Soon, many constructive proposals were formulated and actively implemented.
The most effective method was to incorporate the territories and populations of the ten nations into Great Xia, migrating their people to become new citizens of Great Xia.
Xiao Minghuang believed this method could quickly restore Great Xia’s national strength, so she approved it.
Without their high-level combatants, the ten nations were no match for Great Xia. There was no need for battle; they surrendered upon receiving the edict.
Subsequently, ten Spirit Seed Realm experts were stationed in each of the ten nations, each guarding a region.
Except for the orphan of the Fire Dragon Nation, whom Xiao Minghuang had promised would continue to rule as the Fire Dragon Nation’s monarch, the other nine nations were stripped of their royal titles, demoted to dukes, and relocated near the capital.
The people of the ten nations, led by cultivators, began a great migration.
As the territories of the ten nations were incorporated into Great Xia, other small nations in the Southern Region also took action.
This time, the three major sects remained completely silent.
Not only that, but internal strife even erupted within the Dragon Tiger Sect, turning rivers red with blood. In the end, one of its elders came to Great Xia seeking aid, claiming that evil spirits were wreaking havoc within the sect and requesting Great Xia’s assistance in exterminating them.
Great Xia dispatched the Medicine King, leading several Spirit Seed Realm elders, and successfully eradicated the evil spirits.
After the incident, that Dragon Tiger Sect elder led the entire sect in submitting to Great Xia’s rule.
Seeing the Dragon Tiger Sect’s submission, the other minor states followed suit one after another. Within just a few months, over twenty states had all presented memorials declaring their allegiance.
Thus it came to pass.
The Southern Territory, with the exception of the Spirit Sword Sect and the Beast Taming Sect, was fully incorporated into the territory of Great Xia!
These two sects also maintained sincere and friendly relations with Great Xia.
Xiao Minghuang treated these sincerely submissive forces equally, without granting them any special privileges.
As for those forces with divided loyalties, Xiao Minghuang struck hard, suppressing all those who secretly caused trouble!
With the rise of Great Xia’s national power, Xiao Minghuang found that she could once again wield the power of national fortune.
Moreover, this power was even stronger than before!
Now, if she were to face the True Demon again, she would no longer be as powerless as before.
She had revisited that battle multiple times, and based on the Medicine King’s explanation, she roughly deduced that the True Demon’s strength was at the sixth level of the Nascent Soul Realm, while her own strength, when wielding the power of national fortune, was at the fourth level of the Nascent Soul Realm.
But now, after using the power of national fortune, she was likely on par with the True Demon.
“I really don’t want to leave Great Xia…”
Xiao Minghuang sat in the Golden Luan Hall, sighing softly.
After the True Demon’s chaos, the Xia Emperor officially announced that he would entrust all political affairs to her and abdicate on a chosen day, but Xiao Minghuang refused.
Because, in half a year, it would be the day of the Holy Academy’s enrollment.
At that time, she would have to leave Great Xia and go to the Holy Academy, making it impossible for her to govern Great Xia. Being the emperor would be meaningless.
“When I have achieved success in my cultivation and return to Great Xia, it will not be too late for my father to abdicate the throne to me.”
Xiao Minghuang said so.
Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, half a year had passed.
On this day, Xiao Minghuang was about to leave Great Xia and head to the Holy Academy.
Before her departure, she came to a secluded side hall deep within the palace.
In the center of the side hall was a delicate and translucent ice jade bed.
On the bed lay a woman dressed in a thin green gauze robe, revealing her slender and fair neck. Her eyes were closed, and her breathing was even and long, as serene as a sleeping beauty.
Xiao Minghuang walked in, sat by the bed, and gently stroked the woman’s exquisite cheek, which was stunningly beautiful.
“Bailan, this time when I go to the Holy Academy, I will definitely find the spiritual medicine to heal your injuries…”
Half a year ago, during the demonic chaos.
Sheng Bailan, despite her severe injuries, forcibly joined forces with her to fight the demon.
The consumption of her vital energy, spirit, and essence exceeded the limits her body could bear, and her flesh was on the verge of splitting. Fortunately, the Medicine King treated her in time and saved her life.
But to heal her injuries, a special spiritual medicine was needed.
The Nine Revolutions Soul-Calming Grass!
This was a spiritual medicine comparable to a heaven-grade elixir, existing only in certain sacred lands and aristocratic families in the Eastern Pole.
As far as the Medicine King knew, the forces that might possess this medicine were the Lin Family, the Wei Family, and the Gu Family.
As for whether other forces had it in their collections, the Medicine King did not know.
“I hope the Holy Academy has it in its collection…”
According to the rules of the Holy Academy, if a disciple needed a certain spiritual medicine, they could obtain it by accumulating contribution points.
If she wanted to obtain it from those major forces, it would probably be much more difficult than getting it from the Holy Academy.
After calming her thoughts, Xiao Minghuang took one last deep look at Sheng Bailan, as if to imprint her appearance in her mind, and then turned and left.
On the square outside the Golden Luan Hall.
Ye Ruoshui, Lin Wanqiu, and others were waiting there.
When Xiao Minghuang arrived, she glanced at the people present.
Besides Ye and Lin, there were also the Fifth Prince, the Sixth Prince, and the Twenty-Eight Star Officials.
“Since everyone is here, let’s set off!”
“Yes!”
The group responded in unison.
Before departing, the man in purple armor—also known as the Purple Spirit King—had set up a teleportation array outside the Xia Capital. This array could transport them to a neighboring state, saving Xiao Minghuang and the others the trouble of flying there.
As for why he didn’t set up a direct teleportation array to the Holy Academy?
That was because establishing such an array required an enormous amount of materials and demanded exceptionally high skill from the formation master.
Regardless, the existence of this teleportation array played a significant role in connecting the Southern Border to neighboring states.
Before long, the group stepped into the teleportation array.
“Whoosh!”
A circle of light flashed from the array, and then it vanished.
Moments later, they found themselves in an unfamiliar environment—a lavish hall.
“Is this Qinzhou?”
Qinzhou bordered the Southern Border and was only slightly more prosperous. However, a thousand years ago, it had produced a Divine Transformation Realm expert who now held a position in the Holy Academy. As a result, Qinzhou had been thriving in recent years. It boasted no fewer than ten Nascent Soul Realm experts, far surpassing the Southern Border.
Translator: Glariosa
Editor: Ruu
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