"Borrow a group of troops?" Mu Fanjun replied as if she had heard the funniest joke in the world, "The troops of the Fifth Earthly Branch aren't the key to attacking the Boundless Nation. Since the Sea of Constellations can dispatch troops and Yun Aotian's support, you can always borrow troops from him. Why do you need to borrow my troops? It's only because Miao Yi has hardened his wings and wants to replace Feng Beichen, but he's worried that the others will join forces against him. Borrowing my troops is just an excuse to let the other families see my support so that they can contend against the other families. If I let you have your way, how can I expect you to obey me obediently? "
She could see through everything, so Yang Qing didn't expect to hide it from her. He said bluntly, "The Venerable Lord is wise! Before I came, the Overlord made it clear that as long as I can replace Feng Beichen, half of the Boundless Nation's annual profits will be offered to The Venerable Lord. From then on, the Boundless Nation's forces will unconditionally listen to The Venerable Lord's orders. Lord Miao will still obey The Venerable Lord's orders and will never disobey. Of course, in order not to arouse the other families' apprehension, everything will be done in secret. "
Mu Fanjun's eyes flickered. Who wouldn't be tempted by such a good offer? If she could really do it, it would be the same as secretly bringing the Boundless Nation's forces under her command. However, she didn't believe such a good deal existed in this world. She scoffed, "You sure sound better than you sing. Is there such a good deal? Who can guarantee that you won't go back on your word? Why should I believe you? "
Yang Qing said, "An Ruyu and her husband can be held hostage by The Venerable Lord."
Mu Fanjun sneered, "What a joke! They are my people. Do you think you can use them to bargain with me? Are the parents of a mere concubine qualified to be held hostage? "
Yang Qing felt a stab of pain in his heart. His daughter was also a concubine, but now wasn't the time to bicker. He cupped his fists and said, "The Overlord, Yun Zhiqiu, is willing to come to the Realm Beyond Heaven as a hostage! Lord Miao's wife has come to be a hostage. What does The Venerable Lord think of my sincerity? "
Mu Fanjun fell silent when she heard this. She was clearly surprised.
Yang Qing hadn't said it on the spur of the moment, but had planned it beforehand.
Yun Zhiqiu didn't mean it. She had no idea that Yang Qing was using her as a bargaining chip.
More importantly, Yang Qing was very clear in his heart. Once he went back and told Yun Zhiqiu that Mu Fanjun needed her as a hostage, it would be hard for Yun Zhiqiu to refuse for the sake of Miao Yi's great cause. That was why he had to convince Yun Zhiqiu to hide the truth from Miao Yi by appealing to his emotions and persuading him to do so.
If he didn't know how much Yun Zhiqiu was willing to pay for Miao Yi, he wouldn't have come to the Realm Beyond Heaven in the first place. The reason he had Yun Zhiqiu do this behind Miao Yi's back was to test Yun Zhiqiu. Now that Yun Zhiqiu had agreed and was confident that he could convince Yun Aotian, Yang Qing was even more certain that Yun Zhiqiu would agree to be the hostage.
Let Yun Zhiqiu gain Yun Aotian's support, then use Yun Zhiqiu as a hostage to keep Mu Fanjun in check. He didn't care how long he could keep the two of them in check. He only wanted to buy time to conquer the Boundless Nation. As long as he could borrow Yun Aotian and Mu Fanjun's influence to keep Cang Lei, Situ Xiao, and Ji Huan from acting rashly, that was enough.
Once they successfully conquered the Boundless Nation, the destruction of Feng Beichen's foundation wouldn't affect the situation of the Six Nations. Everything would return to square one, and the Six Nations would still be at odds with each other.
If someone tried to deal with Miao Yi after this … The other clans wouldn't agree to it either. Otherwise, Feng Beichen would lose his power, and Miao Yi would fall as well. Yun Aotian would be the one to benefit from it. On the contrary, they wouldn't deal with him. Instead, they would help him, and they wouldn't do anything to Miao Yi because of his rapid rise. At worst, Miao Yi would become the second Yun Aotian, and they would join forces with Yun Aotian to resist Miao Yi. In short, they would return to the balance of the Six Nations.
As for whether or not Miao Yi could kill Feng Beichen this time, it wasn't important. As long as he could replace Feng Beichen's position in time, Yang Qing was confident that he could kill Feng Beichen once the overall situation was settled.
His cultivation wasn't enough to kill Feng Beichen, but he would make everyone understand. Once Feng Beichen joined any one of the clans, it wouldn't be a good thing for the other clans. When the time came, the other clans would naturally join forces to kill Feng Beichen and maintain the balance between the six nations.
In short, as long as they conquered the Boundless Nation this time, Feng Beichen would be dead for sure. This was the price Feng Beichen would have to pay for touching Yang Qing's daughter!
As for Miao Yi being manipulated by Mu Fanjun in the dark afterward, Yang Qing wouldn't sit by and watch it happen.
Because Yun Zhiqiu was Mu Fanjun's hostage. Yang Qing had no intention of letting her live. There was no way he would go to the Realm Beyond Heaven and kill off Yun Zhiqiu as a hostage. Even if he had the ability, he wouldn't do it himself. After that, he only needed to secretly leak the news to the other clans. With a little effort, he would make everyone understand that Miao Yi, who had replaced Feng Beichen, was secretly being manipulated by Mu Fanjun because of Yun Zhiqiu. The power of the Boundless Nation actually belonged to Mu Fanjun. When the time came, even if Mu Fanjun didn't kill Yun Zhiqiu, the other clans wouldn't just sit back and watch as one of them dominated. They would join forces to force Mu Fanjun to get rid of Yun Zhiqiu and allow Miao Yi to become independent, so as to maintain the balance between the six nations.
In the end, with Yun Zhiqiu's death, Miao Yi and Mu Fanjun's enmity would grow. With An Ruyu and her husband on Mu Fanjun's side, the relationship between the Ouyang sisters and Miao Yi would be awkward. With Yang Qing's support and push, the position of Miao Yi's legal wife would definitely belong to his daughter.
This was the goal he wanted to achieve through a series of manipulations. First, he would take revenge and get rid of Feng Beichen so that Miao Yi could replace him. Then, he would get rid of Yun Zhiqiu and force the Ouyang sisters to step aside. If his daughter could return safely this time, the position of the most favored woman in the world would be his compensation to her.
He understood his daughter. He knew that Qin Weiwei had no interest in power, and he also knew what kind of happiness his daughter desired. Thus, he would let his daughter enjoy this happiness alone. Back then, he had no choice but to make his daughter a concubine. This time, he would make up for it with interest and let his daughter become the legal wife!
Inside the Nine Heavens Palace, there was complete silence. Yang Qing quietly observed Mu Fanjun's fluctuating expression.
After a long moment of silence, Mu Fanjun glared at him coldly. "Was it Miao Yi's idea to make Yun Zhiqiu a hostage?"
Yang Qing replied, "After the incident, Lord Miao rushed to the Boundless Realm to settle the score with Feng Beichen. Naturally, he wouldn't know about this. What's more, Lord Miao doesn't have the authority to mobilize the entire Fifth Earthly Branch's forces. Since the Overlord sent me here as a hostage, it is naturally the Overlord's idea."
"Hmph!" Mu Fanjun scoffed, but the fierce look in her eyes softened. She calmly said, "Miao Yi has grown up. If I force him to stay, the other old fogeys won't be able to rest easy. I have no objections to him wanting to replace Feng Beichen. It's not impossible for me to support you, but the prerequisite is that you can convince Old Demon Yun's side. Otherwise, my support alone will be useless. As for whether or not I'm a hostage, forget about it. I only have one condition! "
Yang Qing was stunned for a moment. He cupped his fists and asked, "I'm all ears. May I know what the condition is?"
Mu Fanjun said indifferently, "I won't hold back on half of the Boundless Nation's profits every year. You just have to hand it over on time after the deed is done. I can forget about Yun Zhiqiu as a hostage, but there are too many men among the Six Sages. It will be too lonely for me as a woman. Why don't we do this? After the deed is done, let Yun Zhiqiu be the Boundless Nation's Holy Master. Miao Yi will assist her. If you agree to this condition, I will agree to yours. If you don't, then there's nothing to talk about. "
She couldn't be bothered to waste her breath on him. She waved her hand, gesturing for him to leave!
Yang Qing was a little dumbfounded. What was going on? Why was she so agreeable? If you don't have a hostage, what makes you think we'll give you half of the Boundless Nation's profits every year? Even if we agree to your condition now, what makes you think we'll make Yun Zhiqiu the Holy Master after the deed is done?
His plan, which he had been confident in, had not expected to encounter such an unimaginable situation. It could be said that he had hit nothing but air. He left the Nine Heavens Palace in a daze, unable to figure out what Mu Fanjun was up to no matter how hard he thought.
He didn't know that to Mu Fanjun, if Miao Yi didn't care about the hostage's life or death, then it would be meaningless for her to take Yun Zhiqiu as a hostage. If Miao Yi really cared about the hostage's life, then he didn't need too many. One was enough.
Although Yang Qing had great foresight, the bad news was that he didn't have the information he needed. There were some things he didn't know, and things he didn't know naturally weren't part of his plan.
However, there was one thing he was certain of. Miao Yi had the strength to defeat Feng Beichen, and there was no turning back. If Mu Fanjun continued to keep him under her command, the other clans would indeed be wary. To avoid being suppressed by the other clans, she could only reluctantly agree. This was also the reason why Yang Qing was so confident in negotiating with her.
"Have Yue Yao and Hong Chen come here!"
After Yang Qing left, Mu Fanjun calmly commanded from her throne. Someone immediately left to carry out the order.
Not long after, Yue Yao, dressed in a white dress, and Hong Chen, dressed in a red dress, entered the palace together. They took their seats and bowed, "Master!"
Sitting high up on her throne, Mu Fanjun smiled and asked, "Yue Yao, do you have any news of your long-lost Second Brother?"
As soon as she said this, Yue Yao and Hong Chen instinctively looked at each other. A hint of panic flashed across their eyes, causing Mu Fanjun to narrow her eyes.
After calming herself down a little, Yue Yao replied, "There's no news."
The smile in Mu Fanjun's eyes abruptly disappeared and turned cold. "I'll give you one more chance. Are you sure there's no news?"
Yue Yao's heart was in a mess when she suddenly heard this. She forced a smile and said, "Could it be that Master has news?"
Mu Fanjun sneered, "Little girl, good. You're really good! Among the six of you, I dote on you the most. Yet now you're using your words as a knife to stab me in the heart! Have I ever stopped you from interacting with Grandmaster Qi Jie's disciple? "
The Heavenly Immortals were dumbfounded when she pointed out Yue Yao's identity. They didn't know how she found out.
Little did they know that when Mu Fanjun brought the two of them to the Western Constellations Palace to look for Miao Yi, and when Grandmaster Qi Jie came out to plead on Miao Yi's behalf, Mu Fanjun had already sensed that something was amiss. That was because she recalled what Yue Yao had told her about how her Second Brother had been taken away. All the signs pointed to Grandmaster Qi Jie's antics being the culprit. In addition, when she saw Ba Jie's nervous reaction at the scene, she immediately grew suspicious. Later on, she sent someone to investigate the timing of Grandmaster Qi Jie's disciple recruitment. Sure enough, it matched up.
Not to mention, the three siblings began to interact frequently after that. She was already certain of Ba Jie's identity. However, she had always been a person who didn't reveal many things. She was a shrewd person who wouldn't reveal anything unless it was absolutely necessary. Now that she had pointed it out, it was naturally the right time.
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