All Heavens: Start with the Heaven-Covering Sacrifice

Chapter 224: The vast country as a dowry

After Beiliang swallowed up Beimang's territory, Xu Xiao completely gave up all the power in his hands and handed over the power of the country to Xu Fengnian.

According to the suggestion of Li Yishan, a strategist of Beiliang, the new regime did not continue to use the title of Beiliang, which was biased towards the region.

Instead, they named the new regime Zhou, taking its name from the cyclical changes of the Way of Heaven, and also implying that the world would eventually be unified.

However, the Great Zhou Dynasty did not move to the royal palace in Beimang, but remained on Qingliang Mountain in Lingzhou City.

Although the Liang-Mang War was won, there was not much joy in the Beiliang Palace. The life of Beiliang King Xu Xiao had come to an end and he was on his deathbed.

In Xu Xiao's bedroom, Xu Fengnian's eldest sister Xu Zhihu, second sister Xu Weixiong, as well as Xu Fengnian and Xu Longxiang were approaching the bed with tears in their eyes.

"Don't cry for me. Since the Spring and Autumn Period, your father has risen all the way from a soldier to the position of King of Beiliang. It's worth it. Fengnian has now become an emperor, and I have not lost out! The Zhao family emperor of Liyang is guarding against me like a thief, but he didn't expect that it was not me, Xu Xiao, who destroyed Liyang, but his loyal ministers and good ministers!"

Xu Xiao leaned on the elevated pillow and spoke slowly.

He looked at his children with a rare tenderness in his eyes.

"I treat you differently, and I can't say whether it's good or bad. I hope you... don't... blame your father. Your father can't accompany you on the rest of the journey. I hope you can be well..."

As Xu Xiao spoke, his voice gradually became lower and lower until it was inaudible.

Before Xu Fengnian and his three brothers and sisters had time to grieve, they saw Xu Xiao's soul being taken away by a golden light and leaving the palace in an instant.

Seeing this, the four brothers and sisters turned into four beams of fairy light and chased after him, crossing thousands of mountains and rivers, and arrived at the Lotus Peak of Qingcheng Mountain. They saw Xu Xiao's soul entered the List of Gods, and then they breathed a sigh of relief.

"Shenxiao Daozun, we are sorry to bother you."

When Xu Fengnian saw He Lang, he bowed solemnly. He had complicated feelings towards He Lang, the Taoist Master Shenxiao who had once killed his sworn brother and stirred up the world.

"King Zhou is not in the country to handle state affairs. What important matter does he have to come to my Qingcheng Mountain?"

He Lang was sitting cross-legged on the Conferred God Platform. Upon hearing the words, he withdrew his mind from his meditation state and opened his eyes.

Seeing He Lang's eyes as deep as the vast world, Xu Fengnian couldn't help but slightly lower his head and said, "Xu Xiao was captured by Daozun's Conferred God List. We siblings are worried and afraid of accidents, so we followed and escorted him. At the same time, we also want to ask Daozun for advice. What do you think about the current situation in the world?"

Xu Zhihu, Xu Weixiong and Xu Longxiang were not in a much better situation either. They originally thought that their brothers and sisters were all in the realm of immortality, and they wanted to suppress the power of this Taoist master. However, when He Lang looked over, they were like facing the way of heaven, and could not think of anything else.

He Lang glanced at Xu Fengnian and said calmly, "The situation in the world is your business. I am just a person who is deifying the gods on behalf of the heavens. I don't have any opinions."

"The Dao Zun provoked the Conferred Gods, is he really so selfless?"

The person who spoke was not Xu Fengnian, but his second sister Xu Weixiong.

"This world is huge in your eyes, but small in my eyes. After the Conferred God Tribulation began, more than one person asked me this question, and I always answered like this."

"In that case, I feel relieved. We still need to go back to hold Xu Xiao's funeral, so I'll take my leave now." Xu Fengnian bowed to He Lang and was about to turn around and leave.

"Wait a minute." He Lang called him directly.

Xu Fengnian paused and turned to look at He Lang.

"Since you have come to Qingcheng Mountain, I will give you a chance."

"What fortune?"

He Lang didn't say anything, but just stretched out his hand, and Xu Fengnian felt a residual soul in his body floating towards He Lang. When he saw the appearance of the residual soul clearly, Xu Fengnian's originally calm eyes suddenly became excited.

"Mother!"

Xu Fengnian rushed directly to the Conferred God Platform, wanting to hug the remnant soul, but he failed.

"This is the residual soul of your mother. Leave it with me. I will use the power of the origin of heaven in the List of Gods to nourish it. When you ascend to heaven one day, you may be able to see her reappear on earth. I wonder if you are willing or not?" He Lang asked Xu Fengnian.

In the original novel, Wu Su's remaining soul was beaten to death in a dream when Zhao Huangchao was plotting against Xu Fengnian. Now the world in the book has been changed by He Lang, so this incident no longer exists.

Xu Fengnian was naturally very willing and agreed without any hesitation.

Xu Fengnian said solemnly: "The Dao Zun's kindness today will be forever forgotten by our Xu family!"

"It's fate, there's no such thing as a favor, go back!"

After He Lang finished speaking, he waved his sleeves, and the four siblings of the Xu family felt the world spinning around them. When they calmed down, they found that they had returned to the Great Zhou Palace.

The few of them calmed down, and then Xu Fengnian tidied up Xu Xiao's appearance before spreading the news that Xu Xiao had passed away.

The death of the butcher Xu Xiao made those who came from the Spring and Autumn Period somewhat silent, which meant that one of the three great demons of the Spring and Autumn Period was gone. In the palace of Western Chu, upon hearing the news of Xu Xiao's death, the Queen of Western Chu, Jiang Ni, stopped reviewing the memorials with a complicated expression.

Jiang Ni has complicated feelings towards Xu Xiao. On the one hand, the former Western Chu was destroyed by Xu Xiao, but on the other hand, it was Xu Xiao who saved her life and brought her up in the Beiliang Palace.

"Come here, prepare the state gifts from the inner treasury, and send an envoy to the Great Zhou to pay homage on my behalf."

After thinking it over again and again, Jiang Ni called the female official and issued an order.

"Yes, sir!" The female official took the order and left.

"Please invite Uncle Cao to the palace to discuss something."

……

In Western Chu, on Mingfeng Terrace, Jiang Ni and Cao Changqing were confronting each other.

On the chessboard, huge dragons crisscross and kill people everywhere.

"Uncle Cao is a very skilled chess player. Jiang Ni admits defeat!"

Jiang Ni put down the chess piece, but found that the chessboard was suddenly turned upside down, with murder everywhere and no way to go. He wiped his slightly sweaty forehead and sounded a little regretful.

"Your Majesty is making rapid progress. You will surpass me sooner or later. You have already understood the principle of governing a large country like cooking a small fish. You have both the kingly way and the hegemonic way in the chess world. In the future, you will be the holy emperor of our Great Chu." Cao Changqing looked at Jiang Ni with admiration in his eyes.

He is truly her child!

As full of wisdom as she is!

When Jiang Ni heard what Cao Changqing said, she paused and put her hand down.

Jiang Ni said, "Uncle Cao, I wonder what you think of the current situation in the world?"

"The Xu family occupies Beimang and is a major enemy of our Great Chu. As for Chen Zhibao and Wang Xianzhi, they are nothing to worry about." Cao Changqing answered without thinking.

After he finished speaking, he looked at Jiang Ni, and suddenly revealed a thoughtful look: "Your Majesty, do you have any ideas?"

Jiang Ni was uneasy at Cao Changqing's question. After a moment of silence, he gritted his teeth and said what he was thinking: "The world has been in turmoil for too long. If it goes on, I don't know how many people will be displaced. I want to marry Xu Fengnian, the emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty, to quell the strife in the world. What do you think, Uncle Cao?"

After saying that, Jiang Ni looked at Cao Changqing with some trepidation in her heart, because she felt that what she said was really outrageous!
The former Western Chu was destroyed by Xu Xiao, and she became a princess of a fallen country. Now she has become the empress of Western Chu, but she wants to marry Xu Fengnian, which is simply a series of forgotten traditions.

However, to her surprise, Cao Changqing did not object to her, and his expression remained calm. She had no idea what he was thinking.

In just such a short period of time, Jiang Ni felt as if the days were passing by very slowly.

Cao Changqing closed his eyes, wandered in the heavens, and after deducing the secrets of heaven, he said, "That's fine. In addition to the position of Heavenly Emperor, there is also a position of Heavenly Empress on the Conferred God List. It would be safer for Your Majesty to combine the Great Zhou with our Great Chu."

After hearing Cao Changqing's answer, Jiang Ni was stunned.

She originally thought that Cao Changqing would scold him, but she didn't expect that Cao Changqing would talk about this issue.

As if seeing Jiang Ni's surprise, Cao Changqing smiled calmly and said, "Bringing you back to Xi Chu doesn't mean that you must carry out any mission. I just want you to have a better future. The princess of Xi Chu shouldn't be treated like that. Now there is a chance for you to get a great opportunity, how can I stop you?

As for those people in the court, you don't have to worry. The world is different now than it was before. After weighing the pros and cons, they will probably just give their approval and won't say anything."

When Great Zhou and Great Chu united, the situation in the world became very clear.

Moreover, the opportunity of immortality is right before our eyes, so who would care about etiquette and laws?

Jiang Ni's face showed joy. At this moment, she was no longer the Queen of Western Chu, but a little clay figurine in the Beiliang Palace.

"Your Majesty, don't be happy too soon. Although I agree with your action, it can't be so easy to let it go. There will be a war between the Great Zhou and the Great Chu. How can we give this vast land as a dowry to the emperor of the Xu family so easily! Without a war, the soldiers of our Great Chu will not be convinced, and those people of the Great Zhou will not look down on our Great Chu."

Looking at Jiang Ni who was acting like a silly little girl, Cao Changqing said.

Things that are too easy to obtain, even if you get them, will not be as cherished as those that you have obtained through untold hardships!
Moreover, this also involves the future status of a god, so no one will give up easily.

Jiang Ni also understood Cao Changqing's thoughts and nodded solemnly.

After discussing with Cao Changqing, Jiang Ni secretly summoned the ministers in the court. Sure enough, after the initial commotion, these ministers did not object.

The Great Chu secretly sent envoys to the Great Zhou.

(End of this chapter)