Becoming an immortal and ancestor begins with the golden toad spitting out money.

However, with the Heavenly Emperor's intervention, the Phoenix Emperor lowered his status to become the Western King, thus ending the battle between the Dragon and the Phoenix. The impact of this battle, however, should not be underestimated.

In addition to the new balance of power among the major forces in the world, there are also changes in the human realm and the fate of nations.

The vast blue sea fell into the East China Sea, but Su Ji used the Sea-Overturning Wave-Breaking Ruler to dissipate most of its power. Although the nearby people suffered from the disaster, there were not many casualties.

However, just as Dragon Island was about to crash into the Phoenix Clan's grotto, the Heavenly Emperor used his great supernatural powers to change its spatial position, and it finally crashed into the East Sea.

Dragon Island possessed immense power, and its fall into the East Sea had disastrous consequences. Not only was the Golden Toad Great Sage Su Ji unable to stop it, but even the Eastern Azure Emperor could not.

Not to mention, this action seemed to be deliberately orchestrated by the Heavenly Emperor, and no one dared to act without authorization.

Then countless seawaters transformed into towering waves, sweeping across most of Donghai County with devastation. Countless houses collapsed, and countless fertile fields were destroyed... Not only were tens of thousands killed and injured, but hundreds of thousands of people were also displaced.

The entire court was shocked, and the emperor immediately convened a meeting to discuss disaster relief plans with his ministers.

Some of the upright officials who had once advised the emperor to issue an edict of self-reproach, upon seeing how things had developed, could not help but cry out in sorrow at court:

"If His Majesty had issued the edict of self-reproach earlier, the Heavenly Court would have immediately dispatched troops to the East Sea, and the conflict between the Dragon and the Phoenix would not have escalated to this point!"

"Donghai County is now severely affected by the disaster. The city is reduced to ruins, fertile fields have turned into saline-alkali land, and the people have suffered heavy casualties. In addition, countless demons are taking advantage of the situation to cause chaos. This is not only a natural disaster, but also an imperial calamity!"

Clearly, many people believe that it was the inaction of the Human Emperor that angered the Heavenly Emperor, and that the disaster in Donghai County was not only a natural disaster, but also a punishment sent down by the Heavenly Emperor.

However, the moment these words were uttered, they immediately touched the emperor's sore spot.

The Emperor was not a ruler of peace and prosperity, but the ultimate victor in the struggle for the throne among the three sons after the death of the previous emperor. He not only held imperial power that commanded the court, but also had the determination to reclaim the lost territories in the north and unify the country.

Not to mention, during the destruction of the Brahma Kingdom several years ago, the Human Emperor felt that the so-called immortals and gods were nothing special. He would not issue an edict of self-reproach in front of his court officials, let alone admit that the disaster in Donghai County was related to him!
"In the human court, let us not mention immortals and gods again!"

The emperor's face turned ashen, and a murderous intent flickered in his eyes. He even arrested several dissenting officials on the spot, frightening all the civil and military officials into silence.

However, there were still those who, undeterred by death, continued to offer their remonstrances to the court:
"Demonic monsters are rampant in Donghai County, and the people are filled with fear. Some even regard Donghai County as a cursed land and begin to migrate to other places."

"Only when His Majesty issues an edict of self-reproach before the Heavenly Emperor and the ancestors, requesting cultivators from all sects to go to the disaster-stricken areas of the East Sea to subdue demons and monsters, can the hearts of the people be stabilized!"

Upon hearing this, the court fell silent.

The Emperor roared, "What are demons to fear? The imperial army is pressing in and will surely wipe out the demons of Donghai County!"

Many court officials looked at each other, not daring to utter a word.

"Your Majesty, now is the time for the northern expedition. If the disaster in Donghai County is not resolved soon, there may be unrest in various places!"

First, there was the struggle for succession among the three sons, then years of campaigns in the west and north, and the collusion between Buddhism and powerful officials to harm the people. Although the court vigorously suppressed Buddhism, the wounds left behind remained, making the country's strength already precarious.

However, the Human Emperor wouldn't listen to a single word, and said with a livid face:

"If anyone takes advantage of this opportunity to cause trouble, it will only expose the rebellious and treacherous intentions of the rebels. If they cannot be suppressed in various places, I will personally lead the expedition!"

The court session quickly ended, and orders were issued to various departments.

The next day, some court officials were subjected to a thorough investigation for gathering in private, which was deemed as discussing state affairs in private...

In an instant, some were imprisoned, some were demoted, some were paraded through the streets, and some were beheaded and displayed in public... It was truly a city-wide uproar.

Many people witnessed the Emperor's ruthless methods and fell silent in fear. There were very few pedestrians in the capital at night when there was no curfew. The name of the Imperial Guard could even stop a child from crying. Some people secretly fled the capital.

Unexpectedly, this matter implicated many people, and even Li Hui was punished.

Li Hui was a military man who led an expedition to the north. He did not discuss the court or the emperor without permission, but he was demoted one rank because of his good personal relationship with Zhou Wen.

It turned out that the imperial court knew that Yuzhou was wealthy and wanted Zhou Wen to borrow a large amount of money and grain from the East-West Chamber of Commerce to help with disaster relief.

Zhou Wen had long since left the East-West Chamber of Commerce and joined the Imperial Merchants. Even though they were from the same hometown, he dared not offer too many guarantees. The conditions he offered were far from meeting the court's requirements, which led to his investigation.

Many people knew of Zhou Wen's injustice, but dared not say much, since the court's move was not to truly punish Zhou Wen, but to force Zhou Wen and the East-West Chamber of Commerce to submit.

Upon hearing this, Su Ji felt that the court's methods were too extreme. Even without the court's intervention, he would do his best to save the people.

Therefore, even though the IOUs issued by the imperial court could never be honored, the East-West Chamber of Commerce still quickly transported large quantities of grain to the disaster area...

Zhou Wen was released, but Li Hui was not reinstated. Instead, he was summoned by the Emperor and subjected to a combination of kindness and severity.

The Emperor bestowed upon Li Hui the title of "Demon Suppression General," ordering him to lead troops to the disaster area to suppress demons. If successful, he could atone for his crimes and be reinstated or even promoted; if unsuccessful, he would be dismissed from his post or even imprisoned.

Li Hui then realized that the imperial court had taken a liking to his ability to slay demons in the northern frontier, and that the series of events were all a warning from the court.

This made Li Hui feel somewhat uncomfortable. Even without the imperial court's order, he would have volunteered to go to the disaster area to suppress the demons. Now, after the imperial court's actions, he felt nauseous.

Soon, Li Hui led his troops along the waterway to the disaster area, and many chivalrous people with a heart for the world followed him.

In this way, the imperial court gave the people an explanation, and the capital city would soon return to normal.

Unexpectedly, just a few days later, refugees from Donghai County were heading straight for the capital. Fearing that tens of thousands of refugees would flood into the capital, the court set up checkpoints everywhere to block them.

Tens of thousands of refugees have fled to the capital region, and the situation is even worse in the surrounding provinces. Food prices have risen in various places, and bandits have also sprung up.

Whenever there is a natural disaster, local areas will have a set of procedures for disposing of corpses in order to prevent the spread of plague.

However, while there was no plague within the city, it spread outside the city, with outbreaks occurring in various villages. The plague was further spread by people seeking help and fleeing for their lives, and the surrounding areas of Donghai County were filled with suffering.

The prescription for dealing with the plague was not difficult to come up with, and the medicinal materials could be dug up from all over the world and even from blessed lands. The East-West Chamber of Commerce mobilized a large number of people to send the effective medicine to control the plague to all directions by water transport, which stopped the large-scale spread of the plague.

In the disaster area, Li Hui had his own troops at his disposal, and the East-West Chamber of Commerce was his backing. Ordinary demons were no threat at all. Even the sea monsters that took advantage of the chaos to come ashore were suppressed by Ghost King Qian Feng and his ghost soldiers.

Not to mention, with the help of Su Ji's golden toad clone and the God of Wealth's incarnation, most of the demons were eliminated in less than a month.

Just then, the Qiang people in the western frontier suddenly rebelled, looting several counties in a few days, and the presence of Brahma soldiers could also be seen.

Only then did the imperial court realize that the suppression of Buddhism had not been thorough, and many Buddhist followers had secretly fled to the territory of the Qiang people in the western frontier. Now, taking advantage of the imperial court's obstructed northern expedition and the disaster in the East China Sea, they launched a rebellion!

The Qiang people are inherently arrogant and domineering, and they also have a large number of Buddhist soldiers familiar with various regions. Once they engage in battle, it will inevitably result in mountains of corpses and seas of blood.

So much so that a member of the royal family approached the Emperor and offered him a sinister suggestion.

"What? Abandon the nearly completed task of suppressing the demons and immediately rush to the Western Frontier to participate in suppressing the rebellion of the Qiang and Brahma soldiers?"

Having weathered so many storms, Li Hui felt powerless for the first time.

First, leaving the disaster area now would put the demon-suppressing and reconstruction work on hold, and they might even have to give up the credit they were about to receive. Second, they had been traveling all over the place to exterminate the demons, and now they were being used like gods, having to travel three or four thousand miles across the country to the western frontier.

Finally, suppressing the Qiang people was one thing, but the Fan soldiers were his own people, and Li Hui didn't want to get his compatriots' blood on his hands.

However, military orders are absolute, and no matter how unreasonable the content was, Li Hui had no choice but to obey.

Fortunately, the ships of the East-West Chamber of Commerce were able to go upstream and quickly reach the capital region by waterway.

However, the Emperor refused Li Hui's request to report in person, citing the possibility that the army might be carrying a plague, and ordered the army to immediately march to the Western Frontier.
By this point, even the slowest-witted generals could vaguely sense the court's distrust of them.

“Our army has fought westward, northward, and eastward. Could it be that General Li’s achievements are too great, arousing the court’s suspicion?” Li Hui was not old, but he had experienced many wars.

"These merits are not just that, are they? I think it's because the former powerful figures of Yuzhou couldn't stand to see General Li doing well, so they deliberately targeted him!" Back then, it was because the young master of Yuzhou made things difficult for him that Li Hui resigned from his position as head constable and went to the Western Frontier to make merits and join the army.

"I think someone in the court is eyeing the merits of our Eastern Town demons, and this move is a deliberate attempt to steal them!" Li Hui did a really great job. Even though the Emperor did not issue an edict of self-reproach, Li Hui's efforts made many people stop believing in the curse.

Li Hui remained silent until Su Ji manifested a clone within the tent, at which point he could only sigh.

"The East-West Chamber of Commerce is as wealthy as ever, and it has also been able to solve the plague that the imperial court is powerless to reverse. I'm afraid it has already aroused the emperor's suspicion!"

The Emperor was not incompetent, yet he issued such an absurd military order, which could only be an attempt to weaken their influence in the disaster area.

Su Ji's avatar looked down and saw Li Hui sitting steadily in the central tent, his demeanor dignified and his bearing extraordinary; he was no longer the naive young man he once was.

He didn't answer, but instead asked, "Li Hui, you were once a constable in Jinfeng County, a head constable in Yuzhou, a镖头 (bodyguard) for the East-West Chamber of Commerce... the Demon Suppressing General, and now the General Who Conquers the West. Have you ever been prepared to sacrifice yourself for the people?"

When Li Hui resigned from his position as head constable of Yuzhou City to make a name for himself in the Western Frontier, he was accompanied by many like-minded wandering knights. Not long ago, he went to the disaster area to slay demons, and he also received a lot of support from the knights.

"It would be my honor to die for the safety of the people!"

His father died early, and the girl he loved passed away because the Emperor was obsessed with immortality. Now he has long since seen through life and death.

Su Ji nodded and smiled, "Would you be willing to die for the Human Emperor?"

Upon hearing this, Li Hui was stunned, seemingly having never considered the question at all.

Soon, Li Hui took a deep breath and gave a solemn answer: "The world does not belong to the royal family alone, nor does it belong to the Emperor alone. If the Emperor acts perversely, I will certainly not continue to obey his orders!"

Whether it's the western expedition, the northern campaign, or the eastern garrison, all are driven by Li Hui's heartfelt motivation. Even now, despite being reprimanded and even feared by the powerful and the emperor, he will continue to go to the western frontier to suppress the Qiang and the Brahma soldiers for the sake of the people.

Su Ji nodded in satisfaction and said meaningfully, "In that case, you shall continue to fight for the people, and I will fully support you!"

Whatever the reason, Li Hui's second western expedition could not afford to fail, and he soon set off.

Half a month passed in the blink of an eye. Due to the remoteness and difficulty of some waterways and the large number of troops, Li Hui still had not reached the Western Frontier.

At this moment, a battle report suddenly came from the South China Sea. It turned out that the Brahman soldiers who had fled to the island chain of the South China Sea had come by ship and had burned, killed and looted several counties in just a few days.

The people were in a state of panic. Many commoners and powerful families who were already dissatisfied with the government's exploitation also had rebellious intentions, not to mention the bandits and thieves who had already become outlaws.

Clearly, the imperial court had suffered too much from years of war. Although the destruction of the Vatican was successful, the wealth still ended up in the hands of the imperial court. Even though the people had regained their land, it would take them some time to recover.

The natural disaster in the East China Sea caused grain prices to soar across the country, once again impacting the lives of ordinary people who were just beginning to see a bright future. Coupled with rampant banditry, many people were forced to rebel.

As a result, within just over ten days, hundreds of rebel groups across the land raised their banners and rebelled. Even in the incredibly wealthy Yuzhou, people responded one after another to express their dissatisfaction with the imperial court.

Although the imperial court was fighting on all fronts, it also had local garrisons stationed in various places to guard against this matter, and government troops were immediately dispatched to quell the rebellion.

In just half a month, the government troops suppressed more than a hundred rebel forces, causing bloodshed across the land and forcing many rebels to flee in all directions.

Some officers and soldiers even began killing innocent people to claim credit for higher rewards, resulting in the deaths of countless innocent people, from refugees to villagers.

The imperial court had no time to care about these matters. With grain prices skyrocketing, many people in the capital were struggling to make ends meet!

It's not that there isn't enough food, but rather that many powerful and wealthy people are hoarding food. Some are doing it to make more money, while others are keeping large reserves out of fear of repeated disasters...

Unexpectedly, the imperial court soon faced a new problem: it had no money to pay the bounties for killing the rebels.

However, grain prices had already risen to dozens of times their previous levels, money was depreciating too quickly, and too many rewards needed to be distributed in various places, causing the imperial treasury to be empty again.

The imperial treasury was empty, but the wealth of the powerful and nobles was immense. However, the emperor did not dare to levy taxes on his officials at this time. Instead, he waved his hand and targeted the various temples.

In a short time, all the temples and monasteries were raided, and some officials were even so audacious that they melted down the magical artifacts and even the golden statues of immortals and gods.

This move did alleviate the deficit in the national treasury, but it drew widespread discontent from the people.

Some people believe in gods and immortals and think that the court's actions are a great disrespect, fearing that the gods and immortals will punish them!

Some people, through news from various places, realized that the nation's fortunes were rapidly declining and felt that the court was probably doomed!

In the Heavenly Court, the immortals and gods were also discussing the matter. Although the court did not dare to touch the palaces and temples of the Five Emperors, it melted down the golden statues of these gods, which naturally aroused a lot of indignation.

"I also made great contributions when the dynasty was first established, but today it has been confiscated by the current emperor!" Some of the immortals and gods were originally mortal generals and celebrities. Those who became gods through their achievements and merits all felt that they had been wronged in the past.

"My palace was built by the late emperor himself. Now it has not only been demolished, but even the servants have been imprisoned. The emperor is truly unfilial!"

"It's one thing for some people in temples and monasteries to line their own pockets, but my temple and monastery were destitute and were even raided by the imperial court. Not only were the gilded bronze statues melted down, but even the beams were removed. It's truly an outrage against heaven and earth!"

"..."

Even immortals and gods were originally human, so naturally they might express their emotions. Even those who later cultivated themselves into great beings also expressed their resentment.

Before the immortals and gods could reach a conclusion, the Haotian Golden Palace suddenly flashed with divine light, and the figure of the Heavenly Emperor appeared, followed by an unparalleled and majestic voice.

"The Human Emperor disrespects Heaven and Earth, and ghosts and gods... He acts perversely, and now war is raging, a new emperor will be born. If you immortals and gods wish to re-establish your lineage, you may go and face this calamity!"

The mortal realm may seem ordinary, but it is extremely dangerous for ordinary immortals and gods. Not to mention beings like the Undying Demon Lord who can kill powerful beings, even a powerful god like the Marquis of Zhenbei is not easy to deal with.

Therefore, if immortals and gods wanted to take advantage of the chaos in the world to re-establish their lineage, it would be tantamount to voluntarily entering the great calamity of the mortal world, and they would inevitably face life-or-death danger.

When the news reached Su Ji's ears, he couldn't help but smile slightly: "The time has finally come!"

He had promised that if the Emperor ever went astray, he would fully support Li Hui in ascending the throne.

Now, it's time to keep my promise! (End of Chapter)