I Can Reincarnate Infinitely

A small yet monumental change began to unfold quietly in the Wu Kingdom: Emperor Shunde announced his abdication, and the former King of Zhou, Du Chuyun, ascended the throne.

Since it involved the succession of the imperial throne, it was naturally a monumental change. The various nations sent envoys to attend the ceremony, the nobility of the Wu Kingdom gathered in the Capital City, and every governor rushed back to swear allegiance to the new emperor... It was a bustling, chaotic affair.

For that month in the Capital City, the night soil collectors had to send out many extra carts each day.

And yet, it was also, undeniably, a small change.

Throughout the country, life went on as usual.

The common folk continued to till their fields, weave their cloth, and run their businesses.

And when they had nothing better to do, they’d eat their fill and beat their children.

There’s a new emperor?

Yes, there is.

And the Celestial Master?

He’s still here.

Oh. As long as the Celestial Master’s around, everything’s fine.

And so, things remained calm, without a single ripple.

Du Chuyun successfully ascended the throne and changed the reign title to "Chengen."

This reign title, to be frank, was a bit unorthodox.

It could even be seen as a reprimand to the Imperial Family.

But upon reflection... it left people speechless.

The ministers could only discuss it in private: The Imperial Family had indeed received a great favor and should learn to be grateful.

The Celestial Master had taken on the exhausting task of governing the nation for the Emperor.

All the Emperor had to do was enjoy himself.

Shouldn’t they be grateful for that?

Moreover, it was a signal for any would-be usurpers to give up their ambitions.

The Celestial Master was also using this reign title to show that he had no intention of replacing the Imperial Family!

The Imperial Family was still the Du Family!

Not long after Emperor Cheng’en ascended the throne, a gift from the Red Lotus Sect’s Core Formation Master, Xia Chuchu, was delivered to Du Youqian by one of her trusted confidants.

Du Youqian inspected it and found no hidden traps.

The gift consisted of several precious materials, some for Alchemy and some for Artifact Refining. It was clear Xia Chuchu was trying to probe for something.

The total value was about 1,500 Spiritual Jade. For a True Inheritance Core Formation from a Second-class Sect, this would take about two years to save up.

This value far exceeded the worth of several Foundation Establishment Cultivators and could be considered a generous gift.

Du Youqian wasn’t concerned with the gift itself; he had no need for such things.

What mattered was that the gift signified Xia Chuchu’s desire for a partnership between equals. That was good enough.

Du Youqian didn’t say much. He just brought out the five listless Red Lotus Sect disciples and handed them over to the envoy.

The envoy who delivered the gift on Xia Chuchu’s behalf was a male cultivator at the Foundation Establishment Early Stage, with an ordinary appearance.

The Red Lotus Sect was a sect dominated by Kun Cultivators. Although there were Qian Cultivators, their status was generally lower, mainly because most of the Red Lotus Sect’s Cultivation Techniques were more suitable for women.

Therefore, within the Red Lotus Sect, the cultivation of Kun Cultivators was generally higher than that of Qian Cultivators of a similar age.

Over the years, the Qian Cultivators naturally lost ground in the struggle for influence, gradually creating a matriarchal hierarchy within the Red Lotus Sect.

’Does that Xia Chuchu think I’m some kind of pervert who likes to torture women? Is that why she sent a guy like this over?’ Du Youqian wondered.

This annoyed him, but it wasn’t something he could act on.

"Take these people back," Du Youqian said. "And tell your master I accept her gift. However, I will not grant her a war. Mortals’ lives are lives, too. If she wants a Demon Artifact, I can help in other ways, but in return, she must allow me to use all the Evil Pools and Forbidden Lands under the Red Lotus Sect’s jurisdiction."

"Yes, I will be sure to relay the Celestial Master’s words." The envoy’s respectful demeanor was flawless. His eyes didn’t dare meet Du Youqian’s, nor did they wander. He didn’t even spare a glance for the monkey squatting on the Celestial Master’s shoulder.

He didn’t even dare to let his emotions show, nor did he risk a single negative thought. His entire focus was on maintaining his composure.

Even if Du Youqian wanted to use this as a pretext to make trouble, he couldn’t find any fault. He could only say, "Get lost!"

The envoy’s expression didn’t even change; he remained perfectly respectful.

Although Du Youqian and he were both Foundation Establishment Cultivators, there were vast differences between those at the same stage.

Some Foundation Establishment Cultivators could slaughter Core Formation Masters.

Others were of such poor quality that a Core Formation Master would find them unworthy even as material for a Demon Artifact.

A person who could take down six Red Lotus Sect Inner Disciples in one go—including one at Foundation Establishment Perfection and two at the Late Stage—and even make True Inheritor Core Formation Xia Chuchu wary, was definitely not someone this envoy was qualified to cross.

After leaving Grass Tower Temple, the envoy immediately used a Talisman given to him by Xia Chuchu to carefully check himself over. Once he was certain that a strand of Sword Intent hadn’t been embedded in him, he breathed a sigh of relief.

’I got out of there alive!’

’Although I failed to persuade Master Baili to accept the conditions for starting a war, that’s a matter for Martial Uncle Chuchu to handle. I’m just small fry, not qualified to negotiate. The most I can do is relay messages.’

From this, it was clear that Du Youqian’s past action of embedding Sword Intent into Cheng Pei’s body as punishment had been a stroke of genius.

Those who knew of the matter saw him as a malevolent, cruel, and bloodthirsty person, and simply didn’t dare to provoke him.

Even Core Formation Masters were wary of him.

If he had let Cheng Pei off easily, it would never have had this effect.

At the very least, Xia Chuchu would have looked down on him and wouldn’t be negotiating so calmly with a mere Foundation Establishment Cultivator like him.

And if Xia Chuchu had refused to be reasonable and had tried to bully him instead, he certainly wouldn’t have just sat back and taken it. He would have had no choice but to fight her.

It wasn’t that he couldn’t kill Xia Chuchu, but there was still a gap in their strength. He would definitely have to pay a price.

Why bother? He had no past grievances or recent enmity with Xia Chuchu. They could clearly reach an agreement and coexist peacefully, so why insist on a bloody battle?

So, playing the wolf in sheep’s clothing was something that should only happen in novels.

But in the Cultivation Realm—which appeared orderly and full of brotherly respect on the surface, but was in reality a place of strict hierarchy and the law of the jungle—only by baring one’s fangs could one deter scoundrels and reduce unnecessary trouble.

The messenger ran back and forth several times, relaying messages between Du Youqian and Xia Chuchu. Eventually, the two reached an agreement.

Within ten years, Xia Chuchu would arrange for Du Youqian to use all the Evil Pools and Forbidden Lands under the Red Lotus Sect’s jurisdiction.

In the next few years, the Yue Kingdom would provoke a border conflict. Its army would enter the Wu Kingdom, and then the Wu Kingdom would launch a self-defensive counterattack, pushing the main battlefield into the Yue Kingdom’s territory.

The souls and flesh of all who died in battle would belong to Xia Chuchu; Du Youqian was not to collect them.

At the same time, Du Youqian had to cooperate in helping the Yue Kingdom cultivate a batch of loyal ministers and brilliant generals. Xia Chuchu needed their heart’s blood and souls to refine a special Demon Artifact.

Xia Chuchu would be responsible for collecting Treasures of Heaven and Earth for Du Youqian—specialties of the Yue Kingdom worth over 50,000 Spiritual Jade, suitable for Body Refining at the Foundation Establishment Stage. Du Youqian would only need to pay the cost price.

With the agreement reached, everyone was happy.

Du Youqian wasn’t actually opposed to a war, as long as it didn’t take place within the Wu Kingdom’s borders and its common people didn’t have to bear the consequences.

Du Youqian’s agreement to the war was not for the purpose of culling the population.

The population of Momenan was not so large that the land could not support it.

Perhaps because the Human Race had lost its destiny and the Spiritual Qi in Momenan was declining, the fertility rate was falling. Meanwhile, despite relatively advanced medicine, the rates of birth defects and infant mortality were continuously rising.

Without any contraceptive measures, a couple would typically have only one to three children.

Compared to Earth, this was simply an appalling statistic.

In ancient China on Earth, it was common for a couple to have seven or eight children in their lifetime.

Therefore, even with long years of peace, the population of the Nine Countries of Momenan Desert did not experience explosive growth.

Furthermore, the lands of the Nine Countries of Momenan Desert were fertile, and with high-yield crop seeds improved by the Immortal Sects, they could support a large population. Unlike on Earth, they were not bound by the ’dynastic cycle,’ which required large-scale wars every so often for purging and spontaneous adjustment.

Although the Demon Sects were here to reap human lives, the supervision of the Holy Blood and the Taihe Sect prevented the population from declining too sharply.

If the population were to drop too drastically, the Holy Blood and the Taihe Sect would no longer turn a blind eye.

Thus, the population of the Wu Kingdom was neither too large nor too small. At the very least, the current land was more than enough to feed all its people.

The reason Du Youqian agreed to the war was that a conflict of a certain intensity would allow him to purge his opponents, divert domestic conflicts, and also stimulate the development of some new factories—not artisan workshops, but factories.

Although Du Youqian couldn’t possibly risk universal condemnation by spreading the Immortal Sects’ Puppetry Art and other such techniques.

But if civilian craftsmen were given encouragement and support, they could also create crude machinery.

There was still hope of developing the Wu Kingdom to a level comparable to the first Industrial Revolution.

The nation’s industrialization would bring about developments in fields like technology and medicine.

This would allow the population to grow steadily and the lives of the common people to become more prosperous.

The nation, naturally, would also become richer and stronger.

And Du Youqian’s share of the Human Dao Fortune would naturally increase as well.

However, before the war began, both the Wu and Yue Kingdoms needed to make their own preparations.

Du Youqian, of course, made the necessary arrangements. He began to stockpile supplies, produce munitions, and conscript and organize men from reputable families all over for military training during the agricultural off-season.

As for himself, he went to look for Feng Xiaoyi—that is, Jie Yu.

Jie Yu was no longer on Soul-shaking Mountain, and Fang Hua had not yet returned.

It took Du Youqian some time to figure out Jie Yu’s movements. Just as she had said before, she had joined the Taihe Sect and was preparing for her Foundation Establishment.

Du Youqian hurried to the Dai Kingdom and sent her a letter through his own channels, asking to meet.

「One day」

A flash of sword light flew out from Sui Shou Mountain and landed near Du Youqian’s hiding place.

Du Youqian had already sensed Jie Yu’s aura and used his Divine Sense to confirm that no one was following her. Only then did he reveal himself to meet her.

Jie Yu had a pure and holy appearance. It seemed she was truly planning to go down the path of a Taihe Sect Saintess.

She said with a grin, "My dear disciple, do you miss your master already?"

This smile wasn’t seductive and alluring like in her previous life, but had a hint of goofy charm.

Du Youqian patted the head of Little Wukong on his shoulder and began, looking a little embarrassed, "Master, I have to tell you something. Please don’t be angry."

A bad premonition immediately surfaced in Jie Yu’s mind.

She barely managed to maintain her pure, holy expression and goofy smile. "Just say it, you wretched disciple. Your master can handle it."

Du Youqian lowered his head, looking like a good boy ready to accept his punishment. "That Creation Jade Scroll Fragment of yours... it’s gone!"

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