1375 Enormous Wealth

Tang Xiu smiled at her response and lightly said, "Are you sure you don't want to be her maid? Think about it. This is your only chance."

Jing Xian'er carefully observed Bella for a while. Although she was indeed attracted by the majestically graceful woman in front, she was unwilling to be someone's maid. She shook her head and said, "I'm the only one in command to choose my own path. I want to learn under a Master to be stronger, so I don't want to be someone's maid."

"Sigh." Tang Xiu shook his head. "That's a pity for you. She's a Supreme, yet you don't to be her maid. Alright, you can cultivate under Sablefiend Scorpio in the future then! I hope you can get what you want and become a powerhouse in the future."

"What did you say?!" Jing Xian'er's countenance changed greatly and disbelief filled her eyes as she exclaimed.

She's a Supreme? How is this possible? There are only a few people at the Supremacy Stage in the Immortal World, how could I easily encounter one here?

Sablefiend Scorpio also looked regretful and sighed. "Lord is right, Xian'er. Although Venerable Bella still uses her old title, she's really a Supremacy Stage powerhouse. In the entire Immortal World, the number of people who want to serve under a Supreme is definitely countless. Even Golden Immortals and Perfected Golden Immortals would likely be willing to serve under them. It was such a Heaven-sent opportunity, yet you just missed it. It seems you're really fated to follow and cultivate by my side."

She's a Supreme?!

Endless remorse filled Jing Xian'er's heart. She never dreamed that she would do such a stupid thing in her life. One must know that even some Perfected Golden Immortals wanted to serve a Supreme, hoping that they would obtain pointers and direction from that Supremacy Stage powerhouse for a greater chance to advance to the Supremacy Stage later.

Yet, why did I… a trivial Celestial Immortal, a nobody far from being a Profound Immortal, much less a Golden Immortal or a Perfected Golden Immortal, refused a Supreme outright without knowing who she really is?

She wanted to cry but had no tears!

Bella only glanced at Jing Xian'er and no longer paid any attention to this trivial matter. Jing Xian'er may have very stunning looks, a beauty that only a few women in the entire Immortal World could have. Yet, she was not worried about what would happen to her and Tang Xiu. Firstly, she didn't care whether it would happen or not, and secondly, she knew Tang Xiu's character. Regardless of whether this female had a beauty that could topple a kingdom and ruin a country and their people with her absolute beauty, Tang Xiu would likely not be moved by her at all.

Time fleeted by.

Tang Xiu and Bella returned to the Immortal Lyceum region, roughly tens of thousands of kilometers away from the Misty Spring Ocean. They then discovered a company of 100 warriors searching for something in a dense mountain forest. They looked like they were searching for an enemy, likely a formidable one.

"Let's have a look."

Tang Xiu's expression shifted and he immediately flew towards them. As his figure appeared in front of them, the company immediately became vigilant, looking at him as though facing a formidable enemy. Then, Tang Xiu immediately said lightly, "It's me! What happened here? You seem to be very vigilant."

"Greetings, Your Majesty!"

The Captain of the company led all the soldiers to kneel on one knee immediately before reporting to Tang Xiu, "Your Majesty, the army of our Great Tang Empire is centered at the Misty Spring Ocean and is now expanding outward in four directions at an extremely fast speed. Once in a while, we have some frictions with some people from the Immortal Lyceum region. We have them routed and taken them captive. But a few days ago, our army encountered unprecedented resistance from a group led by someone from the Immortal Lyceum. Our commander, however, suspects that the other party is not from the Immortal Lyceum but an undercover agent of another force."

Tang Xiu raised his brows and asked, "How many people are in this group, and what is the cultivation level of their leader?"

"This group has 24 people and its leader is a Celestial Immortal."

Tang Xiu turned to Sablefiend Scorpio and lightly ordered, "You stay here to deal with this issue. Remember, if the other party refuses to surrender, expel them but do not kill them."

"Understood, Lord!" Sablefiend Scorpio respectfully nodded.

Afterward, Tang Xiu and Bella flew away, leaving Jing Xian'er to Sablefiend Scorpio. Due to Bella's cultivation level aided by the Lightflow Wing, their flying speed was truly against heaven. It took them only 15 minutes to arrive at the Misty Spring Island.

At the Myriad Golden Catamaran.

After coming back, Tang Xiu placed the Myriad Golden Catamaran directly atop a towering mountain surrounded by clouds and fog, causing the place to look palatial and magnificent. Tang Xiu planned to use this site as the meeting hall of the Great Tang Empire and his residence.

On the first floor.

Tang Xiu sat on the temporarily placed Dragon Throne as he glanced across the faces of nearly a hundred high-ranking officials of the Great Tang Empire inside. Afterward, he began speaking with satisfaction, "This trip has been quite rewarding, so the first thing I need to announce is that starting today, all members of the Great Tang Empire, from the soldier rank to the Elder rank, will receive double their original allowance."

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

Everyone present smiled. Most of them had followed Tang Xiu from Earth. They were perfectly aware now that having more cultivation resources would affect their cultivation. Being able to get more of them would increase their cultivation speed by a lot, which was definitely great for them.

On the contrary, all the Perfected Golden Immortals such as Zenith Venerable, Seaway Monarch, Celestial Litho Monstrum, Flaming Demon Feline, Golden-eyed Great Peng, Lupus Chimaera Monstrum, Nethersea Whale King, Apotheon Mu, Apotheon Myriad Notes, Apotheon Soaring Plumb, Apotheon Nine Immortal Fingers, and Enchantress Yu were secretly taken aback. They knew that even though the present Great Tang Empire was not very powerful, it still had a large number of people. The amount of resources needed annually was astronomical.

Further, as Perfected Golden Immortal Stage powerhouses, they had already received a lot of resources themselves. Doubling their allowance would likely make the rate of consumption skyrocket.

"Grand Master," Gu Xiaoxue called out with a worried expression.

"I understand your worries, Xiaoxue." Tang Xiu waved his hand and said, "However, we obtained a massive number of immortal artifacts, Immortal Crystals, and Crystal Essences from the trip to the Secret Palace. The resources we obtained are many times more than the previous entire wealth of the Great Tang Empire, so you don't have to worry about it. Besides, the whole Immortal World is very huge and the number of resources here is countless. We can get these resources from other places even if all of our wealth is consumed."

Having said that, he took out an interspatial ring and handed it to Gu Xiaoxue. "You command the Ministry of Finance of the Great Tang Empire and you're in charge of all the treasury and resources of the state, so take care of the resource allocation."

Afterward, he took a deep breath and continued, "I hereby announce that the Great Tang Empire will form an Internal Affairs Department. Apotheon Mu will serve as the Minister of the Internal Affairs Ministry with Tang Ning and Cheng Xuemei as his deputies. The three of you will be responsible to pick your own department members and to give the list of members you've selected to me for review later. Further, you will discuss with the rest of the departments, including the Ministry of Finance, to formulate a reward and punishment system.

"Aside from that…"

After finishing announcing all the orders, Tang Xiu dismissed everyone and then headed to the place where his parents lived, the Splinter Flower Sea.

The beautiful villa was located in the sea of flowers. The building itself was not an ordinary building, but an artifact refined by Gu Yan'er.

At this time, Su Lingyun was accompanying her Mother-in-law, Zhang Shi, chatting while reading some thick books, whereas Gu Yin was sitting cross-legged next to batches of flowers nearby with colorful butterflies and immortal bees flying around her as she immersed herself in cultivation. A faint aura then surged around her the moment Tang Xiu arrived, enabling him to sense that she had reached the Crossing Tribulation Stage.

Sigh, how time flies. Gu Yin was just a little girl then, and now she has already grown up.

Tang Xiu glanced at Gu Yin's beautiful face and secretly sighed inwardly. Then, he went toward Su Lingyun and Zhang Shi, greeting them with a smiling face. "Hey, Mom, Grandma, are you busy now?"

"Oh, Xiu'er!"

Zhang Shi and Su Lingyun suddenly looked very happy upon seeing Tang Xiu. Ever since they followed Tang Xiu to the Immortal World, Tang Xiu often went out for a year and a half. His last trip was even longer, so they both missed him very much.

"Master!"

Gu Yin, who was cultivating in the shroud of flowers, immediately stopped cultivating the moment she heard Tang Xiu's voice and rushed over with a joyful cry.

Tang Xiu smiled slightly and patted her shoulder. Gu Yin held his arm intimately as he spoke to her with a smile, "How time flies! The little girl Yinyin has now grown into a big girl already! Come, Master will give you a treasure."

"A treasure for me? What is it, Master?" Gu Yin's eyes lit up and she asked curiously.

Tang Xiu took out a Five-colored Dragon Pearl and handed it to her with a smile. "Swallow it and slowly refine it. This is a Five-colored Dragon Pearl of the Sacred Dragon that will greatly help your cultivation."

"Woah, it's so beautiful!" Gu Yin was surprised and happy and kept playing with it.

Tang Xiu only smiled slightly at her response. He obtained a total of 12 Five-colored Dragon Pearls. He already gave one to Star Tears and now gave another to Gu Yin, so he still had 10 left in his interspatial ring. Quickly after, he took out two more and quickly cast a seal to insert it each into the bodies of his mother and grandmother. Afterward, he smilingly said, "Mom, Grandma, you both entered the cultivation path far too late, so your cultivations are too weak. The Five-colored Dragon Pearl will transform your physiques and speed up your cultivation. Therefore, you both must cultivate well. I look forward to seeing you break through to the Immortal Stage."

Su Lingyun smiled slightly in response and said, "Xiu'er, becoming Immortals is not our concern. You know what we are concerned about most. It's been so many years already, so when will you…"

Tang Xiu hastily waved his hand and hollowly smiled. "Uh, please no rush about that, Mom. Just gimme some time. I assure you'll definitely hug many grandchildren in the future."

"Hey, you brat!" Su Lingyun unhappily snapped. "How come we're not worried about you? I... Ugh…"

Tang Xiu was stunned. How could Mother be sick? She entered the cultivation path and is now at the Golden Core Stage with the support of a lot of resources. How can this happen?