The Immortal's Wine Store

Hanzo and the others immediately went to the imperial palace to find the Demon Emperor, but when they arrived, they discovered he wasn't there. They then asked an imperial guard about the emperor's whereabouts, but when they heard the imperial guard's answer, Hanzo and the rest were taken aback.

"His Majesty is cleaning Wine Master Jiu Shen's garden?" Hanzo frowned, but he immediately went out of the imperial palace and headed straight to the lotus building. He was a bit skeptical about the imperial guard's words.

"Lord Hanzo, what do you think about this? I feel that the imperial guard isn't lying." Demon Ancestor Jun said with a blank look on his face.

Hanzo shook his head lightly. "I'm not sure, but those imperial guards wouldn't dare lie to us. There might be a reason why His Majesty is doing this, so let's go there and find things out on our own."

When the group arrived in front of the lotus building, they quickly entered the gates and went directly to the garden.

"Your Majesty?" Hanzo and the others called out with dumbfounded looks.

In front of them were two individuals cleaning the garden with wooden brooms. One was an average-looking human wearing a straw hat, while the other was a ferocious demon in similar attire.

At this moment, the two of them were happily chatting as they swept the fallen leaves on the ground.

When Balmond heard someone calling him out, he turned his gaze and saw Hanzo with a few others. He then frowned when he saw their current state.

After checking them using his spiritual vision, he realized that their injuries were quite severe! Hanzo in particular had it worst. His internal organs were in disarray and some of his bones were broken! One of his arms was even cut off!

Hanzo and the others abruptly kneeled in front of Balmond. Hanzo then reported what they had experienced in the Divine Beast Continent. He told the emperor about the sacrifice of the fallen and also everyone's achievements. After that, he emotionally took out the spiritual herbs that cost the lives of their comrades and passed them to the Demon Emperor.

"Here are the spiritual herbs, Your Majesty!"

Each herb was placed inside a special jade box that can preserve its herbal efficacy and true essence.

Balmond took the jade boxes with a heavy look. He was glad that he finally have the chance to heal his son, but he was also saddened by the deaths of his competent subordinates. "The families of those who died will receive compensation from the imperial palace. If you have their corpses, make sure that they will be buried gloriously."

"Yes, Your Majesty!" They answered in unison.

"As for you guys, I'll ask Wine Master Jiu Shen to create suitable cultivation techniques. If he agrees, it will be a great opportunity for all of you. If he doesn't agree, I can give you an ample amount of resources. With it, your chances of breaking through the Void God Realm in the future will slightly increase." Balmond said with a serious look.

Hanzo and the rest were a bit confused when they heard this.

Ask Wine Master Jiu Shen to create cultivation techniques for them? Despite their curiosity, no one dared to question the Demon Emperor.

Balmond merely smiled when he saw their confused expressions. He then took out a few high-level healing pills and gave them to the kneeling demons. "Leave and recuperate well. There will be war in a few days. I will need you guys to be with me in battle!"

Hearing this, the faces of Hanzo and the others turned grim. They knew about the dispute between the Bloodfallen Family and the other two founding families. However, they were a bit surprised that the battle between them would soon arrive. Even so, they all bowed at the Demon Emperor as they said. "Yes, Your Majesty!"

After seeing them leave, Balmond's expression became slightly melancholic. He couldn't help but tightly grip the jade boxes in his hands.

"You have such fine subordinates, Brother Balmond. You should treat them well..." Yue Bo stood beside him and patted the demon's shoulder.

Balmond nodded his head absentmindedly. "I know. Now, I only have to wait for Wine Master Jiu Shen. Hopefully, he will agree to my request. That way, those men can be properly rewarded."

***

"Your Majesty, I've already taken the resources and treasures from our treasure vault. Everything is inside this storage ring." Lou Baiqing said as he handed a golden ring to Demon Empress Ganda. Inside this storage ring were numerous high-level spiritual plants and cultivation resources. The quantity and quality of the items here were even greater in overall value than what the Lycan Family and Torgrim Family gave them some time ago.

The red-haired beauty took the ring. "Baiqing, come with me to the lotus building. We will give this to Balmond and ask for his forgiveness. Our Narda Principality must ally ourselves with the Bloodfallen Family. If we do things right, we might even receive Jiu Shen's recognition."

Demon Empress Ganda was a bit reluctant to do this. She was a prideful woman and she didn't want to lower her head to someone, but she had no choice. Standing behind Balmond and the Bloodfallen Family was a behemoth who could easily kill her and destroy the Narda Principality. She was afraid to make any careless move that might incite Jiu Shen's rage.

Meanwhile, Lou Baiqing's face twitched. 'Your Majesty, can you not let this lowly one have a moment of rest? I've been busy handling matters on your behalf that I didn't even have the time to eat and sleep...'

"Ah, this... Can I take a short rest- Haha! Of course! I'm not tired at all! How could I be tired? I will prepare a carriage for us, Your Majesty! Please wait for me." Lou Baiqing quickly left the mansion.

Demon Empress Ganda glanced at Lou Baiqing's fleeing silhouette with a smile. She then glanced at the golden ring in her hand and muttered. "Jiu Shen..."