As time passed, news about the Battle of Buddha and Demon in Chongzhou spread rapidly outward. First, the Holy Monk from the Western Esoteric Buddhism attempted to convert a group of demons, which resulted in a united resistance from the Chongzhou Demon Practitioners. Then, the Divine Monk Jing Hui, who had seized a body, erupted with combat power comparable to that of a Purple Mansion Cultivator. Lastly, the Blood Demon Old Ancestor Su Jie, the strongest devil from Qingzhou, made a sudden appearance, displaying overwhelmingly strong power. He was a genuine Purple Mansion Cultivator who directly suppressed and killed all the high monks from the Western Regions. This news was too shocking, particularly Su Jie’s ascension to the Purple Mansion Realm. It became a monumental headline that spread like wildfire into every household in the Da Li Dynasty, among various major sects and aristocratic families. As the capital of the Da Li Dynasty, it seemed disconnected from the misery of the disaster victims elsewhere in the Dynasty. While countless citizens in other provinces were troubled by the lack of grain and warm clothing for winter, Da Li City was still full of festivity and revelry. Wealthy merchants and nobles spent money freely, indulging in luxurious lifestyles in opulent restaurants, flower boats, and theaters, riding in carts drawn by spiritual beasts, and indulging in food and drink that commoners could hardly imagine. Even though the Da Li Dynasty faced numerous crises and difficulties, internally with refugees everywhere threatening the foundation of the country, and externally with the Divine Eagle Empire plundering border provinces, demanding land and payments, this couldn’t dampen their carefree lives. The wealth they had could last a hundred lifetimes. In the central axis of Da Li City, there was a rectangular city within a city. The city stretched over three thousand meters in length and one thousand eight hundred meters in width, with ten-meter-high walls not made of ordinary materials, but constructed of the spiritual material Kongtong Stone, inscribed with formation patterns that concentrated the majestic spiritual energy of underground dragon veins. Within the city were magnificent buildings, creating a sacred and solemn atmosphere. This was the Da Li Palace, the core center of power in the Da Li Dynasty. At this moment, in the Fude Hall of the Da Li Palace, light smoke wafted from a bronze incense burner, and a grand meeting was taking place. Civil and military officials were arranged on either side, and at the front, on a jade-stepped dragon throne, a middle-aged man wearing a black dragon robe embroidered with cloud patterns sat lazily with a weary expression, slowly speaking: "Dear ministers, the southern demonic threat worsens. A Purple Mansion Realm Great Demon has emerged, killing Western Holy Monks and uniting the Chongzhou Demon Path. Now, Ghost Ridge Palace Su Jie occupies both Qingzhou and Chongzhou. What are your thoughts?" The speaker was none other than the current Emperor of the Da Li Dynasty, Yongren Sect, Wei Cheng. Below, the civil and military officials stirred. Everyone had heard the news about Su Jie being a Purple Mansion Realm Great Demon, which was the hottest topic in Da Li City recently. "Reporting to Your Majesty, regarding Ghost Ridge Palace Su Jie, I believe we should not mobilize greatly; stability should be our priority." The Minister of Revenue, Zuo Min, stepped forward, slightly bowing, conveying his viewpoint: "The south has always been a region of weak influence for us. We no longer have enough resources to pacify it. As long as that devil Su Jie doesn’t cause trouble, we can confine his influence to the south and focus our main efforts on problems in other directions." "Not so, I think Su Jie is no ordinary demon. His growth rate is too fast; at a young age, he has achieved the Purple Mansion. If not handled quickly, who knows what calamity he could bring in the future." The Minister of Ministry of Industry, Xu Qing, immediately expressed his opposition since, if they were to take military action against Ghost Ridge Palace, the Ministry of Industry could receive large orders and make a substantial profit. "Hmph, it’s easy for Mr. Xu Qing to say that, but that is a Purple Mansion Realm devil, whose mastery of the Blood Sea Devouring Sky Demon Skill is unparalleled in Purple Mansion. Acting rashly might lead to a severe loss." "I’m just expressing my opinion. Shall we simply watch Ghost Ridge Palace grow stronger? The south is an important source of tax revenue for our Da Li Dynasty. If demon threats sweep through, how will the gap in the treasury be filled?" The argument, starting with the Ministry of Revenue and Ministry of Industry, quickly drew more civil and military officials into the debate. However, most did not favor deploying troops to judge Ghost Ridge Palace directly. The current Da Li Dynasty seemed like an old and frail elder running out of ambition and energy. "Minister Yue, you are the Minister of War, what’s your view?" Wei Cheng, irritated by the chaotic debate, suddenly directed his gaze towards the Minister of War, Yue Zhifeng. "Reporting to Your Majesty, to pacify Ghost Ridge Palace, we would need at least three thousand Xuan Tie Dragon Riders, deploy more than ten Flying Magical Boats, muster eighty thousand military, and coordinate with Taoist Platform Realm generals. Currently, most of our forces are deployed in the north to guard against the Divine Eagle Empire. The southern forces are sparse, requiring deployments from the Northern Military Camp, West Army Camp, and Capital Camp, which will take a long time. We need at least half a year to prepare. Most importantly, we need the Heavenly Patrol Department to send out enough experts capable of countering Su Jie, this Purple Mansion Realm Great Demon. The Ministry of War currently lacks Purple Mansion Realm experts to take on the main effort against Su Jie." Yue Zhifeng stepped forward to explain the difficulties faced by the Ministry of War. Last year, the Divine Eagle Empire to the north invaded the borders, and the Ministry of War of the Da Li Dynasty was defeated in battle, losing cities and territory, with a severe loss of troops. The soldiers managed by the Ministry of War of the Da Li Dynasty were not ordinary local county troops. The martial soldiers managed by the Ministry of War were all cultivators. The Ministry recruited talented soldiers and nurtured them with blessed lands, cultivation techniques, and spirit stones, promoting them based on their enemy-killing merits and cultivation levels. For instance, the elite Xuan Tie Dragon Riders, each had a cultivation at or above the sixth level of the Yunling Realm, equipped with spiritual beasts like Dragon Blood Horses, Xuan Tie Battle Armor, and magic artifacts. A centurion must have Secret Realm cultivation, a chiliarch at least Secret Realm Fifth Level cultivation, and a commander needed to be a Taoist Platform Realm powerhouse to qualify. "How can it be so difficult to mobilize eighty thousand troops from our Da Li Dynasty’s registered five hundred thousand martial soldiers? Even if it’s to guard the north and prevent the Divine Eagle Empire, the troop deployment shouldn’t be this slow!" A low-ranking official from the Ministry of Rites suddenly spoke, puzzled, having just been transferred from Anzhou on the eastern side to Da Li City and was unfamiliar with the affairs of the court. Many officials in Fude Hall exchanged strange glances. Though it was said there were five hundred thousand soldiers on the register, where were there that many? Many martial soldiers were just names on a nominal roll and did not actually exist. These soldiers would forever remain only on the roll. The misuse of military stipends was quite severe in the Da Li Dynasty, a commonly acknowledged fact among civil and military officials, though the small officers from other regions were still naïve about it. As the military stipend for the martial soldiers was paid with spirit stones in the Da Li Dynasty, a ghost stipend meant at least fifteen low-grade spirit stones a month. Now, with the nation’s difficult situation, the funds allocated by the national treasury for military stipends were getting less each year. The high-ranking officials first took a share, the officials in the Ministry of War took a share, and the officers below also took a share, so six or seven-tenths were gone by the time it was distributed to the soldiers. There was no possible way to maintain so many troops, so it was better to just have ghost stipends, benefiting all without anyone objecting, not even the Imperial Censor who turned a blind eye. Nobody addressed this foolish question, but Zuo Min suddenly laughed coldly and made a suggestion. "Three thousand Xuan Tie Dragon Riders, eighty thousand martial soldiers, such a massive mobilization expense, our Ministry of Revenue has no money, but I know each of you esteemed gentlemen has piles of wealth. Why not all a sum of spirit stones to alleviate the burden for the Emperor and the dynasty? Mr. Xu, I heard you just took a new concubine, why don’t you lead by example and set a model for everyone?" Zuo Min suddenly laughed coldly, proposing a suggestion. As soon as he said this, the room immediately fell silent. Xu Qing, who earlier looked angry with the determination to eradicate Ghost Ridge Palace, changed his expression. He glared resentfully at Zuo Min, then sneakily glanced at Wei Cheng on the dragon throne, who seemed half-awake, gave a couple of dry laughs: "Surely Lord Zuo jests. I have always been an incorruptible and honest official; how could I produce such a large sum of silver?" He then gritted his teeth, making a face as if ready to sacrifice, and said: "But as a member of the populace, I am willing to give all my savings, personally contributing a thousand low-grade spirit stones to lift the troops’ spirits." Zuo Min quietly watched Xu Qing’s performance. Here was a rich man, able to offer a thousand low-grade spirit stones, which was not even enough to sustain one Xuan Tie Dragon Rider. He knew how wealthy Xu Qing was; he had dozens of properties, residences, and shops just in Da Li City, ran commercial teams, had many subordinates who paid him tributes, and his assets began at five million spirit stones. "Your Majesty, you know I am always honest and love the people, all money goes to help the poor." "Your Majesty, our family has been farmers for generations, I haven’t spent a dime, it’s all saved at home, only around two hundred spirit stones, I’m willing to all to the treasury to help Your Majesty resist the Qingzhou demonic threat." More and more high-ranking officials began to stand up, contribute three hundred, five hundred, some even held back entirely, swiftly gathering a total of 8,000 low-grade spirit stones, which roughly equates to the military stipend of 500 martial soldiers for a month. "Dismissed, we shall discuss this matter another day." Upon hearing the massive 8,000 spirit stones, Emperor Wei Cheng of the Da Li Dynasty was dazzled by the number and left the court in a huff. Quickly, rumors spread widely about the Emperor soliciting donations from officials for the demon-suppression military fund. Afraid the Emperor was serious, officials of civil and military ranks lamented, exaggerating their poverty in numerous ways. The current head of the cabinet put his own residence up for sale, the Minister of Rites deliberately dressed in worn-out clothes to court, and instead of riding in a sedan chair, he walked to work. The most exaggerated was Cai Fangyi, the Emperor’s father-in-law. To show his sincerity, he offered to 20,000 spirit stones, but only 500 out of his own pocket, the rest was by pleading poverty to his daughter, the current Empress of the Da Li Dynasty. Follow current novels on 𝓷𝓸𝓿𝓮𝓵⁂𝓯𝓲𝓻𝓮⁂𝓷𝓮𝓽 Not to embarrass herself, the Empress sold her own jewelry to raise money for her father. But although she raised a full 50,000 spirit stones, only 20,000 were d to the treasury. As for the other 30,000 spirit stones, their whereabouts remained unknown. Conversely, individuals and groups from the Da Li Dynasty responded to the call, with donations from brothels and similar establishments alone exceeding 100,000 spirit stones, more than twice what all the civil and military officials combined to . Because of the empty national treasury, the campaign against rebels, the fight against the Demon Path, and the resolution of the Ghost Ridge Palace situation, naturally all came to nothing.