You don't want your secret to be revealed by others, right?-Chapter 454 - 43, Demon God Reincarnation_2

However, competing for merit in disaster relief required seizing the initiative immediately, so how could they afford to wait patiently?

Everyone immediately understood... this time, the biggest winner in the disaster relief efforts would most likely be the newly appointed official.

...

The Autumn Snow Pavilion in Di Hong City was a special place specifically for cultivators to indulge themselves, consisting of beautiful female cultivators, gambling fights… various pleasures, and it was known as a den that consumed gold.

Since its establishment hundreds of years ago, it had earned countless treasures, but no cultivator dared to target it.

Because everyone understood that the Autumn Snow Pavilion was backed by a prince.

"Autumn Snow Pavilion?"

A luxurious carriage entered the grand courtyard of the Autumn Snow Pavilion. A hand lifted the curtain of the carriage, revealing a man dressed in opulent clothes, with eyebrows dark as ink and a pair of deep, black eyes that held an inexplicably mesmerizing attraction.

He was the Eighth Prince, Prince Xian.

The Eighth Prince glanced at the signboard and frowned slightly, "Autumn fruit... Autumn snow? Hmph, when I tasked the Princess with naming it, how did she come up with such a name?"

Just thinking about that Autumn Fruit filled him with endless rage.

After entering the Autumn Snow Pavilion, the Eighth Prince advanced directly to a building that was not open to the public.

Within a three-story building, the Twelfth Prince sat on the floor, casually flipping through some books.

"Twelfth Brother seems less and less like the Myriad Poison Demon Ancestor nowadays."

The Eighth Prince sat across from the Twelfth Prince, picked up a book from the table, and said coldly, "You might as well switch to studying Confucianism."

"The Confucian way stresses the resonance between heaven and man and values destiny. For Poison Skill, this could be a fresh perspective," the Twelfth Prince spoke calmly. "I have a premonition that if I could make further progress through this, my Poison Skill might even reach a point where it can Transcend Heaven and Earth."

"Is that so?" the Eighth Prince put down the book and said no more.

"Heavenly Demon's wrath? Eighth Brother, are you in a bad mood?" the Twelfth Prince surveyed the Eighth Prince.

"How could I possibly be in a good mood?"

The Eighth Prince exclaimed angrily, "I had prepared for so long, only for it to be ruined by a mere guard of the Seventeenth Prince, causing me to lose countless merits for nothing."

"It appears to be because of that Autumn Fruit."

The Twelfth Prince nodded slightly and said, "I've also tasted that Autumn Fruit. Compared to ordinary food, it indeed satiates hunger and thirst much better, and tastes far more delicious. After that guard of the Seventeenth Prince became the official, he had the advantage in principle, and using this Autumn Fruit for disaster relief made the Mortals naturally prioritize grabbing this Autumn Fruit."

The Eighth Prince's expression turned icy.

Even though his staff had also devised strategies and acted as swiftly as possible in disaster relief, they still were too slow.

After all, his plan was to wait another half a year when Great Yong was on the verge of a severe famine, potentially killing ten to twenty million people, then start relief efforts simultaneously across regions, which would hugely increase the merit gained.

But now, hardly anyone had perished from starvation, and shortages had just begun to appear when Baili Fengzhi, as the new official, started the disaster relief, transporting massive amounts of Autumn Fruits to all regions in advance and beginning their distribution, while also vigorously promoting the Autumn Fruits.

This sudden developement had caught him off-guard, so the grains he had hoarded hadn't been distributed or transported to the regions in a more strategic manner yet.

Moreover, since the famine hadn't truly begun, the Mortals obviously didn't cherish food that much, evidently preferring the Autumn Fruits instead, so most Mortal citizens preferred to queue for Autumn Fruits, leaving his stockpiled old grains untouched.

Not to mention, the number of Autumn Fruits far exceeded his hoarded grains.

"Did the Seventeenth Prince intentionally disrupt plans, or is his heart genuinely soft?"

The Eighth Prince laughed bitterly out of anger, "The famine hasn't even truly started, yet he sends people to engage in disaster relief, isn't he too impatient? Is he really that afraid of some insignificant Mortals dying of starvation? Doesn't he know that if he just waits for corpses to be everywhere, he could gain many times the merit?"

"This Seventeenth Brother of ours isn't someone soft-hearted," the Twelfth Prince said coolly. "It's probably the influence of the Seventh Princess."

The Eighth Prince's expression remained cold as he said, "Who would have thought, the Seventh Princess has been busy farming for these past ten years, yet actually managed to produce such a thing, over a hundred billion jin? I wonder how long that took her."

"It's uncertain how long it took, but that hundred billion jin of Autumn Fruit likely isn't all that the Seventh Princess has in stock." freewebnøvel.coɱ

The Twelfth Prince continued, "Unless it's a cultivator's method, even if Mortals save it carefully, it would last at most two to three months. Since she dares to distribute so much at once, there must be more to follow."

"This isn't relief; it's a boon!" the Eighth Prince scoffed scornfully. "Such an excessive amount, she's essentially blessing all of Great Yong's citizens."

"We can't compete for merit."

The Twelfth Prince whispered, "But Eighth Brother need not worry too much, everything has two sides. While what the Seventh Princess is doing is undoubtedly virtuous, human greed is not something she can satisfy alone. Rising favors foster gratitude, falling proves thankless, her actions will ultimately be met with the bitterness of the masses... humans are just that nature."

"I understand," the Eighth Prince sneered. "Even if I can't handle it, Duanmu Yan won't simply stand by."

The Twelfth Prince frowned slightly, his voice cold, "What? Eighth Brother, are you still collaborating with Duanmu Yan? Do you not know that he has already turned into a Demon Clan member? Cooperating with him is like plotting with a tiger for its skin."

The Eighth Prince looked at him and said, "Knowing this, what can we do? Duanmu Yan acts without any restrictions, nor does he fear sin. As long as he hides somewhere in Great Yong and kills as an Avatar, what can we possibly do against him?"

He knew that the Twelfth Prince, being the reincarnation of the Myriad Poison Demon Ancestor, most hates the Demon Clan, and his greatest wish was to exterminate all the Demon Clan in the world.