344: Empress, please take me in.

Shang Wan Ning was even more direct, her finger pointing straight at the xuan yuan soul nurturing lotus. "This is the one."

"Ding! Purchase of [xuan yuan soul nurturing lotus] confirmed. 150 billion incense points deducted."

As the system prompt faded, Shang Wan Ning's incense value jumped from 1,853.946 billion to 1,703.946 billion.

A cluster of warm white light shimmered in the Empress's palm.

The lotus pedestal was compact, its petals covered in dense profound patterns. Leaning in, one could catch a faint, clean, bitter fragrance. Spiritual energy flowed slowly like water; upon touching the skin, it even made the soul feel a few degrees more relaxed.

Meng Jiang finally withdrew her gaze from the horizon, letting it fall on the lotus pedestal before moving it to Shang Wan Ning's eyes.

"Over one hundred and fifty billion... Your Majesty is truly willing? The expenses for all parts of the Underworld and the Mercury shield all rely on these incense offerings."

Shang Wan Ning held the halo of light and offered it forward with a completely casual posture. Her phoenix eyes locked onto Sister Meng, rippling with a natural, flamboyant confidence.

"Sister is about to charge into the eighth rank; I must support you even if I have to sell everything I own. If the incense offerings are gone, they can be plundered again, but if Sister damages her foundation while breaking through..."

She tilted her chin slightly. "Where else would I find such a good Sister Meng?"

Meng Jiang stared at her for a few seconds and suddenly smiled. That smile spread out, diluting the heavy solemnity around her.

She didn't take the lotus pedestal immediately; instead, she took a step forward, drawing extremely close.

The collar of her deep purple palace dress brushed against the phoenix robe, making a slight rustling sound. Cool fingers pinched Shang Wan Ning's chin, forcing her to tilt her head up slightly.

"As expected~"

Meng Jiang's breath brushed over Shang Wan Ning's lips, her voice low and magnetic. "The way A Ning pulls out incense offerings is even more deserving of a 'god's' love than when you're lying on the bed~" The end of her sentence vanished between their touching lips.

This kiss contained an unquestionable force.

Meng Jiang's other hand gripped the back of Shang Wan Ning's neck, her fingertips sliding into the pinned-up bun, causing the white jade crown to tilt askew.

Shang Wan Ning was only stunned for a moment before she immediately took the lead.

Her free hand wrapped around Meng Jiang's waist, pressing the woman heavily against herself. The halo of the lotus pedestal was squeezed between their pressed chests as the bitter fragrance diffused silently.

The high platform was empty, and a dark wind swirled past the black-gold commander's flag. The hollow eye sockets of the hideous ghost head on the flag seemed to be staring directly at the two entangled people below.

After a long time, their lips parted.

Meng Jiang's breath was slightly ragged, and her lip color was even more vivid than before. She released her hand from the back of Shang Wan Ning's neck and instead pinched the other's small earlobe, her fingertip brushing past that silver starlight earring.

"Wait for me."

She took the lotus pedestal from Shang Wan Ning's palm. The halo merged into her hand, and her aura was instantly restrained.

"Sister will break through to the eighth rank for Your Majesty to see." With that, the deep purple figure turned into a streak of purple light, shooting straight toward the meditation room of Meng Pos Shop.

Shang Wan Ning stood in place, her tongue licking the corner of her lips that were slightly numb from the kiss. Staring in the direction where Sister Meng had disappeared, a light of absolute determination burned in her eyes.

"Xiao Si."

"Present, Host!"

"Keep a close eye on Meng Pos Shop. The commotion of charging into the eighth rank won't be small. Don't let those old things in the Source Realm catch the scent and find an opening."

"Understood. Shield power increased to alert status, Netherworld Bone-Corroding Vine spore matrix on standby..." The system's light screen flickered.

Shang Wan Ning took one last look toward Meng Pos Shop, then turned, her imperial robe fluttering... Netherworld, Jiaotai Palace.

Shang Wan Ning leaned back in her phoenix chair, her phoenix robe loosely draped, revealing a section of her collarbone. "Xiao Si, bring up the accounts."

The light screen instantly unfolded, the crimson numbers stinging the eyes.

incense value: 1,703.946 billion

Mercury Shield Annual Consumption: 36.5 billion

Sunken Firing Range Pre-buried Consumables: 100 billion (currently being deducted in installments)

Estimated resource gap for Sister Meng's eighth-rank breakthrough and subsequent boundary stabilization: no less than 80 billion incense offerings.

Underworld daily operations, ghost soldier salaries, departmental expenditures... "Tsk."

Shang Wan Ning ground her back teeth. With 150 billion spent on the xuan yuan soul nurturing lotus, the hole was visibly widening.

[Scrape, I must scrape, scrape them to death.]

[If I don't scrape them, I wouldn't be Shang the Twist, Shang the Skin Flayer.]

Her divine sense sank into the Underworld's core database, retrieving the incense income details. Her slender hand swiped across the light screen, and the data stream washed up and down like a waterfall.

Offerings from the various human nations were stable, and the share from Leah of the Elf Race's entertainment industry showed a considerable increase.

Over at the Abyss Church on the Ativi Continent, You Yu had just sent back the first batch of cross-plane incense offerings. The amount wasn't large, but its sustainability was a plus.

"Heh, a drop in the bucket!" Shang Wan Ning sneered, her gaze locking onto the final gray area—the Demon realm.

Feng Xi's Grass Spirit Dog Clan were die-hard supporters of the Underworld, and their offerings had never been lacking. However, the entire Demon realm was vast with ten thousand clans; most Demon clans maintained a respectful distance from the Underworld, some even harboring wariness.

Even if she had seized the Demon realm from Zhu Yan and beaten the Demon clans into submission, this portion of incense potential was nearly non-existent.

"Respectful distance?" A cold light flashed in Shang Wan Ning's eyes. "Then I'll make them 'have to respect, and have to be close'."

She tapped on a communication jade talisman, and an encrypted command pierced through the barriers, reaching directly to the banks of the Wangchuan River.

"Patriarch Feng Xi, come see me at once."

Feng Xi gripped the jade talisman she had just received, her eyes suddenly bulging. The divine power fluctuations on the talisman were chilly, short, and sharp—one look and she knew it wasn't a joke.

She didn't dare dally. A faint green spiritual light surged around her, and with a "whoosh," she flew toward Jiaotai Palace.

In the side hall of Jiaotai Palace, the smoke of aloeswood drifted in mid-air. Yet, it still couldn't suppress the tense atmosphere in the hall.

The moment Feng Xi stepped into the hall, she met the Empress's frost-cold phoenix eyes. Her back straightened instantly, and she hurried to bow. "Your Majesty."

"Sit." Shang Wan Ning jerked her chin toward a jade stool below, without a single word of pleasantry.

She tapped her finger on the desk. "The Demon clans of the Demon realm—what percentage of them are currently providing offerings to the Underworld?"

Feng Xi's buttocks, which had just touched the seat, stiffened again, and her voice trembled slightly. "Reporting to Your Majesty, aside from my entire Grass Spirit Dog Clan and a few other tribes with some friendship with the Underworld, the rest are less than ten percent."

She quickly lowered her head, not daring to look at Shang Wan Ning's face.

This was an obvious matter. The various clans of the Demon realm all had their own ancestral spirit beliefs. They were scared to death of the Underworld that had suddenly fought its way in; how could they possibly offer incense voluntarily!!

"Less than ten percent?"

The sound of Shang Wan Ning's knuckles rapping on the desk suddenly became clear, striking Feng Xi's nerves one by one. "The Demon realm is undergoing a comprehensive transformation, and every Demon is benefiting. The Underworld maintains the order of Yin and Yang and suppresses evil spirits, protecting the stability of the entire Mercury Plane."

"And yet they are fine with taking advantage for free, unwilling to even part with a bit of incense?"

Fine sweat broke out on Feng Xi's forehead, and she hurriedly stood up to explain: "Your Majesty, please appease your anger! It's not that the clans are unwilling, it's truly..."

"It's truly that they feel the Underworld's hand is reaching too far, interfering in their Demon territory?"

"Or are they hoping the Great Demons of the Demon realm will fight their way back?" Shang Wan Ning interrupted Patriarch Feng's words, the curve of her lips holding not a shred of a smile.

"Feng Xi, I will give you a plan. Implement the 'Yin God Enshrinement System' in the Demon realm."

"Yin God Enshrinement System?" Feng Xi looked up blankly, her eyes full of confusion.