[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-ascending-to-the-jade-palace":3,"chapter-ascending-to-the-jade-palace-ascending-to-the-jade-palace-chapter-34":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Ascending to the Jade Palace",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2320496,4538,"Chapter 34","ascending-to-the-jade-palace-chapter-34",34,"\u003Cp>One blink, one open, three years had passed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As the saying goes, fairy palaces enter dreams, and a hundred years of cultivation feel like no time at all.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cultivation is like this: for great cultivators, even a hundred years is merely the duration of a single retreat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But for a boy like Yulou, three years is more than enough to shed his childishness.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Over the three years, Qingxi Fang seemed unchanged; Gao Jian, who once served as Bao’s dog, never followed his master Jiang Bao away, but instead became a provisional disciple under the new Garrison Cultivator.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though this world lacks the tale of the traitorous three-family servant, Gao Jian’s reputation as a two-family servant remains legendary.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet the outsiders’ cold glances and disdain could not touch Gao Jian’s “power.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As Yulou stepped out of Fuyuan Inn, he ran straight into Gao Jian, who was leading a law-enforcement patrol and harassing an elderly hermit cultivator.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yulou said nothing, merely nodded calmly at Gao Jian in greeting.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Xianmao’s earlier intervention to save Gao Jian had earned him Gao Jian’s guarded care for Yulou and his brother—though it was barely better than nothing, it might yet prove useful.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yulou, the day after tomorrow I’m taking a concubine; remember to bring your brother.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gao Jian was unusually warm, extending the invitation himself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He held such concubine ceremonies every year—it was a special form of protection fee collection.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But if Yulou came, he wouldn’t have to pay a single coin.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Moreover, Gao Jian didn’t keep the protection fees for himself—beyond Qingxi Fang’s established Red Lantern system, there was another set of regulations belonging to the Garrison Cultivator.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Got any spirit rice?” Yulou stopped and asked with a smile.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yulou was the type who never took a loss; hearing the question, Gao Jian didn’t get angry.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Haha, if you bring me gifts, I’ll let you sit at the head table.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The man named Gao wouldn’t make things hard for himself—he calculated everything clearly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Face is face, favor is favor, spirit rice is spirit rice—no one gets to eat for free.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Alright, Yuan eats a lot; don’t be stingy then, Senior Gao.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Amid Yuan’s puzzled gaze, Yulou and Gao Jian bantered back and forth until they were both worn out.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Don’t worry, don’t worry,” Gao Jian promised eagerly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As the two brothers walked away, Gao Jian’s smile slowly vanished, returning to his vicious demeanor; he glared at the pinned hermit and barked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Five spirit stones for entry fee. Be sensible—don’t tell me a Qi Refining fifth-layer cultivator can’t afford five spirit stones.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I paid yesterday—I have an entry token, and isn’t the fee just one spirit stone?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yesterday was yesterday, today is today. Five stones is your penalty for lacking today’s entry token. Pay up!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“He’s already chosen his own death.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As they moved farther from Gao Jian, Yulou murmured.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“How so?” Yuan asked, confused.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Jiang Bao abandoned him—that means Gao Jian has no chance of Foundation Establishment; his Qi Refining path must be wrong.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now he’s frantic, squeezing spirit stones from hermits, trying to hoard resources for Foundation Establishment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But acquiring Foundation Establishment resources by purchase requires at least fifty thousand spirit stones; even my master spent years and still didn’t gather enough—how could Gao Jian possibly collect them by squeezing hermits?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yuan did the math and felt Yulou had miscalculated.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“He extorts five spirit stones per hermit, ten a day—that’s fifty a day, nearly twenty thousand a year; in three years he could reach Foundation Establishment.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yulou smiled, stepped into Huafeng Inn, and left only one phrase hanging in the air.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You mean he likes to eat alone?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yuan slapped his own head in frustration and followed Yulou into Huafeng Inn.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yuan was imaginative indeed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gao Jian gathers twenty thousand spirit stones a year?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Anyone hearing that would think he’s the Garrison Cultivator!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Sister!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing Sister Ningyao at the door, Yuan straightened his posture instinctively.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhong Ningyao pointed to the back chamber and said gently,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Go in quickly—it’s your crucial day today; your brother’s already inside.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yuan nodded and invited,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Don’t worry, there won’t be any problem. By the way, we’re planning to visit the Ghost Market tonight—want to come with us?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing Yulou and Yuan were going to the Ghost Market, Sister Ningyao grew interested, but still shook her head.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“My father won’t let me go...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yulou and Yuan had at least grown up on Wang Family Mountain and lived in two places in their lives.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhong Ningyao had grown up entirely in Qingxi Fang; Master Hongmei feared for his daughter’s safety and never allowed her to step beyond Qingxi Fang’s gates.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I see... Then, Sister, I’ll go in now.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This foolish boy, after two sentences, had no idea how to continue the conversation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Do your best—you’re the best!” Zhong Ningyao said.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yuan walked into the back chamber with a dopey grin; Hongmei saw his expression and immediately grew furious.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>You brat—if you weren’t my disciple, do you think I wouldn’t beat you?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Stop grinning and come over here!” Hongmei snapped.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Due to the limits of your magic power, you Qi Refining alchemists can only forge low-grade magic treasures—but that doesn’t mean you can only learn to forge low-grade ones.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The forging of magic treasures follows patterns; in my view, low-grade and mid-grade differ little—it’s merely a matter of flame control and forging skill.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Today, each of you will use ninth-grade ink jade and ninth-grade blood-soaked purple copper as base materials to forge mid-grade magic treasure blanks.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For the seals, only inscribe three basic ones—but leave ample room for later refinement.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The reason my ink jade beads and that turtle shell were later refined so easily is because I left space for future refinement seals when I forged them originally.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now, each pick one spirit material and begin.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yulou gave the ninth-grade ink jade to Yuan and took the blood-soaked purple copper himself—it was harder.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Beyond grade, even within the same grade and category, spirit materials have unique properties.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Purple copper is normally a ninth-grade spirit metal, but when treated with special beast blood or other unnameable spiritual bloods, it becomes blood-soaked purple copper.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The specific effects vary depending on the type of spiritual blood and the treatment method—this step is called endowing nature.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Endowing nature, this special method of spirit material processing, is among the most critical parts of alchemy transmission, a treasure that major sects like the Red Lanterns refuse to teach outsiders.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For example, a wood-element cultivator needing a weapon made of spirit metal might choose a material endowed with wood-nature to greatly enhance compatibility during use.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But the greater the advantage gained, the greater the cost—endowed-nature materials are far harder to forge.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This is precisely why Yulou chose the blood-soaked purple copper.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yuan, have you decided how to forge this ink jade?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hongmei looked at the ink jade in Yuan’s hand and asked sternly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He wasn’t worried about Yulou—this child was a monster; after only three years of study, his alchemy skill already rivaled his own after seven or eight years.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yuan, now at Qi Refining fifth layer, probed the ink jade with his magic power; after a long while, he looked up at his master with eager hope and asked,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Master, can I forge the ink jade bead?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yulou’s ink jade bead and his turtle shell—Yuan had studied them both extensively.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If he forged the ink jade bead, he was confident he could inscribe three seals and still leave room for seven more refinement seals.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hongmei took a deep breath.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Calm down, calm down, calm down!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Do I look like an ink jade bead?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Forge the jade axe—only the blade part. And this time, remember to leave the hole for the handle!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes, Master!”\u003C\u002Fp>",1287,"2026-06-20T15:48:26.995Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","48ba70751f66c1a148c9e108e8e88c62c04909d8c8c28354b400ab023d6bbfc1","ascending-to-the-jade-palace-chapter-35","ascending-to-the-jade-palace-chapter-33",243,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fascending-to-the-jade-palace-cover.jpg"]