Chapter 168

Only to see before him a set of exquisitely beautiful rainbow fairy robes, exquisitely beautiful, with merit-gold light flowing all over.

This is also a merit magical artifact.

Pure merit magical artifacts are of very limited help to Qingxiao Daoist Monarch, unless they have special functions, like the previous purple-gold lamp and merit lotus.

Otherwise, only merit magical treasures with wondrous abilities can arouse the interest of a Daoist Monarch.

But the light flowing from the rainbow fairy robe before him made Qingxiao Daoist Monarch's wonderful eyes show a smile.

It has defensive ability and also possesses beauty and prestige—such a fairy robe, who wouldn't like it!

He casually put this set of wide-sleeved fairy robe into his bag.

Qingxiao Daoist Monarch slowly rose to her feet, her eyes gazing toward the depths of the Two Worlds Pool.

Various thoughts flashed through her mind.

After a moment, she extended a slender jade hand, upon which appeared a beautiful golden lotus flower, within which seven-colored golden light was contained.

Jade Pool Golden Lotus.

This item was bestowed upon her by the Holy Mother of the Jade Pool when she attained the Daoist Monarch realm; there are nine in total.

It is a spiritual object for suppressing her Dao field.

It is very precious.

This item can be considered an upgraded version of the Jade Pool Golden Lotus seed; on top of the original medicinal effects of the Jade Pool Golden Lotus seed, it also possesses many mysterious and wonderful abilities.

However, it must be used wisely.

Qingxiao Daoist Monarch then casually tossed it into the Two Worlds Pool, where it turned into a seven-colored divine light and vanished.

At the same time, Qingxiao Daoist Monarch slowly walked out of the Dao field.

……

Zhang family residence, Zhang Jian's temporary lodging.

Compared to the mansions of the surrounding nobles and high officials, this residence is undoubtedly much smaller, barely qualifying as a little courtyard!

But it also has five sections and comes with a small garden, making it rather cozy.

After Zhang Jian finished cultivating his magical power, feeling that his ancestors would surely reward him today, he went to sleep early.

But in his dream, he 'felt' a seven-colored golden lotus descend from heaven and land in his hand.

Zhang Jian naturally woke up, raised his gaze, and could see by the bedside, in that clear and tranquil yet dignified 'ancestor' lady's portrait.

At the same time, he felt a distinct foreign object in his hand; he lifted his hand and immediately saw a small, exquisite seven-colored golden lotus.

Within the seven-colored golden light lay a special spiritual rhythm, as if it could cleanse the soul, making the soul full and round.

Immediately, another message surged into his mind, and Zhang Jian instantly knew the origin of the seven-colored golden lotus before him.

"Jade Pool Golden Lotus?"

Jade Pool Golden Lotus.

A divine object nurtured in the holy land of Jade Pool in the heavenly realm, it is the most precious wood-attribute heavenly treasury spiritual object in heaven and earth, which can be planted in a blessed land of a cave heaven to nourish the spiritual veins of the blessed land, increase spiritual rhythm, transform grade, and possesses some power to suppress fate numbers.

It can be called the supreme holy object for stabilizing and blessing a blessed land!

It also has edible function; it inherits the merveille of the Jade Pool Golden Lotus lineage, and after consumption, it can increase divine radiance, nourish the soul, and has a thirty percent chance to obtain an innate divine ability contained within the Jade Pool Golden Lotus.

"Thirty percent chance!"

Zhang Jian's eyes lit up.

This is vastly greater than the one-thousandth chance of the Jade Pool Golden Lotus seed.

Increased by three hundred times.

"A thirty percent chance should be very promising, right!"

Light gleamed in the depths of Zhang Jian's eyes.

As for the so-called greatest merveille of suppressing a blessed land's cave heaven, he directly ignored it.

He only has a small cottage; there's no need to suppress anything!

Even if he wanted to nurture it, he should wait until his cultivation advances, then it won't be too late.

As for offering it to the Tongshan Dao lineage, Zhang Jian felt the Tongshan Dao lineage currently has no use for it.

Of course, this is because he feels the Tongshan Dao lineage doesn't like it and thus has no use for it!

Without hesitation, Zhang Jian immediately swallowed the seven-colored golden lotus whole, chewing and gulping it down.

"The taste of this flower is quite fresh and fragrant, sweet..."

At this moment, Zhang Jian slightly savored it, his eyes lit up, and he went ahead and chewed the lotus leaves as well.

Instantly, he felt a surge of dense heavenly earth spiritual qi continuously flowing from his stomach into his limbs and bones, and also a seven-colored divine light merging into the depths of his soul, making his entire soul feel as if it were strolling in a hot spring, his soul as if draped in a layer of seven-colored light, his divine consciousness constantly swelling.

Within the small courtyard, it seemed as if an invisible seven-colored ripple had arisen, surging with spiritual vitality.

And this time, Zhang Jian finally felt that he had hope of condensing an innate divine ability.

The righteous fire within his body burned fiercely; with the power of the righteous fire, his soul and divine consciousness seemed to rush into a layer of seven-colored origin.

He saw a colossal seven-colored golden lotus.

That seven-colored golden lotus emitted intense seven-colored divine light; it was the 'overlord' of a lake.

Indeed, it was the overlord.

In that vast divine pool, Zhang Jian saw many mythical creatures, including the black tortoise, true dragon, and even numerous strange and extraordinary beings with vast and primitive qi, grand and ancient beast types.

However, the seven-colored divine light of the seven-colored golden lotus was overwhelmingly domineering; each flash could easily suppress and toy with numerous nearby living beings that approached this area.

And it could invisibly influence the thoughts of these living beings.

From it, Zhang Jian saw several of its abilities.

Creating illusions, concealing heavenly secrets, controlling wood, and moreover, the seven-colored divine light could defend against all kinds of spells and divine abilities.

At this moment, he saw a scene: within the lotus pond, a ferocious true dragon spewing fierce flames could never harm the golden lotus within the seven-colored divine light; instead, the seven-colored divine light swept once, suppressing the true dragon's soul, which fell like a marionette into the lotus pond.

In addition, there are several other abilities, such as being able to freely tear through the void and shift one's form and position.

For example, the seven-colored divine light can influence the seven emotions and six desires among living beings.

It is quite profound.

These are all innate divine abilities naturally possessed by the origin of the seven-colored golden lotus, each one being quite extraordinary.

At this moment, Zhang Jian opened his eyes, and wherever his gaze fell, he could see countless runes shimmering within the seven-colored lake; those runes, real and illusory, are the innate divine abilities carried within the depths of the seven-colored golden lotus' origin.

He must seize the time to comprehend and imprint one upon his soul's depths.

Time is short.

At this moment, Zhang Jian's soul depths burned with intense righteous fire; he still wished to use the divine ability to carefully select one or two, but sensing the opportunity was fleeting, he could only casually grasp one.

What he naturally desired most was the golden lotus' ability to freely tear through the void and split space.

Beyond that, this seven-colored divine light is also extremely powerful.

His gaze then locked onto a rune flashing with seven-colored divine light, which he then drew into the depths of his soul.

Shortly after, on the rattan bed, Zhang Jian's face wore a strange expression; a profound mark emitting seven-colored light appeared in the depths of his soul and merged with it, as if becoming an innate divine ability.

At this moment, that seven-colored halo revealed its true form.

It was a rune nearly transparent and colorless.

"Golden Lotus Hidden Breath Method!"

At this moment, Zhang Jian's eyes held some strangeness, and he also felt a mix of laughter and tears.

This was not the seven-colored divine light of the seven-colored golden lotus that captures true dragons as he had imagined, but rather a hidden breath divine ability.

It is the camouflage ability of the seven-colored golden lotus!

Zhang Jian had seen in the illusion that the seven-colored golden lotus could freely conceal itself, transforming into various colored lotuses; even when ancient immortals appeared beside it, they could not discern its true nature.

This can also be considered one of the spiritual object's talents closest to its origin.

"Well, it's still better than those chicken-timid divine abilities!"

Zhang Jian sighed inwardly.

Upon careful thought, this Golden Lotus Hidden Breath Method is still quite good.

Its camouflage can perfectly conceal its true nature, to the extent that even great immortals could be deceived, showing its potential.

At this moment, Zhang Jian also noticed that, with the medicinal power of the vast heavenly treasury's rare treasures spreading, his mana continued to swell endlessly.

At the same time, streams of mana flowed into the Qian Yuan Golden Cauldron; this high-grade natal magical artifact began to undergo transformation, as mana entered it, penetrating the material, giving rise to chains of runes within, as if naturally generated by heaven and earth, engraved in every meridian, causing its structure to begin changing.

The transformation of the magical artifact is similar to that of a cultivator; both require engraving heavenly laws within, cleansing with mana, ultimately transforming toward a more perfect state.

Now that Zhang Jian has condensed his golden core, using its profound light to nourish it, it will naturally become a magical treasure.

Only artifacts containing the golden core's metallic nature are true magical treasures.

In fact, the birth of most magical treasures is closely related to cultivators of golden core level.

Meanwhile, the yin spirit and yang spirit magical treasures above largely contain part of the cultivator's techniques or the intrusion of heavenly laws, thus possessing endless wonders.

Of course, a magical treasure's power depends on its material, refinement method, and everything experienced during refinement.

At this moment, the Qian Yuan Golden Cauldron, bathed in Zhang Jian's golden core radiance, instantly emitted a round, full spiritual pressure.

Its material is extremely high; during refinement, it also gained the profundity of the ancient rivers and mountains map, making it very easy to refine into a magical treasure with slight effort.

Golden light flowed and merged with part of the seven-colored golden lotus' great medicine; only then was it seen that the Qian Yuan Golden Cauldron within the golden light was virtually identical to the golden core's spiritual mechanism, in perfect and flawless harmony and resonance.

This is the true natal magical treasure.

And the Dragon Yin Sword was not to be outdone; it emitted a suction force, drawing in part of the seven-colored golden lotus' great medicine, while simultaneously operating the power of the Sacred Virtue Sword Purification Method, cleansing the sword body, refining out impurities, and likewise continuously tempering itself.

The sword's blade manifested the scene of a sage king governing the world!

Seeing this, Zhang Jian did not mind.

The medicinal power of the seven-colored golden lotus is astonishing; being drawn upon by these two magical treasures, it actually helps him share the burden, rather than wasting the medicinal potency.

Shortly after, a layer of intense mana flow undulated across Zhang Jian's body; at this moment, his entire being seemed to become an ordinary scholar, full of scholarly aura, all spiritual mechanisms and mana appearing to have fully merged into his flesh and blood.

In reality, at this moment his mana had directly increased by more than double.

Zhang Jian could feel that, with this seven-colored golden lotus, his golden core cultivation would likely proceed smoothly.

……

First, he smoothly condensed his golden core; then, he even plucked some wool from his thigh, and Zhang Jian was in high spirits.

His cultivation also became increasingly smooth.

Meanwhile, Yang Gonghu and others who returned from suppressing bandits at this time also received rewards from the Emperor Jingwu; Qi Yi, originally a third-rank General of Mighty Distant, was now promoted to first-rank General of Divine Might; besides this, Emperor Jingwu also intended to reemploy Qi Yi, but Qi Yi declined due to old age and lack of strength; for this, Emperor Jingwu again bestowed favor, promoting him one rank to Divine Marquis.

The county marquis is a super-rank among martial merit titles; although not as high as marquises, dukes, or princely states, it still carries its own honor and grace!

The court of the Great Qian dynasty does not easily bestow such super-rank titles.

The county marquis carries great weight!

Of course, many senior ministers in the court know that Emperor Jingwu is doing this to give face to Princess Qingfeng, the Long Princess.

Indeed, not long after, Emperor Jingwu found an opportunity, brought forth the Empress Dowager, who personally acted as matchmaker for the Long Princess Qingfeng and the guard general Qi Yuanwu, arranging for Qi Yuanwu to become a prince consort.

……

"Having become a prince consort, though it is pure and noble, but without real power, for this great uncle of mine, what he gains might actually be less than before!"

At the residence of the Long Princess Qingfeng, on the day of her marriage to the guard general Qi Yuanwu, Zhang Jian was also among the crowd.

Looking over, he could see Qi Yuanwu dressed in a full red wedding robe, his face beaming with spring breeze; he was naturally handsome and masculine, having undergone the baptism of the battlefield, possessing neither lacking the yang vigor of a warrior nor lacking the heroic bearing of a commander.

Such appearance truly counts as extraordinary.

No wonder the Long Princess Qingfeng would spare nothing for this.

Far away, Zhang Jian saw Qi Yi chatting and laughing happily with several royal princes and dukes, accompanying numerous guests and senior ministers at the banquet.

The Qi mansion, in one day, seemed to have returned to its former peak.

Zhang Jian shook his head silently.

The Great Qian court was no different from the previous dynasty; although becoming a prince consort of the imperial clan could earn one a noble and clean official post, as an in-law one essentially gave up one's career, unable to command troops or participate in officialdom.

Of course, for this maternal uncle of his who had no great ambitions, this might instead be what he most desired.

At this moment, inside the Princess Chang's mansion, most of the Qi clan relatives had arrived, and Zhang Jian saw Qi Yuhua and Qi Yuzhu sisters whispering to each other.

It seemed she noticed Zhang Jian's gaze; Qi Yuhua glanced at him with her clear and beautiful eyes, then sat upright properly, not looking sideways.

Seeing this, Zhang Jian's expression softened slightly with a faint smile.

He glanced at Qi Yuhua and noticed that she had undergone considerable changes during this period.

Meanwhile, on the other side, Qi Yuxian, though dressed in bright and charming attire, stood among the young ladies of the Qi family; her lovely expression was nonetheless sickly and weak, as if she had just recovered from a serious illness.

Zhang Jian could understand that.

Qi Zhou's wife had been widowed for less than two years, and Qi Yuanwu was already seeking a new beloved, and moreover, it was Princess Chang of Qingfeng; the complexity in Qi Yuxian's heart can be imagined.

At this moment, Zhang Jian's expression suddenly shifted, his gaze turning toward the depths of the Princess Chang's mansion; he heard a few strange sounds in his ears, and after thinking, he followed several maidservants straight toward the source of the sound.

At this time, Qi Yuxian also noticed Zhang Jian in his plain blue robe; she had wanted to speak, but seeing him turn and leave, her eyes showed a hint of disappointment.

Yet her gaze flickered for a moment, as if she had made a firm decision at this very instant.

……

Zhang Jian then followed the two maidservants toward the courtyard of the inner chambers.

Zhang Jian did not conceal his presence, and he casually took several fresh fruits from the jade trays held by a few maidservants, as well as a small pot of fine wine.

"Young Master Zhang, what are you doing…?"

At that moment, a tall and sturdy guard in the distance noticed Zhang Jian's actions and could not help but walk over.

This guard was not unfamiliar with Zhang Jian.

The current youngest zhuangyuan, and also the nephew of a prince consort, who had frequently entered and exited the Princess Chang's mansion recently; they naturally knew him and had not been overly cautious.

"Oh, so it's Guard Yao; I smelled the fragrance and don't know what lies ahead?"

Zhang Jian pointed casually ahead; he had just heard the strange sound around this area.