Chapter 198

"Heavenly Realm Purifying Fire!"

At the Kitchen God's Office, Red Flower Lady felt, through the bond formed by the Soul-Fusing Seal, an extremely scorching divine flame merge into her divine golden body, instantly causing the hidden Fire God Seal deep between her brows to faintly undergo an unnamed transformation.

She naturally mastered this special divine flame.

In the Office, as her gaze shifted, she displayed the Vermilion Bird Fire Control Technique, and saw several dozen clusters of orange-red firelight flowing out, which in an instant fell upon several pieces of ignis stone before the Office, instantly melting those pieces of ignis stone into golden molten liquid.

"Such high temperature!"

Seeing this change, Red Flower Lady's expression showed some shock.

Ignis stone is a commonly used material for deities constructing their offices; this material has nothing particularly precious about it, its only advantage being toughness, extremely difficult to destroy, and when used as building material it is both beautiful and able to withstand the erosion of time without fading.

Her natal stove fire can also be considered powerful.

It can be said to have enormous potential.

But at this stage, compared to Heavenly Realm Purifying Fire, its power still differs enormously.

At this moment, within Lady Yuan Zhao of the Marquis Dingnan's wife, Yuan Zhao's soul also faintly felt a tremor, as that strand of Heavenly Realm Purifying Fire merged into her foundation, she felt a terrifying menace.

It seemed that with just a thought from Red Flower Lady, she could obliterate her.

Unlike the stove fire controlled by Red Flower Lady.

This Heavenly Realm Purifying Fire contains destructive miraculous power; even a mere overflow could annihilate her soul.

Yuan Zhao now felt even more despair, her unwilling voice sounding out.

"I must say, you are truly extremely fortunate, having gained another benefit, but you did not reach this point by your own efforts!"

Yuan Zhao remained unconvinced.

Red Flower Lady's expression remained calm.

"Having a noble person guiding me from behind is my opportunity; opportunity and fortune are sometimes part of strength too!"

Red Flower Lady's expression remained calm; after a period of slaughter and decisive action, her softness gradually disappeared, replaced by confidence and composure.

"Now, your value keeps decreasing—what do you think I should do with you?"

Yuan Zhao fell silent.

"What do you want?"

She reflected on herself and found she still had no value; everything she knew, Red Flower Lady also knew, and after a period of adjustment, Red Flower Lady could already fully master everything about this Lady Dingnan.

Even if the Marquis Dingnan and his wife came, they might not notice anything unusual about this mother.

"You need not worry; you still have at least some value—if you are willing to submit to this deity, this deity can still give you a chance!"

Red Flower Lady was not afraid of Yuan Zhao's backlash.

Having experienced some storms, Red Flower Lady had already gained sufficient confidence.

Moreover, she listened to the Dao under Zhang Jian's seat and continued to grow.

As long as she kept growing, even if her ambition were like Yuan Zhao's, she could only settle down and submit.

……

Observation Heaven Platform

Not long after Zhang Jian returned, Daoist Dongxiao came knocking immediately, his words implying he was probing both inside and outside for ideas regarding Zhang Yi and Zhang Zhao.

However, Daoist Dongxiao is also a clever person; upon speaking, he did not directly mention it, but instead asked Zhang Yi and Zhang Zhao whether they had any intention of taking up the path of cultivation.

Daoist Dongxiao was also very worried about being refused.

After all, given Zhang Jian's current influence, if he wanted to send his two sons to enter under the Yuan Shen True Person, it was actually not impossible.

If Daoist Jingming were in Haojing City, he might have a chance to succeed, but his standing still falls short.

Gazing at the Daoist Dongxiao coming up to the door, Zhang Jian slightly furrowed his brow.

Zhang Jian had seen Daoist Dongxiao's disciples before; he could only consider them not bad.

He shook his head and said.

"The good intentions of Elder Dongxiao, I have gratefully received; Younger Brother Yi already has a place to go, and when he turns ten, a high person will naturally come to take him into the door; as for Younger Brother Zhao, my wife and I would rather he stay close by, for my wife is merely a mortal, and what we look forward to most is familial joy!"

Zhang Jian's eyes held a hint of a smile: "Perhaps Younger Brother Zhao will have a chance to walk the path of cultivation in the future, but that is for later, and we shall leave it to fate!"

"Ah, I see!"

Daoist Dongxiao slightly stroked his beard, but he still harbored some unwillingness in his heart and could not help but ask.

"Mr. Zhang, please forgive this humble Daoist for boldly asking one more question: I do not know which immortal abode Elder Brother Zhang has joined?"

Zhang Jian smiled faintly and said: "The Tongshan Dao Lineage!"

Daoist Dongxiao's expression shook, then immediately turned solemn: "So it is the Sacred King Dao Lineage!"

Upon hearing this, Daoist Dongxiao immediately abandoned the idea of letting the other party yield voluntarily.

Tongshan is a reclusive dao lineage; although its power does not lie within the Great Qian, Daoist Dongxiao has still heard from the ancestor of the Dongshen Sect that this is an immortal gate lineage that cannot be easily provoked.

However, Daoist Dongxiao was not completely disappointed.

From Zhang Jian's words, his second son Zhang Zhao currently has no destination, and the Dongshen Observatory has not lost hope of drawing him into the door.

After Daoist Dongxiao left the Observation Heaven Platform, beneath the platform he saw Daoist Dongjie arriving with gifts.

"Fourth Senior Brother, what is this...?"

Daoist Dongxiao's gaze also noticed Daoist Dongjie; his thoughts raced, and after thinking, he still did not reveal his own discovery.

He still harbored hope for this, and did not want such a good thing to fall into others' hands.

Daoist Dongxiao slightly stroked his beard and smiled: "Nothing much, merely seeking an audience with Mr. Zhang to listen to the Sage's Great Dao!"

"Sixth Junior Sister, what are you preparing all these big and small packages for?"

Daoist Dongjie's jade countenance bore a look of solemnity as she mentioned the previous incident at the Three-Eyed Town-Slaying Well, where the Four Symbols Corpse Demons had ambushed her.

"If not for the ink-and-painting scroll given by Mr. Zhang, I would probably have fallen to the poisonous hands of that Day Corpse Sect corpse demon; Mr. Zhang and my younger sister have given me a second life, so today I have prepared a generous gift, merely to express my gratitude!"

Upon hearing this, Daoist Dongxiao's expression turned stern, he nodded and said.

This is only right and proper!

……

On the Observation Heaven Platform, Zhang Jian felt a hesitation at this moment.

Zhang Jian originally intended for Zhang Zhao to follow the mundane path, to inherit the Zhang family business honestly and assist him in completing his plan.

But Zhang Zhao ultimately had his own will and could not be completely manipulated by him; he had never thought of controlling Zhang Zhao's fate.

It would not be unacceptable to join the Dongshen Guan.

If the Zhang family in the future wished to replace the state of Great Qian, gaining the support of Dongshen Guan would greatly reduce resistance.

At this moment, seeing Daoist Dongjue enter the Observation Heaven Platform to visit, Zhang Jian set aside many thoughts; everything still depended on Zhang Zhao's own fortune.

Upon seeing Zhang Jian, Daoist Dongjue wished to perform a great bow, but was stopped by Zhang Jian stepping forward.

"Elder Dongjue, why perform such a great bow?"

Zhang Jian feigned ignorance.

On Daoist Dongjue's exquisitely beautiful jade-like countenance, there was now a coquettish smile: "Daoist Dongjue came this time solely to thank Mr. Zhang for the life-saving grace; had it not been for the Knight's Travel you bestowed, Daoist Dongjue would have already fallen into the hands of the demonic person!"

"Knight's Travel?"

Zhang Jian's pupils flickered slightly, but he merely waved his hand and smiled.

"This is Elder's own fortune, unrelated to me!"

Upon hearing this, Daoist Dongjue naturally dared not take it seriously; though it is true that the Knight's Travel was obtained by Daoist Jingming at great cost.

After staying a moment on the Observation Heaven Platform, Daoist Dongjue clasped his hands and departed.

Zhang Jian watched this Kun Daoist depart.

It appears Daoist Dongjue and Daoist Dongxiao are not of the same path.

Subsequently, Zhang Jian noticed Daoist Dongjue had left behind many wooden crates.

Zhang Jian stepped forward, glanced over them, casually opened a few crates, and his expression shifted slightly.

Daoist Dongjue's handiwork is considerable.

Before him, several crates contained, aside from some spirit stones, many high-value spirit fruits, such as hundreds-of-years-old vermilion fruits, or thousand-year ginseng, plus dozens of pieces of exquisite jade, brimming with spiritual essence, appearing to be of absolute top quality.

Seeing these, Zhang Jian did not mind; he had no use for them, but could leave them for another cultivator of the Zhang family, Zhang Yi.

At this moment, he casually revealed a bit of resources from his fingertips; for Zhang Yi, just entering the Dao path, these would be greatly beneficial.

Another portion could be sealed away, left for future cultivators of the Zhang family.

……

After the great battle before the Three-Eye Seal-Demon Well, Zhang Jian noticed the cultivation atmosphere among Dongshen Guan disciples had noticeably improved.

The many disciples of Dongshen Guan no longer had their former leisure and ease; each began to busy themselves.

Life and death is the greatest whip for these cultivators.

Even within the capital Haojing, the core of Great Qian's state gods and Dao, heretical demons and external paths have intruded to cause chaos, showing there is no true peaceful prosperous age.

Their current enjoyment of peace may perhaps be only temporary.

Only by achieving the status of Yuan Shen True Person can one enjoy a period of carefree years, mastering one's own fate.

……

Zhang Jian was also deeply moved by the battle before the Three-Eye Seal-Demon Well.

Zhang Jian also accelerated his self-comprehension of Dao laws.

His conception also progressed extremely rapidly.

Through contemplating the grand Dao traces on the Observation Heaven Platform, combined with his own foundation, the idea of creating another Dao gate proceeded very smoothly.

In his conception, the Mountains Rivers State Diagram should also possess, like the divine treasure in myths, a divine power that forms its own void law realm, overturning Qian and Kun, trapping great divine abilities in the formless.

The so-called Mountains Rivers State all within the palm, splendid mountains and rivers under my control—this is precisely that divine power of the supreme treasure.

However, he currently has little comprehension of spatial divine abilities; what he can do now is only to devise methods based on the two characters "state and altar."

These two characters are precisely the source of his entire foundation.

Whether it is the 《Tong Mountain Pure and Clean Treasure Record》, or the 《Wang Ding Subduing Demons Record》, their foundation lies in the two characters "state and altar."

Using this as foundation, one can gradually evolve a State and Altar Dao Diagram, ultimately becoming the Mountains Rivers State Diagram.

Zhang Jian felt this line of thought would not be wrong.

And once this Dao technique is accomplished, he will not only have a greatly enhanced foundation, but future combat cultivation will also bring great advantage.

Once the Mountains Rivers State Diagram takes form, it will surely become his trump card, becoming a great killing weapon.

At this moment, his Golden Core qi is round and smooth; Zhang Jian feels it will not be long before he may face the Yin Spirit Three Tribulations.

Zhang Jian hopes to complete the initial draft of the State and Altar Dao Diagram before breaking the core and transforming into spirit.

……

And at this moment, in the northern lands, in Lingwu Commandery, the party of Daoist Jingming has already arrived at the extermination bandit army of Marquis Yang Gonghu of Tongcheng.

With the assistance of the Dongshen Guan cultivators, Yang Gonghu's advance speed is extremely rapid.

Looking as if they are about to pacify the rebels in Lingwu Commandery, yet the party encountered an ambush by several strange and powerful beings of the northern lands; caught off guard, the extermination bandit army suffered a sneak attack by rebel forces, sustaining enormous losses.

Even some disciples within Dongshen Guan have suffered harm.

"Junior nephew, you must be careful; these powerful beings are likely many from the Northern Demon Sect; these northern demonic cultivators have mysterious techniques, and we have age-old grudges; one careless mistake, and these disciples we bring out may suffer enormous losses!"

Within the camp tent, Daoist Dongzhen and Daoist Dongxuan stood behind Daoist Jingming; Daoist Dongzhen furrowed his brows tightly.

Regarding the Northern Demon Sect, the Dongshen Guan cultivators harbor deep hatred and pain.

The remnants of the Northern Demon Sect mainly take the Blood Slaughter Sect as their chief.

This sect is one of the arch-enemies of Dongshen Guan.

When Great Qian's founding emperor established the state, the founding ancestor of Dongshen Guan accompanied the army to sweep the four borders, slaying a former sect master of the Blood Slaughter Sect, and directly breaking the mountain gate established by the Blood Slaughter Sect in the northern mountains.

This grudge is no small matter.

Now that remnants of the Blood Slaughter Demon Sect have appeared, they will likely not retreat easily.

While the group encountered obstacles in suppressing bandits, at the same time, Jingming Daoist received news transmitted from the Dongshen Guan Observatory in Haojing City.

Upon learning that a Yuan Shen True Person from the Qian Dynasty court had struck down and killed the Yuan Chen True Person of the Heavenly Corpse Sect who had come to attack, everyone was greatly heartened.

This is good news!

With this Yuan Chen Daoist serving as a warning, it is enough to deter many eager masters.

It can also buy some time for Dongshen Guan.

Meanwhile, the other piece of news sent by Dongxiao Daoist caused Jingming Daoist some concern.

The Demon-Suppressing Tower on the Observation Platform is truly a great calamity.

Although Zhang Jian suppressed one wave of backlash, he may not be able to withstand a second rebound.

Several important treasures of Dongshen Guan are now on his person, and he cannot return in the short term, which truly makes him anxious.

He must find a way to resolve the entanglement with the remnants of the Blood Slaughter Sect in the short term and completely eradicate them.

For some unknown reason, gazing at the undulating northern mountains, Jingming Daoist always feels a sudden impulse, and he faintly senses an ominous feeling.

……

The news of Dongshen Guan's ineffectiveness in suppressing bandits in the north quickly spread back to the Qian Dynasty court, causing an uproar throughout the court.

Meanwhile, within Dongshen Guan, they received even more definite news.

Although Jingming Daoist is in the north, he frequently sends back news.

But not long after, Dongxiao Daoist received an extremely bad piece of news.

State Preceptor Jingming Daoist has gone missing!

After the news was transmitted, Dongxiao Daoist immediately suppressed it, merely seeking out Dongjue Daoist to discuss.

"Fourth Senior Brother, how could Jingming Shinu suddenly disappear?"

Dongjue Daoist hurried over; at this moment, her jade-like countenance trembled, and shock could not be concealed in her eyes.

"Then how are Dongzhen and Dongxuan, the two Senior Brothers?"

Dongxiao Daoist shook his head.

"Dongzhen and Dongxuan, the two Senior Brothers, are unharmed; only Jingming Shinu was taken away by a treasure light!"

Upon hearing this, Dongjue Daoist's expression eased slightly; this was a fortune amidst misfortune.

"But how could they be so careless?!"

Dongxiao Daoist heard the words and shook his head slightly.

"The specific circumstances are unknown, but Jingming Shinu should merely be trapped; I have examined his soul tablet and found it intact, so there should be no problem in the short term. However, the State Preceptor's disappearance may bring great changes to the bandit suppression affair; we should still notify the Emperor promptly, so the court can make early preparations."