Chapter 257: Illegitimate Offspring

During the court's extensive selection of consorts, within a certain courtyard.

This courtyard was overgrown with weeds, and a tall, slender figure stepped inside—she was beautiful in form and demeanor, yet draped in sheer gauze.

Under the moonlight, she seemed like a spirit not of this world.

At that moment, within the courtyard, a bewitching, handsome figure silently emerged from the void, his entire body surrounded by strange power.

This was a man, yet he was peerlessly handsome, with long, narrow, spirited eyes.

Seeing the beautiful figure in the courtyard, his eyes lit up, a hint of admiration flickering in their depths; after a moment, he restrained this ripple of emotion, clasped his hands, and said.

"Holy Maiden!"

A calm, pleasant voice came from beneath the bamboo hat.

"How did the contact with the Demonic Fiend Sect go?"

Upon hearing this, the figure quickly bowed his head.

"Holy Maiden, all went well—the Demonic Fiend Sect has agreed to our terms and is willing to sell us five supreme fiend-spawn!"

Upon hearing this, the graceful figure before them showed a slight change in expression.

Five supreme fiend-spawn—this number exceeded the woman's expectations.

Each fiend-spawn is extremely difficult to obtain, requiring the Demonic Fiend Sect to use a special cauldron and a special destiny to cultivate them, making them of immense value.

Although the Golden Maiden Sect's offered reward this time is generous, in her estimation, three supreme fiend-spawn would already be the limit.

The Holy Maiden slightly furrowed her brows: "Why are there two more?"

Upon hearing this, the handsome man smiled: "The other two are free gifts—they heard we plan to act against the Great Qian royal family and offered them without charge!"

Seeing the look of surprise in her bright eyes, Zhao Cheng laughed.

"Not long ago, the True Person of Yin Eclipse ran to the Two Realms region and seized a treasure from one of the Demonic Fiend Sect's true persons..."

The Holy Maiden of the Golden Maiden Sect nodded slightly upon hearing this.

The Demonic Fiend Sect has always been one to repay grudges—having had their treasure seized by the True Person of Yin Eclipse, they will not let it go easily.

This time, the Great Qian consort selection is precisely a good opportunity.

Once the fiend-spawn are sent in, if successful, enough people in the Great Qian royal household will drink a pot of it.

"You must choose the cauldron for cultivating the fiend-spawn well—those maiden candidates will soon arrive in the capital one after another, and time is short!"

The higher the compatibility of the fiend-spawn, the less likely they are to be exposed!

Zhao Cheng nodded slightly.

Since we must choose, naturally we select those maiden candidates with the finest appearance—only then do we have a chance to get close to Emperor Jingwu.

……

Qin Tian Terrace

The Qin Tian Terrace is the structure of the Great Qian court for handling supernatural affairs, and within it are many cultivators.

In the Daoist academies of the Dong Guan Observatory, each year some graduated disciples are supplemented into the Qin Tian Terrace, through which they travel to various places for training, while also easing the burden on the Great Qian court.

The Qin Tian Terrace also serves as the link between the Great Qian deities and the Great Qian secular world.

Within the Qin Tian Terrace, at this moment a plump Daoist slightly furrowed his brow—he resembled a wealthy landowner's steward, now standing on the Qin Tian Terrace, using the Dao patterns there to observe the qi.

Gazing into the distance, he could see that the outskirts of Haojing City were filled with a spreading aura of lethal evil, this aura continuously seeping out from deep within the dragon veins, dispersing the clouds in the sky.

Thus, the sky remained cloudless for thousands of miles, and the great drought persisted.

He felt somewhat worried and anxious.

After a moment, he glanced at the bald-headed monk beside him who was lightly drinking.

"Senior Brother, if this continues, when deep winter arrives, I fear many will freeze to death!"

He frowned tightly—this Daoist was indeed the Qin Tian Terrace attendant from Fengyang Prefecture who observes the qi, Xue Dongming.

"Senior Brother, we must still urgently request the River Canal Dragon Lord to send rain, to alleviate this drought!"

The disheveled monk, Yi He Daoist, upon hearing this, rolled his eyes, took the wine gourd from his waist, lightly sipped it, and sneered.

"The Dragon Lord's power is strong, but still insufficient to resist the heavenly backlash—this old Dragon Lord is also a life-preserving person; how could he sacrifice himself to help!"

"Senior Brother, then is there truly no other way?"

Xue Dongming's expression turned solemn.

"Unless someone can resolve the lethal aura within the dragon veins!"

Yi He Daoist's eyes remained calm—he had indeed sought out the True Person of Yin Eclipse on this matter before.

But the True Person of Yin Eclipse had warned him not to touch anything related to the dragon veins, or else he would bear the consequences himself.

The Great Qian royal family has clearly been using the dragon veins to conceal whatever they are doing.

Yi He Daoist also harbored some suspicions—he did not know what the Great Qian royal family hid deep in the dragon veins, but this lethal aura was so terrifying it even interfered with the operation of heavenly and earthly laws.

Such extraordinary power could shake heaven and move earth.

Seeing this, Xue Dongming was also speechless.

Sometimes, even after cultivating Dao arts and magical power, facing certain heavenly and earthly changes, cultivators are just as insignificant.

Yi He Daoist patted his shoulder, gesturing for him to sit down.

He said with a smile: "Don't overthink it—this matter concerns the fortune of Great Qian; if the heavenly disaster is not resolved, great chaos will constantly arise in Great Qian, which even the State-Protecting True Persons would not wish to see; when the time comes, they will resolve it themselves—we just need to do our own duty!"

Upon hearing this, Xue Dongming sighed inwardly—now he could only do this.

At this moment, however, a procession of eunuchs and palace maids appeared beneath the corridor eaves in the distance below the Qin Tian Terrace.

The two Daoists saw this and their expressions shifted; after a moment, one Daoist hurried forward to report.

"Terrace Chief, the Empress Dowager has issued a gracious edict, ordering our Qin Tian Terrace to send several Daoist brothers to the rear court to perform the 'purification' ritual for this batch of newly arrived maiden candidates!"

"I understand!"

Yi He Daoist lightly nodded his head.

"Junior Brother Xue, it's still up to you to make this trip this time!"

Xue Dongming immediately nodded upon hearing this.

Every time the palace selects concubines, the Imperial Observatory is an indispensable step; the candidates must not only be physically flawless, but their fate must also be probed by the Observatory's stargazing to eliminate those bearing the White Tiger Star, the Broom Star, and the Heavenly Killer Lone Star.

The imperial family simply cannot allow these Heavenly Killer Lone Stars to enter the palace.

Furthermore, we must prevent the candidates from being tampered with.

Last time, the Jade Consort kidnapping incident dealt a heavy blow to the Imperial Observatory, and its resources were slashed by more than half for the next three years.

This time, we cannot afford any mishaps.

……

Zhuangyuan Manor

After the Prince Consort's mansion night banquet, Qi Yi brought Qi Zhuzhu into the Zhuangyuan Manor instead of staying at the Prince Consort's mansion.

He seemed to have something to say to Zhang Jian alone.

Qi Zhuzhu was very interested in this.

Compared to the strict and solemn atmosphere of the Prince Consort's mansion, she naturally preferred staying with Qi Yuhua, and for this palace entry, she felt extremely anxious, hoping to find some comfort with Qi Yuhua.

Under the night sky, a black-clad figure appeared before the street where the Zhuangyuan Manor stood.

He gazed toward the direction of the Zhuangyuan Manor, knowing that one of the candidates resided there.

Moreover, this candidate is closely related to Princess Changfeng, so her status after entering the palace would be extraordinary.

However, Zhao Cheng gazed at the Zhuangyuan Manor before him, his eyes filled with some taboo.

Zhang Jian, who bears the aura of righteousness, has long been known for this; possessing such aura naturally brings supernatural power, Zhao Cheng's eyes flickered, but he still decided to give it a try.

Because if he misses this opportunity, he may never get another chance to make contact!

Inside the manor, at this moment Zhang Jian was chatting with Qi Yi late into the night, but suddenly he turned his gaze toward the outside of the manor, smiling as he said to Qi Yi.

"Someone has come knocking on their own accord!"