Chapter 315

The next day, Empress Dowager Li and Empress Qi held a small family banquet, inviting the female relatives of many meritorious officials from the front lines.

Qi Yuhua, as Empress Qi's elder sister, was also among the invitees.

At this time, Zhang Jian had successfully cultivated the Golden Lotus Hidden Breath Technique to the Yuanshen stage.

This innate divine ability has enormous potential.

Zhang Jian noticed that the Pure Yang level was not its limit.

He condensed a seven-colored golden lotus and infused it into Qi Yuhua's body, whereupon her fate pattern visibly changed, and her aura seemed to revert, transforming her into an ordinary woman!

Seeing this, Zhang Jian examined her more carefully, and only then did he allow Qi Yuhua to board the sedan chair with peace of mind!

At this moment, inside the sedan chair, Qi Yuhua was still somewhat worried; ever since learning she bore the phoenix fate, she had always felt some anxiety.

She had heard Empress Qi mention more than once that the Great Qian royal family had never abandoned the plan to seek out phoenix-fated maidens.

Zhang Jian stepped forward to comfort her.

"My lady, rest assured, your phoenix fate pattern has already been concealed; there will be no problems whatsoever!"

Upon hearing this, Qi Yuhua finally relaxed her mind slightly.

After Zhang Jian soothed her with a few words, he also mounted his horse and rode ahead to clear the way!

His gaze swept over the depths of the imperial palace!

Only a handful of people knew that Qi Yuhua bore the phoenix fate; besides him, perhaps only the Spirit of Phoenix Mountain and Qi Yuhua herself, and aside from them, the sole unstable factor was Qi Yuzhu.

Empress Qi should not be so foolish.

At this time, the fully fledged Zhang Jian also had no fear of this possibility arising unexpectedly.

The sedan chair stopped at the palace gate, and then, under the guidance of palace ladies, Qi Yuhua entered the inner court.

Immediately, after seeing Qi Yuhua enter the palace, he began his patrol of the city.

At this moment, he held the Eastern Emperor Treasure Mirror in his hand.

In the Eastern Emperor Treasure Mirror appeared numerous dense specks of light; most were pure white—these were the Cave God Observatory cultivators and court cultivators he had "registered and recorded" here—but some were "gray" or "black."

Marked as gray, they are suspicious and require the Cave God Observatory to track and verify.

Marked as black, they require elimination.

In a single thought, Zhang Jian transmitted all this information directly to the Pure Bright Daoist, who coordinated the central authority and took charge of handling the matter.

As for some targets that truly cannot be handled otherwise, they require him to act personally.

Zhang Jian had not yet encountered any target that required his personal handling.

……

Meanwhile, in Zhongjin Prefecture, within a luxurious and solemn estate, the Holy Maiden of the Golden Mother Sect stood in the courtyard, her gaze fixed far off toward Haojing City.

In her eyes, the dragon aura of Haojing City had diminished, but the dragon aura power that shocks myriad laws still existed, though it was now less than one-tenth of what it once was.

Cultivators could now move freely and attempt to enter, probing the depths of Great Qian.

Liu Xin had originally already made preparations.

But the appearance of the Junwang Golden Person disrupted all her steps.

However, now that Qianhai Zhenjun carried the Junwang Golden Person to the frontier, Liu Xin saw hope again.

In her view, to capture the bandits, first capture their king.

Qianhai Zhenjun held the Junwang Golden Person in his hand, personally rushing north into Chu territory; his intention was obvious—to exert all effort to crush Northern Chu, reshape the Great Qian dragon veins, and restore the Great Qian dragon aura.

Only when the Great Qian dragon veins are reshaped and the dragon aura stabilized can Qianhai Zhenjun rest easy.

If Great Qian collapses, given this true monarch's connection to Great Qian, he will surely suffer backlash.

And the backlash will not be small.

Therefore, many cultivator lineages wishing to obstruct the Holy King's court attendance undoubtedly see the best way as now striking against Great Qian.

As long as they cause the heart of Haojing City to bloom outward, Great Qian will not collapse but will self-destruct.

She does not believe that, facing the backlash of Great Qian's fate, Qianhai Zhenjun could still retain any combat strength.

If they wait until Great Qian reestablishes its dragon veins and the dragon aura barrier is fully restored, the difficulty of acting will increase manifold.

However, during this time, the Golden Mother Sect has dispatched several batches of personnel into Haojing City; each time they entered, they soon vanished without trace, and the hidden dangers here have made Liu Xin increasingly vigilant.

Liu Xin felt some hesitation.

"Could it really be that we must simply wait for news of our master's death?"

Liu Xin's eyes flashed with light; at this moment of impending revenge, her Dao heart felt uneasy.

Liu Xin knew her master, the Golden Light Holy Mother, was still wrangling with the patriarchs of the major immortal sects and lineages—even over how to join forces or divide the spoils—and no agreement had been reached.

This would likely take ten or more days.

Of course, there are also hidden hands behind the scenes stirring trouble, striving to prevent the major immortal sects from forming an alliance.

This inefficiency made Liu Xin anxious.

Her Dao heart disturbed, she slightly closed her eyes; after a moment, a hint of chill appeared in her pupils.

"If there's truly no other way, then I alone will first enter Haojing City to scout!"

She worried that if this continued, once those old masters had divided the benefits, an accident might occur.

Her gaze flickered; she now also held the title of Zheng Wangfei, and as long as she was careful, she believed there would be no major problem.

……

At the Zhang family residence, Zhang Jian held a copper seal the size of a toothpick, turning it in his hand.

A rune entwined with countless spiritual lights flowed before his eyes.

The Scarlet City Decree

Zhang Jian gazed at the toothpick-sized "copper sword" before him, which contained a special law formula; he had been looking at it for a while.

In fact, with Zhang Chang'an's talent, he could easily have been sent into the more prominent and powerful Overbearing Manifest Sect.

But thinking of that 《Vertical Earth Golden Light》 evasion technique, Zhang Jian pondered for a while, yet still made up his mind.

"Trying it won't hurt!"

The Guangling Immortal Sect itself is already strong enough; if it is as he thought, then naturally it would be even better.

Zhang Jian then summoned Zhang Chang'an, and at once imparted to him all the foundation-establishment methods from the 《Red City Decree》.

After thinking, Zhang Jian also handed over the thousand-year-old fire marrow to Zhang Chang'an.

Zhang Chang'an originally had a fire-attribute constitution; absorbing the fire marrow pearl from this thousand-year-old fire marrow can solidify his foundation, temper his body, and will be greatly beneficial for his future cultivation.

After teaching Zhang Chang'an, Zhang Jian once again turned his attention to the 《Great Yin Scripture》, 《Mysterious Method Scripture》, and 《Jade Chapter Birth Moon Divine Chapter》 before him.

His gaze swept over; part of the profound heavenly Dao mysteries in the ancient texts seemed to directly unravel that layer of misty veil before his eyes, and a Yin spiritual light appeared all around his body.

The Yin imprint condensed by the 《Yin Body Forging Method》 manifested, making him seem to have transformed into a crescent moon of ancient existence, leaping into a vast and boundless Yin realm, his Yang spirit continuously absorbing lunar essence, as if he had become a Yin Star Sovereign.

Yin moonlight is of great benefit to pure Yang spirits, strengthening the Yang spirit immensely.

Zhang Jian sensed that if he were to elevate the 《Yin Body Forging Method》 to the Yuanshen level, his Yang spirit would undoubtedly gain immense benefits.

At this moment, a large expanse of Yin radiance condensed around him; within the Yin radiance, a jade rabbit divine form appeared behind him, this moon rabbit gradually perfected, undergoing multiple divine transformations.

This is the most profound aspect of the 《Yin Body Forging Method》, allowing six divine transformations, thereby continuously refining the Yang spirit, ultimately condensing into a Yin Moon Rabbit divine image.

He had accumulated deeply; in fact, he was only one layer of window away from this step!

At this moment, he casually pushed it open!

As the Yin Moon Rabbit divine image condensed into form, a layer of agile Yin Body Forging divine light appeared around him; this layer of divine light contained the profound mysteries of the Yin Dao, seemingly able to refine all tangible divine forms, possessing the power to strengthen divine forms, or to refine, freeze all divine forms.

This is a Yuanshen-side Yuanshen immortal method.

……

Just as Zhang Jian's strength was growing.

In the heart of Bei Chu, Qian Hai Zhenjun advanced at extreme speed.

With the power of suppressing dragon qi from the Jun King's golden man, Qian Hai Zhenjun had no fear of Bei Chu's dragon qi pressure, and with one person's strength suppressed the many strong experts of Bei Chu, breaking through cities one after another, his momentum like splitting bamboo.

First breaking Shuangyuan Commandery, then breaking Changjing Commandery, he successively pierced through Bei Chu's most famous Dragon-Severing Ridge mountain range, all the way straight to Bei Chu's capital Guangyuan City.

An Ruiming led the sixty-thousand-strong army of Great Qian in the rear to mop up, clearing remnants along the way.

The Yuanshen Zhenren followed the army, notifying the cleanup of Bei Chu's living forces, preparing to crush Guangyuan City, doing their best to reduce pressure on An Ruiming.

This is a great war concerning the fate of two nations.

The Yuanshen Zhenren also know the urgency of time.

At this time, the more the living forces of Bei Chu are consumed, the easier it will be for Great Qian.

At this moment, in the rear army, Huanghe Zhenren saw this scene and could not help but show a look of joy; he was quite optimistic.

"It's just that I never thought Bei Chu would thus perish!"

Beside him, Chaomu's gaze was calm; he glanced at the long grain convoy beside him, but his expression showed no particular optimism.

Seeing Chaomu's expression, Huanghe Zhenren smiled and comforted him.

"Chaomu Zhenren, there's no need to worry too much; as long as we keep advancing at our current speed, even if those immortal sect lineage masters react, it will be like a skilled woman unable to cook without rice!"

"You say Bei Chu has been destroyed, incorporated into Great Qian's territory, the dragon veins reborn, covering everything—what do they have to contend with Qian Hai Zhenjun?"

Hearing this, Chaomu secretly shook his head; he had recently had a whim, worrying that things ahead might not go so smoothly.

A broken boat still has three nails; Bei Chu has occupied the northern lands for so many years, always standing opposed to Great Qian—how could it be so easily dealt with?

Moreover, those sect elders will not give Qian Hai Zhenjun this opportunity.

……

Within Gaojing City, the Jingwu Emperor's aura grew increasingly majestic.

Jingming Daoist noticed that, with frequent victory reports from the front battlefield, the Jingwu Emperor's progress in cultivation had also increased; in just half a month, his Qi cultivation had already been accomplished.

For this, the Jingwu Emperor had even personally summoned several disciples of the Dongshen Guan to inquire about progress.

Upon learning he belonged to the 'genius' category, he was very pleased.

"National Teacher, what do you think of my cultivation speed? If I continue like this, how long until I can cultivate powers similar to yours, National Teacher?!"

In the Jingtai Hall, Jingming Daoist heard this and could barely suppress a smile, but still said.

"Your Majesty's cultivation progress is extremely rapid; if smooth, perhaps in a hundred years you could achieve Yin God status; if your cultivation years are like mine, naturally you would be even stronger than I!"

On the throne, hearing this, the Jingwu Emperor's face showed joy, his interest extremely high, and at this moment he sighed again.

"Only regrettable that I am the emperor, daily having to review memorials, pacify officials, and balance state affairs; if I could free up all my time, my cultivation progress would surely be even faster."

Jingming Daoist heard this and said: "A sage king's wondrous method also needs to harmonize Yin and Yang, clarify the pure and turbid; one literary, one martial is the true path!"

The Jingwu Emperor nodded, then immediately said.

"Only regrettable that I have not yet been able to find the whereabouts of the phoenix-fated noble maiden; this《Divine Emperor Secret Record》contains a secret method; if I could obtain the aid of the phoenix-fated noble maiden, this cultivation would surely achieve twice the result with half the effort!"

Jingming Daoist heard this and said: "As long as Your Majesty can cultivate the Dao, in the future you need not worry about not finding the phoenix-fated noble maiden!"

The Jingwu Emperor nodded and said.

"What the National Teacher says is indeed correct!"

The Jingwu Emperor slowly walked out of the Jingtai Hall, Jingming Daoist closely following behind.

Hoo hoo!

At this moment, the two stood in the palace, as if they could hear from the imperial city's air those joyful dragon roars; countless dragon qi flowed from afar, surging anew into Gaojing City, causing the dragon qi concentration within Gaojing City to rise again.

This is seizing Bei Chu's blood, to continue the life of Great Qian.

Currently, it appears successful.

But just at this moment, Jingming Daoist's expression changed, his gaze suddenly turning toward a certain direction in Gaojing City.

Seeing Jingming Daoist's expression change, the Jingwu Emperor's expression slightly startled: "National Teacher, what's wrong?"

Jingming Daoist, upon hearing this, said: "Zhang Xueshi seems to have discovered a great fish; he has asked me to go verify it!"

Emperor Jingwu smiled and said: "Looks like some demons and monsters have entered Haojing City again? National Preceptor, go handle it yourself!"

Daoist Jingming immediately nodded, and his figure vanished from the spot.

Watching Daoist Jingming disappear, Emperor Jingwu's eyes flickered with a hint of envy.

……

In the Zhang family residence, Zhang Jian's front displayed the Eastern Emperor Treasure Mirror, which at this moment condensed a clear mirror image within, showing a graceful and exquisite figure appearing inside the mirror—this was the big fish he had locked onto.

A cultivator at the peak of the Yin Spirit realm.

He had already informed Daoist Jingming of the news.

Zhang Jian only handled surveillance; taking action was always Daoist Jingming's responsibility, and if that failed, there was still True Person Tiangang, and after that, he would personally step in.

He noticed that shortly after, Daoist Jingming brought several powerful figures from the Dongshen Guan and directly blocked this high-ranking female cultivator, immediately setting up the Heavenly Net and Earthly Trap formation without a word.

"Exposed so quickly?"

At this moment in the courtyard, Liu Xin's expression changed; looking up, she saw under the bright silver moon, streaks of flowing light tearing through the void as numerous figures with vast spiritual aura appeared, sealing off the surroundings of the courtyard.

Her heart kept sinking.

Daoist Jingming's Dongshen Daoist robes fluttered as he locked his gaze on the high-ranking female cultivator before him and directly warned aloud.

"You have not reported to Dongshen Guan, entered Haojing City privately—please surrender and accept the investigation of Dongshen Guan. Rest assured, fellow Daoist, if you are truly from an orthodox Daoist lineage, we will release you after the investigation. Even if you are a wandering cultivator, it is fine, as long as we confirm via secret arts that you harbor no ill intent, we will not deliberately target you..."

As he spoke these words, Daoist Jingming waved his hand, and the Heavenly Net and Earthly Trap above his head already shimmered with spiritual light, enveloping the surrounding void.

Upon hearing this, Liu Xin's face curled into a cold smile; she did not believe a word of it, though she still felt remorse in her heart.

Despite her usual claim of having a steadfast Dao heart, she had still fallen into the trap, and now there was no escape before her.

Immediately, her gaze locked onto Daoist Jingming.

But no matter what, she still wanted to fight for a sliver of survival.