Chapter 345

The various conditions were generally satisfactory to the several Daoists of the Dongzi generation.

The patrons of Dongshen Guan had expended the connections accumulated over many years by Dongshen Guan in exchange for preferential treatment after the establishment of the new dynasty.

Of course, the most important thing now is to withstand the heavenly and earthly backlash from the collapse of the Great Qian, and strive to survive until that time.

"I have two talismans here: one is the Minor Heavens Fortune Severing Calamity Talisman, and the other is the Golden Lotus Concealed Breath Talisman. After the four of you refine them, as long as you do not continue to expend magical power, you can still sustain yourselves for a period of time, waiting until the new dynasty is established, when the new dynasty's dragon qi will protect you, and you will naturally escape this calamity!"

Zhang Jian casually bestowed the two talismans upon the four individuals.

These four individuals have decent cultivation, especially Jingming Daoist and the leading Dongzhen Daoist, who have hope of attaining the Primordial Spirit!

If they can attain the Primordial Spirit, they can then stand alone as a pillar.

"Thank you, Grand Scholar!"

Jingming Daoist was the first to receive them; he faintly sensed the structure of the Primordial Spirit technique contained within the two talismans, and a slight joy appeared in his eyes.

The Minor Heavens Fortune Severing Calamity Talisman seems able to reduce part of the evil calamity backlash, while the Golden Lotus Concealed Breath Talisman can conceal one's qi mechanism, even extending to heavenly secrets; without expending magical power, one will not be locked onto by the Great Qian's qi mechanism.

……

After appeasing the people of Dongshen Guan.

Next, Wei Yuan's enthronement ceremony proceeded as scheduled.

After Wei Yuan's enthronement, Zhang Jian had Wei Yuan draft an edict, demanding that all regional fief kings immediately return to their fiefdoms, and without an imperial edict, they must not leave their fiefdoms arbitrarily; violators would be treated as rebels.

This edict, in several copies, was immediately sent to the loyalist armies in various regions.

At the same time, the Capital's Gold and Silver Bureau was ordered to transmit the news of the emperor's accession through official gazettes to the prefectures and commanderies of all commanderies, to pacify the local officials and the great clans.

This is the benefit of having a righteous cause.

With the "sacred artifact" in hand, granting and withdrawing favor—if one is unwilling to obey the edict, then naturally they are traitors and rebels, and can be denounced by officials and soldiers from all commanderies.

And Zhang Jian in Haojing City also knew that those fief kings who had come to support the throne would not withdraw so easily; he therefore secretly ordered the expeditionary army returning to reinforce Haojing to prepare to annihilate the fief kings' guards.

……

In Lingwu Commandery, the Zheng King's guard unit was stationed in a simple tent; Zheng King Wei Chi stared at the edict before him, his expression grim, and in a flash he fiercely struck the ground.

"This is clearly the act of traitors and rebels, plotting to usurp the throne!"

"What virtue or ability does this yellow-haired brat have, that he could inherit the Son of Heaven's position? This must be the work of treacherous ministers who have usurped my Great Qian's rivers, mountains, and state altars; my Zheng King's guard unit will certainly not agree!"

At this moment, the Zheng King flew into a rage.

Beside him, several commanders wore expressions of difficulty, for the Son of Heaven had already issued an edict ordering them to return to their fief in Jiu Lian Commandery; if they defied the edict, they feared being branded as rebels and traitors.

However, Zheng King insisted, and they had no choice.

Now their lives and fortunes are in the Zheng King's hands!

Wei Chi's eyes were gloomy, and his gaze shifted to a tall, slender Daoist carrying a long sword beside him, and he asked.

"Master Yao, Han King, Jincheng King, Annan King, and Shu King—where are their troops now?"

The Daoist referred to as Master Yao furrowed his brow, and without changing his expression, said.

"Your Highness Zheng King, according to the envoy's report, the Han King, Jincheng King, and Annan King have already arrived at Dongling Commandery, which is only a few hundred li from here; they are all light cavalry, so they should be able to reach here in at most two or three days!"

"As for the Shu King, Your Highness, it is said he 'accidentally caught a wind chill,' and has decided to temporarily return to his fief to rest!"

Wei Chi heard this and let out a sneer: "Accidentally caught a wind chill? Is Wei Lie this coward afraid? Indeed, among us brothers, he is the one who clings to the wall, most skilled at 'avoiding danger'!"

"But with several other royal uncles and uncles coming to form an alliance, we are not without the chance to rush into Haojing City..."

As he spoke these last words, Wei Chi's eyes faintly revealed a hint of a ferocious smile.

"Once we stabilize the situation, we will surely settle accounts with Wei Lie this coward!"

Master Yao stood to the side, yet from beginning to end he kept his brow furrowed; Wei Chi noticed his condition and sensed that this military advisor's state was off, so he said.

"Military Advisor, why do you remain silent? Is there something you are hesitating about?"

After Wei Chi finished speaking, his eyes held a hint of gloom.

Immediately, he asked again.

"Moreover, the queen consort said she would return to the sect to seek aid? Why has she not returned after several months? Could it be that the Golden Maiden Sect has also encountered some problem!"

Wei Chi then calmed down!

The one referred to as Master Yao twitched the corner of his mouth; he could not possibly tell the Zheng King that the Holy Maiden had already been placed under house arrest by the sect founder.

The many Daoist followers of the Golden Maiden Sect had already begun to withdraw in succession; he could only dryly cough and say.

"Your Highness, how could there be any problem within the sect? The queen consort has encountered an opportunity, and is now diligently cultivating within the sect."

Wei Chi's gaze was suspicious as he glanced at Yao Daoist, then suddenly said: "Military Advisor, can you now contact the queen consort? At this critical moment, our loyalist army urgently needs the aid of a high person; could you please request your sect to send a high person to assist?"

Upon hearing this, Yao Daoist sighed inwardly; he knew Wei Chi had already begun to suspect.

At this very moment, Yao Daoist's expression suddenly changed; he stepped forward and abruptly left the military tent, only to see a cyan streak of light fall into his hand from the heavens.

It was a cyan falcon spirit bird.

Yao Daoist hastily took the secret letter from beneath the spirit bird's claws; after merely glancing at it, his expression changed.

"Military Advisor, what's wrong?"

At this moment, Wei Chi was also leading several civil and military officials from the prince's mansion out; seeing this, his expression carried doubt.

Yao Daoist said in a deep voice: "Your Highness Zheng King, the expeditionary army has already returned not long ago, and is now rapidly approaching Lingwu Commandery!"

Wei Chi's expression changed instantly; he seized Yao Daoist's collar and angrily demanded: "Didn't your Golden Maiden Sect say the expeditionary army was deeply trapped in encirclement, nearly annihilated? How could it suddenly return?"

Wei Chi's expression at this moment was almost ferocious.

That was several hundred thousand battle-hardened elite troops; how could his Zheng King's guard unit of barely three thousand possibly resist?

Yao Daoist's face remained unchanged, but his eyes held something subtle; in fact, the secret letter contained another message: that the Golden Maiden Sect had abandoned the Zheng King and was making a complete break with him.

He comforted Wei Chi with a calm expression, merely telling the Zheng King not to worry, that the several hundred thousand expeditionary army, after a long journey, returning would not necessarily retain much combat strength, temporarily letting the Zheng King rest easy and not be anxious, while simultaneously contacting the other fief kings to discuss further.

That night, Yao Daoist took advantage of the darkness to lead dozens of Golden Maiden Sect followers from the upper and lower ranks of the army out of the Zheng King's guard unit.

Two days later, the Zheng King's guard unit blocking the expeditionary army's path became the first to fall under the claws of the Shen Ce Army's vicious tiger—becoming 'lost souls'.

An Ruiming, by the way, directly took the head of King Zheng Wei Chi on the charge of "conspiracy to rebel."

However, the death of Wei Chi, this "muddle-headed king," did not cause any stir among the common people.

After many years of persistent "self-defilement," King Zheng has now truly become a muddle-headed king!

……

Prime Minister's Residence

Upon hearing the news of King Zheng Wei Chi's death, Zhang Jian merely glanced at it briefly before putting it down.

These vassal kings are, in his eyes, like grasshoppers after autumn—incapable of making any waves.

At this moment, he also holds another peculiar bronze wine cup in his hand, and there is some astonishment in his eyes.

This bronze wine cup was dug out from Liu Xin's sea of consciousness; he remembers that when he pulled it out, he could see Liu Xin's expression of pain deep in her heart.

And now, after a period of testing, Zhang Jian has gradually come to understand its mysteries.

On the jujube wood table, there are currently several fiery red spirit jujubes.

These are a batch of jujubes produced by the jujube tree in the courtyard, containing spiritual essence and vigorous life force within, which already qualifies as a spirit fruit.

At this moment, Zhang Jian casually picked up two of them and tossed them into the bronze wine cup.

Visible to the naked eye, a layer of red light suddenly appeared inside the bronze wine cup, and shortly afterward, the two fiery red spirit jujubes flew out again from within it.

As they flew out, their entire bodies were fiery red, with spiritual light shimmering.

A stream of extremely pure spiritual essence began to flow forth from within.

Zhang Jian reached out and grasped it in his hand; as his vast primordial spirit and divine sense swept over, numerous data points were analyzed for him.

"The purity of spiritual essence has increased by more than double, and the purity of vital energy within has also improved, seemingly even amplified by a factor of one. Whether taken directly or used in alchemy, the effect will be enhanced to a certain degree. Even the innate essence nurtured within the jujube pit has been strengthened—truly a comprehensive improvement!"

Zhang Jian directly swallowed the two spirit jujubes, then took out a thousand-year-old spirit herb, Nine-Leaf Purple Lingzhi, and a small section of ten-thousand-year-old Qingkong from the blood fetus pouch.

These are all possessions of the Purple Yuan Daoist.

Zhang Jian then continued to put the Nine-Leaf Purple Lingzhi and the ten-thousand-year-old Qingkong into the cup separately, and he discovered that after these two heavenly and earthly spirit objects emerged.

The spiritual essence purity and life force contained within the Nine-Leaf Purple Lingzhi have both been refined.

The yin wood spiritual liquid within the ten-thousand-year-old Qingkong is no exception.

All have had their spiritual essence purity increased by at least more than double.

Since ancient times, the purer the spirit object, the higher its grade, and the utilization rate upon absorption will also see a significant increase.

After thinking, Zhang Jian took out another Yuan Zhu.

It is a Yuan Zhu whose entire body shimmers with purple lightning patterns and luster!

In his palm, purple lightning crackles and snaps!

Within it, as if a small beast entwined with purple lightning is darting about!

This is an innate thunder pearl nurtured by a thunder beast.

The thunder beast is originally a divine beast, so the thunder pearl it nurtures is naturally extremely precious—it is an excellent sovereign medicine for cultivating thunder techniques, refining thunder-attribute elixirs, and crafting spirit treasures.

Its value surpasses that of the other three spirit objects.

Zhang Jian once again placed this innate thunder pearl into the wine cup; moments later, however, he saw a ring of intense innate thunder element spiritual essence flowing out from the surface of this innate thunder pearl.

Zhang Jian grasped this innate thunder pearl, and then he felt that the innate thunder element spiritual essence flowing within it had been refined once more, and the thunder essence had also been purified, though the degree of purification and enhancement was noticeably weaker.

Still, it remains more than double.

But there is clearly a trace of diminishing enhancement.

The upper limit of this bronze wine cup may be far higher than imagined!

But it also has an upper limit.

However, this in no way hinders its value.

It possesses both the functions of purification and enhancement.

"It is very suitable for novice cultivators and can serve as the Zhang family's clan-protecting strange treasure!"

Zhang Jian silently thought to himself.

As an emerging cultivator family, the Zhang family currently has a weak foundation and needs one or two strange treasures to assist in the family's prosperity.

Of course, it also brings him considerable benefits.

It can be used in both artifact forging and elixir refinement.

Zhang Jian then checked his other possessions on his person.

His current holdings can already be considered a modest accumulation.

He can be regarded as a wealthy man!

Most of this wealth was seized, with the main contributors being Liu Xin and the Purple Yuan Daoist, followed by several Yuan Shen True Persons he has slain.

The bulk still comes from Liu Xin and the Purple Yuan True Person—these two alone have contributed three Golden Body-level spirit treasures to him, plus this bronze wine cup strange treasure in his hand.

Other various types of Yuan Shen magical treasures also number five or six!

Top-grade spirit crystals have even reached over a million!

"These Yuan Shen magical treasures and Yuan Shen spirit treasures, though precious, are temporarily unusable. Leave a portion as the Zhang family's accumulation, and sell the rest to the caravans of major sects in exchange for some usable cultivation materials!"

Zhang Jian silently thought to himself.

Upon careful calculation, most cultivators who have achieved success in cultivation are skilled at managing households and finances.

After organizing a portion of his household affairs, Zhang Jian then turned his attention to the newly acquired multiple Dao techniques.

Since ascending to the Yuan Shen realm, he has always been busy putting out fires everywhere, or stabilizing the court situation, and has not yet properly re-planned his cultivation path.

His She Shi Di Jun Yuan Shen has an extremely high upper limit.

If not constrained by the current circumstances, he would need to divert part of his energy to deal with court changes; what he would rather do is calm his mind and properly cultivate his Dao.

However, now that the situation is gradually stabilizing, he can begin preparing for this aspect.

Regarding the court, with the collapse of the Great Qian dragon veins, he is now the only one who can fully exert his power as a Primordial Spirit True Person; with his cultivation, he is sufficient to stabilize the situation and achieve 'saying one thing and meaning it'.

Moreover, by gradually taking control of the Great Qian's forbidden army and most of the border troops, he is sufficient to stabilize the overall situation.

Even if there are some minor troubles, he does not need to appear in person, for his subordinates have elite soldiers and fierce generals, as well as extraordinary individuals, to handle them.

He should now calm down and enhance his own strength as quickly as possible.

This is also preparation for the Holy King's court appearance.

If he were to appear in court as the Holy King, it is imaginable that those transcendent sages would certainly not stand by idly.

Even if there is maneuvering with the Tongshan Dao lineage, it cannot eliminate those cultivators' fear and dread of the ancient Holy King.

Forging iron ultimately still requires one's own strength!

……

At this time, there are actually not few directions in which he can enhance his strength.

As long as he successfully cultivates the eight Primordial Spirit Immortal Methods he has obtained, step by step, he can achieve this.

He currently possesses eight extremely powerful Primordial Spirit Immortal Methods; six of them are carried by the Uniform King Golden Person, and the other two were exchanged by him this time with the Slaying Demon True Lord.

What Zhang Jian covets most are the《All-Heaven Entwining Silk Great Method》and the《Nine Dragons True Scripture》.

The former allows him to refine the Uniform King Golden Person, turning it into a puppet.

The latter is a Primordial Spirit Immortal Method secretly transmitted by the ancient Holy King.

The most precious aspect of this method is that it can condense the Nine Veins Golden Dragon, ultimately forming the Nine Dragons Destiny Pattern.

The Nine Dragons Destiny Pattern is also a type of Human Emperor Destiny Pattern, not inferior to the Human Emperor Destiny Pattern, nor to the Sagely Destiny Pattern.

Furthermore, the Nine Veins Golden Dragon possesses combat power equivalent to that of a true dragon of the same rank; taking Zhang Jian's own Golden Body-level Primordial Spirit Great True Person as an example, if he cultivates one vein of Golden Dragon, it is equivalent to having an additional helper of the same realm and dragon vein Golden Dragon.

In battle, this would obviously turn into a two-on-one situation.

If he can cultivate nine such veins, combined with the Nine Dragons Destiny Pattern, the Nine Dragons Protective Body would allow him to withstand even cultivators who are several major realms above him.

The power of this method is undoubtedly immense.

It is also a core inheritance of the ancient Holy King's clan.

Of course, Zhang Jian's eagerness is also due to the fact that he holds a complete dragon vein, which is the prerequisite condition for cultivating this method.

At the same time, with the temporary control of the Great Qian situation, Zhang Jian is planning to hold another ancestral sacrifice.

Having successfully taken control of the Great Qian court this time, his influence can be said to extend across the fertile lands of the Eastern Continent.

In his view, this ancestral sacrifice will surely allow him to extract some good things from the ancestral temple once again.