Chapter 439: Unprecedented Scale of Sacrifice (4K)

During this period, not only Qi Yuhua within the Great Xia Dynasty's inner palace, but also Zhang Jian, far away in the Qingping Sea Dragon Palace, more or less received hints—many true immortal clans, or royal lineages, or major dragon forces have expressed intentions of marriage alliances.

If Zhang Jian is willing, the Qingping Dragon Palace is even willing to marry off a direct-line dragon maiden.

And among the common folk, there are even more.

Many founding marquises and dukes, both inside and outside the Great Xia Dynasty, have more or less inquired about Qi Yuhua's thoughts.

But Qi Yuhua cannot decide this matter herself; she can only keep making excuses to avoid it.

In Fengzhi Palace

The couple sat before the sandalwood table; Qi Yuhua's jade-like countenance remained unchanged, as if she were still a girl of sixteen or seventeen, as though time had frozen for her after she came of age.

Yet her bearing grew ever more noble and dignified, her entire presence filled with the aura of a mother to the world.

At this moment, she wore a vermilion noble phoenix robe, personally brewing tea for Zhang Jian.

Before her, beneath the tea kettle, a small firebird chirped; the fragrance of the spiritual tea drifted out, refreshing the heart and spleen.

Her beautiful eyes fell upon Zhang Jian.

"Your Majesty, which family's maiden has caught your eye?"

Zhang Jian pondered briefly, then said: "Earlier, Master Qingyun mentioned to me that the head of the Si family seems to have a young granddaughter on his knee—dignified and virtuous, and most rare of all, her character is precious, her foundation unique; it seems she possesses a Dao body, making her an excellent match!"

Upon hearing this, Qi Yuhua's beautiful eyes showed a hint of joy deep within.

"Since it is a high person of the Tongshan Dao lineage acting as matchmaker, there should be no mistake!"

But immediately, her voice paused slightly as she said:

"However, those who possess a Dao body are usually from immortal sect lineages or the true heirs of great clans; they would not easily marry out!"

Though not a cultivator, Qi Yuhua still has her discernment.

If it were her and Zhang Jian, it would be the same.

Someone like Zhang Chang'an would certainly not marry out lightly.

Zhang Jian nodded slightly, then added:

"I think the same, but Master Qingyun said he could speak on our behalf; whether it ultimately succeeds, however, still depends on Zhao'er's own abilities!"

Zhang Jian's eyes held a smile.

The Zhang clan has now reached this point—finally beginning to take root and sprout.

Seeing Qi Yuhua's face bearing worry, Zhang Jian smiled and said:

"Empress, rest assured—I will lend Zhao'er my aid this time!"

Zhang Zhao is currently also walking the path of the Sage King.

The Sage King's Way takes sage virtue as its foundation, governing heaven and earth and the state; as the Eastern Palace Crown Prince, Zhang Zhao naturally has a firm foundation.

Although his cultivation time has been short and his Dao not yet complete,

with Zhang Jian secretly assisting him, given time, he will not fall short of any true immortal clan or the sage-king lineage's true immortal heirs.

The Zhang clan now possesses ample reserves of treasures.

They lack neither foundation-transforming resources nor various inheritances of cultivation methods.

Furthermore, as Zhang Jian's Dao advances and his magical power progresses, he also prepares to set aside some unused spiritual treasures and magical artifacts to be passed down as the Zhang clan's imperial inheritance.

For example, the first obtained national fortune spiritual treasure, the Tai Xao Blazing Fire Pearl.

Or perhaps a first-rank immortal treasure, the Jun Wang Golden Man.

It is only a pity that Zhang Zhao's Dao cultivation is still somewhat weak; for now, he cannot yet use the first-rank immortal treasure Jun Wang Golden Man.

But this time, he suppressed several strong members of the You family, as well as the true immortal Ji Ke of the Ji family.

These strong ones are all cultivators walking the Sage King's Way; on their persons are spiritual qi-class magical devices, treasures, and even spiritual treasures and immortal treasures—so they can indeed be put to use.

After the couple discussed for a moment, they still decided to first inquire about the character and background of that direct-line young maiden of the Si family, then consider the marriage alliance.

Besides this, the two are also scouting potential marriage allies from other forces.

In the evening, Zhang Jian finally left Fengzhi Palace.

His eyes bore a contemplative look; in fact, he greatly values the proposal from Master Qingyun.

The Si family is the bloodline left by the ancient God King Yu, the ancestral master; among the Eight Sage King Lineages, though not the strongest, it is still ranked among the top and can assist Zhang Zhao.

But forging iron still requires one to be strong oneself.

The Zhang clan still needs to strive ceaselessly for self-improvement.

After leaving Fengzhi Palace, Zhang Jian then went again to the Jade Consort and Song Consort's palaces.

……

In the heavenly realm, within the magnificent immortal domain.

'Qingxia Daoist' at this moment is actually feeling a headache.

Her eyes fell upon the Two Realms Pool; her brows rose straight up, yet she saw the nine-colored pool water at this moment churning without cease, within as if shocking waves and terrifying billows were being born.

Even she suspects that this ancient Two Realms Pool may no longer be able to sustain.

'Qingxia Daoist' wore an expression of utter helplessness.

Just after a period of good days, this 'trouble' has come again.

It looks like this time's sacrificial ceremony is on a scale not smaller than the previous few.

She has a premonition that this time's sacrificial scale might be the greatest in history!

This inevitably causes her Dao heart to surge with waves.

The back-earth stabilizing cauldron from the last sacrificial ceremony—she has not yet entrusted it for sale.

Not because she is reluctant, but because afterward, in a short time, continuously consigning two innate virtue-and-merit spiritual treasures at the Yaochi consignment meeting would likely attract the attention of great powers, which would bring trouble.

Innate virtue-and-merit spiritual treasures differ from other grades of immortal treasures, the acquired spiritual treasures.

This thing—even if a Daoist sees it, they would not spare any cost to contend for it, fighting fiercely.

Now, without the sale of that innate merit and virtue spiritual treasure, the few items she had prepared in hand might not be sufficient for this sacrifice.

With concern in her heart, 'Qingxia Daoist' still poured mana into the two realms through this, stabilizing this realm pool.

In an instant, she heard the vast and surging sound within, and streams of golden light flowed and turned.

In an instant, they transformed into majestic golden bodies flying out from within.

With a wave of her hand, 'Qingxia Daoist' saw the incense palace lamps appear in the void; each time one merged into a golden body, a golden ring of light appeared within.

Deep in the two realms pool, at this moment it seemed like a raging flood, with golden light roaring.

One after another, incense golden bodies flew out.

In a blink, there were already more than ten.

This involuntarily made 'Qingxia Daoist's' face grow increasingly solemn.

Yet this situation had not yet ended; the inner golden light boiled like the sea, continuously giving rise to one incense golden body after another.

Seventeen, eighteen— in a blink, they had already surpassed nineteen!

'Qingxia Daoist's' eyelids twitched; she knew she had truly encountered great trouble this time.

"Twenty-three, twenty-four, twenty-five…… twenty-eight, twenty-nine, thirty!"

At this moment, 'Qingxia Daoist's' cherry lips slightly parted; seeing the golden light surge, after the thirty-first incense golden body appeared, it finally transformed into a golden stream of light that fell onto the incense golden lamp.

A full thirty-one incense golden bodies.

Nearly thirty-one million flawless incense.

'Qingxia True Lord' had a blank expression.

Yet deep within her heart, waves surged.

The scale of this sacrifice approached the sum of the previous two.

Moreover, the sacrifice had not yet ended.

Deep in the two realms pool, the nine-colored pool water surged, within which countless heavenly sounds of the Great Dao emerged, and innate divine rhythms flowed forth from within.

'Qingxia Daoist' did not wait long.

Shortly after, she saw intense innate immortal spiritual light emerge from within, drawing forth a resonance of the heaven-earth Great Dao law; in the depths of the firmament, it seemed as if countless silver lights fell like rain, as if twelve full moons floated above the firmament.

Illuminating the star river.

"The Great Dao Law of Taiyin!"

Feeling the mighty manifestation of this heaven-earth Great Dao law, 'Qingxia Daoist's' face showed a strange expression; she faintly guessed the origin of the treasure about to be born.

This might be an innate treasure born in accordance with the Taiyin law.

Only seen, amidst the vast silver radiance, a silver moon suddenly flew out from the two realms pool, instantly transforming into a silver mirror floating above her palm.

This is a treasure mirror forged by the Taiyin law, its entire body emitting pure innate divine light; its surface is covered with countless silver patterns, these patterns resembling the yin aspect of heaven and earth, faintly revealing a crystalline, ice-like luminosity.

It is like a great Dao wondrous treasure carved from innate essence.

'Qingxia Daoist's' eyes flickered; she poured her mana into it, and after preliminary refinement, she immediately understood part of its fundamental nature.

"Taiyin Treasure Mirror: Innate Merit and Virtue Spiritual Treasure, containing within it two innate divine prohibitions, born from the nurturing of the innate Taiyin Great Dao Law!"

'Qingxia Daoist' played with it slightly; a smile of indeterminate meaning flickered in her eyes.

Taiyin Treasure Mirror, born from the Taiyin origin as an innate merit and virtue spiritual treasure— if such a treasure were to appear in the world, the one in Guanghan Palace would probably not be able to sit still either.

At this moment, a thought arose in her mind.

Perhaps the appearance of this object could make that person in Guanghan Palace suffer a great loss; if calculated well, it might even allow her to take revenge on the Hundred Flowers Fairy and eliminate this hidden danger in one stroke.

"If the main body knew, it would surely be delighted!"

But in a blink, 'Qingxia Daoist' began to have a headache.

Although the appearance of the Taiyin Treasure Mirror was certainly cause for joy, the total value of the offerings in this sacrifice far exceeded the previous two, even rivaling their sum.

Especially this Taiyin Treasure Mirror, which actually contained two innate divine prohibitions.

Whether in terms of the authority it contained or the Great Dao's might, it far surpassed the previous few treasures.

At this moment, 'Qingxia True Lord' took a deep breath; with the situation at hand, she realized that what she had prepared this time was still insufficient.

"It seems I can only continue to divert items from the treasury..."

'Qingxia Daoist's' eyes deepened, with light flowing and turning.

Having already diverted once, continuing to divert a second time, 'Qingxia Daoist' felt no apprehension.

Only what could match this sacrifice were the treasury's final treasures.

'Qingxia Daoist' hesitated slightly; after entering the immortal palace, when she reappeared, there was an additional nine-colored luminous heart condensed before her.

It resembled a heart the size of a ping-pong ball, its entire body glowing with nine-colored light, crystalline and translucent.

The nine-colored divine light was exceptionally unique, seeming to be the origin of the heaven-earth Great Dao, capable of delaying and suppressing the heaven-earth Great Dao law.

"Heart of the High Realm!"

This is a treasure born at the beginning of the heaven-earth's nurturing.

It is a naturally nurtured object from the birth of another extraterritorial heavenly realm; its value rivals that of innate spiritual treasures, these great Dao-nurtured treasures.

Before 'Qingxia Daoist' attained the Dao, she had once been pursued by a Daoist Lord, mistakenly blundered into, and entered an already Nirvana-state extraterritorial heavenly realm to escape disaster; after that extraterritorial heavenly realm was destroyed, she obtained this treasure.

Originally prepared to keep for herself to cultivate immortal arts, or perhaps to perfect her Dao methods.

If used properly, this object should not make it difficult to assist 'Qingxia Daoist' in surviving a destruction great calamity.

'Qingxia True Lord' glanced at this wondrous treasure with some regret.

She turned her eyes; fortunately, having the Taiyin Treasure Mirror, she could now give an explanation to the main body.

However, this also counts as one of the most valuable items in the treasury; if the main body does not return, next time she sacrifices to ancestors, she will be in a difficult position.

With a thought, she waved her hand and threw this nine-colored divine light into the two realms pool.

……

In the Ancestral Temple

After comforting the imperial consorts in the harem, Zhang Jian entered the Ancestral Temple under the moonlight.

When it comes to such matters as "shearing wool," Zhang Jian is always punctual.

At this time, the Ancestral Temple, having undergone years of repairs, is already quite complete, except for the numerous spirit tablets at the head.

In the center of the Ancestral Temple stands a clan treasure tree.

Inscribed on the clan treasure tree are the origins of the Zhang clan and its various branches, though the main trunk is still primarily the line of Zhang Jian, followed by several clan uncles and elders.

Zhang Jian glanced at it; in fact, after the founding of the state, a complete system of imperial temple posthumous names should have been established, so that the Zhang ancestors might possess legitimate titles.

Under normal circumstances, the Son of Heaven has seven ancestral temples.

One ancestor, two secondary temples, four close kin—this actually means tracing back seven generations, or saying that only seven ancestors with posthumous temple names are enshrined.

For example, if generations have exceeded seven, one may choose the founding ancestor and the two with the highest merit as the two secondary temples.

The four close kin can likewise be chosen in this manner.

However, due to special reasons, Zhang Jian has not yet established the Son of Heaven's seven ancestral temples to this day.

He has merely placed all the Zhang ancestors into the Ancestral Temple for worship.

This has both advantages and disadvantages.

Because the numerous royal titles and dukedoms of the imperial clan are based on this for enfeoffment.

And moving so many ancestors into the Ancestral Temple inevitably makes other branch clan members restless.

But the Great Xia is vast and sparsely populated, so Zhang Jian now does not worry about supporting idle people.

He plans to entrust this matter to Zhang Zhao in the future.

Zhang Jian's gaze fell upon the names of the first ancestor Zhang Youren, the second ancestor Zhang Changsheng, and the third ancestor Zhang Linghui, with some ripples in his eyes.

It is said that the first ancestor Zhang Youren, during his lifetime, was a remarkable person; at his descent into the world, various heavenly phenomena accompanied him, including the descent of the nine dragons, which was truly miraculous.

During his life, he had already cultivated the Dao to become an immortal, possessing various Daoist arts, widely saving the people, with immeasurable merit.

Of course, Zhang Jian merely glanced at it and did not take it to heart.

In the genealogies of various families, descendants inevitably beautify the deeds of their ancestors, which is also a way to add glory to themselves—this is understandable.

While pondering, Zhang Jian suddenly turned his gaze toward the "Ancestral Golden Image" deep within the Ancestral Temple!

Yet he saw a grand incense-fire golden light manifest above his head.

The golden light surged, like boiling water, and within it, a spatial passage doorway gradually opened.

After a moment, he saw within it a nine-colored radiance transform into flowing light flying toward him; he waved his hand and immediately absorbed this nine-colored light into his hand.

At the same time, a clear and cold female voice suddenly appeared beside Zhang Jian's ear.

"Boy!"

Hearing this voice, Zhang Jian's expression startled, then he immediately turned his gaze toward that female ancestral golden image; he instantly realized this voice came from that mysterious ancestor of the previous generation.

His eyes brightened—this was still the first time this ancestor had appeared before him.

He hurriedly clasped his fists and said.

"Please, ancestor, give your guidance!"

On the incense-fire golden image, a divine thought of "Qingxia Daoist Sovereign" emerged, speaking in a deep voice.

"During this period..."

Qingxia Daoist Sovereign originally intended to warn Zhang Jian not to be too diligent in his sacrifices, but after thinking, he felt that doing so might undermine his own dignity as an "ancestor," so he could only feign composure and say.

"You have done well during this period, but external force ultimately cannot replace your own efforts... Do as you see fit!"

After feigning concern for a few sentences, the divine light upon the grand golden image gradually faded.

In place, Zhang Jian's face looked somewhat strange.

This ancestor seems somewhat odd and peculiar!

However, having received the ancestor's praise for the first time, Zhang Jian still felt it was quite good.

The ancestor is encouraging him to continue sacrificing.

He will certainly continue to strive in this!