Chapter 442

Fengzhi Palace

Qiyu Hua was currently discussing news about Si Li'er with several maidservants before her.

The maidservant before her whispered to Ying Ying Daoist.

"Your Majesty, from the information gathered so far, the Si family's immortal seed is indeed a heaven's pride, not only possessing an innate water-attribute Dao body, but also wisdom and means are not weak; in several sect trials, she has overwhelmed the heaven's pride of various immortal sects' lineages, though her nature may not be as gentle and delicate as that of ordinary noble ladies of the boudoir!"

Qiyu Hua slightly furrowed her willow brows, then after a moment said.

"This is natural, since they are cultivators, they are certainly not ordinary folk; otherwise, how could they strive for the chance of longevity!"

Ying Ying Daoist remained expressionless, knowing this matter she could not interfere with.

Dongshen Guan merely assists this Majesty in gathering news and information from the cultivation world.

"Empress, it's quite lively here!"

At this moment, a clear voice came from outside the main hall.

Under the moonlight, a figure in vermilion imperial robes walked forth, his countenance handsome yet not lacking dignity; his gaze now carried a faint smile.

"Your Majesty!"

Upon seeing this figure appear, Qiyu Hua's expression froze for a moment, then a hint of joy flickered in the depths of her beautiful eyes.

She hurriedly rose to greet him.

Behind her, Kun Daoist Ying Ying also saw Zhang Jian's figure, her clear eyes flashing with a hint of strange color, but she soon restrained herself, merely glancing at Zhang Jian and slightly cupping her hands before retreating instantly.

After years apart, husband and wife naturally have countless private words to share.

The many female officials nearby also knew their place and slowly withdrew.

After a moment.

Zhang Jian also mentioned the matter just discussed by everyone, and thus asked.

"Empress, have you gathered any concrete information? Has that Si family daughter satisfied you?"

He wore a curious expression!

Qiyu Hua glanced angrily at Zhang Jian, she softly snorted.

"Your Majesty's divine powers are boundless; you could investigate yourself, yet you have troubled this concubine, spending much effort only to gather hearsay trifles, and now Your Majesty even comes to ask this concubine!"

Hearing this, Zhang Jian smiled faintly.

If Qiyu Hua did not investigate this herself, she would not be able to put her mind at ease.

He knew it was useless; only if Qiyu Hua herself, or Zhang Zhao himself, understood clearly would it do.

Zhang Jian thought for a moment, then also said.

As for that Si family daughter, I have also asked several uncles and elder brothers of the Tongshan Dao lineage to inquire; her temperament is decisive, indeed not comparable to ordinary martial world youths, and she could be a good aid for Zhao'er!

"Especially her cultivation talent is outstanding, possessing an innate Dao body; after less than two hundred years of cultivation, her Dao achievement has reached the peak of Golden Core!"

Si Li'er is the youngest daughter of Si Zhengqing, the Ninth Prince of the Yu Dynasty, born over two hundred years ago.

Her age is certainly about one generation older than Zhang Zhao.

However, in the cultivation world, this is not considered much.

A woman three years older, holding gold bricks.

Being older by one or two hundred years, even up to one or two thousand years, is not considered much.

Qiyu Hua thought again and then said.

"Your Majesty, I have heard that in the cultivation world, spiritual power is valued, hierarchy is observed; Zhao'er has cultivated for only a few decades, her Dao achievement is weaker than that Si family lady; would this not be improper?!"

Zhang Jian nodded.

"A woman stronger than a man, this is indeed a major taboo."

Zhang Zhao cultivates the Dream Wander Grand Void Great Law, reincarnation in dreams.

This Dao law was uniquely created by Zhang Jian, profoundly mysterious; in dreams one can become immortals and gods, cultivate boundless divine powers.

But alas, Zhang Zhao's cultivation time is still shallow, only reaching the middle stage of Foundation Establishment; however, in terms of accumulation, it is extraordinarily solid, and will not fall short of any true seed of immortal sect lineages.

After a little thought, he then smiled.

"Your Majesty, although Zhao'er is not heaven-defying in talent, she possesses great wisdom, acts with method; after long association, I believe Zhao'er can surely subdue the Si family lady!"

Though this is so, Zhang Jian knows Zhang Zhao will likely be in a weak position for a short time.

If he wishes to raise his head, he must undergo a period of bitter cultivation.

Even with bitter cultivation, it may not be enough to turn the tide.

After all, it is an innate Dao body.

Zhang Jian also does not mind.

As long as he is here, Zhang Zhao still has plenty of time to slowly prepare.

Afterwards, the couple discussed the betrothal date and the betrothal gifts.

Qiyu Hua said: "Your Majesty, the Si family is ultimately a sage king's lineage; we, the newly risen Zhang clan of Dongzhou, if this news spreads, in the Si family and other immortal sect lineages' eyes, it will likely be seen as overreaching; we still need to prepare a thicker betrothal gift to suppress these voices!"

Zhang Jian smiled faintly.

"This is not difficult!"

The treasures he obtained within the Xiyue Dongtian are numerous; besides, in the Haiyan Secret Realm, he also slew many extraterritorial powerhouses and even captured several true immortals; these true immortals each have extraordinary wealth; taking two first-rank immortal treasures from them would already suffice as betrothal gifts!

His gaze met Qiyu Hua's worried expression as he smiled.

"Empress, you need not worry about this; leave everything to me!"

After receiving Zhang Jian's affirmation, Qiyu Hua's expression relaxed slightly, also counting as lifting a great stone from her heart.

But thinking of Zhang Zhao about to marry and establish a career, she still felt the passage of time, the fading of youth.

She unconsciously brushed the hair by her ears; fortunately, although her age approaches the year of knowing one's destiny, possessing the innate Yin Yuan Pearl and the power of the phoenix-blood jade tablet nourishing her, she still appears youthful, her visage does not age, and her bodily condition remains perpetually in the state of twenty-eight years of youth.

……

Zhang Jian naturally had to personally handle the matter of the betrothal gifts, but before that, he prepared to first deal with the few captives captured from the Qingping Sea, and in the process, squeeze out some treasures from them.

With a wave of his hand, Zhang Jian took out a large block of ice, within which the Taiyin spiritual light flowed and circulated.

The figure of the Ji family true immortal, Ji Ke, appeared within it.

For this Ji family true immortal who had delivered treasures from afar, Zhang Jian still held a deep impression, and the reason he spared this immortal's life was naturally because he remembered the latter's identity as a disciple of the Tongshan Dao lineage, preparing to demand a ransom.

Zhang Jian, likewise, out of consideration for the other party being a Ji family true immortal, similarly only needed 'a tiny bit of ransom'!

But before that, naturally, he needed to first conduct a body search.

With a point of his finger, he caused the ice to seal, merely a streak of State and Commune golden light entering deep into Ji Ke's glabella, suppressing his immortal primordial spirit.

Soon after, he produced a small bowl.

That small bowl was entirely a brilliant red, with firelight flowing and circulating, and within it, dragon shadows coiled and intertwined.

That was Ji Ke's natal immortal treasure.

A first-rank immortal treasure, the Fire Dragon Jade Bowl.

Subsequently, from deep within his glabella, he sucked out a crimson treasure pearl, which was the red treasure pearl Ji Ke had released before being frozen.

This is a second-rank immortal treasure, appearing to be Ji Ke's trump card.

It is a precious auxiliary-type immortal treasure, also possessing defensive capabilities.

Zhang Jian did not particularly value it.

But it is, after all, an immortal treasure.

Though he had encountered many immortal treasures, in reality, immortal treasures are of high value and few in number.

A true immortal of an immortal sect's Dao lineage, exhausting all their wealth, might not necessarily refine even a single first-rank immortal treasure.

The many true immortals Zhang Jian had encountered mostly came from the Shengwang Dao lineage, or possibly from some major power beyond the border, only then possessing such wealth, giving him the illusion that 'immortal treasures' are common.

These two immortal treasures are entirely Ji family property, so naturally they cannot be used as betrothal gifts.

Zhang Jian prepared to sell them to establishments like the Shan Hai Lou, exchanging them for heavenly and earthly spiritual materials and spiritual crystals.

Besides the two immortal treasures, Ji Ke also had on him a yellow earth Emperor's Seal.

It contained dense dragon aura and imperial aura; Zhang Jian estimated it was the imperial seal of some Ji family dynasty.

This thing was beneficial to him.

However, the benefit was limited.

His divine path Son of Heaven authority had already achieved minor completion, so the effect of producing such a dynastic imperial seal was limited; rather, it would be better to refine it and give it to Zhang Zhao to incubate the Hidden Dragon fate pattern.

Zhang Jian's vast primordial spirit and divine awareness enveloped Ji Ke.

At this moment, Ji Ke also faintly sensed it, but his primordial spirit was dazed and completely suppressed by the divine path authority, rendering him completely unable to make any movement.

Zhang Jian then successively took out a spatial-type spiritual treasure from within Ji Ke's sea of consciousness.

That was a Qiankun Law Ring.

Within the Qiankun Law Ring, Zhang Jian discovered nearly ten million top-grade spiritual crystals, as well as a portion of quite valuable heavenly materials and earthly treasures, plus several items from the Sea King Auction.

It appears that the Ji family had prepared considerable wealth for this Sea King Auction.

However, tens of millions of spiritual crystals, relative to a Shengwang aristocratic family, should not be considered much.

Zhang Jian felt somewhat disappointed in Ji Ke's wealth.

After all, he represented the Ji family!

And this is all there is!

The loss incurred at this auction, I fear, cannot be fully compensated from Ji Ke here.

But afterward, there is still Ji Ke as a hostage, which should still allow for considerable recovery.

Zhang Jian felt somewhat comforted in his heart!

After the search was complete, he raised his hand, and a second-rank immortal law blossomed, re-freezing Ji Ke, preparing to wait for the right moment to then extort a sum from the Ji family.

Currently, the Tongshan Dao lineage is in a rapid expansion phase, making it inconvenient to directly blackmail the Ji family, lest the Ji family come to cause trouble.

In the midst of his thoughts, Zhang Jian waved his hand and successively took out four or five massive blocks of black ice.

These were respectively the block of ice containing the essence blood of that top-tier true immortal, as well as the locations of the three immortal corpses under his command.

Including "Qingxu Tianzun," "Dui Ze Daoist," and another deity of the Ao surname.

This deity also possessed a portion of dragon clan bloodline.

Undoubtedly the strongest was that suspected innate deity, the top-tier true immortal.

Even though he had been shot dead by Zhang Jian, his true body shattered into countless blood clots, at this moment, within the icy layer, the divine blood still emitted a strong divine path pressure.

Zhang Jian noticed that within that black ice, ten or more streams of light were frozen.

The most brilliant of these were six spirit pearls.

Those six spirit pearls were entirely ice-blue in color, with immortal light flowing and circulating.

Zhang Jian clearly saw that the power of that set of spirit pearls, each containing the strength of the vast sea, was such that even the true body of that Wilderness God Sovereign, when struck, suffered damage.

Though the Wilderness God Sovereign had already fallen, his immortal divine body still brimmed with an undying and indestructible qi mechanism, yet it was damaged—sufficient to demonstrate the power of this set of second-rank immortal treasures.

This is indeed a set of great treasures!

Gazing upon this set of immortal treasures, Zhang Jian's eyes fluctuated.

If used as betrothal gifts with this set of immortal treasures, the display would absolutely be sufficient.

Even the Yin family, such a presence deeply entrenched in the outer realm heavenly realms, might not necessarily possess a complete set of second-rank immortal treasures.

But Zhang Jian then recalled Bai Li Ying.

If Bai Li Ying were to achieve primordial spirit in the future, she too could use such immortal treasures.

In a flash, Zhang Jian suppressed this thought.

The grade of second-rank immortal treasures is somewhat high; given Bai Li Ying's cultivation level at that time, she probably would not be able to use them.

When her cultivation advances, he believes there will be even more precious things on her person.

Zhang Jian's eyes flickered, and he immediately made up his mind to use this set of second-tier immortal treasures as a betrothal gift.

This would also serve to display the standing of the Zhang family.

Besides this set of second-tier immortal treasures, Zhang Jian later discovered several more treasures on the body of this powerful true immortal.

At least over three first-tier immortal treasures, including auxiliary and defensive types!

There is also one formation-type immortal treasure, the Canglang Heavy Water Banner!

It can be arranged into the Eight Sceneries, One Origin Grand Formation, within which lies the wondrous essence of the One Origin True Water.

There is also a second-tier auxiliary immortal treasure, the Water Spirit Pearl!

Afterwards, there are also millions of top-grade spirit crystals; in terms of net worth, it still does not compare to Ji Ke.

Finally, there is a divine profession crystal flashing with water-attribute divine light, its entire body circulating with intense One Origin True Water energy.

This is a divine profession crystal comparable in preciousness to that of a celestial immortal.

Its value is not inferior to that of the Sea God's divine profession obtained in trade with the Xuan Ying.

After Zhang Jian pinched it between his two fingers to take a look, a hint of a smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.

This item can also serve as a family heirloom for the Zhang clan in the future.

Bai Li Ying's bloodline transformation into the Xuanming Dragon Carp also allows her to refine this object and wield the divine authority within.

His other children, similar to Zhang Yi, also possess relatively outstanding water spirit roots and can likewise fuse with it.

"These true immortals are all major figures; suppressing just one yields a profit overflowing the basin!"

Zhang Jian's mouth corner revealed a hint of a smile.

No wonder those extradimensional demon gods always enjoy doing such things.

His gaze then immediately fell upon the other three true immortals.

With a wave of his hand, he saw the corpses of these three true immortals sucked toward him; his spiritual power pierced through, tearing apart their gradually fading consciousness seas, and immediately he seized not a few treasures with immortal light circulating within.

The spirit map armor of Daoist Dui Ze, the immortal shield.

Likewise, the Daoist surnamed Ao possesses a first-tier immortal sword on his person, as well as a true immortal-level water-attribute divine profession.

As for the divine being of the "Qing Xu Tian Zun," after Zhang Jian transformed his divine body into blood foam, he likewise left behind a divine profession, as well as two first-tier immortal treasures: namely, a divine chart, and a soul-obliterating nail.

Zhang Jian gazed upon these many treasures, and the smile on his face never ceased.

After slaying these powerful beings, he obtained nearly ten or so immortal treasures.

For the recently established Great Xia Dynasty, these immortal treasures are entirely a timely relief.

He must give the True Person primordial spirits of the Great Xia Dynasty some hope.

These tangible immortal treasures, spirit crystals, heavenly and earthly spiritual materials, and divine objects, along with high-tier immortal arts, are truly the hope to look forward to.

Besides these slain true immortals, there is also a portion of frozen primordial spirit powerhouses; Zhang Jian dealt with them all at once to avoid inviting trouble.

However, the wealth in the hands of these primordial spirit powerhouses is obviously far from comparable to that of the five true immortal-level powerhouses.

……

After resolving the numerous captives, Zhang Jian set out toward the Two Realms region.

He prepared to first assist the Slay Demon True Monarch in resolving several major demon sects, then proceed to the Great Yu Dynasty to present the betrothal gift.

Coincidentally, he also wishes to gain fame through these several major demon sects.

With the Six Yang Chieftains of these major demon sects, he reckons that presenting the betrothal gift will save much talk and trouble.

After Zhang Jian made all arrangements, he flew toward the Two Realms region, in the direction of the God-Slaughter Continent.

The God-Slaughter Continent is the domain of the Tai Yin Demon Palace, and also the most chaotic region in the Two Realms area.

The Slay Demon True Monarch first locked onto the old nest of the Tai Yin Demon Palace; at this moment, he is also awaiting Zhang Jian's arrival.