Chapter 287: The Sixth Day After Yang Taizhi's Death

Six days after Yang Taizhi's death, Yang Qianyuan arrived at the capital with his troops, travel-worn and weary.

He had simply arrived too late; the rebellion had already been quelled.

Furthermore, just as Yang Qianzheng was preparing to entrust Yang Qianyuan with heavy responsibilities, Yang Qianyuan declined.

For Yang Qianyuan, these matters were merely incidental, and he had never intended to mingle in the court, that arena of fame and fortune.

After returning military authority to Yang Qianzheng, he came to find Chu Danqing.

Regarding this, Yang Qianzheng was also helpless; if he had encountered such people back then, how could he have made one wrong move that led to a total loss?

"In other words, things aren't over yet?" After hearing Yang Qianyuan's account of the court's landscape, Chu Danqing's expression was quite colorful.

Although the high officials of the court were all dead, most of the people Yang Qianzheng had promoted were from aristocratic families.

People from the lower strata simply had no channels for advancement.

Yang Qianzheng also wanted to find people who were not from aristocratic families, but the problem was that he had no channels to reach them.

"Yes, although the high officials are dead, what died was merely a false shell, and they were not born of womb, egg, or moisture, but were transformed." Yang Qianyuan sighed.

It was precisely for this reason that he did not want to mingle in the court.

"Then what does he plan to do next?" Chu Danqing asked again.

"Use them for now; the world is exhausted today and cannot withstand another round of turmoil," Yang Qianyuan replied.

"True, one should attend to the duties of one's position." Chu Danqing also expressed agreement with Yang Qianzheng's approach; since he did not understand the world's landscape, he naturally would not interfere too much.

The main thing was that he had no way to solve it either; killing them directly with violence was possible, but then what?

The Anyong Dynasty was not invincible, and various foreign tribes were eyeing it covetously; one moment of carelessness would lead to crises on all sides.

Yang Qianzheng had become a paper-hanger.

"What about the rebellion? What is the situation?" Chu Danqing was still more concerned about the uprisings in various places.

"It is already being handled, but most of them are commoners, so the focus is on pacification rather than violent suppression," Yang Qianyuan said. "This should be in preparation for dealing with the aristocratic families."

"The main thing is that if the problem of land annexation is not solved, there will be another time," Chu Danqing said, hitting the nail on the head.

What the commoners want is simple: nothing more than to be well-fed and warmly clothed.

Logically speaking, with spirit beasts as a productive force in this trial world, achieving this should not be difficult.

But unfortunately, there are always people in the Anyong Dynasty who feel that the commoners are too wealthy and living too well, and they insist on squeezing them to death.

The final result can be imagined.

"That is not something we should consider." Yang Qianyuan was not the Emperor, so there was no need for him to worry about these matters.

Upon hearing this, Chu Danqing felt he was too naive.

"Earlier, the Emperor asked me who could inherit the throne, and I recommended you," Chu Danqing said honestly. "If nothing unexpected happens, you might be in for a surprise."

Yang Qianyuan's eye twitched; was this something that could be recommended? Wasn't this courting death?

"It's fine, the Emperor's mind is deep; he might not necessarily choose me," Yang Qianyuan said, though he actually didn't have much confidence when he said it.

He then immediately changed the subject: "Brother Chu, on the way here, I used Heavenly Secret Deduction to find the Spirit-Awakening Art you need for the Heart-Link Lotus Seed; take a look and see how it is."

Chu Danqing stopped talking about the Emperor's issues and immediately took the Spirit-Awakening Art, which was a plant-type and life-type spirit-awakening skill.

Don't let Yang Qianyuan's polite words fool you; in reality, it was a skill he had carefully selected.

It could be said to be the most suitable for the Heart-Link Lotus Seed.

It was likely for this reason that it took six days to arrive; otherwise, it would likely have been the five days Yang Qianzheng had predicted.

"Suitable, too suitable; this is exactly what I was missing." Chu Danqing looked at this Exemplary Tier skill, and a look of joy appeared on his face.

He directly had the Heart-Link Lotus Seed learn it and used Moon-Flow Spirit Dew to raise its level to the maximum.

【Wood Way Wisdom (Passive) LV. MAX: Spirit-Awakening activation; each evolution will exert 100% growth effect.】

After learning it, Chu Danqing could feel an extremely faint fluctuation of consciousness emerge from the Heart-Link Lotus Seed, and it established a connection with him.

It was just that this consciousness was too weak, more like a newly born embryo, and it was simply impossible to communicate or interact effectively.

Although the skill was learned and maxed out, it did not mean the Heart-Link Lotus Seed's consciousness would instantly finish developing; it also required time.

Chu Danqing couldn't gauge the time well either; after all, he still didn't have much experience in this area.

It wasn't the first time he had encountered plant-type summoned objects, but it was his first time cultivating one.

"Then what about next? What do you plan to do?" Chu Danqing asked again.

"Big Brother Chu, what are your plans?" Yang Qianyuan threw the question back to Chu Danqing.

"No particular plans; I'll just stay in the Imperial Palace for a while and then go wandering the world." Chu Danqing was just finishing his trial time in deep cultivation and then heading back; what else could he do?

"Then why not go to the Jiaoying Prefecture to take a look? I can also fulfill my duties as a host," Yang Qianyuan suggested.

This meant going back with him.

"That works, but what about the Emperor? I definitely have to take Da Bao with me; it would probably be hard for him to manage without protection." Chu Danqing stroked his chin.

Then he thought of the Phantom Light Fish School Pot in his hand.

"Help me give this Phantom Light Fish School Pot to the Emperor, and then we'll set off." Chu Danqing explained the purpose and situation of this piece of equipment.

After all, he had already plucked quite a few resources he needed from the Imperial Treasury; leaving something behind for his self-protection was fine.

Lest Yang Qianzheng die, leaving only Yang Qianyuan without real power, which would also create many obstacles for future development.

He had originally wanted to leave the Qun Fang Pu, but the restrictions were too high, and he feared Yang Qianzheng wouldn't be able to use it.

Yang Qianyuan immediately sent the item over and took the opportunity to explain that they were leaving.

Regarding this, Yang Qianzheng was silent for a few seconds before finally accepting it, and he indicated that if there were any matters in the future, he could come to find him.

He actually wanted to keep Chu Danqing and Yang Qianyuan as well; with the help of these two, he would have a much smoother time.

But then he thought again, the timing was not very good right now.

If he really kept them, Yang Qianyuan might not be able to inherit his position.

As for having an heir in the remaining time, that was simply unrealistic.

Even if he didn't die in an 'accident', with his lifespan, he would at most only be able to see the child born; whether he could see the full-month celebration was another matter.

His injuries were such that it was already the Imperial Physicians' utmost effort to keep him alive; to ask for a full recovery was a bit like a snake trying to swallow an elephant.

After Yang Qianyuan finished delivering the items, Chu Danqing had also packed up, left the Imperial Palace, boarded the Eight-Steed Dragon Chariot, and headed toward Jiaoying Prefecture.

During this period, he encountered no trouble and arrived at Jiaoying Prefecture very smoothly.

As the Prince of Jiaoying, although Yang Qianyuan had no real power, his treatment was far from ordinary.

Especially in recent days, Yang Qianzheng had issued several imperial edicts of commendation and bestowed many items upon the Jiaoying Prefecture.

This made everyone know that this Prince of Jiaoying was currently in high favor with the Emperor; his status was already not low, and now it had risen even higher.

Chu Danqing also enjoyed quite a few conveniences, but he rarely went out.

Most of the time, he was in the Prince of Jiaoying's mansion, cultivating and nurturing.

Because it was his first time cultivating a body-refining art, progress was somewhat slow; before the trial time was up, he had only managed to raise the Five Elements Spirit Forging to LV. 3.

Fortunately, he hadn't consumed many medicinal pills, and he could continue to improve; after all, the medicinal power of the pills was strong enough.

As for progress, Da Bao had the fastest progress; his bloodline concentration reached 10%, hitting the limit of Rank One.

This also caused a qualitative change in Da Bao's strength, mainly concentrated in his talents and skills.

Although the bloodline did not show any additional effects, his five-dimensional attributes changed from +3 to +10.

The 5 effect amplifications of the Deep Cave Blood Beast talent also changed from 13% to 20%.

Of course, the biggest changes were in the two skills: Ripping Claws and Bloodthirsty Pursuit.

【Ripping Claws (Active) LV. 30: After activation, attacking enemies will cause 30% additional ripping damage and apply a bleeding state to the enemy; consumes 30 points of Blood Rage per minute after skill activation.】

【Bloodthirsty Pursuit (Passive) LV. 30: When dealing damage to enemies with a bleeding state, gain a lifesteal effect and add an additional 30% bleeding damage.】

The skill levels did not increase, but the skill content changed from fixed damage to percentage damage due to the bloodline improvement.

This meant it had completely shed its status as a chicken rib.

Then there was Da Bai; its spirit and perception both reached the Rank One limit of 30 points, and at the same time, the Nine-Headed Spirit Scripture broke through to level 20.

With this, it grew another head, which made Chu Danqing's mind even more lively every day.

Of course, Multiple Casting also increased by 1 level.

【Multiple Casting (Passive) LV. 3: When releasing a skill, release it an additional 3 times, consuming half the spirit power value of that skill.】

On the contrary, it was Da Gu whose growth was the slowest; in such a long time, it only raised its five-dimensional attributes to the Rank One limit of 30 points, and its inherited skill, Nine Chapters Asking Heaven Song, remained at level 9.

As for the Heart-Link Lotus Seed, let's just forget it; even now, its five-dimensional attributes only reached 10 points, and its growth could be ignored.

When the time was almost up, Chu Danqing left a letter asking him to respond actively.

Afterward, he returned to the Paradise.

——

"Big Brother Chu, I..." When Yang Qianyuan came to find Chu Danqing, because the door was open, he walked straight in, but he didn't see anyone, only this letter.

He immediately opened it and looked, his expression filled with confusion; what did it mean to respond actively?

Just as he was thinking, the nebula inside the Fate-Weaving Spider crawling on him kept spinning.

He couldn't help but have his vision go black, and a thick medicinal smell emerged in his nasal cavity.

"We meet again." Yang Qianyuan's gaze fell habitually on the dragon throne in the Jin Luandian not far away.

An elderly man, frail and old, was wearing an imperial robe, and a strong aura of decay radiated from his body.

"How did you manage it?" The old man's expression carried madness.

"I simply seized the opportunity," Yang Qianyuan's tone was calm. "I will not become you, nor will I walk down this path."

"I have already found you." The old man's voice was full of malice, and a massive black demon spider crawled up behind him.

But the next moment, the scene collapsed instantly, as if everything had never happened.

"Heh, I'll be waiting for you." Yang Qianyuan gave a disdainful smile.

(End of chapter)