Chapter 566

Yuan Hong's eyes lit up, he nodded slightly, and asked: "What is the other choice?"

Zhang Shaokang said: "The other choice is to head to the Eight Desolations to open up territory."

Yuan Hong lowered his brows and pondered secretly.

Two choices, the pros and cons are obvious.

The first choice's advantage is safety, and it can quickly expand his own power.

Since these Demon Races were all subdued by him, they would naturally take him as their leader.

But the disadvantage is that there is no challenge, and it is difficult to obtain great merit.

As for the second choice, the difficulty is high, the challenge is strong, and it carries many dangers, because in the Eight Desolations, the Demon Race dominates one side and is not as honest as the Demon Race within the Great Shang borders.

In fact, many Demon Races within the Great Shang borders leave after cultivating to the immortal realm.

This is, after all, the ancestral land of the human race, with many powerhouses.

The disadvantages of this choice are obvious, but the advantages are also obvious: it is easy to obtain merit and can hone oneself.

Soon, Yuan Hong made his decision.

He raised his head and said: "Hall Master, I choose the second one, but regarding the matter of subduing the Demon Races within the borders, I suggest that Jin Dasheng and Yang Xian can do it. Although they are both late-stage Earth Immortals, as long as the Martial Hall cooperates, subduing the Demon Races within our Great Shang borders should not be a problem."

Among their Seven Sages of Meishan, Jin Dasheng (Water Buffalo) and Yang Xian (Goat) have gentle personalities and are not good at fighting, so they are not suitable for going to the Eight Desolations to open up territory; it is safer for them to stay within the Great Shang borders.

As their eldest brother, he naturally has to think for them.

Zhang Shaokang thought about it and nodded: "That is also fine."

………

After leaving behind a clone, Princess Longji followed Yin Qi to Zhaoge, but did not enter the palace directly, because her identity and origin still needed necessary arrangements.

Since she wanted to hide her identity, she naturally had to strive for perfection and stand up to investigation.

Or, the minimum requirement is not to be suspected.

In reality, Yin Qi wanted Princess Longji to learn from Hu Xian'er and replace one of the shortlisted showgirls, but this was rejected by Princess Longji, who did not want to be with Yin Qi under another face.

But the selection of concubines had already reached the final stage, and it was too late for Princess Longji to fake an identity to join.

Thus, on the second day after Princess Longji arrived in Zhaoge, Yin Qi took a team of Xuan Bird Guards out of the city to inspect the artifact refining industrial zone, and then "encountered" Princess Longji halfway, and they "fell in love at first sight."

After returning to the imperial palace, Yin Qi directly issued an imperial decree to let Princess Longji enter the final stage.

The selection of concubines was handled by the Ministry of Rites and was responsible to the Empress.

Regarding Yin Qi's decree, Minister of Rites Chen Xu and Empress Zhou Ji were both a bit puzzled and also thought it did not follow the process, but facing Yin Qi's decree, neither of them refuted it.

In the Di Yi era, Chen Xu was the vanguard against Yin Qi, but now he had long since been convinced and had even received the reward of an immortal pill, instantly becoming an Earth Immortal, so he was grateful to Yin Qi and did not dare to resist the decree.

As for Zhou Ji, she would not disobey even more.

And in their view, although Princess Longji's identity was somewhat questionable, a mere Nascent Soul realm cultivator could not make any waves.

……

The third year of Di Qi, the second day of the seventh month.

Today is the day Yin Qi selects concubines; the final one hundred shortlisted showgirls, led by officials of the Ministry of Rites, took carriages into the towering and vast imperial palace.

"Eh, such rich spiritual energy, and... and it is actually mixed with law fragments!"

"How is this possible!"

As soon as the carriage exited the palace gate tunnel, an extremely rich spiritual energy rushed toward her, making Xiao Yanzhi widen her eyes instantly, shocked beyond measure.

The current human imperial dynasty is but a mortal country; how could the spiritual energy in the imperial palace be so rich?

And it is actually mixed with law fragments.

This kind of place can simply be called a blessed land.

She secretly lifted the carriage curtain, wanting to see the outside, when she suddenly felt a sharp gaze strike, making her whole body tighten and her scalp tingle.

It is a Heavenly Immortal!

Xiao Yanzhi secretly swallowed her saliva, pretending to be someone who had never seen the world, and then unobtrusively dropped the curtain.

She was not surprised that there were Heavenly Immortals in the imperial palace.

But the subsequent experience directly overturned her cognition.

While passing through layer after layer of palaces, she could always feel obscure immortal senses sweeping over; there were Earth Immortals, and there were Heavenly Immortals, and the key was that there were actually as many as sixteen of them, among whom three were Heavenly Immortals.

Especially upon arriving at the Qianyang Palace to meet the Empress, she was shocked to discover that the Empress was actually a Heavenly Immortal!

Even the Minister of Rites behind the Empress was actually an Earth Immortal.

"How could this be?"

"How could there be so many immortal-path powerhouses in the imperial palace?"

Xiao Yanzhi was shocked.

Fortunately, Yuanshi Tianzun had hidden her aura, otherwise she would have been seen through long ago.

Although shocked, she was not panicked.

After all, she was not here to carry out an assassination; seduction was her specialty.

Equally shocked was Hu Xian'er.

She also did not expect that Empress Zhou Ji was actually a Heavenly Immortal; this was too incredible.

Next, she had to be extremely careful.

Don't fail to seduce the monarch and end up exposing herself first.

This is also because Zhou Ji had only recently achieved the Heavenly Immortal realm and could not yet control her aura freely, which was why she was seen through by the two women.

……

Amidst the anxiety of the women, Yin Qi arrived late.

He wore a white Xuan Bird robe, a purple jade crown on his head; his appearance was handsome, his eyes like stars; he was gentle and scholarly, yet carried a deep imperial majesty, making him look exceptionally charming.

"Great King!"

"Greetings, Great King!"

Zhou Ji, Chen Xu, and the showgirls bowed one after another.

"Rise."

Yin Qi nodded and walked to Zhou Ji's side.

One hundred showgirls stood in five rows.

Looking at Yin Qi, their eyes were faintly filled with excitement.

Di Qi is hailed as the first wise and benevolent monarch of the Great Shang, and his prestige even exceeds that of the Holy Ancestor Cheng Tang.

They naturally hoped to be selected and ascend to the heavens in one step.

"Great King, this is the roster."

Zhou Ji handed Yin Qi a roster; the top half of the page had the showgirls' portraits, and the bottom half had their personal profiles, so as to facilitate Yin Qi's subsequent selection and grading.

For high-ranking harem concubines like Noble Consorts and the Nine Concubines, one must look not only at appearance and personality, but also at family background.

Yin Qi flipped through the roster while looking at the showgirls.

"Eh!"

Yin Qi paused slightly; he actually saw the name Shang Qingjun.

Shang Qingjun—this is the daughter of Shang Rong.

To be honest, he had been busy with political affairs all along and truly had not heard of this matter.

Soon, another person caught Yin Qi's attention.

That is Xiao Yanzhi.

This woman was naturally beautiful and seductive; one glance made one feel itchy in the heart, making her unforgettable, and she was proficient in all kinds of arts, not at all like someone from a small noble family.

He could not help but look a few more times, finding that besides being beautiful, this woman seemed to have no other anomalies.

Seeming to feel Yin Qi's attention, Xiao Yanzhi's cheeks flushed red, and she lowered her head slightly, looking shy and pitiful, making one want to hold her in one's arms and cherish her.

Yin Qi did not think much of it and continued to flip through the roster.

Ten minutes later.

Yin Qi finished flipping through the roster and looked at the showgirls; the Ministry of Rites officials hurriedly picked up paper and pens to prepare to record.