Chapter 16

(Jestidically begging for recommendations and collections!)

Zhu Xu looked at Zhu Ganglie in front of him and said calmly, without the slightest hint of concealment, "One reason for my grand blessing ceremony is to help your father transcend and enter the eternal pure land. Another is to screen for new celestial officials, and the third is to hope that these celestial officials can help me prolong my life."

Zhu Ganglie glanced softly at the aged Lord of Qingqiu, his gaze becoming much gentler, but he did not want to get involved in these matters. The aging of the lord would inevitably cause the royal family to covet the throne.

Now, the Qingqiu Kingdom was likely already in turmoil. He did not want to be inexplicably drawn into such disputes. He said, "Find me a place to rest. I don't want to deal with anything, and I don't want to get involved in the palace struggles."

"Go to the Weiyang Palace. That was your father's favorite place to stay!"

Zhu Xu gently waved his hand, and a servant walked in from outside, leading Zhu Ganglie to a palace.

After arriving at the palace, Zhu Ganglie relaxed, no longer thinking about anything. He took out the white jade bottle from the Yangyang Ruler, and with a flick of his fingers, five drops of blood fell onto the bottle.

The blood slowly spread and merged into the entire white jade bottle. In a moment, a segment of profound incantation appeared on the bottle, quietly manifesting.

Seeing this incantation, Zhu Ganglie was overjoyed. He immediately activated his divine soul and left his body to enter the Kunlun Treasure Mirror.

Once again, he stood before the barrier that seemed like a natural chasm, looking at the golden talisman seeds that resembled mountains. Zhu Ganglie softly recited the incantation he had just obtained.

The incantation transformed into tiny talismans, mixing with Zhu Ganglie's spiritual power and merging into the mountain-like talisman seeds. After some time, Zhu Ganglie, relying on the incantation, completely refined the second talisman seed.

During this refinement, Zhu Ganglie increasingly felt the difficulty. In the first layer of the barrier, there were nine talisman seeds, but the difficulty of refining each seed increased exponentially.

The first talisman seed was refined successfully in a moment with the incantation, but the second seed took him three units of spiritual power and the incantation, and it took a long time to refine it successfully.

The third talisman seed, he refined for several hours, with almost no progress.

This shocked Zhu Ganglie, but it also made him more curious. This peculiar phenomenon was enough to demonstrate the power of the Kunlun Treasure Mirror.

After putting away the Kunlun Treasure Mirror, Zhu Ganglie did not plan to refine it further. It was not because he was discouraged, but because refining the Kunlun Treasure Mirror was too time-consuming and spirit-draining. He might not be able to refine even one talisman seed with all his spiritual power.

He still had two magical artifacts that he had not refined successfully and could not afford to waste more time on this artifact.

Moreover, he had already refined two talisman seeds in the first layer of the Kunlun Treasure Mirror, which meant he had control over it and did not have to worry about it being discovered or stolen.

The most important thing now was to improve his cultivation, fully condensing the nine units of spiritual power in the Out-of-Body realm, and advancing to the Manifestation realm as soon as possible. Condensing spiritual power was the key.

After putting the Kunlun Treasure Mirror into his divine soul, Zhu Ganglie did not plan to go out. He took this opportunity to recover the three units of spiritual power he had lost.

After an unknown amount of time, Zhu Ganglie recovered the three units of spiritual power and, with his powerful soul force, refined the eighth unit of spiritual power.

At this moment, a noisy voice from outside the door woke him up: "Your Highness, the servant has been ordered by the lord to invite you to the Blessing Hall."

"How many days have passed?"

Zhu Ganglie opened the door and saw the servant in front of him, asking calmly.

"Your Highness, it has been two days! Please follow me to the Blessing Hall. The lord and many ministers are already waiting there."

Under the guidance of the servant, Zhu Ganglie arrived at a huge palace. Below the palace was a vast square, and a large platform floated above it. Countless cultivators were quietly waiting around.

"Grandson, sit here!"

Seeing Zhu Ganglie arrive, Zhu Xu's face lit up with joy. He pointed to the seat beside him and smiled, a gesture that made some of the brightly dressed princes around him jealous, their eyes filled with intense hatred.

Zhu Ganglie glanced at the crowd, ignoring their expressions. These people were mere mortals. If they dared to attack him, he would not hesitate to send them to the White Bone Yin Tower.

"Grandson, these are the cultivators of the Qingqiu Kingdom. Although they have great abilities, a single imperial decree can summon them, and a few items can make them come like wild ducks. What a pleasure, what a joy!"

Zhu Xu pointed to the crowd below, speaking with enthusiasm to Zhu Ganglie, wanting him to taste the flavor of power.

However, Zhu Ganglie was not moved at all. These were mere mortal powers. Even if they brought temporary pleasure, it would only last a few decades. Moreover, the highest level of the cultivators below was just the stage of condensing spiritual power, not even reaching the Golden Core stage, let alone the realm of immortality.

However, the few items on the platform caught Zhu Ganglie's attention, especially two of them.

One was a bronze seal with fiery red patterns embedded on it. These patterns moved, resembling a fire dragon in motion.

The other was a white jade bottle with nine inverted white dragons around it, their mouths pointing down and tails flying up. Although there was no fluctuation, Zhu Ganglie could immediately see its peculiar nature.

He then asked Zhu Xu softly, "Are these items magical artifacts?"

Seeing his grandson's interest, Zhu Xu explained, "Some are magical artifacts. Those two items were discovered in an ancient ruin, extremely divine. I want to use these two items to attract the cultivators to offer me methods to prolong my life. These cultivators are usually high and mighty, but they can also be driven by profit, just like ordinary people."

Zhu Xu's tone was cold and domineering, and he also subtly guided Zhu Ganglie.

"Brother, that servant is actually the Grand Prince of the Qingqiu Kingdom?"

Among the cultivators below, Wang Kui looked at Zhu Ganglie on the city tower, his eyes filled with surprise.

"Is this little servant going to control the Qingqiu Kingdom and summon us?"

Gui Chenxi's eyes also showed a faint ripple, a hint of resentment.

"What a lucky kid!"

Linghu Yilang smiled faintly, not paying much attention, but the three of them felt a wave of emotion. They knew they were stronger than ordinary people, but cultivation was difficult. They might never reach the Body Possession stage in their lifetimes, let alone the realm of immortality. So, what they sought was merely the freedom and glory of the mortal world.

But now, the insignificant servant they saw had risen to the top, and this disparity made them feel resentful and helpless.

Just as the three were sighing, five streaks of light appeared in the sky, moving incredibly fast, reaching the crowd in the blink of an eye.

These five streaks of light were both fighting and competing, their power causing all the cultivators to change their expressions dramatically.

At this moment, Zhu Ganglie also saw the five streaks of light shooting towards him. He was startled. As a cultivator in the Out-of-Body realm, he knew that those who could control such light were powerful, and they could even fight in the air.

This power was beyond his imagination.

As Zhu Ganglie's mind raced, the five streaks of light approached the city tower, fighting over the two peculiar treasures. In an instant, the entire city tower exploded, and the two treasures disappeared.

"My treasures!"

Zhu Xu, protected by a layer of treasure light, suddenly roared. These two treasures were key to making the cultivators below prolong his life. If he could not extend his life, the over a hundred-year-old Zhu Xu would inevitably return to dust.

However, after seeing this, Zhu Xu found two pills in his hand and was overjoyed, tightly storing them away.

At this moment, Zhu Ganglie's expression changed, and he stood up, shouting, "I am the Grand Prince of the Qingqiu Kingdom. I beg all of you to take me as a disciple and teach me the way to immortality."

"Heh heh, what a big mouth, wanting to cultivate immortality?"

A sharp, eagle-like old voice mocked coldly, the sound moving from near to far.

"Treasures, my ass!"

A cold, resentful voice rang out, followed by a flash of white light that struck Zhu Ganglie's face, knocking him to the ground.

If it weren't for his predecessor's mastery of mortal martial arts and his status as a cultivator, this slap might have shattered his head.

"Heh heh, what a presumptuous kid. If you can find the Divine Dawn Dao, I'll take you in!"

A faint, mocking voice sounded, and a small talisman with lightning appeared in Zhu Ganglie's hand.

"Ice Soul Daoist, you are fighting with the Ancestor and distracting him, looking for death!"

Amidst this series of events and countless voices, Zhu Ganglie's eyes were fixed on the fleeing streaks of light, clearly seeing the people inside, especially the one who slapped him—a man in a gray robe, with a sinister face and two child-like topknots.

This grudge, I will definitely avenge.