Chapter 397 - 182: Great Xuan Human King, Grant Me the Dao - , Help Me Open the Purple Mansion, Ascend to ’Daoist High Merit’!

Chapter 397: Chapter 182: Great Xuan Human King, Grant Me the Dao Chapter, Help Me Open the Purple Mansion, Ascend to ’Daoist High Merit’!

"That esteemed lady is waiting for you inside, young friend."

Shi Yi spoke kindly.

Hearing this, Ji Xiu did not hesitate and immediately pushed the door open.

With a CREAK...

As the door swung open.

A face he had never seen before came into view. Her brows were like distant mountains, and upon hearing the commotion, she lowered her gaze toward him.

And he saw—

The woman was shrouded in a hazy cyan qi, making her appear ethereal and indistinct. She possessed a cold, otherworldly air that was instantly unforgettable—as if she were a creation of heaven and earth, newly sculpted, the very quintessence of spiritual beauty.

Ji Xiu had clearly never seen this face before.

Yet, for some unknown reason, he felt an inexplicable sense of familiarity. He couldn’t help but stare a moment longer. A suspicion began to form in his mind, but before he could voice it...

A flat, indifferent voice spoke from nearby, the tone utterly devoid of emotion:

"So this is the boy Her Majesty spoke of? The one who might one day have a sliver of a chance to rival the Ten Primordial Ancestors?"

"Her Majesty must have been exaggerating."

"He hasn’t even reached the level of a Qi Cultivation Grandmaster. He hasn’t broken through his Three Limits or awakened his Treasure Body... The barriers he’ll face in the future are countless."

"He can’t even get his name on the Juvenile Dragon Stele. Why should beings like us condescend to wait here for him?"

"Your Majesty, you have only just shed your collapsing mortal form and forged a new body from the Celestial Material, the Cyan Heaven White Lotus. This is precisely the time you should be in seclusion to recuperate."

"Wasting time on him here is hardly worthwhile."

Ji Xiu turned his head to look. Before he could even make out a figure, his vision was filled by two masses of intense, almost tangible light. They blazed like glorious suns, making it impossible to look at them directly.

It completely obscured the speaker’s face.

But these words undoubtedly confirmed the woman’s identity—she was indeed Jiang Li!

And before he could open his mouth...

The woman’s cool voice spoke:

"Oh?"

"If waiting for him is not worthwhile, then should I have simply remained dormant? Should I have continued to just barely cling to existence in a corner of that jade pendant?"

"If I hadn’t relied on him, if I had relied on you all instead, I fear my three lamps of Essence, Qi, and Spirit would have been completely extinguished. All that would have been left is a pile of dust."

Jiang Li let out a cold scoff, and her gaze alone was enough to suppress the figure of unknown Cultivation, whose eyes had been blazing with light.

Faced with the woman’s rebuke,

the figure fell completely silent, not uttering a single word in his defense.

Meanwhile, their exchange sent ever-widening ripples through Ji Xiu’s heart.

And he began to form a bold guess as to Jiang Li’s identity.

’Her Majesty... the royal "I"...’

’How could any ordinary person use such titles for themselves?’

Ji Xiu couldn’t help but recall the words "Profound Monarch" from the *Six Chapters of the Profound Monarch’s Secret Record*. His throat suddenly felt dry as he asked, his tone probing:

"Miss Jiang, are you..."

"A titled king from the Great Xuan bloodline?"

Hearing this, Jiang Li turned to look at Ji Xiu, a hint of a smile in the depths of her eyes:

"Why don’t you guess?"

The figure, completely invisible to Ji Xiu, let out a cold snort upon hearing his guess:

"A Titled King?"

"Boy, you are far too ignorant."

"Her Majesty chose to meet you here today, which proves she trusts you enough to let you know the truth."

"You must understand, you have not even reached the rank of Qi Cultivation Grandmaster, yet you are being granted an audience that many at the Titled Martial Dao level are not worthy of."

’Not even those at the Titled Martial Dao level are worthy?’

Ji Xiu’s heart gave a violent lurch.

He looked at the woman before him. Her face was new, but even as she smiled, she exuded an inexplicable air of nobility...

He was rendered uncharacteristically silent.

"Standing before you is the ninth Emperor Monarch of the Great Xuan, from one hundred years ago—Jiang Li."

"She is also, to this day, the last Human King to be acknowledged by the Great Xuan Ancestral Lineage. The last one qualified to inherit the Nine Dynasties’ Orthodox Lineage, who possessed the authority of the Heavenly Patrol, suppressed the Ten Thousand Dao Realm Gates, and guarded the realm!"

The moment that man spoke, his words were earth-shattering.

And Ji Xiu... had also considered this possibility.

But to be honest.

As someone with the Innate Wisdom of two lives, he felt he could accept almost any outrageous development.

But...

Ji Xiu’s expression froze. He was struggling to maintain his composure.

To think that the person he had randomly found in the snow one winter, in a backwater place called Anning County,

turned out to be the legendary female Human King from the Great Xuan’s historical records? The one from a hundred years ago who was said to have unified the world and challenged the very heavens!?

This was truly a bit too fantastical.

But when it was truly, genuinely happening right in front of Ji Xiu... he had no choice but to accept this reality.

Then again.

’So, the being standing next to this female Human King, the one whose face I can’t even see...’

’...just what kind of "highest-ranking minister" is this old fossil!?’

’No wonder he’s so arrogant and looks down on everyone. How infuriating.’

Ji Xiu grumbled internally, but by this point, he was already growing numb to the shock.

’The Gallant Swordswoman I Rescued Turned Out to Be the Last Female Human King of the Great Xuan!’

If even this could happen, what else could he not accept today?

But then again...

’If my memory serves me right, wasn’t this female Human King betrayed by her own subordinates? Didn’t everything fall apart in the end?’

’If that’s the case...’

’...now that she’s back, isn’t she going to turn this entire era on its head?’

As if sensing his thoughts, Jiang Li beamed and said:

"I didn’t originally plan to tell you any of this. But what can I do? You’re a genius."

"Your big sister here is completely destitute now. Everywhere I look, it’s nothing but treacherous vassals. You’re the only one I know inside and out. *Sigh*... I have to win over the ones I can."

Ji Xiu felt nothing upon hearing this.

The powerful being at her side, however, looked grim. He couldn’t shake the feeling that she was taking a veiled jab at him, yet he had no grounds to argue or refute it.