Novel Full Chapter 443: Not Being Devoured by Those Two Women Is the Best Repayment of All!
On the second night after the wedding, news that Xiao Mo had spent the night resting in Yan Ruxue’s chambers reached Empress Dowager Yan’s ears. In particular, after Empress Dowager Yan received from a palace maid’s hands the handkerchief bearing that “blood plum blossom,” Empress Dowager Yan was overjoyed.
In the Empress Dowager’s eyes, regardless of whether her Ruxue had managed to conceive the imperial heir in a single night, at the very least, Ruxue had gained the upper hand first.
And it was not only Empress Dowager Yan who was pleased. Even Xiao Chun, in her role as a maidservant, could not help but feel smug and triumphant.
After all, her young mistress was the first consort to be favored by His Majesty. It was entirely possible that her young mistress was already carrying a little imperial prince!
Mingyue from the Han Jiu Palace, upon seeing Xiao Chun strutting about with her chin in the air and looking utterly pleased with herself, was so vexed she could hardly contain it.
Fortunately, from the third day after the wedding onward, Xiao Mo began taking turns resting in Yan Ruxue’s and Qin Siyao’s chambers in rotation.
This allowed the palace maids of the Han Jiu Palace to gradually hold their heads up again.
After all, as servants, their own fates were closely tied to those of their noble consort mistress.
If their mistress fell out of favor, they too would have a hard time of it and now, their Noble Consort Mu was only one night behind Noble Consort Xue. There was still plenty of time to turn things around!
As for the thoughts and undercurrents stirring among the people of the inner palace, Xiao Mo paid them no mind.
In the days that followed, Xiao Mo devoted himself entirely to cultivation.
Every time Xiao Mo visited Ning Xue Palace and had Noble Consort Xue “attend to him,” what was actually happening was that Yan Ruxue was helping Xiao Mo purify his spiritual energy.
Because the spiritual energy within Xiao Mo’s body was growing increasingly dense and was being continually compressed, he was once again able to cultivate and so Xiao Mo also made a point of visiting the Dao Inquiry Platform every day to practice his swordsmanship.
When Jiang Qingyi learned what Yan Ruxue had been doing for Xiao Mo, she inwardly let out a few disgruntled huffs, and her expression carried a trace of displeasure but Jiang Qingyi had to admit that aside from swordsmanship, this Lord of the Four Seas actually knew a great deal more than she did in many areas. Take this purification of spiritual energy, for instance. That was something she genuinely had no way of helping Xiao Mo accomplish.
Setting aside all other considerations, her own spiritual energy contained an incomparably sharp sword qi. If she were to attempt to purify Xiao Mo’s spiritual energy, he would suffer a pain not unlike being sliced apart piece by piece.
In addition to Yan Ruxue purifying Xiao Mo’s spiritual energy and Jiang Qingyi teaching him swordsmanship, Qin Siyao was also quietly working to consolidate and refine the rivers-and-mountains aura of fate around Xiao Mo.
For the great majority of emperors in this world, this rivers-and-mountains aura of fate was nothing short of a poison when it came to cultivation but Qin Siyao possessed the Ancient-Knowing Sacred Body, and she was the very first ruler to have truly unified the Ten Thousand Laws Realm, even expanding its borders beyond what had existed before.
Because of this, she held a unique mastery over the rivers-and-mountains aura of fate.
Xiao Mo himself had not even noticed that each time he spent the night in Qin Siyao’s chambers, the rivers-and-mountains aura of fate that wound itself around him was quietly nourishing his cultivation and the progress of his Dao in return.
Without either of them realizing it, a full month passed.
The spiritual energy within Xiao Mo’s body could no longer be refined or purified further.
If the spiritual energy of an ordinary cultivator were compared to water, then the spiritual energy Xiao Mo now possessed was as heavy and dense as liquid gold and yet, no matter what, Xiao Mo was still only at the Qi Refinement realm.
The “barrel” of the Qi Refinement realm ultimately had its limit but Xiao Mo had already made thorough preparations.
He had long since selected a small open plain in the distant outskirts beyond the imperial capital.
In addition, he had also had Wei Xun quietly obtain a Foundation Building Pill for him.
When Wei Xun learned that His Majesty intended to attempt Foundation Building, his whole person was so startled that he thudded to his knees right there in the imperial study, calling out repeatedly for His Majesty to reconsider.
Xiao Mo was not without understanding for Wei Xun’s reaction.
In Wei Xun’s eyes, what Xiao Mo was about to do was tantamount to seeking death.
After all, in this world, those emperors who had attempted to enter the Foundation Building realm had, for the most part, perished beneath the heavenly tribulation.
Xiao Mo kept assuring Wei Xun that he knew what he was doing.
Wei Xun wiped at his tears and looked at his emperor with an expression somewhere between belief and doubt.
Whether his emperor truly knew what he was doing, and in what sense, Wei Xun honestly did not know but his emperor’s mind was made up, and he was determined to enter Foundation Building. So what could Wei Xun possibly do about it?
Now, everything was in place for Xiao Mo. There was only one thing still missing.
Jiang Qingyi had said she would give him a treasure to increase his chances of successfully entering Foundation Building but that particular item had not yet been finished.
At last, on this day, Jiang Qingyi came to Xiao Mo’s bedchambers and placed a bottle of medicinal pills on the table before him.
“Fairy Jiang, this is…?”
Xiao Mo picked up the bottle of pills and looked toward Jiang Qingyi.
The moment he opened the stopper, a rich and potent medicinal fragrance drifted out from within.
“That is the thing I mentioned to you.”
Jiang Qingyi said in an even tone.
“This pill is called the Heaven-Stealing Pill. Your Majesty is the ruler of this land, and as such you are extremely likely to draw the attention of the Heavenly Dao. After taking this pill, the Heavenly Dao may be inclined to turn a blind eye to Your Majesty, and entering Foundation Building will not be as difficult a matter as it would otherwise be.”
“At the very least, Your Majesty will be able to survive the heavenly tribulation.”
Hearing Jiang Qingyi’s words, Xiao Mo’s brow furrowed.
“Fairy Jiang, if I were to accept this pill, I would not know how to repay you.”
Xiao Mo shook his head and set the bottle back down on the table.
Though Xiao Mo was only a Qi Refinement cultivator, his knowledge far exceeded that of an ordinary Qi Refinement practitioner.
He made a habit of slipping into the imperial archive, having pored over a great many texts on cultivation and read through a considerable number of scrolls on the art of alchemy.
He understood that any pill that involved the Heavenly Dao was of extraordinary value.
If Jiang Qingyi had given him some ordinary pill to increase his Foundation Building success rate, he would have accepted it without hesitation.
Something of that nature, while relatively precious, was still limited in its scope to Foundation Building. He would have been able to repay her in time without issue but for a pill that touched upon the very Dao itself, Xiao Mo genuinely did not know what he could offer in return.
Listening to Xiao Mo’s words, Jiang Qingyi gave him a light, indifferent glance and tucked the hair at her cheek behind her ear.
“The method used to refine this pill is extremely particular. During the refining process, Your Majesty’s birth date and the eight characters of your birth chart were incorporated into it.”
“Which means this bottle of pills will only take effect if Your Majesty is the one to consume them.”
“If Your Majesty does not take them, this bottle of pills becomes no different from candy pellets. Would that not be an even greater waste?”
“If Your Majesty truly feels uncomfortable accepting them, then simply make sure to successfully enter the Foundation Building realm. Only when Your Majesty’s cultivation continues to rise in the future will there be any meaningful talk of repayment.”
“Furthermore, if Your Majesty ever tires of serving as the emperor of this Great Zhou and wishes to go into the mountains to cultivate, you are welcome to choose my Ten Thousand Swords Sect.”
“My Ten Thousand Swords Sect has a long history and considerable standing, and has always valued talent. Consider this bottle of pills an investment from the Ten Thousand Swords Sect in Your Majesty’s future.”
“Now that all is truly in place, Your Majesty may genuinely begin your Foundation Building.”
With that, Jiang Qingyi rose to her feet. Not wishing to say anything further, and equally unwilling to give Xiao Mo any opportunity to refuse, she turned and walked straight out of Xiao Mo’s room.
“Repayment?”
At the entrance to the Yangxin Hall, Jiang Qingyi stopped in her tracks, turned her head back for a glance, and let out a cold, dismissive snort.
“Not being devoured by those two women is the best repayment of all!”