Chapter 231: Chapter 226: Unique Daoist Dao Fruit
Above the vast sky, a crimson palace crushed the clouds and moved majestically, its potent Flame Qi releasing freely, as if the Great Sun patrolled the heavens, unrivaled and peerless.
Unlike Elder Tianxuan’s unadorned travel, the heavily burdened Princess, responsible for cleaning up the mess, directly maneuvered a palace and rushed to Yong Province with hundreds of attendants, signaling an imminent major operation.
Indeed, it was precisely so.
At the moment, in a side chamber, Princess Ji Lingguang sat behind a desk, handling documents listing various officials from Yong Province, making revisions as needed.
"Yong Governor Hong Haogu remained neutral in this incident, allowing Lu King and the Yin Law Department to act independently and thus guilty of negligence. However, the position of Governor is sensitive and shall be set aside for now."
Ji Lingguang crossed out Hong Haogu’s name with a swipe of the pen, then picked up another brush soaked in cinnabar, a fierce gleam in her eyes, "But for the rest, there’s no need to hold back."
The central power of the Great Zhou Court far surpassed that of the local governments. With Dao Fruit limitations in place, if a member of the Royal Family decided to act, local officials had no choice but to abandon their positions and run.
Powerful as the Jiang family was, they had been forced to either submit or flee, not to mention others.
"Governor Wang Qi of Tianshui County, Governor Yang Miao of Anding County, Governor Jiang Zhihuan of Fufeng County..."
Ji Lingguang slowly pronounced the names of the officials who had aided Lu King, indicating she had already conducted thorough investigations.
The Red Eyebrow Army’s uprising occurred in late July, by which time Lu King had already communicated his promotion to the Divine Capital, plus there were backers from the Yin Law Department, neither Ji Lingguang nor Tianxuan could intervene.
But this did not mean she was unprepared.
In fact, not only Ji Lingguang but also other factions within the court had made contingency plans.
One scenario was Lu King’s successful ascension, which would have brought congratulations and generous gifts from all parties.
The other scenario was Lu King’s failure, implicating all officials involved across Yong Province.
A multitude of positions would be vacated, providing a feast for those waiting to partake.
Besides the five hundred attendants and maids in the Red Feather Palace, there were also numerous officials rushing to Yong Province, ready to assume their new duties.
’The heavenly patterns are changing, perhaps the disaster begins with Yong Province, this handling of Yong’s affairs must be stringent.’
A sharp murderous intent appeared on Ji Lingguang’s face as her vermillion pen was about to strike off the names of the officials to be dealt with.
"Buzz!"
A sudden humming noise arose, a figure burst into the flame-lit exterior of the Red Feather Palace and instantly infiltrated the side chamber. Elder Tianxuan appeared composed and directly spoke, "Leave Governor Jiang Zhihuan of Fufeng behind."
Seeing her old rival’s appearance, Ji Lingguang’s eyes hardened even more as she looked at the name ’Jiang Zhihuan,’ "I remember this Jiang Zhihuan is of the Jiang Clan. After the main Jiang family relocated, he remained. How so, he has returned to the Jiang family?"
Saying he remained was essentially making a choice, and returning to the Jiang family naturally indicated betrayal, becoming a servant to multiple masters.
The disciple of her old rival was indeed a member of the Jiang family and had recently rallied the Jiang’s branch family. Her speaking out was obviously because her disciple had contacted Jiang Zhihuan.
"It’s none of your concern," Elder Tianxuan stated indifferently, "You only need to know, I have protected Jiang Zhihuan."
Elder Tianxuan didn’t actually know of any contact between Jiang Li and Jiang Zhihuan, but she understood Jiang Li’s decisive character.
If Jiang Zhihuan hadn’t turned to Jiang Li, then surely Jiang Li would have dealt with this Jiang family traitor before heading to Qi Mountain, leaving him no way out. The fact that Jiang Zhihuan was still alive meant Jiang Li needed him so.
That being the case, as his master, she naturally didn’t skimp on spending a little effort in her words.
However, this tone implying notification rather than request greatly displeased Ji Lingguang.
"Furthermore,"
At this time, Elder Tianxuan spoke again in her light tone, "I want a True Man Dao Fruit."
Ji Lingguang laughed.
Like a Fire Phoenix, the woman’s laugh was cold as millennia-old Mysterious Ice, the chill capable of extinguishing the flames in the Red Feather Palace.
Have you misunderstood the nature of our relationship?
What’s with this presumptuous tone?
"There is a True Man Dao Fruit,"
Ji Lingguang put down her pen and paper, "I even know where a Unique Dao Fruit is, belonging to Pure Yang True Man. But why should I tell you?"
Her face showed a mocking expression, mixed with a sense of superiority.
True Man Dao Fruit was exclusive to the Three Pure Ones Sect; if a Dao Fruit cultivator died outside, the Taoist, Shangqing, and Yuxu sects would use every means possible to retrieve it, preventing any leakage.
However, such incidents could never be fully guaranteed, and accidents did occur.
Over the years, the Three Pure Ones Sect couldn’t ensure the recovery of every True Man Dao Fruit; occasionally, one or two would get lost outside. Coincidentally, as the court’s department involved with sect affairs—The Southern Heavenly Department—was particularly attentive to this information, opportunistically obtaining True Man Dao Fruits.
Even more so, Ji Lingguang also knew the whereabouts of a Unique Dao Fruit.
So now, Ji Lingguang held the upper hand; failing to take advantage of this would be an affront to their years of "acquaintance."
Yet Elder Tianxuan remained unfazed, her demeanor calm and inscrutable.
She spoke slowly, "What do you want?"
Ji Lingguang’s smile turned from icy to joyful as she reclined in her seat made from Red Copper, her posture lazy yet elegant.
The elder’s Qi Cultivation Technique was indeed exquisite, for even now, she showed no signs of disturbance, yet her words still revealed her needs and concessions.
This time, she had won.
"Your disciple, Jiang Li, has housed the Qi Refiner’s Dao Fruit at Seventh Rank, hasn’t he? That’s why you are looking for a Dao Fruit that enhances the Mental State."
The "Three Flowers Gathering at the Top" characteristic of the Qi Refiner’s Dao Fruit is obvious, simply showing it allows one to confirm the person houses the Qi Refiner’s Dao Fruit. With Ji Lingguang being the Chief of the Southern Heavenly Department and having thousands of subordinates, plus Feng Manlou, the affiliated son-in-law who has always been by Jiang Li’s side, it’s natural he would be aware of Jiang Li’s Dao Fruit.
Thus, she voiced a condition related to Jiang Li.
"Since you care so much about your disciple, why not admit in my presence that you love your second disciple? I’d like to see how you handle this youthful relationship."
Elder Tianxuan smiled too.
So, it was a case of using his own methods against him.
Because Elder Tianxuan had been mocked by him for being an old ox eating young grass, he wanted to drag her down with him, at least in terms of reputation.
There was no need to think much, Tianxuan could guess that at this very moment, either an Image Recording Artifact or a talisman was being set off, intending to preserve her forthcoming words.
"Heh."
She scoffed with a smile, showing no sign of anger, "But my concern isn’t just for the disciple; it’s also for your uncle."
"Uncle? Do you mean the Imperial Uncle?" Ji Lingguang faltered slightly, then continued, "Even if you bring up the Imperial Uncle, it’s pointless."
Within the Royal Family, the term ’uncle’ is not usually used; it generally takes forms like King Uncle, Imperial Uncle. This caused Ji Lingguang to miss one point; outside the royal context, ’uncle’ might refer to a husband’s brother or to a father’s brother, termed with respect as ’uncle’.
"It’s not the Imperial Uncle, it’s the Prince Consort’s brother."
Elder Tianxuan’s eyes gleamed with pleasure, "You didn’t know? Feng Manlou and my disciple have become sworn brothers, my dear niece-in-law."
As she spoke, the airborne Red Feather Palace suddenly began to shake violently, the surging Flames Qi behind Ji Lingguang converging, faintly forming the shape of wings.
"It looks like your young grass hasn’t had a chance to tell you yet, niece-in-law," Elder Tianxuan continued provokingly, adding fuel to the fire.
As proud as the Princess had been before, Tianxuan was now equally delighted.
She had long wanted to see Ji Lingguang show this kind of expression.
Why deliberately provoke the opponent?
It was all to see her present total breakdown.
At that moment, due to the trembling of Red Feather Palace, all the following attendants and maids were extremely shocked. Some had already come to inform the Princess, but were blocked by an invisible barrier set up by Elder Tianxuan.
With thoughtful articulation, Elder Tianxuan said, "My niece-in-law, you wouldn’t want others to know about this, would you?"
If those who came to report heard this term, Ji Lingguang felt there was no need for her to go to Yong Province anymore. She might as well kill to silence them or take Red Feather Palace and go into hiding.
"Within three days, the Divine Travel Grand Protector will deliver the Daoist Dao Fruit to you," Ji Lingguang gritted her teeth.
"What about the Uniqueness Dao Fruit?"
"Divine Capital Iron Pillar Temple!"
Elder Tianxuan got what she wanted, smiled faintly, her figure flickered, and she disappeared from the palace.
She didn’t want to drain the pond to catch the fish; making this public might rather make Ji Lingguang act recklessly. It was better to keep it a secret known only to a few, so she could continue to manipulate this old adversary.
Ji Lingguang was not stupid either; after seeing her actions, she immediately guessed Tianxuan’s intentions.
At that moment, flames illuminated the sky, outside the enormous palace, a virtual image of a Divine Fire Bird emerged, enveloping the palace, flapping fiery wings, and shooting through the sky like a shooting star towards its destination.
The Princess was anxious to meet the Prince Consort.
As for the earlier trembling of the palace, it was caused by the Princess performing her flaming transformation.
This news was conveyed by a maid, leading everyone to sigh in admiration of the deep affection between the Princess and her consort.
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*Yawn—*
Feng Manlou, just planning to escort someone back to the Divine Capital, suddenly sneezed and then whimsically cast a divination.
"Domestic unrest?"
After interpreting the divination, he looked thoughtful, "Could it be that my dear brother has betrayed me?"
Thinking back and forth, the only thing that could trigger domestic unrest was this random acknowledgment of brotherhood.
But that didn’t seem right either; his spouse was far away in the Divine Capital, logically speaking, even if Jiang Li wanted to inform, it would take time, and domestic unrest shouldn’t occur until after his return, unless...
A surge of hot air swept through, adding fuel to the dry weather of Yong Province.
Feng Manlou, sensing a familiar Qi rapidly approaching, his expression drastically changed, "This is bad!"
On this day, the temperature in Fufeng County rose sharply, and due to the heavy rain, the recovered humidity dropped significantly.
It was said that houses in Jun City caught fire, and from inside, harrowing screams were heard, as if someone was being burned alive.