He smiled slightly: "This poor Daoist is still this poor Daoist. Is what Niangniang saw, the outer form of the little Daoist, or his soul?"

Consort Shang understood now. Some words are best left unsaid, but what had been spoken was already quite a lot.

"So that's how it is. I didn't expect you... to be an old thing too!"

"You old thing, you're still pretending to be a child. Not bad acting."

"These years, I've lived in the deep palace, and I'm not very good at palace intrigues. My methods for understanding people's hearts are also insufficient, but at least I've heard of those people who return their souls to corpses."

Ji Xiang also pretended to be an old ghost, and said to Consort Shang: "When I first woke up, my strength was insufficient. Those expressions were indeed not feigned. After all, this poor Daoist was quite unfamiliar with the Ming court. I unintentionally entered Yongning Palace. Please forgive me, Niangniang."

Consort Shang thought to herself that there was no need to forgive him. After all, there were also traps on the Jinjizi (Golden Pestle), a Zhen Qi (national treasure), but now it seems that she had outsmarted herself. She didn't know if this national treasure could still work on her.

She had originally wanted to wait twelve years for the Jinjizi to return and help her complete her transformation, but now it seemed that Ji Xiang was not someone to be trifled with.

Then, there was only one choice left.

"What do you want from me?"

She didn't even refer to herself as "this old woman" anymore. After all, there was someone even older than her in front of her now.

"What do we want?朕 (Zhen, I, the emperor) has been holding back many questions in my belly, wanting to ask Consort Taifei!"

The Wanli Emperor, at this time, held a sword in one hand and a lotus in the other, looking quite like an immortal sage.

As for the questions, of course, it was about why the Jiajing Emperor ran to Li Shanhe (Hidden Mountains and Rivers), what his views were on the Ming Dynasty, and what attitude he held towards the current conflict between the surface and hidden mountains and rivers, and which side he stood on.

Ji Xiang almost blurted out "Thank you for asking..." when he heard these questions.

"朕 (Zhen, I, the emperor) also wants to know, is the reason why the Ming Dynasty has become weaker, and the power that can be exerted after the divine position is received is getting smaller and smaller, is this also related to him?"

"Also, is Tao Zhongwen still alive?"

The Wanli Emperor asked a key question.

Faced with the Wanli Emperor's questioning, Consort Shang sighed, but gave the Wanli Emperor an unexpected reply:

"His view of the Ming Dynasty is simply that he regards the Ming Dynasty as a tool for him to prove his Dao. In the past, when he was looking for the source of the palace curse, it was actually to allow the Ming Dynasty to maintain itself normally. Whether it was weak or strong, he didn't care, as long as the Ming Dynasty was still the Ming Dynasty, maintaining its national title and orthodoxy."

"Because the Great Dao is still in the sky above the Ming Dynasty, but the Zhu Tian (Crimson Heavens) is not permanent. So, have you ever thought about what would happen if a person became the Heavenly Dao?"

"Tao Zhongwen is dead, he passed away without undergoing corpse liberation. It seems to be some kind of transaction with Emperor Shizong, related to the Divine Firmament Sect? I'm not sure about this. As for the weakening of the Ming Dynasty's divine position... perhaps it has something to do with the changes to Zhu Tian that he mentioned."

Ji Xiang was slightly surprised when he heard this: "Even the Tianxin (Heart of Heaven) realm cannot touch the Great Dao, and even the Hunyuan (Primal Chaos) realm does not dare to make such bold statements. The Jiajing Emperor is only in the Chunyang (Pure Yang) realm..."

He didn't say half a sentence!

The impolite words that Ji Xiang wanted to say were—his heart is higher than the sky, but his life is thinner than paper!

Lao Zhang also thought so at this time, including the Wanli Emperor. The Wanli Emperor learned from the fox dragon that the Jiajing Emperor was being chased like a dog, which showed that his grandfather was not very impressive.

He could be considered a big shot in the surface mountains and rivers, but after entering the hidden mountains and rivers, he was a complete newbie.

But the surface mountains and rivers had one thing that made the hidden mountains and rivers so crazy, and that was that the Great Dao was on the surface, not hidden.

At this time, Consort Shang expressed her personal opinion on the Jiajing Emperor, which greatly surprised the Wanli Emperor.

"Actually, for thirty-one years, I've also wanted to kill him very much."

The Wanli Emperor was a little dumbfounded, caught off guard.

Before the Wanli Emperor could start gossiping, Consort Shang took the initiative to explain:

"Emperor Shizong was my master. He taught me Dao techniques, guided my cultivation, and directed my aptitude. In the end, he seized my immortal bone essence and refined it into a great elixir, changing his own aptitude and giving him the opportunity to ascend to immortality."

Consort Shang smiled, but it seemed a little strange: "In a flash, thirty-one years have passed."

"I want to see him at all times, and then dig out his bones."

"He probably never thought that I could re-cultivate, and establish myself after breaking through.... The imperial palace is an excellent place for cultivation. It is deep and quiet here, and within the cold palace, not many people will come to care about me."

So, in this way, she cultivated to the Yuanshen (Primordial Spirit) realm. No one knew, no one understood, except....

"Li Taifei (Grand Consort Li)?"

Ji Xiang suddenly spoke, which made the Wanli Emperor a little surprised.

"That's right, just like what Your Majesty thinks, Taifei Niangniang (Grand Consort) worships Buddhism. You conferred her the title of Nine Lotus Bodhisattva, and the Nine Lotus Bodhisattva, in the Buddhist scriptures, is the manifested body of Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva."

Ji Xiang revealed the current situation, indicating that Your Majesty's old mother is also someone else's substitute, and the source of this matter lies with you!

When the Wanli Emperor heard this, he was speechless for a long time. It was not until everyone was looking at him that he came back to his senses and exclaimed with emotion:

"The hidden mountains and rivers' hearts to destroy the Ming court are not dead.... Every move here is being spied on by countless people. This feeling is really uncomfortable."

Consort Shang's smile became even more beautiful. At this time, her face seemed to be getting younger, changing from that of a mature woman:

"Your Majesty's feelings, I can empathize with them. All actions are being monitored by others, and even working for others."

"So, Your Majesty now wants to expel me from the palace?"

Wanli Emperor: "The things you said are not necessarily true. If you are Emperor Shizong's eyes and ears, influencing朕 (Zhen, I, the emperor) here, wouldn't朕 (Zhen, I, the emperor) have to waste a person to specifically watch you?"

At this time, Lao Zhang spoke:

"There's no need to worry about this. The twelve years of closed-door cultivation are unavoidable. If you want to achieve Xiantian (Innate), you must go through this."

"What's more, Taifei Niangniang has transformed away all her cultivation. This is to re-refine her bones with a mortal body. The Yuanshen is confined to a mortal body for twelve years, and then it must die once."

"If you are careless and a fake death turns into a real death, then you will not survive."

Consort Shang said: "So, I originally had my own ideas, and that is the Jinjizi (Golden Pestle) in his hand, which is the key for me to establish myself after breaking through.... There is no need to tell you more about the secrets within."

She pointed to the Jinjizi on Ji Xiang's waist. This Zhen Qi left by the Jiajing Emperor was the key for her to restore her original bones.

"The Buddhist sect sent the Seven Treasures Yellow Lotus, and Avalokitesvara helped me once again. This is not the first time.... Your Majesty, please thank the Taifei Niangniang for me."

Ji Xiang was silent for a while, and then opened his mouth and said, "In addition to the Seven Treasures Yellow Lotus, there should be other treasures that can shorten the twelve years of closed-door cultivation, right?"

"The Buddhist sect has them, and the Daoist sect cannot not have them. The hidden mountains and rivers have them, and the surface mountains and rivers must also have them."

Consort Shang looked at Ji Xiang, her eyes moving, exhaled a breath, and her tone was somewhat meaningful:

"Senior, how about we make a deal?"