In the beginning, he was ranked alongside An Shigeng as a spoiled brat.

"We have disturbed you, young master!"

Zhang Xiaoshan quickly returned the greeting with a cupped-hand salute.

These two are no ordinary people—

Song Que from Tian Dao and Li Maozhen, the Prince of Qi.

In addition, the other few top-level masters were all figures of absolute power within the empire.

They were either local warlords who ruled over their own territories, or they were truly powerful and influential families with a long and distinguished history.

The reason I came to the capital this time is twofold: first, to find out the fate of the Grand Marshal;

Secondly, Emperor Wu's summons was also intended to defend against a surprise attack from the Later Zhou Empire.

Emperor Wu had no doubt about the prophecy made by the Bad Commander before his death.

Therefore, after the Later Zhou Empire annexed the Song Dynasty, the Wu Tang would inevitably become the next target. If no arrangements were made in advance, it would likely be in a very passive position.

Even taking the initiative is possible.

At this point, the Wu Tang Empire could not show weakness, especially since Emperor Wu did not believe that the Wu Tang Empire was weaker than the Later Zhou Empire.

Of the several powerful warlords and clans summoned this time, four or five are unparalleled masters. Besides the three before us, there are also Liang King Zhu Wen, Yan King Luo Yi, and the Yuwen Clan...

"Everyone, please come inside!"

"please!"

Upon entering the courtyard, the women were engaged in various activities: some were cultivating, some were chanting scriptures, and some were refining medicine... Only Hongxiao and Jiangxue served fragrant tea.

People were only curious about the women around Zhang Xiaoshan, but they didn't press him for anything.

Putting aside the identities of the Zhang family women, just the strength of these top experts alone is enough for them to be treated with great respect when entertaining them.

What's more, many of these are unparalleled masters!

"Young master, this place is indeed unique. It has the luxury of the reception hall, as well as the simplicity and spaciousness of a private space!"

The Prince of Jin looked him over and nodded.

Even though they had been to the Empire State Building, compared to this place, the decoration and design were still several levels below.

However, since this is a private space, it is naturally more luxurious and meticulously designed.

Zhang Xiaoshan's study continued the retro style, with mahogany tables and chairs that combined modern and traditional elements, which caught everyone's eye.

These designs alone demonstrate the meticulous care put into them, revealing the extravagance of the Zhang family.

"Longquan Sword!"

"The Golden Plate of the Great Zhou Princes?"

"The Moon-Gazing Rhinoceros Horn Cup?"

"The Nine-Headed Serpent Jade Disc?"

···

Looking at Zhang Xiaoshan's collection, every single item was a rare treasure worth a fortune.

Even though the people who entered were all kings and nobles who had seen all kinds of treasures, they still showed a hint of amazement.

Everyone used to say how rich the Zhang family was, as evidenced by the Empire State Building.

But they were not ordinary people, so they naturally didn't care about such enjoyment and luxury. They only felt the extravagance of the Zhang family, but were not interested.

But here, they felt a different kind of grandeur from the Zhang family.

Each of these items would cost at least 10,000 gold coins in Kyushu, and some would even cost more than 100,000 gold coins.

There are at least a hundred collectibles displayed here. It would be good if they could take out two or three items of equivalent value from their study, let alone these that Zhang Xiaoshan brought out.

Those items that weren't taken out seem to be from Ghost Street; the Zhang family probably has countless more.

"Young master's collection here is truly extensive."

Prince Jin stepped forward and touched the black jade disc engraved with a nine-headed serpent. The material of the spiritual jade made Prince Jin immediately recognized that this thing was unusual.

As a general from a minority ethnic group in the Western Regions, he fought for many years.

In particular, the Prince of Jin had heard of some legends from the Western Regions and remembered them vividly.

Looking at the nine-headed serpent jade disc before him, and made of such precious material, he was certain that it was related to those legends.

And there's some news from the Western Regions...

The Prince of Jin stroked the jade disc's carvings and material, and said solemnly:

"Is this jade disc something you acquired from your last trip to the Western Regions, young master?"

"Oh, His Highness Prince Jin is aware of this?"

At this moment, everyone looked at the nine-headed serpent jade disc in the hand of the Prince of Jin. They did not expect the Prince of Jin to be so solemn, and he seemed to be extremely extraordinary.

"I've heard some legends, but where did this jade disc come from in terms of its material and carving?"

Zhang Xiaoshan nodded without refuting.

"Indeed, this is one of the few treasures I brought back, made of the material of the Spirit Jade."

"What about the other items?"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Xiaoshan shook his head and chuckled:

"Those treasures kept here are naturally not very useful, or are currently useless; the other treasures have all been given away."

Moreover, the treasure trove contains countless rare and precious items, but His Highness Prince Jin is probably more interested in this!

Zhang Xiaoshan took out a jade box from his collection on the side and placed it on the table.

Chapter 526 The Deception of the Elixir of Immortality Reappears

Does the Prince of Jin want something?

Everyone looked at the jade box that Zhang Xiaoshan had casually placed on the desk. Inside were jade pebbles, precious pearls, and pills.

Even Song Que looked curious. The things that both Prince Jin and Zhang Xiaoshan valued were clearly not simple treasures.

However, Zhang Xiaoshan didn't seem to take it seriously.

"Failed?"

Looking at the jade box, the Prince of Jin realized that the legends were just legends after all, considering that Zhang Xiaoshan and the others had returned safely.

Moreover, Zhang Xiaoshan was so generous in taking it out.

"When I saw the Queen Mother of the West, she was already a pile of white bones."

Moreover, the skeleton was different from ordinary skeletons; it was completely deformed, like a monster.

However, her spine underwent some kind of mutation, as if it had fused with the meteorite powder within, and it remained completely unharmed even after I struck her with my palm. It's now in my collection room.

Upon hearing this, everyone vaguely guessed what it was.

Even the Prince of Jin shook his head in disappointment, though he did not doubt Zhang Xiaoshan's words.

If it really succeeds, even if Zhang Xiaoshan doesn't take it immediately, he should at least carefully store it away instead of just leaving it aside.

Moreover, Zhang Xiaoshan even brought back the spine of the Queen Mother of the West. If he wasn't a monster, it could only mean that the spine was truly extraordinary.

This also demonstrates the failure of this thing.

"Young Master, you mentioned meteorite powder? Could it be that the medicinal ingredient used by the Queen Mother of the West was the same one that Qin Shi Huang Zheng requested last time?"

"Not bad!"

Zhang Xiaoshan's words immediately caused a strange look to appear on everyone's faces.

If Qin Shi Huang were to find out about this, wouldn't he have all those alchemists killed?

"Then the Later Zhou Dynasty...19 was also destined to fail?"

"Didn't the Bad Commander succeed?"

Given the limitations of the era, the continuous research by some extraordinary individuals, and the assistance of the Yin-Yang School, along with the presence of skilled sorcerers from across the land, Qin Shi Huang might not have been unable to succeed.

but···"

Zhang Xiaoshan glanced at everyone and said solemnly:

"The strangeness of the meteorite powder can be seen from the skeleton of the Queen Mother of the West and the fact that the Bad Commander never appears. This stuff has some side effects."

"side effect?"

The side effects were far more than just that; even Song Que and others from Tian Dao were not very interested.

Although it cannot be definitively confirmed whether what Zhang Xiaoshan said is true or false, the thing in front of us is definitely not real; otherwise, Zhang Xiaoshan would not have placed it here so casually.

Moreover, they even brought someone's spine with them; they certainly don't want to be reduced to ashes like that.

After putting the jade box away and placing it in a previously inconspicuous spot, everyone's attention finally came to its attention.

They've come today to visit and pay their respects to this young master Zhang, not to search for treasure.

"Young master, distinguished guests, the tea is served!"

Jiangxue brought the tea, and everyone reached out to take it instead of remaining indifferent.

Even though the servants were just maids, they dared not neglect the tea served by the two top-notch masters.

A master is a master!

In their world, he would at least be a head steward, and one with immense power at that.

However, apart from the newly recruited female sword attendants, all the women in the Zhang family are top-notch experts.

"Everyone, please!"

"please!"

The top-grade green tea from the ancient tea plantation is in no way inferior to the top-grade Da Hong Pao of later generations, which makes everyone's eyes light up.

People living in luxury don't have high demands for food.

Because they don't lack these things. After all, at the last Food God Competition, there were hundreds of top chefs and tens of thousands of renowned chefs. They don't lack renowned chefs at all; in fact, top chefs would even cook for them.

But the finest teas are the true luxuries.

Zhang Xiaoshan has now figured out the tea-picking season for these ancient tea trees deep in the Kunlun Mountains, so he always returns with a full harvest at the appointed time.

“Good tea!”

Prince Jin and the others all nodded, saying that even the imperial tea was inferior.

Clearly, the Zhang family has hidden quite a few good things, but they had never heard of this famous tea before, nor was it any famous tea they had ever tasted.

"Millennial tea trees, a rare delicacy from the clouds and mist."

This tea was discovered by chance by Mr. Zhang while he was traveling through the mountains and rivers. Because it sprouted from a thousand-year-old tree, but in limited quantities, it did not circulate widely.

"I see!"

Everyone sighed inwardly upon hearing this.

A thousand-year-old tea tree is indeed a rare find.

The Zhang family was able to find thousand-year-old tea trees, so they naturally wouldn't over-harvest them, especially since the Zhang family also has a huge domestic sales volume.

The Zhang family has many experts; it's impossible that they would just do things without getting paid.

Silver, rewards, welfare... all these were provided without exception, even for the household servants.

If converted to the price of gold and silver outside, the benefits of offering for a year would be at least tens of thousands of gold coins.

Even the Twelve Assassins were no exception.

Moreover, most of them are things that cannot be seen from the outside, such as this thousand-year-old tea.

Although these are all supplied by the Zhang family themselves, they are only at cost price.

But the quality of the product is there; if it were available, people would be scrambling to buy it.

Besides, they weren't short of money; after ten years, no one had saved up more than ten thousand gold coins.

After enjoying tea, the group chatted about everything under the sun, including martial arts.