Mysterious mirror hanging high

"You mean, the prince was killed by a god? Didn't he die of illness?" Concubine An Li Anruo sat cross-legged on the brocade cushion in Yu'an Hall, with a look of panic on her face, listening to her son tell her what happened in Taihe Hall at noon today.

"That person doesn't look like a god, but rather a bit like a demon. He's full of blood and energy."

Jing Yu shook her head and said, "Mother, the imperial city will probably be in turmoil for a while. You should not wander around recklessly. What I said today will rot in your stomach."

"Don't you know what kind of person Mom is?" Li Anruo sighed softly. "She's even more timid than the rabbits in Yiqu Garden. She's eager to build a nest or two wherever she goes. She's definitely not the type to gossip."

"The position of the Eastern Palace is left vacant. I'm afraid the next few heirs will cause trouble!"

Li Anruo glanced at her son worriedly, "Mingjing, be honest with me, you really don't have any intention of fighting for the throne?"

"Really? I've decided to spend my life climbing the martial arts ladder!" Jing Yuyan said, "Now it seems that becoming a martial arts master isn't the pinnacle of achievement. Who knows, maybe my son will even try to become an immortal in the future!"

Li Anruo smiled and said softly, "Whether you pursue the path of martial arts or the path of immortality, I won't stop you. As long as you don't fight for the throne... Not only don't fight for the throne, but don't get involved in the fights of other heirs!"

"Mother, I wonder who you resemble in this cautious character." Jing Yu laughed.

"I, your mother, entered the palace as a maid when I was young. I was first assigned to serve in the palace of Concubine Li. This Concubine Li was once a favorite of His Majesty and a promising figure who could be promoted to the rank of Imperial Concubine. However, after less than two years of service, this Concubine Li was banished to the cold palace, and the two maids who were closest to her were also expelled from the palace."

"Later, marginalized palace maids like me were dispersed and assigned to other places, and your mother was assigned to Concubine Chu."

"You know Concubine Chu, right? Back then, she was a powerful figure who could rival Concubine Zhang. Back then, Concubine Tan, the Seventh Prince's biological mother, was just a young talent who had just entered the palace!"

"After a long battle with Imperial Concubine Zhang and the Empress, who was then an Imperial Concubine, the two of them conspired to set him up. This once powerful figure was then bestowed with a white silk by His Majesty."

"I had only been in Concubine Chu's palace for less than three years before I was assigned to serve Concubine Wan."

"This Wanpin was from Imperial Concubine Zhang's side, and she loved the spotlight. I served her for less than two years! Then, Wanpin was implicated in a secret palace affair, and was later blamed by Imperial Concubine Zhang. She was so frightened that she committed suicide by taking poison."

"Your mother entered the palace and served three masters, all of whom ended up in a bad situation. Later, I applied to be transferred to the Imperial Kitchen to help with the kitchen. However, one day, I unexpectedly met His Majesty and was favored. That's when I was promoted to a talented lady."

"Mingjing, do you know what mother was thinking when she was suddenly favored?"

"I know, my mother must have been in a state of panic at that time!" Jing Yu laughed.

"No one knows a mother better than her son!" Li Anruo slapped her thigh and said with emotion, "I'm really scared. Which palace maid wouldn't be eager to be favored by His Majesty? But I can't sleep all night long. As soon as I close my eyes at night, I see the faces of Concubine Li, Concubine Chu, and Concubine Wan."

"Fortunately, His Majesty was busy with government affairs and probably forgot about me. Five years passed in a flash, and I was alone, quietly nestling in a corner of the palace. It was quite peaceful."

"Five years later, your mother, I, was chosen by His Majesty again. This time, I became pregnant with you. As a result, I was promoted to a noble lady and had my own maids to serve me."

"I couldn't sleep all night, fearing that one of the concubines would see that I was pregnant and become jealous, and try to harm me."

"Fortunately, His Majesty has sentenced many concubines to death, but he attaches great importance to the royal heir. On ordinary days, it is not uncommon for concubines to fight with each other and even kill people. But once a woman is pregnant, she has a golden ticket to avoid death. Even the Queen dare not cross the line when it comes to secretly harming the royal heir."

"After I gave birth to you, His Majesty promoted me to be a concubine. Others thought I was lucky. I started out as a humble maid and gradually rose to my current position."

"But if I were someone who got in through opportunism, I should have gotten close to Concubine Li when I first entered the palace. I'm afraid I would have been kicked out of the palace by now!"

"Mingjing, you may not know this, but when I gave birth to you, a young maidservant at my side was the first to call me 'Niang Niang'! At that time, the conferment of the rank of concubine had not yet been announced, so why was she so anxious? This is the kind of person who gets promoted by luck."

"Generally, concubines always have a few people like this under their command. They think they are capable, but they don't know that troubles in the palace are most likely to arise from such people."

"If you intend to take it a step further, you can use her for a while, but if you are like your mother, who behaves like a coward, you absolutely cannot keep her as a maid."

Jing Yu nodded thoughtfully: "Now that mother mentioned it, I do have some impression of it."

Li Anruo laughed and scolded, "I found a pretext to expel that man from the palace the next day. You have a firm impression of him!"

----

That night, the Royal Secret Library, which was guarded by layers of guards,

The originally hard stone floor suddenly began to ripple like water, and a head slowly floated up from the "water surface". Not long after, Jing Yu, who had cast [Kudu Xuanguan], emerged from the ground.

The royal secret vault of Zhao State was heavily guarded. There were two first-rate masters secretly watching over it all year round, and there were also regular imperial guards patrolling. The door to the secret vault alone had three layers, and each layer of locks was independently made. Even a martial arts master would be in trouble.

Fortunately, Jing Yu burrowed directly into the inner storehouse, and no matter how strict the guards and patrols outside the door were, they were useless to him.

Jing Yu slowly walked to the area where rare and precious elixirs were stored, and took out a red, round fruit from a wooden box.

"Hundred-year-old Vermilion Fruit... No, thirty-year-old Vermilion Fruit!"

The sudden visit of the two foundation-building monks made Jing Yu feel a sense of crisis. He sneaked into the secret vault almost overnight and put the red fruit into his pocket.

"I'll refine it here..." Jing Yu held the red fruit in his hand, sat down cross-legged, and swallowed the fruit whole.

Wow... Wow...

This red fruit was refined in Jing Yu's stomach almost instantly, and he instantly felt a surge of energy and blood rushing through his body.

Spiritual fruits and elixirs such as Zhuguo are no different from gold and iron ores. They are the easiest precious medicines to refine when used for body refining. Combined with the characteristics of [Kudu Treasure Body] that can refine all things in the world, Jing Yu's physical body almost instantly reached a higher level!

boom!

A bottleneck was broken in the dark, and the [Kudu Xuanguang] around Jing Yu became a little more solid.

"[Bitter Crossing Treasure Body] has entered the third level of body forging!"

Jing Yu breathed a sigh of relief. He had been polishing the second level for a long time. Even without this Zhu Fruit, it would have taken him nearly two years to reach the third level. The Zhu Fruit was just the final push.

"The [Bitter Crossing Sutra] is different from ordinary body-refining techniques. Progress is extremely slow. One of the reasons is that while honing and increasing body-refining skills, one is also constantly strengthening the foundation. This way, there is no risk of a weak foundation... faster progress is always better."

"Now my physical training is comparable to that of a cultivator at the third level of Qi training, and the [Suffering Sutra] is a Daojun-level skill. I wonder if I can fight against a cultivator at a higher level and challenge a cultivator in the middle stage of Qi training..." Jing Yu thought secretly.

"No, no, this mentality is wrong!"

"My lifespan is endless, so why bother with a moment's pleasure? Why would I want to leapfrog?" Jing Yu reflected deeply. He had just achieved a breakthrough, and in his wavering mind, he had actually thought about leapfrogging! What a fool!

"But now we should be almost certain to win against Wu Juecheng..."

Then Jing Yu casually took a few inconspicuous small objects from the secret library, dived into the ground, and disappeared in an instant.