His Majesty is plotting a rebellion? Quickly, summon the Imperial Advisor!

Heaven Prison.

Zhao Qingyun was imprisoned in a tightly sealed cell by the extremely cold and iron-clad guards.

His limbs were fixed with iron chains.

Two silver needles were inserted into his dantian.

His cultivation was sealed.

Zhao Qingyun slowly woke up, his eyelids trembling as he slowly opened them. Memories of his previous unconsciousness flooded his mind, and he shuddered, pulling on the iron chains.

The limbs were stretched and straightened, and the sound of chains clanging echoed in the cell.

"I actually lost?"

His words carried a hint of disbelief.

He still had many trump cards up his sleeve, and engaging in close combat with Xu Bing was his biggest mistake.

It was because he was blinded by murderous intent and lost his judgment, wanting to kill him with close-quarters violence, that he was defeated so quickly.

"This is... a prison cell!"

He looked around, his messy hair obscuring his handsome features, and also his extremely ugly expression.

He spat out a mouthful of bloody saliva, a cold smile playing on his lips.

"So what if we lose due to carelessness?"

"You weakling from Da Xi, you dare to kill me?"

"I'd like to see how you dare to deal with me."

……

And the other side.

After learning that Xu Bing had ordered Zhao Qingyun to be beheaded and displayed in the market seven days later.

The three highest officials of the Da Xi court gathered together.

With a hint of mockery on his face, Zhou Gong said, "That kid Zhao Qingyun doesn't have much skill, but he has quite a temper. He can't even beat a half-baked sorcerer."

Li Gongdao said, "It's a pity we couldn't kill Xu Bing. This guy has always been a hidden danger. I've been in the court for many years and I've never encountered anyone like him before."

The three high-ranking officials were adept at the ways of court bureaucrats.

Winning them over, excluding them, suppressing them...

But for Xu Bing, who had mastered magic and held the power of life and death in his hands...

Those moves were obviously useless.

Wang Gong said, "It's alright. We can just agree to him on the surface. The operation of Da Xi cannot be separated from us. If we don't give him a reason or provoke him, he can't kill us."

What the prince said makes some sense.

In their view, Xu Bing, though powerful, was just one person.

Their family members were scattered throughout the court. If Da Xi were an old machine, then the three of them would be an important component.

Although this part was rotten and smelled foul.

However, if you remove it rashly, the entire machine will risk being completely destroyed.

The reason Xu Bing didn't directly deliver a wind blade to all three old guys was precisely because of this.

In present-day Da Xi, clans hold a monopoly, and the only people who can be of use are members of those clans.

Because the illiteracy rate in Dae Hee was as high as 95%, the clan members were the only people who possessed knowledge.

Xu Bing could not allow someone who was illiterate to govern the country.

"Do you think Xu Bing really dares to kill Zhao Qingyun in the market?" Zhou Gong raised an eyebrow and looked at his two colleagues.

Li Gong waved his hand dismissively and said, "How could that be? That guy is just bragging."

"I have never heard of anyone beheading an immortal in accordance with the laws of the mortal world."

The prince nodded in agreement, saying, "That's right. No matter what Zhao Qingyun is like, it's not his place to kill him. Besides... although immortals don't disturb mortals, there's a principle of 'every man for himself' in the world."

“You killed an immortal using mortal laws. The immortal has no reason to stand by and do nothing. If you make a move now, it’s hard to say whether you will still be considered to be disrupting the order between immortals and mortals.”

"That is why the mortal court dares not provoke the immortals."

Zhou Gong stroked his beard and laughed heartily, "Hahaha, I'd like to see how Xu Bing will handle this. I don't believe he would actually kill an immortal for a few peasants."

"It's possible that even His Majesty might be implicated."

The three officials gloated and drank a cup of tea together.

……

A week earlier, when Song Siqian entered the Imperial Preceptor's residence, Zhou Xiaoyou, disguised as Ji Yuan and wearing a multi-faceted mask, was escorted up the mountain.

Named "Tianhua Mountain," it is the most Taoist-inspired sacred mountain in Daxi City. There is a secluded Taoist temple on the mountain, which emperors of past dynasties often visited to offer incense and pay their respects.

The excuse of catching a cold can be used to conceal the truth for a while, but not forever. Therefore, it is most appropriate for Zhou Xiaoyou to stay in a Taoist temple, cultivate Taoism in peace, and use this as an excuse to avoid court affairs.

On the surface, the Empress's move to ascend the mountain to cultivate Taoism drew strong opposition from her ministers, who rebuked her relentlessly, saying that if things continued to be allowed to go this way, the Great Xi Dynasty was already on the verge of collapse, and she would then be the ruler of the fallen kingdom.

In fact, there was not much resistance to its implementation.

Zhou Xiaoyou, on the other hand, was filled with worry in the Taoist temple at the moment.

She can't take off this ever-changing mask and is forced to keep wearing Ji Yuan's face, which means she can't go anywhere or do anything now, and can only worry helplessly.

She did want to use Ji Yuan's identity to order Xu Bing's death. However, in that man's hands, Ji Yuan was like one of his hands, tightly gripping the lifeline of Da Xi.

Taking rash action would only cause the already precarious Dae Hee to collapse in an instant.

"I'm worried."

"I've gained weight from worrying so much."

Zhou Xiaoyou pinched a grape, put it in his mouth, and then pinched his fair and plump belly.

A sense of guilt welled up inside her. But then she thought that she was eating all this for Sister Ji Yuan, and she felt at ease again.

......

The next day.

early morning.

Xu Bing exhaled a breath of foul air, opened his palm, and a large mass of primordial essence gathered in his hand.

He unearthed the Primordial Hanging Rock Flower in the Primordial Beginning, which took root in his kidneys and produced nearly three strands of Primordial Essence every morning.

Over this period of time, things have accumulated into a mess.

Its known function is to make food taste better.

In addition... it seems to be able to be used as food for spirit pets; he used it to feed gyrfalcons.

After absorbing this primordial essence, the gyrfalcon's fur became shiny, and it became much stronger in all aspects.

However, you cannot feed them too much, and you must wait a long time before feeding them again. Otherwise, the gyrfalcon's body cannot withstand the strain, and it may even explode and die.

In addition, when this primordial energy is applied to one's physical body, specific areas of the body will be strengthened.

For example, limbs, head, minor illnesses, etc...

If applied to a spell, the spell's power will increase.

It has quite a few uses.

One more thing worth mentioning.

The discovery of the Primordial Hanging Rock Flower made his kidneys incredibly strong, and his already vigorous energy became even more abundant.

This is both a good thing and a bad thing. Xu Bing has many things to deal with now and no time to enjoy himself. When he finally settles down, I'm afraid he will become terribly dissolute.

After all, he's not some innocent young boy.

Xu Bing looked at the incredibly handsome body in the bronze mirror, and a slight smile appeared on his lips.

Quickly stabilize the situation and consolidate the Great Xi Dynasty. When the country is prosperous and the people are strong, that will be the day he becomes the dashing national advisor.

Him...

Then you can enjoy it with a clear conscience.

Last night, he nurtured the Dao lamp and used its flame to burn the halo around the lotus lake in the Primordial Space.

The effort wasn't in vain; the aperture just faded a bit more.

That lotus flower was clearly extraordinary, and Xu Bing was determined to get it.

He had a gut feeling.

If I miss this opportunity, I will definitely regret it for a long time.

In fact, Xu Bing's intuition was very accurate, but what he didn't know was...

The lotus he was guarding had actually been discovered by a wise man with great fortune in the past, and it was included in the "Nine Treasures of the Primordial Era".

It is far superior to anything like the White Jade Grass or the Ferocious Lion.

However, some people have encountered it, but no one has been able to take it away.

The reason is simple: getting close to this treasure will cause one's lifespan to rapidly decline. How could someone in the Lantern-Carrying Realm possibly dream of taking this treasure? It's nothing short of a fool's dream, absolutely impossible.

Spiritual practice is like rowing against the current, or building a towering skyscraper, or even like doing business.

The same treasure can have drastically different effects depending on when it is obtained.

There is an old saying in the spiritual practice world: "A piece of iron used for carrying a lamp is as valuable as a gold brick used for casting a platform."

This means that the lower one's cultivation level, the more valuable the treasures one obtains, even if they are of average quality.

There are naturally some considerations involved.

The more treasures one acquires when one's cultivation level is low, the more abundant one's foundation in the Great Dao becomes. As one's cultivation level improves in the future, the greater the benefits and the stronger one's power will naturally be.

Because whether it's a high-grade magic artifact or a primordial treasure, these things will emit a "Great Dao Aura" every time you advance to a higher realm, which you can absorb into your body, and the benefits are unimaginable.

It is also an important material used for building bridges and government buildings.

Moreover, when one attains enlightenment, even their chickens and dogs ascend to heaven; as one's cultivation level increases, those high-grade magical artifacts and primordial treasures will also improve.

Xu Bing opened the system panel.

[Cultivation Level: Peak of the Lantern-Carrying Realm (Treasure Seeker)]

At first glance, there seems to be no change.

Upon closer inspection, the interface changed, transforming into [Cultivation: Peak Lantern Realm (Treasure Seeker) (Clenched Fist)]

The so-called "clenched fist" means that your treasure has reached a certain level, and you must hold it tightly in your hand and not lose it.

If "Lantern-Carrying Realm" is the visible realm, then "Treasure Hunting" and "Clenching Fist" are the hidden minor realms.

Spiritual practice is never rigid or formulaic; rather, the differences are more or less the same.

The major principles are the same; the minor principles are different.

The human body is incredibly diverse, and opportunities vary greatly from person to person; how can they all be exactly the same?

Take Zhao Qingyun for example. After reaching the peak of the Lantern-Carrying Realm, his minor realm name was "White Jade".

Xu Bing then examined the treasure he held in his possession.

[Bigu Grass, Primordial Cliff Flower, Primordial Centipede, Lion Slayer, Three-Leaf Fortune Grass...]

Then look at your own street lamp.

This was a pitch-black ancient lamp, held in his hand. The lamp body had a lion pattern and emitted a green glow. The lamp flame was purple, which was very different from Zhao Qingyun's Dao lamp. Due to the influence of the white jade grass, his lamp body was as white as jade.

"Not bad." Xu Bing's lips curled up slightly.

He was fairly satisfied. In terms of quality, Zhao Qingyun's white jade lamp was no match for his own lion-patterned purple lamp.

As more treasures are found within the Primordial Chaos, Xu Bing's Dao Lamp will undergo further changes.