fifth form

Chapter 3041 Old Lotus Root
The new emperor felt a pang of reluctance towards the stiff Crimson Sky Sword, but he felt no nostalgia for the limp Crimson Sky Sword.

Ao Li's essence blood is not easy to obtain, and Zhang Xuezhou might be the only one who can get his hands on the Jinghe Dragon King's essence blood again.

The new emperor was certain that he was not capable of taming the temperamental Crimson Sky Sword, and that even using it once would be difficult.

He would be very happy to use the Crimson Sky Sword to do something.

"It would be best to obtain another drop of Ao Li Dragon King's essence blood," the new emperor said. "This sword will unleash its power after being coated with Ao Li's essence blood, and even you might be able to use it!"

Zhang Xuezhou neither nodded in agreement nor shook his head.

Even without the new emperor's explanation, Zhang Xuezhou understood that Ao Li's blood essence had a temporary stimulating effect on the Crimson Sky Sword.

Ao Li's essence blood is not something that can be taken at will, and how long the Crimson Sky Sword can maintain its effect after being coated with essence blood is also unknown.

Although the new emperor really wanted Zhang Xuezhou to extract another drop of Ao Li's essence blood, Zhang Xuezhou was truly unwilling to do such a pointless and unproductive task.

Besides, why was he smearing Ao Li's blood essence on the Crimson Sky Sword? Did he want to test the probability of being recognized by the Crimson Sky Sword and getting beaten up?

Zhang Xuezhou really didn't want to test the possible consequences of innate spiritual objects, and even less did he want to test his low-IQ judgment of possibly encountering the Crimson Sky Sword.

"You've finally fallen into my hands. Your good days are over!"

Zhang Xuezhou cultivates the art of manipulation, and his skill in manipulation far surpasses that of the new emperor, enabling him to handle even conflicting combat situations.

But Zhang Xuezhou really couldn't control the unpredictable nature of the Crimson Sky Sword, and was somewhat afraid that this unreasonable sword might suddenly unleash its power.

Now that the Crimson Sky Sword was in his hands, he couldn't help but feel a little smug as he left the palace, feeling that he had finally managed to temporarily control this unexpected factor.

After acquiring numerous fake Crimson Sky Swords and restoring his demonic power, he even had a fleeting thought of throwing the Crimson Sky Swords out of the Great Han Dynasty's territory.

While doing official business for the new emperor, he clearly also had some of his own ulterior motives.

"I heard you got married again, and you didn't even invite me!"

When Zhang Xuezhou ran home from the East Sima Gate, he saw Li Shaojun wandering around the mansion looking around, which made him quickly throw the Chixiao Sword, which he was half-holding and wrapped in blue cloth, behind him.

"If I invite you, will you give me a gift?"

Li Shaojun let out a mournful sigh, but Zhang Xuezhou immediately shut him up.

Li Shaojun's lips twitched; he knew without even thinking what Zhang Xuezhou wanted to say.

If Li Shaojun says he's willing to give a gift, the other party will shamelessly ask for it. If the gift is substantial enough, he has no doubt that Zhang Xuezhou will hold a wedding banquet specifically for his gift. If the gift is not substantial enough, he will inevitably be ridiculed by the other party.

If Li Shaojun was unwilling to give gifts, then it would be perfectly normal not to invite him. Given the other party's pragmatism, Li Shaojun had no doubt that Zhang Xuezhou would say that.

He muttered to himself, feeling that he couldn't gain any advantage over the other party.

"I've been running around these past few days and only got back last night," Li Shaojun quickly changed the subject.

"Did it work out?" Zhang Xuezhou asked.

"It's done!"

Li Shaojun nodded, then patted the bag on his back, indicating that Zhang Xuezhou's request had been fulfilled.

"So smooth?"

Zhang Xuezhou exclaimed in surprise.

He felt the risks were immense when seeking rare and precious materials, and entering a secret place with an owner made it even more difficult, requiring him to devise various strategies to have any chance of obtaining them. Just like when Zhang Xuezhou accidentally took the Crimson Cloud Sword in the palace, such an event was merely a small episode in the power struggle within the royal family, and he was just the temporary beneficiary of this episode.

Only through various complexities could Zhang Xuezhou reap even a small reward.

Little did he expect that Venerable Lei's journey to the Eastern Heavenly Gate secret realm to retrieve the Spirit Silk Jade Lotus would be so smooth.

"Let me take a look!"

Zhang Xuezhou waved, and Li Shaojun immediately opened the cloth bag with great interest.

“I used to sell insoles when I was making a living. If you need to spin yarn to make insoles, I can help you!”

Li Shaojun volunteered and carefully opened the cloth bag, revealing the slightly yellow lotus root.

"Why has it turned yellow?" Zhang Xuezhou said, "Don't think I haven't seen the Spirit Silk Jade Lotus before and am using a fake to replace it. If I don't get the real treasure, you won't be able to travel west, let alone find 'White'!"

"Uncle Dong, I risked my life flying all the way to the East China Sea to tell Lei Ming what he needed, and I personally watched Lei Ming head to the East Heavenly Gate Secret Land," Li Shaojun patted his chest and guaranteed, "This lotus root definitely comes from the East Heavenly Gate Secret Land. You can't expect Lei Ming to fish out three sections of lotus root for me from the ocean!"

"Then why is it so yellow?" Zhang Xuezhou said, "Normal Ling Si Jade Lotus Root is white and tender, even whiter than my arm!"

Zhang Xuezhou took out his own hand to compare; the lotus root, which was still slightly white, looked old and rotten.

"But you didn't say the lotus root needed to be whiter than your arm," Li Shaojun retorted. "Anyway, this is a Spirit Silk Jade Lotus Root stolen from the Eastern Heavenly Gate secret realm, it can't be fake!"

"Let me take a bite to see if it works..."

"You can't bite it or break it, now you believe this is a Spirit Silk Jade Lotus Root. The older the lotus root used to make these magical shoes is, the stronger its fibers become. Not to mention your teeth, even a sword can't cut through it!"

Zhang Xuezhou took a big bite, feeling as if his teeth were about to break off.

As he listened to Li Shaojun's introduction, he felt an urge to hit the guy with a stick.

"I'm using it to make medicine, not to make shoe insoles," Zhang Xuezhou said with exasperation. "What I need is that tender, white spirit lotus root, not this old, sturdy stuff!"

Zhang Xuezhou casually tossed the three-sectioned old lotus root onto the ground, and it bounced up like a marble.

Zhang Xuezhou had previously swallowed a piece of hard-to-chew Ling Si Jade Lotus Root, so he felt there wouldn't be much difference this time.

What's even more troublesome is that Zhang Xuezhou can't bite through this old lotus root at all. His physical body technique has reached a supernatural level, and his teeth are so strong that they could be called iron teeth. His biting force is extremely strong, and if even he can't bite through it, this kind of lotus root is very troublesome to deal with.

If Zhang Xuezhou wanted to swallow it whole, he would have to restore his physical body's supernatural powers so that he could expand his body and swallow the more than one-meter-long lotus root.

On the other hand, if Zhang Xuezhou had already regained his physical body techniques and supernatural powers, his magical abilities would certainly be very free. Why would he need to swallow this inedible lotus root for any test?

Lei Zun and Li Shaojun collaborated to bring Zhang Xuezhou the Spirit Silk Jade Lotus Root.

Zhang Xuezhou felt that his wish had been fulfilled, but it seemed to have no effect.

"Find me some tender, white lotus roots that I can bite into and eat," Zhang Xuezhou said.

"I'm afraid of you, Daoist Master. I'll go talk to Lei Ming again!"

Li Shaojun shook his head, feeling that Zhang Xuezhou was really difficult to deal with. Why didn't he say anything earlier or later, but waited until they had successfully stolen the goods before bringing it up?

The difficulty of stealing a second time would be enormous now. Li Shaojun could agree to Zhang Xuezhou's request, but whether Lei Zunzhe could actually do it was another matter entirely.

Even with Lei Zunzhe's cooperation, there's still a possibility of theft.

Li Shaojun didn't dare to give a complete guarantee at this point, so he could only suggest that he go and talk to see if he could find some tender, refreshing lotus roots for Zhang Xuezhou.