The Heavens: A Qing, the Yue Girl at the beginning

The increase in the upper limit of mental strength was within expectations, but the backflow of memories was somewhat oppressive and tearing, making it difficult for Zhao Qing's mind to bear. His pure and immaculate consciousness and the radiance of destiny were faintly shaken and swayed.

The sacred wine given by Zhen Ge Wang Hu came at just the right time. The slightly sweet spiritual liquid filled his internal organs and nourished his entire body. With the calming effect of the Qing Shen Jade, it gradually soothed the turbulent sea of ​​consciousness.

The higher one's level of understanding, the more profound and boundless one's ability to perceive subtle details becomes.

The minute details, so exquisite they seem to transcend the passage of time, are like a vast galaxy suddenly filling the small lake of the heart. The sheer volume and breadth of information they contain is truly astounding.

Although it lasted only two and a half years, his experiences and records surpassed those of ordinary people in Jingzhao.

After all, in the last few months, she genuinely broke through to the Middle Six Qi Realm and cultivated to the level of Three and a Half Meetings, which was two major realms higher than her true body's cultivation.

It now appears that the primordial spirit of each stage of cultivation, seemingly possessing the ability to contain the infinitely small and transform into countless variations, reflecting the mortal world and possessing boundless wonders, still has an upper limit in terms of information carrying capacity. It cannot overflow without bounds or be excessively imposed.

Zhao Qing naturally hadn't been unaware of this situation.

Even though she had planned ahead, wielding her wisdom to cut away the clutter, distinguish the essential from the trivial, and select what to keep and what to discard, and had severed all useless memories before returning, in the end, it had no effect whatsoever.

Slightly surprised, Zhao Qing immediately understood the reason and made a judgment: the object that the dream verification spell had "returned" to should be the entire spacetime segment.

Deleting part of the memory at the end does not affect the whole.

The last page of text was erased, but the entire book was brought back, while the memory information remained in the previous pages.

It doesn't sound like a good thing.

With this special protection, one will not encounter situations where their memories are erased by a powerful being, leaving them with nothing but a blank slate upon return, completely forgetting what they gained in their dreams, and ultimately knowing nothing at all.

As for external forces forcibly inserting harmful information, if they can break through her mental defenses, then the essence of this external force must be something beyond her own existence. Therefore, it will be judged by the "dream entry evidence" as not belonging to her and will be eliminated on the spot, with all its influence disappearing.

There are both advantages and disadvantages, and each has its own outcome.

In short, the old problem of not being able to enter a dream state for a short period of time remains unresolved.

Having returned, my sea of ​​consciousness is nearly full; if I were to force myself to enter the dream again, it might collapse.

It will take at least several months to nurture it before we can proceed slowly.

At the same time, having mastered the methods of fate refining and Gestalt consciousness generation, Zhao Qing had enough confidence that if the character with a lower spiritual realm than himself cooperated properly, it would no longer be a problem to drag them into the dream.

It can be completed without relying on the properties of the "Sensitive Stone".

Once the target is captured by the innate, undying spiritual light and temporarily transformed into one of the tributaries of one's own destiny, the conditions for judgment are met, and one arrives in the world of dreams. Then, the entanglement is resolved, and the two no longer interfere with each other.

Its name could be: The Boat of Life.

This has something in common with Zhao Qing's previous observation from the perspective of the Golden Carp regarding the "True Talisman of the Fire Virtue Saint King" controlled by the Void Dao, which is another dream activation process cited by the Southern Red Emperor.

Incidentally, during this dream journey, she collected a total of approximately 6.5 million strands of metal element energy, including 2672 strands of metal element energy.

The data is pretty good.

Glancing at the perimeter of the perimeter security formation, I saw several stacks of bamboo lunch boxes, which were food sent by the village of tomb guardians.

There were pastries and medicinal dishes. The earliest ones had been sitting here for eight or nine hours, and their temperature had cooled down. Only the faint, bitter aroma of mugwort lingered in the air.

A few wisps of smoke rose from the eaves of the village houses, their forms scattered by the wind in the woods. The distant mountains were like dark eyebrows, and the mist had not yet dissipated.

Today is the sixth day of the third lunar month, the evening of the second day of the Yu the Great sacrificial ceremony.

The music of "Xia Liu" is played for six days. It is located in Wanwei Mountain and the surrounding dozens of villages. The shamans living there hang calamus and peach branches on their door lintels in every household.

Atractylodes was burning under the eaves, its smoke swirling around, while the sound of drums and gongs came from afar, crawling heavily along the ground before dissipating into the treetops.

After concentrating and adjusting his breathing for a moment, Zhao Qing took out the Hao Cao Zi sword and gently drew a circle on the ground, enclosing himself within it.

The lines are clearly visible, neither too deep nor too shallow.

Then, black and white energies quietly seeped out from it.

Half of it was as deep and still as an abyss, blocking out all the light of the sky; the other half was as clear as a mirror, radiating its own brilliance. The two colors chased each other, yet also formed each other's boundaries, seemingly turning the ground within a radius of three feet into a murky and indistinguishable gray curtain, causing her figure to melt away like water.

The fallen leaves rose on their own without wind, swirling and flying outwards, only to be held back by an invisible force, suspended in mid-air, trembling.

Its inner essence is detached from worldly affairs, its profound and mysterious radiance flickering, returning to silence.

Zhao Qing slowly reappeared, and her acupoints lit up one by one, with five-colored light shining through her body. However, there was no outward projection; the light only flowed between her skin and pores, like a piece of unpolished jade radiating brilliance.

Enter the mountain-moving process.

But in an instant.

A halo of light, as bright as moonlight, rippled from between her brows, spreading layer by layer, over her shoulders and neck, over her waist, and over her ankles. It seemed gentle, but her spirit was like a solitary peak rising from the ground, piercing straight into the heavens.

Enter Qitian.

And it was only for a fleeting moment.

After the two passes were breached one after another, Zhao Qing finally let out a soft breath. It naturally transformed into a white rainbow, straight as an arrow, soaring into the sky, piercing through the forest and leaves, and crashing open a skylight about ten feet in diameter deep in the evening clouds, causing starlight to pour down incessantly.

Although she entered a new realm through profound comprehension under conditions of insufficient accumulation and reduced breakthrough conditions, her combat power still increased more than tenfold, greatly enhancing her ability to protect herself.

Many powerful techniques with minimum requirements were immediately put into operation to replenish the depletion of their source energy.

A piece of dark, mysterious ice appeared in her palm. It was crushed and refined on the spot. The hydrogen atoms dissipated, leaving only pure hydrogen. The silver-purple crystal went straight into Zhao Qing's heart. It was peeled away layer by layer in the embrace of blazing true fire, burning rapidly and releasing a large amount of rich solar energy. After the rotation of heaven and earth, it balanced the two polarities.

This is the solar true fire fusion reactor project that she conquered a long time ago. It is specifically used for the production of magic power. It can soften the Coulomb barrier of protium by thousands of times when the temperature is suppressed to around 30,000 degrees, thereby efficiently catalyzing nuclear fusion and gradually refining the added hydrogen into solar true fire to continuously supply vital energy.

While this method is more suitable for building large-scale magic power factories to optimize the surrounding cultivation environment, the miniature version can still be quite effective when Zhao Qing is currently lacking in true essence.

The binding power of Taiyi Hunming Shefa's Qi is truly remarkable.

In about ten days, she will be able to accumulate energy comparable to her peak energy accumulation before breaking into the Lower Six Qi Realm, with a significant acceleration.

Then, using the "Virtual Time Cocoon" created with reference to "Time Zero" as a reference, and relying on absorbing the Daoist essence within the divine weapon to maintain it, he extended the passage of time for his entire being several times over, and quickly cultivated his divine strength to a state of perfection.

Then, you can officially enter the realm of the sixth level of Qi.

All the plans were already in his mind.

……

"I wonder how much worse the dream world generated by the Sensing Stone itself is compared to the level of 'Dream Entry Guidance'?"

Turning to look at Shi Yiguang, who was still fast asleep beside him, Zhao Qing saw that she had not woken up with him, but had fallen back into the dream-making mechanism of the Life Stone. He did not intend to wake her up.

In fact, before Shi Yiguang and I entered the Dream Realm of the Same Frequency, we had already experienced many rounds of such illusions.

However, due to her limited cultivation and vision at the time, she was unable to judge the precision and consistency of the details, and her memory was also vague, so she probably overlooked many anomalies.

The levels of the sensory stone are ultimately limited, and it is impossible to perfectly replicate reality.

However, if it is to truly "come alive" and be born with a spirit, it must condense its true nature in the false dream, and with the help of the dreamsers' sights, obsessions and actions, and with spiritual wisdom as the great medicine, gradually replenish the missing essence of the stone body, cleanse the defilement of the path, and reshape its original destiny.

The difficulty is actually extremely high, almost impossible to achieve.

Over the past few thousand years, countless experts from the Yue region and the lineage of tomb guardians have attempted this, and there are probably hundreds of them whose cultivation level far surpasses Zhao Qing's, but none of them have been able to meet the conditions for spiritual rebirth.

However, Shi Yiguang's physique is subtly superior to the "Seven Apertures Exquisite Heart," which appears only once every thousand years in the world. Although he is a novice who has just begun to cultivate, he has a great advantage in this respect. After all, the heart is connected to the heart and the apertures are connected to the apertures, which can reflect the spiritual wonders.

If Zhao Qing hadn't intervened, perhaps given time, she would have been able to succeed and obtain all the secrets!
But now that the dream verification has evolved into such a supreme treasure, allowing the dream of the Sensation Stone to directly reach perfection, there is no need to take it slowly anymore. It can fulfill its wish in just one time!

Life force is inherent, and the essence of the Tao is abundant, thus giving birth to the true spirit!

Therefore, although Zhao Qing had been studying the mysteries of the Life-Generating Stone during his previous dream, which was part of the main quest, he hadn't put in much effort.

It was precisely because she grasped the fundamental mechanism behind it.

"...I never imagined it would be so simple!"

Zhao Qing sighed inwardly, noticing that although Xi Shi beside him was spared the danger of information overflow due to the memory blurring effect of the new dream continued by the Sensation Stone, the high-precision dream with a time flow rate that was so different from the outside world that it was difficult to measure was still an astonishing consumption.

This is a method of cultivating the mind while walking on a thread.

If one's self-assessment goes wrong and there is no protector by one's side, it is easy to lose one's balance of energy and spirit, and fall into the abyss.

As soon as the thought came to mind, she had already stretched out her fingers and gently pressed them on Shi Yiguang's Yuzhen acupoint, and a pure and warm vitality permeated in.

After a short while, Shi Yiguang's brows slowly relaxed, the signs of heart failure disappeared, and his breathing gradually became even and long, returning to tranquility.

Wisdom is not confined by form, nor is one's circumstances limited by one's physical body.

……

A moment later, footsteps could be heard coming from the woods.

Looking into the distance, Zhao Qing saw a young man carrying a bamboo basket and lunchbox, pushing aside the drooping vines, walking briskly towards them.

Judging from his appearance, he was about twenty years old, wearing a pheasant feather headdress, a blue silk robe, and a peach bow and thorn arrows at his waist, resembling a shaman.

It was Chongming Guang, who had participated with her in the gambling game of Zhenge Wanghu Chaojun and used the "Youchong Clan Five Wood Divination" technique.

Behind him followed a woman in a simple dress and hairpin, who was probably his wife.

"Miss Qing." Chong Mingguang greeted her with a cupped-hand salute from afar, a questioning smile on his face. "You... is this over?"

Several small sparrows flapped their wings with great strength, took the food box from his hand, picked up the rope, and placed it on the blue stone by the roadside.

Zhao Qing could see through his eyes and sense the turmoil in his mind. He knew that what the other party had brought was a soup made from freshly picked nine-jointed calamus from the mountains, supplemented with three-year-old black sesame oil, which had the effect of calming the mind and replenishing vital energy. He also added a few red fruits and a grain-preserving pill for future use.

"Simple food and drink are still palatable."

As Chong Mingguang spoke, his gaze passed over Zhao Qing's shoulder and landed on the still faintly glowing Sensitive Stone. A hint of curiosity appeared on his face as he examined it closely for a few moments before adding, "This Sensitive Stone of the Tu Shan Clan has been dormant for countless years. Legend has it that this object is activated by a specific destiny, and only those with innate talent can make it manifest..."

"To be able to connect with it is a rare occurrence in a century. Not only is it difficult to enter its realm, but it is even more difficult to leave it. Some people have been trapped in the illusion within the stone for years before they were able to escape, and when they awoke, they were emaciated."

"If you try to enter meditation again after you have emerged from it, it will be even more difficult." "Rather than wasting your energy sitting here idly, it is better to rest for a while."

Chongming Guang said, "It's only three miles to the village. Now that you've left the pass, if you need to recuperate, there are several vacant quiet rooms in the village. Although they are not luxurious, the soil is mild and suitable for regulating your breathing."

Seeing Zhao Qing accept the bamboo basket, he continued to sincerely invite him: "The area around Yuling is usually very strictly closed off, and outsiders can only enter once or twice a year around the time of the sacrificial ceremony. The old people and children in the village are all looking forward to hearing stories from the outside world."

"If Miss Qing would be so kind as to grace us with her presence, that would be wonderful."

"How about we wait until tomorrow morning, after we've rested and are full of energy, and then take some sacrificial items to the 'Wan Gui Hall' to select a few lineages to study?"

No sooner had the words left his mouth than a very faint cracking sound came from the stone. Layers of the stone peeled off, turning into dust that scattered in the air.

In the blink of an eye, it has shed its rough and unrefined state, transforming from a square shape into a smooth and lustrous stone. It has nine orifices and eight holes, all interconnected, arranged in the shape of the Nine Palaces and Eight Trigrams, a perfect natural formation.

The next instant, nine peaceful white lights stretched out in the air from between the orifices, like nine pure white fox tails, fluffy as clouds, naturally exuding a sense of inclusiveness.

"This...this is..."

Chongming Guang stared in disbelief, speechless for a long time.

After a long while, his expression changed from shock to solemnity. He bowed deeply to the stone that inspired life, recited several verses of blessing, and then sighed with deep admiration, "So that's how it is. A wise person recognizes benevolence upon seeing a unicorn, cherishes virtue upon seeing jade, and knows the will of Heaven upon seeing this stone. When a virtuous person is moved, even a small thing brings good fortune!"

"It was my poor eyesight that prevented me from recognizing the signs beforehand!"

There was no envy, greed, jealousy, regret, or resentment, only a clear and serene acceptance.

As a shaman whose rank among the tomb keepers had reached the highest level of discernment, Chongming Guang had long heard the evaluations of the Grand Masters of the past generations on this stone of life-giving power. He knew that only by having a being of the level of Dao Ying Liu Guang from the Tu Shan clan reappear in the world could the work of the person who left this stone be truly completed.

But this exemplary method of authentication, which has been included in classical texts for many years, has been completely broken by outsiders today? What does this mean?
The answers in the book are clearly stated.

He straightened up, his gaze sincere, and said, "I almost forgot the important matter. Qing Ji Changhen, Gu Mie Fucheng and the others, upon learning that Miss Qing was staying here, all asked me to convey their intention to befriend her. If you do not mind, I will soon bring a generous gift to pay you a visit."

After a pause, Chongming Guang reached into his robes again, took out a neatly folded silk scroll, and presented it with both hands, saying, "There is one more thing."

"This is a visiting card sent by Xu Houci through Jia Fu Xi Dafu. The words are sincere, saying that he has long admired your name and wants to pay you a visit. He wants to set a date to meet you and invite you to a banquet. This card just arrived this morning, and Mingguang dared not act on his own, so he brought it along with him."

Zhao Qing took the silk scroll and unfolded it for a quick glance.

The text was elegant and refined, and extremely courteous. At the end of the inscription was a vermilion seal in bird-script, which was the emblem of the Xu royal family.

Chong Mingguang added from the side: "This Marquis Xu was originally the son of the Empress Dowager of the previous King Xu, the uncle of the last King Zhang Yu, and the younger brother of Yi Chu."

"In the past, the State of Xu was annexed by the powerful State of Wu. Its ancestral temples were destroyed and its altars were in ruins. Ci Liu and his close ministers fled by sea and wandered to this place. Fortunately, the king was kind and benevolent and granted them the title of marquis, granting them land and a territory of ten thousand miles. This saved the state from extinction and allowed them to continue their ancestral sacrifices. The king also settled his officials. This can be considered a story of benevolence and virtue."

"However, although they are seeking refuge, they are still descendants of Boyi, and their wealth is still substantial, with their treasury overflowing, far surpassing that of ordinary feudal lords. They must have some ulterior motive in sending this letter through someone. If you have any requests, young lady, you are free to name your price and need not be polite to him."

The land, which was perfectly good, was granted to a foreigner who had not accomplished anything. A considerable number of the tomb-guarding shamans were not happy about this and felt resentful.

"Is he the newly appointed Marquis of Xu?" Zhao Qing asked.

She had never heard of it before.

“That’s right, it was conferred at the beginning of the ceremony a couple of days ago. The king personally bestowed upon him a black jade tablet and a black wine cup, and performed the ceremony of conferring the title.” Chong Mingguang replied, then smiled again, “This news is still fresh. If it weren’t for the fact that the Mingguang clan was serving at the Yu Temple and heard the great shaman mention it, I probably wouldn’t have known.”

"Thank you for your trouble." Zhao Qing put away the silk scroll, seemingly lost in thought.

Chongming Guang hurriedly replied, "Not at all, it's my duty."

It was clear that the other party was quite tactful. He had originally intended to keep this information until the village, trying to use the children to build rapport. Now, seeing the changes in the Life-Generating Stone, his attitude became even more solicitous. Zhao Qing smiled slightly and changed the subject: "If any of the medicinal herbs in the basket have any seeds left, could you share a few with me?"

Chong Mingguang was taken aback upon hearing this, then laughed and said, "What's so difficult about that?"

He then asked his wife to take out a small coarse cloth bag from his sack, from which he picked out more than ten plump nine-jointed calamus seeds, added a few red fruit kernels and a small handful of black fleeceflower tuber buds, and wrapped them up one by one.

His wife whispered, "Some lotus seeds were also used in the Polygonatum Ointment. If the young lady needs them, we still have some at home."

Zhao Qing nodded her thanks and put the seeds into her sleeve. With the help of mature greenhouse technology for cultivating spiritual plants, she would soon be able to cultivate them in large quantities.

It's clear that these medicinal herbs are mutated and optimized varieties resulting from the unique primordial energy environment surrounding Wanwei Mountain, making them extremely valuable. The medicinal potency of three-year-old He Shou Wu is far superior to that of three-hundred-year-old He Shou Wu from the outside world!
It's time to put the widespread dispersal and planting of sword grass on multiple sites on the agenda.

Seeing that the matter was settled, Chong Mingguang bowed and took his leave. Before leaving, he added, "Although there are no delicacies in the village, the mountain springs are clear and the forest mist is refreshing. You are welcome to come anytime, young lady. I will not trouble you any longer."

Zhao Qing closed his eyes and sat down, and wisps of gray mist reappeared in the lines.

Speaking of which, she remembered that Zhu Jiyang told her to be on high alert on the seventh day of the month. She spent about three days in the Yu Mausoleum Park. After being rejected by the restrictions and forced to leave, she wondered what kind of inheritance the other party had to give her.

Zhao Qing had a rough idea of ​​what the content would be like.

I don't have high expectations.

It's been a long time since I've seen Ape Master, and I'm thinking of meeting up with him soon.

Furthermore, after the ceremony, King Goujian of Yue should travel with wise men from all directions, but it remains to be seen what their attitude will be at that time.

……

A hundred miles away, the post station stands majestically.

The building is built against the mountain, backed by a green cliff and facing a shallow stream. It is clean and solemn, with bamboo and trees providing shade, creating a serene and tranquil atmosphere.

It was late spring, and the azaleas in the courtyard were in full bloom, their crimson and white blossoms dazzlingly covering the branches.

A carriage was parked in the front yard. Although it was ornately decorated and its canopy was made of colorful silk, it was covered with a thin layer of dust due to its long journey, showing signs of weariness from the travel.

Four pure-colored Yunqi horses bowed their heads and drank water at the Spirit Wood Well.

Further inside, through four doors of varying styles and decorations, a jade screen wall reveals that Xu Hou Ci Liu is sitting by the window.

The man had graying hair and beard, a gaunt face, wore a black robe with a white skirt, a belt around his waist, and jade pendants that jingled, exuding the air of a noble family.

But a lingering worry always hung between his brows, making him look older than his actual age.

The goose-foot lamp burned with a faint blue flame, illuminating Xu Hou's profile.

"It's difficult," he sighed, his voice full of hesitation.

The person standing beside the table wore a long robe and wide sleeves, but the material was very simple and almost without any decoration. His name was Shu Jiu Bi Wo.

Shu Jiu was one of the Shu groups along the Huai River. He was a descendant of Gao Yao (Bo Yi's father). His relationship with the State of Xu was similar to that of the Zhen Ge clan, Zhen Xun clan, and Zhen Guan clan, who protected the Xia Dynasty. Shu Jiu was equivalent to a subordinate state.

Unfortunately, the country was destroyed long ago, and its people scattered.

When I was young, Shu Jiubi carried his books north to study under Su Zijing, a disciple of Kang Cangzi, for several years. He studied the principles of philosophy and was taught several chapters on Daoist teachings. After achieving some success in his studies, he went west to Xu, where he was promoted to the position of guest minister due to his eloquence and quick thinking.

After the fall of the Xu state, most of the ministers who had followed it in its exile scattered. Only I was allowed to stay and go south with Prince Ci. Because of his meticulous mind and eloquent speech, he gradually became my confidant.

He was informed of all confidential and secret matters.

However, under the cover of his apparent identity, he is actually one of the main stars under Zhang Su in the Void Path, and secretly he has other forces.

Similarly, Xu Houci Liu did not intend to tell the other party that he had overheard Zhen Ge Wang Hu talking about the secret of the immortal grass in the overseas ancestral continent, and did not reveal the real reason why he wanted to befriend Zhao Qing.

As for the even more secretive ancient divine power left by their ancestor Ruomu, which he believed would be his greatest reliance for obtaining the Immortal Grass in the future, he would never let outsiders know about it. It could never be passed on to anyone other than the eldest son.

"‘A ruler who is temporarily residing in a government should cultivate his own virtue and not rush to seek power’—these are the exact words of that scoundrel, Jia Fu Xi!"

Xu Hou stroked the fish-shaped coins, the model recently established by divination and soon to be issued by his family, his tone somber, as if chewing bitter herbs:

"I sent an envoy with a letter and a thousand pieces of gold as gifts, hoping he could act as an intermediary. Who would have thought that after accepting the gifts, he would turn around and lecture me, saying something like, 'A newly appointed marquis should be content with his position and should not be in a hurry to seek outside help!'"

"They wouldn't even offer a formal introduction, just hand over the visiting card and consider it done. How arrogant, how perfunctory!"

He grew angrier as he spoke, slamming the fish-shaped coins on the table, making the cups and saucers clatter: "He's just a doctor, how dare you treat me with such disrespect!"

The so-called "meeting through introduction" was a common etiquette in diplomatic exchanges between states. Anyone wishing to meet someone of equal or higher status would first ask an intermediary to inform them of the other party's identity, and then the host would come out to greet them on a set date before the guests could meet.

If one recommends oneself without proper introduction, it is considered presumptuous and impolite. Even if one meets with such a person, the meeting will not be pleasant, and the person may even feel slighted, thus creating an unseen enmity and becoming a laughingstock.

Jia Fu Xi Nai Yue Fu, though his rank was only that of a lower-level official and his cultivation was only at the lower six Qi stage, his family had lived in Kuaiji for a long time and had been in charge of the prohibition of mountains and marshes for generations. They were familiar with the land and people around Yuling, making them the most suitable intermediary.

Xu Hou went through many intermediaries to finally get in touch with this person, but unexpectedly, the other party accepted the money but was only willing to do a "name-calling" business.

Not a single kind word was added, let alone any attempt at persuasion or subtle expression of meaning.

This isn't an introduction; it's clearly a way to get rid of someone.

"Your Majesty, please calm your anger."

Shu Jiu bowed slightly to me, his expression unchanged: "Although Jia Fu Xi was impolite, what he said was not entirely without merit. Your Majesty has just arrived in the southern lands, and the official appointment has not yet been finalized. He has not yet had time to become familiar with you all. It is natural for him not to act rashly as an intermediary. This is not only because he disrespects Your Majesty, but also because he is naturally concerned about protecting himself. Forcing it will not be of any use."

"...Now that the invitation has been sent, the current concern is not the lack of access, but how to win their hearts and establish a friendship after the access has been established."

Upon hearing this, Lord Xu waved his hand, ordering his attendants to leave.

Once only the two of them remained in the room, Shu Jiu asked me in a low voice, "May I ask the details of what Your Majesty has prepared? Besides humble words and generous gifts, are there any other strategies?"

"Could we possibly rely on the old friendships of the Zhuji family?" Marquis Xu stroked his beard and pondered.

"Your Majesty is wise," Shu Jiu replied. "When the late King Yi Chu was in power, Xu Lingyin was Zhu Jigeng, who is now the Grand Marshal of the Great Kingdom, Zhu Jiying's cousin. He shared the administration of the state with Your Majesty for over a hundred years, relying on you as a pillar of the state, and was as close as brothers. His granddaughter married Wangsun Rong (Zhang Yu's eldest son) as his primary consort."

"Based on this, Xu and Zhu Ji were not only family friends, but also related by marriage."

"As far as I know, Zhao Qing was granted permission to enter Yu Mausoleum to comprehend the Dao, and the person who vouched for her was none other than Zhu Ji Yang, the son of Zhu Ji Ying. It was also Zhu Yang who applied for her title and rewards. From this, it is clear that this woman undoubtedly belongs to the lineage of Zhu Ji! If we can get in through this, we may be able to ease the awkwardness of our separation."

If it were any other official from the Zhuji clan, then it would be fine.

However, Zhu Jiyang was a special figure who commanded the secret guards of the Yue Kingdom. Although he was said to have only achieved the minor completion of the sixth level of Qi cultivation, his influence was still beyond imagination.

"...You are very kind to say this," Marquis Xu frowned. "But Zhang Yu has fled to Chu and has already rebuilt 'Western Xu,' which is no longer on the same path as my 'Later Xu.' Wangsun Rong died long ago in the battle of Chengyan, when the country was destroyed. He was beheaded by Wu Zixu and died for his country. His son Jian has not been heard from since!"

"Even though this thread of old friendship still exists, how should we begin it so as not to seem abrupt?"

...(End of this chapter)