People in the Qin Dynasty, entertained during the Warring States period

……

Hidden Bat, acting on the orders of the Marquis, disguised himself and entered Xinzheng.

He licked his chapped lips, looked at the newcomers coming and going on the street, and swallowed hard.

I really want to drink blood!

The Hidden Bat suppressed its instinctive urges and restrained its desire to capture people and drink their blood.

If he fails to fulfill the Marquis's instructions, he fears he will become a frozen sculpture hanging on Snowcloak Castle.

Where is Cao Ze...? Where could Cao Ze be...?

The hidden bat twitched its nose.

Finding someone in the vast city of Xinzheng is no easy task.

Hidden Bat walked hunched over in the shadows, and before he knew it, he was not far from the outside of the Han King's Palace.

He glanced at the Han Palace with some apprehension, knowing that it had changed hands and that Bai Yifei had died inside, beheaded.

Most importantly, the Marquis was completely indifferent to Bai Yifei's life or death. Anyone who didn't know better would think that Bai Yifei was a subordinate she could discard at will, rather than her own son.

Thinking of this, Yin Fu shrank his neck. A woman who was indifferent to the life and death of her own son was definitely cold-blooded.

At least he can't do it.

As Yin Fu turned to leave, he suddenly saw a magnificent carriage approaching.

It's a palace carriage...

The thought flashed through Hidden Bat's mind.

Just as I was about to leave, I heard several intermittent sounds of teeth grinding.

"Damn Lady Mingzhu!"

As Hu Meiren sat in the carriage, she grew angrier and angrier.

"All he ever says is that he wants to be Cao Ze's dog. How shameless! What a good dog!"

The palace maid driving the carriage couldn't even hear Consort Hu's low, muttered curses, but Yin Fu, a practitioner of the Bat Blood Technique, had extremely sharp hearing and could hear it clearly even through the carriage.

His eyes suddenly lit up.

He heard Cao Ze's name, and also Madam Mingzhu's.

As the Marquis's subordinate, he naturally knew that Lady Mingzhu was the Nightfall Fairy, the Marquis's own niece.

With this thought in mind, Yin Fu quietly concealed his tracks, preparing to stake out outside the Han King's Palace.

There was still plenty of time, and he didn't want to sneak into the Han Palace at night, fearing he might end up like Bai Yifei.

the other side.

Inside the Purple Orchid Pavilion.

Zi Nu burned incense and brewed tea, personally entertaining Ya Fei and Mei San Niang.

She shouldn't have been the one to entertain them.

At least in terms of status, she was not qualified to entertain the eldest princess of Zhao, the king's aunt.

However, because of their conversation in Feng Hou's Tomb, Ya Fei directly declined all other invitations from Korea and only allowed Zi Nu to accompany her.

Zi Nu smiled gently and said, "Your Highness, Consort Ya, please have some tea."

Ya Fei took a sip and immediately felt much more relaxed.

"Good tea."

Ya Fei couldn't help but exclaim, "Zi Lan Xuan not only has such exquisite wine as Han Lu Orchid Wine, but also such fine tea. Miss Zi Nu is truly remarkable."

Mei San Niang also took a sip, savored it carefully, and looked at Zi Nu and Ya Fei with some suspicion and bewilderment.

It doesn't smell like anything? Are they exchanging secret codes?

Zi Nu chuckled lightly, "I'm glad Your Highness Ya Fei likes it."

"Nongyu, go and prepare nine ounces of calming tea."

Nongyu, who had been kneeling and attending to her, gracefully rose and left.

As Ya Fei watched Nong Yu's slender figure disappear into the distance, she suddenly said, "Isn't she the girl who played the zither at Master Kuang Xiu's place back then?"

Zi Nu hummed in agreement. "Your Highness Consort Ya has a good memory. It is indeed Nongyu."

Ya Fei said slowly, "It's been almost three years in the blink of an eye. I remember he was still in Handan back then..."

"Well, I heard that Master Kuang Xiu is currently residing in the Han King's Palace? Is that true?"

Ya Fei asked casually.

Zi Nu said, "Yes, King Han and Master Kuang Xiu... hit it off immediately, so he kept Master Kuang Xiu in the palace."

Consort Ya nodded slightly. "Master Kuang Xiu lived in Handan for many years and was on very good terms with me."

"Since we have some free time now, and Cao Ze is also in Xinzheng, why don't we get together at Zilan Pavilion? What do you think, Miss Zi Nu?"

Mei San Niang sipped her tea, trying to understand the meaning behind Consort Ya's words, but failed to grasp the implied meaning.

But Zi Nu could easily understand that Ya Fei was subtly hinting at wanting to see Cao Ze.

Zi Nu smiled slightly and said, "Of course, no problem, I'll arrange it."

She had no reason to refuse, because she also had something she wanted to discuss with Cao Ze privately.

The two women exchanged a smile, everything understood without a word.

Inside the Han King's palace, Kuang Xiu, who was drinking and boasting with Han Fei, suddenly sneezed loudly.

Han Fei sneered without a care in the world, "Kuang Xiu, Kuang Xiu, your health isn't what it used to be. You should drink less in the future, you can't outdrink me!"

He has been under immense pressure lately.

Whenever I have a spare moment, I want to drink to relieve stress.

I happened to meet a great drinking buddy like Kuang Xiu, and we drank together without hesitation, emphasizing the fun of drinking alone.

Kuang Xiu downed a cup in one gulp and shouted, "Nonsense! I've never been afraid of anyone when it comes to drinking! Another one!"

He originally fled to the State of Chu.

But when they passed through Xinzheng, they found they had no money.

Because in Xinzheng, I saw that the King of Han was recruiting talented people and even giving them money.

Then, without a second thought, he went to the palace.

Later, they discovered that he and Han Fei both had a deep understanding of alcohol and both loved to drink it. They eventually became drinking buddies.

He decided to stay in the Han King's palace.

"bump……"

The hall reeked of alcohol; the only sounds besides the two men's laughter and shouting were the clinking of wine cups and bowls.

Han Fei and Kuang Xiu clinked glasses and bowls, neither caring about the other's status; they only drank to drown their sorrows.

……

Chapter 491 Naked Running

The clouds are clear and the breeze is gentle; the sky is as blue as if it had been washed.

A flock of wild geese flew across the sky, their cries echoing across the sky.

For two consecutive days, Cao Ze stayed inside the house.

He was completely absorbed in Madam Hu's West Garden.

Aside from engaging in daily activities with Madam Hu, Jingni, and Mingzhu, she spends the rest of her time cultivating.

His experience at Feng Hou Tomb made him realize that he was nothing but trash in front of those truly powerful people.

Don't even mention that he's a half-step Grandmaster; even a Grandmaster or a Great Grandmaster wouldn't do.

Cao Ze sat cross-legged under a tree in the West Garden and quickly entered a meditative state again.

Having reached the half-step Grandmaster realm, one has already gained a preliminary grasp of the power of heaven and earth. However, to truly advance to the Grandmaster level, one needs to fully master the power of heaven and earth, enabling one's internal energy to circulate with it.

In Taoism, this is called the unity of heaven and man.

Cao Ze carefully sensed the mysterious forces between heaven and earth.

Compared to the power of heaven and earth inside Feng Hou's Tomb, the power of heaven and earth outside is pitifully scarce.

Therefore, he wanted to capture this energy and resonate with it, at a speed almost the same as a tortoise crawling.

No wonder most grandmasters have long beards. To become a grandmaster in one's youth, one must be either exceptionally talented or have extraordinary luck.

Cao Ze felt a little regretful. If he could have cultivated in Feng Hou's Tomb for ten days or half a month, he might have been able to break through to the Grandmaster level very quickly after he came out.

I wonder if there are any similar secret realms like Feng Hou's Tomb in China today.

Thinking of this, he recalled the stone slab and the stone sphere dragon soul that had remained unchanged since he had taken it back.

He tried countless methods on the Stone Dragon Soul, such as dripping blood, soaking in water, and grilling, as well as chopping with knives, axes, and saws... but none of them worked.

Not even a trace can be left on it.

Cao Ze opened his eyes, slowly finished his practice, and exhaled a long breath of white air.

If cultivators below the Grandmaster level who have never been exposed to the energy of heaven and earth generate internal energy within their bodies, then cultivators above the Grandmaster level who have been exposed to the energy of heaven and earth will form a new power after their internal energy merges with the energy of heaven and earth.

However, people in the past have continued to name this power "internal force" out of habit.

In Cao Ze's view, this was more like the legendary magic power, spiritual power, true essence, or something similar. In short, it was a completely different kind of power from the internal force that combined the power of heaven and earth and the internal force that was formed at the beginning.

Even after Cao Ze finished his cultivation, his spirit remained active, capturing and comprehending the subtle energies within the world.

He was just about to get up when he suddenly felt something.

Subconsciously, I sat cross-legged again and entered a meditative state.

"Suck!"