The group returned to the courtyard.
Inside the dimly lit room, Xiao Minghuang sat on the bed, with Ye Ruoshui and Lin Wanqiu standing in front of her.
The two girls kept glancing at each other, intentionally or not, but before their eyes could meet, they would shift their gaze back to Xiao Minghuang.
In the peaceful and quiet bedroom, for some reason, there was a tense atmosphere.
Faced with this situation, Xiao Minghuang couldn’t help but frown slightly, feeling it was a bit tricky, especially since she was already exhausted and just wanted a good night’s sleep.
“Ruoshui, Wanqiu, you two should go rest first.
We’ll talk about anything else tomorrow.”
Xiao Minghuang spoke gently.
Hearing this, Ye Ruoshui and Lin Wanqiu, who were both reasonable girls and not the type to make a fuss, noticed the tired look on Xiao Minghuang’s face.
Without pressing further, they said goodnight and left.
After the two girls left, Xiao Minghuang lay down on the bed and soon fell into a deep sleep.
… The next morning.
After a night’s rest, Xiao Minghuang slowly opened her eyes.
She washed up and stepped outside.
In the courtyard, rocks stood tall, birds sang, flowers bloomed, and the scenery was unique and refreshing.
Xiao Minghuang sat down on a bamboo chair under the corridor, began circulating her cultivation technique, and planned to continue her training.
Knock, knock, knock! The sound of knocking came.
“Is it Wanqiu, or that girl Ruoshui?” Xiao Minghuang thought as she walked to the door, only to find an unexpected guest.
It was City Lord Lin standing at the door, smiling.
“Did Your Highness rest well last night?” Xiao Minghuang nodded and said, “City Lord Lin’s arrangements for the courtyard were excellent.
I’m very satisfied.”
After a few polite exchanges, the two walked into the pavilion in the courtyard and sat down.
As they talked, Lin Zhengquan took out a storage pouch and a brocade box from his sleeve and placed them on the table.
“Last night, after confiscating the Chen family’s property, we found a lot of stolen goods.
Most have already been handed over to the court.
This storage pouch contains some spirit stones and pills, and the brocade box holds the Chen family’s ancestral treasure.
Please take a look, Your Highness.”
Hearing this, a hint of surprise flashed in Xiao Minghuang’s eyes.
The Chen family was convicted just last night, and in only three or four hours, such a large family had already been wiped out.
Relying on the City Lord’s Mansion alone, it would have been hard to accomplish this.
The three major families must have contributed a lot, and naturally, they would want a share of the spoils.
Xiao Minghuang didn’t open the brocade box right away.
Instead, she first sent her spiritual sense into the storage pouch and found many spirit stones and pills.
There were over eight thousand spirit stones, and quite a few pills, but most were mid- or low-grade yellow-tier pills, and their quality was poor, mostly around sixty percent.
After checking the storage pouch, she opened the brocade box.
As the box opened, a rich medicinal fragrance spread out, filling the entire courtyard.
“This pill is called Yunling Pill.
It’s a top-grade yellow-tier pill, with potent medicinal power that helps Qi Refining cultivators improve their cultivation.
I hope Your Highness will accept it.”
“Yunling Pill?” Xiao Minghuang looked at the brocade box.
Inside the exquisite box lay a pill that looked like green jade, glowing softly, with faint lines on its surface that seemed to draw in the surrounding spiritual energy.
Seeing the lines on the pill, Xiao Minghuang was suddenly startled.
“Is that… a pill pattern?” Noticing Xiao Minghuang’s surprise, Lin Zhengquan nodded and smiled.
“Your Highness has sharp eyes.
This pill’s quality is above ninety percent, and it has developed a pill pattern.
Its effects last a long time.
Even ordinary low-grade black-tier pills can’t compare.
Otherwise, I wouldn’t dare present it to Your Highness.”
The pill commonly used by Body Tempering cultivators is Shengyuan Pill, which greatly boosts cultivation, but for Qi Refining cultivators, Shengyuan Pill is much less effective.
That’s why Qi Refining cultivators often take Yunling Pills, but these are extremely rare.
In all of Daxia, only one elderly royal alchemist can make them, and the annual output is less than ten!
Xiao Minghuang composed herself and looked at Lin Zhengquan with a hint of surprise.
The confiscation of the Chen family’s property was handled entirely by the City Lord’s Mansion.
If he had kept this precious pill for himself, no one would have known.
She didn’t believe the City Lord’s Mansion was so loyal as to hand over such a valuable pill for nothing.
If it was just because she saved Lin Wanqiu, a few spirit stones would have sufficed.
But this pill could help a Qi Refining cultivator advance a whole minor realm.
Its value was far beyond what a few spirit stones could measure.
“City Lord Lin, you’re too modest.
Pills with pill patterns are at least twice as valuable as those without.”
“Even though this is just a top-grade yellow-tier pill, in terms of price, even a low-quality black-tier pill can’t compare.”
Xiao Minghuang had heard from Ye Ruoshui that any pill with a pill pattern must be at least ninety percent pure, and no matter how much time passes, its effects won’t fade.
Such pills are worth far more than their grade suggests, and once they appear, they’re priceless.
With Lin Zhengquan offering such a precious pill, Xiao Minghuang couldn’t help but question his intentions.
“City Lord Lin, if you have something to say, just say it.
No need to beat around the bush.”
Even Xiao Minghuang couldn’t remain indifferent to such a rare pill.
But before accepting it, she wanted to know exactly what he wanted.
Lin Zhengquan gave a bitter smile and began, “I’m afraid I’ll make Your Highness laugh.
It’s a long story…”
… After Lin Zhengquan’s explanation, Xiao Minghuang roughly understood the situation.
A month ago, a spirit stone vein was discovered near the border of Beiyang City, so people were sent to mine it.
But after a few days, disciples from Jinxiang Kingdom suddenly appeared, injured Beiyang City’s cultivators, and took over the vein.
After the Chen family’s head was found to have colluded with the enemy, it was confirmed that he had secretly informed Jinxiang Kingdom and covered up the incident.
With the spirit stone vein snatched away, Beiyang City couldn’t swallow the insult, so they sent out the guards to try to take it back.
But the king of Jinxiang Kingdom is a Divine Sea Realm powerhouse, and no one in Beiyang City can match him.
After negotiations and concessions, both sides decided to settle it with a martial contest.
After hearing Lin Zhengquan’s account, Xiao Minghuang realized the key issue was the spirit stone vein, so she asked, “How many spirit stones does this vein produce each year to make Jinxiang Kingdom so greedy?”
Lin Zhengquan hesitated for a moment, then replied, “It should yield about two thousand spirit stones a year.”
Hearing that number, Xiao Minghuang’s heart skipped a beat.
Such a huge amount was definitely enough to spark a conflict between two major powers.
“Your Highness, this isn’t just about the number of spirit stones.
It’s about the dignity of our Great Xia.
If we give in today, the Golden Elephant Kingdom will only push further tomorrow.
If this goes on, our nation will fall apart!” Lin Zhengquan’s face was full of passion and indignation.
“Oh? If the problem is so serious, why not report it to the court and have the royal retainers intervene?” Xiao Minghuang noticed a flaw in his words and asked.
The royal retainers of Great Xia were all seasoned cultivators at the Divine Sea Realm, powerful and numerous.
Even among the thirty-six southern kingdoms, few could rival them.
Not to mention, the Xia Emperor himself was at the peak of the Divine Sea Realm, known as the strongest below the Spirit Seed Realm.
Why would he fear the little king of the Golden Elephant Kingdom? Hearing Xiao Minghuang’s question, Lin Zhengquan’s face showed a hint of embarrassment.
“Your Highness knows that spirit stone veins are places of great fortune.
If we report it to the court, Beiyang City would be lucky to get thirty percent…” Lin Zhengquan paused, then said solemnly, “If Your Highness helps us seize the spirit vein, half of its yearly output—five hundred spirit stones—will be yours.
How about it?”
A thousand spirit stones a year, and half of that was five hundred—a huge concession.
But even with such generous terms, Xiao Minghuang shook her head.
“I’m only at the Qi Refining Realm.
Even if I wanted to help you, I couldn’t do anything.”
Lin Zhengquan explained, “Your Highness may not know, but this contest is limited to the younger generation.
There won’t be a big fight.”
“Your Highness is a prodigy, incredibly talented.
At just fourteen, you’ve reached the fourth level of Qi Refining.
Even in the whole southern region, you’re one of a kind.”
“The most talented youth in the Golden Elephant Kingdom is only at the first level of Qi Refining.
He’s no match for you.” “The reason we’re asking for your help is because after the Chen family was wiped out, Beiyang City only has the City Lord’s Mansion and three major families left.
We can’t even gather enough people to compete.”
Xiao Minghuang ignored the flattery, frowned, and asked, “Beiyang City is the largest city in the north of Great Xia.
How did it fall so far?”
Lin Zhengquan sighed and explained, “Your Highness, Beiyang City may be the biggest in the north, but there are no spirit veins or spirit peaks nearby.
Spirit stones and herbs are scarce, yet we have to support a huge army and constantly guard against the Golden Elephant Sect’s invasion.
The city’s finances have long been stretched thin.
If the court didn’t occasionally send spirit stones, our hundred-thousand-strong army would have scattered long ago!”
Xiao Minghuang asked, “When I passed through the Wild Forest, I saw many blessed spots there.
The quality of the spirit herbs isn’t high, but there are plenty.
Why not develop the Wild Forest to fund the army?”
Lin Zhengquan gave a bitter smile and said, “My father tried that when he was alive, but there are many fierce beasts in the Wild Forest.
Every time the soldiers cleared a spirit field, the beasts would sneak in at night and eat everything.
There’s no way to guard against them.”
“And if the fields get too big, it triggers a beast tide.
Hundreds of thousands of beasts rampage together—it shakes the heavens and earth.
Even Divine Sea Realm experts can’t stop it.”
“Ten years ago, the spirit fields we opened in the Wild Forest were destroyed by a beast tide.
Many soldiers died, and those who survived were traumatized and never dared to go deep into the forest again.”
“Even my father was badly injured in that beast tide.
He only lived a little over three hundred years and died before his time.”
At this point, Lin Zhengquan’s expression darkened.
The old Beiyang City Lord was a Divine Sea Realm expert, with a lifespan of five hundred years.
He shouldn’t have died at fifty.
When Lin Zhengquan said “before his time,” he meant dying from disaster before reaching his natural lifespan.
Divine Sea Realm cultivators live five hundred years.
Xiao Minghuang knew this.
The old city lord dying at just over three hundred was a premature death.
Xiao Minghuang was a little stunned.
She’d grown up in the capital and had no idea about Beiyang City’s past.
“The soldiers of Beiyang City guard the border and work hard.
When I return to the capital, I’ll definitely ask my father to reward Beiyang City!”
Hearing this, Lin Zhengquan looked grateful and immediately knelt down.
“With Your Highness’s words, all our years of suffering have been worth it!”
Now that she understood Beiyang City’s predicament, Xiao Minghuang stopped refusing and agreed to the contest.
