Imperial Cultivation

A bright moon hung in the sky above the rear garden of the Qing Manor, its reflection shimmering in the lake, disturbed by gentle ripples.

Inside a pavilion on the lake, lights blazed brightly.

Chu Zhiyuan opened the cold jade box. Twenty dragon blood stones were piled together like twenty pieces of red jade, instantly bringing a smile to his face.

The Emperor was quite generous.

Twenty dragon blood stones were equivalent to twenty meritorious deeds of the ninth rank.

This saved him a lot of time and energy!

"Are these red stones really that good?" Bai Ning霜 asked, looking askance at him, as if she couldn't bear to look at them.

"Dragon blood stones. One can only be exchanged for a ninth-rank meritorious deed."

"They're that precious?" Bai Ning霜 scoffed.

Originally, seeing such a large box of red stones, and the box not being locked like last time, she assumed they weren't that valuable.

But the mention of ninth-rank meritorious deeds immediately made her aware of their worth.

Chu Zhiyuan picked up a dragon blood stone, held it up to his eye to examine it, and felt the stirring within his body. He said with a tone of admiration, "Treasures that money can't buy."

Bai Ning霜 was beaming. "Then the Emperor is truly generous."

"Worthy of being the Emperor," Chu Zhiyuan said with a smile.

Although these dragon blood stones were very valuable, they were nothing more than a drop in the bucket to the Emperor.

But one shouldn't be too greedy or ungrateful.

In any case, they were a great fortune to him.

Bai Ning霜 then frowned, her smile slowly fading. "The Empress said this is the last time."

"The last time…" Chu Zhiyuan put the dragon blood stone back into the box, closed the cold jade box, and looked towards the palace with regret, lamenting that he could no longer fleece them.

Taking advantage of the opportunity to face the Great Zhen Crown Prince, he had ruthlessly fleeced them, which greatly improved his cultivation.

At least it shortened several years of arduous cultivation.

It's a pity that such an opportunity only comes once.

"Oh right, I told the Empress about the An Country Duke's Manor, and the Empress agreed to the marriage."

"Mother—"

"It's settled." Bai Ning霜 waved her hand and said, "If we wait for you to think it through, who knows how long it will take!"

Having been tired for so many years, she should enjoy her leisure.

Whether it was her background, appearance, or character, she was top-notch. If such a good match was missed, she would regret it for the rest of her life.

She didn't want to watch her son make a mistake.

Zhiyuan's talent was high, but that was only in martial arts. He had never been involved in matters of men and women, so of course she had to make the decision.

Chu Zhiyuan said, "Mother, marriage is a major event that should be taken seriously."

"The daughter of the Duke's Manor, what's there to be serious about? What aspect of her doesn't match you?"

"I don't know her character…"

"Her character is excellent, that's for sure. These Duke's Manors and Prince's Manors in the capital are like sieves. Who doesn't know what kind of character each family's children have?"

"Mother, this Miss Xiao is not simple," Chu Zhiyuan said meaningfully.

"If she were really simple, she wouldn't be able to manage the Duke's Manor. She would have been tossed around by everyone. Do you want such a muddlehead?"

"If she's too shrewd, Mother, you might…"

"I wish she were shrewd and capable enough to manage the entire household. I don't want to worry so much and want to live a few more years. Alright, alright, stop nagging. I understand now, you just don't want to get married and want to delay it."

"Go do your thing. All you do all day is practice your skills. If you don't find a shrewd female head of the household, how can you settle down and practice your skills?"

Chu Zhiyuan was speechless.

"Hurry up and practice your skills. Practicing your skills is a major event." Bai Ning霜 waved her jade hand, stood up gracefully, and left.

Chu Zhiyuan withdrew his gaze and turned it back to the dragon blood stones. No longer suppressing the stirring within his body, he picked up a dragon blood stone and began to circulate the second level of the Transforming Dragon Skill.

Two days later, in the early morning, Chu Zhiyuan, who was sitting cross-legged on the couch, suddenly opened his eyes.

His eyes were warm and crystal clear.

A smile rose from the corner of his mouth, slowly expanding, and finally spreading across his face.

He was overjoyed and couldn't help but want to roar to the sky.

He didn't expect it to be so smooth.

The second level of the Transforming Dragon Skill was completed in just two days. Dragon blood stones were indeed a great tool for cultivating the second level.

The second level of the Transforming Dragon Skill was completed, and the circulation of true energy accelerated.

With the same true energy, the faster the speed, the greater the impact. Naturally, he broke through the eighth level of the Jade Tower, and his cultivation entered the ninth level of the building realm.

He pushed open the window.

Zou Fang was standing at the door. Seeing the window open, she pushed the door open and entered. "Young Master…"

"Tell Mo Yi and the others to wash my body."

"Yes."

Mo Yi and the four girls quickly entered lightly and busied themselves.

They set up a landscape screen on all four sides, carried in a large bathtub, and filled it with hot water. There was a faint fragrance in the water that was refreshing.

Then they helped him take off his clothes, and Mo Yi, one of the four girls, served him by wiping his body.

Mo Yi was wearing short clothes, revealing her crystal-clear and fair arms and legs. She slowly sat into the tub. After being steamed by the water vapor, her skin became even more pink and tender, fair and rosy,

and dazzlingly beautiful.

But this beauty went unappreciated. Chu Zhiyuan closed his eyes and allowed her to wipe and rub him, immersing himself in cultivation. The primordial purple energy flowed rapidly along complex paths.

A total of twenty vortices in his body were slowly rotating like nebulae. Whenever the primordial purple energy approached, they immediately accelerated their rotation.

The acceleration of the twenty vortices increased the overall flow rate of the purple energy by five times.

Chu Zhiyuan was quite surprised.

Five times the speed.

This speed was the same as the speed of the Transforming Dragon Skill when stimulated by the Flying Dragon Pearl. Could there be any connection between the two?

The more he practiced, the more he realized the extraordinary nature of the Subduing Dragon Sect.

The Transforming Dragon Skill looked simple, requiring only extremely high aptitude, but only after practicing it did he discover many incomprehensible mysteries.

He enjoyed Mo Yi's service while sighing.

If the Subduing Dragon Sect was like this, then what about the Taiqing Yuan Sect and the Imperial Void Sword Sect?

They were probably not simple either. He pondered while circulating the third level of the Transforming Dragon Skill, clearly seeing strands of energy falling onto his bones, seeping into the bones.

The bones underwent subtle changes, becoming denser, stronger, and lighter.

The density increased, the strength increased, and the weight decreased.

He observed the changes in his bones, which were not like forging iron, but like the manufacturing of alloys in his previous life.

As the third level of the mental technique circulated, he felt a sense of flying, as if his bones had turned into bird bones, and the air could lift him up.

At the same time, he felt a sense of power, as if he could shatter the sky with one punch.

He eliminated these two illusions, closed his eyes, and didn't move, just observing the subtle changes in his body and experiencing the mysteries of the Transforming Dragon Skill.

After washing up, he ate under the service of Mo Yi and the four girls, and then came to Mingwu Hall.

At this time, the sun had already risen.

Seeing him appear, everyone looked over curiously.

They all knew that he had been in seclusion for the past two days to practice his skills, and wanted to know the results of his seclusion.

Chu Qingfeng strode up to him, reached out and took his wrist, his frosty eyebrows twitching. "Ninth level?"

Inconceivable.

Even with the Emperor's secret support, it was still inconceivable.

Chu Zhiyuan nodded with a smile.

"Good lad!" Chu Qingfeng released his hand and pressed his shoulder.

Chu Zhiyuan only felt a mountain pressing down, subconsciously bending his knees to unload the force, his bones seemed to be creaking.

Chu Qingfeng released his hand and nodded with satisfaction.

"Grand Uncle…" Chu Zhiyuan wiped the nonexistent sweat from his forehead.

Chu Qingfeng laughed, "You kid, this time it's about right."

Chu Zhiyuan said, "If it still doesn't work, then there's really nothing I can do. I've already tried my best."

If it weren't for Cheng Tianfeng's challenge, his cultivation would probably be at most the fourth level now, and he would definitely not reach the ninth level.

"The Great Zhen delegation will arrive tomorrow."

"So fast?"

"The delegation suddenly accelerated when approaching Yujing and arrived ahead of schedule."

"That's just in time," Chu Zhiyuan said.

If he had gone into seclusion two days later and hadn't completed the second level of the Transforming Dragon Skill, he wouldn't have dared to say he was confident, but now he had some confidence.

"You are an official of the Ministry of Rites, so you will go to meet them together then."

Chu Zhiyuan nodded, that was exactly what he wanted.

He also wanted to explore the reality of the Great Zhen delegation, especially the reality of Cheng Tianfeng.