Chapter 220 185: Consort Qing
"Appoint Yang Liuqing as Consort Qing and reside in Changqing Palace!"
"Cons... Consort Qing?"
"What, did you not hear what I said?"
"Ye... Yes, I did..."
Liu Cheng'en instinctively said, "Your Majesty, appointing a beauty as a consort is unprecedented, should we..."
"No need."
Zheng Yi said succinctly, "Yang Liuqing is extremely talented and pleases me, so she should indeed be a consort."
"Understood! This servant obeys the decree!"
"Your consort thanks Your Majesty."
Yang Liuqing, standing beside Zheng Yi, bowed gracefully. Even upon hearing she was appointed as a consort, she maintained her cold demeanor.
Yang Liuqing, aged seventeen, is one of the beauties of Youwei Palace.
In order to find a woman with a spirit root to bear him his last son, Zheng Yi bestowed favor upon more than fifty beauties of Youwei Palace.
Finally, after over forty women, Zheng Yi encountered one with a spirit root.
Moreover... it brought him another surprise!
Zheng Yi was not bothered by Yang Liuqing's aloofness. With hundreds of women in the palace, there are naturally different styles and types of beauties.
There are charming, cute, passionate, shy, and naturally aloof ones.
For example, this Yang Liuqing.
During their dual cultivation last night, she worked hard to maintain her aloof demeanor, until she couldn't endure it any longer and finally became passionate.
After the night, Zheng Yi even had the palace maids change the bed sheets twice.
Zheng Yi smiled and said, "Beloved consort, stay and serve in Baiyu City for the next few days, return to the palace and bring all your belongings here first."
"Understood!"
Liu Cheng'en's eyes flickered and he said, "This servant will send someone to attend to it right away."
"Oh, Your Majesty, there have been some rumors in the court these past few days, I wonder..."
"Oh? What rumors?"
"Some Imperial Censors have submitted memorials accusing Your Majesty of being indulged in beauty and neglecting state affairs..."
"Heh~"
Zheng Yi sneered, "With the Cabinet and you all in the court, just because I have favored a few consorts, they make a fuss, what use are you then?"
"Make them quiet down."
Liu Cheng'en's mind finally settled, "Understood!"
"Oh right, Your Majesty, there is another matter the Cabinet wishes to discuss with you."
Zheng Yi frowned and asked, "What is it?"
"Currently, Grand General Xu has reclaimed Bingzhou, General Cui Xiawu has reclaimed Shuzhou, General Meng Guang has reclaimed most of Jinggzhou, General Guanshan has reclaimed Yunzhou and most of Yuezhou, so officials should be dispatched to manage these regions."
Liu Cheng'en bowed and said, "How should we arrange the officials for these reclaimed territories?"
Zheng Yi said, "Arrange the officials for the reclaimed territories?"
"Let the Cabinet arrange it, submit the list to me first once it's ready."
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
"Oh, how is Grand General Xu's situation?"
"Everything is normal."
Liu Cheng'en said, "Grand General Xu has already led the army into Haizhou, the troops aim straight towards Yuanhe Mountain!"
"Yuanhe Mountain?"
Zheng Yi quickly thought of that sect and frowned, "What about the Wang Family?"
"Ever since the Wang Family was expelled from Tailong City, there has been no news. However, I have instructed the Shadow Guard and Embroidered Uniform Guard to intensify their investigations."
"Hmm, I know, you may leave."
After sending off Liu Cheng'en, Zheng Yi spent some affectionate time with Yang Liuqing, then let her go to rest.
He is now a second-layer Qi Cultivation cultivator, about to break through to the third layer, and his martial arts cultivation is also at the Innate Realm; going a few days without sleep is normal.
But Yang Liuqing is just an ordinary girl, exhausted from the night's labor, she soon fell into a deep sleep.
Zheng Yi then once again interacted with the Yin Yang Treasure Mirror, and lines of words soon reappeared.
[Absorbed Pure Yin Qi, Lifespan +17;]
[Absorbed Pure Yin Qi, Wood Attribute Spirit Root +8;]
[Absorbed Pure Yin Qi, Earth Attribute Spirit Root +2.]
[Absorbed Pure Yin Qi, Acquired Hundred Flowers Body.]
Yang Liuqing not only possesses a spirit root but also has a dual-attribute top-grade spirit root of wood and earth, just like Yue Chan.
The most significant thing is, he actually obtained the Hundred Flowers Body from Yang Liuqing.
Who knows, what effect does this Hundred Flowers Body have?
With a thought, lines of words appeared again on the Yin Yang Treasure Mirror.
[Life Master: Zheng Yi]
[Ability 1: Yin and Yang]
[Ability 2: Illusion Truth]
[Lifespan: 29/5675]
[Spirit Root: Water (Middle Grade 578/1000), Earth (Middle Grade 118/1000), Wood (Middle Grade 15/1000), Gold (Middle Grade 8/100), Fire (Lower Grade 87/100), Wind (Middle Grade 12/1000)]
[Magical Power: 241/10000]
[Constitution: Hundred Flowers Body]
[Overall Strength: Qi Cultivation Second-layer]
[Innate Spiritual Energy Progress (Tier Two): 0/20 (Sealed)]
[Progress of the Three Thousand Worlds (Tier Two: 2/10) (Sealed)]
After so much preparation, the Five Elements Spirit Root is finally complete, with the addition of a wind attribute and the Hundred Flowers Body.
Among them, the attributes of water, earth, wood, and gold, even wind, have reached the middle grade, only fire is still in the lower grade.
There's no help for it, among all cultivators with spirit roots, only Consort Yinn has a fire attribute spirit root.
There's nothing he can do to quickly increase it.
However, for the "Great Five Elements Illusionary World Technique," it is already sufficient.
In the following days, Zheng Yi bestowed favor upon the remaining ten-plus Youwei Palace maidens.
Unfortunately, none of them had spirit roots, only increasing his lifespan by 215 years.
After arranging all mundane matters, Zheng Yi burned incense and bathed, meditated for three days, and once he had calmed his mind to the most peaceful state, he opened the Jade Scroll of the "Great Five Elements Life and Death Scripture."
Cultivation.
Meanwhile, in Haizhou.
Yuanhe Mountain.
Below the mountain, banners fluttered in the wind, horns echoed across the camp, and more than two hundred thousand troops were stationed here, dark clouds pressing down on the city, filled with a sense of impending battle.
This was the imperial army led by Xu Mujun, besieging Yuanhe Mountain!
At this time, atop Yuanhe Mountain, besides the thirty thousand disciples of Yuanhe Mountain, there were also an additional hundred thousand rebel forces from various places in Haizhou, as well as people from other small sects and gangs.
They had long launched a rebellion, ranging over Haizhou, and the imperial army could not let them go.
Thus, they gathered at Yuanhe Mountain with the purpose of resisting the attack of the imperial army.
Inside Yuanhe Hall, dozens of martial artist brawny men were noisily arguing, unable to come to a conclusion.
"What are we waiting for? The ones at the foot of the mountain are nothing but a ragtag bunch. How can ordinary soldiers withstand the charge of our army of martial artists? Let's charge down in one go!"
"No! We can easily crush ordinary county soldiers with our martial power, but those at the foot are led by the Dragon-soaring Army of Xu Mujun!"
"Nonsense Dragon-soaring Army, the real Dragon-soaring is only over twenty thousand strong, the rest are just the so-called new army of the Imperial Court."
"Those new troops are not to be trifled with either…"
Numerous martial artists discussed excitedly, and some were anxious, saying, "The new troops wield new weapons, rumored to be Immortal Treasures!"
"With a range of up to three hundred paces, they are extremely sharp and can even pierce armor."
"And the Red Coat Cannon can shoot iron balls over a thousand zhang away, able to demolish ordinary city walls with a single shot. How could we possibly be their match!"
"Are you afraid?"
"Who's afraid…!"
Everyone was chattering noisy, and Yuan Dazong, the Sect Leader of Yuanhe Mountain, felt a bit of a headache and couldn't help but regret being blinded by the situation and starting the rebellion back then.
Who could have predicted that in less than two or three years, the situation would have changed so rapidly.
First, Xu Xuanwu of Nanyue County was captured, Yunzhou and Yuezhou were suppressed.
The Imperial Court, with the help of Immortals, developed new weapons that proved invincible on the battlefield.
Not only did they successively subdue Bingzhou, Shuzhou, and Jinggzhou, but they also swept through even Haizhou with unstoppable force.
Over a hundred counties were swept clean within half a year.
Across Haizhou, more than half of the rebels were eliminated.
Yuanhe Mountain managed to hold on only by leveraging its formidable terrain.
The remaining rebels had no choice but to ally with Yuanhe Mountain to prepare for a joint resistance.
But…
In terms of whether they can hold, he had no confidence at all.
Could it be that they must hand over all of Yuanhe Mountain's assets, bind themselves as prisoners, just to save their families' lives?
"Gentlemen…"
Just as he was about to suppress the situation, several figures suddenly walked in from outside the hall.
The people around also noticed these uninvited guests, instinctively stopping and sizing them up.
"Hmm?"
Yuan Dazong suddenly stood up and coldly said, "Who are you!"
The ones guarding outside the hall were the elite disciples of Yuanhe Mountain, how could outsiders approach so easily?
The leader was an elder in black, who sneered and said, "Who are we? We're here to help you!"
"Oh?"
Yuanhe Mountain frowned and said, "Who exactly are you, being so secretive, how can we trust you?"
"Also, where are my disciples outside the hall? What have you done to them?"
"Hehehe…mere mortals, how could they resist my Enchanting Soul Technique?"
The elder in black said, "I am from the Wang Family of Bingzhou, here to join hands with you to resist the imperial army."
"The Wang Family?"
"The Wang Family of Bingzhou!"
"Is that not the Wang Family that was exterminated entirely?"
"Not right! Their Tailong City was breached by the imperial army in just three days…"
Hearing the people around talking, the Wang Family elder shouted angrily, "Silence!"
"Ooooo…"
Instantly, a black flag appeared in the elder's hand, he slightly waved it, and immediately over a dozen black shadows flew out from it, letting out a series of ghostly wails, rushing towards the crowd.
"Cultivator!"
"Immortal!"
"Ah…!"
Screams continued to ring out, many martial artists were startled by the scene in front of them, some even fell off their chairs, retreating continuously.
The elder obviously intended just to frighten them, as the ghostly shadows circled the hall once before stopping mid-air, staring fiercely at the people.
The temperature in the entire hall even dropped several degrees.
Only then did the elder say, "Gentlemen, are you willing to hear what this old man has to say?"
Yuan Dazong hurriedly stood up from the main seat, respectfully saying, "Please take the seat, Elder!"
"Hehehe…"
The elder in black casually walked forward and sat down.
The rest of the Wang Family people also lined up on both sides.
"I am Wang Feiyu, the Ancestor of the Wang Family in Bingzhou," the elder in black spoke, "Gentlemen, breaking the imperial army is very simple, all you need to do is assassinate Xu Mujun!"
"Once Xu Mujun is dead, the entire imperial army will collapse without being attacked."
Yuan Dazong hesitated slightly, "Elder, we are aware of this matter too. But Xu Mujun is a strong Innate Realm Martial Artist. Although he lost an arm, he is not someone an ordinary martial artist can besiege."
"Nowadays, combining Yuanhe Mountain and numerous martial artists from Haizhou, we only have two Innate Realm strong fighters, assassinating Xu Mujun is really something that's incredibly difficult!"
"Two Innate Realm martial artists?" Wang Feiyu looked around and said, "Who are they?"
Yuan Dazong said, "Our Yuanhe Mountain has one ancestor, and the other is… Elder Xie Jiuque."
At this moment, a green-clad elder stood up from the crowd and cupped his hands, "I am Xie Jiuque, greetings to Elder Feiyu."
Wang Feiyu glanced at Xie Jiuque, "You, not bad."
"Under my Hundred Ghosts Banner, you were the only one who remained calm."
Xie Jiuque smiled and said, "Elder is here to assist, without any intent to harm, how could I possibly have reason to fear?"
"Hahaha, well said…"
Wang Feiyu added, "My plan is very simple, just need you all to engage in a battle, draw Xu Mujun out, and I'll personally take action to settle Xu Mujun!"
