Chapter 1031: Chapter 275 Unadorned (Added for Alliance Hierarch Jinzhe49!)

In the Shouning Palace.

Empress Qi of Daqi sat upright on her phoenix throne, her gaze lowered in silence, naturally commanding the majesty of all under heaven.

In the echoes of hastening footsteps, the anxious Crown Prince approached with concern, "Mother, what urgent matter called for my presence?"

The palace maidens stood by, eyes downcast and breathing softly, trying their utmost to reduce their presence.

Empress Qi’s gaze fell upon her bowing and earnest son and she asked in a subdued voice, "Are you aware of what happened with He Zhen?"

Jiang Wuhua let out a sigh of relief, then sighed again, "Your son is aware. It is said that He Zhen caused a disturbance in the market by driving recklessly, alarming the citizens, and was apprehended by the Patrol Inspection Bureau."

Empress Qi’s voice, ever dignified, gently added, "Now that you know, refrain from any unnecessary actions."

Jiang Wuhua looked at her expression and cautiously said, "The house slave was careful not to harm anyone, and the impact was not too severe. Even if left unattended, he wouldn’t face harsh punishment. But the cousin... he can’t avoid some suffering."

The Queen only asked, "What were you doing when you learned of this?"

Jiang Wuhua replied somewhat sheepishly, "Your son was cooking for Ning’er."

Crown Princess Consort Song Ning’er was not from a prominent family; she was merely the daughter of a Ministry Councillor. This marriage was personally arranged by Empress Qi years ago, and Jiang Wuhua had always cherished his relationship with the Crown Princess Consort.

Empress Qi said, "You should focus on cooking well."

Jiang Wuhua responded, "This matter is relatively minor. It’s merely a matter of saying hello."

"What about tomorrow?" The Queen’s brows furrowed slightly, already showing signs of anger, "If your uncle’s family truly had any sense, they would not have caused such an incident. Your uncle is arrogant but incompetent, and your cousin is clueless. Each time you intercede for them, you give them more courage. Keep this up and one day, you will not be able to handle it, nor will I!"

Jiang Wuhua lowered his head, "Your son understands."

Empress Qi raised her hand slightly, "Go back now. Your uncle has been troubling the palace for some time, and I have already refused him on your behalf."

Jiang Wuhua respectfully bowed and was about to leave when he paused, "Your son is not ignorant of the implications; it’s just... I fear it would sadden you."

"Wuhua, a mother’s heart can only be hurt by her own children. If you can rest easy, I am impervious to all poisons. If you..."

She did not continue. Only at this moment did a touch of emotion creep into her voice.

But she quickly regained her noble composure—

"Go now."

"Your son takes his leave." 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

Jiang Wuhua showed no emotion, but solemnly bowed once more before departing.

Among all the children of the current Emperor Qi, from any perspective, he was not the most outstanding, nor was he the most loved by Emperor Qi.

But he was certainly the one least likely to make a mistake.

...

...

In the Taixu Illusion Realm, the matched battles grew tougher the higher the rank.

There was not a single weakling among those who could fight to this point.

Moreover, to make it into the top ten of the Inner Mansion Realm, one had, at the very least, gained a reputation as a Six Harmonies Cultivator during their time in the Ascending Dragon Realm. Knowing the benefits of such a reputation, none would fail to strive their hardest.

Yet Jiang Wang steadily climbed higher.

The series of fierce battles in the Lost World had made him very accustomed to these sudden confrontations. Undeniably, if death here were real, he could have climbed the ranks even faster.

After five exhilarating battles, that lofty voice finally sounded—

"[Advanced, ranked fifth in the Inner Mansion Realm.]"

"[Earned the title: Taixu Five Elements Cultivator.]"

This was the first time he had achieved this title, so he was rewarded with one thousand Cultivation points and one thousand Dao points.

Maintaining this title, in the middle of each month, he would be rewarded with one hundred Cultivation points and one hundred Dao points.

During the period he held this title, the effects of the Daoist Platform increased by one layer.

The Taixu Illusion Realm was quite stingy with rewards in Cultivation and Dao points, encouraging cultivators to engage heavily in combat and invest in deriving a large number of Cultivation Techniques and secret techniques.

This was normal, for the Taixu Illusion Realm itself also grew through countless collisions of inspiration.

For Jiang Wang, "Dao" points were harder to come by than "Cultivation" points because he had initially received an inheritance from Zuo Guanglie which provided him with a fixed "Cultivation" income every month.

And in the matched bouts at the Discussion Platform, he won more than he lost, routinely reaping a good number of "Cultivation" points.

For some other cultivators, however, this might not be the case.

For instance, some Noble Sons of mediocre talent but excellent background could easily contribute a large batch of Cultivation Techniques and secret techniques to the Daoist Platform, thereby acquiring a large amount of "Dao" points.

Relatively speaking, cultivators who possessed both battle talent and the gift for creating Dao Techniques were most favored by the current rules of the Taixu Illusion Realm, as they could navigate this world more like a fish in water.

Jiang Wang currently had accumulated six thousand three hundred Cultivation points and twenty-four thousand four hundred Dao points.

Upgrading from the third-level Daoist Platform to the fourth required one hundred thousand points in Dao. However, due to inheriting the keys of the month from Zuo Guanglie, Jiang Wang only needed thirty thousand points to unlock the fourth-level Daoist Platform.

Still short by five thousand six hundred Dao points... the road ahead was long.

Currently, the only ways to acquire Dao points were by earning titles and contributing Cultivation Techniques and secret techniques to the Daoist Platform.

Given the resources he currently possessed, it was difficult to quickly unlock the fourth-level Daoist Platform.

He didn’t rush to derive a Dao Technique adapted to the third Inner Mansion, but rather, he first tried to compete for the first Inner Mansion’s title in Taixu, which would add another layer to the Daoist Platform’s effects. If it proved too difficult, he would then focus on strengthening himself first.

However, there was a problem before him—

All things considered, the rewards for the title of Taixu Five Elements Cultivator were not disappointing, yet they hadn’t exceeded expectations either.

Why then had Xu Zefu from the Taixu Sect specifically reminded him to earn the title of Taixu Five Elements Cultivator as soon as possible? Was it merely a simple expectation?

If it was just about the rewards in Cultivation and Dao points, and the fixed enhancement effects of the Daoist Platform, why the urgency?

As Jiang Wang pondered this, or perhaps because the situation itself required some time to react, that lofty voice once again resonated—

"[The Envoy of Taixu has earned the title of Taixu Five Elements Cultivator and gained the eligibility to enter Hongmeng Space.]"

Hongmeng Space?!

Wasn’t it supposed to open up after some time?

While he was still in confusion, the blessed land he was in had already subtly changed.

To this day, Jiang Wang didn’t understand what the blessed land truly meant.

From Dongzhen Ruins, he had slid down to being ranked forty-third at Chicken Cage Mountain, and apart from the monthly decrease in Cultivation generation, he hadn’t noticed any other differences.

All along, there was only a small space that somewhat resembled the Mirror World entered through the Red Mirror when physically present.

Only the Daoist Platform, Discussion Platform, and the Sundial illusion, these three things, could explain the difference.

Now, apart from these usual three, a fourth item had appeared—

It was an ancient and massive stone door.