Chapter 296 - 129: Gu Xiangzhu: I Gambled My Youth on You, but You’re Going to Make Me Lose?

Chapter 296: Chapter 129: Gu Xiangzhu: I Gambled My Youth on You, but You’re Going to Make Me Lose?

Xiang Shui, Zhao Jin.

These were essential.

Zhao Ci also believed this was his optimal configuration.

"It’s just..."

He rubbed the bridge of his nose. "If I cultivate this way, my father the Emperor will definitely make me cultivate Kidney Water first. In that case..."

This was what he feared.

As long as his Kidney Water Divine Treasure remained unformed, he had room to maneuver.

But if the Divine Pattern had already condensed, that old lunatic, Old Deng, would really try to dig out his Waizi at any moment.

Gu Xiangzhu asked with a smile, "Do you have a way to deal with that?"

"I do, sort of..."

Helpless, Zhao Ci circulated his True Qi, gathering it in the area of his liver and gallbladder.

Immediately.

Streams of cyan-green energy flowed between his liver and gallbladder.

"Wood Marrow!"

Gu Xiangzhu exclaimed in surprise. Although this wasn’t rare—it was just a benchmark the great clans used to gauge if someone could become an elite in the future, and many had awakened it.

But even if it was awakened, there should be some logic to it!

It was mostly inherited from one’s parents, but no one in the Zhao Clan or the Xiang Clan specialized in the Liver Wood Divine Treasure, right?

’Is this Xiang Xiaoling’s doing again?’

’How bizarre!’

She composed herself. "If one has Marrow, one cultivates Marrow. Talent determines cultivation potential. This Wood Marrow is indeed enough to persuade him to let you cultivate the Wood element first."

Zhao Ci rubbed the bridge of his nose. "But you can only have two specializations, a primary and a secondary. If I force myself to cultivate Wood, I’ll have to give up either Metal or Water, which would be bad for my future. Moreover, even if I had to choose, Father Emperor would never allow my third Divine Treasure to be anything other than Kidney Water.

The danger would only be delayed for a while.

Is it worth betting my cultivation ceiling for that bit of time?"

"That’s simple!"

Gu Xiangzhu gave a faint smile. "Don’t bother with primary or secondary. Just make all Five Elements your primary focus. Drag out your training in Wood and Water, and cultivate the others in secret."

Zhao Ci’s mouth twitched. "That sounds like it would lower my ceiling even more."

He had heard of people who tried to master all Five Elements, but their fates were rarely good.

In most cases, the optimal solution was still to use the generative cycle of the Five Elements to supply two of them.

Cultivating all Five Elements simultaneously would definitely encroach on the space for one’s primary Divine Treasures.

"Don’t worry!"

Gu Xiangzhu smiled faintly. "Our sect has a treasure that can expand your Five Elements Divine Treasure to the point where you can master them all. The thing is, I don’t have complete control over this treasure, and it won’t be easy to seize it for you. But rest assured, I will try."

"Really?"

Zhao Ci’s eyes lit up, his head swimming with the bliss of being a kept man.

’Little Auntie.’

’You’re too amazing!’

’You’re just going to stuff every benefit into my mouth, aren’t you?’

Gu Xiangzhu pinched his chin and said with a smile, "Of course it’s true. Whatever your big sister has, I’ll give it to you."

’Since I already have him in my grasp.’

’I might as well go all-in with every chip I have!’

’Gamble!’

’And I’m going to bet big.’

’If I win, my position in both the Court and the Demon Sect will take a quantum leap.’

’If I lose, then we’ll all go down together!’

’Over in the Demon Sect, they all treat me like an outsider, every single one of them scheming to welcome back that paranoid Demon Monarch.’

’And here in the Court, Zhao Huan imposes all sorts of insidious restrictions on me.’

’This suffocating frustration...’

’Whoever wants to put up with it can go right ahead!’

’As long as I keep a firm grip on this little boy and wait for him to mature, not even the Demon Monarch will be able to control me.’

’As long as...’

’...I have him firmly in my grasp.’

[Gu Xiangzhu’s Current Wish]: Must hold onto Zhao Ci with a death grip. Wish Fulfillment Reward: Enlightenment +1000, Death Grip Talisman x1.

Zhao Ci felt a little intimidated by her possessive gaze.

He couldn’t help but ask, "My dear sister, why are you looking at me like that?"

Gu Xiangzhu gave him a teasing, ambiguous smile. "Big sister has given you everything. You can’t let me lose, you hear?"

"Never!"

Zhao Ci said, his voice firm as steel.

Gu Xiangzhu gave him a deep look, pushed him against the wall, and stood on her tiptoes to give him a light kiss. "Big sister has to go now!"

"Ah? You’re not going to lull me to sleep tonight?"

"You need to focus on your cultivation tonight. The Pattern Condensation Chapter of the Emperor’s Extreme Body Refining Technique is the hardest to comprehend. You have to..."

"I’ve already comprehended it completely!"

"..."

Gu Xiangzhu was at a loss for words and quickly changed her tune. "Comprehension is one thing, practice is another. ’What’s learned from books is superficial, true knowledge comes from practice.’ You mustn’t get careless. You have to at least complete one full, perfect cycle before you can claim to have truly comprehended it."

"Alright then!"

Zhao Ci nodded. "After I reach the Harmony Realm tonight, I’ll come find you tomorrow evening."

"...You’re not leaving tomorrow?"

"I’m staying to be with you tomorrow!"

"..."

’This young man is too clingy,’ Gu Xiangzhu thought, a little flustered. ’I’ll have to be careful to control the distance between us from now on.’

’I’m almost at my limit.’

’I really don’t have much room left to retreat.’

She shook her head and vanished into a wisp of green smoke.

Zhao Ci smacked his lips, closing his eyes to recall the sensation of her kiss.

’Like a Xue Meiniang.’

’No.’

’I have to find a way to take things a step further.’

...

A wisp of green smoke drifted back to Wangshu Palace.

Gu Xiangzhu took a long moment to compose herself before she finally calmed down.

Just then, a beam of moonlight shone out from the mirror, coalescing into the form of the Moon in the Mirror.

"Lady Yue, what did you find?"

"Reporting to the Saintess!"

The Moon in the Mirror handed a list to Gu Xiangzhu, her expression grave. "It’s been confirmed. Huangfu Song’s men are monitoring the young officials in Lingge. This list contains the names of the officials who are likely under surveillance."

"Oh?"

Gu Xiangzhu’s eyes flickered. "Then what do these names marked in red mean?"

The Moon in the Mirror took a deep breath. "These are all the people who succeeded in this year’s Prefecture Examination!"

Gu Xiangzhu’s expression immediately turned grim. "This..."

The Moon in the Mirror couldn’t help but say, "Saintess! Do you think it could be that the Saint Monarch suffered a severe blow to his soul and is continuing to use the Divine Souls of these young officials to recuperate? They’re all young and the best of their generation. Their Divine Souls are pure and of high quality, making them perfect restorative supplements."

"Furthermore, they’re only Civilian Mansion Officials. Although their deaths would draw scrutiny from the Court and the Imperial Clan Court, the major clans wouldn’t have a strong reaction."