Cultivating for a hundred lifetimes to ascension Chapter 1367: 735: Competing for Favor and Xuan Jing’s Current Situation (Part 2)

At that precise moment, two ladies adorned in palace robes entered through the doorway. Their eyes immediately locked onto the Ten-thousand-year-old Five-Colored Ganoderma resting on the floor.

“Sister, look! What is that thing?”

A melodic, enchanting voice drifted into Peng Jian’s ears, making her heart throb with sudden panic.

Scrambling up from the ground, she grabbed the Jade Box with haste and lunged toward the Lingzhi, desperate to recover it and secure it within the container as quickly as possible.

Before she could reach it, however, the Ten-thousand-year-old Five-Colored Ganoderma lifted into the air. It flew straight into the palm of the breathtakingly beautiful woman in palace attire.

Ren Yinfu’s eyes shone with excitement as she presented the Five-Colored Ganoderma to her elder sister, Ren Jinzi. With an ingratiating tone, she said, “Sister, look, this is a Five-colored Treasure Ganoderma that’s over a thousand years old! It couldn’t be better used for nurturing pregnancy.”

Witnessing this, Peng Jian had no choice but to move forward. Stifling her inner dread, she pleaded, “Noble Lady Ren, this belongs to Her Majesty. Please return it to the servant quickly.”

Ren Yinfu ignored the request entirely, continuing to offer the Ten-thousand-year-old Five-Colored Ganoderma to her sister, her face full of the desire to please.

“Yinfu, stop being petty! Quickly return the Lingzhi!” Ren Jinzi commanded, her brow furrowed as she sternly scolded her younger sibling.

While the younger Ren Yinfu could get away with being willfully ‘unreasonable’, Ren Jinzi, as the elder, was obligated to maintain ‘propriety’ to ensure outsiders did not look down upon them.

“Alright! It’s as if anyone really values this thing. The master has rewarded a pile of treasures before, far more valuable than this, humph!”

Losing interest, Ren Yinfu carelessly tossed the Treasure Ganoderma back at Peng Jian, grumbling defiantly under her breath.

From her high seat on the Jade Couch, Kang Min had observed the entire scene at the entrance. Her expression suddenly softened, and with a radiant, flowery smile, she called out, “So it is the two sisters who have arrived! Come in quickly, so I can have a good look at you both.”

Following this, Kang Min turned her gaze toward Peng Jian and gave a sharp instruction: “Peng Jian, you come over too.”

The sisters of the Ren Family traded a look before walking toward the Jade Couch.

As they approached, two handmaidens brought out two Jade Couches, arranging them on either side of the room.

After the usual exchange of polite greetings and trivialities, the Ren sisters took their respective seats.

At that moment, Kang Min cast a casual look at Peng Jian.

Sensing the unspoken command, Peng Jian immediately walked to her mistress’s side, still clutching the Jade Box with a firm grip.

Without offering any explanation, Kang Min decisively ordered, “The senseless thing, hurry and deliver the Jade Box over!”

“Yes, Your Majesty!” Peng Jian answered clearly and turned at once toward Ren Jinzi.

Kang Min then chuckled and remarked, “My sister has been pregnant for ten months and is currently in need of treasure medicine to nourish her body. It so happens that someone below has honored us with a Ten-thousand-year-old Five-Colored Ganoderma. I might as well pass on this medicine to my sister. It will help you replenish your Primordial Qi and nurture your pregnancy at ease.”

“This… how could I! This medicine is so precious, how dare I accept it, sister must take it back!” Ren Jinzi protested repeatedly, her face a mix of being flattered and shocked.

“It’s merely a Spiritual Medicine; how can it compare to the deep bonds between sisters? Besides, my sister is already carrying the master’s child. No matter how precious the Spiritual Medicine is, it cannot be more important than the master’s child. My sister, don’t refuse any longer, quickly accept it, or else I will be upset.”

“This this… oh well! How can my sister refuse such sincere intentions from you. Thank you for the medicine, sister!” Ren Jinzi finally accepted the gift with apparent reluctance.

Peng Jian set the Jade Box down beside the Jade Couch, then bowed and retreated to stand silently by her mistress.

Across the room, Ren Yinfu watched the exchange with a look of disdain, seemingly unable to stomach the superficial pleasantries between the two.

In truth, despite Zhao Sheng’s efforts over a century, the presence of numerous harem beauties, and the use of endless treasure medicines and miracle pills, only Ren Jinzi had managed to conceive.

It had been ten full months since Ren Jinzi’s pregnancy was first confirmed.

Nevertheless, her stomach remained flat, showing no outward signs of her condition.

Zhao Sheng had once performed a personal investigation, discovering that the unborn child required three whole years within the mother’s womb before birth could occur.

The immense difficulty high-level Cultivators faced in producing offspring was made evident by this situation.

Ever since the pregnancy was announced, the Ren sisters’ standing within the Zhao Family had surged dramatically.

Even several Divinity Transformation Ancestors viewed the matter with great gravity, sending a constant stream of rare treasures, as they considered Ren Jinzi’s child to be the future of the Divine Artisan Zhao Clan.

Because of this child, the bond between the Divine Artisan Zhao Clan and the Ancestor had become incredibly tight, replacing the somewhat ‘distant’ relationship they had previously maintained.

An hour passed before Kang Min, appearing cheerful, watched the Ren sisters depart from her chambers.

The moment the two women vanished beyond the palace gates, Kang Min’s face twisted into a grim mask of fury. A freezing aura emanated from her as she sat as motionless as a statue.

After a long silence, Peng Jian could no longer contain her anxiety and spoke softly, “Your Majesty—”

“Get out!” Kang Min screamed suddenly, her voice high-pitched and bordering on the hysterical.

Terrified to her core, Peng Jian did not dare to say another word. She fled the palace immediately, followed closely by the other maids who were desperate to escape their mistress’s brewing rage.

…

The subtle and overt power struggles of the harem did nothing to dampen Zhao Sheng’s spirits.

Deep within a Spiritual Vein Cave, located a thousand miles beneath the Wolong Mountain Range, Zhao Sheng sat in a cross-legged position above a spring eye. A milky white Jade Scroll was held in his hand, and a smile played on his lips.

Below him stretched a Jade Pond of roughly ten acres. The water shimmered like Jade Liquid, radiating a vibrant, magnificent glow. It was so dense it had nearly transformed into liquid Mystic Crystal Origin Qi.

The ‘spring eye’ situated at the pond's center connected straight to the Dark Sky. It worked tirelessly to absorb Void Realm Source Qi, which then bubbled up from the depths into the pond water.

While this ‘spring eye’ shared similarities with the ‘Void Abyss Well’ of the Beihai Daoist School, its craftsmanship was far superior.

Zhao Sheng had spent several decades in secluded meditation researching the ‘Jade Void Spring Eye’ beneath him, yet he had only achieved a surface-level understanding. Its true essence remained beyond his reach.

One could only conclude that the ‘Jade Void Spring Eye’ was a natural wonder, yet its internal Array Dao and Artifact Dao mechanisms far exceeded Zhao Sheng’s own capabilities.

He eventually learned that the ‘Jade Void Spring Eye’ was a personal creation of Zhao Xuanjing, a figure famous throughout the Ten Thousand Peak Spirit Domain.

Zhao Xuanjing had long been celebrated as a ‘Divine Artisan’, and this Jade Void Spring Eye was undoubtedly one of his greatest masterpieces.

It was only logical that Zhao Sheng could not fully grasp its complexities.

As he considered the current unfortunate circumstances of Zhao Xuanjing, the smile on Zhao Sheng’s face slowly faded. His brow furrowed slightly, and he let out a soft, quiet sigh.