"Eat! If you don't, I'll shove it down your throat with a stick!"
Jiang Ziya wanted to cry but had no tears. He suddenly felt as though he had boarded a pirate ship.
Tongtian clutched his chest in distress, his eyes reddening. "My Sesame Grass... my Sesame Grass..."
Hong Lie drooled greedily, while Do Bao watched longingly as well.
But Wang Yuan was delighted!
"Yes! Do it like that! Make him cultivate."
Hearing Wang Yuan say so, Hu Jiu Mei immediately treated it like an imperial decree. She pinned Jiang Ziya down and stuffed it into his mouth.
"Listen carefully, Jiang Ziya. If you don't finish this today, I'll beat you to death!"
After saying that, the three of them each took out a vine whip. They had borrowed them from Wang Yuan; they hurt terribly when used on people, but did not harm the body.
Jiang Ziya ate with tears in his eyes until his belly was swollen, but in the end, he could not eat another bite.
Smack!
"Ow!"
Smack!
Jiang Ziya writhed all over the ground in pain, crying out without end.
"Oh, right. Change your cultivation technique. I think you should cultivate under your auntie."
How could Jiang Ziya dare refuse?
He was either going to be stuffed to death or beaten to death. When one stood beneath a low roof, how could one avoid bowing one's head?
However, Jiang Ziya discovered that after changing cultivation techniques, his cultivation speed had indeed become much faster.
Only... why was there a faint trace of Demon Qi around him?
Pipa grabbed a handful of melon seeds and squatted beneath a tree with Zhi Zhi, chatting. "Since the creation of the world, is he the first human to cultivate demon arts?"
"Maybe... Besides, didn't that expert say that as long as we make him immortal, we can toss him around however we like? And Jiang Ziya is cultivating Big Sister's secret Xuanyuan Tomb lineage technique, the Mount Tu Clan's Nv Jiao Niangniang Technique. This is really letting Jiang Ziya off easy."
"That makes sense!"
Hu Jiu Mei instructed Jiang Ziya with extreme harshness. Back when Jiang Ziya was on the mountain, although everyone had patiently taught him, they had generally been rather friendly toward him. It was not because the Clarification Sect was particularly kind-hearted.
Rather, everyone knew that Jiang Ziya was the one destined for the Investiture of the Gods. If they treated him better, perhaps he might prove useful someday.
But things were different here. Da Ji had been ordered by Wang Yuan to teach Jiang Ziya. If she did not teach him well, would she not be punished?
"Hurry up! Train! If you don't complete one hundred Greater Circulations today, you'll get one hundred lashes!"
Da Ji stood beside Jiang Ziya with a vine whip in hand, glaring at him menacingly.
Jiang Ziya felt a chill run down his back and hurriedly began cultivating.
The Demon Race's cultivation techniques were already domineering, and this was a Mount Tu Clan technique, making it even more formidable.
But the Demon Race was different in some ways as well. Their meridians were generally thicker. When this was applied to a member of the Human Race, it became miserable. Every time Jiang Ziya circulated his energy, he felt unbearable pain in his meridians, yet he did not dare stop.
Through constant tempering, Jiang Ziya's meridians grew thicker and thicker. The golden Golden Core within his body gradually began to acquire strands of black qi swirling around it.
"Eh? Why has Jiang Ziya become different?"
Wang Yuan curiously watched Jiang Ziya, whose Demon Qi soared to the heavens. Though he did not know the art of observing qi, he had already entered the threshold of the Laws of Nature, so he could naturally sense Jiang Ziya's changes.
He had originally seemed somewhat ethereal, but now Jiang Ziya possessed a wildness that blended into nature, like some kind of... animal.
"Eh, what exactly did Hu Jiu Mei and the others do? Still, he looks much stronger."
Wang Yuan could sense it too. Jiang Ziya's aura had grown considerably stronger.
Tongtian watched Hu Jiu Mei and the others recklessly fool around, the corner of his mouth twitching. Then he suddenly thought of something. Yuanshi Tianzun hated the Demon Race most of all. What expression would he wear if he found out Jiang Ziya had turned into something neither human nor demon?
The more Tongtian thought about it, the more excited he became. He eagerly anticipated the day Yuanshi Tianzun saw Jiang Ziya like this.
Smack!
"Ow... Uncle... why did you hit me again?"
Tongtian held the back of his head and looked at Wang Yuan aggrievedly. Lately, Uncle had taken to ambushing him. Tongtian had also discovered something: as a Sage, his spiritual sense was keen. Even though he could not use magic power within the Immortal Mountain, his spiritual sense had not changed.
Originally, he could still detect Wang Yuan approaching him, but now...
Uncle truly was Uncle!
He had been letting me off all along.
"Oh, right, I thought of something. Zhou Wang is a decent fellow. We shouldn't just let him lose his kingdom like this. His mortal enemy is Ji Chang of Western Qi. If there's a chance, we should find a way to imprison him... Ah, right, weren't those two heroines in the harem last time? Let them figure something out. By the way, how is their relationship with Zhou Wang?"
The moment Wang Yuan thought of Zhu Wushuang and Xiang Wuchen's figures, he could not help shuddering.
"Very good, very good! Zhou Wang treats them well and seems to dote on them greatly."
"Indeed, they are no ordinary people."
Wang Yuan was deeply impressed.
"Uncle, then I'll go tell them!" It was no secret that Western Qi would produce a holy ruler, but this was also what the Jie Sect and Clarification Sect were fighting over. The Jie Sect, which sought a sliver of vitality, believed the Heavenly Dao's ordained number might not leave no room at all, and thus wanted to remain in Great Shang to contend for it, though they also knew it would be difficult.
But Tongtian no longer saw it that way. Uncle stood on Zhou Wang's side. Western Qi? Go screw yourselves, you three grandsons!
"When you go out, leave quietly, understand? Remember, rigidity breaks easily. You must not learn from that Primordial World's number one two hundred and fifty, Tongtian... But being too unyielding won't do either. When it's time to be sneaky, be sneaky!"
Tongtian: ...
"Yes, Uncle..."
Tongtian left the Immortal Mountain and concealed his aura. Wang Yuan had provoked him like this every day; if he remained as headstrong as before, then he truly would be brainless.
After arriving in Chaoge, Tongtian did not charge straight into the imperial palace. Instead, he went to Wen Zhong's Grand Tutor's Residence.
"Greetings, Sect Leader! I did not know you were coming and failed to build a humble cottage to receive you... I hope you will not blame me."
Tongtian waved his hand. "I have something to tell you. Find a way to let your two senior sisters, Zhu and Xiang, know when the time comes."
Wen Zhong hurriedly agreed.
Tongtian left in satisfaction. Once he was gone, Wen Zhong headed to the imperial palace. Because of his special status as the emperor's tutor, he had the opportunity to request an audience with Zhu Wushuang and Xiang Wuchen.
"Junior Brother, why have you come?"
Only after bowing did Wen Zhong say, "The Sect Leader asked me to inform the two Senior Sisters..."
He then explained everything concerning Ji Chang, the holy ruler destined to arise from Western Qi.
Zhu Wushuang and Xiang Wuchen nodded. "Please reassure the Sect Leader. We understand this matter!"
A trace of killing intent flickered in their eyes. Ji Chang? Hmph, obstructing our Jie Sect.
As disciples of the Jie Sect, especially after being entrusted with such important duties, the two women knew many things. They understood that this was a conflict between the two sects.
While Zhu Wushuang and Xiang Wuchen discussed this matter, trouble arose on Da Ji's side.
After Da Ji entered the palace, Empress Jiang had not seen Zhou Wang even once. Jealousy arose in her heart. "That Da Ji! She actually monopolizes Zhou Wang! How hateful!"
As the daughter of Marquis Jiang Hengchu of the East, Empress Jiang had great ambitions for power. The four great marquises each harbored their own selfish motives, maintaining vast armies under the pretext of guarding the borders, though they had long possessed disloyal intentions. They were merely intimidated by Chaoge's current strength.
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