"Taiyi Dry Dragon Bow?"
Chen Xiao's mind stirred. He seemed to have heard the bow's name somewhere before, but for the moment, he couldn't remember where.
However, the aura emanating from the Taiyi Dry Dragon Bow made Chen Xiao feel refreshed from head to toe. The wood-attributed immortal spirit energy slowly melded into his innate Immortal Spirit Root, without the slightest hint of rejection.
Chen Xiao's true essence also flowed into the bow, slowly refining its core.
Even so, Chen Xiao still couldn't tell what grade of immortal artifact the bow was. The main reason was that his cultivation was too low to fully control it.
Still, if Chen Xiao exhausted every last bit of his true essence, he could just barely use the bow. That was because he cultivated the Nine Heavens Thunder Virtue Universal Transformation Art, and his true essence far surpassed that of Golden Core Realm cultivators of the same level, coming close to that of those in the Nascent Soul Realm.
For now, the immortal artifact simply rested in Chen Xiao's dantian, releasing its immortal spirit energy to slowly nourish his body and subtly strengthen his aptitude.
That was another major function of an immortal artifact. But at present, that was all the Taiyi Dry Dragon Bow could do for Chen Xiao. If he tried to use it against an enemy, he could only wield it like a club. Still, an enemy would probably laugh themselves to death if he tried to beat them with an immortal bow.
It took Chen Xiao a full half month to refine the Taiyi Dry Dragon Bow. Although he couldn't use it yet, it was at least a trump card. After all, that High Immortal had silently given him the bow without exposing his identity, clearly approving of Chen Xiao's act of playing the fool while hiding his true strength.
When Chen Xiao emerged from seclusion, nothing was out of order at the City Lord's Mansion. Everything was running smoothly.
Meanwhile, the other branches of the Chen Clan in Moon-Gazing City had begun merging into the City Lord's Mansion, following its lead in all things.
The Chen Clan had originally been a medium-sized native family of Moon-Gazing City. It only gradually rose to prominence three hundred years ago, after Chen Fengyang burst onto the scene. Before then, Chen Fengyang's branch hadn't even been one of the family's main branches.
In other words, besides the Chen Clan that belonged to the city lord's household, there was another Chen clan in Moon-Gazing City. Though both were part of the same family, they did not share the same lineage.
Over the past three hundred years, however, the Chen Clan had also risen to prominence in Moon-Gazing City on the strength of the City Lord's Mansion, becoming one of the city's great families. Neither Chen Fengyang nor Chen Tiannan was the sort to forget their roots. Though their branch ruled Moon-Gazing City, they still considered themselves members of the Chen Clan. Over time, the City Lord's Mansion and the Chen Clan had become indistinguishable from each other.
Of course, the Chen Clan had originally remained the Chen Clan, while the City Lord's Mansion had always remained the City Lord's Mansion.
Now, after Chen Fengyang received the City-Suppressing Seal, the Chen Clan in Moon-Gazing City had fully merged into the City Lord's Mansion, following Chen Fengyang's branch in all things. After all, with Chen Fengyang in power, his descendants were the city's direct-line nobility.
The mines in the vein outside the city, on Mingyu Mountain, had now become private property of the City Lord's Mansion. However, to unite Moon-Gazing City, Chen Fengyang and Chen Tiannan hadn't reclaimed some of the mines there. As long as the Spirit Vein remained, the mines would keep producing endlessly.
Chen Tiannan, who had once found it somewhat difficult to manage Moon-Gazing City, now had things easy.
Chen Fengyang was the lord of Moon-Gazing City, while Chen Tiannan continued to serve as its city lord and Chen Fengyang's representative. After all, they were father and son.
A few days later, the Glazed Heaven Palace sent another round of rewards, much to everyone's surprise.
A True Immortal led the group, accompanied by three Mahayana Realm cultivators and more than a dozen Tribulation Transcendence Realm cultivators.
"Chen Fengyang of Moon-Gazing City, come forth and receive the decree!"
The black-robed True Immortal held his nose high and said nothing. A cultivator in the late Mahayana Realm stood in midair and shouted toward the City Lord's Mansion.
Everyone in the City Lord's Mansion froze. Hadn't the Glazed Heaven Palace sent a High Immortal to deliver rewards half a month ago? Why had another group arrived?
No one could make heads or tails of it.
Their clothes and attire clearly marked them as officials under the Glazed Heaven Palace. Everyone knew that.
But the cultivators in the city could tell that this group had a worse attitude than the High Immortal who'd come last time. Though that High Immortal had been lofty and surrounded by immortal light that obscured his features, he had bestowed blessings upon every cultivator in the city with a single beam of immortal light. The cultivators of Moon-Gazing City had come away with an excellent impression of the High Immortal of the Glazed Heaven Palace.
This group, however, was different. More than a dozen of them came in a grand procession, swaggering and domineering, their spiritual pressure bearing down on everyone around them without restraint. Those with low cultivation nearby were crushed straight to the ground.
"Chen Tiannan, city lord of Moon-Gazing City, pays his respects to the honored envoys."
Chen Tiannan hurried out of the residence and bowed to the Glazed Heaven Palace envoys in the sky.
"Chen Tiannan? City lord of Moon-Gazing City? Hmph." The late-stage Mahayana cultivator sneered disdainfully. "Tell Chen Fengyang and that boy from the Chen Clan who awakened an Immortal Spirit Root to come out."
At those words, Chen Fengyang's heart stirred. He sensed that something was wrong. Last time, a High Immortal had come to deliver rewards, but had only handed the City-Suppressing Seal to Chen Fengyang and said nothing else. Later, Chen Fengyang had learned from Chen Xiao that the High Immortal had silently given Chen Xiao an immortal artifact without exposing his identity, clearly intending for him to keep lying low.
But now these people were demanding that both Chen Fengyang, who was refining the City-Suppressing Seal, and Chen Xiao come out?
Chen Fengyang didn't want Chen Xiao exposed to everyone's attention. It would be extremely dangerous for him.
"Honored envoy, my father is currently in seclusion, refining Moon-Gazing City's City-Suppressing Seal. He is unable to meet you at present."
Though Chen Fengyang kept his head lowered, his tone was neither servile nor overbearing.
"What?" The black-robed True Immortal was visibly startled. "Refining Moon-Gazing City's City-Suppressing Seal? How did he obtain it?"
The black-haired, long-bearded True Immortal's usually calm face now showed a flicker of emotion.
The City-Suppressing Seals for the cities of the Glazed Heaven were all kept in the Glazed Heaven. Only those who had made great contributions to the Glazed Heaven could receive one. Even if someone in the Chen Clan had awakened an Immortal Spirit Root and possessed the potential to become a Golden Immortal, they still had absolutely no right to own a City-Suppressing Seal at present.
An Immortal Spirit Root that had yet to mature was only a promise of what might be. Only after someone truly became a Golden Immortal would they be qualified to represent the whole.
Several days ago, they had received instructions from the Glazed Heaven Palace to reward the Chen Clan of Moon-Gazing City. They hadn't expected the Chen Clan to have already obtained Moon-Gazing City's City-Suppressing Seal.
But the True Immortal knew that Chen Tiannan wouldn't dare deceive him.
"Honored envoy, half a month ago, a High Immortal from the Glazed Heaven Palace personally descended and bestowed Moon-Gazing City's City-Suppressing Seal upon my father."
Chen Tiannan raised his head and met the True Immortal's gaze.