Whose Empress Dowager Isn't a Baby?

Thousand-Faced Fox, a three-thousand-year-old fox demon, roamed about possessing other beautiful women in search of opportunities. Perhaps to ascend to immortality, perhaps for some other reason...

Jiang Chen had happened to use the matter of opportunities to intimidate her, and a slight ambiguity had developed between them.

Cooperating with her in dual cultivation was not very dangerous, and she could provide him with enough demon qi.

This had already been proven many times.

But the Empress Dowager... wasn't she a little too old?

After all, the old emperor was already quite advanced in age.

Although Jiang Chen had heard that the emperor had been very young before reclaiming imperial power, and had only aged from toiling day and night after ascending the throne.

But the Empress Dowager was the old emperor's mother. How could a young man in his twenties like Jiang Chen bring himself to do it?

Jiang Chen hurriedly rewound the plot to when Old General Chen entered the palace to deliver the Merfolk Woman. He then enlarged the map, shifted his gaze, found the Peaceful Palace where the Empress Dowager lived, and entered her bedchamber...

The Empress Dowager was asleep.

Her voluptuous, alluring body lay on its side, while her exquisitely beautiful face showed a hint of weariness...

It really was you!

Jiang Chen reconsidered. In the cultivation world, age did not seem to carry much meaning.

The previous emperor had died early, and the Empress Dowager was a cultivator. There should still be plenty left in her tank.

The beautiful mature woman in the Butterfly Effect image looked somewhat aged, but she had maintained herself exceptionally well. She looked to be only around forty, and with her delicate features and regal elegance...

Jiang Chen felt that it was not impossible to give it a shot.

Come to think of it, Liu Ruyan was over a hundred years old too, yet wasn't she still as lovely as a young maiden?

In one unchosen ending of the main storyline, Jiang Chen had dual-cultivated with Senior Sister Liu's body and Thousand-Faced Fox's spiritual power, reaching Qi Refining in one fell swoop.

So be it, the Empress Dowager it was. For the great cause of cultivation, making a reluctant sacrifice was nothing.

Perhaps the Empress Dowager was still a virgin. Who wasn't a baby once?

Jiang Chen had read bizarre novels in his previous life where the Empress Dowager was still a virgin. He had thought they were absurd at the time, but now he hoped the fake could become real!

With Thousand-Faced Fox's illusion arts, passing the fake off as real would be effortless.

Jiang Chen kept psyching himself up. At the same time, he felt that this was his absolute limit. If Thousand-Faced Fox possessed a man or an underage girl, he would never entertain such thoughts again, even if beaten to death.

Jiang Chen restored the original plot perspective.

For the next half day or so, the plot remained utterly uneventful.

The man in black kept babbling about palace secrets. His identity was surely far from ordinary.

Afterward, Jiang Chen only saw more men in black coming and going from the stronghold, all of them Foundation Establishment cultivators.

These people mainly scavenged Sandworm cores, colored crystal ore, fire lizards, pangolins, immortal spirit cacti, blood-red plantains, and other Flame Mountain specialties.

From time to time, they also captured a few little demons crossing Flame Mountain.

Jiang Chen thought that if the Snake-Demon Widow from Spirit Spring Inn escaped back to Shipo Forest alone, she would surely be captured by these people.

The plot ended.

Jiang Chen's divine sense returned to the summit of the sand mountain.

The previous main storyline had involved the Demon Sect and the Azure Mist Sect.

This main storyline involved palace intrigue in the Fireburn Kingdom.

It required careful consideration.

His matching-avatar Thousand-Faced Fox had become the Empress Dowager. Should he simulate it first and continue their previous romance to see whether it worked?

The two mermaids were rather cute. Should he save them?

At present, the Heavenly Demon demonic qi stored in his Demon Shrine and his ample spirit stones, combined with more than twenty Merfolk Pearls, would surely lead to another explosive leap in cultivation, wouldn't they?

Whether it was the merchants selling demon slaves, the Imperial Guards robbing demon slaves, or the emperor himself, none of them were good people. By Jiang Chen's moral standards, killing them would not burden his conscience.

[You have finished viewing Main Storyline Four: "Twin Mermaids." Begin the simulation immediately?]

"Begin."

Since he was within Li Lingzhou's Sword-Qi Domain, Jiang Chen had sufficient security.

This meant he could go all out in the first simulation.

[The first simulation has begun. Please choose an airdrop location!]

Jiang Chen directly airdropped himself inside the Artificial Sandworm.

Only then did he discover that he could not airdrop directly in front of plot characters. He could only appear behind them, and not too close either.

He needed to maintain a distance where they would not notice him. Appearing directly before them would exceed the plot characters' understanding of the world.

Fortunately, he had not chosen to ambush the man in black directly. Otherwise, appearing behind him at a certain distance, without sword qi for ranged attacks, he could only rely on transmitted sword-vibration force. Its power would not be reduced, but its speed would still be somewhat slower, making it difficult to achieve an ambush's effect.

At this moment, Jiang Chen had airdropped into an unnoticed corner inside the Artificial Sandworm.

He now had two choices.

First, he could directly ambush and kill the two merchants. He should be able to do that, but combat would inevitably create unnecessary disturbances and bring the men in black faster.

Jiang Chen did not yet have complete confidence in defeating a Foundation Establishment Mid-Stage cultivator.

Second, he could bluff the two into believing he had come to save them, saying men in black were pursuing them.

He could first make the Sandworm descend to evade the men in black, then look for an opportunity to kill the two merchants.

The drawback was that this would easily make the two wary. In the end, he would have to face two opponents alone in a fierce battle, and it might still attract the men in black.

Of course, he could also refrain from killing them and negotiate instead. If negotiations failed, he could spend money to buy the Merfolk Pearls or the two mermaids.

After thinking it over, Jiang Chen chose the second plan. He would first try the art of talking people into submission.

Since he had no intention of launching a sneak attack, Jiang Chen simply stood there.

He glanced around. The interior of the Artificial Sandworm was not large, but the decor was decent enough.

It was entirely sealed and lacquered wood, completely blocking out the sand. In the center stood an Air-Blowing Shrine more than a person tall, similar to an air conditioner, which circulated fresh air and maintained a warm, comfortable temperature.

Within a few breaths, the two merchants noticed him.

"Who!"

Jiang Chen looked them over. The leader was a middle-aged merchant with an ordinary appearance and plain clothes, though he wore two layers of protective garments underneath. His eyes carried the shrewd cunning distinctive of merchants.

The other man was about the same age and only at the Qi Refining Fifth Layer. He appeared to be controlling the Artificial Sandworm's movement.

But both men were clearly badly startled by Jiang Chen's sudden appearance.

The merchant had already drawn his sword at him.

The worm handler had even readied a magic artifact for escape.

Jiang Chen merely said:

"You've been targeted by men in black from the Imperial Guards. There's still hope if you descend and hide now."

"Who are you?"

"I came to buy Merfolk Pearls. I didn't expect there to be mermaids here too, but rest assured, I will pay."

Merchants were the least likely people to believe another person's words.

"You are merely a Qi Refining Sixth Layer cultivator. How did you suddenly appear here?"

Jiang Chen casually made up an excuse:

"Perhaps it is some spatial movement treasure. You'd best not ask about it. People die from asking such questions... Of course, if you delay any longer and the men in black catch up, you'll die too."

To be safe, the merchant ordered the worm handler.

"Descend first."

The Sandworm then descended several hundred zhang in place. Only when it could not descend another inch did it stop, concealing its aura and remaining still.

A moment later.

A Foundation Establishment divine sense really did sweep through the vicinity!

The merchant was alarmed.

All three held their breath and remained silent.

After the time it took for an incense stick to burn, the men in black finally left.

But Jiang Chen could faintly sense that they were still circling within a radius of ten li.

"Don't move. Wait here for two hours."

About half an hour later, the men in black left, but Jiang Chen still insisted on waiting two hours.

The three stared at one another, silently observing each other.

Two hours later, Jiang Chen took out a cracked Foundation Establishment Sandworm core and the remaining six Qi Refining cores.

"I have one Foundation Establishment core and six Qi Refining cores here. Adding the fact that I saved both your lives, how about you trade me the two mermaids and twenty Merfolk Pearls?"

The price Jiang Chen offered was indeed outrageously low. The only item worth much was the Foundation Establishment core, and it was cracked...

To a merchant, the feeling of suffering such a loss hurt even more than being killed.

The middle-aged merchant pondered for a moment.

"Fine, but you must tell me why a Qi Refining cultivator like you can suddenly appear here."

Jiang Chen's eyes shifted slightly, and his tone cooled.

"Didn't I say so? Asking that will get people killed. They're just some mermaids and Merfolk Pearls. Are they more important than your lives? Why not sell them cheaply to me, then each of us can go home? Be more careful when doing business in the future, and don't take this official road again."

Seeing the other party deliberately evade the question, the merchant concluded that Jiang Chen did not possess absolute strength to protect the treasure. His face darkened, and he waved a hand.

"Trust is the most important thing in business. Since you do not trust me, young friend, forgive me for being unable to agree to your transaction."

When words failed, there was no point saying more.

Jiang Chen thought, This bastard doesn't feel the slightest gratitude for me saving his life. A merchant through and through—he just can't bear to take a loss.

He felt the time was about right. At such a deep location, with the men in black no longer nearby, he could try using force.

"Fine. I'll offer more money."

Jiang Chen's right hand, which wore the Storage Ring, pulled a bag of spirit stones from thin air.

However, this bag of spirit stones had not come from the Storage Ring, but from his inventory. Jiang Chen made no effort to conceal it, deliberately letting the merchant see this strange method of retrieving an item.

The merchant frowned, his attention indeed diverted.

No sooner said than done!

Jiang Chen's left hand suddenly produced a disciple sword with holes in it.

Sword sharpness combined with resonance. The sword whistled like a gale as it pierced straight through the merchant's gleaming forehead.