After waiting outside the Imperial Palace for a while, Shi Zhao finally met a familiar face.
She had a token from the palace guard captain, another from the elderly royal Venerable in the Scripture Temple, and even one from the Stone Emperor. Getting into the Imperial Palace was not difficult.
The Old Guard Captain had been alerted and came out. Looking at the girl beside him, he deliberately asked, "I heard you went to Immortal Mountain in the Mystic Domain. Why have you suddenly returned to the Stone Kingdom?"
He had lived for an incredibly long time; even his eyelashes were hollow with cunning. Once he confirmed the girl's true identity, he more or less guessed what had happened.
Clearly, the people of the Martial King Manor had been fooled, and she had probably come this time to ask for something substantial.
"I found the Ancestral Land," Shi Zhao said bluntly.
A golden gleam suddenly flashed through the Old Guard Captain's aged eyes. He could not help asking, "The true Ancestral Land of the Stone Kingdom's legends?"
Seeing the girl nod calmly, he immediately sucked in a sharp breath.
Then he looked toward the depths of the Imperial Palace. If that was the case, her purpose in suddenly returning to seek an audience with the Human Emperor was surely no simple matter.
For some inexplicable reason, he began to feel vaguely worried for the Human Emperor.
"The Stone Kingdom Ancestral Land is steeped in legend. Even many mighty figures of ancient times coveted its inheritances..." the Old Guard Captain said reflexively, then stopped and said no more.
The Shi Clan had been extremely cautious back then. Despite conquering a vast territory outside and founding an Ancient Kingdom, they had not brought all their clansmen with them. Instead, they had sealed off the Ancestral Land and severed contact.
They had feared that the clansmen in the outside world might be wiped out, and hoped to leave a lineage in the Ancestral Land so their bloodline would never die.
Unfortunately, after so many long years, no one had managed to find the way back.
Buried beneath the Ancestral Land was the Stone Kingdom's strongest Sacrificial Spirit, the only one that had found its way back. Using its remains and other things, it had laid down an astonishing Magic Formation spanning thousands of miles, making the place difficult even for mighty figures to find.
The Willow Deity had also once said that they had benefited at the Shi Clan's expense, and thus protected the villagers.
They had rested and recuperated there, absorbing what lay underground and breaking the Magic Formation.
Shi Zhao understood it even better. This was probably the Shi Clan's usual practice, etched into their very bones-a fine old tradition.
After all, in the Three Thousand Provinces of the Upper Realm, the Shi Clan's ancestors-the descendants of the Seven Kings of the Border Wasteland-had done the same thing, choosing to send some of their clansmen out of the Primordial Imperial City to preserve their bloodline.
Later, those who had been sent out encountered calamity and sent some of their own clansmen into the prison that was the Eight Regions of the Lower Realm to escape disaster, hoping they could continue to live and multiply there.
It was basically Matryoshka dolls all the way down.
"You've come."
In the great hall, the Stone Emperor spoke with immense, innate majesty.
Shi Zhao looked up and saw that his entire body was shrouded in light. She could not make out his true form at all; he seemed to stand within a golden sun. She was somewhat at a loss for words.
Putting on quite a grand show, huh? Let's see if you can stay seated in a moment.
"I have," she replied with an equally composed nod.
Unfortunately, the Stone Emperor did not follow up with anything like "You shouldn't have come" or "Yet you came anyway." She was a little disappointed, and the atmosphere grew awkward for a moment.
The two stared at each other. In the end, Shi Zhao was the first to ask a seemingly unrelated question: why the Stone Emperor had inexplicably bestowed a title on her back then.
Even if she had studied in the Scripture Temple and caught the eye of that elderly royal Venerable, that hardly warranted both a title and a Divine Artifact from the Stone Emperor. It had been rather excessive.
Of course, she already had a vague suspicion about the matter, and this was a good chance to clear it up.
"You obtained the Suanni Precious Technique." The Stone Emperor was indeed a sovereign worthy of his age. Since she had asked him herself, he gave her the reason directly, concealing nothing.
Someone taking the Nation-Protecting Precious Technique naturally had enormous implications. But if that person was one of their own, the matter could be either serious or trivial, depending entirely on the Stone Emperor's decision.
Clearly, he had chosen to draw her to his side and place his bet on her.
Shi Zhao understood. Sure enough, they had discovered it. What came out of her mouth, however, was something else entirely. "Back then, I thought I was your long-lost illegitimate daughter."
Unexpectedly, the Stone Emperor actually nodded at that, and even his eyes seemed to brighten.
"If you are willing, I can take you as my adopted daughter. In the future, even this vast Stone Kingdom could be passed on to you," he said, his voice rumbling through the great hall.
"Uh, can I refuse?" Shi Zhao was startled by his words and wished she could slap herself. She should never have let her tongue run loose.
"You can. I will not force you." The Stone Emperor seemed perfectly amenable, then asked, "Tell me what you came here for."
Shi Zhao steadied herself and explained that she had unexpectedly found the Shi Clan's true Ancestral Land in the Great Wilderness and obtained the complete Ancient Alchemy Recipes. She hoped to exchange them for the medicinal ingredients needed for her Cave Heaven Realm baptism.
Before leaving the Great Wilderness, she had asked the people of Stone Village for their opinion. They had all agreed that the Ancient Alchemy Recipes could be given to the Stone Kingdom, but the kingdom had to offer treasures of corresponding value in exchange.
In short, they wanted her to get more out of it.
The villagers were kind and honest. Once they accepted her, they sincerely had her interests at heart.
The Stone Emperor could no longer remain calm. Great waves surged in his heart, and radiance spilled uncontrollably from his body, showing just how overwhelmed he was.
"Is that true?" he asked again.
"Of course it is." Shi Zhao nodded.
The Stone Emperor fell silent for a moment, then abruptly rose to his feet. His gaze fixed on the girl below, brilliant light blazing in his eyes until the entire hall became dazzlingly bright.
"The Ancient Alchemy Recipes are our clan's most precious inheritance. By bringing them back to the Stone Kingdom, you have rendered an immeasurable service. I grant your request!"
"If you need anything else, you may take it from the treasury yourself. I will bestow it all upon you!"
"Finally... ahem, little Zhao, would you like to become Empress?"
Shi Zhao: ???
She shot the Stone Emperor a sidelong look. Was this old fellow getting ready to run away?
He was, after all, the Human Emperor of an Ancient Kingdom, backed by the power of an entire nation. He knew many of the world's secrets and had long been aware of the calamity that might soon descend upon the Eight Regions.
After some thought, she decided not to mention the calamity of the Eight Regions to him just yet. It would be troublesome if he really forced the throne on her.
She could find a chance to discuss it after securing her benefits.
Soon afterward, the Stone Emperor issued his orders. Within just a few days, all the spirit medicines and rare treasures Shi Zhao needed had been gathered.
A silver Medicine Cauldron was also carried out of the treasury. A sheen of precious radiance flowed over it. Though exceedingly ancient, it was spotless, as if it had only just been cast.
When its lid was lifted, waves of medicinal fragrance wafted out before any medicine had even been refined, as though a batch of spirit pills had just emerged from it.
There was no need to think twice. This was a treasured cauldron. Years upon years of refining medicines had imbued it with unimaginable medicinal properties, making it a gem of alchemy.
"Now this is a true divine treasure," Shi Zhao marveled.
By comparison, the Silver Cauldron she had insisted on keeping back then was practically its little brother... no, its grandson. There was hardly any comparison.
Perhaps only Stone Village's Black Cauldron could surpass it.
Of course, that was without counting the Bone Cauldron hidden inside the Black Cauldron.
The Stone Emperor even came in person to help her brew the secret medicine from the recipe. The entire Medicine Cauldron grew ever more dazzling, shimmering with flowing colors as medicinal fragrance filled the air.
A full hundred spirit medicines were placed inside and brewed together in a single cauldron-an astonishing sight.
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