Spiral Ascension

The capital of the Cambrian Kingdom, Chaoge City, is located in the center of the basin outside the southwestern entrance of the Monster Beast Mountain Range.

During the Era of Dharma Decline, it was just a small village of refugees.

Only after the Tian Yuan Era did it begin to rise under the influence of the Snow Flame Sect.

A hundred years ago, by undertaking the Dao Alliance's talisman-making and artifact-forging industries, it gradually developed into the capital of the Cambrian Kingdom.

Today's Chaoge City sees Sword Riding practitioners flying in formation and Beast Taming practitioners stirring up wind, with rolling morning clouds and auspicious energy rising.

The palaces, pavilions, tall towers, long streets... all the buildings in the city are designed to be majestic and exquisite, full of the vibrant new energy of the Tian Yuan Era.

The Imperial Palace of the Xiahou Dynasty is located within the central garden of Chaoge City.

Layer upon layer, it soars into the sky, like a hanging garden.

The middle layer of the Imperial Palace is the Huaqing Palace.

Huaqing Palace was once the sleeping quarters of the emperor's most beloved Consort Qing. It was very large and extremely beautiful.

After Consort Qing's death, for Princess Fei Yue alone, the vast Huaqing Palace felt too empty.

Coupled with the fact that there weren't many palace maids and eunuchs serving her, the garden of Huaqing Palace began to fall into disrepair.

The garden was particularly large, with weeds growing profusely in the cracks of the stone slabs. Only the clear pool on the west side was kept clean and tidy.

By the clear pool.

A woman dressed as a palace maid pointed at a bundle of gunpowder barrels and a chair tied to the barrels in front of her, excitedly asking:

"This much gunpowder... can it really fly?"

The woman had a slender figure, like a delicate bamboo, yet not lacking in charm. She wore a pair of exquisite small red cloth shoes and a light pink long dress that looked rather plain.

Her delicate oval face was largely hidden by fringed bangs. Her eyebrows were like distant mountains, her eyes like autumn water, her round bun like a crimson moon, and her body fragrant like spiritual musk.

It was none other than—

Princess Fei Yue!

The princess was extremely beautiful, but her clothing and adornments were not noble enough, making her look like a maid.

As expected of half-sisters with Mu Yun, one a Daoist acolyte and the other a maid, they were remarkably similar.

Princess Mu Yun was truly young, but Princess Fei Yue was actually over thirty years old.

Although she still looked like a young girl...

A person in her thirties who wasn't married, still loved to play, enjoyed tinkering with all sorts of novel toys, and was a bit silly, could be called the ultimate naive sweetheart.

This was also why Xiao Bai kept trying to freeload off Princess Fei Yue when he first transmigrated.

Unfortunately, the Modifier went rogue and didn't work.

Beside Fei Yue, the young eunuch responsible for making the gunpowder barrels said confidently:

"Princess, please rest assured, there are spiritual talismans attached to the side of the chair, it will definitely fly!"

"Spiritual talismans again?"

Fei Yue showed displeasure. Her mouth was like a mischievous child's. With her hands on her hips, she said indignantly:

"Are you mocking me for not being able to cultivate? How many times have I said it, no spiritual talismans, just gunpowder—if there's enough, it will definitely fly!"

"Yes!"

The young eunuch was helpless and had to rework it.

He used military-grade chain iron to bundle ten gunpowder barrels together and wrapped five red ropes around the chair, enough to secure the princess's body.

Seeing that the new version of the gunpowder barrels not only increased the number of tubes but also added safety ropes, Princess Fei Yue was very satisfied.

She excitedly sat on the chair.

She ordered the palace maid beside her to tie her up securely, firmly fixing her to the chair.

Before setting off, she happily ate her fill, just in case she turned into a hungry ghost.

Once everything was ready, Fei Yue, full of vigor, waved her hand—

"Ignite!"

Over eighty gunpowder tubes fired simultaneously!

Sending the princess, who weighed over eighty catties, into the sky.

Unfortunately, the amount of gunpowder in each tube was not perfectly even, leading to inconsistent burning...

Thus, Princess Fei Yue performed a Spiral Ascension.

At a thousand zhang, the gunpowder barrels exploded with a bang—

Boom!

Exploding bamboo tubes and broken wood flew everywhere, like fireworks in broad daylight.

In the center of the falling embers, a blue floral umbrella drifted down.

The woman under the umbrella had an explosion hairstyle, a black-and-gray face, red and scorched ears, and her pink long dress was largely ruined...

Luckily, she was wearing a layer of black protective soft armor underneath.

Her disheveled appearance couldn't hide the brilliant stars in her eyes.

The eunuchs and palace maids were so scared they immediately knelt down.

"This servant deserves to die!"

"This servant deserves to die!"

"It's fine."

Princess Fei Yue waved her hand grandly.

Amidst her excitement, she wiped the soot from her face, revealing a stunning countenance that no mere palace maid could possess.

"Eunuch Xiao Yan, you did a great job! You can have a hundred taels of gold as a reward! However, the stability of the gunpowder combustion needs to be improved. Do a few more experiments, and I'll have a new temporary palace."

The young eunuch was dumbfounded.

"Are you serious?"

Fei Yue nodded.

"Of course, I hate anything that has to be powered by Spiritual Power."

The young eunuch was still shaken.

"But if you hadn't had the Ring protecting you, you would have been in great danger just now."

Fei Yue giggled, speaking calmly and collectedly.

"You have to eat your food one bite at a time, right? I won't die."

The young eunuch remained kneeling by the pond, not daring to get up, and argued reasonably.

"But everything has spirit. Without Spiritual Power, there would be no True Origin Continent. Even mortals have a faint amount of Spiritual Power. When mortals push carts or carry heavy loads, it's driven by spirit and flesh. How can you achieve moving things without spirit?"

Just then, a cold, stern voice came from the main entrance.

"How dare you speak to the princess like that!"

As soon as the young eunuch heard this, he immediately kowtowed to the ground, not daring to move.

"I like people who are serious."

Fei Yue pouted and turned her head to look.

The person who arrived was her maternal cousin, Shangguan Qun, who held the official position of Palace Attendant Imperial Censor.

He had an elegant and refined appearance and bearing, with a very courteous demeanor.

"Although the Dao Alliance's talismanic artifacts are already very close to what I want, they are expensive and require specialized personnel and equipment, which is too troublesome."

"All of you, leave."

Shangguan Qun ordered the eunuchs and palace maids away, then turned to Fei Yue and said,

"You're getting wilder and wilder with your playing."

Fei Yue put away her playful mood and casually asked,

"Why are you here, Cousin?"

Shangguan Qun said,

"In three days, the Snow Flame Sect will hold the Pill Elder's Partner Recognition Ceremony. I have already informed Sect Master Master Chun Xiao that you will represent the Imperial Palace in attending."

Fei Yue's delicate brows furrowed slightly.

"Does such a small matter require the Imperial Palace to attend? Why aren't my two imperial brothers going? Are they making fun of me?"

Shangguan Qun smiled.

"I thought you missed Princess Mu Yun."

Fei Yue shook her head.

"Her cultivation talent is too high, and she's arrogant. I don't like her."

Shangguan Qun said,

"I thought you helped Princess Mu Yun go to Hundred Herbs Peak back then?"

"It's because I dislike her that I sent her away, so she wouldn't ride over my head sooner or later."

Fei Yue responded casually, then thought for a moment and asked curiously,

"They say that Pill Elder is very beautiful. I'm curious what kind of Dao Companion she'll find."

Shangguan Qun said,

"They say it's a handsome young handyman."

"How handsome must he be?"

Fei Yue was a little surprised, then stretched lazily.

"Elders are really interesting. I need to bring some fun toys as gifts... Alright, I'll go. I can also go to the Artifact Forging Peak of the Snow Flame Sect and get some new toys back."

"Still thinking about playing around..."

Shangguan Qun felt a bit helpless.

Unexpectedly, Princess Fei Yue's expression suddenly turned serious, her eyes flashing like lightning as she said coldly,

"Also, don't make decisions for me again next time, Imperial Censor Shangguan."

Shangguan Qun's old face fell, thoroughly frightened. He could only bow deeply.

"Yes, Princess."