Old lotus root

The new emperor felt a pang of reluctance towards the stiff Red Empyrean Sword, but he felt no nostalgia for the limp Red Empyrean Sword.

Ao Li's Essence Blood is not easy to obtain, and to get the Essence Blood of the Jinghe Dragon King again, perhaps only Zhang Xuezhou can do it.

The new emperor was certain that he lacked the ability to tame the temperamental Red Empyrean Sword, and that even using it once would be difficult.

He would be very happy to use the Red Empyrean Sword to do something.

"It would be best to obtain another drop of Ao Li Dragon King's Essence Blood," the new emperor said. "This sword will unleash its power after being coated with Ao Li's Essence Blood, and even you might be able to use it!"

Zhang Xuezhou neither nodded in agreement nor shook his head.

Even without the new emperor's explanation, Zhang Xuezhou understood that Ao Li's Essence Blood had a temporary stimulating effect on the Red Empyrean Sword.

Ao Li's Essence Blood is not something that can be taken at will, and how long the Red Empyrean Sword will maintain its effect after being coated with Essence Blood is also unknown.

Although the new emperor really wanted Zhang Xuezhou to extract another drop of Ao Li's essence Essence Blood, Zhang Xuezhou was truly unwilling to do such a pointless and unproductive task.

Besides, why was he smearing Ao Li's Essence Blood on the Red Empyrean Sword? Did he want to test the probability of being recognized by the Red Empyrean Sword and getting beaten up?

Zhang Xuezhou really didn't want to test the possible consequences of encountering a congenital spiritual object, and even less did he want to test his low-IQ judgment regarding the possibility of encountering the Red Empyrean Sword.

"You've finally fallen into my hands. Your good days are over!"

Zhang Xuezhou cultivates the art of manipulation, and his mastery of manipulation far surpasses that of the new emperor, enabling him to handle even conflicting manipulation battles.

But Zhang Xuezhou really couldn't control the unpredictable nature of the Red Empyrean Sword, and was somewhat afraid that this unreasonable sword might suddenly unleash its power.

Now that the Red Empyrean Sword was in his hands, he couldn't help but feel a little smug as he left the palace, feeling that he had finally managed to temporarily control this unexpected factor.

After acquiring numerous fake Red Empyrean Sword and waiting for his Demon Power to recover, he even had a fleeting thought of throwing the Red Empyrean Sword out of the Great Han Dynasty's territory.

While doing official business for the new emperor, he clearly also had some of his own ulterior motives.

I heard you got married again, and you didn't even invite me!

When Zhang Xuezhou ran home from the East Sima Gate, he saw Li Shaojun wandering around the mansion looking around, which made him quickly throw the Red Empyrean Sword, which he was half-holding and wrapped in blue cloth, behind him.

If I invite you, will you give me a gift?

Li Shaojun let out a mournful sigh, but Zhang Xuezhou immediately shut him up.

Li Shaojun's lips twitched; he knew without even thinking what Zhang Xuezhou wanted to say.

If Li Shaojun says he's willing to give a gift, the other party will shamelessly ask for it on the spot. If the gift is substantial enough, he has no doubt that Zhang Xuezhou will hold a wedding banquet specifically for his gift. If the gift is not substantial enough, he will inevitably be ridiculed by the other party.

If Li Shaojun was unwilling to give gifts, then it was perfectly normal not to invite him. Given the other party's pragmatism, Li Shaojun had no doubt that Zhang Xuezhou would say that.

He muttered to himself, feeling that he couldn't gain any advantage over the other party.

"I've been running around these past few days and only got back last night," Li Shaojun quickly changed the subject.

"Did it work out?" Zhang Xuezhou asked.

"It's done!"

Li Shaojun nodded, then patted the bag on his back, indicating that Zhang Xuezhou's request had been fulfilled.

"So smoothly?"

Zhang Xuezhou exclaimed in surprise.

He felt that seeking rare and heavenly materials and earthly treasures was fraught with risks, and if he ventured into a secret place that already had an owner, it would be even more difficult, requiring him to devise various strategies to have any chance of obtaining them.

Just like Zhang Xuezhou accidentally taking the Red Empyrean Sword in the palace, this was merely a small episode in the power struggle within the royal family, and he was the temporary beneficiary of this episode.

Only through various complexities could Zhang Xuezhou reap even a small reward.

Little did he expect that Venerable Lei's journey to the Eastern Heavenly Gate secret realm to retrieve the Spirit Silk Jade Lotus would be so smooth.

"Let me take a look!"

Zhang Xuezhou waved, and Li Shaojun immediately opened the cloth bag with great interest.

"I used to sell shoe insoles when I was making a living. If you need to spin yarn to make shoe insoles, I can help you!"

Li Shaojun volunteered, and then carefully opened the cloth bag, revealing the slightly yellowed lotus root.

"Why has it turned yellowish?" Zhang Xuezhou said, "Don't think I haven't seen the Spirit Silk Jade Lotus before and am using a fake as a substitute. If I don't get the real treasure, you won't even have a chance to travel west, let alone find 'White'!"

"Uncle Dong, I risked my life flying all the way to the East Sea to tell Lei Ming what he needed, and I personally watched Lei Ming head to the Eastern Heavenly Gate secret realm," Li Shaojun patted his chest and guaranteed, "This lotus root definitely comes from the Eastern Heavenly Gate secret realm. You can't expect Lei Ming to fish out three lotus roots from the ocean for me!"

"Why is it so yellow?" Zhang Xuezhou said. "Normal Ling Si Jade Lotus Root is white and tender, even whiter than my arm!"

Zhang Xuezhou took out his own hand to compare; the lotus root, which had been slightly white, now looked old and rotten.

"But you didn't say the lotus root needed to be whiter than your arm," Li Shaojun retorted. "Anyway, this is a Spirit Silk Jade Lotus Root stolen from the Eastern Heavenly Gate secret realm, it can't be fake!"

"Let me take a bite to see if it works..."

"You can't bite it or break it, now you believe this is a Spirit Silk Jade Lotus Root. The older the lotus root used to make these Law Treasure shoes is, the stronger its fibers become. Don't even mention your teeth, even a sword can't cut through it!"

Zhang Xuezhou took a big bite, feeling as if his teeth were about to break.

Listening to Li Shaojun's introduction, he felt an urge to hit the guy with a stick.

"I'm using it to make medicine, not to make shoe insoles," Zhang Xuezhou said with exasperation. "What I need are those tender, white spirit lotus roots, not this old, stale stuff!"

Zhang Xuezhou casually tossed the three-sectioned old lotus root onto the ground, and it bounced up like a marble.

Zhang Xuezhou had previously forced down a piece of tough, chewy lotus root, so he felt there wouldn't be much difference this time.

What's even more troublesome is that Zhang Xuezhou can't bite through this old lotus root at all. His physical body technique has reached Divine Ability, and his teeth are so strong that they could be described as iron teeth. His biting force is extremely strong, and if even he can't bite through it, this kind of lotus root is very troublesome to deal with.

If Zhang Xuezhou wanted to swallow it whole, he would have to restore his physical body's Divine Ability so that he could expand his body and swallow the more than one-meter-long lotus root.

On the other hand, if Zhang Xuezhou had already regained his physical body techniques Divine Ability, his Law Power would certainly be very free. Why would he need to swallow this inedible lotus root for any test?

Venerable Lei and Li Shaojun collaborated to bring Zhang Xuezhou the Spirit Silk Jade Lotus Root.

Zhang Xuezhou felt that his wish had been fulfilled, but it seemed to have no effect whatsoever.

"Find me some tender, white lotus roots that I can bite into and eat," Zhang Xuezhou said.

"I'm afraid of you, Daoist Master. I'll go talk to Lei Ming again!"

Li Shaojun shook his head, feeling that Zhang Xuezhou was really difficult to deal with. Why didn't he say anything earlier or later, but waited until they had successfully stolen the goods before bringing it up?

The difficulty of stealing again would be enormous now. Li Shaojun might agree to Zhang Xuezhou's request, but whether Venerable Lei could actually do it is another matter entirely.

Even with Venerable Lei's cooperation, there's still a possibility of theft.

Li Shaojun didn't dare to give a full guarantee at this point, so he could only indicate that he would go and talk to see if he could find some tender, crisp lotus roots for Zhang Xuezhou.