The Earl Inquires

After being extracted from the Snow Mountain Circuit by a high-ranking cultivator, a ball of Gold-Devouring Spirit Flame has been burning in the fireplace of an elegant and refined embroidered building for nearly half a month.

The Third Tier spirit-nurturing array, personally set up by the palace's array masters, tightly bound the ball of spirit flame, ensuring that not a single trace of its spiritual essence was wasted.

A Great Sun Raw Stone, about the size of an infant's fist, sat in the very center of the spiritual flames. The flames licked at the outer shell of the Great Sun Raw Stone, burning it from the outside in until it was a bright, scorching red, like a perfectly round piece of red jade, gleaming brilliantly.

The heat continued until the outer shell of the Great Sun Raw Stone emitted a crisp sound, and a fine crack appeared on its surface, with wisps of blue smoke rising from the crack.

A slender, fair hand reached out, its slender fingertips radiating a three-colored spiritual light. With a mere touch and a flick, it gently shattered the Hardness outer shell of the Great Sun Raw Stone, revealing several finger-knuckle-sized, hazy pieces of stalactite within.

Upon seeing this, a graceful female cultivator's beautiful eyes lit up with delight.

She was completely naked, and a mysterious and complex talisman lit up in her palm. The magic array that bound the spiritual flames was activated, and a scorching aura instantly filled the room.

The woman remained calm. The talisman in her palm flew out and swelled to the size of a round table, suppressing the already somewhat invigorated Gold-Devouring Spirit Flame back to the size of a flame.

The fiery energy paused, and several pieces of the Great Sun Raw Stone Marrow, emitting white steam, fell out.

The beautiful woman was not afraid at all. She curled her tongue and carefully put all the fragments of the stone into her cherry-like mouth. Then she lowered her head and walked to the center of the room, where she stood next to a thin Daoist priest who was practicing naked.

The slender Daoist priest opened his eyes upon hearing the sound. Without even glancing at the beautiful mature woman before him, he gently lifted her chin with his hand. He saw a hint of dazedness in her eyes, and after a soft moan, her crimson lips parted slightly.

In just a short while, the originally grayish-brown Great Sun Raw Stone Marrow had been cleansed of its impurities by the beautiful woman's mouth, becoming colorful, vibrant, and crystal clear.

The slender Daoist priest ignored the woman with seductive eyes, his sharp gaze fixed on the cleansed marrow.

With his left hand forming the Jade Emperor Seal, he gently flicked his finger, and the essence of the primordial stone floated out of the woman's mouth, slowly flowing into a jade bottle in the Daoist's right hand.

"Lord..." After doing all this, the woman swallowed the remaining few marrow shells, leaving only the outer shell.

Her whole body was as soft as a pool of autumn water, and she exuded a languid fragrance, as if she were about to pounce on Kuang Liuting, this stone statue, and drench him completely.

"Today happens to be the day of the Nine Poisons, when the yang energy is gradually weakening and the Yin Qi is beginning to emerge. Therefore, it is not advisable to have intercourse today. Please be patient for now." Kuang Liuting, seeing the beautiful scene before him, remained steadfast in his Daoist heart and showed no emotion.

Even though the woman had already emptied her saliva all over the floor, her plump and firm legs covered in slickness, Kuang Liuting still changed his clothes, clutched the jade bottle tightly, and pushed open the door to leave.

Kuang Liuting had only taken a few steps when he realized that the jade bottle was already half full again. Even though he was used to seeing all sorts of things, a hint of joy appeared on his face.

After all, this matter of gathering Qi from the stone marrow is related to the grade of his future Golden Core cultivation.

"Before coming here, I never expected that the eldest daughter of a remote clan like the Yue family in Han City Yue Household would possess such a rare physique as the 'Yang-Refining Spirit Physique.' This has saved me a great deal of effort in extracting the essence from the Great Sun Raw Stone, enough to save me more than ten years of hard work."

Counting on his fingers, Core Formation.

Such heavenly materials and earthly treasures are indeed hard to come by, and Kuang Liuting is a perfectionist, so the cost is much higher than that of ordinary people.

Even if the Imperial Clan Court might allocate more funds out of consideration for that person, Kuang Liuting has not yet been accepted as a disciple, so the Immortal Dynasty would not allow him to take these vital resources at will.

Therefore, over the years, Kuang Liuting could only accumulate this amount of weight by piecing together various resources from different sources.

Thinking of this, Kuang Liuting felt a surge of joy, but also a rare pity for his Yue Household's daughter.

Unfortunately, this woman's social status was far too low. Even though Kuang Liuting genuinely liked her, the Imperial Clan Court Kuang Liuting her proposals for the position of a secondary wife time and time again.

According to several prominent members of the royal family, even though the Great Wei royal family has declined, the marriages of its direct descendants must still be conducted with dignity.

Although the Han City Yue Household can make a difference in Cloud Horn Prefecture, they are nothing more than an insignificant local clan among all the powerful and influential Aristocratic Clan.

The reply from the Imperial Clan Court clearly stated that if the eldest daughter of the family wished to Earl of Nan'an's Residence, she could at most be offered the position of a "concubine".

When the Yue Household learned of this, they had no complaints. In Cloud Horn Prefecture, it had been many years since any family had been able to marry their daughter into the close branch of the imperial clan.

Even if it were just one of the eight concubines, the Yue Household, being humble and poor, would still feel honored and grateful for it. However, Kuang Liuting was a man who cared about his reputation. He felt that this meant he had failed to keep his promise and had betrayed the Yue Household's trust. Therefore, he continued to negotiate with the Imperial Clan Court in various ways.

"It's a pity that even from that low-grade Golden Core cultivator of the Hongyi Sect, not many Great Sun Stones could be obtained. If we want to get more as soon as possible and form our Golden Cores sooner, we'll have to find another way."

Kuang Liuting recalled the petition that had been piling up on his case regarding Myriad Treasures Trading Company opening a branch in Xuanwei City.

The official document had been sent long ago, and the official reply had arrived. The Earl of Earl of Nan'an had thought that he would be able to open the Myriad Treasures Trading Company a few years ago, so as to attract immigrants from the capital region to Cloud Horn Prefecture and build up some popularity.

Unexpectedly, after all this smooth sailing, the approval documents for Myriad Treasures Trading Company were withheld by the Star-Picking Pavilion.

"The relationship between the Master of the Star-Picking Pavilion and His Highness the Prince of the South is not as deep as we juniors think." Kuang Liuting sighed deeply. A Nascent Soul True Person already considered a terrestrial immortal in some small worlds, and is beyond the comprehension of lower cultivators.

Kuang Liuting composed himself and headed straight for the main hall of the prefectural government.

He had been in seclusion for a long time, and the Earl of Nan'an, who had not been in charge of affairs for a long time, suddenly appeared in the main hall of the state court without anyone reporting it. This made the state officials, who were originally somewhat relaxed, suddenly tense.

"Congratulations on your completion of seclusion, Lord Lord. You are one step closer to the Golden Core Path." A middle-aged man with a long beard, dressed in a vermilion official robe, stepped forward to greet you without any hesitation.

This man was named Zhu Tong. He was the newly appointed Cloud Horn Prefecture after Huo Bing, the previous governor, defected to the enemy.

When Zhu Tong was an official in the capital, he was appointed as a secretary in his first year of service. Because of his outstanding talent, he also became the first disciple of Gui Nianzhi, the Left Chancellor of the time.

Left Gui Nianzhi was a Nascent Soul True Person from the Liaoyuan Gui Clan, whose history predates that of the Liaoyuan Gui Clan Kuang Household a considerable margin.

They were already a renowned first-class family in the previous dynasty, and in the last thousand years, they have produced four Nascent Soul True Person. One can imagine their status in the imperial court.

Therefore, after Zhu Tong became a disciple of Gui Nianzhi, his career in officialdom was soaring.

Before coming to Cloud Horn Prefecture, Zhu Tong had already served as the official magistrate of a certain county. Such age and such seniority and experience were rare even among the sons of wealthy and powerful families.

However, Zhu Tong came from a humble background and had no connections, so even though he was exceptionally talented, he could not gain acceptance from his colleagues in the court. Even if he were to advance further and become part of the faction of the prime ministers, the obstacles would still be considerable.

Recently, there have been high-ranking officials in the court who are paying attention to the affairs of Cloud Horn Prefecture, such as Zuo Zongzheng. They are concerned that Kuang Liuting has now made a breakthrough in Cloud Horn Prefecture and has more and more local cultivators at his disposal, but the number of old friends from the capital region is decreasing.

This is because when Shen Lingfeng was appointed as the governor of Shannan Circuit, he spent a lot of resources and energy governing Cloud Horn Prefecture, but he still failed to achieve any results.

Some high-ranking officials in the Immortal Dynasty believed that they had been betrayed by local cultivators in the past, and therefore did not have a good impression of them.

Therefore, in order to avoid an imbalance in the personnel composition of Cloud Horn Prefecture Court, the many important figures in the court agreed to let Zhu Tong, an oddball who was not very popular among his colleagues, lead the team and gather a total of twenty-one cultivators of high rank and status from the capital region to come to Yunjiao to help.

In the eyes of many noble families and officials in the capital region, Cloud Horn Prefecture was not a good place to go.

The remoteness and barrenness of Shannan Circuit are only one aspect. Secondly, among the twenty-six prefectures of Shannan Circuit, only Cloud Horn Prefecture will be taken back into the hands of the Immortal Dynasty, but it is still surrounded by other prefectures controlled by sects and powerful clans.

The situation was truly dire; they lacked even a sliver of strategic depth.

If, during his term of office, the situation in this region suddenly changes, he might not only fail to secure his future but also find it difficult to even have his body transported back to his ancestral home for burial.

Therefore, most of the twenty officials selected by the Imperial Clan Court were from similar backgrounds to Zhu Tong, and were rootless duckweed without any connections or influence in the court.

In such a short period of time, it took Zuo Zongzheng, who was in charge of the matter, a great deal of effort to gather so many Rogue Cultivator officials in the important town of the capital, where powerful Aristocratic Clan gathered.

Before Zhu Tong arrived, he was promised that if he performed well in his post in Cloud Horn Prefecture, he would be transferred back to the Capital Circuit and appointed as the governor of a mid-to-high-level prefecture if he could achieve the True-Grade Golden Core within sixty years.

This price is indeed not low; it's a future that even a direct descendant of a powerful family in the capital like Fei Nanying would find extremely difficult to obtain.

This is because the Immortal Dynasty has become increasingly weak in recent years, and even in a heartland like Capital Circuit, it is difficult to say that its policies are effectively implemented.

Similar to Shannan Circuit, many prefectures and counties in Capital Circuit are also controlled by powerful sects and clans, and the Immortal Dynasty cannot directly control too many prefectures and counties.

The chief officials at all levels in these prefectures and counties were almost hereditary, so the Immortal Dynasty court did not need to bother to appoint them.

The only difference between Gyeonggi Province and remote areas like Shannan Circuit is that the Aristocratic Clan clans and families in the heartland like Gyeonggi Capital Circuit are much closer to the Immortal Dynasty.

After all, most of these forces were established by the founding emperor's followers. Although they themselves drank and ate meat, they were willing to share some leftovers with the Immortal Dynasty to taste its flavor.

Because of this, the Ministry of Revenue and the imperial family of the Immortal Dynasty were able to collect a relatively large amount of taxes from them every year, in order to maintain the last shred of dignity of the ruler of the world.

Therefore, in recent years, rumors have circulated that the "elegance of the Immortal Dynasty does not belong to the Kuang family alone," which can be described as presumptuous.

Kuang Liuting has always been eccentric and has never judged talent based on birth, making him an outlier among the imperial family and nobility.

When he was in the court, he didn't like working with people from wealthy families, which is why soldiers from humble backgrounds like Gun Shilu were able to catch his eye and receive his patronage.

Zuo Zongzheng sent a group of officials of humble origins to Cloud Horn Prefecture. In terms of social standing, they were far lower than Gun Shilu's. Other members of the imperial clan might not have been pleased to see them, but this suited his purposes perfectly.

Zhu Tong had only been there a short time, but thanks to his talent, he, like He Gun Shilu, was promised a False Core future by Kuang Liuting.

However, the former had his own ambitions, and the future of this False Core Formation was not satisfactory to him. Therefore, he had been working diligently on Kuang Liuting's affairs these days, in order to earn new merits and obtain the resources for Core Formation.

"You've worked hard. Has anything important happened in the prefecture lately?" Kuang Liuting didn't have deep personal prejudices and genuinely liked this capable person. As soon as they met, he offered a word of comfort.

"Serving the country, I dare not complain of hardship." Seeing that the satisfaction on Kuang Liuting's face had deepened, Zhu Tong continued, "During your seclusion, Lord, the state has been peaceful and prosperous."

Knowing that Kuang Liuting disliked flattery, Zhu Tong kept the praise brief and to the point, concisely recounting the following events:

"Your Excellency, I am but a humble official, and I believe the following matters require Your Excellency's consideration." Seeing Kuang Liuting nod in agreement, Zhu Tong continued:

"Firstly, a month ago, the Three Incense Cult in Pu Prefecture was reported by righteous people who said that it was causing chaos in the peace and that there were signs of a beast tide. After hearing about this, the governor of Pu Prefecture summoned the leader of the Three Incense Cult to the court and ordered him to clear his name."

The leader of the Three Incense Cult was terrified and dared not attend the meeting. He actually colluded with Demon Beasts of the fourth and fifth ranks, and with the power of the entire sect, he stirred up a small beast tide and caused chaos.

The Pu Prefecture was unable to control the situation, the strategic city was lost, and the number of dead and injured in the prefecture reached one million. Every household in the prefecture wore mourning clothes.

Fortunately, the Stone Mountain Sect of Pu Prefecture, mindful of the kindness of the Immortal Dynasty and possessing a pure heart, selected its disciples to descend the mountain and quell the rebellion.

As of yesterday, the Demon Correction Office Division reported that the beast tide in Pu Prefecture had subsided. Among the Three Incense Thieves, one Foundation Establishment was killed and another wounded, with only one remaining missing. As for the remaining thieves, most of them were taken in by the Two Instruments Sect.

"Have the clerk of the prefectural court investigate whether the Pu Prefecture was simply incompetent or fled in cowardice. Reward those who have rendered meritorious service and punish those who have committed offenses. Also, send word to the head of the Stone Mountain Sect to come see me; I intend to grant him a promising future."

A hint of satisfaction appeared on Kuang Liuting's face. He had worked tirelessly for many years, leaving behind the prosperous Capital Circuit and traveling to the border states. Now, he finally had one or two local powerful sects in the surrounding states who were grateful and loyal to the country.

Having said that, Kuang Liuting added, "If the Two Instruments Sect or the Hongyi Sect harbors any ill intentions towards the Stone Mountain Sect, report it immediately, and I will have a plan."

Zhu Tong bowed his head in obedience and replied that Kuang Liuting's full title was "Cavalry Commandant, General of the Vanguard Cavalry, Earl of Nan'an, holding the imperial insignia for military and civilian affairs of the four prefectures of Feng, Ding, Pu, and Yun."

However, the bet between the Master of the Star-Picking Pavilion and His Highness the Prince of the South only involved Cloud Horn Prefecture. As for the other three prefectures, they were merely titles imposed by the Immortal Dynasty.

Before Kuang Liuting achieved his Golden Core, he was difficult to manage. However, after the Supreme Elder of the Hongyi Sect in Ding Prefecture bought his life back from Kuang Liuting, he was able to intervene in most of the affairs in Ding Prefecture, and thus be able to do some profitable deals with the Two Instruments Sect.

Secondly, the newly appointed leader of Zi Maple Valley Shen Baiyue, died, and it was rumored that he was murdered by Ye Zhen, the leader of the New Cloud Alliance. Demon Correction Office Tie Liuyun, came to investigate the case and wanted to detain Ye Zhen for questioning. Ye Zhen refused to accept the verdict, Book and Sword Gate Sect was almost forced to rebel because of him.

When Zhu Tong spoke of this matter, his tone became even more forceful. Kuang Liuting, however, saw through the former's thoughts and, instead of getting angry, asked, "And then?"

"Double Brightness Dabao, the leader of Kang Dabao, intervened and the two sides temporarily ceased hostilities. Ye Zhen reported to the state court's criminal department, intending to accuse Tie Liuyun of abusing his power for personal gain."

"Oh, right. Kang Dabao, the eldest son-in-law of the Fei Household, has already Foundation Establishment, and I haven't even gone to congratulate him yet!" Kuang Liuting ignored Zhu Tong's subtle words and instead showed some joy on his face, while Zhu Tong's face showed a slight look of panic.

The nobleman smiled faintly and said, "Since I have nothing else to do, I'll go to the Book and Sword Gate to settle things for Ye Zhen and see if he's been wronged."

(Thanks to Huang Songbai and Jash for the eight Extended Net Moon, and thanks to Mutouzhuzi, Qiutian Guihuaxiang, and Xin Chuisi for the six Extended Net Moon.)

Thanks to Deep Pirate Blue, liuhsf Xuan, Bai Jie, Book Club tail number 5635, Book Club tail number 6563, Contempt Stallion Novels, Champagne Jinnian, Xiaozhu·shin, Counterpart for Higher Education, Zi Zi Xianju, The Cutest Meow, xxDawn, Qinghan Muxue and several brothers for four monthly passes)

Thanks for my love of D version, Enemies Say Good Words, Mo Anyu, Look Coldly at Qin Huaiyue, Love Is Infatuated, Book Club End Number 7387, Book Club End Number 3513, Wenchang Tower, Chaohu Prawn, Dadianzi , Lao Qi rushes for me, Xiang Xiaoshuai, book friend's tail number 4080, book friend's tail number 5050, book friend's tail number 5799, sick doctor, Qingshan Xiaohanlang, book friend's tail number 3585, Yamanaka No Old Man, Nine Heavens by the Sea, Book Club's Tail Number 8396, Only Sighing a Silent Dream, Book Club's Tail Number 1291, Book Club's Tail Number 2322, Nameless Mountain, Naihe Yuanqian, South Tower Smoke and Water Long , book friend's tail number 1116, big bones who love to sleep, book friend's tail number 3364, Mai Mai Mark Yulian, book friend's tail number 8240, Bing Miao Rongyan, 8426, book friend's tail number 9375 , Facebook style, book friend's tail number 38AD, puppet 24OK, radish mixed with cabbage, book friend's tail number 3844, black cloud guest, book friend's tail number 0865, book friend's tail number 5414, day The main filial son is France 002, Dao Keming, the book friend's tail number is 9456, the river is full of leaves, the book friend's tail number is 2346, Feng lyue, Shenwen Shengwu Qingjun side, Bd, the book friend's tail number is 57 73. Hashimoto evil, book friend's tail number 6250, book friend's tail number 7247, snow leopard thimble, book friend's tail number 54Ba, cherish and thank you, book friend's tail number 3414, book friend's tail number 6853, zoukun, book friend's tail number 2480, book friend's tail number 7998, trapanda, gravekeeper, nightmare hao, dishwashing bear, Xiaoyun Xiyue's two monthly passes from the old buddy

(Due to space limitations, the remaining votes from the Lao Bai will be included in the next chapter. Thank you.)