"Furthermore, according to internal information obtained by your father, Kongming Palace recently acquired a rare heavenly treasure. What it is precisely remains unclear, but it is said to be able to widen meridians and increase cultivation speed. Before you go to Qixia Palace, you must cultivate a good relationship with Prince Duan, and ideally coax him into getting this item for you."
Chu Nanxi bit her rosy lips, pondered for a moment, and said, "Father, ever since the Chu Family was destroyed and Chu Qinghuang died, I always feel that Prince Duan has been somewhat depressed. In my view, Prince Duan was not without feelings for Chu Qinghuang; it is simply that he failed to realize it himself."
Patriarch Chu sneered. "Xi'er, what our family wants is the position of Princess Duan and, eventually, the Empress. As for Prince Duan's affection, it is best if he has it, but if he does not, you must find a way to secure your place by his side and bear him an eldest legitimate son. Only then can our family's status in Aoyun State rise to the next level."
Listening to Chu Nanxi talk about matters concerning her, Chu Qinghuang hastily fished a recording stone out of her space and placed it over the small hole she had just poked open.
"For the thrones of Princess Duan and Empress, Father has already eliminated Chu Qinghuang for you. As for the Chu Family's treasures you mentioned, we searched the entire Chu Family and found nothing. Where on earth did you get this news? Is it accurate?"
"Your daughter does not know either. Those people merely said they were lending us manpower to help destroy the Chu Family together; they did not go into detail about what those items actually were. Regardless, the Chu Family has been exterminated, and our family has taken another step forward. Whether we obtained the treasure or not, it brings us more benefits than harm, especially regarding Prince Duan. After all, his betrothal to Chu Qinghuang was decided when the late Emperor was still alive, and even the current ruler finds it difficult to cancel. Aside from Chu Qinghuang's death, truly there was no other way to break the engagement."
"Whichever hands we borrowed, the destruction of the Chu Family brings our family only advantages and no disadvantages. Now that Chu Qinghuang is no longer in the way to cause trouble, you must make sure to firmly grasp Prince Duan."
"Yes, Daughter understands."
"Good, go back and rest early."
"Yes."
After Chu Nanxi left Patriarch Chu's study, Chu Qinghuang put away the recording stone in her hand and stealthily returned to her own estate. Back in her room, Chu Qinghuang took a sip of water and sat by the table, pondering what Patriarch Chu had just said. If she wanted to obtain the treasure mentioned by Patriarch Chu—the one capable of widening meridians and increasing cultivation speed—she would have to go to Kongming Palace. Yet, with her meager strength, how could she possibly gain entry into a place as lofty as Kongming Palace? Fortunately, Kongming Palace would be holding admissions after some time, giving her a chance to try her hand. What if she managed to pass the examination? Securing such a marvelous treasure would bring lifelong benefits.
Early the next morning, Chu Qinghuang settled her servants, left the Main City, and headed along the Dark Moon Ghost Forest toward Kongming Palace, undertaking trials as she walked.
The Dark Moon Ghost Forest is a mountain range stretching tens of thousands of miles, connecting four countries on the Yeling Continent: Aoyun State, Xuanyue Country, Canglang State, and Hongxiu Country.
It is said that the Dark Moon Ghost Forest holds countless high-grade medicinal herbs and numerous Mystic Beasts, along with even higher-grade spirit beasts and holy beasts, and perhaps even legendary divine beasts deep within the forest. However, on this low-tier continent, merely possessing a spirit beast was already a rarity, let alone holy beasts, not to mention divine beasts.
After a day and a night, relying on the memories in her mind, Chu Qinghuang arrived at the outer periphery of the Dark Moon Ghost Forest closest to the Main City. Standing outside the forest, Chu Qinghuang could already feel the mystery and vastness of the Dark Moon Ghost Forest. Looking into the forest, the canopy of trees blotted out the sky, tall and dense, with only a few scattered beams of sunlight piercing through the gaps in the foliage to cast a hint of warmth into the forest. In the low bushes beneath the trees, a few wild chickens or hares would occasionally leap past, making the forest appear somewhat less dangerous.
Chu Qinghuang took a deep breath and lifted her foot into the forest. The moment she entered, a scent of rotting wood mixed with the smell of morning dew hit her face. Chu Qinghuang reached out to cover her nose and looked at the sides of the path; besides the small trail beneath her feet, the ground under the trees on both sides was covered in thick, decaying branches and leaves.
In her hand, Chu Qinghuang held an ordinary longsword casually bought in the city, while the Fenghua Sword was kept inside her space. After all, a fine sword would easily attract the covetousness of others and bring unnecessary danger upon herself, especially since her current strength was still too weak.
Chu Qinghuang walked leisurely through the forest. Seeing that even the outer periphery of the forest held quite a few medicinal herbs, she took out a bamboo basket and a small trowel, gradually harvesting the herbs she recognized and putting them into her space to keep for concocting pills in the future.
During her month and more at the Yun Estate, Chu Qinghuang had not only practiced her spiritual power and trained her physical strength, but she had also thoroughly read the books within her space—especially the introductions to various medicinal herbs, which she had reviewed several times over. Although she had read books about medicinal herbs and studied medicine for a period in the past, she had only grasped the surface and was far from proficient. Now that she needed to learn how to refine pills, studying some medical knowledge was inevitable. It was just that medicine was vast and obscure, enough to cause quite a headache.
When evening arrived, Chu Qinghuang casually caught a wild chicken and roasted it for dinner, then climbed up a tree to rest. Just as she finished picking a spot among the branches, she heard a sickeningly sweet voice that gave her goosebumps in the middle of the night.
"Brother Ying, it's so gloomy in the middle of the night, it's rather frightening. We can just enter again tomorrow morning."
"Nanxi, as a cultivator, how can you fear the night? Once you go to Qixia Palace in the future, you will always have to participate in trials. By then you will be all by yourself with no one to accompany you, so you must adapt as quickly as possible."
Huh? Brother Ying? Nanxi? Could it be Prince Duan, Beigong Ying, and Chu Nanxi? Carefully parting the branches in front of her, Chu Qinghuang peeked through, and sure enough, it was the two of them. However, a few other people were following along beside them as well—presumably young masters and ladies from other families.
Chu Qinghuang wore a mocking smile at the corner of her lips. An entire family could be exterminated in a single night, yet a bit of darkness could scare her like this? What a fantastic act. No fertilizer sack in the world could hold as much pretense as she did. She probably wanted to play the innocent maiden so Prince Duan would pity and protect her. Ugh, truly disgusting.
Chu Qinghuang had originally intended to give Chu Nanxi a fright, but upon second thought, realizing the other girl was merely putting on an act and wasn't genuinely scared, startling her would actually play right into her hands. Pouting, Chu Qinghuang lowered the branches in front of her and leaned against the tree fork to rest.
Early the next morning, Chu Qinghuang climbed down from the fork in the tree. Reflecting on her encounter with Chu Nanxi the previous night, she felt a twinge of regret that her strength was lacking and she had no other way to properly punish them. She took out her pharmacology book from her space, sat beneath the tree to read, and after searching through the pages, discovered that itch powder and diarrhea powder were the simplest options. Diarrhea powder was essentially a laxative, and they were the only two varieties she currently had the capability to manufacture.