Cultivating for a hundred lifetimes to ascension Chapter 1367: 735: Competing for Favor and Xuan Jing’s Current Situation (Part 2)

At that precise moment, a pair of women adorned in elegant palace robes entered through the doorway. Their eyes immediately locked onto the Ten-thousand-year-old Five-Colored Ganoderma resting upon the floor.

“Sister, look! What could that be?”

A melodic, enchanting voice reached Peng Jian’s ears, sending a jolt of panic through her heart.

Scrambling up from the ground, she grabbed the Jade Box with haste and lunged toward the Lingzhi, desperate to retrieve it and secure it within the container as fast as possible.

However, before her fingers could touch it, the Ten-thousand-year-old Five-Colored Ganoderma lifted into the air. It glided gracefully into the palm of the stunningly beautiful woman in palace attire.

Ren Yinfu’s eyes shone with delight as she presented the Five-Colored Ganoderma to her elder sister, Ren Jinzi. With an ingratiating tone, she remarked, “Sister, look! This is a Five-colored Treasure Ganoderma that has matured for over a thousand years. It is the perfect supplement for nurturing your pregnancy.”

Witnessing this, Peng Jian was forced to step forward. Swallowing her anxiety, she made a formal request: “Noble Lady Ren, that item belongs to Her Majesty. I ask that you return it to this servant immediately.”

Ren Yinfu acted as though she were deaf to the plea, continuing to show the Ten-thousand-year-old Five-Colored Ganoderma to her sister, her face full of the desire to please.

“Yinfu, stop being so petty! Give the Lingzhi back at once!” Ren Jinzi commanded, her brow furrowed in a stern rebuke of her sibling.

As the younger sister, Ren Yinfu could get away with being willfully difficult, but Ren Jinzi, being the elder, had to uphold a sense of ‘propriety’ to ensure outsiders did not view them with contempt.

“Fine! It’s not as if this thing is actually special. Master has bestowed a mountain of treasures upon us before that are far more precious than this, hmph!”

Losing interest, Ren Yinfu carelessly tossed the Treasure Ganoderma back to Peng Jian, grumbling under her breath in a defiant manner.

From her high position on the Jade Couch, Kang Min had observed the entire exchange at the entrance. Her tension suddenly vanished, and with a radiant, flower-like smile, she called out, “So it is the two sisters who have arrived! Please, enter quickly so I may have a proper look at you both.”

Turning her gaze toward Peng Jian, she added a sharp instruction: “Peng Jian, you come over here as well.”

The Ren sisters traded a quick look before proceeding toward the Jade Couch.

By the time they arrived, a pair of maids had already arranged two smaller Jade Couches on either side for them.

Following the exchange of formal pleasantries and idle chatter, the Ren sisters took their respective seats.

Kang Min then cast a meaningful look at Peng Jian.

Understanding the silent command, Peng Jian immediately walked to her mistress's side, her grip still tight on the Jade Box.

Without offering a detailed explanation, Kang Min gave a decisive order: “You foolish thing, be quick and deliver that Jade Box!”

“Yes, Your Majesty!” Peng Jian answered sharply, turning at once toward Ren Jinzi.

Kang Min then let out a light laugh and said, “My sister has been pregnant for ten months and requires treasure medicines to sustain her health. It just so happens that a subordinate presented us with a Ten-thousand-year-old Five-Colored Ganoderma. I shall gift this medicine to my sister. It will serve to replenish your Primordial Qi and allow you to nurture your pregnancy in peace.”

“This… how could I possibly! Such a medicine is incredibly rare. I wouldn't dare accept it; sister must keep it for herself!” Ren Jinzi declined repeatedly, her face a mask of surprise and flattery.

“It is but a simple Spiritual Medicine; how could it ever outweigh the bond we share as sisters? Furthermore, you are carrying the master’s flesh and blood. No Spiritual Medicine, regardless of its value, is more vital than the master’s child. Sister, do not refuse me any longer. Accept it, or I shall truly be offended.”

“This… well then! I cannot find it in me to reject such a sincere gesture. I thank you for the medicine, sister!” Seeing no other way, Ren Jinzi accepted the gift with feigned reluctance.

Peng Jian set the Jade Box down beside the couch, bowed deeply, and returned to stand silently by her mistress.

Watching from the opposite side, Ren Yinfu’s expression was one of disdain, as if she found the hollow politeness between the two women unbearable.

In truth, despite Zhao Sheng’s century of effort, his vast harem of beauties, and the consumption of endless miracle pills and treasure medicines, only Ren Jinzi had managed to conceive.

Ten months had passed since the pregnancy was first confirmed.

Yet, her stomach remained entirely flat, showing no outward signs of her condition.

Zhao Sheng had personally inspected her and determined that the fetus required a full three years within the womb before it would be ready for birth.

This served as a clear testament to how difficult it was for high-level cultivators to produce heirs.

Ever since the news of the pregnancy broke, the status of the Ren sisters within the Zhao Family had soared.

Even the Divinity Transformation Ancestors took a keen interest, sending a constant stream of rare artifacts. They viewed the unborn child in Ren Jinzi’s womb as the future of the Divine Artisan Zhao Clan.

Because of this child, the bond between the Divine Artisan Zhao Clan and the Ancestor had become incredibly firm, losing the sense of 'distance' that had previously existed.

An hour later, Kang Min maintained a cheerful facade as she watched the Ren sisters depart from her chambers.

The moment their figures vanished past the palace gates, her face transformed into a mask of cold fury. A chilling aura radiated from her as she sat as motionless as a statue.

After a long silence, Peng Jian could no longer contain her worry and spoke softly, “Your Majesty—”

“Get out!” Kang Min screamed suddenly, her voice high-pitched and bordering on the hysterical.

Terrified, Peng Jian did not dare utter another word. She fled the palace immediately, followed closely by the other maids who feared they might become targets of their mistress's boiling rage.

…

The petty conflicts of the harem had no impact on Zhao Sheng’s excellent mood.

Deep within a Spiritual Vein Cave, located a thousand miles beneath the Wolong Mountain Range, Zhao Sheng sat in a meditative posture above a spring eye. He held a milky-white Jade Scroll, a faint smile playing on his lips.

Beneath him lay a Jade Pond spanning roughly ten acres. Its waters were as clear as Jade Liquid, shimmering with a vibrant radiance that suggested the Mystic Crystal Origin Qi within was nearly solidifying into liquid form.

The ‘spring eye’ at the pond's center connected directly to the Dark Sky. It pulled Void Realm Source Qi from the heavens, causing it to bubble up from the depths and into the water.

This ‘spring eye’ shared similarities with the ‘Void Abyss Well’ of the Beihai Daoist School, yet its craftsmanship was significantly more sophisticated.

Zhao Sheng had spent several decades in secluded study of this ‘Jade Void Spring Eye,’ yet he had only managed to grasp its surface-level functions, failing to reach the core of its design.

It appeared that the ‘Jade Void Spring Eye’ was a natural wonder enhanced by Array Dao and Artifact Dao techniques that far eclipsed Zhao Sheng’s own abilities.

He later discovered that this masterpiece was the creation of Zhao Xuanjing, a man famous throughout the Ten Thousand Peak Spirit Domain.

Zhao Xuanjing had long been revered as a ‘Divine Artisan,’ and the Jade Void Spring Eye was undeniably one of his greatest achievements.

It was only logical that Zhao Sheng found its complexities impossible to decipher.

As he contemplated the current unfortunate circumstances of Zhao Xuanjing, the smile on Zhao Sheng’s face slowly faded. His brow tightened, and he let out a soft, weary sigh.