"Royal Big Brother, can we… can we rest… rest for a moment?" Chu Ci asked with great effort, as though experiencing a lot of pain.
"Let's continue," Prince Chu Huang calmly replied. "We've purified your blood a total of nine times. We're just one short; we can't go and ruin it all now…."
Princess Chu Ci bit her lips and shook. "But I… I al— almost… can't bear it anymore…."
Prince Chu Huang glared at her and began scolding, "Grow up. Can't you take even this small amount of pain? Do you think our royal family's Blood-Refining Dragon Lotus Platform can be used by just anyone? How can you have this opportunity and not appreciate it? There are only two days before you will have to fight with that barbaric Bohai girl for the Dragon-String Guzheng. Do you think it wouldn't bring shame upon our entire royal clan if you happened to lose to her?"
When Fang Xing heard this, his desire to cause them trouble actually diminished and he decided to listen carefully first. Since it was related to Ying Qiaoqiao, he wanted to hear what this was all about.
Prince Chu Huang stopped speaking and instead placed his palm back to the lotus platform to forcibly cleanse Chu Ci's Qi once more. As for Chu Ci, she could only bite her tongue and endure.
This method of purifying Qi continued for a long time, and it didn't take much before Fang Xing's spirit sense inside their cave had thinned to the point he could no longer spy on them. He could only shrink back, rest a bit, and then send his spirit sense over again, repeating the process several times until their blood purification process had been completed.
As Princess Chu Ci sat on top of the lotus platform with her eyes tightly shut, her blood boiled and her Qi turned almost like silk. The faint illusion of a dragon appeared in the surrounding air, circling her before disappearing into her body in an incredibly stunning display.
"Blood purification completed. If you form the foundation, at worst you'll form the pure white foundation, and you may even have a chance at forming the golden foundation as well. However, before that opportunity comes, you are best kept within Spirit Stage!" Prince Chu Huang calmly declared. "You have to win the Dragon-String Guzheng. With it, our royal clan's battle prowess will greatly increase and we'll be better able to watch over all of Chufung…."
Chu Ci nodded. "Please rest assured, Royal Big Brother. I will not disappoint you!"
Prince Chu Huang nodded lightly before flicking a finger, sending out some golden blood that landed between Chu Ci's brows. The blood then turned into a gold
dragon seal, half visible and half hidden like an incredibly mysterious golden third eye.
"Royal Big Brother, that's…" Chu Ci said in surprise, clearly feeling the power of this mysterious gold blood.
"You are about to go fight that barbaric Bohai girl for the Dragon-String Guzheng," Prince Chu Huang calmly replied. "The rules have already been set. The great elder just sent me a message: they will leave you two at a valley beneath Falling Snow Peak. Our family took out ten extremely rare Dragon Blood Pellets for Hu Qin in exchange for a chance to compete fairly with that barbaric girl, but the old man Hu Qin was rather generous; rather than keeping the Dragon Blood Pellets all for himself, he instead hid them all inside the valley….
"Once you're inside the valley, you and that barbarian girl will go and search for the pellets using your own abilities, and whoever finds one keeps it. By the end of the trials, whoever has the greater number of Dragon Blood Pellets will be able to succeed the Dragon-String Guzheng, and the loser will have the Dragon Blood Pellets they'd collected as compensation. This time, I've given you a drop of a dragon's blood, allowing you the ability to sense the aura of dragons. I want you to take all ten Dragon Blood Pellets into your hands; you are not allowed to leave one for others!"
"All ten?" Princess Chu Ci was a little surprised. If she took all of the Dragon Blood Pellets, wouldn't that mean once she succeeded the Dragon-String Guzheng, the little shimei from Bohai Kingdom wouldn't have even a single Dragon Blood Pellet to make up for it?
Prince Chu Huang seemed to see through her thoughts and coldly replied, "The great Dragon Blood Pellets are crafted with the true blood of a dragon and can purify the body and refine bones. It's considered a priceless treasure even for Foundation Stage cultivators, nothing short of invaluable. Even our royal Chu family only has a total of twenty-one pellets. Such precious pellets, giving so many to you is already considered a waste, yet you still want to share them with others?"
Princess Chu Ci did not dare to rebut and only quietly lowered her head. "Royal Big Brother, I shall remember this."
Prince Chu Huang nodded and stood up. From there, he brought Princess Chu Ci outside the cave before they rode his golden cloud off into the distance.
As for Fang Xing, he quickly returned his spirit sense and began thinking quietly to himself. 'How disgraceful is this golden turtle egg bastard? He speaks of rules, rules, rules, yet he would secretly have his little sister cheat. Doesn't this mean that
that damn girl is gonna lose for sure now?' After thinking it through, Fang Xing felt he couldn't stay inside the cave any longer. He ended his seclusion early and quickly followed in the direction the golden cloud had gone.
Three hundred miles away in front of a mountainous valley, a grey-robed Hu Qin and a yellow-robed Chu Taishang sat over a towering stone platform carved halfway up the snow-covered mountain peak. Their appearance was like those of immortals—as though they didn't even belong to this realm.
A red-dressed Ying Qiaoqiao stood beneath the snow peak with a stained scroll in her hands. Her face was clean and pure, her wounds seemed to have completely healed, and her cultivation level had increased considerably.
Chu Taishang gazed towards the Court of Enlightenment and saw a flicker of golden shine in the distance. "The sibling pair is nearly here, too. If my clan's youth wins this trial, she will also become your fourth student. Don't deny this when the time comes; you will have to teach her well!"
Old man Hu Qin's expression was calm. "If Chu Ci really does wish to study under me, she will only be the fifth and the little shimei."
Chu Taishang was a little surprised. "But we agreed—"
Hu Qing laughed. "We only agreed that if Chu Ci was able to win this round, I will pass the Dragon-String Guzheng on to her. I never agreed to take her as my fourth student. I've already decided, no matter whether Ying Qiaoqiao is able to win the succession of the Dragon-String Guzheng or not, I will still take her in as my fourth student. After all, it would mean she simply lost a trial, which can also be said to be the failure of my own teachings. Dismissing and replacing her with another just because she lost a trial like this? There's no need for that. Such a thing would be too unreasonable!" Although his expression was calm, his words were like iron pinned to steel, allowing no room for argument.
Initially stunned, Chu Taishang showed a bitter smile. "Fine. You still have that same temperament. If that's the case, this little youth of my clan shall then be your fifth disciple. However, since you've taken that girl from Bohai as your fourth student, if the Dragon-String Guzheng ends up in the hands of my clan's Ci'er, i will not let that girl leave empty handed either. I've brought three Ancient tools from the royal family; she will be able to choose one!"
"There's no need," old man Hu Qin emotionlessly replied. "Of these two juniors, we do not yet know who will win!"
Chu Taishang smiled and stopped talking. He was aware
was aware he'd only just barely grasped a chance for his junior to be able to succeed the Dragon-String Guzheng, and although the old man Hu Qin had agreed, it wasn't entirely pleasant or willing—the old man Hu Qin just hadn't had any other choice. The Dragon-String Guzheng was simply too important and the royal clan would definitely not give up without a good fight; they were willing to pay any price to have it in their hands.
As Prince Chu Huang and Princess Chu Ci drew closer, they lowered their clouds as a show of respect as far as three miles away. Chu Hung then grabbed Chu Ci as he leapt to the front of the snowy peak, first bowing to the old man Hu Qin before bowing to Chu Taishang. Their etiquette was nothing short of perfection. It seemed the scolding Chu Huang had received from Fang Xing definitely taught him a lesson; whenever he did something now, he would so with grace and made sure there wasn't a single thing wrong that could be picked out.
"Off you go, do your best," old man Hu Qin said to Ying Qiaoqiao below the peak, his voice calm.
Ying Qiaoqiao nodded before turning and bowing towards the old man Hu Qin atop the peak, summoning her courage as she walked forward. Chu Ci was in the front, with her trailing close behind. Ying Qiaoqiao's face showed a rare determination as she glanced in the direction of the Wanluo Court while she secretly nodded to herself and clenched her little fist tight.
An old servant standing outside the valley entrance repeated the rules: "There are a total of ten Dragon Blood Pellets within the valley, and the results will depend on how many each of you find. There is no need for you to hand them back to the grand elder at the end—you will be able to keep them. Each and every one of these Dragon Blood Pellets are priceless treasures, and it can also be considered as a resource given to you by the Snowy Mountain!" Once finished, he stood off to the side to allow them to enter.
One red, one yellow, the two young silhouettes turned into two streams of light as they dashed into the Falling Snow Valley and the formation was closed behind them. Only once the pair left the valley and the Dragon-String Guzheng knew its new owner would there be any further news.
The Dragon-String Guzheng had a quality even higher than the supreme Ancient tool, Phoenix-Fear Guqin. The tool that was powerful enough to reach the heavens in a single bound would finally have a home.
Although Chu Taishang sent a glare out at Prince Chu at Prince Chu Huang, Chu Huang simply sat atop a jade platform with his eyes lightly shut, as though unconcerned, causing Chu Taishang to be filled with relief as well. Although they'd helped Chu Ci increase her cultivation level, the old man Hu Qin's side hadn't been neglectful, either. Ying Qiaoqiao's cultivation level had clearly increased to the peak of Spirit Stage tier nine, and her aura and vigor also seemed to undergo an extreme change—her battle prowess likely greatly increased as well. Even then, if Prince Chu Huang was confident in his plan, Chu Taishang still believed the outcome was certain.
The Chu royal clan simply had to have this supreme Ancient tool. Chu Taishang believed the old man Hu Qin had already resigned himself to giving up the Dragon-String Guzheng and would give this fourth student a different Ancient tool instead. Chu Taishang was more than willing to offer one of his Ancient tools to aid in this.
Just as the two girls entered Falling Snow Valley, Fang Xing arrived on the other side and began to speculate. "Everything has been covered by the formation. Old Peng, I'll tell you the location of the eight doors, you calculate a safe path for me to enter inside. Have to be careful though, don't let it disturb the two Golden Cores. If something happens, I'll throw you into a toilet and p*ss all over your face…."
"Damn kid, can't you be a bit more pleasant with what you say? In the end, I am still a Golden Core myself…" the Peng King muttered discontently.
"Merely a strand of spirit from a Golden Core beast king. You eat what is mine and drink what is mine; what, am I not able to scold you even a few sentences now?"
The Peng King began to huff loudly in anger. He'd had enough of being the slave of this little brat! "Hmph, a brat like you is too rude. I won't help you anymore; go calculate it yourself!"
"Sigh, great mister Old Peng, please don't throw a tantrum now. Be good…."
"'Be good' your *ss! Aren't you treating me like your grandson? Speak to me politely!"
"Fine fine fine, how about I'll be your grandson? By the way, can you—the so-called great Golden Core beast king of the beast tribes—even solve the formation placed by other Golden Cores? You boasted about how great you are before, don't tell me I'm going to find out otherwise right now…."
"Stupid little brat, how dare you look down on me? Let me say this first, though, I am only going to help you enter and exit. If you get yourself in any other trouble, I will not be the one to blame!"