Chapter 24: Chapter 24 - Corporeal Realm
In Zhou Qing's Room
Zhou Yuan inquired, "Father, when will we be leaving?"
Upon seeing Zhou Yuan's impatient appearance, Zhou Qing could only helplessly chuckle and reply, "In five days. I will instruct Lu Tieshan and a group of imperial guards to protect you on this trip to Canglan County."
…
Time flew by. In the blink of an eye, two days had passed.
Night of the second day.
On the bed, Zhou Yuan's eyes were tightly shut, a faint light flickering between his brows where an illusory figure could be seen. It was Zhou Yuan's Spirit.
Rumble!
A rumbling noise rang out from between Zhou Yuan's brow at this moment, indicating the divine grindstone was rotating. It was obvious that Zhou Yuan was currently using the Primal Chaos Divine Grindstone Visualisation Method to temper his Spirit.
It had almost been half a year since he began practicing the Primal Chaos Divine Grindstone Visualisation Method. Zhou Yuan's Spirit was growing increasingly tough and powerful under his relentless training.
In a formless black space, an unimaginably huge grindstone slowly turned. Anything that was cast unto it would be crushed into nothingness.
An illusory silhouette was currently bitterly enduring within the titanic grindstone.
The upper and lower wheels slowly crushed its body. Every touch caused the illusory figure to tremble violently as if it were bearing an immense pain.
As it bitterly persisted, the three golden markings on the slowly turning grindstone suddenly joined together again.
Nine rotations of the divine grindstone, every rotation a whole new realm!
Crack!
As the two golden lines became one once again, Zhou Yuan's Spirit finally reached its limit and shattered. But soon after, an invisible ripple converged in front of the divine grindstone as a corporeal figure appeared.
It was Zhou Yuan's Spirit.
It almost looked solid. Zhou Yuan felt both his physical and spiritual senses grow sharper.
Zhou Yuan's face was flooded with joy. Now that he had reached at least the corporeal realm he could easily draw Grade 4 runes which meant he no longer had to place his safety in the hands of others.
He hated any moment where he had to place his well-being or life in another's hands.
With Grade 4 Runes, mere elementary Alpha Origin Realm experts would no longer be a problem.
He had already learned nearly all the Grade 3 runes that Yao Yao taught him.
Although he won't be able to learn all Grade 4 Runes he could learn some that increase defense and one or two for attack.
Now he had to go To Yao Yao and inform her of the good news.
Yao Yao had also reached the Corporeal realm a month ago.
In the original work, she only reached it in the saint domain realm.
Anyway, watching and looking at her out-of-the-world face, didn't tire him out so he sometimes just sat with her and kept looking at her, while this did fluster her, she did not mind it as she had grown close to him.
Huu.
Zhou Yuan let out a drawn-out breath as his body gradually relaxed.
"I can finally head to Canglan County without too much worry."
Zhou Yuan planned to enter the Qi Nourishing Stage when he would be on his way to Canglan Country.
Now for the remaining three days, he would learn some Grade 4 Genesis Runes.
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3 Days Later
In front of the royal palace.
A group of imperial guards stood ready and waiting. Beside them, Zhou Yuan's gaze constantly swept outwards into the distance as he talked to Zhou Qing and Qin Yu, who had come to send him off.
Clatter clatter!
The hurried sounds of galloping were transmitted from afar as a fiery red horse seemed to fly towards them. It eventually came to a stop a short distance from them with a neigh and lithe figure gracefully dismounted.
The figure naturally turned out to be Su Youwei. Today, she wore a grey shirt and trousers, while her long hair was bundled into a ponytail, making her look relaxed and pretty.
The imperial guards did not stop her, allowing her to pass through and walk to the carriage. Due to having hurried here, her pretty face was a little flushed, and beads of sweat dotted her fair forehead.
"Youwei greets his and her majesties." The first thing Su Youwei did was cup her fists and bow towards Zhou Qing and Qin Yu.
Zhou Qing and Qin Yu responded with warm smiles. They had seen Su Youwei's performance during the class ranking exam and were quite fond of this strong and independent girl.
"Youwei, treat this trip as a training experience. Also, help me take care of Zhou Yuan, and don't let him cause too much trouble." Qin Yu smiled.
Zhou Yuan chuckled. Both Yaoyao and Su Youwei were tagging along this time. Yaoyao was coming with Zhou Yuan because she had become rather bored in the palace, and she also had to teach Zhou Yuan some more Grade 4 Genesis Runes. As for Su Youwei, he hoped that she would be able to gain different experiences which would be beneficial for her cultivation.
After all, Su Youwei was on the verge of unblocking her eight meridian channels and stepping into the Qi Nourishing stage. Hence, the Great Zhou Institute no longer had much to offer her. To not delay her cultivation progress, Zhou Yuan decided to bring her along on this trip to Canglan County.
"It's about time, prepare to set off." Zhou Yuan glanced at the sky before turning to Lu Tieshan. "You shall be tasked with protecting them."
Lu Tieshan replied in a solemn voice, "Don't worry Your Majesty, I will offer you my head if anything happens to his highness."
"I do not wish for anything to happen to any one of you." Zhou Qing waved his hand.
Lu Tieshan nodded before he stood up and mounted his horse. With a wave of his hand, he loudly shouted, "We're setting off!"
Zhou Yuan took a step onto the carriage, waving his final goodbye to Zhou Qing and Qin Yu before entering.
The group began their journey, accompanied by rumbling sounds of movement as they passed through various streets, ultimately exiting Great Zhou City and heading straight toward Canglan County.
…
When Zhou Yuan left Great Zhou City.
Qi Manor.
In a certain study, Qi Manor's housekeeper, Qi Ling, respectfully reported, "Master, Lu Tieshan and a thousand imperial guards have accompanied Zhou Yuan out of the city. Their destination should be Canglan County."
Behind the desk, Qi Yuan nodded with an emotionless face.
"Looks like the royal clan has also heard of the most recent news regarding those ruins."
An eerie light flickered in Qi Yuan's eyes as he indifferently said, "Things did not turn out well for us in the Great Zhou Institute matter, but this time, I am determined to get my hands on the Fire Spirit Grain!"
The Fire Spirit Grain was a grade 4 Genesis Food, an item with an inestimable value. With it, Qi Manor would be able to both nurture and gather multitudes of experts.
Just think about it, the royal clan had managed to stabilize their situation with the grade 2 Mysterious Crystal Rice. If Qi Manor obtained the Fire Spirit Grain, Qi Yuan believed that they would be able to completely crush the royal clan in less than a year.
"I will stay in Great Zhou City to keep Zhou Qing in check. You shall set off immediately, head for Canglan County, and get in contact with Hao'er. He has after all managed to build up a place for himself there over the past two years. I want the both of you to find a way to pull Wei Canglan to our side!"
Qi Yuan's eyes hardened as he continued, "As long as Wei Canglang stands with us, there will no longer be anything to fear and we will immediately take action to remove the royal clan."
"Of course…" Teacup in hand, Qi Yuan icily said, "If Wei Canglan shows any indications of leaning towards the royal clan, it will be best that you find a way to eliminate him. Once Wei Canglan dies, the Canglan army would be akin to a headless dragon, allowing Hao'er to swiftly take over and use them to attack the royal clan."
Qi Ling responded, "Understood!"
Qi Yuan's eyes narrowed like a vicious wolf as he said in a hair-raising voice, "As for Zhou Yuan, tell Hao'er if there is a chance, make sure that the little bastard never returns to Great Zhou City!"
"Canglan County is right next to Blackwater. It will not be strange for anyone to die there, even a prince."
"That little Bastard dared to cripple my son, he should repay this debt with his life!"
Qi Yuan's voice was as cold as a malicious spirit that had crawled out from the abyss, dripping with so much venom that hearing it would cause one's heart to shiver uncontrollably.
Qi Ling immediately acknowledged before turning around and leaving.
Qi Yuan watched Qi Ling leave before he lifted his head and looked in the direction of the royal palace as a cold voice echoed in the study,
"Zhou Qing, don't be so happy just because you won in the Great Zhou Institute affair. Once the Fire Spirit Grain falls into my hands, your royal clan will never be able to rise again!"
"Qi Manor will win this time! When that happens, I make sure to let both father and son have a taste of what it's like to be stray dogs!"
…
Canglan County sat at the southwest border of the Great Zhou Empire and was quite some distance from Great Zhou City. At Zhou Yuan and the group's current pace, it would take at least half a month to reach their destination.
Fortunately, there was the company of Yaoyao and Su Youwei. Under the sunlight, those two beautiful faces were a rare treat for Zhou Yuan, making the dull journey rather exhilarating.
In three Days Zhou Yuan had managed to learn 2 Grade 4 runes.
Glazed Golden Body Rune, Heavenly Blade Rune, one for attack and one for defense.
Now in this remaining time, he would try to learn at least 2 more Genesis Runes to increase his arsenal.
He also planned to bury Qi Hao and his men in the General's Mansion to decrease his work.
However, the implementation of this plan also required Yao Yao's assistance, so he would have to discuss the plan with her.
He was not going to play nice as this was a world where Killing was an everyday thing.
On this trip, his first objective was to obtain Silver Shadow, the remaining Genesis treasures, and ensure the safety of Yaoyao and Su Youwei, rest came after that.
As Zhou Yuan was immersed in thinking, Yao Yao from the side threw him a jade tablet. The extremely complex rune on the tablet glowed faintly. Zhou Yuan caught the tablet and looked at it.
"This is a grade 4 Genesis Rune, Magic Mountain Suppression Seal Rune suppression rune which takes the shape of a mountain. Once used it would make the opponent's soul feel like being crushed under a mountain, and take this too", she threw another jade tablet towards Zhou Yuan.
"This is the Dragon Binding Rune, it is of Grade 4 too. It is a restraining rune that takes the shape of a dragon."
Both of these Runes appeared extremely complicated and were made up of at least thousands of strokes without a strong Spirit, a few glances would make one dizzy.
"Thank you, Yao Yao", Zhou Yuan also took out a bottle of rich wine and handed it to her.
Subsequently, he fished out a jade strip and tossed it at Su Youwei.
Su Youwei hastily caught the jade strip and asked in a puzzled manner, "What is this?"
Zhou Yuan smiled and said, "A low-grade Black Genesis technique I took it from the royal treasury, Heavenly Luo Hand. It's pretty suitable for you."
Su Youwei grasped the jade strip as she said in a rather hesitant manner, "Your Highness, this is too precious."
She knew the value of a low-grade Black Genesis technique. Even the Great Zhou Institute did not own any techniques of this level. It would at the very least cost several tens of thousands of Genesis crystals, a price she would not be able to raise even if she sold herself.
Zhou Yuan sternly said, "We're not on a sightseeing trip. You're about to unblock your eighth meridian channel and reach the Qi Nourishing stage. If you manage to learn the Heavenly Luo Hand, you will have some battle power if we encounter any enemies."
Su Youwei gently bit her red lips. She was not an unreasonable person after all and soon tightly gripped the jade strip as she earnestly nodded. "Don't worry Your Highness, I will master it as soon as possible!"
Zhou Yuan chuckled and nodded. Before leaving Great Zhou City, Zhou Qing had given him a mid-grade Black Genesis technique, Emperor Extreme Seal. Unfortunately, this technique was too adamant and inflexible, hence not suitable for Su Youwei.
As this high-intensity study continued, Zhou Yuan and the gang slowly approached Canglan County.
However, before they reached their destination, a certain incident made Zhou Yuan have no choice but to slow their speed.
Both he and Su Youwei were about to step into the Qi Nourishing stage.
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END
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