Chapter 601 - 359: Pill Dao Ascension (Part 2)
Zou Feng and Zhao Feixiong immediately agreed in unison.
"There is one other matter..." Jiang Wanzhao’s gaze swept over the two of them again before she continued. "The Dragon King of Yu Long Lake wishes to form a marriage alliance with our Pinnacle Celestial Immortal Sect and wants to marry the Ninth Princess to one of us."
’The Dragon King of Yu Long Lake is marrying off his daughter?’
Zou Feng, of course, was well aware that Yu Long Lake, being part of the Celestial Hearing Tower’s defensive line, was no small place. It was a massive lake that spanned a hundred li.
The Dragon King of the lake was the leader of the largest nearby Demon Race faction, and he had long ago submitted to the Pinnacle Celestial Immortal Sect.
In fact, it was only because they had submitted to the Pinnacle Celestial Immortal Sect that they were allowed to continue existing.
The lake served as a natural barrier, significantly lessening the burden on the Celestial Hearing Tower’s defensive line.
"Currently, the Celestial Hearing Tower has no suitable candidates. After all, the Dragon King is choosing a son-in-law; the candidate must at least have the potential of a True Inheritor..."
"So, which of you is willing to marry the Ninth Princess?" Jiang Wanzhao’s final words were a bombshell.
Zou Feng and Zhao Feixiong were both stunned.
’How did this suddenly become about marriage?!’
However, when it came to the potential of cultivators in the Dao Foundation Realm, they were indeed the only two suitable candidates in the entire Celestial Hearing Tower.
After all, both had established a Celestial Tier Dao Foundation at a young age. Their future promotion to True Inheritors was practically a sure thing.
The problem was, this matter was likely not that simple.
’Sure, being a Dragon Knight would be great,’ Zou Feng thought, ’but becoming the son-in-law of the Yu Long Lake’s Dragon King would bring with it some incredibly troublesome entanglements.’
There was absolutely no need to take on a pile of trouble just to experience the joys of being a Dragon Knight.
Just as Zou Feng was about to politely decline, Zhao Feixiong cut in, "Senior Sister Jiang, my heart is completely devoted to you; there’s simply no room for anyone else. Let’s have Junior Brother Zou handle this matter!"
’What the fuck? It’s fine if you don’t want to be a Dragon Knight, but why the hell did you have to nominate me to take on this trouble?’
"Absolutely not! I already have too many Dao Companions; I can’t handle any more. Besides, the dignified Ninth Princess can’t possibly marry me just to be a junior wife!" Zou Feng was quick to refuse outright.
Jiang Wanzhao was not surprised that Zhao Feixiong had refused.
But Zou Feng’s unwillingness took her by surprise.
"The Ninth Princess of Yu Long Lake is a famous beauty in the Northern Domain. Not only is her dowry incredibly generous, but she also possesses a special constitution that brings fortune to her Dao Companions..." Jiang Wanzhao said, staring at Zou Feng.
But Zou Feng just shook his head with a wry smile. "Senior Sister Jiang, this isn’t a matter of her looks or dowry..."
"But aren’t you, Zou Feng, famous for enjoying this sort of thing?" Jiang Wanzhao asked, puzzled. "Are you really going to pass up such a wonderful opportunity?"
’What do you mean, I’m famous for enjoying this sort of thing?’
’Is my reputation in the Pinnacle Celestial Immortal Sect really that terrible just because I found five Dao Companions?’
"A misunderstanding! A huge misunderstanding! If I truly enjoyed this sort of thing, the number of my Dao Companions would be at least ten times higher..."
Zou Feng regretted the words as soon as they left his mouth. It would have been better not to explain at all.
Seeing that Zou Feng was genuinely not interested, Jiang Wanzhao stopped trying to persuade him. "Fine, if you’re not willing, then forget it. But the Ninth Princess will be making a special trip here in three days. When she arrives, even if it’s just to go through the motions, you two must go and meet her along with the other candidates."
Since Jiang Wanzhao had said they only needed to go through the motions, Zhao Feixiong and Zou Feng could no longer refuse.
Once they had finished discussing the matter, Jiang Wanzhao waved her hand, dismissing them.
After stepping off the platform and finding themselves alone, Zhao Feixiong lowered his voice. "Junior Brother Zou, you can’t just recklessly practice the Evil Skills of the Ninefold Celestial Court. It could lead to major problems!"
Zou Feng had to admire him. ’Zhao Feixiong really has a sharp eye.’
’I’ve only been practicing for one night, and because it was reckless, it hasn’t even shown up on my panel yet.’
’Yet Zhao Feixiong still saw through it. He’s truly worthy of being considered a potential True Inheritor.’
"Don’t try it out of curiosity, thinking nothing will go wrong as long as you don’t get too deep into the Cultivation. In the past, the Evil Skills of the Ninefold Celestial Court have led even True Disciples astray."
"After he was bewitched, he gave up his position as a True Disciple and fled to the Ninefold Celestial Court to become a Celestial General..." Zhao Feixiong continued.
"Thank you for the reminder, Brother Zhao. I was actually just performing Refinement on some of the poisonous mushrooms we confiscated yesterday..." Zou Feng replied dismissively.
He truly wasn’t worried about any of that, but there was no way to explain it to Zhao Feixiong.
After parting ways with Zhao Feixiong, Zou Feng was about to return to his room to continue his Cultivation when he happened to run into Lian Zexing, who was walking toward him in a hurry.
Lian Zexing saw Zou Feng at the same time and quickened his pace, approaching to offer a salute. "Brother Zou, thank you so much for all your help yesterday!"
"Think nothing of it..."
Seeing Lian Zexing again, however, Zou Feng had a completely different feeling about him than before.
Previously, he felt nothing. Now, he had a faint impulse to perform Refinement on the man.
’This was highly unusual. In the past, he only got a similar feeling when encountering fellow Poison Cultivators.’
’Could it be that Lian Zexing was also a Poison Cultivator, just one who hid it well?’
’No, that can’t be it. Even if he hid it well enough for me not to notice, Xiaolv’s senses would never be mistaken.’
’So, in all likelihood, Lian Zexing isn’t a Poison Cultivator. He’s...’
Zou Feng faintly guessed at another possibility. He was, after all, cultivating the Outer Alchemy Dao now, so he would be able to sense beings that were suitable to be turned into an External Pill.
’It was similar to how a chef could tell the quality of an ingredient with a single glance.’
’However, as an Immortal Sect Disciple of the Pinnacle Celestial Immortal Sect, Lian Zexing shouldn’t have been suitable for becoming an External Pill.’
’Then he recalled how Lian Zexing had inexplicably shown killing intent toward him yesterday...’
’This guy was probably a real traitor who had cultivated the Nine Immortal Ascension Skills!’
’No wonder he was so unwilling to let me and Su Qingyu tag along to help yesterday.’
’Only after discovering that force wouldn’t work did he immediately change his tune.’
’Furthermore, yesterday, while my attention was focused on those poisonous mushrooms, he had probably already hidden away anything else of value or anything he wanted to conceal.’
’That’s why, even though it was clearly a Ninefold Celestial Court stronghold, all I found were poisonous mushrooms...’
But even though Lian Zexing was highly suspicious, Zou Feng didn’t intend to confront him just yet.
Lian Zexing was the Chief Inspection Envoy of the Jade Dragon Marketplace. If even he had been turned, one could only imagine how deeply the Ninefold Celestial Court had infiltrated the Celestial Hearing Tower.
Therefore, Lian Zexing was definitely not an isolated case; there were certainly more traitors.
It was best not to alert the enemy for now. He would see if he could use Lian Zexing as a lead to lure out an even bigger fish.
There was another reason Zou Feng didn’t want to reveal his hand too early.
His practice of the Outer Dao Pill had yet to yield any significant results, meaning he couldn’t kill Lian Zexing and refine him into an External Pill at the same time.
That clearly wasn’t worth it. It would be a complete waste of such excellent material...
The two exchanged a few more words of awkward small talk before bidding each other farewell.
Afterward, Zou Feng quickly returned to his room and immediately resumed his Cultivation of the Outer Dao Pill.
Qin Fengwu, who had been waiting in the room, saw Zou Feng enter a state of Cultivation the moment he returned and realized that her recent bath and change of clothes had been all for nothing.
This time, however, Zou Feng’s Cultivation session was clearly far more effective than the last.
He finally began to hear what Zhang Chi had described: a voice that always sounded like someone whispering in his ear.
Zou Feng couldn’t make out what the voice was saying, nor did he have any interest in doing so.
At the same time, Zou Feng didn’t feel that the voices were having any effect on his mental state.
After all, even if there were any effects, it was the person currently at the top of his list—True Monarch Tianyan, Nangong Chu—who was bearing the brunt of it.
The reason Nangong Chu was currently number one was, of course, that Zou Feng was worried the man would otherwise have the free time to plot against him.
So, as long as it had even a slight effect, enough to keep him perpetually annoyed and distracted, it would be enough. It would keep Nangong Chu too preoccupied to cause any trouble.
As his Cultivation continued, the voice gradually became clearer. He still couldn’t make out the words, but he could now tell that it sounded like a woman.
At the same time, a massive, terrifying Pill Furnace slowly materialized within Zou Feng’s sea of consciousness.
From within the Pill Furnace came an endless stream of shrill, miserable wails, as if countless Creatures were being incinerated and smelted inside.
Immortal Ascension through the External Pill: forging the Dao of Alchemy from myriad Creatures to achieve the Immortal Path!