Chapter 34: Leaving the Palace

"Donate? Of course, we must donate! We shall donate it all!"

Jiang Daiyin slammed her hand on the table to settle the matter, though she could not help but grumble inwardly. If a head of cabbage were to witness the way these women in the harem vied for favor, it would surely spin in circles from dizziness. Jiang Daiyin donated all the silver her mother had earned from the noble ladies—a full three thousand taels. The harem concubines, upon hearing this, cursed the Empress under their breaths for standing out and stealing their thunder. Had Jiang Daiyin heard them, she might have been tempted to retort with a few choice words.

Lu Chongxiu pondered the matter. The only hype they could manufacture for Zhoumei Electronics lately was the success of their "Hundred Cities, Hundred Stores" campaign; what other plans could there possibly be?

Zhang Zhiyuan felt as if he had been struck by a bolt of lightning. It was truly one disaster after another, but given the gravity of the situation, he had no choice but to report the truth.

Sorcerers require spiritual power to commune with heaven and earth when casting spells or setting up formations; they must borrow power from the universe. Without such power, it is naturally impossible to manifest spells or arrays.

The young man understood instantly. With a cold sneer, he struck out with his left palm in the next heartbeat. Poor Luo Tian wanted to resist, but he found himself utterly unable to move, forced to watch helplessly as the palm, imbued with spiritual energy, pressed directly against his chest.

At this very moment, Hua Long desperately wanted to flee, but his legs trembled incessantly, drained of all strength.

One had to admit that the older ginger is indeed the spicier; had it been someone inexperienced, they certainly would not have thought to investigate the ninjas' base of operations.

"Shaoyuan, perhaps... I shouldn't go to your mother’s house today. Could you take these back for me?" On the way to buy flowers, the more Li Hui thought about Xu Shaoyuan letting go of her hand, the more distressed she felt.

Xu Jiaren acted like an insufferable brat, but Yan Xin knew she was not that kind of person at all.

"He said he was Emperor Feng..." The waiter snapped back to reality and immediately clamped a hand over his mouth, not daring to utter another word.

The weather, which had been bright and sunny, suddenly turned overcast after midday. It rained, and before long, the drizzle intensified into a steady downpour.

Jing Yi panted heavily, gripping the fourth-level star crystal in his palm. He stared fixedly at Ma San, who sat beneath the bronze statue of the Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva. If he could defeat him, he could capture Ma Yi. With Ma Yi as leverage, negotiating with other factions and freeing himself from the Peng family would be an effortless task.

The tent was lined with soft carpets—one wondered if this was a standard luxury for the nobles of the Seven Prefectures, or a special privilege enjoyed solely by this strategist who feared the bitter cold.

Affection is not something acquired overnight. Likewise, the bond between her and Ye Yu was not one of love at first sight; they had spent their days together, and people are always tethered by something: habit.

That night, she departed coughing up blood. He risked discovery by his father to run out after her, but he could not find a trace of her. In that moment, his heart twisted, and he felt as frantic as an ant on a hot pan, his thoughts in total disarray.

The moment he grasped his blade, the vast, ocean-like intent of the sword merged with the malevolent aura of the slaughtering knife. The surging crimson light assaulted the horizon, tearing the firmament asunder; to the eyes of all living beings, it looked as if the gates of heaven had been flung open above the ninth celestial sphere.

Beneath him lay an endless green forest, and from the air, strange beasts and birds swooped toward him. Despite being hunted, Zhang Tian felt a sense of absolute freedom while soaring above the vast wilderness—a sensation he had never experienced on Earth.

The cultivation method he practiced was called "Great Dao Resonance," yet since he began, all of his resonance had revolved around spiritual energy. As for the "Dao" itself, Zhang Tian had never truly contemplated it. He had once believed spiritual energy was the Dao, but now he felt that was not the full truth.

He simultaneously controlled the Primordial Demon Spiritual Pulse and the Buddha Sovereign Spiritual Pulse within his body, slowly pushing the powers of his Primordial Demon bloodline and the Golden Buddha Saint Body technique to their peak.

His great-grandfather, Lin Zetian, spoke up. Lin Langtian stared at Jiang Huairen for ten minutes; even Lin Zetian did not know what Lin Langtian intended to do.

Listening to Ye Xiu’s words, the doctors were all stunned, their expressions frozen. Every one of them almost thought they had misheard.

"Was that the first time it moved?" He had never heard her mention it, so it must have been the first time—yet he had missed it.