Chapter 11 Chapter 11 "I heard everything."...

Jiu Zhao left the side hall feeling refreshed and ordered people to prepare water for bathing to wash off the remaining traces of He Xiu.

Nothing happened afterwards, so she simply went to visit Zhu Ying.

Nanling, a gathering place for wood-loving immortals, was renowned for its medical skills and miraculous medicines. Zhu Ying's injuries had healed considerably after using the medicine personally prepared by King Qiongying. Jiu Zhao sat with him in the room, drinking tea and offering a few casual words of comfort before changing the subject to inquire about the Immortal Rank Examination.

As the commanding immortal official of Lihentian, in order to serve his simple and unpretentious master well, Zhu Ying often needs to pay more attention to the outside world's trends for her - this also cultivated Jiuzhao's habit of calling him over to inquire when he encountered something unclear.

"Do you know who the Golden Immortals are who are participating in the Immortal Level Examination this time?"

Jiu Zhao felt unhappy when he thought of Fuxu's face full of affirmation when he mentioned Yingluo.

She still couldn't believe it. Could it be that the spot for the celestial fairy this year was already in Ying Luo's pocket?

There were a large number of candidates, and if one looked carefully, there were always a few strong contenders who could compete with him. The next time the matter of Fuxu came up again, she would use these names to cast a fine shadow on him. He claimed to be impartial, but in the end, his butt still tilted halfway when he saw Yingluo.

However, when this question came out, Zhu Ying's expression suddenly revealed a hint of speechlessness.

He seemed to be organizing his words, pausing for three full breaths before speaking softly, "Your Highness has not taken the exam for a long time, so you may not know—of course, this is also my fault for not informing Your Highness in time. Ever since a guilty immortal tried to cheat in the last exam and drugged his most promising comrade, causing him to suffer from diarrhea for three days and miss the chance to take the exam, the Emperor has decreed that the list of candidates will only be announced the day before the exam.

"Therefore, I beg Your Highness to forgive me for not knowing anything about this matter."

While confessing his crime, Zhu Ying felt somewhat puzzled as to why Jiu Zhao was concerned about the Immortal Level Examination.

You should know that in the past, whenever he mentioned these four words, Jiu Zhao would cover his ears and say that he was so annoyed and told him to get out quickly.

Could it be that His Highness has grown up, become more sensible, and knows how to make progress...

The more Zhu Ying thought about it, the more relieved he felt. He was about to encourage Jiu Zhao to sign up as soon as he made his decision, so as to avoid having to wait another three thousand years before the deadline.

But she was heard stroking her chin, lost in thought, and then an idea flashed through her mind as she stroked her hand and smiled, "I got it! If you want to know who the candidates are, you don't need to ask. Just go and see who lives in the Divine King's Palace in Erqingtian, and you'll know at a glance!"

"Humph, doesn't Fuxu support Yingluo? I'm going to support someone else. Let's see who wins and who loses!"

The feeling of being moved withered in the middle of its release.

Zhu Ying's face was full of complexities: "..."

…

Zhu Ying knew very well what the consequences would be if he let Jiuzhao go out alone.

Seeing that it was difficult to dissuade him, he volunteered to accompany Jiu Zhao to visit Erqingtian.

The magic of immortals is only effective against those of the same level or below. In a place like the God King's Palace, which is surrounded by the God's barrier, Jiu Zhao's immortal power is not enough. What's more, it would be boring to enter the God King's Palace openly through the gate.

So, Jiu Zhao picked and chose, and found out the magic weapon Divine Hidden Clothes that the God Emperor had given her in the past from her private treasury.

Once the Divine Invisibility Cloth is put on, one can disappear without a trace, and no one except the Divine Emperor himself can detect it.

After Jiu Zhao finished disguising herself, she reached out and held Zhu Ying's hand.

When his fingertips touched the warm skin, Zhu Ying flinched for a moment and turned his head to look at her reflexively: "Your Highness, this is against the rules-"

"Without physical contact, the Divine Hidden Cloth will not work on you. Then how can I bring you along on this trip?"

Jiu Zhao looked over frankly, without regard for gender differences. The light in his eyes revealed Zhu Ying's hesitant expression as he wanted to say something.

Without waiting for Zhu Ying to say anything, she held his hand tighter and swaggered out of Lihentian.

According to the distance of the journey and their closeness and preferences, they first came to the residence of Prince Qiongying, which represented Nanling.

This palace, which looks like a blooming peony, corresponds to the tradition of Nanling that honors the peony family. It is mainly pink and white, with carved railings and jade bricks, and is extremely gorgeous and elegant. Even the breeze is filled with the fragrance of blooming flowers, which makes people feel intoxicated.

A group of girls in colorful clothes were playing in the courtyard. Jiu Zhao leaned over the wall and took a closer look. She found that King Qiongying's only daughter, Princess Chongyao Zong, was among them.

She was wearing a waist-length skirt, with a peony mark on her forehead shining brightly. She was playing a game of throwing pots with her friends.

"I actually get along well with Chongyao, but unfortunately--" She was born ten thousand years later, and her immortal power is far inferior to Yingluo's.

Holding onto the wall with one hand and supporting his face with the other, Jiu Zhao fixed his gaze on the immortals in the pavilion, muttering to himself.

She could focus on choosing her support, but Zhu Ying, who was half-crouching on the high wall due to etiquette, had to consider a lot.

In an extremely awkward position, he turned around and looked awkwardly at the Nanling guards who were patrolling outside the wall and suddenly stopped and asked each other in confusion: "Hey, look, why are the jade tiles on the wall moving?"

"I don't know."

…

Seeing that Nanling’s combat strength was insufficient, Jiu Zhao took Zhu Ying to Dongyuan.

The environment and climate of Dongyuan are closer to the human world.

There are distinct alternations of hot and cold weather from June to July and from December to February of the following year.

Whether it is humans or plants and animals, they will tend to live in a place similar to where they lived before they ascended.

Therefore, Dongyuan is also the place where the largest number of human immortals gather.

King Dongyuan Zhaoyu used to be the leader of a major sect of immortal cultivation in the mortal world. After being conferred the title of Divine King, his residence in Erqingtian also retained the style of a sect residence, with Tai Chi Bagua inside and a flock of cranes flying outside. The blue and white colors symbolize self-discipline, keeping the heart pure and inaction.

By afternoon, the courtyard was silent.

Jiu Zhao was curious about what they were doing, so he jumped down from the high wall and walked into the corridor, where he saw three or five young people meditating indoors.

However, they were not practicing, and seemed to be just sitting there, with no spiritual energy circulating around them.

Jiu Zhao watched intently, nudging Zhu Ying beside him with his elbow: "What are they doing?"

"Sitting in meditation and entering a state of concentration, sensing the trajectory of the Dao Laws around you, this is a unique way of cultivation for the immortals of the human race."

Zhu Ying answered very fluently, as if he understood everything clearly.

Jiu Zhao couldn't help but glance at him. "Come to think of it, you've served me for a thousand years, yet I've never known your origins. You're so familiar with the human race's cultivation methods, could it be that you're from the East?"

Zhu Ying's gaze remained fixed on the room. After Jiu Zhao finished her question, he slowly turned to meet her gaze, a humble smile playing on his lips. "Of course not. I am of humble status, a nameless immortal. Because of my service, I was appreciated by the Emperor. Over the past ten thousand years, I have gradually risen in rank, and was subsequently entrusted by the Emperor with the important task of accompanying and protecting His Highness."

"oh."

Jiu Zhao was preoccupied with the matter at hand, and Zhu Ying's answer passed her mind, earning a perfunctory snort from her nose.

…

After going to two places and finding no one with the qualifications and strength that could match Ying Luo's, she couldn't help but feel discouraged.

We can only place our hopes on the last northern border.

But before heading to the palace of the God-King of the North, she had already prepared herself for danger.

The nine-tailed foxes of the northern royal family had followed the Queen of Gods' brother Wu Shao in a rebellion ten thousand years ago. Although they realized that the situation was not right later, they immediately turned their guns on the side and swore allegiance to the Emperor of God again. However, disloyal people will never be valued no matter which camp they join.

The previous head of the Nine-tailed Fox Clan passed away due to injuries, and the new King Chongli was busy fighting openly and secretly with the rapidly rising Teng Snake Clan in the northern territory. Tens of thousands of years passed, and the clan had never cultivated a talented descendant.

Oh, I almost forgot.

There is one person who is famous in other fields.

only--

Before Jiu Zhao Yu could call out the name silently, several voices of distinct status interrupted her thoughts:

"Your Highness, yesterday I sent someone to inquire and found out that Princess Yingluo Zongji will also sign up for this Immortal Level Examination."

"Yingluo? She never gives up, very persistent.

"Well, since she wants this position so badly, why not give it to her and avoid unnecessary competition? After she succeeds in her promotion, those people in Nanling Dongyuan are still young and don't have the strength to fight. In the next exam, the Golden Immortal position will belong to this prince."

Being in the palace of the God King of the North, and referring to himself as the prince, a handsome but frivolous face quietly emerged in Jiu Zhao's mind.

King Chongli's eldest son, the nine-tailed fox Meng Chu, who is over 20,000 years older than her.

He is narrow-minded, mediocre in talent, and can only sit on the throne of the crown prince by relying on his mother's family power. How dare he speak nonsense here?

Although she looked down on Ying Luo, Ying Luo's strength and hard work were not something a fool like him could challenge.

Jiu Zhao slightly curled his eyes, looked down at the figure with his back to them, sharpened his teeth, and showed a bit of disdain in his eyes.

In contrast, Zhu Ying's heart sank.

With such an opening, I’m sure what follows won’t be good either.

He hoped Meng Chu and his followers would be able to hold back their words, but unexpectedly—

"Your Highness, I'm afraid you've forgotten about Lihentian."

"Lihentian, Jiuzhao Shenji?"

Meng Chu opened the landscape folding fan in his hand and waved it in a pretentiously casual manner, snorting with disdain, "What kind of success can she achieve as a good-for-nothing who's obsessed with Lan Qi and whose whole life collapsed after Lan Qi fell into evil?"

"But that person ascended to the Golden Immortal realm before reaching adulthood. No one in the Three Pure Heavens had ever achieved that before..."

"So what? What's wrong with becoming a Golden Immortal? Didn't she get so angry at Lan Qi that she vomited blood, and then get disdained by the Supreme God Fuxu? If I were to say, she's a jinx. The Queen of Gods was about to get better, but because she was born—"

"Brother Wang, please be careful with your words!"

After a few short words, the disdain and contempt faded from Jiu Zhao's eyes, and the relaxed smile on her lips disappeared.

Zhu Ying didn't dare to look at Jiu Zhao's face. He only noticed that the air temperature around him was rapidly increasing, and his mouth, eyes, nose and lips seemed to be burning with fire.

This is a sign of the emergence of the power of Phoenix's true blood.

Everything else is fine.

But Meng Chu insisted on mentioning the Queen of Gods and Lan Qi at the same time, which has always been Jiu Zhao's Achilles' heel.

This guy is really looking for death!

"Your Highness, please do not act rashly. Secretly seeking information about the examinees is against the laws of the Three Pure Ones." Zhu Yinghui shook Jiuzhao's hand and gently advised her, "The Divine Prince's words and actions are so outrageous. I will report this to the Emperor upon my return and request His Majesty to order punishment."

Before Jiu Zhao could say anything, another male voice from a few feet away, sternly shouting at Meng Chu, once again grabbed her attention.

Meng Chu has always been the moon surrounded by stars, and he also has a noble status that is second only to the emperor and above everyone else in the northern border.

In his own territory, there were people who went against him.

Meng Chu suddenly felt a little embarrassed.

After seeing the face of the person who was against him, he became even more furious.

"Zhu Yan, you are a bastard born to a lowly concubine, and you are worthy enough to challenge this prince?!"

The young man named Zhu Yan had an extremely beautiful face, long silver hair, and pupils like blue emerald green. Even the clothes he wore and the accessories on his neck and ear bones were all extremely light and low-key, but they set off his gorgeous features, making him almost demonic.

Hearing Meng Chu's insults, he saluted with dignity, standing at an arm's length away. "Brother, you are disregarding the safety of the entire Nine-Tailed Fox Clan and speaking disobediently. Regardless of whether I am your brother or an ordinary citizen of the Northern Territory, I have the right to dissuade you."

"Bullshit! When did this prince ever say anything disobedient?"

After coming to his senses, Meng Chu realized that his evaluation of Jiu Zhao was too presumptuous.

But then again, this is the Northern Territory King's residence, and there are restrictions outside. Even the God Emperor cannot monitor it all the time for twelve hours a day.

If outsiders don’t hear it, it’s the same as not having said it.

What can Zhu Yan do to him?

After calming down, Meng Chu straightened his back again.

Because Zhu Yan was too tall, he had to lower himself and look up.

Just when he was about to teach his so-called brother a lesson, a cold and piercing female voice came from the high wall:

"You said you didn't say it, so you didn't say it?

"I heard everything."