Chapter 428: Chapter 261: Method to Resurrect Mr. Qi, Whereabouts of the Ascension Platform, a Call for Aid from Princess Jinwu
A quaint little courtyard.
The morning court session had long since ended; it was already noon.
The winding path led to a secluded spot, and the sounds gradually faded into silence.
The boudoir was heated by an underfloor system that consumed countless lumps of charcoal, making the early autumn air inside as warm as spring. The room was filled with the scents of sandalwood, rouge, and powder, mingled with the faint, sweet fragrance of a woman.
Lu Mingyuan was bare from the waist up. He held the delicate, breathless body nestled beside him, his gaze lost on his own palm.
So this was it.
To sleep in a beauty’s lap when drunk, and to grasp the world’s power when sober.
This was the feeling.
Though he was content in body and mind, a sliver of worry couldn’t help but rise from the bottom of his heart.
When a man has enough, he begins to fear loss.
Just like him now—he had far too many reasons not to lose.
How could he allow others to snore beside his own bed?
The Six Kingdoms had received the aid of the Celestial Mandate and were certainly on the rise. Beyond the borders, the Wilderness and the Holy Netherworld lay in wait. But he, too, had support from all sides. His strength was greater than ever before. How could he possibly lose?
’The Nine Dragons Struggle for the Throne, the Python and Sparrow Swallowing Dragon—which of these wasn’t fraught with peril? I survived them all. What’s there to fear from the mere Six Kingdoms?’
Lu Mingyuan watched the maple leaves fall outside the window, his gaze flickering.
"Mm..."
A moment later, on the brocade bed, the woman who had been sleeping curled up from exhaustion suddenly awoke. She turned and sat up, her face flushed with an indescribable rosiness.
"Should I be calling you Your Majesty now?"
she asked softly, her voice weak and breathy.
Lu Mingyuan turned his gaze to her and said gently, "You can call me whatever you want."
He felt her grip tighten on his arm.
It seemed that with him becoming the Emperor, Yang Yingchan could finally feel at ease and truly accept him, no longer needing to worry about gossip and slander.
Back when they were in the Cold Palace, even though they had been together for a long time, she never dared to make their relationship public, fearing she would be scorned and condemned.
"Prince Zhenbei will be coming to the capital soon to report on his duties. Do you want to meet with him? By my count, it’s been over twenty years since you and your father have seen each other."
Yang Yingchan was undoubtedly very tempted by Lu Mingyuan’s suggestion.
She hadn’t seen her father’s face since coming to the capital at the age of eight.
They could only correspond through letters each year.
"I want to, but... my father has a very fiery temper. I’m worried he might offend the Holy Emperor..."
Seeing Yang Yingchan’s hesitant expression, Lu Mingyuan furrowed his brow.
"Why?"
"To be able to serve the Holy Emperor with my humble self is already enough for me. If my father were to find out about our current relationship, wouldn’t it put the Holy Emperor in a difficult position?"
Yang Yingchan said with a faint smile, tears shimmering in the corners of her eyes.
It was as if she had already thought of an escape route for Lu Mingyuan.
She felt she was nothing but trouble.
Prince Zhenbei was a man who doted on his daughter. What would he think if he knew that his magnificent Princess Consort Zhao was being kept like a hidden mistress?
Lu Mingyuan looked into her eyes and shook his head. "Sooner or later, I will give you a grand wedding. You can be completely at ease about that."
"As for Prince Zhenbei, if you want to see him, then see him. You don’t need to have any reservations on my account."
"And there’s no need to hide our relationship, either."
Lu Mingyuan’s earnest words were enough to melt any woman’s heart.
Hearing this, a look of deep emotion appeared in Yang Yingchan’s eyes.
Her heart was filled with gratitude.
Compared to the Eldest Prince, Lu Changfeng, Lu Mingyuan couldn’t possibly treat her any better.
He was like a gift from the heavens. It was as if all the suffering from the first half of her life was being repaid with bliss in the second.
Yang Yingchan felt incredibly fortunate that the man she had met was Lu Mingyuan and not someone else.
"Give me your hand."
Lu Mingyuan took Yang Yingchan’s wrist in a firm grip, his brow knitting from time to time.
"What’s wrong?" Yang Yingchan asked, confused.
Lu Mingyuan released her hand and said, as if to himself, "Logically, under the influence of my physique, it should be impossible for your cultivation to remain completely stagnant. Could there be some hidden reason?"
His Taotie Body was an excellent Dual Cultivation Saint Body. When his cultivation was low, it could absorb the Essence of higher-realm Cultivators to raise his own cultivation.
But once his cultivation rose, it could in turn nourish others with Qi and Blood Power, improving their aptitude and accelerating their cultivation speed.
Yang Yingchan sighed and explained, "It’s entirely due to my own body."
"The women of my Yang Family all have this strange affliction. Once our Martial Arts Cultivation approaches the Middle Fifth Grade, it slowly stagnates, and our meridians begin to atrophy."
"In fact, I had already reached the Grandmaster Realm several years ago. Now, however, I’m far worse off than before. My realm has stagnated."
"Oh?"
It was the first time Lu Mingyuan had ever heard of such an illness. He pondered for a moment before guessing, "Perhaps it’s some kind of special physique?"
From his vast experience, he believed that so-called strange illnesses were often just undiscovered talents.
"I don’t know."
Yang Yingchan seemed quite lost, having clearly never heard of any physique that would manifest in such a way.
Without another word, Lu Mingyuan channeled his Martial Arts Cultivation. His dantian opened the Heaven and Earth Bridge, and he sent a wisp of the Power of Heaven and Earth into Yang Yingchan’s body to investigate.
The Power of Heaven and Earth carries both life and decay; all things in nature stem from it. Under its illumination, no abnormality could hope to hide.
Soon.
Lu Mingyuan discovered a blurry white fog located in her Sea of Consciousness, near her brainstem.
’Could this be the reason?’
Lu Mingyuan didn’t act rashly, instead continuously speculating on what it could be.
The white fog emitted a faint pressure, forcing Lu Mingyuan’s consciousness out of Yang Yingchan’s Sea of Consciousness.
The scene left him utterly astonished.
