In the beginning, he was ranked alongside An Shigeng as a spoiled brat.

Page 407

Besides, I am now nearly a hundred years old, and I may reach the end of my life at any time.

My only worry right now is Qinglu. If I hadn't found a suitable replacement, why would I have pushed Qinglu into that mess!

"But···"

Upon hearing this, the King of Western Xia understood Li Qiushui's good intentions.

Ultimately, it comes down to the current predicament of Western Xia. Having been decisively defeated by Zhang Xiaoshan, they may be facing attacks from both sides.

He now wished he could tear the other party to pieces, devour their flesh and drink their blood. Moreover, he was about to send his daughter there for a marriage alliance. How could the King of Western Xia, who was not an incorrigible tortoise, possibly tolerate such humiliation?

“Okay, that’s settled.

If you can find a better suitable candidate within three days, I will absolutely not interfere in Qinglu's affairs.

But if we cannot find her, I will certainly make arrangements for Qinglu's future while I am still alive.

Li Qiushui had her own plans, but they were indeed for Li Qinglu's future.

Rather than marrying someone mediocre, Zhang Xiaoshan was, in Li Qiushui's eyes, the closest thing to perfect.

As for the feud between the Zhang family and the Western Xia?

Let alone Xixia retaliating against the Zhang family, she would be grateful if the Zhang family could let Xixia go.

If it weren't for a trace of blood ties, she wouldn't bother with the current predicament of the Western Xia Kingdom. The terrifying nature of the Zhang family can be seen from this single piece of intelligence.

With the flying guillotine weapons unleashed, slaughtering the entire Western Xia imperial palace in a short time would not be a problem.

This is what makes the Zhang family so terrifying.

The King of Western Xia was not a martial arts practitioner and had no idea how terrifying these outlaw assassins were.

···

"Master!"

As soon as he returned to the ship, he was greeted by Huang Rong's warm embrace.

At this moment, Zhang Xiaoshan smiled and pulled Huang Rong into his arms, taking out the gift he had prepared for her: a dazzling silver pearl the size of a baby's fist, or more precisely, an Eastern pearl!

"How beautiful! This is a pearl from the North, and it's huge!"

"Yes, this one is a treasure. I just casually took it from the Liao Dynasty's palace."

As he spoke, Zhang Xiaoshan took all the treasures off the three bronze-armored warriors.

In an instant, all the women surrounded him, and it was another great success.

A box contains at least a hundred pearls, each over an inch in diameter, their dazzling brilliance making them irresistible to women.

In addition, there are various gemstones, rhinoceros horns, bear bile, deer antlers, snow frogs, meteorite iron divine weapons, and black iron chains.

The last bag contained century-old medicinal herbs, thousand-year-old ginseng plants, and even a ten-thousand-year-old ginseng.

Even the women were shocked when they counted the items.

Then Huang Rong looked at Zhang Xiaoshan and said greedily:

"My lord, our Zhang family has been offering tribute to the Song Dynasty royal family for so long, shouldn't we get some interest?"

"Don't overthink it. I'm going to Tibet, the Later Jin, and the Liao to collect debts. The Song Dynasty is ultimately a Han Chinese dynasty, and we can't let this precedent be set."

Once this happens, the Later Zhou, Wu Tang, and Ming dynasties will all develop a hostile attitude towards the Zhang family. No matter how much trouble they cause outside, they will always prioritize righteousness, and these issues will be insignificant.

However, if one were to act recklessly in the Central Plains, it would be a violation of family rules (laws).

·········Requesting flowers·· 0

"what a pity!"

You should know that the land of Kyushu is vast and rich in resources, far more prosperous than these barbarian dynasties.

However, what Huang Rong didn't know was that the Nine Provinces Dynasty had high tax revenue, and the imperial machinery consumed even more money. On the surface, all four empires were in a state of deficit, with their gold reserves not exceeding five million.

However, the harvest of a single invasion of the foreign tribes to the south was at least tens of millions of gold.

When the cannon goes off, there is ten thousand taels of gold!

Zhang Xiaoshan always made a great harvest from the foreign royal palace, but the foreign tribes also made a similar haul every time they marched south.

It can be said that most of the treasures Zhang Xiaoshan brought from the alien races were plundered from the land of Kyushu.

"Alright, put it away. You can play with it yourself, but don't take it out casually."

"understood!"

The women naturally knew that these treasures couldn't be made public, even though it was common knowledge.

"By the way, has anything happened during this time?"

"No, not at all. The two biggest things were done by my husband. The rest were just minor matters!"

Huang Rong shook her head. At this point, their perspective was limited, and ordinary matters were simply beneath their notice. Even Liu Sheng Piaoxu shook his head.

... .... 0

They traveled down the river, then turned south via the Grand Canal, and entered Yangzhou.

Naturally, an inspection of Ghost Street was also necessary.

As for Madam Wang, although she no longer had her old bad habits, and gold and other valuables had been replenished.

But Zhang Xiaoshan knew that his ambition had not diminished in the slightest.

They simply changed their previous blatant arrogance into a covert operation.

However, Zhang Xiaoshan didn't pay much attention to it or point it out. After all, he didn't take Madam Wang seriously at all, since he had the Longevity Venerable Shi Long to restrain her.

Moreover, among the three major ghost streets, Yangzhou Ghost Street has the lowest status.

To put it bluntly, this is just a more secluded commercial street, and Tianji Tower is nothing more than a den of iniquity.

"I've met the young master!"

Shi Long was surprised that Zhang Xiaoshan would suddenly summon him instead of Madam Wang.

However, considering Madam Wang's actions, Zhang Xiaoshan probably already distrusted her.

"Please rise, Daoist Shilong. During this time, Your Excellency has cultivated countless disciples and become famous throughout Jiangnan. Your merits are immeasurable!"

"Young master is joking. Shi Long is just a rough man who runs a martial arts school and teaches some rudimentary skills."

Compared to how the young master averted the catastrophe of the southward invasion of foreign tribes, his decisive action in sowing discord between the Liao and Western Xia dynasties is truly a meritorious deed, while my actions are merely petty squabbles.

It's no secret that Zhang Xiaoshan's trip north was to Ghost Street.

At the same time, he was amazed and deeply impressed by Zhang Xiaoshan's methods and strategies.

"I was entrusted with this task, so I simply did my duty faithfully!"

Zhang summoned the Taoist priest this time on behalf of the Buddha, to help the priest break through to a higher realm.

"Peerless Realm?"

Upon hearing Zhang Xiaoshan's purpose, Shi Long looked at Zhang Xiaoshan in disbelief, as did Huang Rong.

Could it be that Zhang Xiaoshan could also practice joint cultivation with men?

Thinking of this, Huang Rong couldn't help but tremble, feeling a chill run down her spine.

"Are you serious, young master?"

"I am merely helping you, Daoist, to make up for your innate deficiencies. To truly break through to the peerless realm, you still need your own aptitude and diligent cultivation!"

"To compensate for congenital deficiencies? Pure Yang Finger?"

Suddenly, Shi Long's eyes flashed, and he immediately understood the method Zhang Xiaoshan had mentioned.

Chapter 480 Huang Rong's 'Great Enlightenment'

Eight years ago, Shi Long had already reached the pinnacle of his cultivation, and he was practicing the Longevity Technique, a top-tier divine skill.

The reason he failed to break through to the peerless realm was because he started cultivating incorrectly from the beginning.

If Zhang Xiaoshan hadn't intervened in time to set things right, Shi Long would have died from qi deviation long ago.

However, over the years, this has also been due to his improper cultivation methods.

Even with abundant resources in Ghost Street, Shi Long remained stagnant, unable to reach the pinnacle of power.

Just as one cannot cultivate the Sunflower Manual without castrating oneself, or lose one's primordial yin in the Heavenly Demon Great Art, neither can reach the perfect state, and thus cannot step into the peerless realm.

However, the Pure Yang Finger combined with the Dragon Ball possesses the power of creation.

This is also why Zhang Xiaoshan stated that he could help Shi Long break through to the peerless realm.

Zhang Xiaoshan chose to help Shi Long break through three days later.

First, let Shilong get into a good state; second, take advantage of this time to do a major overhaul to increase the chances of a breakthrough.

As Shi Long left, Zhang Xiaoshan suddenly felt a sharp, sword-like gaze fixed on him from behind.

"Could you also help me restore my original state, without using the elixir of immortality or such methods?"

"Are you suggesting taking advantage of someone's vulnerability?"

You're overthinking it. Your situation is different from Master Shilong's. If we consider it as an illness, Master Shilong would need more than fifteen taels of precious ginseng to replenish his depleted vital energy, but you would need to densely fill your body's origin with a ten-thousand-year-old divine medicine!

As for the power of the Dragon Balls? It's undoubtedly a case of drinking poison to quench thirst.

Even if the Dragon Balls are just an aid, don't you know your own physical condition, sister?

Moreover, the power of the Dragon Balls is only an aid, transforming the medicinal effects into the life essence. Besides, Master Shilong's situation is merely due to improper cultivation methods, not a true depletion of his life essence.

Seeing the chilling look in Xuan Nu's eyes, Zhang Xiaoshan quickly got up and went to his small room.

As for Xuan Nu, she looked at the rolling river and pondered whether what Zhang Xiaoshan said was true or false.

“Sister Xuan Nu, although my husband sometimes has no bottom line, he really has no reason to lie about your physical condition.”

He has always forbidden himself from absorbing the power of the Dragon Balls.

Looking at Xuan Nu, Huang Rong knew that Xuan Nu's physical condition was such that without the healing of a ten-thousand-year-old divine medicine, the deficiency in her body's essence would be difficult to replenish.

This is the tribulation of the five signs of decay for the celestial beings!

Ordinary people can prolong their lives with a thousand-year-old ginseng, but Xuan Nu was a grandmaster.

Moreover, Xuan Nu wasn't trying to prolong her life, but rather to restore her foundation, which required a divine medicine that could last for ten thousand years.

“Rong-meimei! Consider the miraculous medicine you hid before as a loan from your older sister.”

"No, this thing is too precious."

Upon hearing that Xuan Nu was considering taking the ancient ginseng, Huang Rong shook her head without hesitation.

Just kidding. Even if she had some connection with Xuan Nu, she would never give away a ten-thousand-year-old ginseng.

"The rarest of these millennia-old divine herbs is that there may not be more than ten in the entire Kyushu."

Each one is so valuable that it is not just priceless and unavailable, but a national treasure. Even the Zhang family has never touched a single ancient herb.

"Sister Xuan Nu, don't even think about getting a ten-thousand-year-old divine herb for free!"

Seeing Huang Rong's unwavering resolve in the face of the cooking fumes, Xuan Nu knew her determination and couldn't help but sigh.

"Does my little sister know that if I choose the first option, you'll have one more competitor?"

"Who's afraid of who? Besides, the Zhang family has few descendants, which is something we can't help."

Even if he has an older sister, there will be other sly foxes in the future. His sister is well aware of his numerous affairs; even the Queen Mother of the West might not escape his clutches.

Faced with Huang Rong's "enlightenment", Xuan Nu was speechless with emotion.

Although Huang Rong was clearly jealous and her jealousy was churning like a stormy sea, she also knew what was important and what was urgent.

Zhang Xiaoshan's reason for keeping Xuan Nu on the hook this time was that he valued her Grandmaster-level combat power and wanted to recruit her as one of his own to provide them with protection.

Besides, she wasn't an idiot; she knew the importance of the millennium-old divine medicine and wasn't easily fooled by Xuan Nu's few words.

"We have guests!"

Suddenly Huang Rong looked at the person coming from the river, and Xuan Nu naturally noticed it as well.

But she wasn't interested in any of that, and besides, there were two women, and judging by their graceful and alluring figures, they were very likely Zhang Xiaoshan's lovers.