sinovels Chapter 230 Unearned Gains
Chapter 230 Unearned Gains
Zhou Mingxuan excitedly chatted with Yang Silang for half the night.
Being forced to marry into a prominent family after failing the imperial examinations is considered a disgrace.
But marrying a princess is different; at least the children will take her surname, and it won't disgrace her status as a military scholar. After all, being called a princess consort is extremely respectable and noble.
The future of a prince consort in this dynasty is uncertain; he holds a high position but no real power, and is merely a figurehead.
But Zhou Mingxuan knew that apart from his good looks, he wasn't particularly outstanding in other aspects. After listening to Eunuch Chun's description of the princess, he was already filled with fantasies and couldn't wait to consummate the marriage.
Yang Silang responded with a smile.
Normally, he would just grab this guy by the neck and throw him out of the yard.
However, it was thanks to this guy that we were able to enter the Royal Second-Class Secret Realm.
You can't pick up your bowl to eat and then put down your chopsticks to curse.
Zhou Mingxuan is not a bad person. He was able to marry a princess, which is much better than a third-class Jinshi who only started as a Qianzong garrison officer.
Everyone has their own choices, and he hasn't done anything immoral or immoral, so all we need to do is offer our blessings.
"Hiss..." Yang Silang responded casually, but his mind drifted away. "Could he have married a burly princess like Xiong Shan?"
"No, no...it shouldn't be."
-
Three days later.
Three suns shone in the sky, illuminating the heavens in a triangular pattern.
What's even more amazing is that the sunlight emanating from these three days was different, emitting red, green, and blue light respectively.
Moreover, as time goes by, the intensity and weakness of the light emitted by each sun cycle vary.
The three colors intertwined in the air, and after falling to the ground, the colors slowly changed, becoming red, orange, yellow, green, cyan, blue, and purple, which was quite beautiful.
Yang Silang and Zhou Mingxuan looked up at the sun for a while.
A young eunuch standing nearby chuckled.
"My esteemed guests, the sun in the sky may seem gentle, but the changing colors can be harmful to the eyes and have a strong aftereffect."
"You two should stop looking."
"This place is called Seven-Colored Cave Heaven, and it's a really fun place."
This young eunuch was the same one who followed Eunuch Chun with the little fire on his back. He was the one who led Zhou Mingxuan to find Eunuch Chun just the other day.
We became acquaintances the second time we met.
Zhou Mingxuan smiled, took the other person's hand, and sent a hundred-tael silver note through his hidden sleeve.
"May I ask your name, sir?"
The young man became even more humble after receiving the silver, smiling modestly and bowing deeply.
"My lord, before I entered the palace, my humble name was Li, so everyone called me Little Li."
You can just call me Little Li.
Zhou Mingxuan laughed and called out, "Little Eunuch Li!"
The way he addressed him as "Little Li" was probably a common way for Eunuch Chun and other powerful people to address each other. If he addressed him that way, it would be somewhat inappropriate.
"Young Master Li, why were only the two of us assigned to this secret realm?"
Zhou Mingxuan asked, puzzled, "Is this appropriate?"
A strong wind howled past.
This colorful cave is located in the Seven-Colored Cave.
There were only three people and three horses, standing alone on a grassland. In the distance, gentle mountains stretched out on the ground, and at the foot of the mountains, some large animals seemed to be grazing with their heads down.
We don’t know how big this cave is right now, but since it’s called a cave, it’s probably over a thousand miles in circumference, and its output must be plentiful.
today.
Zhou Mingxuan and Yang Silang went to the Ministry of War to meet up with their fellow graduates, and then entered the imperial city.
Led by Xiao Huozhe, they wandered around the palace for a long time, turning left and right. After passing the three main halls, they turned a corner near the inner palace and entered a fortress.
Who would have thought that a fortress could be found inside the palace!
However, considering that the four great families of Huang, Bai, Zhu, and Wu arranged the entrances and exits of the secret realm in the same way, this may be the most common and practical way to prevent chaos in the secret realm and the monsters inside from impacting reality.
Yang Silang noticed a large plaque hanging on the fortress, with the words "Imperial Guard" written on it.
A thought struck him.
This should be the group of experts that Hu Jiaoniang mentioned, composed of dragon sons and grandsons, who possess the martial arts skills of the Taizu Long Fist at the Martial Saint level.
They generally don't take action, only appearing when it concerns the change of dynasties or turmoil within the royal family; their ranks are filled with experts.
It turns out that the Imperial Guard also had the important responsibility of guarding the royal secret areas.
The newly appointed scholars entered the Imperial Guard. In front of them were just ordinary buildings and offices, but after passing through an almost transparent barrier, a seven-story pagoda appeared before them.
The base of the tower occupied almost half of the playground, and it was over ten feet high. The entire structure was built from a type of brown wood.
These pieces of wood were covered with runes outlined in gold ink, forming intricate array diagrams that eventually connected to form a large, unified array.
In particular, the spire at the very top of the pagoda is over two zhang high. On the lotus base is an inverted bowl with thirteen overlapping finials. Above the inverted bowl is a canopy, and above the canopy is a blazing fire burning in the void.
Above the flames, a silver moon floated, and on that moon, a bright pearl radiated warm sunlight.
When the silver moon and the bright pearl are combined, they symbolize the sun and moon shining together, representing the perfect and inextinguishable light.
All the scholars held their breath.
The lotus base that makes up the stupa, the inverted bowl, the thirteen-pointed wheel, the canopy, the flame light, and the silver moon holding a pearl—each of these components is a magical treasure on its own!
When combined with the array pattern on the wooden tower, its power is undoubtedly astonishing.
This tower is extremely tall; just looking at its height...
Standing on it, one can overlook the entire imperial city.
Strangely, Yang Silang did not recall ever noticing such a tall tower in the imperial city.
It is estimated that the Imperial Guard used some kind of illusion magic, or that the barrier itself had the ability to hide and block sight, in order to conceal such a large tower.
Amidst gasps of amazement, they entered the tower.
Only then did they discover that the interior was a hidden paradise.
Two suspended staircases in the center of the tower spiral upwards to the top and connect to the corridors on each floor. The only way to travel between the upper and lower levels is through these suspended staircases.
Along the connecting corridor, each room has a seal on it, numbered according to the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches.
Xiao Huozhe first led 297 top-ranking scholars, who then split into two groups on the first floor and entered two rooms.
Each room here is a secret realm.
The top three scholars, along with their mounts, entered two secret realms.
Yang Silang estimated the number of rooms from bottom to top. There were about a hundred rooms in this tower. Wouldn't that mean the royal family controlled a hundred or so secret realms?
They truly deserve to be called the number one aristocratic family.
Upon closer inspection, he discovered that some rooms were sealed with dense, layered seals, clearly indicating that this secret realm was extremely dangerous.
Some rooms don't even have seals on the outside, and they don't have the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches markings on them, which clearly indicates that they are abandoned secret realms.
Based on this estimate, the royal family may control fifty or sixty secret realms, which is still an astonishing number.
The rooms in the tower are arranged such that the higher you go, the better the secret realm becomes.
Led by Eunuch Chun, the three elite warriors went up to the third floor and then continued to the fourth floor. Their view was then obscured, and they could no longer be seen. They must have been led into the Dragon Cloud Cave.
The second-ranked scholar was led by a group of servants, some going up to the second floor and some up to the third floor.
Those who were in charge of the fire had a list. Usually, they would enter a room in groups of about twenty people. It seems that there were subtle differences in status among the second-class scholars, so the secret realms they went to were different.
However, after everyone had finished distributing the items...
Yang Silang and Zhou Mingxuan found themselves left behind.
Then this young man, Li, led the two of them straight up to the fourth floor with a smile.
The two were somewhat bewildered. Wasn't the fourth floor the secret realm that the three top experts had gone to?
How come they can go there too?
However, the atmosphere inside the tower was solemn. It wasn't until the two entered this colorful cave and looked around again that they realized there were only the three of them and their three riders in this secret realm.
Zhou Mingxuan finally couldn't help but ask a question.
Leonardo DiCaprio smiled and responded respectfully.
"These two distinguished guests are certainly not ordinary third-class graduates."
"With the help of noble people in the palace, this grotto has been opened especially for the two of you."
"I will lead the way for these two distinguished guests."
"We only have one day left, let's hurry..."
The Seven-Story Pagoda Royal Secret Realm will only be open for one day, and the secret realms selected for the scholars are all relatively safe and rich in resources.
Moreover, they were all accompanied by eunuchs for guidance, a privilege originally reserved for those who passed the imperial examination.
All items obtained in the secret realm belong to the individual.
The scholars from humble backgrounds who had passed the imperial examinations were already eager to make their move, since the royal secret realm was rich in resources, and if they had a good harvest, they might be able to raise enough money to buy what they needed.
Of course, relative safety does not equal absolute safety. In every generation of scholars who passed the imperial examinations, there were those who unfortunately lost their lives; it can only be attributed to bad luck.
Little Li treated the two men with respect, secretly thinking that he must serve these two living fathers well today.
This Zhou Mingxuan is extraordinary. I really don't know how he could grow up to be so handsome. It is said that during the martial arts demonstration in front of the emperor that day, many concubines and princesses seemed to have their eyes glued to this man.
Afterwards, several princesses actually went to Emperor Yongchang to ask for betrothal, including some who were already married and had children, all of whom requested to remarry.
Princess Le'an was still the more skillful one. She simply stood there and wept silently, tears streaming down her full moon-like face, a heartbreaking sight.
At this moment, silence speaks louder than words, so Emperor Yongchang decisively bestowed this lucrative prize upon his eldest daughter, Princess Le'an.
With the princess's care, Zhou Mingxuan ranked among the top three, but was placed in the second-tier secret realm sequence. In reality, he was only qualified to enter a cave-heaven type of secret realm that was only accessible to those who reached the third tier.
And that Yang Silang is no ordinary person either.
Consort Hu, the favored concubine, never cared about anything inside or outside the palace, staying only in her palace and living a life of peace and tranquility.
For some reason, after she went to see His Majesty, her godfather asked her to add another person's name to the Seven-Colored Grotto.
This one was even bolder; he actually managed to get in touch with Consort Hu, and the Emperor wasn't even jealous. It's truly astonishing.
Yang Silang rode his big green horse and followed in Xiao Li's footsteps.
Little Li introduced the two of them.
This place is actually a paradise where humans can live and reproduce normally; what people see is only the tip of the iceberg.
With few dangers and abundant resources, it was usually a hunting and leisure resort for emperors, concubines, princes, and princesses.
The three of them rode for half an hour, encountering many wonderful things along the way.
Yang Silang and Zhou Mingxuan, with their sharp eyes, had already recognized large swaths of Marrow Cleansing Grass, the main ingredient needed to refine the Marrow Cleansing Pill; there were also ginseng and Solomon's seal that were over a thousand years old; and on the ground, large swaths of rocks had their outer layer peeled off, revealing a golden vein underneath.
We also passed a pool of water, with spiritual energy forming a mist above it, which must contain something good.
But Little Li didn't stop; he just urged the two of them to hurry up.