"To use the Imperial Law to bind spirit treasures that possess spiritual intelligence will greatly benefit the National Fate of our Great Zhou."
Ji Zhi spoke in a tone that allowed no room for objection.
"Next topic: how to draft laws suited for spirit treasures."
All the court ministers agreed, for they understood the reasoning behind Emperor Zhou’s words. The National Fate of Great Zhou rested upon its laws. If people failed to uphold the law, National Fate would decline.
Conversely, if more beings obeyed the law, the National Fate would grow stronger. Here, “people” did not merely refer to the human race, but to all beings with wisdom—humans, demons, or even intelligent spirit treasures.
No one knew exactly how many spirit treasures existed within Great Zhou, but everyone was aware that the number must be far greater than anyone imagined. Ten cultivators might not possess a single high-grade spirit tool among them, yet low-grade spirit tools were everywhere. According to Ji Zhi’s estimation, one out of every three cultivators possessed a low-grade spirit tool.
If these tools could all follow the Great Zhou Law, then the National Fate of Great Zhou would grow visibly stronger! But while deciding to legislate was easy, creating a proper law was not. If the law was unreasonable, then once it was enacted, spirit tools might disobey or exploit loopholes.
That would cause immeasurable harm to the nation’s fate. The ministers continuously debated, each pointing out flaws in another’s proposed clauses. Every time one loophole was patched, a new one would appear.
The entire assembly was troubled and weary.
"I propose granting spirit treasures the same rights as humans!"
"If a spirit treasure shatters during battle, should its owner be condemned to death?"
"What if a spirit treasure kills someone?"
"Then prohibit spirit treasures from killing."
"If spirit treasures can’t kill, are cultivators supposed to duel through scholarly debates instead?"
"Spirit treasures must obey all commands of their masters."
"And if the master uses it to commit suicide? Should that count as the spirit treasure killing its master or self-destruction?"
In the past, the establishment of new laws had old ones to serve as reference. But this—legislating for spirit treasures—was creating law from nothing itself, forging rules from thin air. High above the Great Zhou Imperial Palace, Jiang Li hovered in the air, waiting until the ministers left the Nurturing Heart Hall before he approached Ji Zhi.
Ji Zhi looked utterly haggard, his spirit listless. Jiang Li was so startled he blurted out, “What’s this? Were you poisoned, or have you entered the Five Decays of Heaven and Man?”
Ji Zhi rolled his eyes.
“Watch your words. I’m worried to death, that’s all!”
“Because of the ministers’ discussion just now?”
“What else? It’s all that Dao Sect’s Heaven-Breaking Seal’s fault, making every spirit treasure awaken intelligence!”
Ji Zhi muttered, still full of resentment.
“Then why don’t you hear my opinion?”
Jiang Li had come here precisely for that. He once again explained his idea that he had mentioned in the Dao Sect. Hearing his words, Ji Zhi’s eyes lit up.
“Marvelous, Brother Jiang!”
Ji Zhi instantly understood. The three basic principles and the additional rule Jiang Li proposed eliminated the possibility of spirit treasures turning against their masters and set the proper foundation. Once that foundation was established, the rest of the minor details could easily be refined.
After Ji Zhi’s approval, Jiang Li sought a quiet place to go into seclusion for several days, and so he returned, after a long absence, to the Human Emperor Palace. The Human Emperor Palace stood supreme, located at the very heart of the Nine Provinces.
Besides Jiang Li, six commanders resided there—one at the Tribulation Transcendence Stage and five at the Late Integration Stage. In addition, there were a hundred Human Emperor Guards. Whenever Jiang Li was away, that Tribulation Transcendence commander would sit in permanent watch over the palace.
Originally, there had been another Tribulation Transcendence commander, but he had perished long ago in battle against Extraterrestrial Heavenly Demons before Jiang Li ascended the throne. A true loss.
“Palace Lord!”
The two Human Emperor Guards standing outside the palace brightened immediately upon seeing Jiang Li and straightened their postures to be even more rigid. An almost tearful excitement swelled in them—just how long had it been since they saw their lord? When they joined the Human Emperor Guards, they had thought they would see His Majesty frequently.
Yet decades had passed, and the number of times Jiang Li had returned to the Human Emperor Palace could be counted on one hand. And during those rare visits, they hadn’t even been on duty. According to their comrades, the Palace Lord visited the Dao Sect more often than he visited his own palace.
To behold the true Human Emperor in person after so many years—it was no easy thing. Jiang Li entered his private cultivation cave and began his seclusion. He wrote with frenzied speed.
For someone of his level, Cultivation Techniques at the Integration Stage were as common as cabbages—written effortlessly. Sometimes, when inspiration struck, he could even produce a Tribulation Transcendence Stage technique. Ten days later, piles of cultivation manuals filled the cave from floor to ceiling, leaving no place to step.
He sold them all to the System in exchange for a large amount of Source Points. The System had not expected Jiang Li to produce such a sheer number of techniques and nearly froze from overload. Though the quantity was tremendous, the quality was mediocre.
They were of little practical use. For example, the Heaven-Devouring Earth-Consuming Art—cultivators practicing it would have ten times the appetite of others in the same realm, but nothing more. Another example was the No-Thought No-Mind Art, which allowed cultivators to empty their thoughts swiftly and fall asleep at once.
Still, such techniques truly reached the Integration Stage, so the System could only purchase them at that level’s standard. With Jiang Li producing them in massive volumes, his Source Points skyrocketed endlessly. When the System finally finished processing all purchases, it displayed his current Source Points: [Source Points: ???]
“What’s going on?”
Jiang Li frowned, confused. He casually bought an item from the Shop, only to see the Source Points still showing “???” He didn’t fully understand what had happened, but it seemed he had somehow achieved Source Point freedom.
Jiang Li already knew from experience that items purchased from the Shop were not fabricated out of thin air, but truly existed somewhere. Otherwise, there would be no reason that visiting another world would refresh the store’s inventory. Thus, the method to locate the remaining Immortal Artifacts became obvious.
“Purchase Brahma Tower, Great Scholar Scripture Slip, Ruyi Gourd, Othermount Stone, Dragon Pearl, and Sword of Past and Present.”
Jiang Li quickly found these Immortal Artifacts in the Shop and clicked purchase for each one. Why bother traveling to other worlds to find them in person, when online shopping was far more convenient? Six rings of light appeared in the cave, from which the Immortal Artifacts fell one by one.
“What’s happening?”
“Where is this place? I was about to found a new dynasty!”
“It’s the Human Emperor Jiang!”
The Immortal Artifacts clamored noisily—they had just been enjoying their carefree days in other worlds when suddenly Jiang Li, using some unknown method, dragged them back. As for escape—none could flee under Jiang Li’s watchful eyes, as he had already made all preparations. Yet not all artifacts were retrieved.
The Brahma Tower did not fall from its ring of light. Jiang Li saw the ring tremble slightly, then go still again. He wanted to pull the Brahma Tower back, but before he could act, it had already escaped.
“No wonder you’re an Immortal Artifact that controls the Power of Space— not even the System can catch you.”
But Jiang Li wasn’t anxious. Buying Immortal Artifacts through the Shop was merely a shortcut. He still had the slower but guaranteed method—using the Yin-Yang Heavenly Seal’s Power of Karma.
No matter where the Brahma Tower fled, he could trace it eventually; it would just take more time. As for the Sword of Past and Present—its light ring remained utterly still. Jiang Li guessed it had hidden itself within the River of Time, where no spatial means could reach, not even the System.
He was just about to set off in pursuit of the Brahma Tower when the System suddenly announced a new and intriguing quest. The task itself was unimportant. What truly caught Jiang Li’s attention was the reward.
[Quest Reward: Unlock Special Mission—"Search for Immortal Ascension Heavenly Ladder Fragments"] Thank you, reader yougemu, for your monthly ticket support.
(End of Chapter)