Cultivation of immortality begins with an eighty-year-old eunuch.

Chapter 576 The Conflict Between the Royal Family and the Eight Great Families!

"What kind of deal?" Chen Fan asked.

Qin Taiyue put down the teapot and said solemnly, "During the selection process in Zhao, just do your best. If you can win the tribute token and gain a foothold in Zhao, don't forget my Great Yu Dynasty. If you can't win it, I won't make things difficult for you when you return, and I won't interfere in your grudges with the Wang family. There's only one condition: during the selection process, you will always represent the Great Yu Cultivation Kingdom. Your performance is related to the face of the court, and that face is the price I'm paying for today."

Chen Fan remained silent for a moment, then downed the slightly cool tea in his cup. He stood up, cupped his hands, and said, "I accept this offer. I will remember Minister Qin's kindness in protecting me today. As for the selection process in Zhao, I will do my best. I cannot guarantee the outcome, but I will certainly not bring shame to Yu the Great."

Upon hearing this, Qin Taiyue's face showed a rare smile, and he stood up and returned the greeting with a cupped hand: "With Fellow Daoist Chen's words, I am relieved. By the way, there is one more thing I need to tell you. This year's national competition has officially ended, and you have the highest score. According to the rules, you will represent Da Yu in the selection of offerings to the emperor in the Zhao Kingdom. Seven days later, the imperial court will send a spirit boat to take you to the capital of the Zhao Kingdom. During these seven days, you should stay in the post station and recuperate well. You don't need to worry about the Wang family causing trouble. At least within the capital city, they will not dare to openly disobey the imperial court's orders."

Chen Fan nodded and turned to walk out of the bamboo forest.

After taking a few steps, he suddenly stopped and asked without turning his head, "Minister Qin, there's something I don't understand. You just said that the court needs someone who can counter the Eight Great Families. Does that mean the imperial family and the Eight Great Families aren't as harmonious as they seem?"

Qin Taiyue remained silent for a moment, then said calmly, "The Eight Great Families are closely connected, with more than ten Nascent Soul Ancestors among them, and their influence spread throughout the four major cultivation kingdoms. Their roots run too deep, so deep that they are almost draining the lifeblood of the Great Yu Cultivation Kingdom. If the imperial court wants long-term stability, it will have to settle things with the Eight Great Families sooner or later. Of course, I am just speaking casually, Fellow Daoist Chen, take it with a grain of salt and don't take it seriously."

Chen Fan didn't ask any more questions and stepped out of the bamboo forest.

When they returned to the Huangzhou column, Han Yueshan and Qin Dao were still waiting in the same spot.

Seeing him return safely, the two of them breathed a sigh of relief.

"Minister Chen, Minister Qin is looking for you..." Han Yueshan hesitated before speaking.

"It's nothing, I just gave a few instructions about the selection process in Zhao State," Chen Fan said casually, without elaborating further.

Han Yueshan wisely refrained from asking further questions, and instead whispered, "Guest Elder Chen, I just received a message that Master Feihe's body has been collected. Once we return to the desolate state, I will personally arrange a dignified funeral for him. Rest assured, the incense offerings of Shangyun Sect will not be interrupted. I will allocate some spirit stones from the city lord's mansion to rebuild the sect's gate."

Chen Fan paused for a moment, then nodded slightly: "Thank you for your trouble, City Lord."

……

It was late at night when we returned to the inn.

Chen Fan pushed open the door and entered; everything in the room was as before.

The withered bamboo grove outside the window rustled in the night wind, and moonlight shone through the windowpane onto the bluestone ground, casting several cool spots of light.

He took the Black Soul Banner off his waist and leaned it against the headboard, then took out the Phoenix Flame Sword and placed it under his pillow. Only then did he sit cross-legged on the wooden bed and slowly exhale a breath of turbid air.

It had only been a few hours since he left the Valley of Ten Thousand Demons, but it felt like years had passed.

The oppressive aura of the two Nascent Soul ancestors of the Wang family still lingered in his senses. The suffocating feeling of being crushed by two mountains at the same time was enough to send chills down his spine if he thought about it for even a moment.

However, Chen Fan had been a eunuch in the palace for decades, and had been held at knifepoint at least eight or ten times, so this lingering fear was quickly suppressed.

He began to analyze the gains and losses of the day.

Killing Wang Teng and seizing the Soul Jade and Phoenix Flame Sword is the goal.

Being targeted by two Nascent Soul stage elders of the Wang family, his life hangs by a thread—this is a loss.

Qin Taiyue intervened to protect him, securing him an opportunity to travel to the State of Zhao, which was an unexpected gain.

The price for this unexpected turn of events is that he must be selected by the Zhao state to bring glory to the court of Yu the Great; otherwise, Qin Taiyue's protection today would be a losing proposition.

You can't do business at a loss.

Chen Fan silently considered the matter for a while and came up with a general plan for the selection of candidates from the Zhao Kingdom.

Thinking about his trip to Zhao in seven days, he needed to obtain the tribute token. Not just for Qin Taiyue, but more for himself.

Only by obtaining the offering token could he use the Zhao Kingdom's teleportation array to travel to the Great Qin Star!

Having figured these things out, Chen Fan wasted no more time and disappeared from the room with a thought.

Golden Bowl Space.

In the quiet room, Chen Fan's figure appeared out of thin air.

The spiritual energy in the bowl was several times richer than that in the outside world, and with each breath, one felt as if their limbs and bones were relaxed and stretched.

After the wood attribute rune was perfected, the vitality of the entire space became more and more vigorous, and even the few spiritual herbs he transplanted from the outside world in the corner of the quiet room became more lush.

Chen Fan didn't rush to cultivate; instead, he went to the small courtyard first.

It was faintly visible that Wei Gongzheng was sitting at the stone table doing accounts, flipping through an account book with a rustling sound, muttering to himself.

Hearing footsteps, he looked up and glanced at Chen Fan, saying sarcastically, "Oh, Eunuch Chen is still alive? I thought you'd been beaten to death outside. Look, I was just wondering who to sell this bowl of spirit rice to."

Chen Fan ignored his gossiping and took a storage bag from his sleeve, tossing it onto the stone table.

"Here are 800,000 mid-grade spirit stones, 120,000 top-grade spirit stones, and a few unused magic treasures. Please sort them out and store them properly for our family. Keep the magic treasures separate, and we can exchange them for spirit stones later."

Eunuch Wei took the storage bag, probed it with his divine sense, and his narrow eyes widened instantly. He shrieked, "Eight hundred thousand? Eunuch Chen, which bank did you rob? Or did you raid the stronghold of some sect?"

"I suppose so," Chen Fan said casually, without offering any further explanation.

He sat down opposite the stone table and took out a jade slip from his sleeve, handing it over. "This is the complete 'Heavenly Fire True Technique,' a direct descendant of the Wang family. It covers everything from Qi Refining to Nascent Soul Transformation. Although you don't cultivate fire-attribute techniques, the methods for circulating spiritual power during the Nascent Soul stage are quite valuable. Take it and study it; it will benefit your Nascent Soul formation."

Eunuch Wei took the jade slip, his expression unusually serious.

The surface of his golden core is now showing more and more cracks, and he is only one step away from breaking through the core and becoming a nascent soul.

He had been reluctant to use the three Nascent Soul Pills the old eunuch had given him, and now that he had this Nascent Soul level cultivation technique, his chances of forming a Nascent Soul had increased even more.

"I understand." Eunuch Wei carefully put away the jade slip, looked up at Chen Fan, hesitated, but ultimately said nothing.

Chen Fan sat in the courtyard for a while, then took another look at Black Emperor.

The big black dog was fast asleep under the stone table, its mouth wide open, drool dripping all over the ground. Its sprawled-out posture showed no trace of the majesty of a Core Formation demon beast.

Last time, the dog was tormented by the Rejuvenation Pill, suffering from vomiting and diarrhea for three days. Now it has fully recovered, and even its demonic power has improved a bit due to the residual effects of the pill.