What a lucky world!

Chapter 269: Rat's Monster Hunt

In Qianyuan Mountain, mice are cherished little toys.

Everyone knows that these little guys are subordinates of Lady Xuan Ji.

Lady Xuan Ji, who is that?
A rare and virtuous spiritual beast, the village chief’s old lover (Xuan Ji’s words)?

No, Lady Xuan Ji’s real identity is the Medicine King of Qianyuan Wuzhai!

Ever since Lady Xuan Ji followed the village chief up the mountain, she has taken on the responsibility of alchemy for Qianyuan Wuzhai!

From the Bone Tempering Pills, Marrow Cleansing Pills, and Blood Coagulation Pills needed in the Tongmai Realm, to the Blue Sea Pills, Yuan Condensing Pills, and Yuan Na Pills needed in the Ningye Realm; from the daily Bigu Pills, Poison Removal Pills, and Flesh Regenerating Pills to the Changzhou Pills, Tranquilizing Spirit Pills, and Brightening Pills needed for cultivation...

In the past, Wuzhai had to spend a huge amount of money and beg for help to buy a few pills. Now, in Qianyuan Wuzhai, they are produced like water. As long as the raw materials are continuous, there is no need to worry about pills.

This is entirely a change brought about by Xuan Ji.

Xuan Ji played an indispensable role in the quick recovery of Qianyuan Wuzhai after that great battle.

Han Wanli once said that if Xuan Ji had been in the martial arts village when he started practicing, he might have been able to break through to the Nascent Soul Realm.

So it is no exaggeration to say that half of Zhang Mu's influence in Qianyuan Wuzhai was brought to him by Xuan Ji.

After all, every pill that everyone received was engraved with words like "Zhaizhu Zhang Mu is counting on you, meow".

Of course, no matter how powerful Xuan Ji is, she is still a cat with four claws. The reason why she can produce medicinal materials on such a large scale is because Xuan Ji, under the guidance of Zhang Mu, has trained a group of skilled alchemy rat workers.

There was no need for them to master the alchemy techniques. Xuan Ji broke down each step of the alchemy process to form a streamlined production system. In Zhang Mu's words, this was a standardized and planned way of refining pills.

In particular, taming the rat demon Shu Daoshan, who was comparable to the Condensation Realm, was equivalent to finding a qualified product manager, and the efficiency almost doubled.

Today, there are 3,646 alchemy rats working in the alchemy base of Qianyuan Wuzhai, which produces more than 500 pills of various types every day, which can fully meet the current needs of Wuzhai.

In addition to these more than 3,000 alchemy rats, there are nearly 5,000 rats assigned to search for medicinal materials.

This time, in order to find the demon mentioned in the Tianji Scroll and related to the armory clues as soon as possible, Zhang Mu and Xuan Ji bargained for a long time. In the end, they not only mobilized 5,000 treasure-hunting rats, but also picked out 1,000 from the alchemy rats as a supplement.

However, the Qianyuan Mountains cover a vast area, and releasing more than 6,000 mice is just like sprinkling a handful of sesame seeds in a lake. It will probably take more than a day to wait for a recovery.

Zhang Mu had no other choice, since he didn't have enough luck money to exchange for clues to opportunities.

Just wait.

……

Zhongjing has entered the hot summer, and the cicadas' chirping is very annoying.

After a month of mourning, the late emperor's coffin was placed in the imperial mausoleum. Empress Dowager Chen fainted from crying in front of the mausoleum again.

But everyone understands that the real fun has just begun.

Who will sit in that seat?
Logically, it should be Prince Duan. After all, Prince Duan holds the title of Crown Prince, and even the burial of the late emperor was presided over by Prince Duan, but...

Who made the late emperor die in such a strange way?
The Imperial College knocks on the palace gate! All officials force the palace! Retreat and cancel court!
Anyone with a discerning eye could see that this was a vicious scheme, one linked within another. Even if Empress Dowager Chen couldn't see it, could the master of the Chen family not see it?
In Dayun's national dynasty design, if the emperor dies and the empress dowager is still alive, not to mention that the empress dowager can deny the qualifications of the successor monarch, but as long as the empress dowager is wholeheartedly opposed, the successor monarch will be suspected of having obtained the throne in an illegitimate way.

Not to mention that Prince Duan is not a direct descendant of the royal family. He has to recognize Empress Dowager Chen as his biological mother in order to have the orthodox legal right to succeed to the throne.

But can Empress Dowager Chen agree?
"I won't agree!" Empress Dowager Chen, who had just woken up in the Cining Palace, gritted her teeth and said, "My son's death must be related to Prince Duan."

"How could I possibly allow him to ascend the throne?"

"If I didn't want to delay my son's mausoleum entry, I wouldn't have let him preside over this grand ceremony!"

Looking at the worried and angry Queen Mother Chen, Chen Kun rubbed his brows and sighed: "Whatever!"

"Sister, I'm going back to my hometown now."

"He changed the names of his young sons and entrusted them to a close friend, then set the family on fire and committed suicide."

"It can be considered as worthy of the emperor's great grace."

Empress Dowager Chen was suddenly startled. She looked at Chen Kun and asked in a lost voice, "Why...why?"

Now that her son is gone, for Empress Dowager Chen, her mother's family is her only concern and support in the world. How can she not be shocked?

Chen Kun sighed softly: "Sister, if you don't want Prince Duan to succeed to the throne, who do you want to let succeed?"

Empress Dowager Chen frowned slightly and said, "It's not like there aren't other royal descendants..."

"But who supports you?" Chen Kun laughed at himself. "My Chen family is not well-off, but thanks to you, I have now reached the Grandmaster level."

"But how much power can a Grandmaster have in this capital?" "If Zhang Taiyue were still here, with his abilities..."

"Don't mention him!" Empress Dowager Chen interrupted Chen Kun.

Chen Kun sighed softly, "This must be a conspiracy by many noble families to completely block Zhang Taiyue's path back to the court. Prince Duan and the noble families may have exchanged interests."

"The previous emperor has passed away, and the title of Prince Duan has long been determined. If you forcefully change the successor, I'm afraid the capital will be in chaos."

“Who will help you then?”

Upon hearing this, Empress Dowager Chen fell silent.

Chen Kun continued, "We both have the surname Chen. If things go wrong, I will protect you even if it means risking my life. However..."

"I'm afraid I'm not up to the task!"

A layer of mist appeared in Empress Dowager Chen's eyes again: "Brother...I..."

"Then tell me, what should I do?"

Chen Kun reached out and patted the back of Empress Dowager Chen's hand, and said softly, "Be a good legitimate mother, be a good Holy Mother Empress Dowager..."

"Let him guard the late emperor's mourning and honor."

"Let him protect the Chen family's door lintel..."

Empress Dowager Chen bit her lip: "But..."

"The late emperor is gone, but the living must continue to live."

"Sister, you are the Queen Mother of the Royal Family, and also the daughter of my Chen family..."

Empress Dowager Chen stared at Chen Kun intently. At this moment, the principles in the books such as "Female Commandments", "On Ladies", and "Women's Ways" that she had read in her childhood flooded into her mind like a torrential rain.

Empress Dowager Chen was silent for a long time and then nodded.

"Brother is right."

Then, she sat up straight, wiped the tears from her eyes, and her expression became solemn in an instant, turning back into Empress Dowager Chen of Dayun.

"Come here, bring me my Phoenix Seal." Empress Dowager Chen ordered, and then said to Chen Kun, "Chen Kun, I order you to take the Phoenix Seal to the capital and convey my order on my behalf—"

"The late emperor loved Prince Duan deeply and said before his death: My brother should be like Yao and Shun."

"Now that the late emperor has entered his mausoleum, the country cannot remain without a ruler for even a single day. I ask my son, Prince Duan, to accept the mandate from Heaven, inherit the throne, and return to rule the world."

Chen Kun immediately bowed and said, "I will obey the Empress Dowager's order."

……

The turmoil in Zhongjing has subsided for a while.

Qianyuan Mountain.

A black-haired mouse was running aimlessly on the mountain.

It was originally a member of the alchemy rats, and was enlightened by Lady Xuan Ji to develop intelligence. Although its magical power is not strong, it has barely escaped the category of ordinary rats and is now carrying out Lady Xuan Ji's orders.

Search for the monster hiding in Qianyuan Mountain.

It didn't know what kind of monster it was or how powerful it was.

Anyway, the most powerful demon he has ever seen is the leader of Shudaoshan. As for Lady Xuan Ji, she is like a goddess!

After searching under the sun for two hours, it just felt itchy all over.

As an alchemy rat, cleanliness is basic common sense.

Lord Xuan Ji, that seemingly powerful human said something about not letting the elixir be produced by the third brother, but I don’t know who the third brother he was talking about is.

Anyway, he thought he should find a place to take a shower and then continue searching.

Soon, he found a small pond with clear water. He rushed towards it, then jumped high and dived...

Was thrown to the shore.

Huh?
(End of this chapter)