NOVEL NEXT Ch. 29
Chapter 29: Return to the Imperial Capital
After mastering the Qi-Observing Eye Art, Jiang Zhaoming was able to see deeper into the River of Fortune, where he beheld many purple streams of Fortune Blessings.
Ever since he had gained the ability to perceive those purple Fortunes, Jiang Zhaoming could no longer avert his gaze.
Whenever he had a spare moment, he would peer into that long river once again.
【Divine Artifact · Nest of Sandworms】: A Divine Artifact from the Gu Spirit Plane, containing ten precious sandworms, three of which were of the Divine Power Realm. Sandworms could traverse hundreds of miles beneath the sands in an instant, swiftly build underground tunnels, and detect movements from a thousand miles away.
【Divine Artifact · Gu of Heaven’s Crippled Earth’s Deficiency】: A famed Gu insect from the Gu Spirit Plane, capable of releasing six Heaven’s Crippled Earth’s Deficiency Worms, allowing six people to attain the Divine Power Realm and remain under your control — but their cultivation would never advance an inch further for the rest of their lives.
【Divine Artifact · Vein-Purifying Crystal】: A divine stone from the Saint Tang Plane. When dissolved in water, it could turn ordinary water into Vein-Purifying Water. Upon consumption, it subtly improved one’s meridians. It could be used endlessly, though the amount of Vein-Purifying Power produced each day was fixed.
【Innate Talent · Mastery of All Arts】: The bearer of this talent could master all arts — nothing stood as a barrier before divine abilities.
……
Aside from these Fortune Blessings radiating with violet brilliance, Jiang Zhaoming even glimpsed a crimson figure deep within the river’s furthest depths.
【Divine Artifact · Lunar Soldier Altar】: A Divine Artifact from the Underworld Plane, drawing upon Nine Nether Yin Fiend as its source and refining countless battle-hardened soldiers into puppets. By using the Lunar Soldier Altar to absorb corpses and souls, it could manifest corresponding Lunar Dao Soldiers based on the degree of completeness, with the highest possible manifestation reaching the Myriad Phenomena Realm.
Upon seeing this Lunar Soldier Altar, Jiang Zhaoming admitted he could barely contain his desire.
Unfortunately, he could only look upon it for now.
Amid such longing, time passed quickly — and soon, the year-end of Great Zhou arrived!
As dusk descended on the twenty-ninth day of the twelfth month, the Prince of Anxi’s residence grew lively.
Jiang Zhaoming sat upright before a gilt bronze mirror while the maidservants carefully combed through each strand of his hair.
The candlelight reflected his profile in the mirror — within those deep, ink-black eyes lay thoughts no one could read.
“Your Highness, the hour approaches,” Gu Landa softly reminded from outside the door.
Jiang Zhaoming waved the attendants away and returned alone to his bedchamber.
Cross-legged upon his brocaded bed, he took a jade pendant carved with dragon patterns from his robe.
Under the candlelight, the jade glowed with a gentle luster.
The dragon motif appeared vivid and lifelike, as if it might soar into the heavens at any moment.
As the midnight watch drum struck, the jade pendant suddenly shone with dazzling light.
That soft radiance enveloped and devoured Jiang Zhaoming’s body in an instant.
He felt his entire being grow weightless, the scenery before his eyes blurring like reflections in rippling water.
His eyes widened as the outlines of the bedchamber gradually melted into pure white.
“So this is what spatial teleportation feels like...”
At first, a cacophony of voices filled his ears — as though tens of thousands of people spoke at once.
Gradually, the noise ebbed away like a receding tide, replaced by a gentle female voice.
“A-Ming, it’s been a long time. You’ve grown.”
The white light dispersed, and the scene before him slowly came into focus.
Jiang Zhaoming saw a woman dressed in simple palace attire, gazing at him with a tender smile.
Her brows and eyes were like a painting, her hair pinned only with a single white jade hairpin.
Though she bore no trace of a Golden Body Realm expert’s pressure, her presence overflowed with motherly warmth.
“Mother, I’ve returned.”
Jiang Zhaoming’s voice was slightly strained.
Standing before him was none other than the renowned Qin Guiyan — the descendant of Divine General Qin, a Golden Body Realm expert, and his birth mother.
As the light from the dragon-patterned jade gradually faded, Jiang Zhaoming knew he had returned to the long-lost Imperial Capital.
At every year’s end, these jade pendants exclusive to royal offspring would transport them back to the majestic imperial city to reunite with their kin.
When the radiance completely faded, Jiang Zhaoming opened his eyes and found himself standing within the plum grove behind the Qin Residence.
Unlike other princes who appeared directly in the imperial palace, Jiang Zhaoming was granted the privilege to first return to the Qin estate.
Moonlight poured down like water, illuminating the garden of white plum blossoms as though covered in frost and snow.
A breeze stirred; a few petals drifted down soundlessly, blanketing the ground in silver-white.
Qin Guiyan’s eyes curved in a gentle smile as she reached out to caress the crown of Jiang Zhaoming’s head. Her fingertips, though calloused from years of martial training, were astonishingly gentle.
“A-Ming, Mother missed you very much.”
Her voice was soft, like a cup of warm tea in midwinter, suffusing one’s heart with comfort.
Jiang Zhaoming’s throat moved slightly; countless words condensed into a single line. “Mother, I missed you too.”
As dawn lightened the sky, mother and son spoke at length.
Qin Guiyan chatted endlessly about mundane matters — from the weather in Anxi to his daily meals — like an ordinary household mother, nothing like a Golden Body expert.
Only when the clear neigh of jade dragon steeds echoed outside did she reluctantly stop her reminders.
“Go on,” she said, straightening his robes, “see your royal father and those brothers of yours. Mother will enter the palace later.”
Jiang Zhaoming bowed deeply.
As he exited the chamber, the eastern sky was already pale with dawn.
The moment he boarded the Jade Dragon Carriage, eight snow-white jade steeds spread their wings in unison.
As the carriage rose slowly into the air, Jiang Zhaoming lifted the beaded golden curtain.
The morning breeze brushed against his face, carrying the distinct air of the imperial capital.
He narrowed his eyes slightly, gazing down at the ancient city still half-asleep.
Eight hundred li of imperial capital unfurled beneath the morning glow.
The glazed tiles of ninefold palace halls glimmered gold beneath the rising sun — like a slumbering dragon coiled between heaven and earth.
Along Vermilion Bird Avenue, the lanterns from the previous night still burned.
Tens of thousands of lights shimmered faintly through the morning mist, casting an illusory glow across the entire city.
In his view, countless eaves and ridges stretched endlessly, carved pavilions and painted halls interwoven with floating spirit boats and pleasure barges.
Cultivators soared upon flying swords, tracing streaks of brilliance across the dawn sky like shooting stars.
Yet what struck most awe was the Imperial Palace suspended at the city’s heart.
Twelve jade columns entwined with dragons pierced the clouds, bearing the entire floating citadel aloft.
The Golden Throne Hall shone resplendently under the sunlight, its glazed tiles refracting seven-colored light — like a celestial palace fallen to earth.
Below it, the commoners’ gray-tiled courtyards sprawled like a chessboard to the horizon.
Wisps of cooking smoke rose as seventy-two markets began to stir, crowds gathering like ants.
The mingled sounds of hawkers, carriages, and temple bells formed a unique morning symphony drifting into the clouds.
This was the Imperial Capital of Great Zhou — a magnificent city housing billions of lives and gathering the fortune of the entire realm.
As the Jade Dragon Carriage drifted through the thin clouds, the palace rooftops drew nearer. Yet Jiang Zhaoming’s gaze grew darker.
His slender fingers unconsciously brushed the window frame as he looked down at the awakening giant below, the corners of his lips curling into a faint, unreadable smile.
He wondered how many royal brothers and kin within this grand city would, in time, see their heads roll.
And who, in the end, would stand upon that Forbidden Summit, ruling all beneath the heavens.
The carriage swept past the morning sun, casting a fleeting shadow upon the palace walls.