On the second night after the wedding.

News that Xiao Mo had rested in Yan Ruxue’s sleeping palace reached Empress Dowager Yan’s ears—especially after Empress Dowager Yan obtained that “blood plum” handkerchief from a palace maid.

Empress Dowager Yan was overjoyed.

In Empress Dowager Yan’s eyes, regardless of whether her Ruxue could conceive imperial blood in a single night,

at the very least, Ruxue had already seized the initiative.

Not only Empress Dowager Yan—even Spring Swallow, as a mere maid, became smug.

After all, her young lady was the first royal consort to receive His Majesty’s favor. Maybe her young lady’s belly already held a little imperial prince!

Mingyue of the Hall of Holding Wine saw Spring Swallow strutting around, unbearably self-satisfied, and it nearly made her furious.

But fortunately, from the third day after the wedding onward, Xiao Mo began to take turns resting in Bai Ruxue’s and Qin Siyao’s sleeping palaces.

This gradually made the maids of the Hall of Holding Wine lift their heads again.

After all, as servants, their fates were bound up with their own noble consort.

If their lady fell out of favor, then they servants would live poorly as well.

And now, their Consort Mu had only been one night later than Consort Xue—there was still time for everything!

As for the thoughts of those people in the rear palace and the “undercurrents in motion,” Xiao Mo did not care.

In the days that followed, what Xiao Mo did each day was focus on cultivation.

Every time Xiao Mo went to the Hall of Congealed Snow to have Consort Xue “attend his bed,” in truth it was Bai Ruxue helping Xiao Mo purify his spiritual power.

Because the spiritual power within Xiao Mo’s body grew thicker and thicker and was being compressed without pause, Xiao Mo was able to cultivate again.

So each day, Xiao Mo would also go to the Asking-the-Dao Altar to practice swordsmanship.

When Jiang Qingyi learned what Bai Ruxue had been doing to Xiao Mo, even though she snorted a few times in her heart and her expression carried a trace of displeasure,

Jiang Qingyi still had to admit that aside from swordsmanship, the Lord of the Four Seas truly understood far more than she did—such as this purification of spiritual power, which she really had no way to do for Xiao Mo.

Leaving everything else aside, her own spiritual power contained incomparably sharp sword qi. If she tried to help Xiao Mo purify spiritual power, Xiao Mo would suffer pain like being sliced apart inch by inch.

Besides Bai Ruxue purifying Xiao Mo’s spiritual power and Jiang Qingyi teaching Xiao Mo swordsmanship, Qin Siyao was also secretly helping Xiao Mo solidify and refine his mountains-and-rivers fortune.

For most rulers in the world, if a ruler wished to cultivate, then mountains-and-rivers fortune was a dose of poison.

But Qin Siyao possessed the Through-Ages Sacred Body, and she was also the first ruler to truly unify the Ten Thousand Arts world—and even to help the Ten Thousand Arts world expand its territory.

So she had a different sort of control over mountains-and-rivers fortune.

Xiao Mo himself did not even realize it: each time he spent the night at Qin Siyao’s, the mountains-and-rivers fortune wrapped around him was secretly feeding back into his cultivation and his great Way.

Without noticing— 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

a month passed.

The spiritual power within Xiao Mo’s body could no longer be purified any further.

If an ordinary cultivator’s spiritual power were compared to water, then Xiao Mo’s spiritual power at this moment was like heavy golden water.

But no matter what, Xiao Mo was still only in the Qi Refining Realm.

This “bucket” of the Qi Refining Realm ultimately had its limits.

Even so, Xiao Mo had already made full preparations.

He had long since chosen a small plain in the distant outskirts beyond the imperial capital.

In addition, he had Wei Xun secretly obtain a Foundation Establishment Pill.

But when Wei Xun learned that His Majesty was going to attempt foundation establishment, his entire body jolted in fright. In the Imperial Study, he dropped to his knees with a thud and kept crying out, “Your Majesty, reconsider!”

Xiao Mo could not fail to understand Wei Xun.

In Wei Xun’s eyes, what he was doing was courting death.

After all, in this world, the rulers who tried to attempt foundation establishment mostly died beneath heavenly tribulation.

Xiao Mo kept telling Wei Xun that he knew his limits.

Wei Xun wiped away tears, looking at His Majesty with belief and disbelief mixed together.

Whether His Majesty truly knew his limits, what kind of limits he had—Wei Xun genuinely did not know.

But His Majesty’s mind was made up. He insisted on attempting foundation establishment. What could Wei Xun do, then...

And now Xiao Mo had everything prepared, lacking only one thing.

Jiang Qingyi had said she would give him a treasure to increase the odds of his foundation establishment.

Only, that item had still not been completed.

Finally, on this day, Jiang Qingyi came to Xiao Mo’s sleeping palace and set a bottle of pills before him.

“Immortal Jiang, this is?”

Xiao Mo held the bottle of pills and looked at Jiang Qingyi.

Just by opening the pill bottle, Xiao Mo could already smell the dense medicinal fragrance within.

“This is what I told you about.”

Jiang Qingyi spoke blandly.

“This pill is called the Stealing Heaven Pill. Your Majesty is a human sovereign, and it is extremely easy to draw the Heavenly Way’s attention. After taking this pill, the Heavenly Way may open one eye and close the other. Foundation establishment will not be such a difficult matter.”

“At the very least, Your Majesty will be able to survive the heavenly tribulation.”

Hearing Jiang Qingyi’s words, Xiao Mo’s brows knit.

“Immortal Jiang, if I accept this pill, I wonder how I can repay you.”

Xiao Mo shook his head {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} and set the pill bottle back on the table.

Even if Xiao Mo was only a Qi Refining cultivator, his breadth of knowledge surpassed that of ordinary Qi Refining cultivators.

From time to time, Xiao Mo would go burrow into the Palace Library Pavilion. He had pored over many cultivation manuals and read quite a few volumes on the pill arts.

He knew that any pill that involved the Heavenly Way was extraordinarily precious.

If the other party gave him some ordinary pill that simply increased the odds of foundation establishment, he would accept it.

Because that kind of thing, even if precious, was still limited to foundation establishment.

In the future, it would still be possible for him to repay her.

But a pill tied to the great Way—Xiao Mo truly did not know what he could use as repayment.

Hearing Xiao Mo’s words, Jiang Qingyi gave him a bland sidelong glance and tucked the strands of hair at her cheek behind her ear:

“This pill’s method of refinement is extremely special. When it was refined, Your Majesty’s birthdates and eight characters were used.”

“So only if Your Majesty takes it will this bottle of pills have any effect.”

“If Your Majesty refuses to eat it, then this bottle of pills will be no different from sugar pellets. Would that not be an even greater waste?”

“If Your Majesty truly feels uneasy about it, then enter the Foundation Establishment Realm properly. In the future, only when Your Majesty’s realm is higher and higher will it be possible to speak of any so-called repayment.”

“Besides, if Your Majesty no longer wishes to serve as Great Zhou’s ruler and instead wants to go up the mountain to cultivate, choosing my Ten Thousand Swords Sect will do.”

“My Ten Thousand Swords Sect has a great foundation and is always one that cherishes talent. Consider this bottle of pills an investment from my Ten Thousand Swords Sect into Your Majesty.”

“Now that everything is ready, Your Majesty can truly attempt foundation establishment.”

After speaking, Jiang Qingyi stood up. She did not want to say more, and she wanted even less to give Xiao Mo a chance to refuse. She directly walked out of Xiao Mo’s room.

“Repayment?”

At the entrance of the Hall of Nourishing the Heart, Jiang Qingyi stopped, turned back to glance once, and could not help letting out a cold snort.

“Don’t get eaten by those two women—that’s the best repayment!”