Chapter 14: Please, Young Master Yuan, give me a seat.

Ji Xuanyuan channeled her divine sense into the iron ore.

Moments later, her eyes snapped open.

Inside the iron ore was actually a piece of extremely high-purity spirit stone.

Ji Xuanyuan looked slightly surprised as she turned her gaze toward Chu Yuan.

“Young Master Chu Yuan, if this palace is not mistaken… you have discovered an undiscovered mine?”

Chu Yuan replied calmly.

“Exactly. Your Highness, it is a mine containing a deeply buried spirit vein!”

The Immortal Dynasty’s territory was vast and rich in spiritual mines, but spirit veins were always core secrets of the major powers.

A single spirit vein meant a continuous supply of spirit stones, which translated into resources and authority.

Yet this neglected collateral descendant of the Chu family had actually discovered a spirit vein mine?

How did he find it?

And why choose to trade with the Immortal Dynasty instead of his own Chu family?

Ji Xuanyuan’s gaze rested on the calm face across from her.

There was no trace of pride on that face. He simply looked at her with complete composure.

It seemed that to the youth before her, discovering a spirit vein was no different from finding a wild vegetable.

Ji Xuanyuan asked.

“You wish to cooperate?”

Chu Yuan shook his head with a bitter smile.

“Cooperate? No. What status do I have to discuss cooperation with someone like Your Highness? This can at most be considered a transaction!”

Listening to their conversation, Fang Henian’s eyes lit up with excitement.

After all, although Xuanji City was nominally the fief of the Chu family’s collateral branch, it ultimately fell under the jurisdiction of the Immortal Dynasty. This was also the reason he existed as City Lord.

On resources from spirit veins outside the city, both sides had long maintained an unspoken rule of “first come, first served.”

If the deal succeeded, the Immortal Dynasty side would naturally be managed by him, City Lord Fang Henian. The benefits he could reap would be substantial.

Ji Xuanyuan, however, spoke with interest.

“Young Master Chu Yuan, such important intelligence—why not hand it over to your Chu family for a reward?”

Chu Yuan’s bitter smile deepened.

“To be honest with Your Highness, within the Chu family I am nothing more than a dispensable waste. If I handed this intelligence to the clan elders, the credit would only be stolen by others. Rather than that, I would prefer to trade with another power. And this also relies on Your Highness’s discerning eye.”

Ji Xuanyuan followed up smoothly.

“Very well. Name your price!”

Chu Yuan raised one finger.

“Ten million spirit stones!”

In truth, he only needed five million spirit stones to be confident in winning the dragon egg at auction.

Quoting ten million was simply a precaution against bargaining.

After hearing the price, Ji Xuanyuan did not speak immediately.

It was not because the price was too high. Rather, she was thinking about something else—

The system.

The 【Strongest Treasure System】 that had bound itself to her after rebirth.

The first divine artifact it pointed to, the 【Divine Treasure Meditation Cushion】, was the person before her.

If what the system said was true, sitting on this person to cultivate would allow her to bypass the Clear Brightness realm’s requirement of choosing an emotion to enter the Dao and steadily increase her cultivation.

Especially since the person before her might be her junior brother…

Ji Xuanyuan’s heartbeat suddenly quickened.

Should she… give it a try?

If it had no effect, it would prove the system was wrong, and she could simply ignore it afterward.

But if it truly worked… this was the perfect moment to propose the condition.

She only needed a good reason…

While Ji Xuanyuan pondered, sunlight from the window fell between them.

The fragrance of tea curled upward, and the faint scent of agarwood lingered.

Seeing that Her Highness had no reaction, Chu Yuan frowned slightly. He picked up his teacup and took a sip.

This Crown Princess wouldn’t be trying to get it for free, would she? Like a white ticket?

No!

If that were the case, she would have acted already!

She must be thinking about something else.

Even if she really tried to force it, he wasn’t afraid!

Chu Yuan knew very well that he was the Holy Lord’s true bloodline. There were surely strong experts from the Holy Domain lurking nearby.

Recalling his previous life, whenever he encountered danger, the Supreme Protector—that damn fox—would always step in to protect him.

It was only after his bloodline awakened and the Holy Lord recognized him that he learned that damn fox was the world-renowned thousand-year-old Fox Venerable of the Holy Domain.

With that realization, Chu Yuan’s emotions steadied once more. He said patiently.

“Your Highness, a mine containing a deeply buried spirit vein can yield at least one or two hundred million spirit stones. This one only asks for ten million as an information fee and will not participate in any future shares. This is absolutely a win-win deal for both of us.”

Ji Xuanyuan nodded slightly.

“Ten million spirit stones? Acceptable. However, this palace has one additional condition.”

Chu Yuan breathed a small sigh of relief.

“Please speak, Your Highness.”

The corner of Ji Xuanyuan’s lips curved slightly. Her gaze upon him was like appraising a strange object.

“I ask Young Master Chu Yuan to let this palace sit on you for a while.”

Sit… on him?

Chu Yuan instinctively leaned backward. The chair legs scraped against the floor with a soft “creak.”

His thin lips parted as if to say something, but he swallowed it back.

I didn’t expect this…

The future Female Emperor is actually craving my body?

But my current appearance is just that of an ordinary-looking young man?

Or does Her Highness actually prefer this kind of clean, fresh-faced pretty boy???

This… doesn’t seem entirely impossible…

No!

Who does she think I am?

I am the future Holy Son!

How can I casually offer myself to someone else…

Unless… she adds more money?

No no no!

All sorts of thoughts churned wildly in Chu Yuan’s mind.

Just from Chu Yuan’s expression, Ji Xuanyuan could already guess the turmoil in his heart.

She suddenly felt the urge to laugh.

This person, from the moment he entered until now, had maintained an appearance of absolute composure even if Mount Tai collapsed before him.

When publicly humiliated by Chu Yunlan, his face did not change.

When invited upstairs by her, he remained neither servile nor arrogant.

When speaking of the spirit vein mine, he stayed completely calm.

But now, just because she said “let this palace sit on you for a while,” he had retreated three steps.

The corners of Ji Xuanyuan’s lips curved upward unconsciously.

“Young Master Chu Yuan, please do not misunderstand.”

Her tone was cold, yet carried a faint, almost imperceptible trace of amusement.

“This palace recently obtained a cultivation method called the 《Yin-Yang Harmony Art》. It requires using a yang body as a meditation cushion, sitting upon it to cultivate. If successful, it will greatly increase the speed of daily cultivation.”

Chu Yuan suddenly understood.

“Oh~! So it’s ‘sit’… Your Highness, I heard that your residence has countless male concubines. Why not test this method with one of them?”

Male concubines?

Ji Xuanyuan’s expression changed instantly.

The term “male concubine” originally referred to strong and handsome men.

Nowadays, it was more often used to describe beautiful male pets kept by powerful women for pleasure and entertainment.

Noticing that Her Highness seemed displeased, Fang Henian hurriedly scolded.

“Young Master Chu Yuan, please watch your words! Her Highness devotes herself to governance while never neglecting her cultivation. How could she have time to keep male concubines?”

Thinking that the person before her might be her junior brother, Ji Xuanyuan forced herself to remain calm.

“I didn’t expect Young Master Chu Yuan to believe those baseless rumors from outside. This truly disappoints this palace!”

She subconsciously rolled up her sleeve, revealing the cinnabar guard mark on her jade arm.

Seeing this, Chu Yuan realized his mistake and bowed deeply.

“Then this is truly my fault. Please forgive me, Your Highness!”

Ji Xuanyuan waved her hand.

“Never mind. The reason this palace has taken a fancy to you is simply because your physique happens to meet the requirements of the technique. If Young Master minds, then we can forget about this matter.”

Hearing this, not only Chu Yuan but even Fang Henian felt it was a pity.

After all, this was a mine containing a deeply buried spirit vein. Its value was immeasurable.

Fang Henian looked at Chu Yuan and secretly transmitted.

【Young Master Chu, it is rare for Her Highness to show interest in testing a technique with an outsider. Other cultivators would fight tooth and nail for such an opportunity. You must cherish this chance!】

Chu Yuan naturally knew what to do. He cupped his fists.

“If it is only for testing, then of course it is possible! However, I must set three conditions.”