The empress and Eunuch Lu thought that they had gotten away with their schemes, but how could they know that Zu An hadn’t only relied on sex to heal Chu Chuyan? He had also used the Primordial Origin Sutra to repair her damaged meridians.

Zu An hadn’t known the empress’ objectives, so he obviously wouldn’t have proactively helped her with her injuries. As such, the empress had only received some nourishment from his blood essence. Fortunately, he had transcendent aptitude meridians, so his sperm possessed powerful properties, and that was why the empress had received benefits as well. At the same time, she thought that she had found the real method.

The empress yawned. She waved her hand again and said, “You can withdraw now; I really am tired.”

That fellow really was a vigorous beast! She had been tossed and turned around until she had no strength left. She had used quite a bit of willpower to say those things to Eunuch Lu. Now, her eyelids immediately closed.

Eunuch Lu sighed when he saw the satisfied and content expression the empress had before falling asleep. He walked forward and gently pulled up the covers for her before quietly leaving.

Zu An had already returned to his Embroidered Envoy residence to rest. He was also amazed at the body of a truly mature woman. She had been able to tolerate it no matter how rough he was, and she had lasted an entire night. A young lady definitely wouldn’t have lasted that long. They were actually evenly matched.

Zu An only reminisced about the experience for a bit before clearing his mind. He began to think about the empress’ true objective.

He definitely wouldn’t believe that the empress had sought him out just because she was lonely. If that were really the case, she could have easily found a different person instead of waiting all this time for him.

After all, her body’s reactions couldn’t deceive anyone. At first, she had acted underripe like a naive little girl, but eventually, shehad  gradually returned to being a mature woman. It was clear that it had already been a long, long time since she had last done such a thing.

However, he just couldn’t figure out her objective. Could it really just be revenge against the emperor?

He could clearly sense her resentment toward the emperor. Furthermore, when she seduced him, she had used this revenge to provoke him. Yeah, that is the most likely reason.

He didn’t think about the subject any further, because it wasn’t important. What was important was becoming stronger… no, it was making himself stronger.

When he thought about all of the skills he had, the skill that had raised his cultivation the most was still the ‘Heaven Devouring Sutra’, with its ability to absorb the cultivation of other cultivators. However, after weighing the pros and cons, he gave up on the thought of using it in the end.

With his current cultivation, it was completely pointless to absorb the cultivation of ordinary cultivators. His cultivation wouldn’t improve much, and the ki would be impure as well. He had a deep impression of the side effects of the Smiling Proud Wanderer’s Star Devouring Art.

That was why, if he was going to absorb anyone’s cultivation, it had to come only from powerful cultivators. But he was in the capital right now, a place where countless eyes were watching him. If he wasn’t careful and ended up being exposed, then he might end up making the entire world his enemy!

After all, everyone else had to cultivate properly, so why could he just steal someone else’s hard work? Furthermore, people would be scared of being sucked dry, so they would all want to get rid of him first.

That was the case with Mosquito Daoist. Even though her powerful cultivation and her survival skills had allowed her to get away with such a thing, she had always lived in the shadows. If she wasn’t being chased by someone, then she was about to be chased. Such a life was also meaningless.

That was why, unless it was absolutely necessary, Zu An wasn’t willing to choose that path.

He began to think over his other options. Suddenly, he took out a scroll from inside of the Brilliant Glass Bead. Written on the scroll were the words ‘Ki Condensation Ancient Scroll’.

This was a pill refinement method he had obtained from inside the Brilliant Glass Bead, but back then, he hadn’t awakened a fire element pill refinement technique. That was why this thing had been gathering dust in the corner the entire time. He had almost forgotten about it.

Right now, he needed to increase his strength. Furthermore, he could borrow Daji’s flame ability. That was why he remembered it again.

However, he didn’t know how much these Ki Condensation Pills could increase his cultivation. They might not be of much help, just like ki fruits. After all, the amount of ki fruits needed to increase his cultivation was insanely high.

Zu An decided to give it a try. He had already memorized the contents of the scroll, and he had gathered all of the necessary ingredients a while ago. He arranged a medicinal furnace inside the room, then summoned Daji.

He had to admit that Daji was just too beautiful. Even though she didn’t have her own will right now, and her eyes lacked the slightest bit of expression, she was just like a beautiful painting even when she was just standing casually.

Furthermore, it was precisely because she lacked her own consciousness that she lacked her legendary charm, but she instead had more of an aloof air. She was just too pretty.

Her long hair and her clothes fluttered about. She really was like a goddess from the heavens.

What a pity though, I can only look… Zu An sighed. He quickly focused and controlled Daji, making her squat down by the medicinal furnace. He began to slowly refine the medicine in the furnace.

If others knew that he was using such an insanely beautiful woman as a maid like this, their jaws might just hit the ground from shock. Still, he couldn’t be bothered with such things right now. He didn’t dare to show any carelessness while following the Ki Condensation Pill’s recipe. 

But he didn’t control the temperature properly, causing black smoke to come out. When he opened the lid, he saw that the ingredients had already been burned to black dregs. It wasn’t that he had been too careless. After all, succeeding on the first try wasn’t too likely. So, he carefully tried again.

Failure, failure, and more failure… Unexpected things kept happening every time.

Suddenly, on his ninth attempt, a fragrance emerged from the medicinal furnace. It was different from the usual smells, because just this scent alone felt refreshing.

Zu An opened the furnace. Two small, pigeon egg-sized brown pills were sitting inside.

My luck’s not bad! Zu An’s eyes lit up. The Ki Condensation Ancient Scroll’s recorded recipe required two portions of ingredients each time, as that would improve the success rate a bit. Even if one pill got destroyed, there would at least be one more. The chances of having a pair emerge were quite low.

He picked up one pill and swallowed it. He sensed a warm stream entering him, spreading throughout his body before disappearing.

Zu An opened his eyes in shock. That’s it? Why didn’t he feel any difference?

He quickly examined himself. He felt there wasn’t much difference in the amount of gold in his formation either. Even if there had been some change, it was definitely negligible. At the very least, he couldn’t detect anything.

Don’t tell me these Ki Condensation Pills are even worse than ki fruits? He had worked so hard for this, yet this was the result? He refused to admit that and checked himself again. However, he still saw the same results.

Suddenly, a cold voice said by his ears, “This pill isn’t for increasing your ki, but rather for helping you condense and refine your ki. Then, it will transform your ki into a liquid state. This way, the same body can hold more ki.”

Zu An looked toward the window with shock and surprise. He saw a beauty in a red dress sitting by his windowsill. Her flawless face was absolutely stunning, and above her pretty eyes were brows that were a bit thicker than other girls’. Her presence carried a mysterious, free, and aloof aura.

“Big sis empress!” Zu An refused to believe his eyes. She had slept for so long that it had already been a long time since they last met each other.

Mi Li raised her leg and tapped the tip of her toes against his chest, stopping him from running enthusiastically toward her. “Don’t even think about it. I smell a vixen on you.”

Zu An smiled in embarrassment and said, “You know everything.” Why did he feel as if he had been caught by his wife?

Mi Li gave him an ambiguous smile. “You guys were going at it so intensely, it'd be difficult for me not to know. I felt your ki surging crazily while I was asleep and thought that something had happened to you, but it turned out you were going crazy with a vixen. You’re really quite something, aren’t ya? You actually ended up sleeping with this world’s empress?”

Zu An’s cheeks burned up. “It’s all my fault. I ended up getting too worked up and placed you in danger.”

If it were just him alone, that would be one thing, but Mi Li’s fate was linked to his. He had ended up provoking this world’s most powerful expert out of a momentary burst of emotions. If this matter were revealed, he would be done for. That was why he felt guilty.

Mi Li rolled her eyes. “All you did was sleep with an empress. Look at how scared you are! How disappointing.”