Knowing he couldn't reject the king, he could only agree, following behind the man as the two left the others behind and entered a private room.
"Do you drink?" The king asked, pulling a bottle of wine from a large wine rack that lined the entire wall.
"Not especially."
"Smoke?" He continued, this time pulling two fat cigars from under his desk.
"No."
"... You'll build the habit if you become king." He smiled, seeming to not mind.
"Anyways, have a seat."
Nodding, Minos sat across from the man, though he didn't say anything right away, instead pouring himself a glass of wine and lighting his cigar.
Pouring himself a glass, he downed it in one go, following it with a deep pull from his cigar.
Exhaling thick clouds, he let out a sigh of comfort, leaning back in leisure as he tapped the ashes from the tip of his cigar, finally speaking.
"Let me ask you Minos, have you ever wondered what happens to the old king when the new one gets appointed?" The king asked, sitting back up in his chair as he spoke.
"I've wondered, but I've never had the chance to ask." Minos replied.
"Have you ever heard of the council of elders?"
"Council of elders?"
"I thought not… In simple terms, the council of elders is made up of the past kings, and while they aren't considered an official force, the power they wield can't be underestimated."
"They sound quite powerful."
"They both are and aren't. The truth is the council of elders stands directly against the Nine-Tailed Emperor's own wishes."
"He wanted the kings to retire peacefully and stop getting involved in politics, giving the new generation a chance to govern."
"But how could one give up their power so easily? Hence not long after the Nine-Tailed Emperor's death, this force was created."
"Their true power is in their connections, every inch of the kingdom is covered by their shadow, whether directly or not."
"If they are on your side, they can make your life much easier, otherwise they have hundreds of ways to make you miserable."
"Is that a threat?" Minos asked, his lax eyes sharpening.
"Not a threat, just a reminder, in fact I only tell you this out of appreciation. Quite honestly, I think the king's throne is already yours, hence I'm telling you this now."
"So you want my support once you join the council of elders?"
"That's right, of course I don't expect such support for free, hence why I'm willing to give you this in exchange." The king said, tapping his spatial ring and pulling out a small vial filled with an unknown blue liquid.
"What is that?" Minos asked with shock, having felt his heart uncontrollably clench as the vial appeared in the king's hand.
"Hehehe, you felt it, didn't you? That primordial fear, as if some superior creature is looking down on you, ready to devour you in one bite."
"... What is that?" Minos repeated, though he secretly had to admit that was exactly the sensation he was feeling right now.
"This is Jiphrox blood." The king said, his words so shocking that even Minos found himself stunned for a moment.
"Jiphrox, as in the mythical creature Jiphrox?"
"The very same one."
"I thought that creature was just a myth, a legend?" Minos asked with surprise.
According to the legends, the Jiphrox was a strange beast with a body littered with pupils which covered every inch of its flesh.
It was said the Jiphrox was all-seeing, its sight so advanced that it could directly peer into the future.
"Myths are often inspired by reality." The king replied with a smile, tossing the vial towards Minos.
Instinctively catching it, Minos immediately felt that clenching feeling become dozens of times stronger, his heart nearly rushing out from within his chest.
"And what exactly can I do with this?" Minos asked, suppressing the anxiety within him.
While some cultivators absorbed demonic beast blood to quicken their cultivation, it was only considered a last resort, given the corruptive nature of demon beast blood, which was likely to pollute one's own Nux.
And even then, they would only absorb the blood of demon beasts of similar cultivation, otherwise the energy would overpower their own Nux, corrupting it completely, which was no different from crippling one's cultivation.
"You're a smart man, I'm sure you'll figure something out." The king kept smiling, seemingly not worried Minos would reject.
"... It's not enough." Minos said after a moment's thought.
"I expected as much, hence why I'm also willing to give you this." The king said, tossing another vial towards Minos.
This time however, rather than being blood, the vial was filled with a dozen small pills, each pill a deep golden color, nine black stripes covering their body.
"This is?"
"Those are Nine-Stripped Golden Pills, the best Nine-Moon pill available."
Nodding, Minos popped open the vial and took a quick sniff of the pills immediately feeling the Nux in his Inner Heaven come to life.
If a smell alone could get such a response, it goes without saying just how potent these pills would be once he swallowed them.
"I'd have offered you a Ten-Moon Pill, but quite honestly, I doubt your body could handle that kind of energy, so I hope this is enough to prove my sincerity."
"It's enough." Minos said, tucking the pills and Jiphrox blood away.
"I'm glad we've reached an agreement. Well then, the others are likely waiting for us, so let's not keep hiding away back here."
…
With the king finally leaving him alone, Minos was almost immediately stormed by Suki, who had barely managed to restrain his excitement until now.
Just like Tylia, he began questioning him as to how he managed to do such a thing, but of course Minos still didn't have an answer.
Fortunately Suki wasn't one to larp on endlessly, so after a congratulations, he left him alone.
Spending the rest of the night dealing with royals, Minos finally had a chance to leave after nearly six hours.
Saying goodbye to Asumi and Suki, Minos and Tylia headed back to their mansion, Minos relieved to finally be away from the crowds.
Unfortunately Tylia was about as talkative as an entire crowd combined, so he still didn't have much peace.
It was only after he locked himself in his room did he finally have a moment of silence, a sigh of relief leaving his mouth as he collapsed back on his bed.
Of course despite the day being over, it didn't mean Minos's work was done, quite the opposite.
Sitting back up, he immediately pulled the Nine-Stripped Golden Pills from within his robe, not wanting to waste a single moment.
Popping the vial back open, Minos took a second to completely relax before swallowing the first pill.
As the energy unraveled within him, Minos rapidly used his Heaven Forsaken Furnace Technique to absorb the Nux as efficiently as possible.
After all this time, his mastery of the Heaven Forsaken Furnace had reached a much higher level, hence his efficiency was near perfect.
Because of such perfect absorption, Minos could feel the solid Nux within his Inner Heaven quickly expand.
Thanks to all of Suki's support before, Minos was already in the late-stages of the Earth Cloud Layer, these Nine-Stripped Golden Pills giving him the final push he needed.
After devouring the fifth pill, Minos felt his entire Inner Heaven was filled to the brink in solid Nux, no longer having any space left to expand into.
Of course this didn't mean his cultivation was over, rather it was finally the beginning of something new entirely!
Taking a deep breath, Minos steadied himself for a moment before shutting his eyes, peering inwardly.
Opening his eyes again, Minos reappeared with the infinite expanse that was his mind, looking down at his soul's solid hands, which seemed as real as his physical ones.
Normally one's soul would be far from this strong at this stage, instead more like an illusory flickering flame that could go out at any second.
But given Minos's unique experiences, his soul was hundreds of times stronger than his peers, already reaching such an advanced stage despite his weak cultivation.
His exceptional soul had always benefited him both visibly and invisibly, but it was at this moment when it would help him the most.