The world is like a prison, my body is holy

"I am grateful..."

Inside the simple yet elegant warm pavilion, Emperor Tianqi, dressed in a light and loose moon-white robe that revealed his fair collarbone, sat crookedly on a brocade couch, holding a white jade cup and watching the song and dance in front of him with a blank expression. He casually said, "Do you think I should give the Grand Tutor another official title?"

Liu Zhi'en, who was standing to one side, asked in bewilderment, "Your Majesty, why did you suddenly decide to promote the Prince of Weiwu?"

His relationship with Emperor Tianqi became increasingly relaxed. When there were no foreign officials around, he no longer displayed the usual trepidation and obsequiousness that officials showed when communicating with the emperor. Instead, it was more like a casual chat between friends.

Ultimately, it was because he served as a bridge between Emperor Tianqi and Wang Wen.

Liu Zhi'en once thought that Wang Wen was a big tree, and as long as he held on to this big tree, he could avoid most of the bloodshed in the palace.

Over time, he was pleasantly surprised to discover that Wang Wen was an insurmountable mountain. As long as that mountain did not collapse, his position in the imperial palace would remain as stable as Mount Tai!
Even the greatest trees eventually wither and decay.

How could a great mountain ever hang upside down!

"Hasn't it been a long time since we promoted the Grand Tutor? With the New Year just around the corner, we can legitimately give him a few more official titles and a two-rank promotion."

Emperor Tianqi took a sip of wine, finding it bland and tasteless: "What kind of majestic prince is he? How can he be worthy of the Grand Tutor's unparalleled prowess, sweeping across eight thousand miles without an opponent? What do you think of promoting the Grand Tutor to Imperial Preceptor, and adding the title of Prince of Huainan?"

Upon hearing this, Liu Zhi'en felt his head buzzing and said speechlessly, "Your Majesty, think twice before you act. There is a saying that when merits are too high, they can overshadow the emperor, and there is no more title to bestow. Aren't you forcing the Prince of Weiwu to have second thoughts?"

He was practically saying outright, "You foolish emperor, don't cause trouble!"

Other emperors, fearing that their meritorious officials might achieve even greater feats, would be too busy either idling them out or exiling them.

You're deliberately pushing your luck? What, do you think your life is too comfortable? Looking for some excitement?
"You don't know anything..."

Emperor Tianqi glanced at him, still slightly drunk, and said, "How could someone like the Grand Tutor, destined to become an immortal and leave a lasting legacy, possibly care about something as vulgar as the throne?"

Everyone else thinks he's stupid.

But he doesn't think he's stupid at all; in fact, he thinks he's incredibly clever most of the time!
He saw it clearly: a person who cannot bear to see others suffer, be bullied, or die can only be a saint, not an emperor...

The best way to deal with such people is to elevate them to a pedestal and worship them as soon as possible.

Liu Zhi'en: 'Your language is really foul!'

He couldn't figure out what was wrong with the emperor, but he felt that this matter was inappropriate.

He knew, of course, that the emperor had long since given up any thought of restraining the powerful Prince...

Just because the emperor doesn't dwell on those trivial matters doesn't mean that the civil and military officials of the previous dynasty didn't either.

Those ministers of cultural relics may find it difficult to accomplish something great, but they are all experts at ruining something great.

The Prince of Weiwu has already exhausted himself trying to get food for the people of Huainan and Jiangnan, so there's no reason for him to also be on guard against these open and covert attacks in the court.

The more he thought about it, the more uneasy he felt. He whispered his advice: "Your Majesty, it's better to remain still than to act on this matter. Why don't you wait a few more years before making a decision? You are in your prime, and you have a long life ahead of you!"

Emperor Tianqi naturally knew what this cunning eunuch was thinking. He remained silent for a moment, then suddenly threw down the white jade thumb cup and rolled around on the brocade couch like a child throwing a tantrum, howling, "I won't listen! I want to promote the Grand Tutor to a higher rank and title right now! I'll accept it even if he comes to the capital and beats me up! He hasn't been to the capital for over two years..."

Liu Zhi'en: ? ? ?

'You little rascal, you're definitely a bit of a pervert!'

He muttered to himself in admiration, but he could understand Emperor Tianqi's thoughts. After all, a peerless figure like the Prince of Weiwu, whose humanity was fading and whose divine aura was growing stronger, would make people feel uneasy if they heard all sorts of rumors about him every day but could not see him in person for a long time.

God knows he ascended to heaven in broad daylight that day!
Wasn't there a rumor last year that the Prince of Weiwu had undergone a tribulation between immortals and mortals in Huainan?

"or……"

Liu Zhi'en tentatively asked in a low voice, "This year's New Year's banquet is more grand. Should I go to Yangzhou to invite Prince Weiwu to the capital for the banquet on behalf of His Majesty?"

"Can he come?"

Emperor Tianqi stopped rolling around and looked at him sideways: "Didn't he not come to the court banquet last year? Let's play it safe and just promote the Grand Tutor. Knowing his temperament, he will definitely come to the capital to give me a stern reprimand!"

Liu Zhi'en was speechless: "What a brilliant 'provocation over intimidation' strategy! You're really not afraid of getting beaten up!"

Just as he was pondering whether he could transfer the rewards bestowed upon Wang Wen to his father, Huang Xingde, a young eunuch bowed and quickly entered, presenting a memorial to the Tianqi Emperor: "Your Majesty, urgent dispatch from the northwest, eight hundred li away!"

"An urgent dispatch?"

Emperor Tianqi's expression suddenly became solemn and dignified. He sat up abruptly and stretched out his hand, saying, "Bring it here!"

Liu Zhi'en bowed as he descended the steps, took the memorial from the eunuch's hand, and handed it to Emperor Tianqi.

Emperor Tianqi opened the memorial and quickly skimmed through it, his expression suddenly shifting between anger and joy.

"Snapped!"

He slammed the memorial shut and nodded firmly at Liu Zhi'en: "I have a solution!"

Liu Zhi'en was completely bewildered: "Your Majesty, please forgive my ignorance... what method?"

Emperor Tianqi said in surprise, "Of course, the way is to invite the Grand Tutor to the capital!"

Liu Zhi'en: 'Young man, at a time like this, you're still thinking about this?'

Emperor Tianqi did not give him a chance to speak, and said directly: "Go to Yangzhou immediately and report to the Grand Tutor that there has been a great change in the Northwest and the people are in imminent danger. Please ask the Grand Tutor to come to the capital immediately to discuss how to deal with it!"

Liu Zhi'en glanced at the memorial he was clutching tightly in his hand, then looked up at him cautiously: "Your Majesty, forgive this servant for being so talkative... But if we use such unclear information to invite the Prince of Weiwu to the capital, I'm afraid it will be difficult to explain later!"

He gave the Tianqi Emperor a meaningful look: 'Are you sure you're prepared to face the Prince's wrath?'

Emperor Tianqi's lips twitched, and he stubbornly retorted, "What's there to be afraid of? At most, he'll give me a beating. He can't possibly kill me, can he?"

Of course, he couldn't just have Liu Zhi'en take the memorial to Yangzhou and hand it over to Grand Tutor Wang.

Once the memorial reached Grand Tutor Wang, he headed straight for the Northwest; there was no way he would ever return to the capital!
Some things do indeed take time to become clear.

Emperor Tianqi later often felt that in Grand Tutor Wang's heart, he was probably just like a cat or a dog...

He felt no shame.

On the contrary, it gives me a strong sense of security.

What's wrong with the kitten and puppy?
No one else would even dream of being Wang Taishi's kitten or puppy!

……

"coming!"

At that time, Wang Wenzheng, along with Zhang Tianshi of the Tianshi Mansion of Longhu Mountain and Jinping Daoren of the Lingbao Sect of Gezao Mountain, observed the ceremony in front of the Huangshan Fujun Temple on Guangming Peak of Huangshan Mountain.

What ceremony should we observe?

It was naturally the tribulation between immortality and mortality for the leader of the Shangqing School of Maoshan, Hunkun Zhenren!
Hunkun Zhenren's cultivation was originally second only to Zhang Tianshi among the three sect leaders. However, due to the fact that Hunkun Zhenren lost an arm and damaged his foundation during his trip to Sichuan and Chongqing with the three sects of talismans, his cultivation could not be perfected for a long time, and he fell behind Jinping Zhenren.

Zhang Tianshi of Longhu Mountain, as early as the end of the first year of the Tianqi era, passed through the tribulation between immortals and mortals at Longhu Mountain and became the Great Celestial Master, also known as the Earthly Immortal.

At the end of the second year of the Tianqi era, Jin Ping Dao Ren also passed through the tribulation between immortals and mortals at Gezao Mountain, and became the Great Celestial Master, also known as the Earth Immortal.

As for Master Hunkun, he finally achieved perfection in his cultivation at the end of the third year of Tianqi. However, due to damage to his foundation, he dared not undergo the tribulation for a long time. He even secretly made arrangements for his affairs after his death, passing on the position of sect leader to Wang Wen...

Wang Wen learned of this by chance and couldn't bear to see his senior brother's lifelong cultivation go to waste, so he forced his senior brother to come to Huangshan to undergo tribulation, and patted his chest to guarantee that he would definitely have divine assistance when he underwent tribulation!

Master Hunkun was reluctant to trouble Wang Wen, but he couldn't go against Wang Wen's wishes, so he had no choice but to agree to set the place of tribulation at Lotus Peak in Huangshan.

It is worth mentioning that after such a long period of interaction and so many coincidences, the connection between Wang Wen and Huangshan Fujun Wu Yanzu was already a matter of course in the eyes of the three leaders of the three talisman sects.

The only slight difference is that both Zhang Tianshi and Jinping Daoist believed that Wang Wen was the incarnation of Wu Yanzu, the Lord of Huangshan.

After all, the process of a deity undergoing tribulation is similar to Wang Wen's previous life as a civil servant who was promoted by working at the grassroots level.

Only Master Hunkun's guess is closer to the truth, but precisely because his guess is closer to the truth, it is even more difficult to see clearly through the fog...

After all, the idea that mortals are the true form and gods are avatars is not mystical at all!

However, he had the most frequent contact with Wang Wen, and he was absolutely certain that Wang Wen's apparent lack of common sense about cultivation was not an act.

This phenomenon should absolutely not occur in an awakened divine incarnation...

As Zhang Tianshi exclaimed "We've arrived!", rolling dark clouds gathered at a visible speed atop Lotus Peak, with dazzling lightning flashing within them.

Wang Wen remained silent, focusing solely on manipulating the ethereal energy of the entire Huangshan mountain range, channeling it like a funnel into the summit of Lotus Peak.

This is much more powerful than any large or super-large spirit-gathering array!
The force of the lightning bolt swelled up like an inflated balloon at the top of Lotus Peak. Just as he was about to cry for help in terror, a dazzling blue lightning bolt shot down from the sky with a "whoosh" sound and struck him precisely on the head.

The swollen body of the Hunkun True Man deflated instantly, like a punctured balloon, his old face turning black and his body emitting blue smoke.

Seeing this, Wang Wen remained silent, secretly channeling the light and ethereal energy of the entire Huangshan Mountain into the summit of Lotus Peak.

The body of the Hunkun True Man, which had been shriveled from being filled with water, began to swell up again, like an inflated balloon, at a visible speed.

"Kwacha".

The physical body of the Hunkun True Man immediately withered away.

Wang Wen: "Hmm?"

The physical body of the Hunkun True Man expanded rapidly again.

"Kwacha".

The body of the Hunkun True Man continued to wither and shrink.

Wang Wen: "Hmm?"

Hunkun Zhenren: ...

Zhang Tianshi, both amused and exasperated, gazed at the ever-changing size of the Hunkun Zhenren atop Lotus Peak: "Are you two brothers using heavenly lightning to temper your bodies?"

"Who says it's not?"

Jin Ping Daoist said with no small amount of envy, "It's so good to have connections in higher places..."

In order to successfully overcome the tribulation between immortals and mortals, he not only exhausted the last bit of the power of the cave heaven laws of Gezao Mountain Spirit Treasure Cave Heaven, but also sacrificed a large number of ancestral spiritual treasures.

The Hunkun True Man, on the other hand, went up in a tattered robe without any preparation, and somehow managed to withstand the tribulations between immortals and mortals wave after wave with his boundless spiritual energy.

Wang Wen pretended not to hear the envy in the two sect leaders' tone and angrily cursed, "Who told this old bastard to try to hand over the position of Maoshan sect leader to me without saying a word, and then run to the ancestral altar to eat incense offerings? How could I not make him suffer a little?"

Zhang Tianshi: "Hehe!"

Jin Ping Daoist: "Hehe!"

The two sect leaders wore forced smiles.

Suffering?
We can endure this kind of hardship!
Despite their sour feelings, seeing that Master Hunkun's tribulation had stabilized, the two sect leaders felt a great weight lifted from their hearts.

The three sects of talismans are closely connected, and their disciples have always addressed each other as fellow disciples. The three sect leaders are also old friends who have known each other for many years and walked hand in hand through the Dharma-ending Age. If Hunkun Zhenren were to perish in this final tremor, they would not feel good about it.

"Speaking of which, have you two fellow Daoists observed any celestial phenomena recently?"

Master Zhang stroked his beard, his eyes fixed on the summit of Lotus Peak, and spoke calmly and slowly.

"Astrology?"

Wang Wen turned to look at Zhang Tianshi: "Isn't that thing always been in a state of confusion? I heard the high-ranking priests in my General's Mansion discussing last month that the Ziwei Star has moved to the zenith position, so can it still be called the Ziwei Star?"

"It was indeed chaotic and unclear before."

Jin Ping Dao Ren interjected, "However, just four days ago, the stars seemed to have been briefly clear."

Zhang Tianshi turned to look at Jinping Daoren: "Oh, Brother Wu, you also saw the stars that day?"

Jin Ping Daoist also looked at Zhang Tianshi with a very serious expression: "What celestial phenomenon did you see that day, Brother Zhang?"

Master Zhang stroked his beard, his expression slightly grave, and shook his head.

Jin Ping Daoist raised an eyebrow with some relief: "I thought it was because my skills were not good enough that I couldn't distinguish between a coincidence and a true sign from Heaven. Since Brother Zhang has also seen it, then it's probably not because my skills are not good enough..."

Wang Wen: '???'

Riddler, get out of Gotham!

"Fellow Daoists, could you please be understanding of my humble and inexperienced learning?"

He asked, puzzled, "What celestial phenomena did you see that day?"

Zhang Tianshi and Jinping Daoren exchanged another glance before speaking one after the other.

Zhang Tianshi: "The Purple Star is hidden."

Jin Ping Daoren: "Mars guards the heart."

Upon hearing these technical terms, Wang Wen suddenly had a bad feeling: "What does that mean?"

The two sect leaders exclaimed in unison, "The change of dynasties and the upheaval of the world are signs of great chaos!" (End of Chapter)