Starting from the Tiger Demon Yaksha, the demon immortality

Chapter 281: A Triumphant Return
Since the founding of the Qin Dynasty, the Supreme Emperor of the Mysterious Origin of Taoism has been regarded as the ancestor of the Li royal family, and sacrifices have been continuously offered to him.

However, outside of the royal family, the highest deity officially worshipped by the Qin Dynasty was the Supreme God of Heaven.

The so-called Supreme God of the Vast Heaven refers to the vastness of the primordial energy, and the azure sky seen from afar is called the Azure Heaven.

Of all the people, none is more revered than the Emperor. Because he is invoked from Heaven, he is called the Supreme God.

The Supreme God of Heaven is the embodiment of "Heaven" and "Tao," encompassing all things and encompassing everything.

"But God is not constant; he bestows blessings upon those who do good and calamities upon those who do evil."

The supreme ruler, the most divine and holy, is only qualified to be worshipped by the Qin government; local areas are not allowed to establish temples to him.

After all, the emperor is the "Son of Heaven," and communicating with the Heavenly Emperor is the emperor's privilege, a symbol of imperial supremacy.

The "Ancient Script of the Supreme God of Heaven," named after this, is a fragment of the writings of Emperor Taizong of the Qin Dynasty, making its value self-evident.

After a moment of stunned silence, Li Cunxiao was overjoyed.

He first entered Tiangu Temple, then Louguan Taoism, and not only studied Buddhist and Taoist scriptures, but also Confucian classics extensively.

The number of celestial emperors revered in Taoism is countless, such as the Great Emperor of the North Pole Purple Star, the Great Emperor of the South Pole Longevity, the Great Emperor of the Upper Palace of Gouchen, and the Earth Goddess of the Earth who follows the example of Heaven, etc.

While the Supreme God of Heaven appears to be a Taoist deity, in fact, Confucianism was the first to establish an altar for him and offer sacrifices.

In other words, this "Ancient Scripture of the Supreme God of Heaven" is an indisputable Confucian divine skill—surely the dignified Emperor Taizong of Qin wouldn't just drop a secret technique, would he?

However, after a brief period of joy, as Li Cunxiao attempted to decipher this ancient text, the joy on his face gradually faded.

He can not understand.

"Master said, without breaking through the barrier of mystery, one cannot master divine skills."

"Before the Mysterious Gate, it's just about cultivating essence and energy; after the Mysterious Gate, is it related to the primordial spirit?"

"The primordial spirit is too weak to even understand reading?"

Li Cunxiao sighed. The meat was right in front of him, but he couldn't eat it, which made him extremely eager to eat it.

He had encountered similar situations before, such as when he was studying the "Dongxuan Scripture" on a dragon boat.

He seemed to understand something, but as soon as he turned his head, he forgot most of it, leaving nothing behind.

"But that's not surprising. Rather, it's precisely because it's incomprehensible that it demonstrates the power of this divine skill."

"The martial arts and techniques practiced by Emperor Taizong of Qin must have been extraordinary."

"As an emperor, he cultivates this method and at the same time makes all the people of the world worship the Heavenly Emperor. Is there some hidden secret behind this?"

"Could this involve terrestrial immortals, or cultivation of the ninth realm?"

The realm of a Grandmaster is still quite far from where I am now.

Li Cunxiao suppressed his excitement. After all, he had already obtained the item. Even if he couldn't understand it now, there would be plenty of time to study it later.

If all else fails, he can simply start with the vajra (thunderbolt) as a basic skill; that's his confidence.

As his thoughts wandered, within the canopy of the Bodhi tree, the second lotus incarnation was fully formed.

The lotus root, white as jade, extends into five branches, with the curves of the head, hands, and feet rapidly outlined, complete with fingers, toes, muscles, and bones.

Once the lotus root figure had fully taken shape, lotus leaves suddenly sprouted from its head.

The jade-green leaves unfurl, revealing the green flower buds encased within.

The lotus seedpod in the center of the flower bud also has nine hollows, which subtly exude an allure.

"Last time it was a golden lotus, this time it's a blue lotus?"

Li Cunxiao seemed lost in thought; he still remembered what Taiyi Zhenren had said. The Seven Treasures Lotus had four colors.

Blue light, yellow light, red light, white light, subtle fragrance and purity.

He had initially guessed that each flower that bloomed would create an additional clone, and now it had clearly come true.

From today onwards, if Li Cunxiao wants to cultivate Confucian martial arts, he only needs to transfer the Taoist master and his demonic relatives into the lotus root, just like last time.

What's even more gratifying is that after the Azure Lotus took shape, there was still some Taiqing Profound Qi left from the remnant image of the Outer Sect Emperor, about two-fifths of the original amount.

Li Cunxiao sensed it briefly and found that the pure spiritual energy was more than enough for him to use when breaking through the barrier.

At the same time, perhaps because the Taiqing Xuanqi was cleansing his body and mind, he could clearly feel that above the Yuzhen acupoint, in his brain, there was a faint portal emitting a dim light.

Although it wasn't dazzling, it pointed out the way forward, so that unlike other martial artists, they didn't have to grope their way forward at the entrance gate.

"Good! Now everything is ready, and I can break through the barrier at any time if I want."

"But this is, after all, a secret realm of the imperial court, and I still have the Dragon Boat Spirit Treasure hidden within my body."

"If I break through here, and something happens, even my master won't be able to help me against a Grandmaster like Gao Pian."

"It would be safer to return to Louguandao and try to break through again."

Li Cunxiao quickly made a decision. With a thought, the red dragon pattern between his eyebrows flashed, and the red light meandered like a dragon, entering his dantian and wrapping up the remaining Taiqing Xuanqi, as if a red dragon were holding a pearl in its mouth.

In his perception, the wisp of Taiqing Xuan Qi had already disappeared from his body and appeared in the secret realm.

"The Taiqing Profound Qi is a specialty of the Great Crimson Heaven, and other martial artists cannot take it out. The dragon boat is also a spiritual treasure, on par with the Taiqing Palace. Storing some spiritual energy is just a basic operation."

Li Cunxiao felt fortunate. After fighting Li Xuanba and Emperor Taizong of Qin, he could vaguely sense the rejection of the Lingyan Pavilion space from him. So he stopped and quickly walked across the Jinshui Bridge.

The moment my feet stepped off the bridge, a fleeting sensation of spatial dislocation vanished, and I found myself directly in the plaza outside the Taiji Palace.

"Brother Li, you've finally come out."

Unexpectedly, the first person they saw was not Guo Zhao, but Ru Hai from Qinglong Temple, the personal disciple of that mad monk with the demonic sword.

"Master Ruhai," Li Cunxiao bowed, noticing that the other's robes were somewhat torn, and said nothing more.

With a quick glance, he spotted three people sitting cross-legged not far away, their breathing rising and falling: Wang Zan, Guo Zhao, and Ru Hai.

The three figures were positioned on the southeast, west, and south sides of the square, with their true forms standing behind them.

The celestial steed gallops through the Milky Way, the Vermilion Bird soars over the sea of ​​fire, and the Thunder God beats his drum in the heavens. A subtle, dynamic energy appears on the faces of these true forms.

The surrounding environment also seemed to be affected, giving rise to various strange phenomena.

There are two steps to break through the barrier: first, open the Niwan Palace (a point on the back of the head); second, unite the primordial spirit with the true form to create a spiritual image.

Once the spiritual form is achieved, one will naturally interact with heaven and earth and mobilize spiritual energy, which is also the strength of a seventh-realm martial artist.

Compared to the Heavenly Ladder warriors, they have already begun to mobilize and interfere with the power of heaven and earth, which means they can fly through the air without the aid of magical artifacts.

The three people in front of me have clearly entered the second step: condensing spiritual forms.

The existence of the spiritual form can be seen as a bridge for martial artists to communicate with heaven and earth, a bridge that is more robust and efficient than the Great Dragon Spine.

Of course, the process of building a bridge is also extremely arduous.

The process of merging the primordial spirit with the true form is equivalent to briefly exposing the martial artist's original essence, energy, and spirit to the world. If one is not careful, there is a risk of the soul and spirit being destroyed.

Li Cunxiao has now stepped one foot into the threshold of enlightenment and can vaguely utilize the power of his primordial spirit.

From his perspective, the spiritual energy of different attributes around the true forms of these three people became active under his influence, yet they did not interfere with each other. It seemed that an invisible force was dividing the space between the three people, while also isolating them from possible external influences, making the environment for the breakthrough more stable.

Was this Gao Pian's work?
"The twenty-four generals of Lingyan Pavilion are indeed extraordinary."

"After my senior brother and I went in, we encountered..."

Ru Hai seemed to be getting a little bored while waiting, so he took the initiative to talk about his and Ru Hui's experiences in the secret realm.

As Li Cunxiao listened, he was also thinking about whether Gao Pian would find out about his experience in Da Chi Tian.

Take himself as an example. He has had the dragon boat for almost a year. Although it has not yet fully recognized him as its master, it is not difficult for him to grasp the situation in the secret realm because of the recognition of the spirit.

Normally, as long as he focuses his mind on the dragon pattern between his eyebrows, he can "see" everything in the Dragon Boat Secret Realm from another perspective.

If Gao Pian takes control of the Taiqing Palace, then his battles with Li Xuanba and Emperor Taizong will certainly not be kept secret.

'But Gao Pian was not the true master of Taiqing Palace; he only temporarily gained certain authority because of the emperor's trust.'

Li Cunxiao recalled the scene of the court officials' sacrifice earlier, and then looked around again. Only a few squads of Shence Army soldiers and eunuchs were guarding the place, and the level of vigilance was almost the same as before entering the secret realm.

Clearly, Gao Pian was unaware of what had happened in the secret realm.

Otherwise, for hundreds of years people have been challenging the twenty-four generals of Lingyan Pavilion, but an unexpected situation has occurred with Li Cunxiao. Such an extraordinary situation will inevitably attract attention.

Not to mention, he also defeated the afterimage of Emperor Taizong of Qin!
Every single thing was something Gao Pian should pay attention to, but unfortunately, the other party wasn't even here at the moment.

After Ru Hai finished speaking, Li Cunxiao subtly inquired about the whereabouts of Gao Pian and the emperor, and learned that the two had already gone to the Hall of State Affairs.

Seeing that Guo Zhao would need quite some time to break through, he simply left the capital with Ru Hai.

In any case, Louguandao and Qinglong Temple are now allies of the imperial court. Guo Zhao and Ru Hui will be safer than usual staying in the capital to break through their cultivation, right under Gao Pian's nose. They don't need to worry about them.

After bidding farewell to Ru Hai, Li Cunxiao did not delay and quickly rushed back to the Prince of Fenyang's residence.

If the three principal deities were to break through the barrier, the extraordinary phenomena that would occur during the breakthrough would likely be no less significant than those of the three in the imperial city.

Now that everything is ready, he needs to have a good discussion with Master Taiyi and return to Louguan Dao as soon as possible.

Only with the protection of Yan Daotong, this terrestrial immortal, was everything safe.
"Is the news true that Zhu's vanguard has already stationed in Hongnong?"

In the Hall of State Affairs, Li Min, dressed in an ochre-yellow robe, sat at the head of the table.

Looking at the urgent military intelligence report in his hand, the young emperor's brows furrowed into a deep frown.

Upon hearing this, Gao Pian, the Grand Secretary, Wang Zhaofan, the Minister of Rites and concurrently the Chancellor, and Liu Jurong, the General of the Golden Guard, all remained silent and nodded without a word.

After a moment, Li Min finally let out a sigh, her expression showing a hint of relief.

"This day has finally come."

"To be honest with my three ministers, those military governors in the past pretended to submit, each one acting all respectful and courteous. I couldn't sleep or eat properly because of them."

"But now, I feel a huge weight lifted from my shoulders. Even if the Qin Dynasty were to perish tomorrow and I had to go down to apologize to our ancestors, I would..."

"Your Majesty," Gao Pian said solemnly, rising to bow.

"The traitors are rampant, and it is our dereliction of duty that has led to this. Please do not belittle yourselves, Your Majesty."

"The safety of the capital rests entirely on Your Majesty's shoulders. These words remain in the Hall of State Affairs; once you leave this place, please do not mention them again."

"Otherwise, if those with ulterior motives find out, they will surely spread rumors and sow discord among the people."

"I spoke without thinking," Li Min said with an apologetic smile, barely managing to compose himself.

But deep down, he didn't agree with what his teacher had said.

Whether it's the hearts of the people in the court or the hearts of the people in the capital, why would we need anyone else to shake them?

Although his reign as emperor was short, he had a clear understanding of the general trend of the world.

The Qin Dynasty is now in its twilight years, surrounded by wolves. Unless another peerless figure like Emperor Taizong of Qin emerges, there is no hope for its survival.

"No, even if Emperor Taizong were alive, I'm afraid he wouldn't be able to do anything about the current situation."

Although the young emperor remained silent, the three senior officials present could all see the dejection in his heart.

While feeling guilty, he also felt even more hatred for the treacherous officials.

Damn it, how did the Great Qin Dynasty become like this!

"Your Majesty need not worry too much. It is true that bandits are rampant, but there are also loyal and virtuous officials in the court."

"This time, when the secret realm of Great Crimson Heaven was opened, Vice Minister of War Wang Zan and Assistant Minister of War Cui Yuan joined forces to defeat the martial arts afterimage of Duke Hu."

"Wang Zan is currently attempting to break through to the Xuan Guan realm, and soon the imperial court will have another seventh-realm general in command of troops."

Gao Pian was not only the Grand Secretary but also the current emperor's tutor when the emperor was still a prince, so he was familiar with the emperor's temperament.

As expected, upon hearing this good news, Li Min's expression relaxed considerably, and she praised:

"Wang Qing is indeed a pillar of the court. In that case, after he leaves the pass, he shall be promoted to Lieutenant of the Imperial Guard and given command of one thousand Shence Army soldiers."

When Wang Zan was mentioned, Li Min naturally inquired about Louguan Dao and the four people from Qinglong Temple.

Learning that Guo Zhao and Ru Hui were also attempting to break through to the Xuan Guan realm wasn't too surprising, after all, the two had been honing their skills at the Heavenly Ladder Perfection level for quite some time.

With the assistance of the Supreme Pure Qi, the chances of advancing to the Mysterious Pass are very high.

"By the way, what about Li Cunxiao? Did he gain anything from entering Lingyan Pavilion alone?"

Just then, a member of the Imperial Guard came to see them outside the Hall of State Affairs.

After the eunuch summoned him and gave his account, Li Min couldn't help but feel somewhat disappointed:

"Li Cunxiao left without breaking through the entrance gate?"

The other two didn't seem too surprised to hear that.

"Your Majesty, Li Cunxiao is still young and lacks experience."

"Otherwise, they might have encountered some of the lower-ranked generals among the Twenty-Four Generals, and thus received insufficient Taiqing Xuanqi."

"Or perhaps they didn't win at all and simply withdrew from the Great Crimson Heaven, who knows?"

After Wang Zhaofan's explanation, Gao Pian nodded in agreement.

The Great Crimson Heaven has been in motion for over six hundred years, and similar situations have occurred before.

If the emperor were truly curious about Li Cunxiao and wanted to see what was happening in the secret realm, there were ways to do so, but it would be quite complicated.

After all, although Gao Pian's cultivation was sufficient, he was not the true owner of the spiritual treasure;
Li Min possesses the bloodline of Emperor Taizong, but her cultivation level is far too low.

"Enough. It is not my wish to trouble the Grand Secretary just for personal curiosity."

“You are the only pillar of the court right now, there is no need to waste your strength on this kind of thing.”

Gao Pian showed a touched expression, but did not say anything more about the matter, and steered the conversation back on track:

"Your Majesty, the Zhu traitor's entry into the capital this time reveals his ambitions clearly; we must be on guard. I have three strategies."

(End of this chapter)