There's something wrong with me

Chapter 202 Successfully Breaking Through the Nascent Soul Stage
The emperor pondered, then looked at the Grand Preceptor beside him with his eyes slightly closed, and said respectfully:
"Master, are there really such people in the world? Who can spread spiritual power within a radius of twenty miles?"

Among the numerous ancient books you have read, spanning thousands of years, are there any figures who possessed such an elixir of immortality?

"Mr. Wujiao, Master Zuoci, when you reach the pinnacle of your Golden Elixir cultivation, will you be able to achieve this?"

"This……"

The Imperial Advisor thought for a moment and gave this answer:
“A monk does not lie. Your Majesty, this old monk is unaware.”

However, they knew that the Left Celestial Master had been able to borrow the east wind for Zhuge Liang during the Battle of Red Cliffs, burning tens of thousands of Cao Cao's magical warships and tens of thousands of cultivators.

The Imperial Preceptor spoke of this matter with deep regret.

That battle destroyed the foundations of a large number of cultivators and wiped out many sects with a single lineage, creating a gap in cultivation in the world.

Master Zuo also deeply regretted that incident and eventually severed his heart and passed away peacefully.

Otherwise, with Master Zuo's lifespan of a thousand years, he would have been able to live to this day.

At this moment, it has been only four hundred years since the Three Kingdoms period.

The head of the Zhang family was born at the end of the Three Kingdoms period and was a survivor.

That was an unprecedented battle, a duel between great cultivators that severed the spiritual energy of heaven and earth and 'cut off the path of cultivation for future generations'.

Those cultivators who could reach the Nascent Soul stage, such as Zhuge Liang and Zhang Jiao, all died during that period.

The most mysterious method of extending lifespan with the Seven Star Lamp was also lost at that time.

But it was precisely Zhuge Liang's Seven Star Lamp, that secret method of borrowing longevity, that made cultivators flourish during that period.

In the early Three Kingdoms period, the foundation building stage was actually the only one.

It was Zhuge Liang and a group of cultivators who deduced the Golden Core.

Since 'borrowing lifespan' is essentially modifying DNA telomeres, and it is only natural to deduce the elixir of immortality from the process of telomere modification.

Zuo Ci, on the other hand, attained enlightenment in one day through Zhuangzi's "Free and Easy Wandering" and entered the Nascent Soul stage.

Like the "Free and Easy Wandering" philosophy, Zuo Ci's thought was about pursuing freedom and transcending worldly concerns.

Although the lineage of cultivators was broken at that time, the aftershocks of the great war also expanded the territory of the Great Xia, and wiped out the foreign races on the entire Eastern Continent.

That's why the Shang Dynasty had eight hundred cities, basically spread across the entire eastern continent.

These are all secret histories.

It was compiled by the Imperial Advisor from historical documents.

"Even the guru doesn't know?"

The emperor knew that the Imperial Advisor was knowledgeable in astronomy and geography, and had a deep understanding of events throughout history.

Whenever there are any problems with cultivation, the National Preceptor can easily enlighten him.

But now, when asked a very ordinary question about spiritual placement, the National Master can no longer give a definite answer?
'Even the Imperial Advisor doesn't understand?' The two people in the hall were actually curious about the Imperial Advisor's answer.

At this moment, after hearing the words of the Imperial Preceptor, they immediately realized, just like the Emperor, that this Taoist of Green Mountain could no longer be judged by ordinary standards.

At this moment, the hall was somewhat quiet.

The emperor and his two companions were astonished, and the more they thought about it, the more they felt that this Taoist priest from Qingshan was somewhat 'monster'.

The Imperial Advisor, however, was filled with anticipation, believing that this young, unparalleled genius might be able to deduce the secrets of the Nascent Soul stage.

He was even prepared to retrieve the original copy of "Free and Easy Wandering" from the national treasury.

Although he knew it was useless, because everyone's thoughts are different, while Master Zuo could understand from books, this genius might not.

Furthermore, this book is really just an ordinary book, the original version of "Free and Easy Wandering".

But with such terrifying strength, what else in the world could this prodigy possibly covet?
The Imperial Advisor couldn't believe it, and felt that only this rather legendary book might earn this prodigy's favor.
"Your Majesty, may I retrieve the book?"

The Imperial Preceptor, true to his word, looked at the Emperor and said, "This old monk wishes to borrow the extraordinary book 'Free and Easy Wandering' to visit Fellow Daoist Qingshan in Hengcheng."

"Master!" The emperor, who usually granted the imperial advisor's every request, did not immediately agree this time, but instead cautiously said:

"With the Green Mountain Taoist's strength, Master... wants to see him? Is he safe...?"

“Fellow Daoist Qingshan is certainly not an evil person.” The Grand Preceptor said with certainty, “Look, we have never heard of Daoist Qingshan in the past decades.”

A few days ago, the Taoist priest from Qingshan came down from the mountain to pray for rain and blessings for the people.

Such a person must be a man of high moral character!

"Indeed..." The emperor, reminded by the imperial advisor, also recalled the rumors about the Taoist Qingshan, which were also brought back by these two.

Roughly speaking, the Taoist priest of Qingshan had been living in seclusion in the mountain village and teaching the villagers cultivation methods.

These were all complete strangers, yet the Taoist Master Qingshan taught them all without discrimination.

Such great virtue and benevolence are indeed consistent with what the National Preceptor said.

Even if this Taoist priest of Qingshan had some ulterior motive, or wanted to gain fame or something else through it, it was all a good deed.

The principle of 'discussing matters regardless of feelings' is a reality today.

It's like someone who dreams of dominating the universe, destroying and absorbing all civilizations, but is now doing good deeds like praying for rain for the people. That person must be a great philanthropist, a true master of virtue and morality.

This is indisputable.

then.

The imperial advisor didn't dawdle, and the emperor didn't stop him.

Soon the Imperial Preceptor took his books and headed towards Hengcheng, intending to invite Zhang Feng, the Taoist of Qingshan, to court.

The emperor even came up with a title for it in a short time: "The Teacher of the World".

It doesn't matter about rank, because everyone in the court is his disciple.

The emperor was very resourceful; he felt that the official ranks were too common, but the position of "Teacher of the World" was quite good.

……

The Imperial Advisor was on his way.

Hengcheng.

After Zhang Feng finished organizing the cultivation materials here, he went to the lakeside on the third day to see his lovely fiancée.

We arrived above the lake.

Looking from afar in the sky, seeing her diligently cultivating, Zhang Feng did not disturb her.

The formation was reinforced again.

Zhang Feng glanced at her a few more times before leaving.

Now, Zhang Feng feels that he is 'deeply mired' in the swamp of love.

Because I would think of her and want to see her whenever I had nothing to do, and then I actually came to see her.

This is wrong in itself.

Then, from a different perspective, the little carp loves itself so much, yet due to its own coldness, it never sees itself again for decades along the way.

I really don't know how she managed to get through it.

No wonder when she saw me back then, she was like a concubine in the cold palace, full of resentment, and spoke in the tone of a concubine in a palace drama.

I thought to myself.

Zhang Feng turned back to the lakeside and increased his magical power again, setting up the largest restrictive magic array he could manage.

This ensures that his fiancée will not be disturbed by others when he leaves.

Unless the other party's level of understanding is higher than one's own.

However, according to the records, as well as the statements made by the prefect and others in the past few days, and the statements made by some monks in the city.

Zhang Feng was certain he should be number one, because he had completed the 'top ten non-mainline missions' mentioned in the text more than a decade ago.

Now that I've improved my strength several times over, if I'm still not number one, then there's a problem.

However, cultivators can live for hundreds of years.

Knowledge of one's own lifespan has also become relatively weak.

Perhaps when we reach other, higher worlds, with beings thousands of years old, we might find ourselves at a disadvantage.

That's precisely why Zhang Feng is so concerned about collecting big data and establishing a cosmic empire.

Because these are the crystallizations of wisdom from all living beings and civilizations, which may be something that others do not possess.

Humans are human beings, not rigid machines.

It means that when a person has no strengths, they can create strengths for themselves.

Thinking.

Zhang Feng also completed the setup of the magic array.

Looking through various spiritual eyes, one could see that the massive array covering the entire lakeside contained a mixed tower of structures with multiple attributes.

Furthermore, in the mutual generation of attributes, gathering wind first gathers the elements between heaven and earth.

Then, combining the elements of Gathering Gold and Gathering Water enhances the Water element.

After improvement, the process is repeated to collect water and regenerate wood.

Wood generates fire, and fire generates earth.

Finally, following the corpse-dissolving method of Lin Daoyou in the warlord world, Ju Tu used earth to transform into yin earth, condensing it into a 'sha' type of technique.

This also means that all talismans are channeling massive amounts of spiritual energy into the 'evil'.

The evil energy is associated with yin and killing, making it difficult to guard against and unpredictable.

Zhang Feng also has a deep understanding of malevolent energy, and now he uses it as his main weapon.

The Yang element is associated with 'thunder'.

It is extremely strong and yang, and it can also generate thunder using fire, but it is not very specialized.

Moreover, his fiancée is of the Yin element, Water, and is a delicate, weak woman who is only half a Golden Core cultivator. How can he protect her with the Yang element, Heavenly Thunder Technique?

That's for exorcising demons, not protecting them.

I don't know anything about Yin Lei (a type of divination technique), and I haven't learned any related knowledge.

Thinking about it, I saw that everything was in place.

While recovering his spiritual energy, Zhang Feng sat upright on the cloud, gazing at his fiancée underwater.

"Glug glug..." She kept blowing bubbles in the water, but then she transformed into the appearance of a graceful woman and looked up at the sky.

At the same time, a clear and melodious voice came from underwater.

"I sensed fluctuations in the formation, my husband, is that you returning?"

The word "husband" almost made Zhang Feng fall from the sky. Was it a bit inappropriate to address someone like that before they were even married?
At least for this era, it seems to be somewhat contrary to traditional etiquette.

In modern times, it's up to you.

Zhang Feng thought for several seconds but couldn't come up with the term "wife."

"Yes, reinforce the formation."

In the end, Zhang Feng still chose to cultivate the cold and aloof persona of a master, "Focus on your cultivation, don't get distracted..."

He hadn't even finished saying his sentence.

Wow—

The water rippled, and using the current as a ladder to the sky, the little carp happily rushed towards Zhang Feng.

The moment Zhang Feng saw the little carp, perhaps due to their different social statuses, or perhaps because of his long contemplation of love, the illusion became real in his spiritual visualization.

For a moment, Zhang Feng paused, watching the little carp rushing towards him and seeing the soft light of her clothes in the mist.

Until the little carp, as if it had succeeded, reached the clouds a hundred meters high and pounced into Zhang Feng's arms.

Zhang Fengcai realized that he had just been ambushed under the spell of love.

"Husband!" The little carp looked up from Zhang Feng's arms, her big eyes full of confusion. "Did you miss me?" How should she answer that question?

Zhang Feng felt embarrassed and scanned the area within a twenty-mile radius with his spiritual sense. Only after seeing that there were no sentient beings or animals nearby did he nod.
"Ah."

Zhang Feng didn't know what to say, but he felt that she was very cold.

Are you very cold?

After saying that, Zhang Feng really wanted to hit himself. What kind of questions were these?
She is a water-elemental spirit, so she must be cold.

"My husband, you are so warm." The little carp didn't care about the grammatical errors, or even at all, and just quietly hugged Zhang Feng.

A few seconds later, she suddenly buried her head in Zhang Feng's arms again and said cautiously, "Husband, please don't leave me. I miss you so much."

'We're doomed.' This thought flashed through Zhang Feng's mind.

Because there was a moment when I genuinely didn't want to leave.

Even now, the thought of 'not wanting to leave' is still lingering in my mind.

When one experiences the sweetness of love, one's inner demons are no longer suppressed, but disappear completely.

The love I felt before wasn't true love; it's this unconscious surrender that's truly making up for it.

Then came the problem.

Love is something more terrifying than inner demons.

At least when the inner demons are present, I don't care; I can still practice my skills even while facing them.

But this love.

Zhang Feng looked at the serene little carp in his arms and the happy smile on her face.

How can I go back to practice my skills now?

Gotta think of a way.

……

In the end, Zhang Feng still left.

He used spiritual illusion magic to replace his original body and escape from her embrace.

When she realized what was happening, she pouted angrily.

Zhang Feng was already twenty miles away.

Then, watching her heartbroken in the distance, Zhang Feng felt reluctant to let her go, and his heart ached—a pain that was both physical and illusory.

Physical pain is evidenced by experiments showing that people can truly feel pain in their hearts when they are in love.

But the heartache in the illusion lies amidst the sorrow of separation from a loved one.

Zhang Feng may have truly gathered all seven souls, and at this moment he genuinely felt the existence of the 'soul'.

It is truly a substance that belongs to itself, yet cannot be observed.

It exists clearly in my heart, and I can still feel it.

But it just can't be observed.

However, the Golden Core, which also belongs to the fourth dimension, seemed to see the soul fluctuating within its heart.

Amidst this widespread emotional fluctuation, there is also the fulfillment of the emotions of the seven souls.

The golden core is merging with the soul.

The structure of the talismans belonging to the Golden Elixir is also gradually changing in subtle ways.

Zhang Feng knew that by the time it completed the transformation, it would be at the legendary 'Nascent Soul' realm.

Furthermore, Zhang Feng felt it would be normal if he could break through in the remaining time, since he had actually been cultivating his mind and body for hundreds of years.

One moment of enlightenment, one steps to the Golden Core stage, followed immediately by the Nascent Soul stage.

Both are four-dimensional, and are of the same origin in terms of dimensions, making it easy to achieve a breakthrough through connection.

If there is no breakthrough, Zhang Feng feels it's normal, since it's all about accumulating experience and foundation.

Zhang Feng's true goal was not about the level of his cultivation, but rather, within the realm he could reach, what extent his knowledge of the structure of his techniques could achieve.

Just like now, even if I only have Qi cultivation, as long as I have enough time, I can still control the area within a three-mile radius and command the wind and rain.

Then, this "summoning wind and rain" formation will be handed over to the data center.

It can not only be made into weather weapons to improve the weather in a certain area.

They can even optimize the techniques to create better ones, or enhance their effects, ultimately deepening their knowledge base in a roundabout way.

The more profound one's own knowledge and experience, the more talismans and cultivation levels one can deduce.

This is the true power that belongs to oneself, the power that can be taken to various worlds and applied to one's physical body.

As he pondered, Zhang Feng felt much better, and the sadness of his lost love had lessened considerably.

It seems that studying is the nemesis of love.

Zhang Feng suddenly thought of a saying: 'A beautiful woman may not belong to you, but the knowledge you gain is definitely yours.'

Zhang Feng felt that this sentence was quite good, and after seeing his fiancée return to the water and be protected by his formation, he felt relieved and left.

Because my beautiful fiancée is truly mine now.

……

Upon arriving in Hengcheng, Zhang Feng discovered that there was a powerful cultivator in his residence.

From afar, it is the Imperial Preceptor.

Zhang Feng knew him because the image described by some cultivators was exactly similar to this 'old abbot' wearing a kasaya.

Furthermore, Zhang Feng had also learned about his background.

He is actually a Buddhist, but he practices the path of spiritual cultivation.

The Buddha was someone he worshipped before he began his spiritual practice.

Later, he had no intention of clarifying any identity issues, so he allowed Buddhists to use his name to build temples in various places.

This can be considered as repaying some of the 'karma'.

Because he only escaped the mortal world and came into contact with spiritual cultivation after he joined the Buddhist order.

Theoretically speaking, it's a single, overarching cause and effect.

But in reality, he probably only had a superficial understanding of some Buddhist doctrines.

After all, there is no Heavenly Law in this world, and cause and effect do not exist.

But such a person who follows his heart and doesn't forget his roots is also a good person.

While pondering, Zhang Fengyi suddenly appeared at the mansion.

now.

The Imperial Advisor was standing in the hall, holding an invitation and a copy of "A Leisurely Journey".

Beside him were three Golden Core cultivators who had accompanied him, as well as the prefect and others.

"Greetings, Senior Zhang!"

At the same time, the three cultivators and the prefect, among others, bowed in unison when they saw Zhang Feng approaching.

The Imperial Advisor suddenly froze, standing there motionless.

Zhang Feng glanced at it and saw that the invitation was to go to the imperial court in three days, while the "Free and Easy Wandering" invitation was useless.

This includes the National Preceptor's sudden stunned reaction and his restrained silence.

Zhang Feng also thought it was normal.

Because when one's golden core and soul merge, the aura is unstable.

The Imperial Preceptor was also a master at the peak of the Golden Core stage, capable of sensing even a trace of his aura.

Therefore, his fear was inevitable.

This is like a superior being crushing a lower being.

The feeling it evoked in the Imperial Advisor was a profound sense of spiritual terror.

The Imperial Preceptor felt the same way at that moment, and dared not make any rash moves, nor did he dare to perform the usual salute.

Even though he knew it was wrong not to bow, he just couldn't bring himself to do it.

To put it figuratively, Zhang Feng and his current situation are like an ant seeing a person on a patch of ground without any holes, and the person also seeing the ant.

If this person wants to step on this ant, then the ant will definitely not be able to escape.

Ants instinctively want to stay still and play dead.

Zhang Feng is now this 'high-dimensional person'.

To put it in science fiction terms, this is an attack from a 'higher dimension'.

In the realm of fantasy and martial arts, this high-dimensional aura is known as 'Daoist charm,' which is the outward leakage of the aura of the Heavenly Dao's rules and talismans.

It's like a celestial being spreading the Dao, and the Daoist temple is filled with Daoist energy.

In Zhang Feng's mind at this moment, it should be a 'partial unfolding' of a lower dimension by a higher dimension.

If someone can see the unfolding of higher dimensions and comprehend the Dao (talismans), then it is normal for their strength to increase somewhat.

Thinking.

Zhang Feng also looked at the reserved Imperial Preceptor, the number one cultivator in the world. He seemed to see some of his own Daoist essence, but he couldn't comprehend it.

Because of the sheer volume of knowledge he possesses, the very essence of human civilization, it is like a vast data center, a veritable 'heavenly court'.

In addition, there are the knowledge conclusions of all scientific researchers and the integrated system of people all over the world.

It's like 'the shining stars of real humanity'.

Normal people can't read it clearly.

"We will depart in three days."

After Zhang Feng realized that he couldn't see clearly, he didn't want to say anything more and went back to his seclusion.

The prefect and others were curious and puzzled by the Imperial Preceptor's restraint and timidity.

Both are at the peak of the Golden Core stage, and the Imperial Preceptor was once the number one in the world. Why would he be so afraid of Senior Zhang?
They don't even dare to say hello?
Although it cannot be denied that Senior Zhang is very strong.

However, in the eyes of the prefect and others, Senior Zhang was amiable and did not have any intimidating presence.

Especially since Senior Zhang has now passed away.

The Imperial Preceptor remained standing stiffly.

They were very strange.

It wasn't until Zhang Feng had been gone for quite a while that the Imperial Advisor gradually relaxed.

Everyone was puzzled, so they used their spiritual senses to communicate and ask each other:

'Your Excellency, is there anything different about Senior Zhang?'

'Yes, Senior Wu…'

They asked out of curiosity, and knowing that the Imperial Advisor was kind-hearted, they dared to inquire in this way.

At the same time, the prefect was also puzzled.
"Grand Preceptor! I find Senior Zhang's demeanor amiable, and I feel comfortable and at ease in his presence. Why... are you acting this way?"

"Sigh..." The Imperial Advisor sighed, somewhat moved, as he faced the crowd's questions.

'You are only at the Foundation Establishment and Minor Golden Core stages, not yet at the Golden Core Perfection stage, so naturally you cannot sense Senior Zhang's aura, which is why you feel close to Senior Zhang.'

But what this old monk saw in Senior Zhang's temple were wisps of indistinct Daoist energy, and countless celestial beings transformed from that energy.

(End of this chapter)