What's wrong with me, a powerful minister, supporting a few female officials?

Chapter 266 Su Mo's Supreme Immortal Technique! Empress Qianhu Breakthrough!
A dozen enormous shadows suddenly appeared beneath the sea surface, rapidly darting through the water and methodically hunting the large yellow croaker that Su Mo had previously reluctantly given up.

Upon seeing the enormous shadow, the Empress gasped and instinctively looked at Su Mo: "Is this the giant Kun that Su Lang spoke of?"

"It's actually three zhang in size?"

Everyone else's eyes were also focused on Su Mo.

Including old fishermen like Zhao Laoyao!
After all, fishermen only fish in shallow coastal waters and rarely go to deep-sea areas, so they don't have many opportunities to see whales!

In all his decades of life, Zhao Laoyao had only ever seen one whale carcass stranded on the shore.

Su Mo looked at the underwater shadow and could clearly see a triangular dorsal fin, vaguely spindle-shaped. He was slightly surprised and shook his head: "This is not a Kun fish, it is a great white shark."

"A great white shark that's over three zhang long is quite rare... uh, no, that's not right!"

Su Mo narrowed his eyes slightly, staring intently at the shadow on the seabed, and said in a deep voice, "This is not a great white shark!"

"That's an orca!"

The Empress thought to herself, "Su Lang is indeed extremely familiar with the conditions in the sea. He must have lived in Kunlun Ruins for many years and even went out to sea frequently!"

Just by looking at the shadows underwater, one can recognize the origin of this enormous creature.

However, she had never heard of the names great white shark and killer whale before, so she naturally asked, "What is a great white shark, and what is a killer whale?"

Su Mo initially thought it was a great white shark.

Although they look much larger than great white sharks, it's not surprising that the great white sharks in this cultivation world are even larger than in my previous life.

But upon closer inspection, it was discovered that the shadow shape was somewhat different from that of a great white shark.

A ten-meter-long orca is larger than the orca of its predecessor, but more palatable than a great white shark.

Upon hearing the Empress's question, Su Mo nodded: "Orca is actually a type of Kun fish. Um... I'm used to calling Kun fish whales."

As usual, he added a bit of scientific information: "Whales are not actually fish..."

The Empress was taken aback: "A whale isn't a fish?"

Su Mo frowned, unsure how to explain the issue of whales not being fish, so he changed the subject and said, "Orcas are extremely fierce predatory whales with very high intelligence, and they are masters of teamwork."

At this point, Su Mo suddenly stopped.

A divergent thinking approach to research is to consider whether orcas, if they were to cultivate themselves into spirits, could transform into human form like the White Snake Spirit, or even become more intelligent than humans.

Upon hearing Su Mo say that orcas are quite ferocious, the Empress instantly became interested.

"This fish is indeed enormous! Let me hunt one up and see for myself!"

As he spoke, he casually picked up a crossbow and hurled it at the largest black shadow with lightning speed.

Su Mo...

It was too late to stop it.

Nangong Sheyue and others, including Zhang Xuzu, now know the Empress's terrifying strength, and naturally feel that the Orca is doomed.

Something strange happened.

The crossbow bolt that the Empress had thrown into the sea swept across the back of the killer whale, taut the thick hemp rope until it slumped.

The orca is unharmed.

Empress Liu Mei frowned instantly, her eyes flashed with a fierce light, and without hesitation, she picked up another crossbow and continued to throw it at the orca!

Failed again!

After failing to achieve their goals one after another, the Empress's expression was clearly not good.

He picked up the crossbow for the third time, but this time he didn't rush to use it. His eyes flashed with a divine light, as if he were using some kind of spiritual eye technique, and then he stared intently at the orca.

After a full three or four breaths, his magical power surged.

The crossbow suddenly emitted a piercing whistle and shot towards the underwater killer whale at supersonic speed!

Bang!
The thick hemp rope connecting the crossbow snapped, and the crossbow plunged into the deep sea and disappeared.

then……

Still no luck!

Leng Liuxi's eyes narrowed suddenly. She took a deep breath, turned to look at Su Mo, and asked in a deep voice, "Could this orca be a spirit? Or does it possess some special supernatural power?"

"You actually managed to dodge all three of my attacks?"

Su Mo was marveling at the Empress's strength. With a casual strike, she broke the sound barrier. A powerful being at the Heavenly Infant Realm was truly terrifying.

Upon hearing the Empress's question, he casually replied, "That's not it!"

"It's just an ordinary killer whale; it's neither a spirit nor has any special supernatural abilities."

The Empress was puzzled, her eyebrows furrowing slightly: "If that's the case, how were you able to dodge my crossbow bolts?"

Nangong Sheyue and the others also looked at Su Mo with suspicion.

If the giant Kun has such abilities, even the Empress couldn't hunt it down. How could ordinary sailors, sailing out in their ships, possibly hunt the giant Kun?

Was the ocean-going vessel built for nothing?

Su Mo smiled and said, "It was your eyes that deceived you, sir."

"This fish appears to be three zhang underwater, but its actual location is more than three zhang underwater. You are attacking an illusion, so you cannot hunt the killer whale."

Leng Liuxi, Nangong Sheyue, and the others were all stunned when they heard Su Mo say this.

The Empress frowned even more deeply: "What exactly is going on?"

Su Mo could only explain, "Light refraction!"

"The principle behind it is quite complicated to explain."

"Fishermen should all know that when stabbing a fish, you have to aim for the lower part of the fish's body to hit the target. The deeper the fish is stabbed, the greater the deviation will be."

Zhao Laoyao, standing beside him, looked at Su Mo with a look of awe: "What you say is right, sir!"

"When you're stabbing a fish, if you aim the needle at the fish, you'll almost certainly miss. But I don't know the logic behind that."

Seeing that the Empress and the others still didn't understand, Su Mo simply ordered someone to bring over a large bowl and chopsticks.

Fill a bowl with water and insert chopsticks into it.

To everyone's surprise, the chopsticks, which were originally straight, were now bent.

Su Mo smiled and said, "That's the principle of light refraction."

"Chopsticks are straight, but when they're in water, they appear to be bent."

The Empress frowned: "So, the orca I saw wasn't actually an orca?"

Su Mo nodded: "You could say that!"

"Such phenomena are actually everywhere in life, but we often don't notice them."

"As the saying goes, the way of nature is to learn; if you pay attention, there is knowledge to be gained everywhere around you."

Upon hearing Su Mo's words, the Empress's body suddenly trembled. A divine light flashed in her eyes. She took a deep breath, stared intently at Su Mo, and said, word by word, "The Dao? The Law of Nature?"

Nangong Sheyue's pretty face also changed, and she looked at Su Mo in utter shock.

Su Mo casually replied, "That's right!"

"As Lao Tzu said, man follows the earth, the earth follows heaven, heaven follows the Tao, and the Tao follows nature!"

Leng Liuxi stood there stunned, muttering, "Man follows the Earth, the Earth gives rise to Heaven, Heaven follows the Dao, and the Dao follows Nature! Man follows the Earth, the Earth gives rise to Heaven, Heaven follows the Dao, and the Dao follows Nature!"

After saying that, she sat cross-legged on the deck, her beautiful eyes closed, and the surrounding air seemed to freeze instantly.

Upon hearing Su Mo's words, Nangong Sheyue's expression also changed drastically, and she looked at Su Mo with utter shock.

Then they saw the Empress sit down cross-legged.

She showed a slight hesitation and confusion, then waved her sleeve.

Zhang Xuzu and the others felt a surge of powerful magic force coming from them, and were involuntarily forced back several steps!
Nangong Sheyue used her magic to shake off the crowd, and with a slap of her hand at her waist, two gleaming crescent-shaped short blades appeared in her palms in a flash!
Su Mo stood still, dumbfounded, watching Nangong Sheyue's expression as if facing a formidable enemy!
However, he was, after all, a Taoist sorcerer, and quickly realized what was happening.

The Empress! She's had an epiphany!

In a state of sudden enlightenment, one should avoid being disturbed by external factors!

Without hesitation, he spat out the Dragon Binding Rope, shielding the Empress, and said in a low voice, "Everyone, retreat to the cabin!"

At the same time, An Wu suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

It appeared on the deck like a ghost!
The old eunuch exuded an extremely cold and ruthless aura, which made even Su Mo feel a chill run down his spine.

He was naturally taken aback.

Little did they know that An Wu had also arrived on the ship!

……

A full half hour passed. The Empress slowly opened her eyes.

Her originally pale cheeks regained a slight rosy hue, and the light in her eyes dimmed.

Su Mo looked closely, but couldn't see any change in the Empress!
The Empress first looked at Su Mo, then at Nangong Sheyue, and then said calmly, "Why don't you sit down and meditate for a while?"

Nangong Sheyue's pretty face instantly turned serious. Without hesitation, she sat down cross-legged and began to circulate her qi!
Unlike the Empress, who didn't exhibit many cultivation phenomena.

Two streams of green energy circulated from Nangong Sheyue's nostrils, and in the blink of an eye, a green mist enveloped his entire body, making it impossible for Su Mo to see what was happening inside.

The primordial energy of heaven and earth instantly became restless, forming a visible vortex above the azure mist, with spiritual energy continuously pouring into Nangong Sheyue!

Another hour passed!
As the sun sets, golden rays shine upon the blue sky, creating a scene that seems like a dream.

The blue mist gradually dissipated.

Nangong Sheyue's beautiful and delicate figure appeared and disappeared in the mist.

Su Mo watched with half-closed eyes as the green mist was continuously swallowed into Nangong Sheyue's belly.

Although it is unknown how much benefit this enlightenment will bring to Nangong Sheyue, it is clear that Lord Zuo Qianhu has become even more unfathomable!

After absorbing all the green mist, Nangong Sheyue's pretty face was filled with barely suppressed joy. She stood up and respectfully bowed to the Empress: "Your subject... this concubine thanks Commander Leng for his guidance!"

The Empress smiled and said, "Not bad!"

"I never expected to advance to the late stage of the Returning Aperture Realm. It seems I have gained a lot."

He paused, pointed at Su Mo, and said, "However, you don't need to thank me. If you want to thank someone, thank Su Lang instead!"

Upon hearing the Empress's words, Nangong Sheyue secretly thought that Su Mo indeed already knew the Empress's identity.

She looked at Su Mo with a serious expression, and gave a slight bow: "Thank you for your guidance, my lord!"

An Wu stared intently at Su Mo with a strange expression.

Su Mo, on the other hand, looked completely bewildered and pointed at himself, saying, "Thank me?"

The system previously indicated that Nangong Sheyue had read the second volume of Romance of the Three Kingdoms and was highly likely to advance to the late stage of the Returning to the Aperture Realm.

Unexpectedly, I broke through to a higher level on the ship.

Even systems can make mistakes!
Nangong Sheyue said solemnly, "If it weren't for your guidance, my lord, how could I have broken through to the late stage of the Returning Aperture Realm!"

Leng Liuxi nodded and said earnestly, "I have also made a small breakthrough! My lord's contribution is indispensable!"

After hesitating for a moment, he couldn't help but ask, "What you mentioned earlier, sir, was it... the supreme immortal techniques of Kunlun Ruins?"

Su Mo stared wide-eyed, dumbfounded for a long time: "Kunlun Ruins? Supreme Immortal Technique? What Kunlun Ruins? What Supreme Immortal Technique?"

He looked at the Empress with a puzzled expression: "Your Excellency, you're not referring to the Daoist principle of 'following the natural way,' are you?"

The Empress solemnly replied, "This is indeed the way of nature!"

Su Mo was both amused and exasperated: "That's not some supreme immortal technique, it's just a saying from the Tao Te Ching!"

"If it were truly a supreme immortal technique, I would have practiced it long ago. Why would I bother with a mere Golden Core stage technique like the Yang Tian Jue!"

The Empress's eyes narrowed suddenly: "The Tao Te Ching?"

Su Mo then realized that there was no Moral Code in this world.

However, the Tao Te Ching, which is familiar to many people in later generations, is certainly not a secret method for cultivating immortality. Otherwise, in later generations, golden elixirs would be everywhere and immortals would be as common as dogs.

It's probably just that this sentence, which sounds a bit profound, was meant for the Empress and Nangong Sheyue to understand.

He smiled wryly and said, "It's just a very ordinary book, written by Lao Tzu. I read it twice when I was bored before."

The Empress secretly took a deep breath and said calmly, "May I hear what you have to say, Su Lang?"

Su Mo knew that even if she didn't say it, the Empress would find a way to make her say it, so she said frankly, "There's nothing I can't say."

He frowned: "The first line seems to be 'The Tao that can be told is not the eternal Tao; the name that can be named is not the eternal name'..."

The very first line, "The Tao that can be told is not the eternal Tao," immediately made the Empress, Nangong Sheyue, and the expressionless An Wu all turn serious!

They held their breath and dared not make a sound, lest they disturb Su Mo!
Su Mo frowned and thought for a moment, then said, "The nameless is the origin of heaven and earth; the named is the mother of all things. Therefore, one should be without desire in order to observe its wonder and constant existence, and with desire in order to observe its manifestations."

"These two originate from the same source but have different names; both are called profound. Profound and yet more profound, the gateway to all wonders..."

After Su Mo finished reciting the Tao Te Ching from his memory, he found that Leng Liuxi and the other two were frozen in place, staring at him blankly without saying a word.

He couldn't help but wave his hand under the Empress's nose: "Hey, my lady..."

The Empress then came to her senses and let out a long breath: "This is the Tao Te Ching?"

"Is Su Lang mistaken?"

Su Mo casually laughed and said, "This humble servant is not sure if I've remembered correctly, after all, I've only watched it twice."

The empress was speechless for a moment.

Such supreme and exquisite immortal techniques are so rare that even a powerful being like the Empress, let alone an ordinary sorcerer, would find it difficult to witness.

Just one sentence was enough to cause the Heavenly Infant Realm Empress to break through her cultivation level!
Such a supreme immortal technique, the path to immortality, was laid out before Su Mo, yet he only glanced at it twice.

This can no longer be described as a waste of resources.

This is like trampling on something precious underfoot, stomping on it twice, and then pressing it heavily into the ground with the soles of your feet!

The Empress was extremely frustrated when Su Mo said, "It seems there are many versions of the Tao Te Ching, and many people have annotated and modified it. I don't know if the version I'm reading is the original one."

The Empress gritted her teeth and stared intently at Su Mo: "Don't tell me, Su Lang, that I haven't seen those annotated versions!"

Su Mo honestly replied, "I haven't read it! It's a very boring book, nothing interesting."

Empress...

Nangong Shoots the Moon...

Anwu...

Seeing the three men glaring at him with gritted teeth, looking like they wanted to devour him whole, Su Mo immediately sensed something was wrong!

Could that Tao Te Ching really be a method for cultivating immortality?

Su Mo quickly said, "Ahem! It sounds like someone in the cabin is calling for me. I'll go see what's going on..."

After saying that, he disappeared in a flash.

After taking only a few steps, he felt a huge suction force coming from behind him, and he kept moving backward until he was back in front of the Empress!
The Empress was angered to death by Su Mo.

He glared at Su Mo, then snorted, "You must not follow the example of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms and print the Tao Te Ching to sell to others!"

An Wu stared in disbelief: "Lord Su wouldn't pass on this supreme immortal technique to outsiders!"

The Empress snorted irritably: "Does An Banban think he cares that much about the Tao Te Ching?"

"Humph!"

"He even wants to print and sell books like Romance of the Three Kingdoms, which combines dragon-slaying techniques, military strategies, tactics, and the art of rulership. What wouldn't he dare to do!"

He paused, then couldn't help but add, "Nangong gained profound insights from reading Romance of the Three Kingdoms, which is why he has naturally broken through to a higher realm!"

Anwu...

He hasn't read Romance of the Three Kingdoms!

However, a collection of so many secret techniques must be incredibly valuable, and the Empress's words made a lot of sense.

The Tao Te Ching is such a supreme and divine text, yet Su Mo couldn't be bothered to even look at it, especially those versions with commentaries by ancient sages and great masters!
It goes without saying that anyone who dares to annotate this method must be a first-rate sage. The annotations are the culmination of a lifetime of learning and insights, and perhaps a single sentence could make an ordinary sorcerer's cultivation of the Dao leap forward!

But Su Mo didn't look!
I really dare not say that Su Mo will not print the Tao Te Ching into a book and spread it throughout the world!

Su Mo is quite adept at changing his stance depending on the situation.

Seeing the Empress staring intently at him, Su Mo immediately replied without hesitation, "This subordinate understands!"

"Even if someone offered me a thousand taels of silver for this book, I wouldn't sell it!"

The Empress blinked: "What about ten thousand taels?"

"Ten thousand taels of silver..." Su Mo's face showed an extremely conflicted expression!
Upon seeing this, the Empress was instantly enraged, her already ample bosom heaving violently with anger!

"So you really were planning to sell it for money!"

"Such a supreme immortal technique you actually want to sell for money... This truly infuriates me... This truly infuriates me!"

Seeing the Empress raise her hand as if to slap him, Su Mo quickly said, "I won't sell! Not even for ten thousand taels!"

The Empress withdrew her hand and snorted, "Where's the 100,000 taels?"

Su Mo shook his head decisively: "I won't sell it for 100,000! 1 million! 10 million!"

Empress: "Swear it!"

Su Mo...

(End of this chapter)