National Division

Chapter 128 Shen Xian: Second Level of Qi Sea!

Shen Residence
Shen Xian discussed countermeasures with the Empress, saying, "Even with 60,000 troops, a complete victory is not guaranteed. To prevent unforeseen circumstances, the court should also allocate the Southern Palace Imperial Guards."

The Empress said, "The imperial army is still in Tanzhou and it will take some time to return. Moreover, the officers and soldiers have been fighting for half a year and are exhausted. They urgently need to rest."

"Your Majesty, there are other elite guards stationed in the capital, which can also be mobilized," Shen Xian reminded her.

The Empress asked, "Which army do you intend to deploy, sir?"

“We can mobilize 20,000 guards on the left and right gates,” Shen Xian said in a voice as firm as metal. “This is a good opportunity to rotate our forces and use the corpse demons to hone and boost the combat effectiveness of the two guards.”

The Empress seemed to think for a moment, then agreed, saying, "Sir, your suggestion is excellent."

Then, he said to Gu Nanzhu beside him, "Nanzhu, draft an imperial edict to select 10,000 men from each of the left and right gate guards and send them to Anzhou to join forces and suppress the demonic sorcerers in Anzhou!"

Upon hearing this, Gu Nanzhu responded with a "Yes."

Shen Xian said, "Your Majesty, Cui Xu has neglected his duties in Anzhou. I will be going to Anzhou in the next few days to arrest him and to deploy relevant officials in preparation for the war."

The Empress, with her delicate eyebrows and a glint in her eyes, said, "Sir, you are on an inspection tour of Hebei Province. I have entrusted you with the power to make decisions on the spot. You can decide on such a small matter immediately."

Shen Xian thanked her and asked, "Your Majesty, have the Cui and Lu families made any moves recently?"

The Empress's expression was not good. She snorted coldly and said, "There has been no unusual activity recently."

"Your Majesty, how is the matter of the martial arts examination in the capital progressing?" Shen Xian asked.

"Preparations for the martial arts examination have already begun." The Empress's voice was filled with joy as she said, "Martial arts practitioners from all over the capital are flocking to participate."

Shen Xian said, "Your Majesty, the matter of Anzhou can also be linked to the martial arts examination. If any martial artist can go to Anzhou and kill a certain number of corpse demons, they can be granted the title of Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examination) to encourage martial artists to strive for excellence."

Upon hearing this, the Empress Dowager's heart stirred, and she praised, "Sir, this plan is brilliant."

"The demonic forces are stirring, and I fear that Da Rui may be behind them." Shen Xian frowned and warned, "Your Majesty, I fear that this is part of a series of conspiracies by the demonic forces."

"What Mr. Shen said makes sense, but the Great Jing territory is vast, with countless prefectures and counties under its jurisdiction. The imperial court can only monitor each place one by one, and can only passively defend against sudden demonic calamities, unable to anticipate the enemy's moves." The Empress Dowager's words at the end were tinged with a sense of helplessness.

Shen Xian sighed, "There's no such thing as being a thief for a thousand days but not being able to guard against thieves for a thousand days."

After thinking for a moment, he asked, "Your Majesty, can't our Great Jing send an inside agent to the enemy state of Great Rui? Doesn't Great Rui have any members of the demonic path?"

The Empress remained silent for a moment, then said, "The Imperial Advisor knows this matter very well; you can ask him."

Murong Yue said softly, "Junior brother, the Great Rui governs the world with Confucianism and Taoism. Scholars all over the world admire Confucianism, and talented people are as numerous as fish crossing the river. Moreover, the Great Rui is a powerful country that treats scholars well and claims to govern the world together with scholars. It is difficult to win over Confucian scholars. As for demons, they exist, but the Great Confucian scholars suppress them everywhere, so they do not pose a great threat."

Upon hearing this, Shen Xian's expression changed, and he fell silent for a moment.

He roughly understood that the extraordinary forces of Da Rui needed to be more united, and that they only had the Confucian tradition.

Unlike the current Great Jing Dynasty, where the three religions are embroiled in internal strife, ostensibly due to dissatisfaction with the Empress Dowager's regency, but in reality unwilling to relinquish this parasitic and exploitative system of Taoist officials.

To put it bluntly, Dajing's system is inferior to Darui's.

How could Huang-Lao philosophy possibly defeat the involution of Confucianism with its superficial Legalist elements?

"To quell external threats, we must first secure internal stability." Shen Xian said with a sharp gaze, "Let's settle this matter first, and then plan for a major event after we've sorted things out internally."

The Empress nodded in agreement, saying, "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. Let's first ascertain the situation in Anzhou before discussing anything else."

Shen Xian then exchanged views with the Empress on matters of the court before hanging up the communication jade tablet.

For a moment, only Shen Xian and Xue Zhihua remained in the room.

Xue Zhihua said in a clear voice, "With the imperial court's troop deployment, the calamity of the corpse demon can be eliminated."

"We must not be careless. Those who follow the demonic path will not only have these methods; they probably have some backup plans," Shen Xian said with a mysterious look in his eyes.

He always felt that those who practiced the demonic path would not only have these arrangements.

Xue Zhihua nodded, her face showing a thoughtful expression.

Shen Xian turned to Xue Zhihua and said, "Zhihua, there's no time to lose. You and I will arrive at Anzhou Prefecture in the next two days. The Vermilion Bird Division in Anzhou should also mobilize its forces to assist in slaying demons and monsters."

Just then, a pleasant voice rang out: "You two are planning to go to Anzhou. What are you going there for?"

Shen Xian's heart stirred slightly. Following the sound, he looked at the beautiful woman in a gorgeous dress and with her hair piled high under the eaves and called out, "Your Highness."

He thought to himself, "You appear and disappear so mysteriously without even saying hello. What if this becomes a habit?"

"Yes, I just went to see Tianxia." The beautiful woman chuckled and said, "Lu Ziling was engaged to Tianxia. After her father had an accident, Lu Ziling went to break off the engagement. Now, you've avenged her."

As the beautiful woman spoke, she stepped into the room, her gentle gaze falling on the jade tablet for transmitting sound in Xue Zhihua's hand. She asked, "Zhihua, who were you talking to just now?"

Xue Zhihua explained, "It is the Jade Tablet of the Empress of the Divine Capital."

The beautiful woman nodded, and as she approached, a look of surprise appeared on her full and voluptuous face: "What do you mean?"

"I'm informing Your Highness about this matter," Xue Zhihua said, recounting to the Princess the impending outbreak of the Corpse Demon calamity.

The princess's expression changed slightly, and a look of shock appeared in her bright and clear eyes. She said indignantly, "How could the fiends of the Corpse Yin Sect commit such heinous crimes!"

Tens of thousands of people in two counties, regardless of age, gender, or age, were all infected with the corpse poison and transformed into corpse demons. This act is truly outrageous!
Shen Xian's expression was cold and he said in a deep voice, "These people of the demonic path truly deserve to die!"

If it were the kind of unrestrained and arbitrary demonic path, and was merely slandered as a heretical sect by the Three Pure Ones, then it could still be defended.

But such antisocial members of the heretical sect deserve to be killed!

The eldest princess asked, "Scholar Shen, how do the imperial court and Guhe County intend to respond?"

Shen Xian said, "Shangqing has already sent seventh and eighth realm experts. The rest is to send troops to block the zombie horde in Ningyang and Linchuan counties."

The eldest princess picked up the teapot, poured herself a cup, and said worriedly, "I'm afraid the demonic cultivators have other tricks up their sleeves."

Shen Xian and Xue Zhihua then sat down not far away. Shen Xian said, "We can only deal with whatever comes our way."

The princess frowned slightly and said softly, "Scholar Shen, we should send someone to investigate the situation in Ningyang County so that we can know our enemy and ourselves."

Shen Xianqing said in a clear voice, "Wang Shence knows the inside story. He should return to Guhe County in the next couple of days. We will ask him about it then."

"He's just unlucky. He said he came to arrest your blind wife?" The princess picked up her teacup, took a sip, and joked, "But he ran into this kind of trouble."

Shen Xian said, "Your Highness, it can only be said that it was a matter of fate, but Wang Shence is the Empress's favorite general."

"He does nothing but commit heinous crimes like confiscating property and exterminating families." The princess's jade-like face was cold and her tone was sarcastic. A hint of coldness appeared on her beautiful face as she said, "Now that he is suffering this hardship, it can be considered that karma is cyclical and retribution is inevitable."

Upon hearing this, Shen Xian was both amused and exasperated.

The eldest princess asked, "The corpse demon has wreaked havoc and swept through Guhe County. Have you gone to Qingyang Temple?"

Xue Zhihua chimed in, "Your Highness knows the temperament of that Crane Guardian Taoist; he won't interfere."

“I went there during the day.” Shen Xian paused for a moment, then said, “But I don’t know if I could persuade that Crane Guardian Daoist.”

The eldest princess said softly, "He Shou owes me a favor back then. I will go and find him tomorrow. He has been in Anzhou for so long, but he is still at the peak of the Dao Embryo stage, while I am almost at the Void Realm. It is clear that his path has gone astray."

Shen Xian: "..."

Well, this princess, being the daughter of the Heavenly Empress, is quite formidable, directly asserting that Crane Guardian Daoist has gone astray.

"With a formidable enemy at hand, having more strength means having a better chance of victory." The princess raised her eyebrows and said gently, "Although Daoist He Shou is utterly pedantic, he and his Qingyang Temple are ultimately a great help."

Shen Xian nodded in agreement, saying, "That's what I think too." The princess said softly, "There is also a Daoist named Dongyang in Anzhou. He is from the Yuqing Sect and can be considered my fellow disciple. If you two go to Anzhou, I will go with you so that I can persuade him to help."

After the princess finished speaking, she did not linger and left with Xue Zhihua.

Shen Xian returned to his room, sat cross-legged, and prepared to cultivate the immortal path.

The immortal cultivation techniques in "Hun Yuan Yi Qi Gong" are infinitely mysterious.

At the same time, he picked up the "Complete Guide to Basic Talismans" from before and began to read it.

Suddenly, a message appeared in his mind: the Yin-Yang Millstone.

"Complete Guide to Basic Talismans, proficiency can be advanced to [Mastery], consuming 1,000 merit points."

Shen Xian's gaze deepened, and a slight thought stirred within him. He then inquired of the Yin-Yang Millstone.

Martial arts are divided into nine realms, while the proficiency levels of Taoist arts are not so fancy, with only five levels: beginner, proficient, minor achievement, mastery, and major achievement.

It's more like each stage represents 20% proficiency.

Moreover, the skill points gained from Taoist techniques are ten times greater than those from martial arts.

However, this basic talismanic Taoist art involves numerous talisman-drawing techniques, and it is normal for it to consume so much merit points when mastered.

Shen Xian summarized this pattern and had a feeling that mastering immortal techniques probably consumed more merit points than martial arts.

Thinking of this, Shen Xian didn't care much and continued to develop his Daoist techniques to perfection.

Immediately, a flood of insights about talismans surged into Shen Xian's mind.

Although it is only a basic guide to talismans, as the saying goes, if the foundation is not solid, the earth will shake.

“The talismans are modeled after the divine patterns of heaven and earth. They are drawn on talisman paper and can ward off evil, drive away disasters, cleanse dust, remove evil spirits, and even pray for peace and marriage. They can be said to borrow the laws of heaven and earth to fulfill the wishes of mortals. They are profound and mysterious.”

Shen Xian opened his eyes, his heart filled with emotion as he pondered the words on the general outline.

If he sets up a stall to draw talismans, he should be able to make a living.

"It's a pity that these are just basic talismans. I'll find some cinnabar and yellow paper to draw some more talismans when I have some free time in the next few days," Shen Xian pondered.

Thinking this, Shen Xian picked up a book called "Fire Path Dao Technique". This book was also a basic Dao technique, mainly used for the first and second realms of immortality.

"Fire-based magic is perfect for burning corpse demons," Shen Xian thought to himself.

Meanwhile, the Yin-Yang Millstone also sent a message.

"The Fire Path Technique can be developed to its full potential, consuming two thousand merit points."

Shen Xian's eyes flickered as he made his plans.

It is undoubtedly twice as expensive as "The Complete Book of Basic Talismans", probably because the former is more like an introductory book to solidify the foundation.

The "Fire Path Technique" is a protective spell, sufficient for cultivators at the second realm to use to increase their power against enemies.

Shen Xian did not hesitate to use two thousand merit points to develop it to its peak.

Then, Shen Xian picked up another book, "The Great Escape of the Five Elements," and began to study it.

This escape technique is called the Great Escape, but in reality, it only has basic explanations of the first and second realms. Moreover, there is a threshold for using this technique, which requires reaching the Heavenly Gate realm.

And so, after consuming another three thousand merit points, he learned the Five Elements Escape Technique, and before he knew it, it was already late at night.

Seeing that it was still early, Shen Xian began practicing the "Primordial Qi Gong" again.

He is currently at the first level of the Qi Sea realm.

As Shen Xian began to breathe in and out according to the cultivation path of the "Primordial Qi Gong", the surrounding five elements of spiritual energy swirled and flowed into his body.

The lights were still on in the side room of the neighboring courtyard, casting two exquisite and graceful figures onto the window lattice.

The eldest princess and Xue Zhihua were sitting down to enjoy tea when, as if sensing something, they asked, "Mr. Shen, which lineage of Shangqing martial arts do you practice?"

"The Shangqing Lingbao Heavenly Scripture," Xue Zhihua said softly.

"This absorption of the spiritual energy of heaven and earth is quite a commotion, but..." The eldest princess put down her teacup, took out a small triangular flag from her bosom, and with a flick of her wrist, it flew to the entire Shen residence, setting up magical restrictions in all directions.

Xue Zhihua's fair and delicate face changed slightly as she asked in surprise, "Is this the Vermilion Bird Spirit Gathering Banner?"

The eldest princess chuckled and said, "Yes, let's help him gather some spiritual energy so he can start cultivating soon."

Xue Zhihua gave a soft "hmm," her eyes flickering, and it was unclear what she was thinking.

On the other side, until the middle of the night.

Shen Xian exhaled a breath of stale air, a fleeting glint of light flashing in his eyes.

The second level of Qi Sea!
He was new to the path of immortality and had only been cultivating for a few days, so his breakthrough to the second level was not slow.

"Things are manageable before the Heavenly Gate Realm. Just focus on diligent cultivation and try not to take any pills, otherwise it may damage your foundation," Shen Xian thought to himself.

While there is an external alchemy lineage in the Daoist path, the path from Qi Sea to Danxia is still primarily cultivated through self-cultivation.

Because it is through repeated breathing exercises that one condenses spiritual energy, thereby tempering one's character and control over spiritual energy.

If you use elixirs to skip this painstaking process, then it will be difficult to achieve great things later on.

"Therefore, there is a saying that the path of immortality emphasizes enlightenment, especially the innate qualities. Of course, one must also cultivate both nature and life. The so-called cultivation of nature without cultivating life is the first disease of cultivation. If one only cultivates the ancestral nature without cultivating the elixir, the spirit will find it difficult to enter sainthood after countless eons."

Shen Xian compared the differences between the immortal and martial arts paths.

……

……

On the other side, Yu Qingchan's delicate cheeks were flushed red, her cherry-like teeth biting her pink lips, as if she could still feel the lingering warmth between them.

"Young lady, the hot water is ready. After your bath, please rest early."

Yu Qingchan got up, her fair and delicate face burning hot on both sides. Then, she followed her maid, Lüzhu, to sit down on the bed behind a brocade screen.

"Senior, my lord, he..."

"Don't ask me, I don't know either." The voice in the mind's eye carried a hint of emptiness.

Yu Qingchan: "..."

With her eyes lowered, she twirled the handkerchief in her hand and pursed her pink lips.

That's not what she wanted to ask. She just wanted to ask her senior whether her husband could safely get through this ordeal.

"The situation in Guhe County is about to change. You should put aside your distractions and focus on your cultivation. Strive to break through to the Heavenly Gate Realm as soon as possible. At that time, your pupil technique will also be able to enter a new realm. Once you reach the third realm of immortality, your eyes will be no different from those of ordinary people." The mysterious voice in your mind was as gentle as water, with a hint of comfort.

Yu Qingchan gave a soft "hmm," but secretly made up her mind.

She must cultivate herself well so that she can help her husband in the future, instead of becoming a burden to him.

Recalling the softness and warmth of her lips, the girl stared blankly, momentarily lost in thought.

(End of this chapter)