How can one cultivate immortality without learning modern knowledge?

Chapter 140 In the Tomb of Time, Quietly Awaiting the Blooming of Flowers

There is a special channel in Wenxin where His Majesty and Wenyuan Pavilion can jointly apply to the Temple, and there is a high probability that it will be approved.

But Wenhua doesn't have such a special passage.

That was the complete power of the temple.

The imperial court was strictly forbidden from interfering.

Therefore, targeting Zhou Wenju through his official position is not a viable option.

Therefore, His Majesty offered a second option: ask Comrade Xiao Zhou if he is willing to become an official.

Official positions are what Your Majesty can truly control.

If a literary position can't give Zhou Wenju what he wants, then give him an official post.

This can also achieve the effect of bestowing favors upon him and locking in the prodigy.

This shows that His Majesty truly cares about this Master Zhou.

Zhuang Wenhua was very happy.

In Zhou Wenju's room at Lixian Villa.

Zhou Wenju sat by the window, the night was hazy and the lamplight was dim, and he stared blankly at the flowers on the windowsill.

He suddenly had a strange feeling that something was wrong with the flower branch.

What's wrong?

There may be two places.

Firstly, these flowers seem to never fade.

He remembered very clearly that when he first entered Lixian Villa, the flowers were exactly the same as they were now, with no difference in their beauty.

Seven days have passed!

No flower in nature, no matter how long its blooming period, can completely ignore seven days; there will inevitably be some changes.

However, the flower remains unchanged.

Even if your Spirit Race has extraordinary abilities, at most you can make the flowering period longer, but you can't completely ignore the growth pattern of flowers, right?

Secondly, with his somewhat unique and insightful eyes, he felt that there was a strange current flowing through the flower.

He couldn't see this current of air before, but now he can.

Could it be that these flowers are actually spies of the Spirit Clan?

Could it be that they have been under constant surveillance by the Elven race ever since they entered their territory?

Under the cover of night, inside the wooden house, the saint stared at the image transmitted through the flowers, her heart pounding faster.

That handsome face couldn't stir her girlish heart.

But the thoughtful expression on her face startled her; she was startled by the wisdom in her eyes.

She had a strange feeling; she felt that the person beneath the flower seemed to have noticed something unusual about it.

Is this possible?

On the territory of the Spirit Clan, the Spirit Clan is absolutely dominant. The vegetation on the mountains is perfectly integrated, with no abnormalities.

Even if it were Wen Guo or even Wen Jie, it would be impossible for them to discover the Spirit Race's "seeing flowers as eyes", right?

She gently raised her gaze and saw Ye Xiaoxiao beside her.

At this moment, Ye Xiaoxiao was like a delicate and beautiful rose.

To be precise, after Zhou Wenju of the Great Yu Kingdom achieved two consecutive unbelievable victories, this girl's eyes never left that face. The blush on her face gradually fermented within her body, steamed on her face, and eventually turned into this thing—

The saintess's gaze shifted slightly: "Go to the Lixian Villa and invite Young Master Zhou over for a gathering!"

Ye Xiaoxiao's confusion vanished in an instant.

His gaze fell on the saintess's face, and at first he was very excited—

Inviting Young Master Zhou over for a gathering, the Holy Maiden began to change her stance.

However, that excited look faded and became confused when it came into view of the flower mark on the saintess's forehead.

"Didn't we make a bet? Didn't we agree that if the Great Yu Kingdom won the Green Mountain Literary Gathering, this Holy Maiden would thoroughly examine his heavenly book?" The Holy Maiden said, "Now I'm honoring my bet. As you wish, I'll examine his heavenly book. You don't need to look at me like that, do you?"

Ye Xiaoxiao let out a soft breath: "Holy Maiden, what we agreed on was that you would let go of your obsession and flip through this heavenly book, but—but the way the Holy Maiden looked at me, I felt it wasn't like she was flipping through a book, but rather like she wanted to—tear this book apart."

The saintess's eyes widened suddenly: "You've gone too far again, haven't you?"

"Holy Maiden, Young Master Zhou is a true master of literature and Taoism. He has been invited to our Spirit Clan, and we should treat him with the utmost respect. If he is targeted by the Holy Maiden because he has ruined her plans, and this is spread, our Spirit Clan will be utterly ashamed. Moreover, it would violate the consensus reached by the Clan Chief and the elders."

"What can I say to you? You always say that I, the Holy Maiden, have too deep a prejudice against him, but now look at you, it's your prejudice against me that's truly deep!" The Holy Maiden sighed softly, "Do you really think I, the Holy Maiden, am naive? Do you really think I would act impulsively? I asked you to invite him over only to give him a gift."

"A gift?" Ye Xiaoxiao was three parts surprised, three parts delighted, and about four parts—not quite believing it.

"If he's truly intelligent enough, this literary gathering has likely left a less than favorable impression of our Spirit Clan," the Holy Maiden said. "Some things simply cannot be clarified through words; only a well-intentioned gift can truly convey the message."

Ye Xiaoxiao's heart raced.

If she was 40% skeptical before, she is now convinced.

Because the Holy Maiden was indeed not a naive and ignorant young woman; in fact, she was the most decisive person among the younger generation of the Spirit Clan.

Previously, there was a grand plan for a "southern expedition".

However, there was already a consensus within the clan.

Whether it is a southern expedition or a northern expedition will be determined by the outcome of this literary gathering.

The results of the academic conference are in.

The idea of ​​a southern expedition must be abandoned!

This is the premise!

Under these circumstances, some work needs to be done.

For example, eliminating some previously negative stereotypes.

Especially Zhou Wenju.

Zhou Wenju is the key figure in this team.

If nothing unexpected happens, he also uncovered a dirty scheme by the Eldar.

As the saint said, this matter cannot be clarified through words; it's a classic case of making things worse the more you try to explain.

The best way to handle this is to give each other some "face".

Zhou Wenju's decision not to expose this dirty scheme in public already showed the Spirit Clan some respect.

The Elven race should also give him a gift, and treat him with some dignity.

This is called social etiquette and worldly wisdom.

Go now!

Just as Ye Xiaoxiao was filled with excitement, preparing to meet this literary prodigy whom she had never met before, yet who seemed strangely familiar to her—

Zhou Wenju suddenly stood up.

As he stood up, the lights in the room went out silently.

A thought suddenly occurred to him.

Above the literary heart, on the other side of poetry, two words leap out from the literary heart—

It was the word "行舟" (xingzhou, meaning "to sail") from the poem he wrote that day: "A song of labor helps to untie the boat, red leaves, green mountains, and rushing water; at dusk, I wake from my wine and the person is already far away, and the wind and rain fall on the west tower."

The boat sails out, piercing the center of the forehead.

In the instant that passed through his brow, a small boat appeared beneath his feet.

The illusory boat faintly glows with seven colors.

A moment later, the seven-colored light disappeared, and the light boat disappeared into the night like a shuttle.

Zhou Wenju stepped onto the platform.

It rose gracefully, left the Lixian Academy, and merged into the night sky.

"This is true literary skill!" Ye Xiaoxiao's eyes flashed: "The people from Yan Kingdom even said that he didn't have literary talent and that participating in the Green Mountain Literary Gathering was disrespectful to the Spirit Clan. This shows that those people were just talking nonsense."

The saintess shook her head and sighed, "You, why hold such a grudge? It's all in the past, why are you still dwelling on it? Where is he—where is he going?"

"The same route as that day! He—he's going to the Tomb of Time!" Ye Xiaoxiao's expression changed slightly.

"Yes, the Tomb of Time!" The saintess sighed softly. "Can't this person learn how to be a guest? When he's on someone else's turf, he can't shake his habit of wandering around aimlessly."

Objectively speaking, this statement is correct.

It's very impolite of you to wander around in the middle of the night when you're a guest on someone else's property.

However, the girl really wanted to retort: ​​You say that others don't know how to be guests, but in fact, we Spirit Clan should learn how to be hosts.

You, the host, poison your guests at the drop of a hat, which is worse than the guests themselves. How dare you criticize them?

Considering how difficult it is for a saint to change her mind, the girl won't argue this time.

Zhou Wenju stood under this strange tree once again.

Once again, I witnessed the unique darkness of the Spirit Race, and the serene and ethereal atmosphere that filled the mountains.

His eyes, filled with wisdom and insight, gazed at the large tree before him.

On that day, he couldn't see anything clearly.

But today, he saw the strange changes in the airflow in front of him, as if there were countless inscriptions, carrying unpredictable energy.

A formation?

Zhou Wenju's heart pounded wildly.

This is, unsurprisingly, a formation!

What's wrong with my eyes?

It's even possible to see the array runes clearly!

The Mohist classics record ten extraordinary eyes in the world, one of which is called the "Heavenly Dao Array Eye," which can see the array inscriptions. Because the invisible and formless array inscriptions are clearly visible under this eye technique, one's array cultivation is twice as effective with half the effort. Therefore, those who possess the Heavenly Dao Array Eye are naturally the strongest array masters.

Could it be that my literary insight also possesses the special effect of the "Heavenly Dao Array Eye"?

Zhou Wenju suppressed his elation, took a few steps forward, stood at the boundary of the array runes, and headed towards a point where the runes converged.

Three steps, five steps, eight steps, nine steps!

With a soft hiss, all the dark night scenery of the Spirit Clan disappeared before him, and the cave from that day reappeared.

Inside the wooden hut, the saint slowly opened her eyes: "Did he still fall in accidentally? I just can't believe it."

"It was understandable that he fell in accidentally that day, but today, if you say it was still accidental, even I don't believe it!" Ye Xiaoxiao said, "Could it be that 'Qi Lao' took him in?"

"That's the only explanation! He couldn't have left the cave in time that day, but he did. Today, he couldn't have entered the cave, but he did—" The saintess gently rested her chin on her hand: "Then the question is, why would Qi Lao do this?"

"Holy Maiden, who exactly is this mysterious abandoned old man?" Ye Xiaoxiao asked.

The saintess gently shook her head: "I only know that he was an old friend of my father's, but I know nothing about his background. Most importantly, he has never left the Tomb of Time in the past few decades, and he does indeed seem to be a person who is dedicated to cultivation."

"This isn't right, Holy Maiden!" Ye Xiaoxiao exclaimed. "Shouldn't cultivators choose a 'Time-Locking' place where time flows more slowly for secluded cultivation? How could they possibly choose a 'Time-Burial' place where time flows a hundred times faster?"

Her words are the golden rule of spiritual practice.

Practitioners always lament that their practice time is too short. If they could find a place where time flows slower than the normal flow of time in the outside world, it would truly be a blessed place for them.

Why?

You spend a hundred years cultivating inside, while only one year passes outside.

If you emerge from seclusion with the hard-earned skills of a hundred years of cultivation, and encounter your former opponent, wouldn't you easily crush him like a chicken?

Who wouldn't like this kind of spiritual practice?

However, in this world of time, the flow of time is not a hundred times slower, but a hundred times faster.

You meditate inside for three days, while a year has passed in the outside world.

You can't fix anything in such a short time.

Your rivals outside are all making significant progress in their cultivation.

Aren't you just making trouble for yourself?

It is precisely because of this law of spiritual practice.

No one from the Spirit Clan dared to approach the Tomb of Time.

They worried that if they slept inside, they would come out far behind their peers.

Therefore, no one would believe the claim that this "abandoned elder" was practicing asceticism in the cave.

"There are no fixed rules for cultivation. Perhaps this old man's cultivation is unique in itself?" The saintess could only give this seemingly pointless answer.

Inside the cave, Zhou Wenju bowed slightly: "Senior! This junior has returned! I came here specifically to express my gratitude to you."

"Is the Qingshan Literary Gathering over?" The old man turned his gaze back from the cave.

His sitting posture was exactly the same as when Zhou Wenju left.

It seemed to him that the three days and three nights of the Qingshan Literary Conference had passed in the blink of an eye.

"yes!"

"Did you win or lose?" the old man asked.

Judging from this statement, the old man sitting in the cave could not see the entire Ling Mountain; at the very least, he could not see the literary gathering.

"We won!" Zhou Wenju said, "Dayu Kingdom won four out of seven games, and I won two of them."

The old man laughed: "Are you showing off in front of me?"

"Of course not, I want to tell you, senior, that your help to me that day was worthwhile!"

In the best-of-seven series, Zhou Wenju won two of the seven games.

Without this, the Great Yu Kingdom would have been utterly defeated.

This may seem like boasting, but it's actually telling the old man that these two victories are thanks to you.

"The Qingshan Literary Gathering has decisively defeated the Yan Kingdom!" The old man smiled faintly. "Although the Great Yu Kingdom suffered chaos due to the rebellious disciple Yan Wu, its literary tradition has not ultimately collapsed. This is fortunate indeed!"

"Senior, please forgive me for disagreeing with your words!" Zhou Wenju said, "During the reign of Emperor Wu, the world was at peace, all demons were suppressed, traitors were eliminated, and all living beings were protected. How can he be referred to as a 'traitor'?"

The old man narrowed his eyes: "As a literary prodigy, don't you think that the madman who 'burned books and buried scholars alive' should be condemned by words and writing? And you're actually speaking up for him?"

"Confucian scholars can be treacherous, and warriors can be loyal; books contain wise words as well as harsh ones. The world is complex, and history is clear. Every era should be viewed from two perspectives, and cannot be judged by a single statement! Our predecessors have experienced much of the world, and their knowledge should be deeper than that of us, shouldn't it?"

The old man stared at him for a long time.

It seems that only now are we truly facing him.

"Indeed! If every scholar of this generation were as insightful as you, what would the Great Yu Kingdom have to worry about in achieving its great cause?" The old man nodded gently.

Zhou Wenju smiled: "Senior, I have a question I'd like to ask. May I ask it frankly?"

"Ask away!"

"Why are you here, senior?"

"If I were to say that this is spiritual practice, would you believe me?" the old man asked rhetorically.

Zhou Wenju gently shook his head: "The cultivators of this world only regret that time is too short, burying themselves in the passage of time, letting the outside world's time fly by. Please forgive me for not being able to understand such cultivation."

"Then I can only tell you the truth!" the old man said. "I have locked myself in the Tomb of Time, just to wait—for a flower to bloom in this world!"

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