Spiritual energy resurgence? My former empress wife has also revived!

Qin Zijun withdrew his gaze and said softly to Wang Shu beside him, "Let's go, Shoushan County is just ahead."

"I haven't offered incense to my father or Aunt Wang for a long time."

"And what about the courtyard where we used to live? I wonder how it is now."

Wang Shu stood close to Qin Zijun and whispered, "Yes, it's been a long time since we offered incense to Aunt Wang."

"As for the courtyard where we used to live, it must still be in good condition. Someone will clean and repair it. You've risen through the ranks, so how could the magistrate of Shoushan County and the Qin family dare not take it seriously?"

Qin Zijun chuckled and turned back to the oxcart.

Wang Shu subconsciously raised her hand to support him.

Qin Zijun was getting old, and even with his unparalleled magical powers, he was still just a mortal.

As people age, their physical functions decline, and they can no longer climb mountains and wade through rivers as freely as they used to.

The convoy had only gone a few steps when a scholar blocked its way.

The scholar knelt on the ground and respectfully kowtowed, saying, "This student pays respects to the Sage!"

Qin Zijun pulled back the curtain of the oxcart, saw the young man, and asked, "Why are you stopping me?"

The scholar respectfully said, "I request an audience with the Sage, hoping that he will accept me as his disciple."

Qin Zijun neither agreed nor refused outright. He scrutinized the other person for a moment, then suddenly asked, "You have talent for cultivation?"

The talent for cultivation he mentioned is the talent for Taoist cultivation.

"Yes, I once met an old Taoist priest who said I had a talent for cultivation and invited me to go up the mountain to cultivate with him."

"Then why don't you go and cultivate yourself?"

The young man bowed respectfully and said, "Cultivation is not my wish."

"So what is your wish?"

"The students aspire to be like the sages, working for the well-being of the people!"

He thought these words would move the sage and make him his disciple.

Unexpectedly, Qin Zijun shook her head and said, "Foolish."

The young man was taken aback, his face filled with confusion, wondering what he had done wrong.

His face flushed red, but facing Qin Sheng, whom everyone in the world revered, he dared not argue and stammered.

Qin Zijun said seriously, "Do you know what all the emperors and generals throughout history have sought in their lives?"

"Well... if I may be so bold as to suggest, perhaps it's about territorial expansion, or perhaps it's about consolidating imperial power?"

The young man tentatively said.

Qin Zijun shook her head: "That's what they thought when they were young. When they get old, all they want is immortality."

"Compared to immortality, what meaning do worldly power and money hold?"

"I'll ask you again, what is the purpose of cultivating the Tao?"

The young man, his mouth dry and parched, stammered, "Longevity and long life."

Qin Zijun laughed and said, "Since you already know, why bother with the trivial? You already possess many things that emperors and generals dream of, why bother coming to me as your teacher?"

The young man blushed and said, "But I don't want these empty promises; I want to do practical things for the people!"

He suddenly realized that this sage was different from what he had imagined. Wasn't the theory he advocated based on the people?

Qin Zijun stroked his growing beard: "You're young now and have such ideals, but how can you guarantee you'll still hold onto those ideals in the future?"

"I'm doing this for your own good, so you won't regret it later."

"Even if you concede that your ideals will remain unchanged throughout your life, you are now a mortal. Even if you dedicate your entire life to serving the people, it will only last for a few decades. What can you possibly accomplish then?"

"But if you cultivate the Dao and achieve the inner elixir, you will have a lifespan of three hundred years; if you achieve the outer realm, you will have a lifespan of a thousand years."

"If you still have this lofty ideal by then, and you are serving the people, that will be a span of hundreds of years. Don't you understand the profound implications?"

After a pause, Qin Zijun continued, "People are born different. Some are born with extraordinary talents, while others are destined to be ordinary."

"Those with the talent for cultivation are already rare. Even the emperors of dynasties can only bestow titles upon a small number of people."

"But the millions of people can only live a hundred years like ordinary people. This is how I founded the Confucian cultivation method, giving those millions of people a chance."

"Even so, my method of cultivation has requirements. One must be naturally intelligent and have literary talent. Only a small number of people among the masses can meet these requirements."

"Though I have a grand wish—that everyone in the world could be like a dragon—I also know that this is fundamentally impossible. All people are born equal, yet they are also unequal!"

Qin Zijun waved her hand: "Life is but a hundred years, youth fades and hair turns white. I only have a hundred years to live, so I can burn myself out and become a flame."

"But you are destined for immortality, why bother with these hundred years? Go, go, make your own choice, and don't regret it later."

The young scholar suddenly understood, and, overcome with gratitude, knelt on the ground and kowtowed, saying, "I will never forget the kindness of the sage's teachings!"

Qin Zijun's words truly guided him out of his confusion, pointed him to the right path, and helped him choose all the directions.

If you still have ideals in the future, then go and realize them; you will have the ability then.

If you regret it, I'm giving you a remedy for it now.

To the young scholars, this was the true teacher, imparting knowledge, teaching skills, and resolving doubts.

The young scholar left with gratitude, and Qin Zijun returned to her carriage.

His words were addressed not only to the young scholar, but also, implicitly, to Wang Shu.

Tell her,

Don't be attached to the present.

Your life has only just begun, and it's barely a tiny fraction of it.

Wang Shu can be quite foolish at times.

But most of the time, she is very smart.

She suddenly said, "Young Master, I don't agree with what you just said."

"Oh? What do you disagree with?"

Wang Shu turned her head to look at him, her eyes bright and clear, seemingly holding boundless emotions.

She said, "Life is short, like a moth drawn to a flame, so steadfast and so magnificent."

"And in the deep mountains and forests, in the lonely moon palace, even if one cultivates for a thousand or ten thousand years, the scenery experienced cannot compare to the magnificent waves and all aspects of human life in these hundred years."

"By then, there will be nothing left in the world that I care about, no one left that I care about. If I have to forget everything, what is the point of living, and what is the meaning of life?"

Wang Shu felt that she was the most qualified to say these words.

In the ancient heavens, she lived for tens of thousands of years.

But at that time she had no emotions, no self, and even though she lived for tens of thousands of years, it was all in vain.

Now, the memories of just a few decades have overshadowed her memories of tens of thousands of years ago.

Everything that happened in these decades is more meaningful than those tens of thousands of years, and it better depicts everything about the person named Wangshu.

Qin Zijun found it rather strange.

Why is there no desire? Why is there no meaning?

You can seek the Tao!

In that instant, Qin Zijun suddenly realized.

It turns out that I was the most steadfast seeker of the truth.

Wang Shu couldn't forget him.

However, even if Qin Zijun had deep feelings for Wang Shu.

In his next life, he will also forget her, treating her as an occasional memory with a smile, as if everything were just fleeting smoke.

Qin Zijun's gaze was fixed only on what was ahead.

His eyes were fixed on the Great Way.

It turns out, I was the most heartless one.

I am the one who... transcends all emotions!