"When did the princess return to the city?"
The news of Princess Xiyao's return made Chen Qing's heart tighten.
"Three days ago." A shadow crossed Xu Zhaoying's brow. "This time, her excursion went rather poorly. We lost several attendants."
Chen Qing sensed regret in her voice. A hint of worry seemed to cloud her brow, and some of her usual carefree ease had faded.
"Enough about that." Xu Zhaoying abruptly changed the subject. "Tomorrow at the hour of the Dragon, the princess will summon those who excelled in the evaluations to her residence. If you've finished refining your theory of dividing the Yellow Court Realm into four stages, this is the perfect opportunity to present it. As long as you earn her favor, you won't have to worry about being sent back to the Mysterious Prison."
Chen Qing's gaze shifted.
Cultivating in the dream had many advantages, but he wasn't after cultivation level. He wanted experience, knowledge, Visualization Diagrams, and the like. If he earned the princess's favor, he might gain access to more advanced techniques and resources.
It was worth doing.
Then he would do it properly.
"Sorry for the trouble, Fellow Daoist Xu." He clasped his hands in thanks. "What sort of topics does the princess like? I'd like to prepare in advance."
Xu Zhaoying's smile vanished. She raised an eyebrow slightly. "What? Has General Chen, whose Spiritual Bone was crippled, learned to flatter people too? When you talk with me, you never show the slightest courtesy. Whenever you point out a mistake, you're blunt and merciless."
Chen Qing paused. After thinking for a moment, he said, "If you beat around the bush when pointing out mistakes, you can't make the warning sink in."
"Don't be nervous." Xu Zhaoying's expression turned serious again. "The princess detests flatterers. You have genuine talent, so speak plainly." She turned to leave, but stopped at the door. "The treatment for the stone mottling in the bones has indeed worked. I'll remember this favor."
After Xu Zhaoying left, Chen Qing immediately sat cross-legged and entered meditation. He needed to adjust himself before meeting the princess tomorrow, and to familiarize himself with the changes to his dream-body.
Supreme Harmony Qi flowed through his meridians, cleansing them like a clear spring.
Unlike the sluggishness he felt cultivating in the real world, spiritual energy in the dream world was so abundant it bordered on extravagance. Spiritual energy poured into him with every breath, and his cultivation rose as it cycled through his body.
"No wonder the dream-body progresses so quickly." He sighed to himself. "Even with talent and a solid foundation, without such abundant spiritual energy, this sort of progress would be hard to achieve."
But he soon pushed those thoughts aside. His urgent task was to use this opportunity in the dream to improve his strength and face the crisis outside it. There was no use dwelling on anything else.
Night fell, but Chen Qing remained seated, regulating his breath. It was both a form of rest and a chance to sort through the past year and a half.
When he had last awoken in the dream, he had focused only on memories of cultivation. Then Xu Zhaoying's visit had forced him to rush through everything else. If the princess asked about details of his past tomorrow, he needed to answer fluently and avoid needless complications.
Memories surged in like a tide, one after another—
Since his consciousness had last been pulled away, the dream-body had devoted himself to arduous cultivation in this quiet courtyard, gradually earning the name "cultivation fanatic."
Half a year ago, on a rainy night, he had suddenly gained an insight. He incorporated the principle of "balancing hardness and softness" from the Sea and Mountain Remnant Scroll into the Great Mountain Art, merging the spiritual energy of the earth's veins with Supreme Harmony Qi. The fused energy surged of its own accord, circulating nine times through the Twelve Meridians. It cleansed his marrow and drew in qi, allowing him to break through into the middle stage of the Second Realm in a single leap.
At the time, spiritual energy had condensed into rain and shrouded the courtyard. The astonishing phenomenon had alarmed everyone.
After Lü Han came to see for himself, he sighed, "Truly a heaven-gifted genius! To make such progress with your Spiritual Bone crippled—I've lived for three hundred years, and this is the first time I've seen anything like it."
After that, Xu Zhaoying began visiting much more often.
What had begun as occasional questions about difficult points gradually turned into regular discussions of the Dao. Since she was so open and forthright, she never held back when discussing the Vast Scripture, and Chen Qing had benefited greatly. He had recorded its key points, and the two had grown considerably closer.
"I never imagined the dream-body had once dazzled everyone, or even discussed the Dao with a beautiful woman..." Chen Qing was at a loss for words. Then he thought about it again. It was only a dream. It didn't matter if the dream-body made a bit of a stir. As long as he gained insights and studied techniques, the rewards were real.
"Still, in the real world outside the dream, breaking through from the early to the middle stage of the Second Realm requires using a Lightning Struck Peach Wood Heart to guide the spiritual energy of the earth's veins through the Twelve Meridians nine times, then supplementing it with Marrow Cleansing Grass to soothe the meridians. Even then, success is only possible. But here in the dream, the sheer abundance of spiritual energy made it all happen as naturally as water flowing downhill!"
Before entering the dream, he had planned to use a medicinal formula from the real world that could assist with a breakthrough as bargaining leverage to trade for opportunities here. Now, the thought seemed utterly pointless. With nothing to focus his mind on, he went to the bookshelf, took out a notebook, and began reciting from it to calm himself.
The notebook contained simple diagrams of the meridian pathways, with instructions on tempering each acupoint. It was a fragment of the Vast Scripture that he had recorded after discussing the Dao with Xu Zhaoying. Its theories on changes in the Water Element happened to complement the sea-like essence of the Sea and Mountain Remnant Scroll.
"All rivers flow to the sea, and all streams return to their source. Water is soft by nature, yet a drop can pierce stone..."
Chen Qing softly recited the mantra. Supreme Harmony Qi flowed through his body with each word, while the crystal droplets of water on his skin traced a mysterious path before finally gathering at his Yellow Court. In an instant, the qi within him surged like a great river. A hazy mist of water shrouded him within a foot, swirling in a soft, ethereal haze.
"The Vast Scripture is water, returning to the sea; the Great Mountain Art is a mountain. Could both be merged into the Sea and Mountain Remnant Scroll to complete this technique?"
At a thought, the mountain-like true meaning of the Great Mountain Heavenly Art also rose and fell within his meridians, as solid as a mountain, unmoving and majestic.
The two techniques—one soft, one hard; one sea, one mountain—should have complemented each other. Yet because their methods of circulation had not been fully harmonized, they faintly clashed!
"Ugh—"
His meridians suddenly felt as if they were being pricked by needles!
Surging waves and towering mountains collided with a thunderous crash, erupting with unprecedented power. Spiritual light flashed across Chen Qing's body, where patterns like mountain stone intertwined with mist, and his aura soared!
Boom!
Water-light bloomed at Chen Qing's feet, and the ground cracked!
A violent wave of energy spun outward, sending everything in the room toppling and scattering into pieces!
"What explosive power! If this continues, my meridians will be damaged!"
Chen Qing's heart jolted, and he immediately came to his senses. This accidental collision of mountain and sea could briefly boost his fighting strength, even unleashing a terrifying blow, but it damaged the very foundations of his meridians.
He immediately focused his mind and guided the two forces apart, slowly returning them to their source.
After regulating his breath, he wiped the fine sweat from his brow and carefully reflected on what had just happened. A spark of excitement flashed in his eyes.
"The mountain's weight and the sea tide's fury collide like raging waves rolling over one another. It can't last, but for one instant it can unleash power far beyond my own realm!" He lightly touched his chest. "In a crisis, this move, 'Mountain Crash and Sea Roar,' lasts only an instant, but it can unleash my potential and let me fight beyond my realm. It's a trump card worth having."
But then Chen Qing thought it over again.
"This move should only be used by the dream-body. My real body is frail. Forcing it would risk damaging my foundation."
The path of cultivation demanded gradual progress. This was especially true of his physical body in the real world, which still needed a foundation for longevity. He couldn't afford to wear it down recklessly.
As he thought, he settled back into meditation. This time, he didn't force the techniques to merge, but carefully studied their mysteries and sought a balance between hardness and softness.
"The Sea and Mountain Remnant Scroll already emphasizes 'hiding the sea's essence within the mountain's form.' Perhaps that can serve as a bridge and truly unite the two techniques..."
By the time the eastern sky paled, Chen Qing had finished changing.
He chose a long indigo robe, one that was respectful without looking too deliberate.
"Fellow Daoist Chen, are you ready?" Xu Zhaoying called from outside the door.
"Coming."
Before leaving, Chen Qing tucked several cultivation manuals and his notebook into the storage brocade pouch against his body. It had been a gift from Lü Han and contained a space three feet square.
When he opened the door, the female cultivator was still dressed simply and neatly.
Chen Qing saluted. "Sorry for the trouble, Fellow Daoist. Please show me the way."
Xu Zhaoying looked him up and down, then smiled. "Let's go. We shouldn't keep the princess waiting."
As they made their way through the streets, Chen Qing suddenly sensed something strange about the city. There were twice as many guards at the gates as he remembered from the fragments of memory, and few people walked the streets. A faint, rusty, fishy smell hung in the air, like sea wind mingled with the scent of blood.
"Fellow Daoist Xu, has something happened in the city?" he asked in a lowered voice.
"Three days ago, the princess was attacked on her way back to the city." Xu Zhaoying didn't slow her pace. Her voice was barely audible. "They're hunting down the conspirators."
Chen Qing frowned slightly.
Being assassinated in her own fiefdom meant the princess's situation was more complicated than he had imagined, and the state of affairs in this immortal dynasty seemed all the more bewildering.
They turned onto a long street, where a dark green residence stood like a crouching beast.
Twelve pan-ao lions perched on the eaves. At first glance, they looked like ornaments, but on closer inspection, their eyes followed the passersby.
"These are pan-ao lions bestowed by imperial decree." Xu Zhaoying noticed Chen Qing's gaze. "They were refined around the essence-blood of suanni. Each one has the cultivation of the Third Realm! At a critical moment, they can burn their essence-blood to increase their fighting strength."
Chen Qing felt a chill in his heart.
Twelve guards equivalent to the Third Realm stood outside the residence alone. The immortal dynasty princess's resources truly ran deep!
An old man in a black robe embroidered with silver patterns stood with his hands behind his back before the residence's gate. His sleeves stirred despite the still air. He was none other than Lord Dingbo, who had selected Chen Qing in the Mysterious Prison all those years ago.
"Chen Xu, it's been a while." The wrinkles at the corners of the old man's eyes deepened in a smile. He seemed entirely different from the man Chen Qing had seen in prison. "I've read your insights into the First Realm seven times over. Very impressive. After more than a year of secluded cultivation, have you filled in the details?"
Chen Qing saluted, his gaze shifting slightly. Sunlight revealed faint scales behind the old man's ear.
A hybrid of the Hundred Races!
"I've filled in most of the gaps." Chen Qing kept his expression composed, but was secretly surprised. This close aide of the princess had blood from another race. Thinking of the Tenth Princess's bloodline of the Qingqiu foxes, he immediately realized that the waters here ran deep indeed.
"Good! Good!" Lord Dingbo suddenly clapped, his voice booming like a bell. "Study hard. If you earn the princess's favor, not only could you gain your freedom, but restoring the Chen clan might not be impossible either!"
Listening to Lord Dingbo, Chen Qing thought, If I really were Chen Xu, I might have entertained that idea. Unfortunately, all I want now is to cultivate.
But halfway through the thought, he froze as he remembered the identity of this dream-body.
Could it be that this princess really was the one who helped him rebuild the sect and revive its legacy?
At that moment, Xu Zhaoying suddenly spoke. "Lord Dingbo, I just remembered an urgent matter I need to handle. I'm afraid I can't accompany Fellow Daoist Chen to meet the princess."
Lord Dingbo frowned. "What matter is so urgent?"
Xu Zhaoying replied, "A batch of ancient books has arrived from Yujing. They've just been delivered, and the princess asked me to inspect them personally."
Lord Dingbo considered this for a moment, then waved his hand. "If it's the princess's order, go ahead. Chen Xu will come with me."
Xu Zhaoying nodded in acknowledgment. As she left, her lips barely moved as she sent Chen Qing a secret message: "Remember to be careful inside. There are people from other factions there. Watch out for them." Then she turned and disappeared around the street corner.
Chen Qing's heart tightened.
Xu Zhaoying's parting warning had come out of nowhere. Could there be more to today's summons than met the eye?
"Let's go." Lord Dingbo flicked his sleeve and turned toward the residence.
Chen Qing followed close behind. The moment he crossed the threshold, he felt ten thousand icy needles pierce his body, cold sinking straight into his bones. He kept his expression calm, though his fists tightened slightly inside his sleeves. He looked up—and the view before him suddenly opened wide!
Twelve coiling-dragon pillars soared to the heavens, each wrapped in a living flood dragon. Some were as slender as an arm, while the thickest were as broad as barrels. As Lord Dingbo passed, every one of them lowered its head in respect.
"These are the princess's spirit pets," Lord Dingbo explained casually. "They usually guard the residence."
Chen Qing was secretly startled. The aura from the flood dragons as thick as barrels made his breathing catch. They must have reached the Third Realm of cultivation!
"As expected of a dream. Even a great sect wouldn't have such extravagant arrangements in the real world, would it? In reality, any one of these flood dragons could found a sect in some remote place. Here, they're only fit to guard a residence?"
At the end of the corridor stood a bronze gate carved with a scene of the myriad beasts paying homage.
Lord Dingbo stopped before it and took out a jade token, pressing it into the recess at the center of the gate.
The bronze doors opened, and sandalwood incense drifted out.
Beyond them was a spacious circular hall. Four bronze crane lamps held pearls in their beaks, casting a soft glow. At the very center, behind a white jade table, sat a woman in palace attire with a light veil covering her face.
She wore plain white robes. Only her cool, clear phoenix eyes pierced through the veil.
The immortal dynasty's Tenth Princess, Xi Yao.
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