Advancing to the Second Rank (3)

Xu Qi'an opened his eyes, stopped his comprehension, and his gaze fell on Mu Nanzhi's face. At this moment, her cheeks were flushed, and she looked delicate and charming.

Xu Qi'an stared at the beauty before him, her beauty striking yet not vulgar, alluring yet not seductive, as radiant as a delicate flower in June, as graceful as a lotus emerging from the water. For a moment, he didn't know whether to contemplate the "shattering of jade" or to savor the beauty.

Her fair wrists were like frost and snow, her face as shy as a lotus flower; her skin was delicate and her figure perfectly proportioned; her waist was slender and light as a feather.

His gaze gradually became intoxicated. The Flower Goddess was the most beautiful woman in the world, and such a stunning beauty was now at his mercy. Tears welled up in his eyes.

Mental satisfaction can even outweigh physical satisfaction.

As the Qi circulated, circulating through the body repeatedly, the spiritual essence within Mu Nanzhi's body continuously merged into the Qi, entering Xu Qi'an's body through the circulation of Qi, making the aura of the Flower Goddess on his body increasingly strong.

He was surrounded by darkness until a beam of light pierced through the darkness, illuminating the ignorant and barren land.

Suddenly, the soil was "arched" up, and a patch of green broke through the soil layer and emerged.

It was a tiny tree bud.

With a "what's done is done" attitude, he looked at the green sprouts while recalling the experience of achieving harmony with the Dao shared by Kou Yangzhou.

"The essence of 'harmonizing with the Way' is to elevate the martial artist's 'Way' and create the most perfect principle, but what constitutes the most perfect principle?"

"There are countless ways of the sword, some are offensive, some are defensive, some are fast, some are slow, some are grand and sweeping, and some are unorthodox. Which one is the most perfect? Kou Yangzhou didn't know either. So his physical body collapsed into worms, each of which insisted on its own way being the most perfect. As a result, he Qi Deviation."

"My path is to shatter like jade, rather than remain whole like a broken tile. So, to perfect my path and elevate it is to push the essence of shattering like jade to its ultimate limit?"

At this time, tender green buds grow, the main trunk becomes thick and strong, and branching branches grow. It grows into a big tree at a speed visible to the naked eye. Under the protection of its shade, there are more green spots and tender green grass grows.

Xu Qi'an's heart stirred, as if he were seeing himself reflected in the mirror, and he murmured:

The development of things does not necessarily mean pushing them to the extreme; perfection can also be defined as making up for shortcomings.

"If necessary, I am willing to break rather than bend, even to shatter like jade, but I am not a reckless madman. I have a will to live, and I personally want to survive."

He examined himself, saw his true self, and understood his original intention in comprehending the meaning of "shattering the jade."

Those in dire straits have nowhere to retreat, and thus they unleash the courage to die rather than surrender. But the most fundamental motivation is, in fact, survival.

If he had lost all will to live at that time, he would not have been able to comprehend the meaning of "jade shattering."

In the blink of an eye, bolts of lightning struck down, hitting the large tree before them and turning it into charred remains, extinguishing its life force.

Many years later, it miraculously came back to life, its charred trunk sprouting tender green buds.

"My jade shattering was too ruthless. It lacked vitality and the will to survive. But I am already immortal, so self-healing is meaningless to me."

He gazed at the towering tree, lost in thought once more.

The towering tree continued to grow, seemingly without limit, slowly growing into a colossal creature thousands of feet tall with branches and leaves covering ten miles.

Countless creatures dwell upon it, drawing nourishment and spiritual essence from it.

But instead of withering away, it grew stronger and stronger. The more creatures depended on it for survival, the more desperately it seized the power of heaven and earth to strengthen itself.

In the end, it became an immortal tree.

Xu Qi'an tilted his head back, gazing intently at the immortal tree, his eyes reflecting its lush greenery and vibrant life. He remained in that position for a long time without moving.

Ten years of arduous cultivation, a single day of enlightenment.

At this moment, he stepped into the second-grade Dao Integration Realm.

At this moment, Star-Gazing Tower, streaks of starlight hung down, illuminating the Eight Trigrams Platform.

An extraordinary natural phenomenon.

Xu Qi'an opened his eyes and saw a messy bed and a beautiful woman lying on the bed. Hormones and the woman's fragrance mingled together, like a potent aphrodisiac.

Mu Nanzhi's gaze was unfocused, and her fair skin, including her cheeks and neck, was flushed with a rosy hue.

She seemed to be in a deep sleep. Xu Qi'an sensed that the spiritual energy within her body was beginning to recover, while a large part of his energy remained within the Flower Goddess's body, just as a large part of the Flower Goddess's spiritual energy was absorbed by him.

At Lingbao Temple, Luo Yuheng, dressed in a feathered robe and wearing a lotus crown, walked from the meditation room to the courtyard, holding a whisk.

She stared at the Star-Gazing Tower, her delicate brows furrowed. After a long while, she suddenly let out a cold snort, flicked her sleeve, and returned to her quiet room.

"If only I hadn't been so soft-hearted back then, I would have sold her to a brothel."

A murmur came from the darkness.

"Your Highness, word has come in that the Bureau of Astronomy is observing unusual phenomena."

Huaiqing was gently shaken awake by the head palace maid beside him.

Upon hearing of the unusual phenomena observed at the Bureau of Astronomy, she immediately sat up, her sleepiness vanishing, and said:

"Bring me a robe."

His tone had a languid quality, as if he had just woken up.

The head palace maid brought over a thick, wide-sleeved robe, and with a flick of Huaiqing's wrist, the robe draped over his shoulders with a rustling sound.

She stepped out of her bedroom, her body as light as a feather, and leaped up to stand on the roof ridge, gazing towards the direction of the Bureau of Astronomy.

From her angle, the Bureau of Astronomy stood alone, with only one-third of its structure visible.

At this moment, streaks of starlight hung down from the night sky, illuminating the Star-Gazing Tower.

Huaiqing frowned and pondered, but couldn't come up with a solution.

She immediately leaped off the roof, returned to her bedchamber, dismissed the palace maids, and retrieved a fragment of the Earth Book from under her pillow, sending a message:

[Part 1: Xu Ningyan, are the unusual phenomena observed by the Bureau of Astronomy related to you?]

At a time when the Great Feng was in turmoil, such an unusual phenomenon occurred at the Bureau of Astronomy. She could not pretend not to see it, nor could she remain calm and not think about it or ask about it.

She didn't receive a response from Xu Qi'an; instead, Li Miaozhen sent a letter replying first:

[Part Two: What happened at the Bureau of Astronomy? What happened to Xu Ningyan?]

Then there was the top scholar, Chu Yuanzhen:

[Four: It can't be a bad thing, can it? But these past few days, Xu Ningyan mysteriously, secretly plotting something, without sending us any messages.]

Then Master Hengyuan jumped out to explain:

[Six: Lord Xu's fate is intertwined with that of the Great Feng Dynasty, and Emperor Yongxing is also seeking peace. For him, this is a situation of both internal and external troubles. How could he possibly have the mood to send us letters and chat idly?]

At this time, members of the Heaven and Earth Society saw the letter being passed around late at night and actively participated in the discussion:

[8: It seems he has been promoted to the second rank.]

[Part Two: Reaching the Second Rank of Dao Integration?]

Li Miaozhen said, "Are you kidding me? You think you can just step into the second rank of Dao Integration like that?"

Looking across the entire Nine Provinces, how many are of the second rank?

[Seven: Haha, Number Eight is quite interesting. I like your naivety. However, you might not know that Xu Qi'an is afflicted with the Demon-Sealing Nail, which is difficult to remove. Under these circumstances, it's impossible for him to advance.]

[Four: The strange phenomena at the Bureau of Astronomy might be a backup plan from the Director, or it might be something else. But the Holy Son is right, Xu Ningyan still has a Demon-Sealing Nail inside him, so it can't possibly be him. Number Eight, you probably don't know what a Demon-Sealing Nail is, let me explain it to you.]

[The Demon-Sealing Nail is a magical Law Artifact crafted by the Buddha. It once sealed away the Asura King—yes, the one the Holy Son told you about, the father of Asura.]

[Secondly: On another note, Asura was still defeated by Xu Qi'an.]

Bai Ji awoke from her deep sleep, feeling dizzy and disoriented, unsure of who she was or where she was.

It raised its two paws, rubbed its black button-like eyes, looked left and right, and surveyed its surroundings, realizing that it was inside a pagoda.

There are two Movement Method on the south and west sides, and an old monk with a white beard sits cross-legged by the tea table on the east side.

Where is my aunt?

Bai Ji staggered toward the old monk, Ta Ling.

The old monk Taling examined it closely and said gently:

You don't look well.

Bai Ji staggered, like a human after a hangover, and said in a childish voice, puzzled:

"Last night I dreamt I was adrift at sea, the ship rocking and rocking, I wanted to wake up but couldn't, I was in a daze, and I heard my aunt crying, it sounded like she was being beaten."

It also dreamed that its aunt was being beaten, with loud slapping sounds, and it felt very angry, wanting to avenge its aunt, but it couldn't wake up no matter what it did.

The old monk Taling listened quietly, then explained:

"You were brought in; Benefactor Xu and Benefactor Mu did not enter."

As he spoke, he beckoned to the image of the Pharmacist, and the jade bottle held in the palm of the image emitted fine shards of light that drifted into Bai Ji's body.

The fox cub rolled comfortably on the ground, revealing its soft little belly, then scrambled to its feet, beaming with delight:

"This feels so good, so good, my dizziness is gone."

"Thank you, Master."

The old monk Taling smiled and nodded, clasped his hands together, and bowed his head in silence.

The little fox jumped onto the prayer mat beside the old monk, curled up, and waited for Mu Nanzhi to call it. As it waited, it fell asleep again.

The next day, at dawn.

The sky is darkest before dawn, and torches blaze brightly at the Meridian Gate.

Civil and military officials gathered quietly outside the Meridian Gate, waiting for the drums to sound and for the court assembly to begin.

At the same moment, Ji Yuan, dressed neatly, walked out of the room.

Xu Yuanshuang and Xu Yuanhuai were already waiting in the hall. In addition, there were four other senior and highly learned elders from the negotiation team.

They were in high spirits, radiant with energy, and bursting with ambition, wishing they could sprout wings and overpower their lord and the Emperor of Great Feng in the Golden Palace, thus showcasing the might of Yunzhou.

After a simple breakfast, Ji Yuan led the six men out. As they walked into the courtyard, he saw a young man dressed in a silver-plated official's uniform, with a lively demeanor and fairly handsome features, staring coldly at him.

"How should I address this gentleman?"

Ji Yuan asked with a smile.

"Song Tingfeng!"

The silver gong's tone was as cold as his expression.

"Nice name," Ji Yuan commented casually, then walked up to him with a smile and asked:

"I wonder in what way I have offended Lord Song?"

"Since yesterday, Lord Song's gaze towards me has been extremely unfriendly."

Song Tingfeng's smile was forced and insincere.

Why should we give our enemies a friendly look?

"What a vengeful enemy!"

Ji Yuan clicked his tongue repeatedly:

"Remember this: when I see your Emperor of Great Feng in the Golden Palace, I will say that the night watchman, Nightwatchers Song Tingfeng, considers me an enemy and attempted to assassinate me."

"Lord Song, how do you think your emperor will deal with you?"

Song Tingfeng's expression changed.

Ji Yuan sneered:

"You consider me an enemy? You're nothing but a lowly silver gong master!"