Guidance

Being with Gongsun Hong is a very interesting thing.

Gongsun Hong was not as idealistic or reassuring as Dong Zhongshu, but he was a microcosm of countless ordinary people.

Zhang Xuezhou believed that most people in the world were like Gongsun Hong, including himself.

This makes Gongsun Hong's words and actions very practical, rather than idealistic.

Having lived a life of poverty, Gongsun Hong also longed to get rich. He desired beautiful women, to cultivate his skills to a high level, to become a superior person, and to realize everything he wanted.

In Dong Zhongshu's view, these were mostly low-level interests, but they were also the most basic human desires.

"The Grand Astrologer Sima Tan told me that the beautiful woman only costs two hundred thousand..."

Although Zhang Xuezhou did not achieve his goal, he had heard a lot of rumors and had been exposed to everything from the Immortal Court to the buying and selling of millet in the corners of the countryside. This allowed Zhang Xuezhou to talk about anything and there was never a dull moment.

"When we earn a million in the future, we can buy a few beautiful women, and then rise to high positions. That way, our lives won't have been in vain," Gongsun Hong said enthusiastically. "I've heard that women from the Western Regions are fair-skinned and beautiful. If you want to buy, you can choose women from Western Regions. These women don't understand our Eastern Land language, so they speak less and aren't noisy. They're much better than those annoying old women!"

"That makes sense!"

Zhang Xuezhou's expression showed deep agreement, which made Gongsun Hong extremely happy.

Between men, it's all about these things: money, women, self-cultivation, and the future. As long as these topics are touched upon, it can be considered a heart-to-heart conversation.

Thanks to their shared friendship as classmates under Dong Zhongshu, Gongsun Hong and Zhang Xuezhou had a very good relationship at this time.

Both men were sent on long-distance official missions, but the difference was that Gongsun Hong's mission to the Xiong State had failed, while Zhang Xuezhou's was still being dealt with.

Gongsun Hong saw a reflection of himself in Zhang Xuezhou.

"Li Shaojun's whereabouts are unpredictable, but he claims to be a descendant of the founder of Daoism and has even built a Daoist temple to worship Laozi (Li Er). If you can't find him, you might as well wait at his Taiqing Temple; he'll return there when he needs money!"

Gongsun Hong could not inquire why the court wanted to see Li Shaojun, but as long as the Li Shaojun Zhang Xuezhou sought out was someone he knew, Zhang Xuezhou could go to Taiqing Temple to wait.

If Zhang Xuezhou knew the other party, Li Shaojun would naturally appear and talk to Zhang Xuezhou when he returned to Taiqing Temple.

If Zhang Xuezhou and Li Shaojun had no connection, he wouldn't have seen Li Shaojun even if he waited at Taiqing Temple for three years.

The location of Taiqing Temple was in Bohai Commandery, which was also known to Gongsun Hong, and it was not far from Zichuan where he lived.

This news delighted Zhang Xuezhou, who felt he was always running into helpful people when he went out, even encountering someone who could assist him.

"What you said, Mr. Gongsun, has truly solved my urgent problem. Your method is excellent. I'll go to Taiqing Temple to wait for the others!"

Without Gongsun Hong's reminder, Zhang Xuezhou would only have been able to try his luck at Mount Tai and Fengxize, while Gongsun Hong had given him a fixed place to wait.

Zhang Xuezhou had indeed heard Li Shaojun introduce the Daoist temple. Most of Li Shaojun's living expenses came from the Daoist temple. Li Shaojun had some statues placed in the temple, and then people kept coming to worship and constantly putting incense money into the donation box.

Zhang Xuezhou had never been to Li Shaojun's Daoist temple, nor did he know which temple Li Shaojun made his fortune from.

With Hongle lead the way, Zhang Xuezhou suddenly didn't even want to go to Fengxize anymore.

Instead of trying his luck at Feng Xize, he might as well go to Taiqing Temple.

As long as it's confirmed that Li Shaojun will return to Taiqing Temple, Zhang Xuezhou can resolve the matter entrusted to him by the new emperor simply by leaving a note.

He readily agreed, feeling that fulfilling the new emperor's decree was incredibly easy.

With this important matter settled, Zhang Xuezhou could even wander around Shanggu County to look for Ning Cheng, or seek out Zou Bugui at the Xieluosi River Holy Land.

"It's become a bit troublesome after all!"

While Zhang Xuezhou could still enter Shanggu County City normally with the help of official documents from the imperial court, the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains, where the great formation had been moved, were not a place he could go to at will.

Since he became Li Guang's guide, the road he was familiar with could no longer be counted.

If Zhang Xuezhou wanted to go to the Xieluosi River Holy Land, he would have to pass through Yanmen Pass, then the Yedie River Holy Land, before he could reach it normally.

Zhang Xuezhou pondered for a few seconds, realizing that the matter was unlikely to be resolved all at once.

"I've heard of a strange thing," Zhang Xuezhou said. "A Daoist priest cast a spell on the emperor's head, so that after the emperor died and was buried, a strange herb would grow from the emperor's body. That herb emitted a faint purple light, and ordinary people who were exposed to the purple light would fall into hallucinations. I wonder if Mr. Gongsun has heard of such a strange thing?"

Finding it difficult to find Zou Bugui, Zhang Xuezhou turned his attention to others.

Just like when he casually exchanged a few words with Dong Zhongshu and Gongsun Hong, revealing that he was looking for news of Li Shaojun, Gongsun Hong offered his help. This coincidental assistance greatly benefited Zhang Xuezhou, and Zhang Xuezhou was happy to ask more questions about it.

However, his hopes were not fulfilled this time. Gongsun Hong shook his head, indicating that he had never heard of such a strange thing.

"Using the emperor as fertile ground for sacrificial rituals most likely involves plotting against the emperor," Gongsun Hong speculated. "It could also be an evil technique that excels at absorbing the emperor's aura. Such evil techniques require this method to grow, or they might even have the potential to devour an emperor and become one. This kind of technique is extremely dangerous, and the level of conflict involved is beyond our reach."

"That's right!"

Zhang Xuezhou nodded.

Gongsun Hong was familiar with the affairs of the East Sea, Bohai Commandery, and Qi region, but his knowledge was mostly limited to these areas, and he rarely came into contact with affairs in other regions.

When it comes to matters involving the Xiong State, the Sacred Land, the Immortal Court, and the Secret Realm, Gongsun Hong is practically a blank slate.

Suddenly realizing what was happening, Zhang Xuezhou found himself becoming quite knowledgeable, recounting things that others had never even heard of.

Ordinary people could not solve the problems he faced, and even great Confucian scholars like Gongsun Hong were no exception.

Only top-tier Alchemist, emperors, or lords of Sacred Land could provide him with truly accurate guidance.

The two lit a campfire. While Gongsun Hong rested, Zhang Xuezhou gazed at the starry sky, trying to try out Dong Zhongshu's Star Reversal Tracking Technique.

No matter what technique he learned, Zhang Xuezhou would try it out and practice it whenever he had free time.

There are many kinds of skills, and practicing too many will make one seem cumbersome and unskilled, even Zhang Xuezhou is no exception.

He practiced more than twenty kinds of techniques, of which the nine major avoidance techniques accounted for almost half. Each of these techniques was quite complicated, and Zhang Xuezhou had not mastered any of them.

For Zhang Xuezhou, the only skill he was truly proficient in was the Supreme Purity True Technique, which he had learned through countless life-and-death experiences in his early years.

Then there are some quick methods, such as the Technique Within the Clouds, the Soul-Controlling Technique, the Acupoint-Fixing Technique, and the Yang Soul Transformation Technique.

If he cannot quickly master the practice and if it has little effect on his future, Zhang Xuezhou will gradually neglect it, only practicing when he remembers it in his spare time, or only cramming for it when needed.

The Star Reversal Tracking Technique is a product of this kind of cultivation requirement.

Zhang Xuezhou was just trying it out casually.

But after constantly studying astrology, when Zhang Xuezhou looked back at another art, he suddenly understood why Dong Zhongshu often achieved Unity of Celestial Person and Heaven in tracking Technique Method.