Guidance

Hongku left after the agreed-upon date.

Inside the mansion, the new emperor's gaze frequently swept over Gongsun Hong.

Confucian School masters are relatively rare these days, and those who have cultivated the Southern Bright Fire are even rarer.

Dong Zhongshu performed exceptionally well during the siege of Mayi, but Zhu Jiuyin's unleashing of his Divine Ability, coupled with the new emperor's intervention, left Dong Zhongshu without any follow-up attacks.

In the chaos of war, plans can never keep up with changes.

Dong Zhongshu was unable to verify the effectiveness of the Southern Bright Fire against the Zhu Jiuyin.

The new emperor believed that the Southern Bright Fire could restrain the Yang Soul Transformation Technique, and he believed even more in seeing is believing.

Dong Zhongshu returned to Jiangdu according to the system of the court and the feudal lords, and it would be difficult to summon him to Chang'an City for testing in the short term, but Gongsun Hong had the ability of the Southern Bright Fire.

The cultivation of the Yang Soul Transformation Technique requires a large amount of resources, Divine Ability abilities, talent, and time to bring this technique to its full potential. However, the threshold for cultivating the Southern Bright Fire Technique is not high.

This Fire Technique doesn't require advanced training; even a novice can unleash deadly damage.

Finding an opponent to test against is a problem, since cultivators at the Divine Ability Realm are not common, and those who have painstakingly mastered the Yang Soul Transformation Technique will not use it for testing.

"What a pity about that Hong Hu merchant. I wonder who's been monitoring him. Otherwise, he would have been a good test subject!"

The new emperor and Zhang Xuezhou discussed it in hushed tones.

Zhang Xuezhou is always so capable; even if he doesn't offer solutions, he at least provides a direction.

Those skilled in flying and leaping have a much stronger grasp of the overall situation than ordinary ministers. Unlike many ministers who rely on hearsay from afar, Zhang Xuezhou actually went there and experienced it firsthand.

"Zongzi, has your bird tracked down this merchant from the Hu region?"

Zhang Xuezhou turned to look at Yi Zong beside him.

No amount of display of ability can compare to his performance at this moment. As long as Yi Zong's night owls can keep an eye on people, Yi Zong's role will be very obvious, and he will be highly valued by the court.

"Brother-in-law, my bird is over there, but I'm not sure if the people are there too!"

Yi Zong stood up and quickly pointed.

He wasn't sure if he had tracked them down properly. A night owl's eyes can penetrate the darkness, but a night owl can't see things that don't exist.

Hongku's body appeared and disappeared at different times, which was beyond the comprehension of ordinary cultivators.

This was also the first time Yi Zong had tracked down such a target.

The bad thing was his lack of experience; the good thing was that Hongku went back and forth three times, which gave him too many chances to make mistakes.

He used twelve night owls to track it, and if one went the wrong way, he would try his luck with another.

Yi Zong sensed that the night owls were motionless and had entered a state of surveillance, while eleven other night owls were flying around searching. He felt that the chances of tracking them down were relatively high.

"Want to give it a try?" Zhang Xuezhou asked.

"Yes," the new emperor nodded, then looked at Gongsun Hongdao and said, "The bandits are rampant; I hope Mr. Gongsun can lend us his full assistance!"

"Well... okay!"

Gongsun Hong felt he was doomed.

The theft of the Red Empyrean Sword had a huge impact. His mistakenly entering and residing in this mansion had already drawn countless eyes to him. Many people who knew Gongsun Hong could guess his purpose in coming to Chang'an City, which would inevitably lead some to ruin his future.

He was caught between not being able to stay in the mansion and not being able to leave.

Living here would inevitably draw attention to him. The forces that stole the Red Empyrean Sword would certainly see him as a thorn in their side, while the faction that protected the Red Empyrean Sword was an ally, but if the Red Empyrean Sword were to be stolen, he might be suspected of being an internal traitor.

If he were to leave, Gongsun Hong would not only lose access to information from the heart of Chang'an City, but he would also find it difficult to observe the turmoil in the court, thus potentially missing out on what he wanted.

But Gongsun Hong never expected things to go on one after another.

The imperial court has been embroiled in disputes over the war with the Xiong State these days, and many soldiers have retreated from the front lines to return to Chang'an City to recuperate.

Gongsun Hong learned from Dong Zhongshu that Zhang Xuezhou had also gotten involved, and he was seriously injured in a chaotic fight at the border.

Gongsun Hong thought Zhang Xuezhou would behave himself after being seriously injured, but he never expected that the other party would brazenly do shady business with cultivators from an enemy country.

After discussing their business, the two men decided to follow the merchant Hu and double-cross him.

Zhang Xuezhou even ordered around his brother-in-law whom he had just met, and Gongsun Hong couldn't refuse, especially since there was also an invitation from the Marquis of Pingyang.

He steeled himself and stood up, indicating that he could cooperate.

"Please, sir!"

The new emperor extended a polite invitation, and Gongsun Hong had no choice but to stand at the front, second only to Yi Zong, who was leading the way.

Do you want me to protect you?

Wei Shao'er stood up, saw Zhang Xuezhou shake his head, and quickly sat down again.

"Liu Xuan, tell me, should I be happy or not?"

Seeing Zhang Xuezhou and the others leave, Wei Shao'er breathed a sigh of relief, but then felt a pang of regret.

She breathed a sigh of relief, naturally because she had avoided making enemies with the sorcerers; the reason for her sigh was most likely that Zhang Xuezhou didn't recognize her abilities, and that she wouldn't be of much use to him in the past.

"Teacher, you look beautiful when you smile, so it's naturally better to be happy!"

Liu Xuan, who was sitting at the end of the table, didn't say much until he was asked a question, at which point he answered seriously.

"I can't be happy," Wei Shao'er sighed. "I'd be considered a top-notch fighter in the martial arts world, but even guarding the house here is difficult. Last time, that shorty, who was only half a person's height, slapped me, and before I could even react, he broke my bones!"

"You survived a fight with a powerful demon at the True Self Realm; that's quite an achievement!"

Liu Xuan replied.

His words weren't exactly flattery. If it wasn't Wei Shao'er who discovered Lao Tong, no one could get entangled with him, which would inevitably lead to Lao Tong leaving easily.

"Dongfang Shuo looks down on my skills," Wei Shao'er said dejectedly. "Even if he sat there and let me chop him, I couldn't kill him!"

"The teacher is still young; his future abilities will surely impress everyone!"

"You're the only one who would praise me like that. My sick child never thinks that way; he always laughs at me for not being as capable as others!"

"If you have any family secrets or techniques, please teach me some. I really want to improve!"

"Teacher, you should choose a place to cultivate; you are only one step away from the Sole Self Realm!"

Wei Shao'er and Liu Xuan whispered to each other.

Although he was a teacher, Wei Shao'er followed Zhang Xuezhou's instructions very well, and would often nag Liu Xuan a few words.

Their master-disciple relationship was quite absurd; Liu Xuan rarely sought guidance from Wei Shao'er, while Wei Shao'er instead clung to Liu Xuan.

After a series of back-and-forth exchanges, Liu Xuan was left feeling helpless.

"I visited the ancient capital of Xianyang last time. There's still a barely usable old altar there. If you really want to risk breaking through to a higher cultivation level, you can sacrifice twelve pigs and sheep. Perhaps this, combined with elixirs, will help you succeed in breaking through!"

Liu Xuan finally pointed out a path for Wei Shao'er, but he also clearly warned Wei Shao'er that this kind of sacrifice was not a good solution, and there were more or less some potential problems depending on the individual.

If one can safely advance to a higher level, then the sacrificial ritual is the least desirable option.