Tracing the Source a Second Time

"Your Majesty, how is the situation?"

"Your Majesty is worrying too much!"

Before the trip to Mount Tai, the Empress Dowager and the new emperor had a dispute regarding the art of divination.

It involves the new policy on sports, as well as Han Yan and Zhang Xuezhou.

Han Yan was already dead, so there was nothing more to investigate. The Empress Dowager focused her attention more on Zhang Xuezhou.

As she was performing the ritual at the time, she could sense the power of Zhang Xuezhou's magic, which compelled her to repeatedly give him instructions.

The new emperor waved his hand again, indicating that the Empress Dowager's guess was wrong.

"Dongfang Shuo did indeed cultivate a Qi Body, but it was merely a dragonfish," the new emperor gestured with his hand, "A dragonfish this small. His cultivation level, hampered by the trials and tribulations he encountered at the King of Huainan's Household, wasn't high. If the King of Huainan hadn't provided him with a Qi-enhancing artifact, he would have had considerable difficulty even condensing a Qi Body!"

"Arowana?"

The Empress Dowager found it somewhat hard to imagine, but she had to admit that seeing was believing.

While there isn't a hierarchy of contempt in the cultivation of magic, dragonfish, which aren't even considered sub-dragons, are indeed very low-grade.

Only by leaping over the Dragon Gate can a fish become a dragon, and a dragon must endure countless hardships to transform into a true dragon.

In terms of athletic performance, Zhang Xuezhou is two levels below the new emperor. He is not up to par with the new emperor and will never be able to pose a threat to him in his lifetime.

The other party started cultivating ahead of time, but the advantage of starting ahead is almost zero.

Only then did the Empress Dowager feel completely at ease. She glanced in the direction of Zhang Xuezhou's residence and realized that she had been too suspicious after serving Emperor Jing for so many years.

"Your Majesty, please speak again about the Mount Tai sacrifice. The Empress Dowager has some skill in divination and may be able to answer some of Your Majesty's questions!"

"Then I really have a lot of questions I want to ask!"

In the main hall of the Weiyang Palace, the new emperor, having finished his bath, entered the hall and met with the Empress Dowager.

The new emperor left and returned quickly, in just two days. No changes occurred in the court, but the new emperor experienced many things.

Even with the Immortal Court in ruins, the new emperor no longer suspects the Empress Dowager of having any ulterior motives, and is instead able to communicate sincerely with her.

The Taishan sacrifice was not the main point; the main point was the many things that happened to the new emperor afterward.

He spoke eloquently, while the Empress Dowager's expression grew increasingly solemn.

In his residence outside the palace, Zhang Xuezhou walked home for a while. It just so happened that Yi Shuo, who was on holiday, wanted to go to Laoshu Hutong to visit Zheng Wukong.

Couples like them are rare, so Yi Shuo was both delighted and surprised to see Zhang Xuezhou.

"It's been another month since I last saw my husband. It's so good to see him back!"

"Ha~"

Yi Shuo looked delighted, while Zhang Xuezhou appeared somewhat embarrassed.

He comes back quickly, and he'll leave just as quickly.

If the destination is a good place, that's fine; he can apply for a transfer order to bring Yi Shuo there. But a desolate place like Mount Tai is better left alone.

Despite the fact that many emperors went to Mount Tai to offer sacrifices and that the mountain was maintained from time to time, the weeds grew very fast. If the mountain was not maintained for half a year, it would become a field of weeds, thus becoming a paradise for snakes, insects, rats and ants.

Rather than taking Yi Shuo to Mount Tai, Zhang Xuezhou would be better off flying back to Chang'an City to reunite them.

"Princess Pingyang has been frightened. Has something happened to us?"

While Yi-seo wasn't particularly well-informed in the palace, she was extremely knowledgeable about matters concerning the sick.

She didn't have the awkwardness that comes with couples not seeing each other for a long time, and quickly put her arm around Zhang Xuezhou's right hand, then talked about things that Zhang Xuezhou was likely familiar with, thus making Zhang Xuezhou less reserved.

"Princess Pingyang was probably frightened by Daojun. These guards couldn't defend against cultivators of this level. He still managed to save face and didn't act to the point of being shameless," Zhang Xuezhou said after thinking for a moment. "But you might face some risks. I'll find you a helper in the next couple of days. She's fine except for eating a bit too much!"

"My husband will definitely make the arrangements perfectly!"

Yi Shuo nodded repeatedly.

To be honest, having a master like Wei Shao'er to guard the mansion was already a very high level, not to mention the Red Empyrean Sword hanging in the main hall, the four Marquis's residences assisting in patrols, and the two night owls Yi Zong. But everything was decided by Zhang Xuezhou, and Yi Shuo was happy to accept it.

"My cousin and I will be going to Mount Tai on business. It will be a good time to leave Chang'an City for a while, so we can try to get through these troubles and avoid having to be on guard all the time," Zhang Xuezhou said.

"Are you going on a long journey?" Yi Shuo asked.

"Mount Tai isn't far," Zhang Xuezhou said. "My trip back doesn't take long, it's faster than you taking a carriage to Old Master Zheng's place. As long as I'm not tied up, I'll come back every now and then!"

"I get the feeling that Mount Tai you're talking about is near Chang'an City. Isn't this job no different from repairing the Maoling Mausoleum?" Yi Shuo asked curiously.

"Not much difference!"

Zhang Xuezhou nodded.

As long as you fly fast enough, the difference between where you do things and where it takes a little more time is just that.

Before leaving, Zhang Xuezhou needed to take care of his business, such as settling Kong Ning in, and having Yi Shuo receive Venerable Lei, who Li Shaojun might send to deliver a message, so that he could also use Venerable Lei or Kong Ning to inform him.

These are few things, but they are extremely important, and only close family members can handle them on their behalf.

"By the way, it seems the teacher is making some progress in his research on elixirs. Would you like to go check it out with me?"

"You've already made progress?"

After Zhang Xuezhou finished recounting his own story, Yi Shuo began to tell other related tales.

This surprised Zhang Xuezhou, who had just finished refining a batch of pills, as he felt that Zheng Wukong and the others had deciphered the pills too quickly.

Thinking of the significance of the Longevity Pill, he immediately abandoned his idea of going to Maoling to meet Rong Tianding, and instead followed Yi Shuo to Laoshu Hutong in the carriage.

Let's talk about spiritual practice!

The carriage journey from the Imperial City District to Laoshu Hutong was long, and Zhang Xuezhou couldn't openly use the Imperial Shuttle for personal purposes. After finishing their private conversation, Zhang Xuezhou waited for a while before finally explaining cultivation to Yi Shuo.

Regarding marital and romantic relationships, Zhang Xuezhou and Ren Anran's interactions mainly revolved around the path of spiritual cultivation. After spending a long time with Yi Shuo, he also unconsciously consulted her and discussed related topics with her as well.

This way of getting along as a couple might seem a bit boring to outsiders, but fortunately, Yi Shuo seems to enjoy it. She is always supportive of whatever Zhang Xuezhou talks about, and she is especially focused when discussing spiritual practice.

"My lords, we've arrived!"

The journey can be long while waiting in a carriage, but if you focus on your work, the time will pass quickly.

Zhang Xuezhou explained the techniques of the 108,000 acupoints, which included the Grain Avoidance Instruction and poison-avoidance techniques practiced by Yi Shuo, as well as the Nine-Turn Qi-Harmonizing Technique of the Medical School where Chunyu Tiying was from.

Yi Shuo listened attentively, and occasionally used silver needles to mark herself.

When she arrived at her destination, she was still somewhat reluctant to leave, feeling that her brain wanted to listen but was starting to have difficulty remembering.

"Take it slow. We'll improve once we reach a certain level. This technique needs to become second nature to the body; if you remember it wrong, it will be difficult to use!"

"It's so hard for me to remember! I wish I could be as clever as my husband!"

"You're already incredibly talented!"

Zhang Xuezhou was the first to jump off the carriage, followed by Yi Shuo.

Zhang Xuezhou gave a serious evaluation of Yi Shuo, noting that his memory was an extraordinary memory derived from spiritual power, completely different from Yi Shuo's.

The 108,000 techniques tormented Ren Anran and the others. Many of them, with the help of modern data models, human body models, images and other related methods, only chose the Poison Avoidance Technique when cultivating.

Yi Shuo's cultivation involved three types, and her cultivation level was close to entering the Divine Ability Realm.

This ability is already very strong. Although it is not as good as Zhang Xuezhou and Divine Lord Zhenyuan, Zhang Xuezhou has not seen anyone else who surpasses Yi Shuo's learning ability.

"Still all lovey-dovey there? Let me tell you, we're completely finished this time!"

After Zhang Xuezhou and the others paid for their journey and exchanged a few words, before they even stepped into Zheng Wukong's courtyard, Zheng Wukong had already come out on his own initiative.

He looked dejected, clearly shaken by the reverse deciphering of the Longevity Elixir, and felt that Zhang Xuezhou would find it difficult to replicate the elixir.

Zheng Wukong's crazy idea of achieving a thousand-year lifespan by accumulating hundreds of longevity pills was also shattered.

--

I caught the flu, and the symptoms are no different from COVID-19 three years ago. I've been up for three days and haven't recovered. My head is spinning and I can't write properly, so I'll use my saved drafts as a temporary update. I'll resume three updates a day once I'm better. Dear readers, please remember to wear masks; this virus spreads really fast.