The Pursuit
"My uncle's health is failing; he refuses to practice the Yang Soul Transformation Technique!"
"What a pity!"
Zhang Xuezhou had not been back at his residence for long when the new emperor arrived.
His location was very close to the Sima Gate tower, and he was under the watchful eyes of the surrounding mansions. Anyone loitering around the mansions would inevitably be noticed.
To Zhang Xuezhou's surprise, the new emperor arrived quite quickly, and it was clear that his abilities had undergone a qualitative change after entering the True Self Realm.
When Zhang Xuezhou carefully sensed the new emperor, he could even feel the impending storm approaching, the oppressive aura flamboyant, violent, and powerful.
If one is inferior in strength, or has something to hide, speaking with the new emperor will inevitably be a nerve-wracking experience.
As if aware of his own arrogance, the new emperor maintained a certain distance when communicating with Zhang Xuezhou.
He spoke with a pointed remark, to which Zhang Xuezhou could only sigh repeatedly.
"Do you think Daojun performed a ritual to break my uncle's body?" the new emperor asked.
"He has neither the reason nor the power to target the Prime Minister!"
Zhang Xuezhou shook his head, and the information he spoke brought a smile to the new emperor's face.
Zhang Xuezhou was undoubtedly the one who knew Daojun's physical condition best. Although he had already guessed, the information confirmed by Zhang Xuezhou still excited the new emperor.
Daojun is the sharpest blade in the Northern Kuru Continent. Without the restraint of this blade, the backbone of the Northern Kuru Continent cultivator group is as if half of it has been removed.
Just as the Xiong State feared Li Guang's attacks the most, the cultivators of the Great Han Dynasty were equally afraid of being named by the Dao Lord. There were even rumors that some prominent cultivators had been killed by the Dao Lord.
Although the new emperor was well aware that most of these reports were fabricated, no one had actually confronted Daojun; Tian Fen and the Empress Dowager were the examples before him.
"Unfortunately, even the Zhongdao Jun who used the throwing knives could not escape death in the end!"
The initial joy was followed by sadness.
Tian Fen was stabbed and cursed by the Seven Arrows of Nailhead. Although he managed to withstand the injury from the Immortal-Slaying Flying Knife thanks to the Supreme Ten-Ingredient Tonic Pill, and he was able to resist the Seven Arrows of Tian Fen thanks to his True Self Realm cultivation, Tian Fen was still a little lacking in his ability to defend against both Incantation Technique.
The Ten-Ingredient Tonic Pill can only stabilize the injury and prevent it from flaring up. Tian Fen's True Self Realm cultivation is slightly lacking, and he also lacks physical protection when he was cursed.
In the short half month since Zhang Xuezhou returned to the real world, Tian Fen's health has deteriorated day by day, and now he can only lie in bed.
There was no elixir that could cure Tian Fen's illness, but Tian Fen had another path to take.
"To survive in the Yang Soul Incarnation state, one must sever the connection to the physical body," Zhang Xuezhou said. "Perhaps there will be other solutions in the future, but for now, this is the only way. If the Prime Minister wants to break free from the curse on his body, this is the only way!"
"My uncle didn't have the courage to kill himself," the new emperor sighed.
"This is a difficult thing to do; I wouldn't have the courage either!"
Zhang Xuezhou shook his head, indicating that he couldn't do it either. Moreover, he lacked experience in surviving by relying on the Yang Soul Incarnation. What was the probability of him surviving by killing himself and separating from his physical body? How many years could the Yang Soul Incarnation survive? What was needed to survive? These were all unknowns.
The failure of Grand Master Wang Hui in pushing forward the experiment, and the erratic behavior of Dou Ying and Guan Fu, certainly made people hesitant to try it. It's no surprise that Tian Fen stubbornly persevered.
"He's still my uncle, do you think you can help him?" the new emperor said.
"I have very little research in this area, so we can only rely on the Empress Dowager for this matter," Zhang Xuezhou said.
"Don't be afraid of taking responsibility if you kill your uncle," the new emperor said. "To tell you the truth, I have something important to discuss with you. My uncle is no longer fit to be prime minister. Would you be interested in taking on the role?"
"Prime Minister? That won't do. I can only help if I keep him in the shadows, but keeping him in the open will only harm both myself and others!"
In the feudal states, the best official position for practicing the art of manipulating qi was the prime minister, a position that Dong Zhongshu held. In the imperial court, the best position for practicing the art of manipulating qi was the chancellor, a position that was almost second only to the emperor.
The new emperor extended an invitation, but Zhang Xuezhou declined it after only a second of thought.
If he were to be impatient for quick success and pursue personal gain, Zhang Xuezhou would not hesitate to take any official position, even if it meant seizing a moment of fortuitous opportunity, rather than remaining mediocre for a long time.
But when he thought of the soldiers and generals whose hands and feet had been cut off and used for cooking, Zhang Xuezhou felt that he couldn't act recklessly. Top positions required truly talented people.
Their real-life pairings are similar: assigning the right person to the right position, avoiding greed for credit or power, and sharing benefits equally, thus enabling them to work together harmoniously.
Zhang Xuezhou would not become arrogant or think he could do anything just because he had made some contributions.
He directly refused, and then mentioned that his current advantage was that he was inconspicuous, thus attracting less attention.
The greater one's fame, the more severe the targeting becomes, making one feel constrained in their actions. Li Guang is a typical example of this, and at this point, it was difficult for him to turn things around.
Zhang Xuezhou had to use the case of Li Guang to persuade him. Li Guang was clearly a great cultivator who was capable of cooperating with the new emperor to kill Dao Jun and others, but he was always guarded against and targeted, which made it difficult for him to make any contributions.
If the new emperor needs to put him in the public eye, Zhang Xuezhou will inevitably become the second Li Guang, and perhaps even perform worse than Li Guang due to his physical condition.
"Your current identity is now fairly clear," the new emperor reminded him.
"The dead cannot speak, nor can the Dao Lord proclaim it; my reputation is currently obscure!"
Zhang Xuezhou shook his head.
Zhang Xuezhou didn't envy the position of prime minister. He was currently entangled in many matters and couldn't afford to take risks like he used to.
Moreover, occupying a high position not only invites the attention, vigilance, and attacks of powerful cultivators from the Xiong State, but also presents the possibility of conflicts arising from their cultivation techniques. Zhang Xuezhou had ample experience in this area in his early years, and he did not want to get involved or try it out at the moment.
More importantly, Zhang Xuezhou repeatedly tested it in the real world and found that the ritual to promote the magic was simpler and did not require infighting.
His fortunes took a turn here, heading in another direction, making it impossible for him to agree to ascend to a high position.
What would you like to order?
Just as Li Guang guessed, if a person has no ambition for the court, the emperor cannot be at ease.
This is the mindset of the new emperor at this moment. Whether it is breaking into the Dragon City ancestral land, defeating the Dao Lord, or pushing the new emperor to step into the True Self Realm, any one of these matters is extremely important.
If such merits are merely given casually, no one in the court will take their work seriously.
"And what are your pursuits?" the new emperor continued to ask.
"I've been seriously considering my own pursuits lately," Zhang Xuezhou said with a smile. "I feel that my future pursuit is the stars in the heavens, and there are other worlds beyond this world. I hope to explore and seek out each world, and to truly understand each world, thereby seeking to absorb the advantages of each world!"
"Hmm? Specifically?"
"For example, I would trace back to which world the original ancient demons originated from, to see how they came here, why they came, and why their world was abandoned, trying to follow the traces they left in the long river of time..."
Zhang Xuezhou spoke eloquently, and confusion began to appear in the new emperor's eyes.
Ordinary people pursue high positions of power to gain money and beauty, while cultivators pursue the cultivation resources that power brings. These are the two most common scenarios.
At the very least, some seek refuge from their enemies and choose to rely on a powerful force.
Among all these groups, the new emperor had never met anyone like Zhang Xuezhou who pursued the stars and the sea.
The other party seems to have transcended vulgar interests.
After listening for a long time, the new emperor still couldn't figure out what Zhang Xuezhou actually needed.
At first, he thought Zhang Xuezhou was fooling him and had come up with a bunch of nonsensical reasons. But when he saw Zhang Xuezhou's bright and serious expression as he recounted his pursuit, the new emperor felt that what he was saying might actually be true.
There was no one like Zhang Xuezhou in the imperial court, but there were such people in history.
For example, there was Li Er, who went west out of Hangu Pass; Lie Yukou, who rode the Yufeng and died in the depths of the sky; Zhuang Zhou, who buried himself in a dream; and Mozi, who tried to travel the sky for a long time using mechanical arts...
The ideas of each sage may seem unreliable, but these people were persistent in their beliefs, even at the cost of their lives.
The new emperor felt as if he saw the figures of future sages, yet he also felt that Zhang Xuezhou's figure was growing further and further away from him, as if one day they might part ways again.