Preparing in Advance

The Western Sect Western Sect held little status in the Great Han Dynasty, but it was a true perennial runner-up, holding a pivotal position in both the Heavenly Court era and the Western Sect Immortal Court era.

Even in the most barren places, such large religious sects are not something ordinary people can possess, and their secret scriptures are of paramount importance.

While the Heart Sutra may not be considered top-tier in terms of its martial prowess, it stands out for its unique approach to spiritual cultivation.

"I've consulted numerous ancient texts, but almost none contain complete content on the cultivation of the soul!"

Zhang Xuezhou searched for battle flags in the imperial treasury, while the new emperor searched the library.

Zhang Xuezhou mentioned the various shortcomings of the Heart Sutra, so the new emperor naturally wanted to switch to a more normal Cultivation Practice Method, even if it was slightly inferior, so he could make a preliminary attempt from the shallow to the deep.

But what the new emperor didn't expect was that the Great Han Dynasty had no such content at all; the flourishing of various schools of thought never yielded any significant results in this area.

"Are you going to give it a try?" Zhang Xuezhou asked.

"I'll try it! I'm definitely going to try!"

The new emperor gritted his teeth and agreed.

Once one's cultivation reaches the True Self Realm, the pursuit of Realm Technique comes to an end, while the potential for improvement in swordsmanship is limited.

There are only a limited number of cultivators at the True Self Realm, and therefore very little experience to draw upon.

Judging from past content, most True Self Realm cultivators initially seek to make up for their shortcomings in Technique Method and try various Technique Method, with flying spells becoming a primary choice. Later, lacking ambition, they become idle and may pursue longevity or fantasize about establishing a new sect or doctrine, but ultimately they fall into silence.

Most cultivators are already fixed in their form after entering the True Self Realm, and there is not much room for change. This is why the strength of the True Self Realm cultivators is divided into different levels.

It is rare for a new emperor to have such great potential for improvement after entering the True Self Realm. Although this kind of cultivation is very unfriendly to him, the new emperor is still willing to try and persevere.

That's one of Zhang Xuezhou's strengths; whenever the new emperor feels he's reached his peak or lacks direction, Zhang Xuezhou can always offer some advice.

Whether these suggestions are good or bad, the new emperor cannot predict the outcome.

He looked at the palm-leaf scriptures that Zhang Xuezhou had taken out, and then at the tadpole-like characters, and felt a headache starting to throb.

How proficient are you in practicing the Heart Sutra?

Zhang Xuezhou was fluent in Sanskrit and used it to understand the Heart Sutra. When Zhang Xuezhou stammered through his explanations, the new emperor couldn't help but ask questions.

"After practicing according to the scriptures, I reached the seventh level!"

Zhang Xuezhou pointed, and a bright halo appeared behind his head, illuminating the surroundings with a faint white light.

Like the light of a bright moon, this radiance is not dazzling but gentle.

The new emperor reached out and touched it, feeling as if he were caressing a woman's skin, with a touch of intimacy and aloofness.

It's a very contradictory feeling, mainly because Zhang Xuezhou seems harmless, yet there's a connection with him, and also Zhang Xuezhou's personality.

When the new emperor touched the divine radiance condensed from Zhang Xuezhou's Prajna Heart Sutra, he felt as if he instantly understood Zhang Xuezhou.

"Unless you obtain the secrets of the two Western religious leaders, your cultivation limit is only the sixth level," Zhang Xuezhou explained. "I deceived them once by taking advantage of an opportunity, so it's unlikely you can achieve success in cultivation using the same method!"

"I have never seen a technique that requires deception," the new emperor retorted.

"This situation actually happens quite often!"

Zhang Xuezhou a brief response.

Their method of cultivation is not unusual; such cases are quite common in the cultivation world.

For example, the earliest cultivator Zhang Xuezhou came into contact with Daoist Mu, whose experience in obtaining cultivation techniques was extremely difficult, and many of his techniques were pieced together from various sources.

Leaving aside those like Daoist Mu who haven't yet achieved mastery of cultivation, cultivators from all the major orthodox sects need to acquire cultivation techniques step by step. Even the imperial court has various conditions in place, making the situation no different from that of the Western Sect.

This was the first time the new emperor had encountered such a thing, while other cultivators had experienced it countless times, and Zhang Xuezhou himself had also struggled and struggled through it for many years.

"Call me if you have any opportunities to cause trouble; I'd like to deceive people too!"

Zhang Xuezhou only mentioned that it would be difficult to give the new emperor the same opportunity, without completely blocking this path, and the new emperor astutely joined in.

Regardless of whether things go well or not, it's always good to say hello first; otherwise, he might not be included when Zhang Xuezhou stirs up trouble.

"Then you'd better hurry up and catch up," Zhang Xuezhou said with a smile.

"How fast?" the new emperor asked.

"It would be best if we could have the Heart Sutra at the sixth level right now," Zhang Xuezhou said.

"So fast!"

The new emperor gasped, immediately realizing that the opportunity Zhang Xuezhou was seeking might take a long time, or it might arise in the present. Zhang Xuezhou couldn't be sure of the possibility and could only make preparations in advance.

"The imperial court has some people who travel to the Western Regions and are fluent in Western Regions languages. I will try my best to understand the Heart Sutra!"

Zhang Xuezhou's explanation was insufficient to meet the new emperor's needs. The new emperor could not learn Sanskrit in a short time, let alone understand the Sanskrit terminology in the Heart Sutra.

Only with a certain understanding of Sanskrit and Sanskrit scriptures can he possibly learn the relevant skills.

Time was tight, and the new emperor had no choice but to do his best and leave the rest to fate.

Seeing that Zhang Xuezhou could control the array flags with his divine soul despite lacking domain power, he couldn't help but feel extremely envious.

Someone like him, who fills in whatever gaps in his Zhang Xuezhou, clearly had made preparations in advance to avoid being unavailable when needed.

"These array flags of yours don't seem to be for repairing the Five Ghosts Yin Wind Array?"

After receiving the Heart Sutra from Zhang Xuezhou, the new emperor read it repeatedly, feeling as if he were reading a book written in heaven.

He placed the palm leaves containing the scriptures in a sealed box, then looked at Zhang Xuezhou, who had finished selecting them in the inner treasury, and asked him a question.

"I've seen the Qi Path of the Crimson Bird Formation and the Qi Path of the Five Elements Flags at the Wenying Pavilion. His Majesty has also permitted us to cultivate Qi cultivation techniques, so I'm thinking of setting up a few array flags to activate these techniques," Zhang Xuezhou said. "If one day we can use the Great Chanyu of the Xiong State as a sacrifice to the flags, our Qi will surely be abundant, and our actions may become smoother after we master these techniques!"

"Sacrifice the flag of the festival?"

The new emperor frowned slightly.

Zhang Xuezhou's tricks weren't new; flag sacrifices existed in ancient times, but whether it was a flag sacrifice or a heaven sacrifice, the results were meager, far less dignified and righteous than occupying the country and practicing orthodox cultivation.

After the Emperor Qin Dynasty, something changed, and many Qin generals became extremely fond of sacrificing their captured soldiers to raise their flags. After defeating a country, they would kill prisoners in large numbers to raise their flags as a ritual.

Of course, very few of these people had a good ending.

The new emperor had to give a few words of advice.

"I'm just making some preparations in advance, in case I need them, and if I don't, I won't. After all, the task of offering sacrifices to the Great Chanyu of the Xiong State is very difficult," Zhang Xuezhou said.

"That's true!"

The new emperor snapped out of his daze and nodded.

The Great Han Dynasty's current war with the Xiong State is a complete mess; almost no army can directly confront the Xiong State's nomadic cavalry.

He celebrated the Battle of Dragon City, but he was far from achieving a complete victory. The idea of offering sacrifices to the Xiong State's Great Chanyu sounded like a joke.

If it were some conservative court officials, they would surely scoff at Zhang Xuezhou's advance preparations.

The new emperor was self-aware; he too found it difficult to be optimistic about such a thing, and could only strive to do it. As for how much he would do, there was no fixed answer; he would probably Struggle his life to this goal.

But as the new emperor's mind raced, he realized that Zhang Xuezhou had a greater faith in the Great Han Dynasty than in himself, and that the other party wouldn't make preparations without a purpose; he was likely certain that one day they would achieve their goal.

It's one thing for ordinary people to have blind self-confidence, but the new emperor undoubtedly trusted the judgments of geniuses.

This boosted his confidence even further, and he felt the heavy pressure from recent political affairs gradually easing from his mind.