Chapter 284: Meeting the Old Master Again
Chapter 284: Meeting the Old Master Again
Furnace tripod...
When Zhao Duan's decisive voice fell, Xu Zhenguan was obviously stunned.
Anger surged across her icy face, and she instinctively wanted to scold him, "How rude."
But when she met Zhao Duan's sincere and frank gaze, the scolding was stuck in her throat, unable to go up or down.
Is he... serious?
Such a thought popped up uncontrollably.
In Xu Zhenguan's view, the so-called "Your Majesty's furnace" was just another joke from this foul-mouthed guy.
It’s strange to say, if someone else dared to make such a joke again and again, she would be extremely disgusted.
But Zhao Duan did this many times, but he never really got angry.
Xu Zhenguan didn't know that this was also a "broken window effect" in a sense.
Ever since she did not punish Zhao Duan when he made his first bold confession, Zhao had gained the privilege of being able to speak a little "slippery" in front of the king.
Xu Zhenguan thought that this was just another incident.
But Zhao Duan's firm tone and extremely serious eyes made her anger suddenly dissipate.
"You...really willing?"
Xu Zhenguan confirmed with a strange expression:
"You must understand that if you are favored by the dragon soul, you may have the opportunity to ascend to the heaven in the future. But once you become a furnace, your bright future will be ruined."
Zhao Duan laughed at himself and said:
"This dragon soul originally belongs to the royal family, not to me. If it weren't for your majesty's cultivation over the past few months, even if I had some talent, I would have been nothing more than a god in my lifetime without the resources and inheritance, let alone the current glory and wealth.
I am your Majesty's subject, and your Majesty is my benefactor. As the saying goes, a drop of water should be repaid with a spring...
Your Majesty has blessed my humble self with rain from heaven, and I shall repay Your Majesty’s grace with all my heart and help.”
He cupped his hands and said, "I beg Your Majesty to allow me to repay your kindness!"
"..."
Xu Zhenguan was silent for a moment after hearing these words. He felt touched, relieved, and a little embarrassed.
squeak-
Even the Taia sword that was sticking on the ground next to it was slightly bent.
Xu Zhenguan took a deep breath and waved his sleeves helplessly:
"Get up, who wants your return?"
She said unhappily:
"Just a few compliments, do you really think you are a tonic? I am only in the Divine Chapter Realm. How can I covet your little benefit? Don't mention this matter again."
Zhao Duan raised his head and said hesitantly:
"But Your Majesty, this dragon soul is hidden in my body. How can I return it without dual cultivation... If it is lost..."
Xu Zhenguan turned his head, took two steps away, facing him with his back, and said indifferently:
“Although the Dragon Soul is not a god, it is similar to it. With my level of cultivation, I cannot forcibly take it away, and neither can others. I will temporarily store it in your body. As long as you don’t release it intentionally, outsiders will not be able to detect it…
Well, I will give you another seal later to cover your sea of qi, and that will be it. Humph, a mere divine chapter, you should think about entering the world as soon as possible, not these crooked ways!"
What Xu Zhenguan didn't say was that even if she really went to collect the essence, it would not be of much significance.
Because Zhao Duan is too weak.
It took just ten breaths for Dragon Soul to wake up... The time was too short to be of much help to her.
The dragon soul is like an engine, and Zhao Duan’s cultivation is the fuel.
The method of collecting and replenishing would, on the contrary, make it difficult for Zhao Duan to make any progress, causing Long Po to fall into a deeper sleep and be unable to take effect.
Therefore, morally and logically, the method of replenishing body fluids is a losing proposition.
Zhao Duan was so smart that he suddenly realized:
"Your Majesty said that only when both sides have similar cultivation levels can they achieve considerable success.
I have heard that Your Majesty has not yet set foot in the true realm of heaven and man, but relying on the dragon energy of the throne, you are comparable to a heaven and man.
So Your Majesty is still in the Great Perfection of the Worldly Realm? If I were to step into the worldly realm, I would be in the same realm as Your Majesty, and we could practice together?"
That’s the theory...Xu Zhenguan was about to nod, but then he came to his senses and was extremely speechless.
Who wants to discuss with you when to practice dual cultivation?
I was almost led into a pit.
Zhao Duan suddenly noticed a bug:
If he and the empress practiced dual cultivation and the empress broke through and entered the celestial realm, wouldn't that mean she was at a different level from him? So, the result of dual cultivation would be that they couldn't practice dual cultivation anymore?
No...Dual cultivation is beneficial to both parties, and one's own cultivation should also be improved.
Besides, it's just the Heavenly Man Realm. At worst, I can continue to practice dual cultivation after entering the Heavenly Man Realm... Then, the perpetual motion machine is...
"Put aside your unrealistic thoughts."
Xu Zhenguan interrupted his thoughts coldly and said:
“Since you are serving the royal family and are favored by Emperor Taizu, I can temporarily record your crime of ascending the stage today and not punish you.
I will let you take care of Long Po and take good care of him. If you neglect him, I will not forgive you. I will let the news of today's incident spread and take all the responsibility for your performance today. In this way, outsiders will only think that I gave you the method to temporarily control the Tai'a Sword and will not associate it with Long Po.
Keep your mouth shut so that nothing will leak out. If you talk nonsense and people find out, I will tie you up, dissect your abdomen and take your soul away, and I won’t be able to protect you all the time.”
This is a blunt change of topic... Zhao Duan complained, his face was respectful:
"I obey!"
I breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that I had passed this hurdle safely today.
……
Seeing that he had stopped talking nonsense, Xu Zhenguan nodded in satisfaction and pointed to the stone wall in the room:
"Okay, now that we've explained the whole thing, let's go in and look at the second picture."
Let’s talk about five more dollars... Zhao Duan didn’t dare to disobey and stepped into the threshold in an orderly manner.
This time, with experience, he sat cross-legged on the cushion without any instructions.
Try staring at the mural on the second floor - the irregular circles of inscriptions on the stone tablet, and visualize it in your mind. Your heart is also full of expectations... The first painting, "The God of War", has many mysteries.
I wonder how mysterious this second scroll is, the one that teaches how to practice the “Shen Zhang” realm.
The wind blows through the old building.
The sunlight tilts a little bit.
Xu Zhenguan did not leave, but just stood outside the door and waited for about two quarters of an hour. Then he saw Zhao Duan stand up from meditation in the room and walk out with a blank look.
"it's over?"
"Uh... Your Majesty, I'm not sure."
Zhao Duan was a little confused.
Because after his visualization just now, he felt confused and had indeed sunk into a "dream".
But it was pitch black inside, with nothing in it.
No matter how he tried and called out, there was no response.
It took a long time before I felt the familiar feeling of mental fatigue and came out of the "visualization" on my own.
Xu Zhenguan was not surprised at all and said calmly:
“This second picture, titled The Six Chapters Sutra, is different from the first one.
You have just entered the divine realm and are not yet stable, so you can't see anything in your visualization, only darkness. Once you have completely established yourself, changes will naturally occur."
Ah, this... is it possible to be like this?
Xu Zhenguan casually pulled up the Tai'a on the ground and threw it into the air. The sword turned into a long rainbow, ran straight towards the Taimiao, and returned to its original position.
The empress led Zhao Duan out of the armory with her skirt fluttering.
——There are two purposes for bringing him here, one is to interrogate him, the other is to bestow upon him the "Six Chapter Sutra".
Now that everything has been accomplished, it is natural for us to leave.
When walking out of the front yard of the arsenal.
The old eunuch in the dragon robe smiled and nodded at him, with an expression that said "It's okay in our house."
Zhao Duan was too lazy to pay attention to him.
After they walked away, Zhao Duan said anxiously:
"Your Majesty, I will stay in the palace tonight..."
"You can go home on your own." Xu Zhenguan looked cold and indifferent, like a king or his subject.
"Oh..." Zhao Duan hung his head, looking extremely disappointed.
Xu Zhenguan caught a glimpse of his attitude from the corner of her eye and felt a headache for some reason. She thought for a moment and said:
"By the way, you won a great victory today on behalf of the court. I have already ordered a celebration banquet to be held in Zhangtai Garden tonight. I will not go, but the ministers will be there. Remember to go.
Oh, by then there will surely be talented scholars who will take the opportunity to write poems and articles to flatter you, you can just accept them calmly, although those mediocre scholars may not be able to govern the country, but they are good at spreading fame through poems and articles, and they can help you become famous. "
"Your Majesty knows that what I want is not empty fame..." Zhao Duan said.
Xu Zhenguan ignored him and continued:
"By the way, while you were recuperating in the palace, I sent Mo Chou to lead troops to the Shenlong Temple. The head of the Discipline Hall has been stripped of his position and exiled to a lower-class temple outside the capital. The monks who participated in the questioning were all demoted, and Shenlong Temple's monk land in the court was taken away by 10%.
The silver and money taken back were sent to the east of the city to repair the charity hall.
Autumn is here, and winter is not far away. It is the third year since I ascended the throne, and I do not want children to freeze to death under my nose. They are my people, and there is no need for a small military officer like you to help them."
Zhao Duan was stunned and stopped.
Looking at Xu Zhenguan walking away in a white long skirt without stopping, he pursed his lips and his heart suddenly felt warm.
On the other side, Xu Zhenguan returned to the Yangxin Palace. When Fang Fu arrived, he saw Mo Chou already waiting outside the imperial study.
He seemed anxious, but when he saw her, his eyes lit up and he said hurriedly:
"Your Majesty, Lord Yuan requests an audience!"
……
Soon, we arrived at the entrance of the imperial city.
Zhao Duan walked out, leading the horse, and declined the palace servants' suggestion to send a carriage to take him there. He just borrowed a horse and rode back home.
After walking for a while, he remembered that he had become very popular this time and his appearance was known to many people.
He simply took out the small space scroll from his arms and fished out the mask seized from the "Thousand-Faced God".
Pressed on the face, it changed the appearance.
This time, as he walked along the street, no one was watching him.
However, after he was promoted to the God level, his ears and eyes became sharp, and he could clearly hear many people on both sides of the street talking about the fight that took place in the daytime.
Among them, the name "Zhao Yanwang" appears frequently.
"Where are we going next? Home first? Well... I'm afraid things aren't going well at home either. There must be a lot of people coming to visit us right now, with people from all the government offices coming to visit..."
"It's getting late. Why not wait until the evening and go directly to the celebration party of 'Zhangtaiyuan'..."
"Oh, right, Tianshi Mansion..."
Zhao Duan suddenly remembered that Lao Wang was on the ring at that time and had made an appointment to meet him.
Do you want to go to Tianshi Mansion for a visit?
Zhao Duan was about to take action when his mind suddenly moved.
He dismounted, led the horse to a familiar soup and noodle shop on the roadside ahead, and tied the horse to the doorpost.
He crossed a bench and sat down at a table.
Looking at the tall old man who had been waiting there for a long time, breaking a cake and drinking soup, he grinned, cupped his hands and whispered:
"Junior greets old...Mr."
Zhang Yan raised his head with a smile and handed him a bowl of mutton soup.
"My dear Zhao, please drink a bowl of soup, we will meet again in the mountains and rivers."
(End of this chapter)