The next day.
Li Xiangxue left Taiping Palace alone and walked towards the beach.
That night, he was awakened by nightmares several times.
Every time, he hoped that it was really just a dream.
However, he got confirmation again from his master, the Taoist Master of Taiping.
Those people are really dead.
Uncle Zhao died, Aunt Zhao died, and Brother Zhao died.
And Uncle Xu, whom my father and mother had repeatedly told me to repay when I grew up, was also dead...
"What's your name?"
"Li Xiangxue."
"Uncle will take you to play marbles, how about that?"
"good."
"...Wow, uncle is so accurate with his marbles!"
“Is this marble beautiful?”
"Mm! Beautiful!"
"How about uncle giving you this marble?"
"This... Daddy said that we can't just ask for other people's things. I... I can't accept it."
"Of course I'm not giving it to you casually. You have to promise your uncle one thing."
"Um, what is it?"
"Uncle, let me ask you a question first. If one day, your father goes to a very far place and cannot come back for a long time, who will be the man who stays at home?"
"Man... yes, it's me?"
"Yes, it's you. When daddy is not around, Xiang Xue is the man of the family, do you understand?"
"Yes! I understand!"
"Okay, then you have to promise uncle that if you are a man, you must protect mother and not let anyone bully her. Can you do it?"
“I can do it!”
"Uncle believes in you. Now, this marble is yours."
"Thank you, uncle..."
“…”
Li Xiangxue couldn't control his tears yet, so his vision was a little blurry and he walked slowly.
It was not until half an hour later that we finally reached the beach.
Li Xiangxue wiped his face, unbuttoned his coat, and took out the thing tied around his waist.
That is Xu Chong’s longevity tablet.
Even though he now has favorable conditions that he could never have imagined before, he still chose to carry the tablet with him.
During the days he has been in Taiping Township, he would still pay his respects every day and pray for Xu Chong.
But I will never use it again.
Li Xiangxue looked at it deeply for a few times, then bent down and put the tablet down.
Not long after, the waves surged up and submerged half of Li Xiangxue's body.
By the time they retreated, the tablet had already been taken away.
This is a tradition in Taiping Township.
Place your most precious things on the beach. If they can be carried away by the waves, the deceased you miss will be able to rest in peace.
Li Xiangxue turned around and returned along the same route.
Not long after, they arrived at the deepest part of Taiping Palace.
"Master."
Li Xiangxue knelt on his knees and kowtowed: "I want to become stronger."
"How strong?"
"So strong that he could kill Lou Youzhi."
“You’re going to pay a heavy price.”
"good."
…
…
Capital city, Imperial Observatory.
Since a month ago, the atmosphere of the entire Imperial Observatory has completely changed.
The supervisor either stayed at the Observatory at all times, or, if he did, he would start inspecting each department. If there was any mistake or omission, he would fly into a rage and scold the person severely.
People from the astronomical department, clepsydra department, calendar department... were dismissed and expelled from the Imperial Astronomical Observatory.
Why?
Although no one dared to say it, everyone knew that this was because of the pain of losing his wife.
After several consecutive times, no one cheated anymore, and the efficiency of the government office more than doubled.
The backyard where the Observatory is located has become a restricted area and no one dares to set foot there.
And all of this was deliberately created by Du Qianchuan.
The purpose was to quietly review the records of natural disasters for the second time.
Just like before, pretending to have similar interests with Jiang Zhihong, playing chess and drinking tea every day.
Now, a month has passed, and Du Qianchuan has memorized the record of the natural disaster.
At this moment, he was standing alone on the top of the observatory, gazing silently.
"If nothing unexpected happens, Lou Youzhi must have also read the Records of Natural Disasters."
"And, like Jiang Zhihong, he discovered something from it."
Du Qianchuan frowned, puzzled.
He studied it for a whole month and could only summarize three points.
First, there are only three thousand years of records of natural disasters, and there is no trace of anything before three thousand years.
Second, the records in the Records of Natural Disasters are all major disasters that affected an entire province. Any disaster that is smaller in scope than a province is not recorded in the Records of Natural Disasters.
Third, the intervals between natural disasters are gradually shortening, especially in the last thousand years.
In the first thousand years, the longest interval was one hundred years, and the shortest was ninety-two years.
In the second thousand years, the shortest interval was eighty years.
In the last thousand years, this interval has been shortened from eighty years to twelve years, which is the time interval between the Binzhou sea boil and the Yongzhou locust plague.
This was really horrifying, and Du Qianchuan couldn't help but worry.
Think about it, if one day in the future, before one natural disaster is over, another natural disaster comes...will it be possible that all places in the world are covered by natural disasters at the same time?
However, despite his worries, he still couldn't understand how this was related to his father-in-law's family's treason case.
Just as I was thinking about it, a solemn voice came from the gate of the courtyard.
"Master Supervisor, the Ministry of Personnel has sent a document."
Wusheng was standing at the gate of the courtyard, leaning forward with a document in both hands, and seemed reluctant to enter the courtyard.
"Is it finally here?"
Du Qianchuan stretched out his hand and the document flew up and landed in his palm.
This is a demotion document, which roughly means that Du Qianchuan has been harshly treating his subordinates and seriously neglecting his duties recently. He is no longer suitable for the position of Director of the Imperial Observatory. He is now transferred to the Ministry of Personnel's Wenxuan Qingli Division as the head.
The head of the Wenxuansi was of the sixth rank, two ranks lower than the fifth rank of the Supervisor.
However, it seems to be a demotion, but in fact it is a promotion.
Because the Ministry of Selectmen was in charge of the promotion and transfer of officials, not to mention the benefits that the position could bring, the power it held on the surface was far beyond what an idle government office like the Imperial Observatory could match.
Generally speaking, without a very strong background, you can't get this position.
"He is obviously lowering himself but secretly raising himself. Isn't this a bit eye-catching?"
Du Qianchuan frowned.
After the Yongzhou bandit suppression incident, people from both the government and the public viewed Lou Youzhi as "blinded by greed and taking human lives lightly".
Naturally, the family of Duke Anguo became the innocent victims who were abandoned by Lou Youzhi.
In this context, it was too abnormal to demote himself, the grandson-in-law of Duke Anguo, in public but promoted him in secret, and it would easily attract unnecessary attention.
"Could it be that the truth he asked me to find on my own can only be found in the Department of Selected Works?"
Du Qianchuan seemed to be thinking about something, "The Ministry of Literature Selection..."
…
The seventh level of the imperial prison.
Lin Kuang had just finished writing a "masterpiece for all ages" with untidy parallelism and inappropriate rhythm, and was now frowning as he prepared for his next piece.
Xu Chongze was bored in the cell diagonally opposite.
A whole month passed and he had collected sixty points of spiritual energy.
This relaxed his tense spirit a little, and he couldn't help but start planning how to allocate spiritual energy in three years to maximize his strength.
From the first transformation to the ninth transformation of Yin God, four hundred points of spiritual source are required.
If you want to go higher, a conservative estimate is that one hundred points of spiritual energy are needed to advance one level.
In other words, to reach the ninth level of Yang God, a minimum of 1,300 spiritual sources are required.
There are 700 points left, which should be enough to break through to the level above Yang Shen, a realm that has never appeared before.
However, Xu Chong did not intend to continue on the path of Zifu Zhongdao.
After all, Yu Chi Zhong Dao combined with Breaking the Sky with One Hand is the strongest path that has been proven.
When spiritual resources are limited, this option is undoubtedly the safer choice.
Two thousand spiritual sources accumulated in three years should be enough for him to advance to the Golden Body Realm, and there should be enough spiritual sources left for him to advance to the Single-Handed Sky Breaking Realm.
The only problem is that his jade pool is stronger than others. What if he encounters a situation where he does not have enough strength when he tries to cultivate the Dao for the second time?
You must know that the new state of Taoism will not change the total amount of strength of the original ninth level of body cleansing.
Even Yu Chi Zhong Dao can't do it.
After thinking about it, Xu Chong decided to ask "Shi Niu" for advice.
"Master Dao, why bother yourself? If you really can't figure it out, don't force yourself to think about it."
Xu Chong narrowed his eyes, "You must know... writing is a natural thing, and it is created by a skilled hand."
"Articles are naturally gifted, and they are created by accident... huh?!"
Lin Kuang instinctively repeated himself, and then, as if he had received an electric shock, he suddenly looked up at Xu Chong and said in a hoarse voice, "Who taught you these two sentences?"
"I found it by chance."
Xu Chong curled the corners of his mouth.
“…I don’t believe it!”
Lin Kuang shook his head repeatedly, "Unless you tell me the rest."
"It's not impossible to tell you the rest, but you have to answer a question first."
Xu Chong narrowed his eyes and said, it looks sinister no matter how you look at it.
Lin Kuang scratched his head and said without thinking: "No problem, if you want to know anything, just ask me. Whether it's my poems or my philosophy of writing poems, I can tell you."
“…”
Xu Chong choked slightly and said, "Let me ask you, if a person's Dao-seeding land is inherently much stronger than others, and when the time comes to cultivate the Dao, all the strength in the body combined is not enough, what should we do?"
Lin Kuang was slightly disappointed, and then frowned and said: "The places for cultivating the Dao are similar. Even if the aptitude is good, it can only be more solid at most, so that the cultivation process and subsequent improvement will be smoother. The size is almost the same, so how can the strength not be enough?"
"Don't worry about whether it's possible or not. Just tell me, if this happens, what should we do?"
Xu Chong shrugged and said, "Of course, if you don't know, forget it. Those two sentences..."
"Who said I don't know!"
Lin Kuang interrupted without even thinking.
As the former leader of the Taiping Dao, how could he allow a young man to refute him?
"Oh? Tell me about it."
Xu Chong raised an eyebrow and said, "If I think it makes sense, I will tell you those two lines of poetry."
"Let someone who practices the same technique stand guard nearby and transfer his strength at any time."
Lin Kuang replied.
"Except this."
Xu Chong said without changing his expression.
Not to mention the question of whether to hide one's shortcomings or not, the fact that the Zifu Seeding Dao was tampered with into the Huangting Seeding Dao means that one must absolutely not allow others to assist him in seeding the Dao a second time.
“…You are cheating!”
Lin Kuang raised his eyebrows, then smiled contemptuously, "I know, you didn't say the last two sentences at all."
"Where is this cheating?"
Xu Chong was surprised and said, "You have to know that Daqing is different from the six major families of your Taiping Dao. The six major families have their own inherited skills, which are passed down from generation to generation. But Daqing people go to the armory to exchange. Who knows who else has exchanged for the same skills... Moreover, what if the skills this person practices are not practiced by anyone in the world at this moment? Where can he find help?"
"Uh... that's right."
Lin Kuang was stunned, and immediately fell into deep thought.
Half a while passed, and there was still no movement.
"Forget it. It seems that the so-called knowledgeable and talented former leader of the Taiping Dao is just a person who does not live up to his reputation."
Xu Chong said with deliberate contempt, "I'd better tell you those two sentences directly."
"Yeah, okay."
Lin Kuang looked up and nodded very naturally.
Xu Chong: “…”
"Haha, I told you, in the past twenty years, I have seen all kinds of battles, and provoking someone is the lowest form of the game."
Lin Kuang smiled proudly and said, "Tell me quickly, what are the last two sentences?"
"…pure and without blemish, there is no need for artificiality."
Xu Chong uttered a few words, turned away depressedly, and leaned against the wall.
"Writing is naturally formed, created by a skilled hand, pure and flawless, how can it be artificially created?"
Lin Kuang repeated, his eyes becoming brighter and brighter, "That makes sense, that makes sense... I understand!"
"What do you understand?"
Xu Chong turned his head and asked depressedly.
"The God of Heaven gives me poems at my fingertips, and the Mother of Earth gives me words with her wonderful pen ."
Lin Kuang threw two lines at Xu Chong's face on the spot, laughing non-stop: "It turns out that the highest realm of poetry writing is to write without thinking at all! Who cares if it's neat or not, who cares if it rhymes or not! Just write it!"
"…As long as you are happy."
Xu Chong was completely speechless.
Lin Kuang was extremely proud, and changed the subject, saying: "The problem you just raised is actually not unsolvable."
"Don't tell me that you are taking in an apprentice, letting him practice the same technique, and then cultivating the Dao after a few decades."
Xu Chong complained.
"Oh? That's a solution..."
Lin Kuang was stunned, and actually nodded in agreement, "But this is not what I was thinking of."
"Um?"
Xu Chong immediately became alert.
"As you said, the area for one person to cultivate the Dao is too vast, and there is no one to help. If one wants to complete the cultivation of the Dao, one can only start from oneself... and increase the total amount of strength in the body."
Lin Kuang said confidently, "For example, widening the meridians and acupoints."
"Is there such a method?"
Xu Chong was surprised.
He had thought in this direction.
But he asked and found out that there was no such thing.
The meridians and acupoints of the human body will gradually improve with age, and by the time they are seventeen or eighteen years old, they are completely finalized and will not grow any further.
There is no such thing as miraculous medicine or magical skill that can widen the meridians and acupoints.
"If it was more than 20 years ago, I might not have thought of this solution, but now..."
Lin Kuang smiled and pointed to his feet: "I'm in the Imperial Prison."
"Is it related to the Imperial Prison?"
Xu Chong raised his eyebrows and vaguely guessed something.
"To be precise, this can only be done within the Imperial Prison."
Lin Kuang continued, “Under the rules of the Forbidden Heaven and Forbidden Earth, the tendons, acupoints, and Dao seeds completely disappeared from the body.”
"Completely disappeared?"
Xu Chong raised his hand thoughtfully and clenched his fist.
"If it's not completely gone, how is it possible that it can't increase even a little bit of strength?"
Lin Kuang said as a matter of course, "The purpose is, as long as we can fill the original positions of the meridians and acupoints with things that are difficult to remove at this time, when we are out of the imperial prison, we can use it to expand the meridians and acupoints, and finally slowly remove these things. The enlarged meridians and acupoints will naturally be able to accommodate more strength."
"this……"
Xu Chong hesitated for a moment, "The meridians and acupoints are invisible and intangible. We can't even find them, so how can we fill them?"
"Simple."
Lin Kuang raised his chin and said proudly, "There are many medicines that act on the meridians and acupoints. If you take them in the Imperial Prison, they will naturally fill the meridians and acupoints... For example, the low-class Soul-Loving Incense of your Blood Robe Guards is one of them."
"Soul-bewitching incense?"
Xu Chong frowned.
When he went to prison this time, he did not bring this kind of medicine with him.
Lin Kuang caught Xu Chong's expression and smiled sinisterly, "It seems that you are the person with a huge seed land you mentioned. Boy, you are still a little naive."
“…”
Xu Chong didn't say anything.
"To be honest, I'm very suspicious of your identity now."
Lin Kuang shook his head.
"What's the meaning?"
Xu Chong raised his eyebrows.
"No one has come here for more than ten years. I think Emperor Qing will not send anyone here until I die... but it's still early for that day."
Lin Kuang narrowed his eyes, "So, you were not sent by Emperor Qing."
"I never said I was sent by Emperor Qing."
Xu Chong said calmly.
"But at the same time, you were not sent by Dou Tianyuan."
Lin Kuang laughed, "It's because Dou Tianyuan, as the controller of the Imperial Prison, can ignore the changes in the strength of the rules and come down to the seventh floor anytime and anywhere. There is no need to send another person to waste time."
“Not necessary does not mean absolute.”
Xu Chong said in a deep voice.
"You are right."
Lin Kuang continued, "But you know too little about the Imperial Prison. Even if he sends someone, he won't send you."
"Don't deny it. I noticed that you didn't know it at first. Fire moss is food for the seventh layer."
As he spoke, Lin Kuang pointed to the ground of the cage on Xu Chong's side, "Now, you don't know that fire moss is the main material for making the Ecstasy Powder."
“Fire moss…I see.”
Xu Chong suddenly understood.
So, as long as you eat more fire moss, you can use it to widen your meridians when you go out?
I really came to the right place to come to the seventh floor.
"Who are you?"
Lin Kuang's eyes became sharp.
The whole person's temperament changes accordingly.
From a cynical poet, he instantly transformed into an extraordinary giant who stood high above others.
Xu Chong was not willing to be outdone, his eyes also became stern, and his temperament soared: "I am the leader of the Taiping Dao - Ji Qingzhi!"
It was just a random lie, but Lin Kuang's face turned blank.
"Ji Qingzhi? This Dao Master's name is Ji Qingzhi?"
"……yes."
Xu Chong's expression changed, "Why, have you heard of this name?"
"I haven't heard of that name."
Lin Kuang shook his head, "But, this is not the surname of the three major families."
"Three major families? Isn't Taiping Dao the six major families?"
Xu Chong's heart moved slightly.
"There are six major families, but the real core is the Lin, Zheng, and Fang families."
"The other three families, Hua, Nan, and Xie, all appeared later."
"Whether in terms of background or power, the new three are far from being comparable to the old three."
"Except for the period of the brilliant ancestor of the Hua family, every leader of the Taiping Dao was from the old three families."
Lin Kuang touched his chin and said with a smile: "It seems that Taiping Dao has produced another remarkable descendant."