You have to realize that in this world, the existence of a supreme being can sometimes change many things.
Take Great Da Li for example; their supremacy over other countries is solely due to the presence of a Red Sun Martial Venerate, which allows them to compete with the Great Tang Empire.
Now, a powerful figure who can almost rival Superintendent Ye Daoyuan only maintains a courteous relationship with the crown prince while serving as his swordsmanship instructor.
As the future ruler of the empire, the prince, who is so close with such a powerful figure – a figure who will likely be the top person in the world – is bound to attract envy from many.
In essence, the existence of such a power brings about stability in the prince's position, scattering many thoughts and sparing him from many conspiracies.
With such a supreme fighter by his side, others would think twice before acting against him, and who knows how many will join the prince's faction because of this.
Understanding this, the prince smiles faintly, silently praising the wise decisions he has made.
He has made up his mind; he cannot break this relationship and must devise more ways to deepen their connection.
Although this year's Great Competition was somewhat anticlimactic due to Pei Xuanjing's participation, it nevertheless had a profound impact.
When the news of Pei Xuanjing's action today was released, many people who did not attend felt regret, wishing they had witnessed the battle.
When the news started to spread, the whole world was shocked.
"Turns out that the person who tried to assassinate Young Master Min on Long Street one night was Feng Yan, a Heavenly Rank powerhouse from the Da Li delegation."
"On Long Street, Young Master Min simply resorted to sword calling and forced Feng Yan, Da Li's national mentor, to retreat."
"At the Great Competition in the Capital, Young Master Min became the center of attention by single-handedly taking on two Heavenly Rank powerhouses and killing them with one sword stroke!"
"In body cultivation, Young Master Min has demonstrated an unrivaled stance…is the Dao of body cultivation his secret to defeating the Heavenly Rank?"
"After a staggering sword stroke, Young Master Min is honoured as the Sword Saint."
"The Sword Saint, Young Master Min, boldly sends a message to the Red Sun Martial Venerate of the Da Li delegation, expressing his desire to challenge him."
"Sword Saint, Young Master Min, challenged the Great Tang Empire's top powerhouse, Superintendent Ye Daoyuan, who accepted with pleasure."
"Young Master Min and Ye Daoyuan fought fiercely, and for a long time, neither conceded, and later, the superintendent himself admitted parity between them – no one could question the Sword Saint's title."
"With the support of a supreme powerhouse, the status of the Crown Prince is as solid as mount Tai, and no one dares to covet it."
When these pieces of news were spread one by one, countless people came to understand what Pei Xuanjing had done in the Capital.
"Sword Saint!" Many Heavenly Rank powerhouses who did not witness the battle personally repeated this title in their minds.
Initially, they might have dismissed it as an exaggeration. But after hearing Ye Daoyuan, who himself is a step away from the Celestial Human Realm, admit that Pei Min is on par with him, no one questioned it again.
Even if Ye Daoyuan was just being modest, it indirectly confirmed that Pei Min had what it took to make him talk modestly.
After all, among the many famed Heavenly Rank warriors who challenged Ye Daoyuan over the years, none yielded such an evaluation even after their defeat.
What many people didn't know is that after the battle, countless people wanted to visit Pei Xuanjing, but were all turned away, stranded outside the Everlasting Observance, unable to see Pei Xuanjing.
No one was disgruntled by this, considering that even the Pei Family of Hedong, who theoretically are Pei Xuanjing's relatives, were refused when they tried to pay a visit.
Pei Xuanjing stated that he needed time to cultivate as he had gained much from the battle, hence he even temporarily stopped teaching swordsmanship to the prince.
Of course, many smart people also noticed that Pei Xuanjing refused to meet them, but not only did he meet the prince, he accepted the prince's gift.
This without a doubt suggested his support for the prince. Thus, many people decided to find a roundabout way of approaching through the prince.
In those days, the visitations to the residences of the Crown Prince in the East Palace were endless; it was hustle and bustle every day.
Even some titled powerhouses from the royal family came and implied that they wanted to visit Pei Min and seek guidance.
While the crown prince was busy, Pei Xuanjing was quietly sitting alone in the Everlasting Observance.
"You and Superintendent Ye Daoyuan fought to a draw when you were sixteen. The news shocked the world and made countless people marvel."
After ignoring the reminder from the simulator, Pei Xuanjing began to recall his recent battle with Ye Daoyuan and the insight he gained from it.
Admittedly, the superintendent lived up to his reputation of being on the verge of stepping into the Celestial Human Realm; his understanding of the Dao of Qi refining was very profound, and many of his techniques enlightened Pei Xuanjing a lot.
In the courtyard behind the Everlasting Observance, a small pool was built from stones and filled with water. The herbs given by the prince were casually thrown into it. Then, firewood was lit underneath to heat the water.
If many people saw Pei Xuanjing doing this, they would undoubtedly think him wasteful.
Each herb he carelessly threw in was incredibly precious, something that even a fortune could not buy, and he just threw them in casually.
It is worth noting that if these herbs were matched with supplementary materials, they could be refined into elixirs which are even more effective for cultivation, yet Pei Xuanjing made use of them in this way.
Pei Xuanjing didn't care about this; he took off his coat, wore only a pair of shorts, and stepped into the pool. He sat in the medicinal bath up to his waist, closed his eyes and began to cultivate.
In his mind, these things are meant to be used, regardless of their value. Only things that he can utilize are valuable to him.
Under the steam of the boiling water, the herbs' essence dissipated. Soon, an overwhelming, pungent scent filled the air.
The countless Heaven and Earth Essence Qi gathered around him. He sat in it, eyes closed, calmed his mind, and began circulating the Shenxiao Heaven's Intention Technique.
Instantaneously, the Qi around him started to circulate, and countless Heaven and Earth Essence Qi surged into his body like mad. At this moment, he seemed like a vacuum vortex, swallowing all the Heaven and Earth Essence Qi around him.
The Heaven and Earth Essence Qi inside Pei Xuanjing's Dantian was refining into pure Primordial Qi. When this Heaven and Earth Essence Qi entered Pei Xuanjing's body, it not only transformed into Primordial Qi, but also scrubbed his physical body and his meridians, making his body stronger.
He carefully controlled the Primordial Qi inside his body, scrubbing the internal acupoints, and began to try and refine the second acupoint.
At this moment, the essence of those herbs also entered his body.
Pei Xuanjing exhaled a turbid breath, took a step forward, and shook his body. The water droplets scattered off him, revealing his tall and sturdy figure.
"Pity, I'm still missing a hint," Pei Xuanjing said, feeling the primordial Qi filled within his body and the power contained in his flesh and uttered a slight sigh.
Body refining is inherently a slow and gradual process; there's no shortcut.
The fact that he could break through in body refining while advancing into the Heavenly Rank in the path of Qi refinement made him consider himself extremely lucky.
So, he wasn't in a hurry, and he didn't deliberately force progress, choosing to advance slowly, checking for deficiencies, and patiently enduring the process.
He grabbed his clothes with one hand, put them on, and then asked indifferently, "What do you think of my method of body cultivation, Taoist friend?"
"A dazzling path of righteousness, if it is propagated, there will be another path of body cultivation in this world in the future," Ye Daoyuan's figure landed in the yard, with no embarrassment at being caught by Pei Xuanjing.
Because he was clear that the moment he arrived, the other party had already noticed him, but continued to cultivate without concealing anything, not minding his observation.
Didn't mind!
Yes, Pei Xuanjing didn't care about Ye Daoyuan watching him cultivate. With his Yin Spirit's perception, he detected the other party as soon as he approached.
But he didn't stop immediately, not only because the other party had no malice but also because he didn't want to waste the painstakingly brewed medicinal solution.
Most importantly, he didn't mind the other party watching his cultivation.
If the other party could fathom the mystic of his body refining method in such a short time, Pei Xuanjing would not get angry but would be happy instead.
"To receive such praise from you, I'm honored," Pei Xuanjing smiled and gestured to Ye Daoyuan, "Please!"
The two walked into one of the main halls of the Everlasting Observance and each took a seat.
"The fight with you that day was very beneficial to me. So, I took the liberty today to come, and I hope you won't blame me," Ye Daoyuan started.
After the fight that day, he gained abundant harvesting, which he digested through closed-door cultivation when he went back.
For Ye Daoyuan, it's already rare to spar with someone at his level.
Not because he doesn't want to fight with others, but because his strength is so strong that few people are worth him making a move, let alone going all out.
Moreover, almost every time he made a move, it was crushing, and he bought nothing, a good deal less than what he gets from hard cultivation. But Pei Xuanjing gave him many surprises that day, and it was inspiring.
You see, while Pei Xuanjing cultivates in this world, he combines the advantages of both Daming World and this world's cultivation system, so his path in this world can be described as unique, fresh to anyone who sees it.
Therefore, during the fight that day, Pei Xuanjing who had just entered Heavenly Rank but practiced martial arts combining Essence, Qi, and Spirit ways all at once brought many inspirations to Ye Daoyuan.
"Waiting for your visit, my eyes are strained. I've been waiting for quite some time," Pei Xuanjing grinned.
After the fight that day, he knew that his unique and vastly different method compared to the world would inevitably attract Ye Daoyuan's attention.
Of course, that's what he was hoping for. The reason he took the initiative to provoke a fight that day was precisely for this purpose.
Although he had read a lot about this world's cultivation methods over the past ten or more years, Pei's background in Yunzhong, although relatively high compared to ordinary people, doesn't hold much for Pei Xuanjing yet.
After all, Mr. Pei Laozhu himself was only a martial artist of the third rank of Gang Qi realm and was blocked before the Heavenly Rank. He had little knowledge about the many mysteries of the Heavenly Rank, and the classical skills he'd collected were rather shallow.
To truly learn about the most profound things in this world, Pei Xuanjing would have to spar with those at the top of the world.
"Tonight, the moon is just right. Let's show what we've learned and explore the Great Tao together, shall we?"
"That's what I'm thinking."
A smile lurked at the corner of Pei Xuanjing's mouth as he spoke, "Why don't I throw the first stone to attract jade?"
"Please!" Ye Daoyuan nobbed, smiling.
Pei Xuanjing didn't hesitate to talk about his cultivation path: "In my opinion, there are three ways to cultivate in this world: Refining Essence, Refining Qi, and Refining Spirit, which correspond subtly to the "three flavours" of essence, Qi, and spirit."
This was Pei Xuanjing's fundamental understanding of cultivation, and he didn't hide it.
As for Pei Xuanjing, he never hoarded his knowledge, treating it as some secret.
He wished more people would cultivate this path because the more people cultivated, the more understanding and enlightenment on this path there would be, which would offer him more inspirations.
Pei Xuanjing never considered that one person could master everything. He needed others to communicate and explore with him. Only when thoughts collided and rubbed against each other would there be sparks.
Refining Essence, Refining Qi, and Refining Spirit, the three flavours of the human body.
Ye Daoyuan's eyes brightened, and he had to admit that Pei Xuanjing's words were astounding.
Some things may seem ordinary, but most of the time, people instinctively overlook them, following the usual order. Only when someone points them out, do they become enlightened.
Right now, Ye Daoyuan was just like that. He had heard of essence, Qi, and spirit as a master of the Taoist School, but the mainstream in this World of Myriad Manifestations was the Path of Qi Refinement. They'd focused on refining Qi and hadn't paid attention to these things.
Now that Pei Xuanjing had brought them up, he suddenly realized their importance and woke up from the dream.
He listened as Pei Xuanjing continued, "From my point of view, after advancing to the Heavenly Rank, each way has its strengths and weaknesses: The Path of Qi Refinement constantly refines one's own primordial Qi, pursuing infinite Inner Qi; The Way of Essence Refinement refines the body's acupoints, eventually opening up all the body's acupoints, forming an indestructible entity, not decaying even if heaven and earth decay; As for the path of Spirit Refinement, it continuously tempers the Yin Spirit, making it immune to the scorching sun and thunder, and ultimately frees from the body, the Yin Spirit becoming immortal."
Pei Xuanjing's eyes were filled with longing as he said, "If one can cultivate all three ways, and each can reach the peak, then cultivators will reach a state of existence where the body is indestructible, Qi is inexhaustible, and the spirit is immortal. At that point, they will be indistinguishable from the rumoured Immortal True Immortal."
Indestructible body, inexhaustible Qi, immortal Spirit.
After hearing such a description, Ye Daoyuan couldn't help but shudder slightly. What kind of state must that be?
Could the legendary Celestial men reach that state?
Hearing Pei Xuanjing's mention of True Immortals, Ye Daoyuan couldn't help mumbling, "True Immortals! Celestial men?"
Pei Xuanjing shook his head: "No, a true immortal is far beyond what a celestial human can compare to."
In Ye Daoyuan's eyes, a celestial human is already the pinnacle of cultivation, a realm that countless people in the World of Myriad Manifestations yearn for. In their eyes, a celestial human is already an immortal being. After breaking through the heavenly gate, what awaits is said to be the mythical realm of the immortals.
But in reality, during this time, Pei Xuanjing, using the prince's resources, has read many classic records about the celestial humans in this world.
Though these records depict the celestial human realm as terrifying and perfect, he still discovered from some minor details that this world's celestial humans actually belong to the Spirit Realm. Not to mention that there is a great gap between them and the mythical Immortals, even within the Spirit Realm, they have not truly reached the pinnacle. They can only be said to be slightly stronger Spirits.
"A celestial human is not the pinnacle of cultivation?" Ye Daoyuan revealed a hint of confusion in his eyes.
Existing in this world, his understanding of cultivation is that celestial humans are the strongest. This is something he established since the beginning of his cultivation. Even after hearing Pei Xuanjing's words today, even though the latter has shown unique insights in the Path of Cultivation and given him many enlightenments, he still couldn't change his mind immediately.
Pei Xuanjing chuckled lightly, nodding: "Correct."
Let's not forget, Pei Xuanjing, during his simulation in the Daming World, had gleaned much information from the pages of the Netherworld Book. At least within it, the pinnacle of the Spirit Realm has the power to move mountains and fill seas. A wave of their hand can sever rivers and annihilate mountains and rivers. Such power is incredibly terrifying.
As for Ye Daoyuan, who is considered one step away from stepping into the Celestial Human realm in the World of Myriad Manifestations, he likely can't achieve that.
In Pei Xuanjing's view, the current Heaven and Earth Essence Qi in this world is denser than in the Daming world, and the limit of cultivation also surpasses it. However, the Daming World, still awaiting its true awakening, cannot be compared with this world once it fully awakens.
In Pei Xuanjing's explanation, the Daming World is a Large Thousand World, but it has declined due to certain reasons and is only beginning to recover now.
Although the World of Myriad Manifestations enjoys continuous prosperity, its limit is merely a Small or Medium Thousand World.
He didn't continue to dwell on this subject, after all, these things couldn't be revealed.
Perhaps one day, Ye Daoyuan would understand for himself.
He chuckled and continued to speak: "About these three paths of essence, qi, and spirit, I believe there is another path."
"Oh? Pray tell." Ye Daoyuan, noticing that Pei Xuanjing didn't wish to dwell on this subject, didn't elaborate further, but he secretly noted this matter, planning to verify it in the future.
Pei Xuanjing softly elicits two words: "Golden Core Dao!"
"Golden Core Dao?"
"Indeed, swallow a golden pill and dictate your own destiny. The Golden Core Dao refers to refining a formless inner alchemy with essence, qi, and spirit. Then meticulously polish it to perfection. Once the pill completes its nine turns, it forms a nine-turn golden core containing all of one's Daos."
Although he has never heard of the golden pill theory, once Pei Xuanjing briefly described it, Ye Daoyuan understood: 'Gold' represents something indestructible; while 'Dan' (pill) represents something complete and undamaged. 'Nine turns' does not literally mean nine times, but signifies perfection. Therefore, this refers to the practice of refining and repeatedly processing the inner alchemy, allowing it to undergo multiple qualitative changes, until it possesses an immortal essence and an enduring nature.
Ye Daoyuan closed his eyes in deep thought, not making a sound for a long time.
Only after a long time did he finally open his eyes, saying: "Taoist friend, your scholarly accomplishments are truly impressive. I respect that."
At this moment, he felt extremely correct about his decision to come here tonight.
Just a few words exchanged with Pei Xuanjing, whose viewpoints had given him an epiphany, felt like pouring down of sweet dew onto his mind.
Pei Xuanjing laughingly spoke to Ye Daoyuan: "I've already narrated my understanding of the Path. I'm curious about your understanding of it."
Ye Daoyuan straightened his expression, and began: "The Way of Qi, connect with heaven and earth, tethering the Heavenly Earthly Force, converting the Heavenly Earthly Force into your own. This should be the Way of respecting the heaven…"
On this autumn night, within this ordinary Everlasting Observance, the two strongest beings of this world sat opposite each other, discussing their understanding of the Way of Cultivation,
Both of them revealed everything they have learned in their life, except for some fundamental knowledge about their own Daos. These understandings of theirs clashed and rubbed against each other.
One of them is the strongest being in the World of Myriad Manifestations, a learned scholar of the celestial humans, and is currently standing at the peak of cultivation. He is just half a step away from breaking through the heavenly gate, turning into a celestial human, and ascending.
The other one, though he has just entered the Heavenly Rank in this world, possesses the cultivation foundation of both worlds, has learned all three ways of essence, qi, and spirit, and has broad insights.
Both of them had greatly benefited from this Dao discussion.
If any Heavenly Rank powerhouse were to hear their Dao discussion, they would certainly make great progress.
When the moon was at its zenith, their Dao discussion finally ceased.
Pei Xuanjing suddenly spoke, raising a question: "I still have an unanswered doubt in my heart. I wonder if Taoist friend might be able to resolve it for me?"
"Please, speak your mind." Ye Daoyuan, feeling very satisfied with tonight's Dao discussion, responded cheerfully.
In his view, perhaps there was something he had overlooked during their Dao discussion, and this was noticed by the other party, hence the question.
But the question Pei Xuanjing asked next made his smile falter and his face change.
"I have heard rumors that the Empress suffered a setback in her martial arts foundation due to an accident. So, she can only stay at the third Realm of Gang Qi in martial arts for her whole life and couldn't break through to the Heavenly Rank. But why did I find out at the botanical garden that day that this rumor was a complete lie?"
Wham!
Ye Daoyuan's face changed, and there was hesitation in his eyes, looking at Pei Xuanjing's indifferent expression, he didn't know if the other party was asking intentionally or it was a just casual question.
He remained silent, Pei Xuanjing was just quietly waiting, without any signs of rushing him.
"Ah!" Ye Daoyuan released a long sigh, speaking softly: "This matter involves a long story, and even concerns the royal family's secret affairs. However, with your status, you also have the right to know."
When the former Emperor Tai Zong was in power, a superintendent of the Imperial Astronomical Observatory had read a person's face, saying that they had "dragon's eyes and a phoenix's neck, extremely noble." And this person was none other than the Empress back when she was still waiting in the boudoir.
The young Empress at that time had shown an extraordinary talent that left countless people in awe. In addition to this, she was decisive and valiant in her actions.
Later, after entering the palace, she became a favorite concubine of Tai Zong, earning his admiration.
After Tai Zong passed away, she gained the affection of the current Emperor. She was first made Zhaoyi, and later, the Emperor wanted to depose the Empress and elevate her to the position of the Empress. However, this was thwarted by many.