"Forging the Celestial Court"
This article, titled "Forging the Celestial Court," is neither a cultivation technique like the Great Yang Divine Art nor an auxiliary method like the Demonic Body Tempering Art. In fact, it is not a cultivation technique at all, yet it surpasses all techniques under heaven.
Immortals achieve eternal life, but who in this world can become an immortal? There are countless cultivation methods, yet throughout the world, those who achieve immortality are extremely rare. Even throughout history, those who have attained immortality are few and far between.
Becoming an immortal is difficult; achieving eternal life is difficult. Without becoming an immortal, one remains human, and as a human, one is bound by the limitations of lifespan. Everyone faces their inevitable end.
Within a finite life span, cultivating to become an immortal is exceedingly difficult. Only those with extraordinary comprehension and innate talent can hope to break through before their time runs out. For most people, their lifespan is simply too short to achieve this. In the Innate Stage, one has a lifespan of two hundred years; in the Golden Core Stage, it extends to four hundred years. If one does not break through to the Nascent Soul Stage within those four hundred years, death is inevitable.
For someone with Zhong Shan's level of innate talent, it seemed certain that he would eventually become a mere handful of yellow soil.
This is because a person carries many karmic obstructions. Whether due to poor innate talent, low comprehension, or being distracted by external matters, these are all karmic obstacles. The more obstacles one has, the harder it is to elevate one's realm. One would need to put in two, three, or even five times the effort compared to someone with fewer obstacles to achieve the same accomplishments.
Zhong Shan's innate talent was such that he had to work several times harder than others just to keep pace. Facing significant barriers, such as advancing from Postnatal to Innate Stage, or from Innate to Golden Core Stage, was extraordinarily difficult for him. This is why Zhong Shan had previously been so eager to obtain the Breaking Limit Pill.
In the future, Zhong Shan's innate talent would continue to be a limiting factor.
This is the burden of karmic obstacles. With many and heavy obstacles, Zhong Shan's path of cultivation was fraught with hardship.
However, the article "Forging the Celestial Court" offered a method to remove these karmic obstacles. By following this method, one could clear away these obstacles, making cultivation smoother and significantly faster.
The key was to gather a large amount of fortune. By using this fortune to cleanse the karmic obstacles, one could break through them and gain the favor of heaven and earth, thus speeding up the cultivation process.
When fortune accumulates to a certain level, it can form a recognized position within heaven and earth, known as a karmic position.
The article mentioned three types of karmic positions, ranked from low to high: soft position, middle position, and upper position.
Buddhist cultivators have different names for these positions, calling them fruits of attainment.
The soft position corresponds to the Arhat Fruit. The middle position corresponds to the Bodhisattva Fruit. The upper position corresponds to the Buddha Fruit.
Attaining different karmic positions naturally results in different cultivation speeds. Reaching the soft position increases cultivation speed to three times the usual rate, essentially providing an additional two lifetimes' worth of time for cultivation. The middle position increases cultivation speed to ten times the normal rate, while the upper position increases it to a hundred times the normal rate.
A hundredfold increase in cultivation speed—how terrifying is that? With such a rate, why would Zhong Shan worry about his poor innate talent? A hundred times the usual speed means that two hundred years of lifespan at the Innate Stage would be equivalent to twenty thousand years of cultivation time. Even a fool could reach the Golden Core Stage with that much time, let alone Zhong Shan.
Zhong Shan was overjoyed. He was determined to ascend to a karmic position and gather an immense amount of fortune.
However, Zhong Shan was also aware of how incredibly difficult it would be to gather such fortune. Nevertheless, no matter how difficult, Zhong Shan, with his longing for eternal life, was not afraid of the challenge. Moreover, Zhong Shan had an advantage that others did not.
Zhong Shan had two bodies. One body could continue with regular cultivation, while the other could follow the path outlined in "Forging the Celestial Court."
Creating a Heavenly Court involved establishing a nation, which could be called a state or a dynasty, gathering the world's fortune—national, celestial, and earthly. When the nation flourished to a certain extent and formed an imperial dynasty, Zhong Shan would attain the rank of a soft position. Upon forming an emperor dynasty, he would achieve a middle position, and upon forming a heavenly dynasty, his position would be supreme, accelerating his cultivation speed a hundredfold.
However, this process was extremely difficult, immensely challenging. Even attaining a soft position in an imperial dynasty was an arduous task.
Yet, for the sake of immortality, Zhong Shan decided without hesitation.
Moreover, the nation's fortune wasn't just for the emperor alone. Ministers within the nation, once conferred by the emperor, would also gain fortune, and even positions. If the emperor of a heavenly dynasty held the supreme position, a Grand Preceptor, conferred by the emperor, would hold a middle position. Hence, establishing a nation was not a one-man task.
Heavenly positions.
Zhong Shan's eyes gradually became resolute. Since this was the case, why not use his hidden identity to establish a dynasty?
He reread the text "Creating a Heavenly Court," ensuring he remembered it thoroughly, before placing it back into the peachwood box and storing it in his bracelet.
Establishing a dynasty?
As he pondered, Zhong Shan suddenly thought of someone—Crown Prince Lietian, the one who had killed his wife, Kui'er.
Crown Prince Lietian? He had thought it was merely a name, but now it seemed he truly was a prince of a dynasty. It was unclear whether it was an imperial dynasty, an emperor dynasty, or a heavenly dynasty.
Regardless, the enmity with Crown Prince Lietian had to be avenged. But now, he was still far from where Lietian was. This wasn't the time for unrealistic ambitions; he needed to proceed steadily and surely.
Establishing a dynasty.
Though establishing a dynasty was not easy, for Zhong Shan, it wasn't impossible either. There was no need to rush; careful planning was necessary.
Thus, that night, Zhong Shan spent continuously planning for the future, not sleeping at all.
The next day, Tian Ling'er woke up early and came looking for Zhong Shan to take her shopping. As for Bei Qingsi, she hadn't stepped out of her room, perhaps still feeling some awkwardness between her and Zhong Shan.
After a night of thinking, Zhong Shan needed some relaxation, so he took Tian Ling'er out for a stroll.
After spending the day out, they returned with the tired Tian Ling'er, and Zhong Shan was also quite exhausted. While Tian Ling'er retired to her room to rest, Zhong Shan took a bath, feeling thoroughly refreshed.
He went to the courtyard, sat in the pavilion, and drank wine under the moonlight. Gazing at the bright moon, he couldn't help but think of his two former wives, Kui'er and Bao'er.
Though many years had passed, they had never left Zhong Shan's heart.
Holding a cup of wine, staring at the large moon, Zhong Shan sighed softly, a trace of helplessness and regret flashing in his eyes.
At this moment, Zhong Shan suddenly noticed a figure on the rooftop of a distant house, hugging their knees and gazing at the moon, exuding a vulnerable and lonely aura.
Bei Qingsi?
Zhong Shan frowned slightly, looking at the rooftop where Bei Qingsi sat, seemingly lost in her own memories as she stared at the moon.
After contemplating for a moment, Zhong Shan grabbed a plate of delicacies with one hand, a wine pot, and two cups with the other, and headed towards Bei Qingsi's rooftop. With a few leaps, Zhong Shan reached the rooftop.
Perhaps Bei Qingsi was too absorbed in her thoughts, or maybe she knew it was Zhong Shan approaching, as she didn't look at him, continuing to sit and gaze at the moon.
Gently, Zhong Shan placed the food and wine down beside her and looked at Bei Qingsi, noticing two tear streaks on her pristine cheeks.
Zhong Shan sat next to Bei Qingsi, waiting silently.
Finally, after a stick of incense time, Bei Qingsi blinked, the tear streaks on her face disappearing. She turned to look at Zhong Shan.
"Do you know why I didn't kill you that day?" Bei Qingsi asked softly.
Hearing Bei Qingsi's question, Zhong Shan frowned, recalling the incident at the hot spring. He himself had been puzzled about it ever since.
"Please enlighten me," Zhong Shan said, fixing his gaze on Bei Qingsi.
Feeling Zhong Shan's gaze, Bei Qingsi's whole body warmed, as if she was back to that day of vulnerable exposure. Her face flushed slightly, but seeing the pure look in Zhong Shan's eyes, the unease in her heart slowly dissipated.
"No man has ever seen my body before. No matter who it is, even if unintentional, I would fight to the death. But with you, Zhong Shan, I was conflicted." Bei Qingsi's face showed a trace of self-mockery.
"Because of that jade slip?" Zhong Shan asked calmly, looking at Bei Qingsi.
"Yes, because of that jade slip," Bei Qingsi replied.
"What is inside the jade slip? Can I know?" Zhong Shan asked, his eyes fixed on Bei Qingsi.
Bei Qingsi smiled wryly, "You might not understand even if I tell you. It's unlikely you could comprehend it."
"If I don't understand, then explain it. Maybe saying it out loud will ease your heart a bit," Zhong Shan suggested, noticing Bei Qingsi's sorrow as she shed tears looking at the moon.
Seemingly convinced by Zhong Shan, Bei Qingsi began to speak softly, "In this world, there are three Great Heavenly Dynasties. My father was once a third-rank official in one of these Heavenly Dynasties, holding a soft position, gathering the fortune of heaven and earth, with boundless prospects."
Zhong Shan listened intently, frowning. Three Great Heavenly Dynasties? This was crucial information.
"My father had a high reputation both in and out of court, but he was framed by villains. My entire Bei family, three hundred and twelve members, were all massacred except for me and the one who gave you the jade slip. The entire family was executed." Bei Qingsi's voice was sorrowful, and tears streamed down her cheeks once more.
Zhong Shan continued to listen carefully.
"The person who gave you the jade slip was once a servant of my family, and my father had connections with the Kaiyang Sect. So, when I was young, the Kaiyang Sect took me in. My father was innocent, and he had a premonition of misfortune long ago. Therefore, he collected a lot of evidence and hid it in three different places, without telling anyone. The servant later obtained the jade slip, which contained records of the evidence proving my father's innocence and exposing the villains. I don't mind dying, but the family's revenge must be avenged, and my father's name must be cleared. Because of you, my father has a chance to clear his name, so I didn't kill you, even though you saw what you shouldn't have." Bei Qingsi's face showed a mix of sorrow and determination.