https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-191-The-Perfected-State-of-the-Fivefold-Celestial-Palace/12586978/
Chapter 190: The Celestial Tome and Shadows
Chapter 190: The Celestial Tome and Shadows
"Would Her Majesty be any less capable than her brother in pulling off such a stunt?" Lei Jun asked.
"I've heard that the unrest in the southwest, related to the former Prince Sheng Kang, has the shadow of the Five Surnames and Seven Hopes behind it. What do you think?"
Yuan Mo Bai replied, "There are rumors of connections to the Wu Clan in the Southern Wilderness and others to the powerful families in Zhongtu, but these are all unverified."
Lei Jun raised an eyebrow, "Is this Empress completely unfazed by potential obstacles, or does she have another plan in mind?"
Unrest had broken out in the Western Regions, the East China Sea, and the Northern Lands, one after another.
Even if some people were taking advantage of the situation, once chaos truly took hold, it would still require time and effort to completely quell it.
Therefore, at present, within the Great Tang realm, whether it was the Tang court imperial family or the powerful aristocratic families, all were recuperating and had no intention of taking up arms again anytime soon.
The Empress's stop at the Celestial Master's Mansion on her return journey to the capital was also a clear statement of this intention.
Of course, one doesn't get heavenly pie without doing anything in return.
To a certain extent, this would also bind the Celestial Master's Mansion and the Tang court imperial family even closer together, unaffected by the turmoil caused by the Li family.
Now was the time for the Celestial Master's Mansion to reciprocate.
The academy established by the Empress was not solely for the Confucian school of thought.
If one were to boast a little, they could even put up a signboard saying "Academy of Myriad Paths."
Of course, Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism, as the three major schools of thought of the time, would still be the main focus.
Compared to the Demon Suppression Guard established by the previous emperor, Zhang Qilong, the Empress Zhang Wantong's endeavor seemed more elegant and straightforward.
But Lei Jun guessed that the new academy would offend the taboos of the Five Surnames and Seven Hopes even more.
Well, perhaps it should now be called Four Surnames and Six Hopes?
Calling this Empress capricious would be an understatement; she certainly had an eye for timing.
Among the three major sacred sites of Taoism, the Celestial Master's Mansion needed no further explanation, and the Pure Yang Palace had always been close to the Tang court imperial family.
After the previous internal strife, the Shu Mountain Sect was now leaning towards more interaction with the outside world.
And the first step in this direction would undoubtedly be to establish relations with the Great Tang court.
As for Buddhism, with the recent annihilation of the Bodhi Temple, the remaining three major Buddhist sacred sites were inevitably on guard, having to beware of both the Confucian aristocratic families and the two heretical Buddhist sects, the White Lotus Sect and the Great Emptiness Temple, which were rising in power again.
Besides strengthening their connections with each other, they would naturally also need to cooperate with the Tang court imperial family, or at least not hinder each other.
As for the Confucian aristocratic families, the Empress had also just dug out one of their walls.
Indeed, this Empress knew how to choose her moments.
But if one were to call her a brilliant and resourceful leader, this move was certainly a big step to take.
Having gone through successive ups and downs, the Great Tang realm would not be peaceful for a long time to come because of this new development.
The several great aristocratic families would definitely not sit idly by, even if they didn't openly rebel.
Lei Jun even suspected that perhaps the Empress had planned this all along, and the several great aristocratic families had gotten wind of it earlier, which was why there was the appearance of the former Prince Sheng Kang in the southwest as a countermeasure.
"General Shangguan came over this time to discuss this matter with our sect. He hopes that our sect can send an elder to the capital to specially participate in the founding of the academy," Yuan Mo Bai explained.
The capital was a crucial location, and no sect or family would neglect it.
The Celestial Master's Mansion had a branch division in the capital, managed by a bestowment-receiving elder.
Of course, if there were important matters, a high-achieving elder would have to take action, and usually, it was Shangguan Ning who coordinated such matters.
Now, the Tang court imperial family hoped to have a specialized person stationed in the capital, which meant that after the academy was established, the elder would be expected to stay there for at least a period of time to take charge of teaching.
"It's a good thing to be able to spread our sect's influence and teach more people the Way. Although there will undoubtedly be many dangers and obstacles along the way," Yuan Mo Bai said calmly.
Lei Jun suddenly remembered the time when the Empress had visited Longhu Mountain in the past. Besides the moderately auspicious fortune he had chosen for himself, there was also another moderately auspicious fortune:
"Actively interact with the Tang court imperial family, seek opportunities to advance, gain a sixth-rank opportunity, no current danger, but buried troubles, entangled cause and effect..."
Indeed, he then heard Yuan Mo Bai say, "The Mansion has preliminarily decided to send Master Chen to the capital. He has already been informed and has been considering it in recent days."
Shangguan Ning's first disciple was Lin Shan, with the Taoist name Lin Chen.
"This is jumping into a huge vortex," Lei Jun commented.
Yuan Mo Bai said, "Master Chen has always been courageous and willing to take on responsibilities. Based on my understanding of him, he will most likely go to the capital."
Recalling Lin Shan's enthusiasm in interacting with the Tang court in the past, Lei Jun was not surprised by this at all.
However, Lin Shan probably hadn't expected the Empress to come up with such a grand plan, so he had to think carefully before making a move.
If he wanted to back down now, it wasn't completely too late.
But would he?
"I wish Master Lin good luck," Lei Jun said.
Yuan Mo Bai said, "In the short term, there won't be many direct attacks, but there will definitely be plenty of hidden dangers."
Although the establishment of the new academy was destined to stir up huge waves, it was still a small boat that could easily change course at the moment.
In this regard, it was similar to when the previous emperor, Zhang Qilong, had newly established the Demon Suppression Guard, starting with simple tasks.
At that time, when the Demon Suppression Guard was first formed, aside from the leader, the Demon Suppression General, who was at the Seventh Heaven realm, the representatives sent by the various sects only reached the middle Third Heaven realm at most, like Li Xuan and the others.
Now, the representatives sent by the various sects to help establish the new academy, like Lin Shan and the others, were also only at the Sixth Heaven realm.
The Sole Upper Heaven...
"The Chancellor of the Academy is a layman from the Xiao Clan beyond Long Mountain, named Xiao Chunhui." Yuan Mobai stated.
Lei Jun nodded.
Although it wasn't the legitimate firstborn grandson and current clan head, Xiao Hang, but rather the private son, Xiao Chunhui, whose identity was highly controversial, as long as the Xiao Clan beyond Long Mountain was willing to openly teach commoner students, they would be tying themselves firmly to the Empress' chariot.
As long as both sides didn't completely tear into each other and maintained a fragile peace, things would be fine.
However, if blood were to be shed, the Xiao Clan beyond Long Mountain would likely become the primary target of the other four surnames and six hopes, and their hatred might even surpass that directed at the Tang imperial family.
Especially considering their greatly diminished strength due to the previous demonic unrest in the Western Regions.
With such a convenient target, the Celestial Master's Mansion would have a good opportunity to recuperate and rebuild.
But they couldn't expect to have all the advantages to themselves.
Hence, regarding the new academy, the Celestial Master's Mansion also needed to get involved.
Lei Jun spoke his mind; he was actually quite interested in this academy.
He had always wanted to experience the wonders of this world and the profound cultivation paths of various sects.
Regardless of the Empress' motives for establishing the academy, such a place that gathered the hundred schools of thought and people from all directions was extremely attractive to Lei Jun.
However, the timing wasn't right yet.
Lei Jun calmed his mind and temporarily set this matter aside.
For now, he focused on assisting his junior sister, Tang Xiaotang, and his master, Yuan Mobai, in preparing for the new session of the Transmission Ceremony.
After the ceremony concluded, Shangguan Peng stayed for a few more days.
And Lin Shan had made his final decision.
He would go to the capital to participate in the establishment of the new academy.
Shangguan Ning and Shangguan Peng immediately sent word back to the capital.
Soon, an official edict arrived, summoning Lin Shan to the capital.
After completing the necessary arrangements and handing over his responsibilities, Lin Shan set off for the capital with Shangguan Peng.
His position as the head instructor of the Daoist Children's Institute was temporarily taken over by Ke Sicheng.
Although Ke Sicheng's injuries hadn't fully healed yet, he was mostly recovered and could carry out his duties without any issues.
...With this, things should finally calm down, right?
Elder Ke took on the new role with a sense of self-deprecating humor.
Lei Jun continued his duties at the Enforcement Hall and dedicated his free time to his cultivation.
If there was any small incident worth mentioning, it was related to the page from the heavenly tome.
Within the starry sky depicted in the book, the seven luminaries had finally gathered.
"Apologies for my previous seclusion. I had to leave in a hurry," Huoyao said.
Having to constantly guess each other's identities and be cautious in their speech around each other had made Lei Jun somewhat unaccustomed to Huoyao's straightforward manner of speaking.
Was this guy an excellent actor, or was it something else?
"Seclusion for cultivation is naturally important, and it's difficult to divide your attention. Especially at certain times, you must be vigilant and guard against the calamity of straying off the path," Shuyi suddenly spoke up.
Huoyao: "It didn't come to that. I successfully navigated the tribulation this time."
"..." Lei Jun felt even more uncomfortable.
"Since we're all here now, let's take care of something we've been putting off," Riyue said.
With the seven luminaries assembled, they had been intending to further explore this illusory starry sky within the heavenly tome.
"My suggestion is that for this first time, we all act together and avoid separating," Moyue said calmly.
Everyone agreed, and Huoyao asked, "How should we proceed?"
Moyue: "Just relax and do as we do."
Riyue, the Sun Luminary, took the lead.
The cosmic starry sky seemed to tremble in response.
Lei Jun and the others followed suit, projecting their spiritual senses and attention outward from the stars that symbolized themselves, spreading across the entire universe.
As the universe rippled, the seven luminaries shone even brighter.
Huoyao listened to Moyue's instructions and imitated the others.
In the next moment, the seven luminaries seemed to detach from their original positions and began moving through the vast sea of stars.
The universe was pitch-black, illuminated only by the twinkling stars.
With a thought from Lei Jun and the others, they moved incredibly fast, seemingly ignoring the distances in the void, quickly arriving before other stars.
Although those stars were bright, they weren't like the seven luminaries that Lei Jun and the others inhabited, formed from the convergence of their spiritual senses.
"Initially, it seems there are only seven of us here," Shuyi remarked.
Qiyue then spoke up, "By observing these stars, we can gain further insights into the mysteries of the heavenly tome."
Everyone shared the same sentiment.
In addition to this, Lei Jun also sensed something else.
As he quietly gazed at the starry sky before him, his vision seemed to be obscured by a dark shadow.
Affected by this, when he looked at the vast starry sky again, it underwent a transformation.
...That shadow was indeed connected to the heavenly tome at its root.
The already pitch-black starry sky became even darker.
The twinkling stars, however, shone brighter, making the entire darkness of the void more distinct.
It was as if a vast river of stars stretched out before them.
None of the others mentioned this, so Lei Jun remained silent and pretended to be unaware as well.
He simply focused his attention on observing the vast starry river.
From a distance, the starry river seemed to fork at one end, dividing into seven branches.
This caused a slight stir in Lei Jun's heart.
He turned his gaze to the other end of the starry river.
However, that end was shrouded in a radiant light, obscuring its destination.
PS: The upcoming plot needs to be written slowly and in detail, but I don't want to keep you waiting, so I'm releasing this 3k chapter first. Today, there will be 8,000 words, and I'll try to have even more tomorrow.
(End of Chapter)
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