https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-226-The-Great-Tang-Dynasty-s-Crown-Prince/12587022/
Chapter 227: The Pure Yin Immortal Body
Chapter 227: The Pure Yin Immortal Body
The current crown prince of the Great Tang Empire, Zhang Hui, is the only son of the previous emperor, Zhang Qilong.
Even before Emperor Zhang Qilong's passing, he had already appointed his son, Zhang Hui, as the crown prince.
However, due to the disturbances caused by the demons in the Western Regions, Emperor Zhang Qilong sustained severe injuries from which he never fully recovered. He returned to the capital and managed to hold on for a while, but ultimately, he passed away.
With the emperor's demise, the throne was left to his young son, who was only ten years old at the time.
In a world where cultivators reigned, such a situation was far more complex than simply having a child ruler.
Age was not the primary concern. Even an infant would be recognized as the rightful ruler if they possessed the cultivation base of a Three Heavens cultivator.
Unfortunately, the young crown prince did not possess such prowess.
Thus, the throne was passed to his aunt, Zhang Wantong.
Upon her ascension, Queen Zhang Wantong immediately reaffirmed that Zhang Hui remained the crown prince of the Great Tang Empire.
In the years since, she had neither married nor produced an heir of her own.
Consequently, within the imperial family of the Tang Court, the Emperor's technique was passed down only to Zhang Wantong and her nephew, Zhang Hui.
"Counting the years, it's been almost a decade since the previous emperor's passing, hasn't it?" Lei Jun remarked. "Hmm, nine years. I suppose that means the crown prince is now technically an adult?"
At nineteen years of age, he was considered an adult by secular standards.
However, in the world of cultivation, especially within the unique context of the imperial family, the definition of adulthood was not solely based on age but also on one's cultivation realm.
Furthermore, Queen Zhang Wantong had once declared that she would return the throne to her nephew, Zhang Hui, in the future.
"I heard from Senior Sister Shangguan that the crown prince is not particularly passionate about the path of cultivation," Yuan Mobai said slowly. "Instead, he favors the arts, especially calligraphy and painting."
"In terms of cultivation base, there were rumors in the capital that the crown prince has reached the Fourth Heaven realm," Yuan Mobai added.
Lei Jun raised his eyebrows slightly.
A nineteen-year-old cultivator at the Middle Three Heavens realm could be considered a genius, even among the various famous clans and sacred lands. They would be far ahead of their peers.
However, for Zhang Hui, it was a different story...
One of the most significant advantages of cultivating the Emperor's technique was the boost it provided to one's cultivation speed. Not only would one's strength at the same realm surpass that of cultivators from other sects, but it also made it easier to cross the tribulations between major cultivation realms, a phenomenon known as "Heaven's Blessing over the Mountains and Rivers."
Compared to the previous generations of emperors of the Great Tang, as well as the recorded emperors and crown princes of the past, Zhang Hui's progress could not be considered fast.
Taking into account the recent surge in spiritual energy that had been beneficial to cultivators, one could even say that his progress was relatively slow.
"He loves calligraphy and painting, huh?" Lei Jun mused. "That certainly leaves a lot to the imagination..."
"With Zhang Hui's talent, can the Queen truly feel at ease passing the throne to him?" Tang Xiaotang asked, her curiosity piqued. "If she were to step down and become a retired emperor, how would she groom the next crown prince? Or does she plan to completely abandon the Emperor's technique?"
Tang Xiaotang was not particularly astute when it came to the undercurrents between the Tang Court and the noble clans, represented by the Ye family of Qingzhou. However, when it came to matters related to personal strength and cultivation, she was well-informed.
If Queen Zhang Wantong insisted on continuing to cultivate the Emperor's technique but wanted to return the throne to her nephew, there was only one option available to her—to step down and become a retired emperor, allowing Zhang Hui to ascend the throne.
However, the consequence of this decision would be that the next crown prince, should Zhang Hui choose to appoint one, would be unable to cultivate the Emperor's technique, as the positions would already be occupied by the retired emperor and the reigning emperor.
Of course, Queen Zhang Wantong could choose to abandon the Emperor's technique and return to her original cultivation path, which would not affect her cultivation base but would impact her strength at the same realm.
If Zhang Hui truly turned out to be incompetent, it would mean a weakening of the Tang Court's imperial family.
"Such matters are solely at the discretion of the Queen," Yuan Mobai said with a smile.
He and Lei Jun exchanged a glance.
Tang Xiaotang's speculations were based on one crucial assumption—that the crown prince was completely aligned with his aunt's wishes.
While one's interests often dictated their actions, should Zhang Hui ascend the throne, he would undoubtedly seek to balance the power and not blindly favor the noble clans like the Ye family of Qingzhou.
Emperor Zhang Hui and Crown Prince Zhang Hui might as well be considered two different people, or even two different beings...
However, the problem lay in the fact that Queen Zhang Wantong had taken strides that were too ambitious. If an emperor with differing ideals were to ascend the throne, compromises and adjustments would inevitably have to be made.
Of course, Queen Zhang Wantong could choose to not step down immediately and continue ruling according to her own plans for a while.
In the secular world, there had been instances of princes who had been crown princes for decades, driven to the brink of madness by the wait. Queen Zhang Wantong, if she so desired, could easily keep Zhang Hui as the crown prince for hundreds of years...
But if she did so, it would be hard to predict what Zhang Hui might think or do.
"For now, our sect should continue to adhere to the established strategy of recuperation and growth," Yuan Mobai said quietly. "Unless absolutely necessary, we must avoid creating unnecessary distractions. Especially in recent times, we should pay close attention to the movements in the Jiangzhou region."
"Lin Chao is back, but Senior Sister is still not back. This is simply unreasonable!
Tang Xiaotang's expression was one of displeasure.
Lei Jun and his disciple sighed as well.
After pouting for a moment, Tang Xiaotang suddenly smiled and said, "Little Martial Uncle, to be honest, I've been thinking that we should take the initiative to make a trip to Jiangzhou."
Lei Jun and Yuan Mobai were not surprised by her words.
If it hadn't been for the sudden news of Lin Chao's return to Jiangzhou, Tang Xiaotang would probably have already lost her patience and gone to find them in the Southern Wasteland.
Now that Lei Jun and Yuan Mobai had returned safely to Longhushan, Tang Xiaotang's thoughts naturally became more active again.
"To be frank, if there weren't some doubtful factors, I would support your idea, Sect Master."
Yuan Mobai, who was usually cautious and prudent, said thoughtfully, "It's not easy for our sect to take risks at the moment, but if we suddenly take the initiative, it might catch Jiangzhou off guard, rather than waiting for Lin Chao to be fully prepared and then make things difficult for our sect."
Tang Xiaotang's spirits lifted at his words. "Little Martial Uncle, you think so too?"
Lei Jun reminded her, "Little Martial Sister, Master's doubtful factors refer to the other families of the Four Surnames and Six Desires on one hand.
And on the other hand, it refers to the mysterious person who attacked the previous Sect Master and later tried to snatch the Celestial Master's Robe."
Tang Xiaotang puffed out her cheeks out of habit. "That person... His cultivation strength is not bad, but he's too sneaky and infuriating. If it weren't for him, we wouldn't have lost the Celestial Master's Robe in the first place!"
That person had also prepared a Yin Moon Soul Stone to shine on her, and the memory of it made Tang Xiaotang hate him even more.
However, her anger came and went quickly, and her thoughts soon turned to another matter. She looked at Lei Jun and asked, "By the way, regarding the Celestial Master's Robe, did you have any new findings during your trip to the Southern Wasteland?"
"There are indeed some new findings, but unfortunately, they are not enough to retrieve the Celestial Master's Robe itself," Lei Jun replied.
He showed Tang Xiaotang the revived Celestial Master's Seal and the two-in-one nine-colored radiance.
Tang Xiaotang stood up and said, "Let's go to the ancestral tomb in the back mountain and the Wanfa Zongtan."
Lei Jun and Yuan Mobai naturally had no objections, and they followed Tang Xiaotang out of the Celestial Master's Hall.
The three of them first arrived at the forbidden area of the ancestral tomb in the back mountain.
Although the Celestial Master's Seal had already returned to the Longhushan ancestral court, it was now truly awakened after cleansing away the impurities, which was a cause for celebration and a comfort to the past generations of ancestors.
At the same time, Lei Jun and the others also tried to help further locate the Celestial Master's Robe by offering sacrifices at the ancestral tomb.
After that, they went to the Wanfa Zongtan with the same purpose.
However, the whereabouts of the Celestial Master's Robe remained elusive, and Lei Jun and the others still could not find any clues.
"Will there have to be another battle at the Longhushan ancestral court?" Tang Tianshi murmured as they left the Wanfa Zongtan.
"Let's hope we can avoid that," Yuan Mobai said, glancing at Lei Jun. "We don't want to lose another treasure."
"Master, your words and expressions are scaring me and making my heart cold," Lei Jun said.
After all, he was now essentially bound to the Celestial Master's Seal...
"Don't worry, nothing will happen. I'll definitely keep an eye on you and the Celestial Master's Sword this time," Tang Xiaotang assured him with a wave of her hand.
Her tone sounded as if she was certain that there would be another calamity, and it did nothing to comfort Lei Jun.
"It's really unlucky," Tang Xiaotang muttered. "We're losing the Celestial Master's treasures one after the other."
Lei Jun tried to change the subject. "Let's talk about something more cheerful. It's been many years since Shu Mountain was able to find the Purple Micro Sword, hasn't it?"
If others were also unlucky, it would make their own misfortune seem less unfortunate...
"Zhongyun, watch your mouth," Yuan Mobai chided, shaking his head.
Tang Xiaotang, on the other hand, lightly rested her fingers on her chin and said, "That's true. The time it's been lost is almost as long as it took our sect to lose the Celestial Master's Seal in the first place."
The Celestial Master's Sword had already been lost and found again, and the Celestial Master's Robe had only been missing for less than a decade.
On the other hand, the Celestial Master's Seal had been lost for a much longer period before Lei Jun retrieved it.
In this regard, Longhushan's comrade in misfortune was another Taoist sacred site, Shu Mountain.
Shu Mountain was the sacred land of the Taoist refining sect, and everyone there cultivated their own natal magic treasures.
Since magic treasures were closely linked to the lives of their cultivators, when a cultivator of the Taoist refining sect perished, their magic treasures usually perished with them.
Throughout history, only a very small number of special and powerful top-grade magic treasures had survived the death of their refiners and eventually became the mountain-protecting treasures of Shu Mountain.
At this point, it was no wonder that Shu Mountain was known as the sacred land of the Taoist refining sect, as the magic treasures refined by their disciples throughout the ages were as numerous as the stars in the sky. Even with the large number of losses, they still managed to retain six top-grade magic treasures, collectively known as the Six Harmonies Supreme Treasures.
Among them, the Eastern and Western Treasures were also known as the two strongest flying swords left by Shu Mountain.
One was called Ziwei, and the other Qingming, so together they were known as the Purple and Green Twin Swords.
However, the Purple Micro Sword, one of the two great flying swords, had been lost and not yet found, which was a great regret for Shu Mountain. Whenever new disciples joined, their senior brothers and sisters would always remind them to keep an eye out for the Purple Micro Sword during their future travels.
"May Shu Mountain soon find the Purple Micro Sword, and may our sect soon find the Celestial Master's Robe," Lei Jun said, performing a Taoist salute.
He then turned to Tang Xiaotang and asked, "Little Martial Sister, although I can't summon the Celestial Master's Seal yet, I can now study the Thunder Law Celestial Writing. What do you think?"
Tang Xiaotang: "I want to see that for myself."
However, instead of studying the Thunder Law Celestial Writing and the Nine Heavenly Thunder Techniques, she was referencing them to further refine her self-created Pure Yang Immortal Thunder.
Speaking of which, her interest in the changes to Lei Jun's comprehension was even greater than that of the Thunder Law Celestial Writing.
"How does it feel to have a pure and quiet enlightenment?" Tang Xiaotang asked with a mischievous smile.
Lei Jun sighed, "Little Martial Sister, I can finally feel a part of the joy you used to have."
Tang Xiaotang burst out laughing, unable to control herself.
After laughing, she sized up Lei Jun, clicking her tongue in admiration.
"They say that one's root bone and enlightenment aptitude are innate, and it's rare to find opportunities to improve them after birth. But you're devouring them like beans."
Lei Jun: "It's all luck, but it's not that simple."
Tang Xiaotang, curious: "Will you suddenly go from a sacred body to an immortal body next?"
Lei Jun: "If possible, I'd love to experience the complete joy you have, Little Martial Sister. But such things can't be forced; I can only go with the flow and take things as they come."
"I gained some insights from this trip to the Southern Wasteland, and I'll need to seclude myself for some time," Yuan Mobai said. "The visit of the Crown Prince is no small matter, but as long as our sect remains firm in our decision to stay out of the imperial family's affairs, we should be fine."
Although Crown Prince Zhang Hui appeared to be indulging in calligraphy and painting, his trip outside the capital had brought about subtle changes in the perception of the outside world.
Tang Xiaotang waved her hand dismissively, "Don't worry about it, Little Martial Uncle. Go ahead."
Yuan Mobai went into seclusion, while Lei Jun returned to the Imperial Edict Pavilion to continue his duties as an executive elder.
Fortunately, it was a quiet place, and even though he had been away for several days, there were no major issues.
Lei Jun organized his findings from the trip to the Southern Wasteland and spent the following days studying the intricacies of the Thunder Law Celestial Writing with Tang Xiaotang and continuing his own cultivation.
With his enlightenment further enhanced, Lei Jun could now better keep up with Tang Xiaotang's train of thought as they studied the Daoist arts together.
However, due to their current cultivation levels, most of the time, Tang Xiaotang was the one explaining, and he was listening.
Nevertheless, during this period of accumulation, he not only refined his own Daoist imprints and learned more, but he also perfected another self-created talisman art, bringing it to a preliminary conclusion.
This self-created talisman art would become Lei Jun's third life-bound art.
Ever since he cultivated the Daoist Seal realm, this position had been left vacant, and now Lei Jun was officially filling it.
This art was derived from the High-Level Spirit Talisman of the Thousand-Mile Sound Transmission, passed down by the Celestial Master's Mansion, combined with the Two-Yin Primal Magnetism Spell created by Lei Jun himself, and further integrated with the insights and spiritual power of the heavenly-eyed mirror.
It was named the Heaven's Eye and Earth's Ear Talisman.
Lei Jun made the Heaven's Eye and Earth's Ear Talisman his third life-bound art and then continued to research and perfect it.
With his full concentration, he hardly noticed the passing of time.
Elder Lei focused on his cultivation, undisturbed by the outside world's distractions. Only a few pieces of news caught his attention.
Crown Prince Zhang Hui left the Pure Yang Palace, choosing to enter Shu and travel to the Shu Mountains as his second stop.
Among the three holy lands of the Daoist Sect, he placed the Celestial Master's Mansion last on his itinerary.
As Yuan Mobai had said, no matter how many schemes others had, Lei Jun was not very concerned about the Crown Prince's itinerary.
However, Zhang Hui's visit brought forth a piece of news from the Pure Yang Palace that attracted the attention of the outside world and Lei Jun.
With a slightly odd expression, he looked at Tang Xiaotang, "Pure Yang Palace has produced a rising star with a pure yin body..."
Tang Xiaotang waved her hand, "She's been there for a while now, but she was kept hidden until recently."
"... " Lei Jun was rarely at a loss for words.
This was indeed black humor.
Well, it only sounded like black humor. With the Pure Yang Palace's background as a sacred land for the Daoist alchemy sect, they certainly had the means to ensure the talented young lady's future.
"Anyway, she definitely can't compare to me."
Tang Xiaotang proudly declared, "She's only at the Sixth Heaven realm now, but she's been cultivating longer than I did to reach the Seventh Heaven realm."
Lei Jun nodded, "I wonder what her enlightenment is like."
It was normal for the young lady with the surname Tang to be proud. Even when compared to historical geniuses with the same pure yin body and pure enlightenment, her cultivation speed was considered fast.
"In the stories you told me, would someone like me and her be arch-enemies?" Tang Xiaotang scoffed.
Lei Jun glanced at her, "Maybe, or maybe they'd be a couple, like the saying goes, 'those who love each other the most, fight the most'..."
Tang Xiaotang paused, "Didn't I just say? She's a girl."
Lei Jun: "In some stories, gender isn't always a strict limitation."
Tang Xiaotang's eyes widened, but her gaze was unfocused.
(End of Chapter)
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