Chapter 2 The Next Day, Morning

Ning Tian Prefecture Imperial Residence, Yangyi Hall.

The attendant had delivered the imperial decree for the summons to Yufeng Zhenren yesterday. The emperor was now in the hall, waiting for the person to arrive today.

In the room, there was another man in official robes accompanying the emperor as he waited. This man had an aging appearance, with wrinkles so deep they could trap flies and mosquitoes, but his frame was quite sturdy.

"Minister Yin, what do you think of this Yufeng Zhenren's deeds? How much is true and how much is false?"

The emperor looked at the man and asked casually.

"Since this person has such a great reputation among the people of Ning Tian, he must have some skills… But I have never heard of anyone who has mastered the art of summoning wind and rain."

The man replied respectfully.

This man's name was Yin Nan, and he was the Shaojian (Vice Director) of the Sitianjian (Directorate of Astronomy), and was greatly trusted by the emperor.

There were many Daoists in the Sitianjian who served the imperial court and were formally canonized, including people from the prominent Daoist sects.

Currently, among the five prominent Daoist sects, the Changmen Mountain Yuding Sect enjoyed the most imperial favor, dominating the Sitianjian. Their greatest achievement was finding qi and determining acupoints for the emperor, drawing the trends of the dragon veins of the world, and providing "location planning" and "theoretical basis" for the emperor's idea of building the Temple of Heaven.

And this Yin Nan was one of the members of the Yuding Sect, and was deeply favored by the emperor, accompanying the emperor on his southern autumn tour.

The emperor pondered and continued to ask, "What about this person's alchemy skills?"

Yin Nan responded sternly, "Yesterday, I and the imperial physician tested the Longevity Pill. It used some tonic medicinal materials, nothing particularly ingenious. The imperial physicians of the Taiyi Yuan (Imperial Medical Institute) can also use similar methods to make medicine. There is no harm in taking it, but the matter of prolonging life is really difficult to judge. His Majesty is in good health, so it doesn't matter whether this pill is used or not."

The emperor blinked and said, "I also heard that this Yufeng Zhenren can refine a kind of Zifu (Purple Mansion) Longevity Pill, which can extend one's life by decades. What does Minister think?"

Yin Nan pretended to ponder before slowly saying, "I have read through the Daoist classics, and there is no record of this kind of elixir. I don't know how this Yufeng Zhenren discovered the Danfang (elixir formula) for this Zifu Longevity Pill. It is better to ask this person how to refine it and whether there are any successful cases, otherwise I will find it difficult to judge its authenticity based on the name alone."

The emperor squinted at him, then changed the subject and laughed:

"Minister Yin's implication is that this person is very likely to be a swindler, that the officials of Ning Tian have been fooled, and that I may also be deceived?"

Yin Nan quickly bowed down, panicking and saying:

"I would never dare to imply that. His Majesty is wise and martial, who can deceive him? I am just worried that this person's background is unknown and will be detrimental to His Majesty… I boldly suggest that His Majesty temporarily avoid him and let me meet this Yufeng Zhenren first to find out the details, lest this person be from an evil sect and have malicious intentions."

The emperor didn't take it seriously and waved his hand:

"Get up, Minister Yin is worried about my safety, naturally there is nothing wrong with that. However, I have already issued an imperial decree to meet him in person. An emperor does not jest, and besides, the officials of Ning Tian highly recommend this person, so Minister need not worry too much."

"I understand, but please allow me to interrogate this person's origins and observe him with the art of Qi Observation."

Hearing this, Yin Nan stood up and said softly.

The emperor nodded, noncommittal.

How could he not hear the meaning of belittling and repelling in Yin Nan's words, but he didn't care about these petty thoughts.

At this moment, the voice of a eunuch announcing finally sounded outside:

"Yufeng Zhenren enters the hall!"

Soon, a Daoist in a feather robe and Daoist crown followed two eunuchs into the Yangyi Hall.

The emperor glanced at him and was immediately shocked by Yufeng Zhenren's appearance.

He didn't expect this person to have such a strange appearance, looking like someone from the Western Regions.

"This humble Daoist, Lingfengzi, greets Your Majesty."

Zhou Jing performed a Daoist salute, his tone calm.

Yesterday, the eunuch came to deliver the edict, asking him to enter the palace today to meet the emperor, and specially taught him a series of etiquette such as kneeling and bowing, telling him not to be rude in front of the emperor.

However, he didn't take it to heart at all, because he wanted to maintain the posture of an extraordinary master. When they met today, he deliberately only used the etiquette of a monk to pay his respects.

"Bold! You are fortunate to meet the Emperor's face, why don't you bow down?"

The eunuch on the side scolded in a shrill voice.

The emperor watched silently, without stopping him.

Zhou Jing's expression remained unchanged, deliberately affecting an air of superiority, "This humble Daoist is an outsider, and has always only worshiped the heavens, the earth, and the gods and Buddhas in temples."

"You…"

The eunuch wanted to say something else.

The emperor interrupted at this time, nodding and saying, "Since you are an outsider, you can be exempted from the formalities. Someone, grant a seat."

As soon as he finished speaking, the attendant immediately brought a small embroidered stool and placed it beside him.

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

Zhou Jing sat down, his tone natural:

"Your Majesty is busy with official duties, what is the purpose of summoning this humble Daoist?"

"This Zhenren's name, I have heard of even in the capital, I also want to see what kind of enlightened master is it that can make the entire Ning Tian Prefecture so highly recommended and praised."

The emperor nodded, his expression calm.

Zhou Jing smiled and asked, "Now that Your Majesty has met this humble Daoist, what are your thoughts?"

The emperor scanned him up and down, and asked with curiosity:

"I am indeed a little surprised. Looking at Zhenren's appearance, are you actually from the Western Regions?"

Hearing this, Zhou Jing shook his head and lied, "This humble Daoist was born with this appearance, and is not from the Western Regions."

"Strange people and strange talents often have strange appearances." The emperor nodded, and then changed the subject: "Then I don't know where Zhenren's hometown is?"

"I practiced in the mountains since I was a child, and later traveled around. Wherever I go is my hometown. There is no need to mention where I came from in this mortal world."

Zhou Jing was still using the same old rhetoric, but this time the target of his flattery was the emperor, so he added a little detail to it.

Yin Nan coughed and asked, "Then I don't know who Zhenren's teacher is?"

"Who is this…"

Zhou Jing had already noticed this person in the field, and looked over when he heard the words.

Seeing that the emperor did not stop him from interjecting, Yin Nan knew that he was implicitly allowing him to question him, so he continued:

"This official is Yin Nan, the Shaojian of the Sitianjian, the sage bestowed the title 'Su Guan Xian Sheng (Mr. Simple Observation)', and my teacher is from the Changmen Mountain Yuding Sect."

"Pleased to meet you."

He had heard people mention the name of the Yuding Sect, it was one of the five prominent Daoist sects.

Zhou Jing's heart stirred, and he used Detection to take a look at this person, and found that he was someone who knew magic.

As expected, there are also knowledgeable cultivators around the emperor…

Wei Zifu and Miaoxuzi had not mentioned the Sitianjian, but thinking about it, it was obvious what it did.

There must be other cultivators in the world who want to cling to imperial power, and the orthodox Daoist sects are naturally the most powerful competitors among them. The Sitianjian is probably the court department that accommodates such people.

'So, that demon woman Mei Zhanqing's plan was a daydream at all, completely ignoring the existence of the Sitianjian. With her evil aura, she would be seen through by the Sitianjian as soon as she approached the emperor. Unless she can meet the emperor alone in a less formal occasion… uh, it doesn't seem impossible.'

Zhou Jing muttered to himself.

The emperor summoned him, specially bringing someone from the Sitianjian, obviously to let this person find out his background.

Fortunately, although he took two evil techniques from Mei Zhanqing, he never practiced them, and had always been practicing proper skills, otherwise his secrets would have been exposed…

On the other side, Yin Nan had already used the Art of Qi Observation to look at Zhou Jing, and was also shocked by the "Dao Law of Nature" sign, exclaiming in his heart that it was impossible.

However, he had been in the court for a long time and knew how to hide his expressions, not revealing anything.

'This person's Dao practice is profound, unmatched by anyone in my Changmen Mountain. If he comes to compete with us for favor, he is indeed a formidable enemy.'

Yin Nan secretly felt a sense of fear towards Zhou Jing.

However, Dao practice is not everything. Whether he can gain imperial favor depends on whether he knows how to please the emperor… I don't know if this person has any intention of clinging to imperial power. I hope this guy is really an outsider who doesn't care about power.

Yin Nan's original plan was that if this person's Dao practice was low and he didn't have a great background, then he would use words to suppress him, or even compete in spells, trying to make the emperor feel that this guy's skills were mediocre and lose interest in him.

But at this moment, he realized that this Yufeng Zhenren lived up to his reputation and had profound Dao practice. In order to avoid humiliating himself, he gave up this idea and did not intend to suppress him in person, but instead changed his strategy and cautiously inquired about his background.

"I don't know what Zhenren has learned, who did you inherit it from?" Yin Nan asked again. He had been in the capital for a long time, but he had never heard of the rumor that Zhou Jing had become self-taught.

"I have no sect or faction. I am a wild cultivator in the mountains. I have not read many Daoist classics. All my skills have been explored by myself."

Zhou Jing responded casually.

Yin Nan was stunned for a moment, but quickly recovered and said, "Although that is said, there must always be someone who leads the way to enter the door before one can embark on this path, right? I wonder if Zhenren can tell me, maybe I will also recognize him."

Zhou Jing's eyes turned, "That's right, although this humble Daoist has no teacher, I did receive guidance from someone when I was young, but it was in a dream."

"Dream, in a dream?"

Yin Nan's eyes widened.

Zhou Jing nodded solemnly: "Yes, when this humble Daoist was still a child, I received guidance from an immortal in a dream, saying that my fate was extraordinary, and that I would shoulder a mission in the future. When the secrets of heaven are revealed, I should leave the mountain to assist a legendary Son of Heaven and help him establish an imperial career that will be recorded in history… This humble Daoist came to Ning Tian Prefecture precisely because I felt that the secrets of heaven have appeared. This trip to meet His Majesty is also for this purpose."

"You…"

Yin Nan gritted his teeth, cursing inwardly for being shameless.

Everyone is playing metaphysics, and they are all experts in deceiving people. You actually started in front of me?!

Isn't it a bit too disrespectful to me!

But before he could speak, the emperor became interested and asked curiously:

"An immortal entrusted a dream to you, asking you to assist the Son of Heaven, could it be referring to me?"

Zhou Jing nodded and deliberately said, "The legendary Son of Heaven that the immortal spoke of is embodied in Your Majesty. Your Majesty will surely establish a great career and be remembered for generations to come."

"Hahaha." The emperor was quite happy to hear this: "What Zhenren said is interesting… Minister Yin, do you think it is because I built the Temple of Heaven that it had a miraculous effect, and that it sensed the heavens?"

In his opinion, if immortals would entrust dreams, it must be because he, the emperor, had great achievements.

And among all his achievements, the most likely one was building the Temple of Heaven to suppress the dragon veins of the world. This was his proudest work, so it alarmed the immortals, and they entrusted a dream to Yufeng Zhenren, such an extraordinary master, to come out of the mountain to assist him.

Thinking about it this way, he directly achieved self-consistency.

"Uh… I think that's exactly the case. The Temple of Heaven will benefit future generations. Once completed, the country will be prosperous, and the weather will be good. Although it has not been completed yet, its miraculous effects are already showing. I congratulate Your Majesty for his achievements that have moved the heavens."

Hearing this, Yin Nan reluctantly agreed.

The Temple of Heaven was also the reason why the Sitianjian gained imperial favor. Since the emperor thought so, he naturally couldn't tear down the platform, so he could only reluctantly praise him, secretly cursing this Lingfengzi for being a cunning villain, and must have thought of this set of rhetoric long ago.

The emperor became interested and didn't need Yin Nan to ask questions for him. He asked personally:

"Since Zhenren has been enlightened by immortals, your skills must be extraordinary. I have only heard of them, but never seen them with my own eyes. I wonder if Zhenren can show me a hand?"

"What difficulty is there in that?"

Zhou Jing smiled slightly, waiting for the other party to speak.

Whoosh—

The next moment, the wind swept the curtains.

He maintained his sitting posture, but his whole body floated into the air, his Daoist robe danced, showing an ethereal image of an immortal rising into the sky.

Zhou Jing drove the wind and floated around the hall once before returning to his original position, looking at the other party with a smile.

The emperor's lips were slightly open, and his eyes were shining. The eunuchs around him were even more stunned.

"Good! The people say that Zhenren has the power to summon wind, I didn't quite believe it before, but seeing it today, I know that the name is well-deserved!"

The emperor exclaimed in surprise, saying that it was incredible.

He was skeptical of Zhou Jing's words just now, but at this time, his trust increased sharply.

Beside him, Yin Nan swallowed and was also greatly shocked.

He had been concentrating on observing just now, wanting to see if there were any mechanisms on Zhou Jing's body, but in the end, he found that this was not a trick at all, it was really flying!

Could it be that the rhetoric of the immortal entrusting a dream was not nonsense?

Yin Nan was a little shaken.

"A mere supernatural power, I've made a fool of myself." Zhou Jing chuckled.

"It's really a mysterious skill, incredible… By the way, I heard that Zhenren also knows the art of alchemy?"

The emperor couldn't help but ask the question he was most concerned about.

Before the meeting, the emperor had not fully believed Yin Nan and the imperial physician's analysis of the Longevity Pill.

At this moment, after seeing the magical scene, he threw the analysis to the back of his mind and wanted to ask in person.

Hearing this, Zhou Jing smiled and said, "That's right, this humble Daoist uses ganoderma to refine elixirs, which are truly beneficial to the human body. Replenishing qi and strengthening the body, and treating hidden diseases are all trivial matters. This trip, I brought Longevity Pills to present to His Majesty. Taking this pill for a long time can nourish the body and prolong life."

As he spoke, he took out three bottles of Longevity Pills, which were handed over to the emperor by the eunuch.

The emperor glanced at them, and they were the same shape as the elixirs presented by the nobles yesterday, but they were more crystal clear and moist. Just smelling them made him feel the aroma of the medicine overflowing, and his spirits were lifted.

However, he didn't pay too much attention to these Longevity Pills, but looked at Zhou Jing with a hint of hope:

"I heard that Zhenren can also refine an elixir that can extend one's life for decades, called the Zifu Longevity Pill… I wonder where Zhenren discovered this elixir formula, and are there any finished products?"

"That's right, after the immortal's enlightenment, this humble Daoist practiced in the mountains and explored this divine elixir on my own. I tried it hundreds of times and successfully refined it once."

Zhou Jing's face remained unchanged, and he smiled in his heart.

This was the big cake he had deliberately released. It was actually something that didn't exist, but with so much foreshadowing before, he had now hooked the emperor.

The emperor was pleasantly surprised: "Where is the divine elixir that Zhenren refined now?"

Zhou Jing smiled and said, "This elixir can only produce one pill per furnace. I ate it a long time ago. In fact, this humble Daoist is nearly seventy years old. I have been cultivating for decades to have the supernatural powers I have today. The reason why I look young is the effect of this pill."

Hearing this, the emperor couldn't help but nod.

Reasonable!

This Daoist has great supernatural powers and must have been practicing for many years. His actual age is not as young as he looks, which makes people feel normal.

Asking himself, if he could refine this divine elixir, the first thing he would do would be to eat it himself.

The emperor was a little impatient, but he still held back and said sternly:

"I wonder how to refine this divine elixir? In my imperial treasury, there are treasures from all over the world. No matter what precious medicinal materials are needed, I can ask people to find them!"

Zhou Jing coughed and said solemnly:

"Your Majesty, the Zifu Longevity Pill seizes the good fortune of heaven and earth. In addition to medicinal materials, it also needs to use spells to collect the essence of the five elements, the pure qi of heaven and earth, and other things as a guide. Finally, the furnace must be opened to refine the elixir in a special year and time, otherwise it will inevitably fail. I have calculated the timing, and it will take at least five years before I can refine this elixir."

He made it up plausibly, and the core idea was this - anyway, some of the materials for this elixir cannot be bought with money, so you can only wait patiently for me to say when I can refine it.

"So that's how it is…"

The emperor was a little disappointed, he couldn't wait to take this divine elixir immediately.

At this time, Zhou Jing blinked and suddenly said:

"Although this humble Daoist can calculate the timing, I am not very proficient in this Dao, and may not be able to accurately calculate the time for refining the elixir. Once I make a mistake, I will have to wait many years. If Your Majesty wants this humble Daoist to refine this elixir, I am willing to join the Qingliang Mountain Zhengxin Dao and spend my mind learning their secret Tianyuan Dasuan (Great Calculation of Celestial Cycles) to ensure that nothing goes wrong."

The emperor came back to his senses and said with relief, "Zhenren has a heart, I am very gratified… I will issue an decree to order Qingliang Mountain to pass on the Dharma to you."

Zhou Jing nodded.

He had already planned to accept Miaoxuzi's invitation, and now he deliberately said it in a different way, which was to give the emperor a preventive shot, and by the way, make the emperor mistakenly think that he joined the Qingliang Mountain to help him refine the elixir.

At this time, the emperor calmed down, made a decision, suddenly stood up, and said loudly:

"Zhenren's abilities have opened my eyes! I will draft an imperial decree to confer upon you the title 'Shenxiao (Godly Firmament) Fengling (Wind Spirit) Zhenren' and announce it to the world!"

The emperor bestows a title, which is considered an official certification for himself…

Zhou Jing raised his eyebrows and also got up to salute, pretending to be a model and said, "Thank you, Your Majesty, for your kindness."

At this time, the emperor glanced at Yin Nan, who had a subtle expression, and suddenly said:

"I wonder if Zhenren is willing to stay by my side often and serve me?"

Stay by your side… do I need to cut my chicken?

Zhou Jing tried hard to swallow this complaint and asked:

"I wonder what His Majesty's plans are?"

The emperor stroked his beard and smiled, saying:

"I want to summon Zhenren to enter the Sitianjian, temporarily serve as a Secretary to familiarize yourself with affairs, and at the same time refine elixirs for me. You can meet me directly. I wonder what Zhenren thinks?"

As soon as he finished speaking.

In Yin Nan's eyes, a hint of fear flashed quietly.

As the saying goes, the same sex repels each other. He could see that this Lingfengzi was definitely not a kind person who was indifferent to fame and wealth, but had great ambitions.

This person's Dao practice is profound and he knows how to compete for favor, which is extremely difficult to deal with. If he enters the Sitianjian in the future, he will definitely impact the mainstream position of their Changmen Mountain Yuding Sect.

Moreover, this may be deliberately done by the emperor, who specially pulled a wild Daoist without a foundation into the Sitianjian, wanting to use this person to restrain the others… Could it be that the emperor has been dissatisfied with the Sitianjian recently?

For a time, Yin Nan's thoughts were mixed, the more he thought about it, the more afraid he became, and he was full of worry.

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