Chapter 179: Chapter 175: This Brother Yu is Quite Similar to My Brother Yuanqing
The matter concerning Yang Wenwan was swiftly brought to a close.
The investigation revealed that a few scoundrels had spread malicious rumors, forged evidence, and attempted to frame this vital minister of the state.
The Emperor of the Han Kingdom had been deceived by these scoundrels and had nearly made a terrible mistake.
He wept bitterly during the court assembly, even offering to issue an imperial edict of self-blame.
Yang Wenwan kowtowed deeply, imploring the Emperor not to blame himself so harshly. At the same time, he claimed to be old and frail, his mind and body exhausted, and requested permission to retire.
The Emperor, deeply moved, denied the request. Instead, he appointed Yang Wenwan as the Regent King, hoping he would uphold the Righteous Dao and assist the throne.
He granted Yang Wenwan the right to enter court at a slow pace, to wear his sword and shoes in the throne room, to be greeted without his name being announced, and bestowed upon him the Nine Bestowments.
After repeatedly and strenuously declining, Yang Wenwan had no choice but to accept the appointment.
A grand spectacle of perfect harmony between sovereign and subject played out in the great hall.
Even though, in their hearts, both of them wanted nothing more than to strangle the other.
As for the scoundrels who had slandered Yang Wenwan, they were naturally punished with the extermination of their three closest familial clans, their female relatives forced into the Music Bureau. It was all a matter of course.
Such a dramatic, earth-shattering reversal at court left everyone dumbfounded.
For discerning observers, however, the matter was not complicated. It proved only one thing: the Immortal Master backing Yang Wenwan was terrifyingly powerful.
After becoming Regent King, the first order Yang Wenwan issued was to appoint a completely obscure individual named Yu Fei as a Royal Court Official.
This was, in fact, a small experiment on Du Youqian’s part. After being appointed as a Royal Court Official, he did indeed immediately sense the Human Dao Fortune of the Han Kingdom.
It flowed into his body unceasingly, like a trickling stream.
Although the stream was minuscule—not even one percent of what he had obtained in the Wu Kingdom—it proved one of Du Youqian’s theories: to share in the Human Dao Fortune of a mortal dynasty, one needed a legitimate title.
If he had free time in the future, he planned to find a kingdom and play the part of a National Preceptor for a while.
But for now, that was not a pressing matter.
After studying the power of Human Dao Fortune for a time and gaining no new insights, Du Youqian ruthlessly abandoned the chubby, middle-aged man and returned to Feixian Peak.
Of course, from the chubby man’s perspective, it was as if he had been granted a grand amnesty.
For the next few years, he could do as he pleased in the Han Kingdom Imperial Palace.
’That said, this Brother Yu, in his speech, mannerisms, and even his temperament... he’s remarkably similar to my Brother Yuanqing. I heard Brother Yu inherited Brother Yuanqing’s legacy. Perhaps some unseen force connects them, which would explain the resemblance.’
~~~~~~~~
By the time Du Youqian returned to Feixian Peak, Shen Miao had long since completed his Foundation Establishment and taken his place among the upper echelons of the Zhongxuan Sect.
He immediately rushed to Du Youqian’s cave residence to express his gratitude.
"Your spirit is full, your energy is ample, and your foundation is deep. Not bad," Du Youqian said with a nod after appraising him. "From now on, you will stay by my side until I return to my Sect. During this period, I will instruct you personally. Consider it my way of repaying the favor I owe Fellow Daoist Qiu. Learn as much as you can. Understand?"
"I will obey." Shen Miao was reluctant to refer to himself as a disciple.
However, he was deeply grateful to Du Youqian, viewing him as the second person to have changed the course of his life.
After asking for guidance on a few cultivation matters, Shen Miao returned to his own cave residence and began to ponder.
’My master was certainly good to me, but we spent very little time together. My grandmaster treats me well too, but he’s full of selfish intentions and always acts with too much reservation.’
’Only this Lord Yu... even though he’s younger than me, he watches over me like a true elder and teacher.’
’He claimed I’d have to pay a price for the Foundation Establishment Pill he gave me, but in reality, it was an unconditional gift. When I really think about it, he’s the person in this world who has treated me the best.’
’It’s a pity that the righteous and the demonic cannot coexist. Otherwise, what would be wrong with me taking him as my master?’
Putting aside the rich drama playing out in Shen Miao’s mind, since returning to Feixian Peak, Du Youqian had begun scouting the Zhongxuan Sect for young disciples skilled in Artifact Refining.
He intended to fulfill the promise he had made to himself in a past life: to train a disciple with Tier Three Cultivation Techniques for the Zhongxuan Sect.
Although Du Youqian’s talent for Artifact Refining wasn’t top-tier, and his current skill was only at Tier Two Upper Grade—a level below his abilities in Alchemy and the Array Dao—he considered the Zhongxuan Sect’s situation. They had successors for the Array Dao and Alchemy, but when it came to Artifact Refining, the Treasure Hall seemed to be suffering from a gap between the old and new generations.
Thus, Du Youqian decided to train an Artifact Refining Master for the Zhongxuan Sect.
He himself had a high chance of raising his Artifact Refining skill to Tier Three as soon as he promoted to the Foundation Establishment Late Stage.
Therefore, he was more than qualified to instruct a disciple.
After six months of observation, he chose a disciple named Wu Siyuan.
He was only in his early forties, with an ordinary Fire Attribute Middle Grade Spirit Root and a cultivation at the Qi Cultivation Late Stage.
Although his Artifact Refining skill was only at Tier One Upper Grade, he showed remarkable potential.
He was worth nurturing.
Du Youqian went to Sect Leader Jin and requested Wu Siyuan by name.
Sect Leader Jin felt a headache coming on. Finding it difficult to refuse, he had no choice but to ask, "Fellow Daoist Yu, for what reason do you require him?"
Du Youqian smiled. "I’ve been planning to practice my Artifact Refining lately. I saw this junior has some talent and thought he could serve as my assistant. Surely Sect Leader Jin wouldn’t be reluctant to part with him?"
Sect Leader Jin countered, "Fellow Daoist Yu doesn’t intend to have him switch sects, does he?"
"Of course not. In my Holy Sect, talented youths far superior to him are as numerous as carp crossing a river. Once I return to my Sect, I wouldn’t give someone of his caliber a second glance."
Sect Leader Jin thought, ’It’s for the best that you don’t think highly of him.’
’If you truly took a fancy to him and demanded him from me, I would be reluctant to part with him yet daren’t refuse. Now that would be a true dilemma.’
Others had long since taken notice of Wu Siyuan’s talent.
Although the boy’s talent was far from that of Qiu Yuanqing in his prime, he still possessed a sliver of hope of becoming an Artifact Refining Master, and the Zhongxuan Sect was naturally unwilling to let him go.
Hearing now that Du Youqian only intended to take him on as an assistant, Sect Leader Jin pondered for a moment, realized it was a mutually beneficial arrangement, and immediately agreed.
In truth, Du Youqian hadn’t been lying.
He really did intend to hone his Artifact Refining skills, striving to reach Tier Two Top Grade as soon as possible. Then, once his cultivation broke through to the Foundation Establishment Late Stage, he would raise his Alchemy, Array, and Artifact Refining skills to Tier Three in one fell swoop.
The reason he was so eager to improve these skills was primarily to make good use of that Fire-Wind Demon Core.
He planned to first forge it into an Outer Pill, giving himself a trump card to fight Core Formation Masters even while in the Foundation Establishment Realm. Later, when the time was right, he would use that Outer Pill as the primary material to refine a Four Spirits Heaven-Repairing Pill and enhance his Fire-Wind Spirit Root.
Forging an Outer Pill required a high level of mastery in both Alchemy and the Artifact Refining Art.
Otherwise, the resulting Outer Pill would be of insufficient grade and flawed form, and its power would easily dissipate.
Not only would this reduce the number of times it could be used, but its future medicinal efficacy would also be compromised.
~~~~~~~~
After teaching Wu Siyuan for half a year, Du Youqian was certain that the boy’s talent for Artifact Refining far surpassed his own.
In truth, Du Youqian’s talent was only top-tier in the Array Dao; his talent for Alchemy could merely be considered excellent.
As for Artifact Refining, he was only of average aptitude.
He only appeared to have great talent for Artifact Refining because of the time he had invested, especially the seventy to eighty years he spent practicing various Cultivation Techniques in his first life.
Wu Siyuan, on the other hand, was only forty. He had reached the Qi Cultivation Late Stage in a mere twenty years with only a Middle Grade Spirit Root, which meant he must have spent most of his time on cultivation.
The fact that he could still raise his Artifact Refining skill to Tier One Upper Grade under such circumstances could only mean that his talent was truly extraordinary.
In the process of teaching Wu Siyuan, Du Youqian truly experienced the unique joy of mentoring one of the world’s finest talents.
Wu Siyuan grasped any concept instantly and could even extrapolate further principles from a single example.
Artifact Refining is a skill that requires practical ability, an area where Wu Siyuan was equally adept. He not only had the vision but also the nimble hands and stable Magical Power output to bring his ideas to life.
Du Youqian could perceive Wu Siyuan’s progress almost every month.
After Du Youqian had been teaching Wu Siyuan for over a year—two years into his tenure as the Han Kingdom’s Guardian Envoy—the boy’s Artifact Refining skill had quietly advanced to Tier Two.
Of course, after reaching Tier Two, progress in Cultivation Techniques naturally slows.
This was especially true for Wu Siyuan, whose cultivation was still lacking and his Divine Sense was relatively weak.
For a while after that, Du Youqian focused on drilling Wu Siyuan on the theoretical knowledge of Artifact Refining and urging the young man to cultivate diligently. He even secretly taught Wu Siyuan the first half of the Shangqing Purple Qi Divine Pill Creation Technique.
This was despite the fact that Du Youqian had once made a Heart Demon Vow never to pass on this cultivation technique, lest he be plagued by Heart Demons.
Of course, this wasn’t a case of him thinking, ’If Qiu Yuanqing is plagued by Heart Demons, what does that have to do with me, Yu Fei?’
In his heart, Du Youqian had already accepted the identity of each of his lifetimes.
He was Qiu Yuanqing, and he was also Yu Fei.
He would naturally not risk triggering the Heart Demon Vow.
The issue was that the version of the Shangqing Purple Qi Divine Pill Creation Technique he taught to Shen Miao and Wu Siyuan was a copy he had purchased with his own Contribution Points from the Holy Blood Sect’s Collection Room. Since the cultivation technique did not originate from the Holy Blood Sect, exchanging for it did not require a Heart Demon Vow forbidding its transmission.
After switching to the Shangqing Purple Qi Divine Pill Creation Technique, and with the help of the Miracle Elixirs Du Youqian occasionally bestowed upon him, Wu Siyuan reached the cusp of Foundation Establishment in just three short years.
At this point, Du Youqian tested Wu Siyuan with a relatively simple task: to refine a Mid Level Spiritual Artifact capable of Eliminating Illusions.
Wu Siyuan completed the task beautifully, and Du Youqian used this as a pretext to award him a Foundation Establishment Pill.
This incident left the upper echelons of the Zhongxuan Sect completely baffled.
’Could it be that both Shen Miao and Wu Siyuan are Yu Guardian Envoy’s illegitimate sons?’
’Unless they’re his actual sons, there’s no reason for him to be this good to them.’
Two more years passed. Wu Siyuan successfully achieved Foundation Establishment, and his Artifact Refining Art improved in tandem, showing faint signs of breaking through to Tier Two Middle Grade.
That year, Du Youqian was forty-three years old, and his cultivation was at the Foundation Establishment Fifth Layer.
He spent most of his energy analyzing the Red Blood Seven Transitions Technique, continuing to comprehend Sword Intent, and improving his Artifact Refining Art, so his cultivation growth had slowed somewhat.
Shen Miao was fifty-three and had reached the Foundation Establishment Second Layer, which was considered quite remarkable in a minor sect like the Zhongxuan Sect.
Just as Du Youqian was preparing to enter seclusion to push his cultivation to the Foundation Establishment Sixth Layer in one fell swoop,
he received two Jade Slips from the Sect.
One of them was from his master, Feng Xiaoyi.
It stated that the Holy Blood Sect’s centennial grand competition would be held the following year, and the first-place winner would be directly granted the status of a True Disciple.
My good disciple, you often say you have a filial heart.
Don’t you want to fight for first place and make your master proud?
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