Chapter 407: Chapter 354: Genius of the Refining Spirit Path

Translator: 549690339

Pei Xuanjing addressed Pang Hong and said, “Remember one thing, never underestimate anyone, even if they are temporarily dormant, do not overlook their existence.”

Even though Zhao Baiyang had been missing for many years, Pei Xuanjing did not believe that he would be content with being ordinary. He must be planning a big project, waiting for the day to shock the world.

“The disciple will remember,” said Pang Hong solemnly with a nod.

The news of Pei Xuanjing’s return from his seclusion, though not intentionally publicized, but being the number one person in the world, every move of Pei Xuanjing received great attention.

Almost immediately after finishing his secluded cultivation, he received numerous visiting cards, but Pei Xuanjing only agreed to a few of them. He had a conversation with only Daoist Xuanming, the Master Guan of Baiyun Temple who resided in Tiandu.

No third person was present during their meeting, and what they discussed was unknown to anyone. It was only known that after Daoist Xuanming left, he returned to Baiyun Temple and entered secluded cultivation once again.

Many speculated that perhaps Pei Xuanjing provided some guidance to Daoist Xuanming, allowing him to see the opportunity to break into the Spirit Realm, and that’s why he chose to do so.

On the third day, the emperor, who had been practicing cultivation in the palace and ignored court affairs, rarely left the palace and arrived at Pei Xuanjing’s Taoist Temple.

“Master Pei,” greeted the Ziji Taoist, the reigning emperor of the Great Ming and the registered disciple of Pei Xuanjing.

“Have a seat!”

Without dodging, Pei Xuanjing accepted his salute calmly and nodded his head.

Considering Pei Xuanjing’s current strength, in the Dao of Qi Refining alone, his achievement of reaching the fourth level of the Spiritual Realm would have sparked admiration even during the flourishing Tang Dynasty. It was only natural to be respected by an emperor of a mortal empire.

After waiting for the emperor to be seated, Pei Xuanjing exclaimed, “It seems that you have made great progress in these years. Perhaps you truly possess a talent for the Dao of Refining Spirit!”

For ordinary people, it may be an extraordinary feat to raise oneself from an average person to a Sixth-grade martial artist within five to six years, and they might be considered geniuses.

However, this was not the case for the emperor. Everyone would only think that the current emperor was just a Sixth-grade martial artist, insignificant.

One must know that sitting on the imperial throne, all the resources required for cultivation are readily available. Their cultivation progressed thousands of miles in a day, and no significant obstacles were encountered before reaching the third-grade Realm.

Among the previous emperors of the Great Ming, there were those who went from an ordinary person to the fourth-grade martial artist in just four years, only a step away from stepping into the upper three realms’ domain of a third-grade grandmaster. Compared with those people, the cultivation speed of the current Emperor Jiajing was merely mediocre.

However, this was just the superficial phenomenon that ordinary people could observe. Only Pei Xuanjing truly understood his progress. With his powerful Yin Spirit, Pei Xuanjing could naturally sense how tremendous Emperor Jiajing’s current spiritual power was. If it were to be compared to the martial arts realm, it would already be at the peak of the fourth grade, just a whisker away from stepping into the third grade of the upper three realms.

“Master Pei, you are flattering me,” Emperor Jiajing replied calmly.

Pei Xuanjing shook his head, saying, “I’m not exaggerating, I’m just voicing my feelings. Perhaps, this method of cultivation really suits you.”

One point to be clear, unlike the path of cultivating True Qi and the body, the Dao of Refining Spirit cultivation didn’t have many experiences to rely on. Emperor Jiajing, having to learn from the book that Pei Xuanjing gave him, treaded the path independently. Seeing his accomplishment at the current realm, one could tell how remarkable his talent was.

“Haha…perhaps!”

A rarely seen smile appeared on Emperor Jiajing’s face as he leaned lazily back in his chair.

Though he had only held the throne for a few years, he was no longer the youth whose emotions were readily apparent on his face. He had learned how to be an emperor.

He was the supreme ruler of the Great Ming, and as an emperor, he needed to maintain his dignity and could no longer express his emotions freely. Perhaps only in front of Pei Xuanjing could he feel less lonely.

Seeing the emperor’s relaxed demeanor, a smile appeared at the corner of Pei Xuanjing’s mouth as well.

With his increasing power, Pei Xuanjing also felt a sense of loneliness. Apart from a few people, all others exhibited a hint of awe in front of him, making him feel distanced.

Even his disciple Pang Hong held more reverence than closeness for Pei Xuanjing. Perhaps his upbringing and status made Pang Hong’s character rather reserved, that resulted in less intimacy between him and Pei Xuanjing than expected.

Against this backdrop, Emperor Jiajing’s demeanor helped Pei Xuanjing sense a tinge of mundane life.

After a bout of laughter, Emperor Jiajing initiated the conversation, “Master Pei, when shall we begin the plan?”

The Pei Xuanjing in front of him was not one of his court officials. There was some semblance of equality between the two, so the emperor made no secret of his intentions and directly broached the subject.

He made no secret of his intentions, for this was the very reason he was visiting. Their initial collaboration was based on this premise as well.

“So, are you ready?” Pei Xuanjing asked in response.

Emperor Jiajing nodded confidently, saying, “Of course!”

Although it had only been a few years, he had firmly grasped control over the court; nobody could defy him now.

Pei Xuanjing said, “Since you are ready, let’s initiate the plan!”

If the suspicion that those people from the past might return due to the revival of Heaven and Earth was true, then Pei Xuanjing had been preparing to accelerate his plan to deal with potential incidents.

If Emperor Jiajing hadn’t come to him that day, Pei Xuanjing would have taken the initiative to expedite the plan.

Of course, such an accelerated plan inevitably required some modifications to its original content.

In the original plan, the Taoist School and the Ming Dynasty would jointly drive the initiative, with the rest of the forces serving as support. The Taoist School would reap the largest benefits, while the Ming court would receive a small portion, and the rest of the forces would have to settle for the scraps.

However, the situation had now changed. Even without the motivation to drive the plan forward, once Pei Xuanjing received news of the reformation of the Demonic Cult, the alliance among the powerful aristocratic families, and the re-alliance of the Buddhism School, they had to surrender some of the benefits.

As these alliances formed and became huge entities, they had enough confidence to negotiate directly. In other words, they were entitled to tip the balance of power.

Admittedly, with his current strength, Pei Xuanjing could readily suppress these alliances by teaming up with the imperial court of the Great Ming. Even if these alliances united, they would not have the power to resist.

There was no doubt that Pei Xuanjing possessed such strength to do so, was there?

But what then?