fifth form

Chapter 3445 Preparations in Advance
The Western Religion held little status in the Han Dynasty, but it was a true perennial runner-up, holding a pivotal position in both the Heavenly Court era and the Celestial Court era.

Even in the most barren places, such large sects are not something ordinary people can possess, and their secret scriptures are of paramount importance.

While the Heart Sutra may not be considered top-tier in terms of its combat effectiveness, it stands out for its unique approach to spiritual cultivation.

"I've consulted numerous ancient texts, and there's almost nothing about the complete cultivation of the soul!"

Zhang Xuezhou searched for battle flags in the inner treasury, while the new emperor searched the library.

Zhang Xuezhou mentioned the various shortcomings of the Heart Sutra, so the new emperor naturally wanted to switch to a more normal cultivation method, even if it was slightly inferior, so that he could make a preliminary attempt from the shallow to the deep.

But what the new emperor didn't expect was that the Han Dynasty had no such content at all; the Hundred Schools of Thought never blossomed in this area.

"Are you going to give it a try?" Zhang Xuezhou asked.

"I'll try it! I definitely want to try!"

The new emperor gritted his teeth and agreed.

Once one's cultivation reaches the True Self Realm, the pursuit of realm techniques comes to an end, while the potential for improvement in swordsmanship is limited.

There are only a limited number of cultivators at the True Self Realm, and very little experience is available for reference.

Judging from past content, most True Self Realm cultivators initially seek to make up for their shortcomings in spells and try various spells, with flying spells becoming a primary choice. Later, lacking ambition, they become idle and pursue longevity or fantasize about establishing a new sect or doctrine, but ultimately they fall into silence.

Most cultivators are already fixed after entering the True Self Realm, and there is not much room for change. This is why the strength of True Self Realm cultivators is divided into different levels.

It is rare for a new emperor to have such great potential for improvement after entering the True Self Realm. Although this kind of cultivation is very unfriendly to him, the new emperor is still willing to try and persevere.

That's one of Zhang Xuezhou's strengths; whenever a new emperor feels he's reached his peak or lacks direction, Zhang Xuezhou can always offer some advice.

Whether these suggestions are good or bad, the new emperor cannot predict the outcome.

He looked at the palm-leaf scriptures that Zhang Xuezhou had taken out, and then at the tadpole-like characters, and felt a headache starting to throb.

How well do you practice the Heart Sutra?

Zhang Xuezhou was fluent in Sanskrit and used it to understand the Heart Sutra. When Zhang Xuezhou stammered through his explanations, the new emperor couldn't help but ask questions.

"After practicing according to the scriptures, I reached the seventh level!"

Zhang Xuezhou pointed, and a bright halo appeared behind his head, illuminating the surroundings with a faint white light.

Like the light of a bright moon, this radiance is not dazzling but gentle.

The new emperor reached out and touched it, feeling as if he were caressing a woman's skin, with a touch of intimacy and aloofness.

It's a very contradictory feeling, mainly because Zhang Xuezhou seems harmless, yet there's a connection with him, and also Zhang Xuezhou's personality.

When the new emperor touched the divine radiance condensed from Zhang Xuezhou's Prajna Heart Sutra, he felt as if he instantly understood Zhang Xuezhou.

“If you cannot obtain the secrets of the two Western religious leaders, your cultivation limit is only the sixth level,” Zhang Xuezhou explained. “I deceived them once by taking advantage of an opportunity, so it will be difficult for you to achieve success in cultivation in the same way!”

"I have never seen a technique that requires deception," the new emperor retorted.

"This situation actually happens quite often!"

Zhang Xuezhou gave a brief response.

Their method of cultivation is not unusual; such cases are quite common in the cultivation world.

For example, the earliest cultivator Zhang Xuezhou came into contact with was the Wood Daoist, whose experience in obtaining cultivation techniques was extremely difficult, and many of his techniques were pieced together from various sources.

Leaving aside those like Mu Daoren who haven't yet achieved mastery of cultivation, cultivators from all the major orthodox sects need to acquire cultivation techniques step by step. Even the imperial court has various conditions in place, making the situation no different from that of the Western Religion.

This was the first time the new emperor had encountered such a thing, but other cultivators had experienced it countless times, and Zhang Xuezhou himself had also struggled and struggled through it for many years.

"Call me if there's an opportunity to cause trouble, I want to deceive too!" Zhang Xuezhou only mentioned that it would be difficult to give the new emperor the same opportunity, without completely blocking this path, and the new emperor keenly joined in.

Regardless of whether things go well or not, it's always good to say hello first; otherwise, he might not be included when Zhang Xuezhou stirs up trouble.

“Then you’ll have to hurry up and catch up,” Zhang Xuezhou said with a smile.

"How fast?" the new emperor asked.

“It would be best if we could have the Heart Sutra at the sixth level right now,” Zhang Xuezhou said.

"So fast!"

The new emperor gasped, immediately realizing that the opportunity Zhang Xuezhou was seeking might take a long time to arrive, or it might arise in the present. Zhang Xuezhou couldn't be sure of the possibility and could only make preparations in advance.

"The imperial court has some people who travel to the Western Regions and are fluent in the languages ​​of the Western Regions. I will try my best to understand the Heart Sutra as quickly as possible!"

Zhang Xuezhou's explanation was insufficient to meet the new emperor's needs. The new emperor could not learn Sanskrit in a short time, let alone understand the Sanskrit terminology in the Heart Sutra.

Only with a certain understanding of Sanskrit and Sanskrit scriptures can he possibly learn related skills.

Time was tight, and the new emperor had no choice but to do his best and leave the rest to fate.

Seeing that Zhang Xuezhou could control the array flags with his divine soul despite lacking domain power, he couldn't help but feel extremely envious.

Someone like him fills in whatever is lacking, and Zhang Xuezhou clearly had made preparations in advance to avoid being unavailable when needed.

"These array flags of yours don't seem to be for repairing the Five Ghosts Yin Wind Array?"

After receiving the Heart Sutra from Zhang Xuezhou, the new emperor read it repeatedly, feeling as if he were reading a book written in heaven.

He placed the palm leaves containing the scriptures in a sealed box, then looked at Zhang Xuezhou, who had finished selecting them in the inner treasury, and asked him a question.

“I have seen the Qi Dao of the Crimson Bird Formation and the Yun Dao of the Five Elements Flags in the Wenying Pavilion. His Majesty has also allowed us to cultivate Yun techniques, so I am thinking of setting up a few formation flags to activate the Yun techniques,” Zhang Xuezhou said. “If one day we can use the Great Chanyu of the Fierce Kingdom as a sacrifice to the flag, the Qi and Yun will surely be abundant. After we have mastered the Yun techniques, our actions may be smooth!”

"To offer sacrifices to the flag of the God of War?"

The new emperor frowned slightly.

Zhang Xuezhou's tricks weren't new; flag sacrifices existed in ancient times, but whether it was a flag sacrifice or a heaven sacrifice, the results were meager, far less dignified and upright than the legitimate cultivation of a ruler who occupied the country.

After the Qin Dynasty, something changed, and many Qin generals became extremely fond of killing and sacrificing their flags. After defeating a country, they would kill prisoners in large numbers to sacrifice to the flags.

Of course, very few of these people had a good ending.

The new emperor had to give a few words of advice.

"I'm just making some preparations in advance, in case I need them, I'll use them; if I don't, I won't. After all, the task of offering sacrifices to the Great Chanyu of the Xiong Kingdom is very difficult," Zhang Xuezhou said.

"That's true!"

The new emperor came to his senses and nodded.

The Han Dynasty's current war with the Xiong Kingdom is a complete mess, with almost no legions capable of directly confronting the Xiong Kingdom's nomadic cavalry.

He celebrated the Battle of Longcheng, but he was far from achieving a complete victory. The idea of ​​offering sacrifices to the Xiong Kingdom's Great Chanyu sounded like a joke.

If it were some conservative courtiers, they would surely scoff at Zhang Xuezhou's advance preparations.

The new emperor was self-aware; he too could not be optimistic about such a thing, and could only try his best. As for how much he would do, there was no fixed answer; he would probably dedicate his life to this goal.

But as the new emperor's mind raced, he realized that Zhang Xuezhou had a greater faith in the Han Dynasty than in himself, and that the other party would not make preparations without a purpose, and was very likely convinced that he would achieve his goal one day.

It's one thing for ordinary people to have blind self-confidence, but the new emperor undoubtedly trusted the judgments of geniuses.

This boosted his confidence even further, and he felt the heavy pressure from recent political affairs gradually easing from his mind.