Spiritual energy resurgence? My former empress wife has also revived!

Qin Zijun and Wang Shu arrived at the capital of Chu.

The two had just checked into the inn when someone from the palace arrived, urgently requesting Qin Zijun to enter the palace to meet the emperor.

As a mere county magistrate, Qin Zijun was not in a position to directly confront the current emperor.

But if the king values ​​him, this is also a great honor.

Moreover, the actions of the Chu ruler were blatant, practically a direct message to the officials in the central government.

This Qin Zijun is someone that the King of Chu cares about. In this way, we can reduce trouble for Qin Zijun's future official career.

Having just arrived at the inn and put down her luggage, Qin Zijun had no time to rest before rushing to the palace.

Before leaving, Wang Shu grasped his hand, her voice filled with worry: "Young Master, will you be imprisoned again this time you enter the palace?"

Qin Zijun laughed and patted her little hand, saying, "Don't worry, this time it's really a trip to meet the Emperor, you won't be imprisoned."

But Wang Shu was still worried, so she stretched out her delicate hand, palm up: "Hmph, give it to me!"

"Bring me what?"

Qin Zijun was filled with doubt.

"Bring me your book. If you don't come back, I'll find you a storyteller, just like I did eight years ago."

"I know that book; you always carry it with you at all times."

Seeing Wang Shu's serious expression, Qin Zijun couldn't help but chuckle.

But he still solemnly took out the autobiography from his pocket and gently placed it in Wangshu's palm.

Wang Shu carefully put the book away and said seriously, "I'll wait for you until midnight. If you don't come back, I'll go find a storyteller and arrest him."

Wang Shu's strength has recovered considerably, and she is now a cultivator at the middle three realms.

Cultivators at the upper three realms are rare indeed; even the King of Chu was only at the Cave Profound Realm.

With Wang Shu's current strength, as long as she is careful, she doesn't need to worry about encountering danger.

Qin Zijun laughed and said, "Even if I didn't want to come back, the king wouldn't let me spend the night in the palace."

Qin Zijun left and entered the palace with the palace eunuchs, where she met King Chu Jingshan.

The two met in a private study.

The moment Chu Jingshan saw Qin Zijun, he suddenly unleashed a thunderous attack, opening one hand and grabbing at him.

Qin Zijun remained calm and stood there with a smile, letting Chu Jingshan grab his arm.

This ruler of Chu was the True Lord of the Cave Mystery and also the Emperor of the Dynasty, wielding immense power in the palace.

Unless Qin Zijun reclaims the power he possessed in his previous life, he has little power to resist Chu Jingshan in his current state.

However, Qin Zijun remained calm.

Chu Jingshan harbored no hostility or murderous intent towards him; he was merely testing him.

Chu Jingshan's magic power circulated through Qin Zijun's meridians several times.

He withdrew his hand, paced back and forth, and exclaimed in amazement, "Outer Realm, you've actually become an Outer Realm cultivator!"

Qin Zijun had previously submitted a memorial to the king, in which she explained her current level of attainment.

Chu Jingshan was only half-believing, but now that he has actually met Qin Zijun, he finds that she is indeed an Outer Realm cultivator.

The King of Chu looked at Qin Zijun with disbelief, as if he were looking at some terrifying monster, or as if he were looking at a saint who was about to go down in history.

It's not just about being remembered in the annals of the Chu Kingdom, but about having such supreme power that the entire cultivation world will remember him for!

Qin Zijun's physique is incapable of cultivation. Even now that he has mastered the power of the Outer Realm, his physique still prevents him from cultivating.

In particular, Qin Zijun's body is that of a mortal.

Cultivators in the lower three realms have the same lifespan as ordinary people.

However, once one reaches the middle three realms, or more precisely, upon achieving the Inner Alchemy realm, the cultivator will experience their first qualitative change in life.

Those who cultivated Taoism at that time had a lifespan of three hundred years.

If it becomes an exterior scene, it will live for a thousand years.

However, Qin Zijun is in the Outer Realm, and his body is still that of a mortal; he has not yet achieved spiritual transcendence.

Just as Qin Zijun once said.

His new system and new method of cultivation can grant magical powers and supernatural abilities, but not immortality.

Even so, it brought hope to those who lacked the talent for cultivation.

Tens of thousands of years from now, perhaps no one will remember the name of this ruler of the State of Chu.

However, Qin Zijun's name will surely be admired and revered by countless powerful figures in the future.

"You cultivate yourself with the nation's fortune and literary spirit. As the lonely ruler of Chu, you have not felt the decline of the nation's fortune or the weakening of your own strength."

"On the contrary, I feel that the nation's fortunes are rising steadily, even surpassing my own limits. Perhaps one day, I too can achieve the Dao Lord Realm."

This shows that Qin Zijun's method is not demonic, nor is it about stealing the king's fortune.

Rather, it truly utilizes the nation's destiny and fortune to the fullest extent, creating a brand-new cultivation system.

"Only then can I truly continue my father's legacy and allow the Chu Kingdom to live for thousands more years."

Chu Jingshan murmured, his tone a mixture of excitement and suppressed anger towards certain people.

Qin Zijun guessed that the King of Chu seemed to be under a lot of pressure right now.

Chu Jingshan suddenly turned to look at Qin Zijun and said, word by word, "Qin Qing, are you really confident that you can achieve the Taiqing realm in your lifetime?"

Qin Zijun remained calm and composed, neither humble nor arrogant: "As long as Your Majesty is willing to help me, I am confident in my ability to succeed."

This Confucian method of self-cultivation is still in its early stages, and Qin Zijun needs the strong support and cooperation of a future emperor.

"Alright, alright, alright! So, Qin Qing, what official position do you want now? Do you want to become the Minister of one of the Six Ministries? And which ministry are you interested in?"

Chu Jingshan is now so impatient that he's practically selling official positions.

Even the position of Minister was given to Qin Zijun to choose freely.

Qin Zijun did not answer, but instead asked, "Has Your Majesty encountered some difficulty?"

Chu Jingshan's expression shifted, and finally he sighed and said, "I don't want to hide it from you either."

He looked around, using the abilities of a king to inspect his surroundings.

Seeing that there were no other servants around except for the old eunuch who had always been by his side, he slowly said, "Not long ago, the Tianfa Pavilion, the Qingshan Sect, and the Kaiyuan Sect jointly sent people to see me."

"These three major factions are now allied and demand that I completely open up the Chu Kingdom, as they want to select outstanding disciples within its borders!"

"They are digging up the very foundation of the Chu state!"

Chu Jingshan clenched his fists, his face contorted in a ferocious expression.

The Taoist sects within the Yun Dynasty would sign Taoist covenants with the King of Chu, and they would abide by the laws of Chu while receiving resources from Chu.

For example, providing various spirit stones as support, and allowing sects to find geniuses within the Chu Kingdom to take as disciples.

Even if these sects do produce a powerful expert at the Taiqing Realm, the fate of the sect, the individual, and the Chu Kingdom will be intertwined.

As long as the ruler of Chu treats them with courtesy and respect, these powerful figures from the sects cultivated by Chu will not sever their connection of destiny for no reason.

However, now, there are three major sects from the Taiqing Realm outside Chu, demanding that Chu lift its restrictions, which is to plunder Chu's resources.

This is similar to modern countries deregulating their financial systems, which would result in a massive outflow of assets, while the talent cultivated domestically would benefit others.

The King of Chu was naturally unwilling; if he made this decision, Chu would surely perish within a few hundred years at most.

Chu Jingshan had no choice; he could only feign compliance when facing one faction alone.

But now, facing the alliance of the three factions, it seems that he only has the path of national ruin and family destruction.

Qin Zijun became his last lifeline.

Qin Zijun sighed inwardly, realizing that this life was truly the most suitable one for establishing Confucian cultivation.

Chu Jingshan was being incredibly cooperative.

It should be understood that the Confucian method of self-cultivation, to some extent, could limit imperial power.

This is a practice that is "people-oriented".

If the current emperor is a wise ruler, then Confucian practitioners will naturally be loyal to the imperial power and ensure the prosperity of the nation.

But if the current emperor is a foolish or tyrannical ruler.

Those Confucian practitioners could even directly rebel against the current emperor, immediately overthrow the dynasty, and replace him with a new emperor.

This can be said to have completely restricted the emperor's ability to do whatever he wanted.

Most emperors of a dynasty either rise to prominence or fall into complete decline.

But regardless of the dynasty, the emperors were all self-centered and domineering figures, so why would they actively restrict imperial power?

Chu Jingshan's experiences and personality shaped him into this kind of person.

He didn't care that his imperial power was being hampered; all he cared about was that the State of Chu must not be destroyed!

At the very least, we cannot be destroyed by his hand.

This provided Qin Zijun with fertile ground.

Having understood Chu Jingshan's predicament and his thoughts, Qin Zijun composed himself and said with his hands clasped, "It is too early for me to enter the central government now."

"I implore Your Majesty to continue sending me to govern local areas. This time, I am confident that I will cultivate to the level of a True Lord of the Profound Realm!"

"The True Lord of the Cave Mystery?!"

Chu Jingshan's eyes lit up.

Qin Zijun is now twenty-five years old and has already reached the Outer Realm.

Even in the cultivation world, only a few geniuses can achieve that.

If Qin Zijun can cultivate to the Dongxuan level within a few years, before the age of forty.

In the cultivation world, such a great achievement can only be accomplished by those supreme geniuses who are born with Daoist bones, Buddha bones, or sword bones.

"Very well, then I will appoint you as the Prefect of Jiangbei Circuit. I hope you will not disappoint me!"

At twenty-five years old, the Jiangbei Dao Prefecture was already the youngest Dao Prefecture in the thousands of years since the founding of the Chu Kingdom.

The administrative system of the Yun Dynasty was actually quite unified.

Every emperor of a dynasty would organize the administrative system into three levels: Dao, Zhou, and County.

The Dao is the highest level besides the central authority, and it also contains the expectations of a dynasty's emperor for the future.

The word "Dao" has the meaning of "the master of Dao".

The one who can bestow the title of Dao Lord must be the Emperor of the Taiqing Realm.

Every cultivator of the Dao yearns to achieve the highest level of enlightenment and be bestowed the title of Dao Lord.

Now Chu Jingshan has no other choice but to ask Qin Zijun for help, hoping to salvage the situation.

Seeing that it was still early, Chu Jingshan did not let Qin Zijun leave, but instead stayed with him for a long talk.

Chu Jingshan actually harbored some resentment towards Qin Zijun.

He wasn't stupid; he knew that Qin Zijun was taking advantage of his situation to use the State of Chu as an experiment to promote his Confucian cultivation theories.

In Chu Jingshan's view, Qin Zijun was no different from the people in Tianfa Pavilion. The only difference was that Qin Zijun asked for less, and he chose Qin Zijun because he had to choose the lesser of two evils.

But after a long conversation, Chu Jingshan's thoughts immediately changed.

Qin Zijun spoke eloquently, and everything she said made sense, leaving Chu Jingshan stunned. He could only think that this person was truly a great talent.

He even felt a pang of sadness, thinking that if he had known Qin Zijun in the past, or even been taught by him, he probably could have avoided a lot of detours.

But that was just wishful thinking.

Especially after Qin Zijun's detailed explanation, Chu Jingshan discovered that the Confucian cultivation method was not entirely the same as what he had imagined.

What he saw from the position of monarch was naturally the constraint that Confucian cultivation placed on imperial power.

But after Qin Zijun's explanation, he discovered that the coexistence of Confucian cultivation and the cultivation of the dynasty might break the million-year curse of the cultivation of the dynasty!

That is, cultivators of the dynasty almost always die in the second generation, and at most they can only reach the third generation.

However, if Confucian cultivation methods mature and are integrated with the imperial system, then...

So, the dynasty that follows, while not necessarily lasting for thousands of generations, has a high probability of lasting for seven, eight, or even more than ten generations.

This is perfecting the cultivation of the dynasty!

Under Qin Zijun's beautiful blueprint, Chu Jingshan felt that his past ideas were too narrow-minded.

He and Qin Zijun are actually destined to be remembered for eternity!

What he cared about was only the temporary gains and losses of the State of Chu.

What Qin Zijun saw was the future, tens of thousands of years from now!

If Qin Zijun weren't so young and only just beginning to gain fame, he would have wanted to become his student.

This Qin Zijun, despite having never practiced any other cultivation methods, seems to know everything, as if mastering one method means mastering all methods.

After receiving a few words of guidance from him, I felt as if the fog had been cleared, and I could see the path to the Great Dao. It was as if I were hearing celestial music.

In the end, the two stopped talking about national affairs and spiritual practice, and started chatting about everyday family matters.

"Qin Qing is not young anymore, and still unmarried. Do you have someone you like?"

At this moment, Chu Jingshan resembled a matchmaker.

Before, Qin Zijun would have thought that Chu Jingshan was making him marry and have children. After having a wife and children, he would compromise and would no longer be invincible.

But at this moment, Qin Zijun felt that Chu Jingshan wanted to take their relationship a step further.

Sure enough, Chu Jingshan said, "I have a daughter who is well-educated and virtuous, and proficient in all the arts, including music, chess, calligraphy, and painting. I would like to act as a matchmaker for her and marry her to Qin Qing, would that be alright?"

Qin Zijun politely declined, saying, "I already have someone I love, and I cannot accept Your Majesty's kindness."

Chu Jingshan seemed to be thinking: "Is it the maidservant who serves Qin Qing?"

As the ruler of Chu, he had indeed conducted a thorough investigation into Qin Zijun.

Qin Zijun said gently, "I met her when I was twelve, and she has been with me for thirteen years now."

"For the past thirteen years, she has taken care of my daily life meticulously and attentively. When my Qin family suffered, she never abandoned me."

"When we were in Qingyang County, she accompanied me through all the poor and remote places. In those impoverished areas, she wore coarse linen clothes and ate coarse food and vegetables, but she never complained."

"I have already promised to marry her, how can I abandon her?"

Chu Jingshan had investigated Qin Zijun and was well aware of these matters. Even if she was just a maid, anyone with a conscience would never abandon her.

Chu Jingshan then asked, "Then why didn't you marry Qin Qing?"

Qin Zijun remained silent for a moment, then sighed, "To be honest, Wang Shu is a cultivator, and her lifespan far surpasses mine."

"If I were to marry her, I might ruin her life."

Chu Jingshan opened his mouth.

He suddenly realized that Qin Zijun could only live for a hundred years at most.

Even if he, the king, does not improve his cultivation level in the future, he can still live for more than two thousand years.

Thinking that such a talented person only had a lifespan of a hundred years, Chu Jingshan suddenly felt a sense of loss.