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

Even those in the Taiqing Realm are human beings, possessing human emotions and desires, and harboring human greed.

However, for most powerful beings in the Taiqing Realm, there is nothing left for them to pursue in this world, which is why they can maintain a pure and untainted state of mind, and not care about any worldly things.

But there is one thing that all those in the Taiqing Realm pursue, and that none of them can escape – something they all desire.

That is to exceed the ten-thousand-year lifespan limit imposed by the Heavenly Dao on the Taiqing Realm, to attain the Dao and become an immortal, and even to achieve true longevity!

Master Tianfa didn't actually think he was special.

Throughout history, so many people with extraordinary talents, so many Taiqing Realm Saints who once dominated their era, all ended up with regrets, concluding their glorious and magnificent lives.

So many powerful cultivators in the Taiqing Realm haven't managed to break through the limit of lifespan, so what merit do I have?

Master Tianfa has always been very open-minded, and his state of mind is indeed quite detached from worldly affairs.

But ultimately, it was because he felt he couldn't do it.

Now, this possible hope is right in front of him. The greed that had not stirred in Tianfa Zhenren for many years has completely overwhelmed everything, making him almost lose himself.

Tianfa Zhenren instinctively reached out to grab Wangshu.

But before he took action, his expression cleared, and his rationality returned.

Master Tianfa frowned slightly, realizing that he was being watched by those two old men.

If we do it ourselves, they will definitely be curious and will inevitably discover the existence of this ancient god.

True Man Tianfa is both an enemy and a friend to the other two Taiqing Realm experts in the Eastern Emperor Realm.

In their youth, they went through many things together.

As luck would have it, they were among those who ventured into the tomb of Taiqing together.

It was that experience that gave them the foundation to achieve the Taiqing Realm.

Those two old guys also saw that lost ancient book.

When they discover the existence of this ancient god, they will definitely try to seize it.

No one can resist the allure of longevity.

Although Tianfa Zhenren was not afraid of the other two Taiqing, he could not guarantee that he could protect the ancient god from harm.

If those two old guys see that they can't get any benefits from him, they might try their best to destroy this ancient god. Then he would have gained nothing at all.

"Since robbing by force is ineffective, then... let's cooperate!"

Since everyone's goal is to live a long and healthy life, why fight to the death?

With this thought in mind, Master Tianfa took a deep look at Wangshu in the courtyard, then turned and decisively left.

Back at Tianfa Pavilion, Tianfa Zhenren summoned the pavilion master and instructed him to go to Qingshan Sect and Kaiyuan Sect to invite the two patriarchs to Tianfa Pavilion for a gathering, as they had important matters to discuss.

……

Imperial city, small courtyard—

Qin Zijun, who was eating, suddenly paused.

Sitting beside him, Wang Shu, who was serving him, asked worriedly, "What's wrong? Is the food not good?"

Qin Zijun smiled and nodded: "It does taste a bit bad. What did you add to it? Why does it taste so bitter?"

Wang Shuxiu frowned, picked up her chopsticks and tasted the lightly cooked vegetables: "This shouldn't be the case. I added so many spices, it should have masked the bitterness."

Qin Zijun gently patted the back of her hand: "Wangshu, don't add these things to it anymore."

Qin Zijun knew perfectly well that Wang Shu had added medicine to the food.

Over the years, she has read extensively, especially books on various pharmacology.

She would occasionally disappear, and Qin Zijun knew that it was because she used her supernatural powers to travel to various parts of Chu, or even leave Chu to go to more distant places.

They searched for all sorts of miraculous medicines and concocted elixirs for him, hoping to prolong his life.

Wang Shu's strength has now recovered to the Dao Lord realm.

However, in front of Qin Zijun, she always pretended to be an ordinary Qi cultivator.

Qin Zijun knew perfectly well what was going on, but she didn't point it out.

As for the final step, the Taiqing Realm, it is an extremely difficult step for any cultivator.

Even for an ancient deity like Wang Shu, it would be extremely difficult to take that step and truly regain her peak strength.

"The Confucian method of self-cultivation is very unique. Those who practice this method cannot be affected by any external things."

"Longevity-prolonging elixirs cannot achieve this, nor can imperial decrees from cultivators of the dynasty."

To possess the immense power of the Taiqing realm at less than a hundred years old is nothing short of miraculous.

This method of cultivation naturally has limitations, and it's impossible for people to exploit bugs.

A short lifespan is the biggest problem, an insurmountable problem, for Confucian self-cultivation.

"Those who practice this method can only be ordinary mortals."

"Wang Shu, promise me you won't go searching for rare and precious herbs for me anymore. It's useless."

Qin Zijun spoke gently, her eyes smiling.

That face that always struck his disciples as serious, when facing Wang Shu, he always acted like a teenager, with a hint of teasing and a touch of youthful liveliness.

A string of pearl-like tears streamed down her fair cheeks.

Wang Shu wiped away her tears forcefully with her fingers. Her eyes were red and swollen, her lips were tightly pressed together, and she gripped Qin Zijun's sleeve, sobbing, "But...but I don't want you to die."

"I want you to stay with me, to always stay with me. I also want to take care of you, I want to take care of you for the rest of my life."

"I'll be your maid, I'll be your maid for life, okay?"

Qin Zijun reached out her hand, no longer slender but rough and wrinkled, and gently wiped away the tears from the corner of her eyes:

"Wang Shu, everyone has their own destiny; birth, aging, sickness, and death are the natural order."

"I am just an ordinary person with no talent for cultivation."

"But what I am most proud of in my life is not creating this Confucian method of self-cultivation, but having you by my side, accompanying me through this life."

"You take care of my daily life, serve me tea and water, and do my laundry and cook for me."

"You accompanied me all over the country, across mountains and rivers. When I searched for water in the scorching heat, you stayed by my side and wiped the sweat from my forehead."

"I directed the army and civilians to build dams amidst the floods, and you braved the gale-force winds and dangers to accompany me across the muddy river, letting the heavy rain wash over you and soak your hair."

"You should have been a fairy in the heavens, but you were willing to accompany me, a mortal, to wallow in the mire of this mundane world. Qin Zijun has no regrets in this life."

You said you would stay with me for a lifetime, and you have done it. You have stayed with me for a lifetime.

Wang Shu cried and said, "I don't want to be some kind of fairy in heaven. I would rather walk with you through the muddy vegetable fields to teach those mortals how to farm, and help you adopt those orphaned children and teach them to read and write."

"I don't believe in fate. Why should everyone have their own destiny? Why must people be born, grow old, get sick, and die?"

"You have no regrets in this life, but I only have regrets!"

She sobbed softly.

Qin Zijun didn't say anything, but patted her back silently to comfort her.

After a while,

Wang Shu suppressed her intense emotions. Her chest heaved, her breathing rapid, and she looked at Qin Zijun with her swollen, tear-filled eyes, saying:

"I won't put any of these weird things in your food anymore. From now on, I'll make whatever you want to eat."

"If you want something with a strong flavor, I'll make it for you. If you want meat, I'll make meat for you."

"I will no longer force you to eat these bland vegetarian dishes."

Qin Zijun's eyes were gentle as she smiled and said, "Okay."

He paused for a moment, then continued, "Wangshu..."

"What's wrong?"

"I don't find living in this imperial city interesting. Let's go somewhere else."

"No matter where you go, I'll be with you. You can't get rid of me even if you want to."

"Then... let's go back to Shoushan County."

"good!"

……

In the 516th year of the Jingyuan calendar, Qin Zijun was seventy years old.

He requested to resign from his post as ruler of Chu and return to his hometown to retire.

The King of Chu tried to persuade the sage to stay, but seeing that the sage was determined to leave, he had no choice but to agree.

Thousands of students saw him off at the Jixia Academy.

Minister of Rites Zilu grasped his teacher's hand and said excitedly, "Teacher, I wish to accompany you back to your hometown to care for you in your old age!"

Qin Zijun shook off his hand: "Nonsense! You are now the Minister of Rites, holding a high position and great power. You should be serving the country and its people. How can you waste your knowledge and abilities by the side of an old man like me?"

"Family affairs, national affairs, and world affairs—even if you don't care about these things, you should still think about your family!"

Unlike Qin Zijun, most of his disciples are already married, and Ziming and Zimo even have many children and grandchildren.

"Alright, that's enough for you. Now you can all go back."

Qin Zijun stopped in his tracks. He looked around and saw that, apart from his disciples and grand-disciples, all the people of the imperial city had come out of the city to see him off. He gestured for them not to follow him any further.

"From now on, this academy will be in your hands. You have the responsibility of the Ministry of Rites and you also need to pay attention to education. Thank you for your hard work."

"And Zimo, you should also help your senior brother out."

Zi Mo choked up and said, "I will certainly live up to my teacher's teachings."

Zilu's eyes reddened: "I don't feel tired at all. Being able to inherit my teacher's mantle is the greatest blessing in my life."

"Master's wife, I'm entrusting my teacher to your care from now on."

Wang Shu snorted: "I've taken care of him my whole life, do you need to tell me that, you brat?"

Zilu and Zimo knelt on the ground and performed the three bows and nine kowtows ceremony.

The other students followed suit and knelt on the ground.

The teacher is getting old, and Zilu and Zimo don't know if they will ever have the chance to see him again.

Perhaps this farewell will be forever.

Qin Zijun and Wang Shu boarded the oxcart and gradually drove away.

……

When the sage returned to his hometown, the magistrate of Shoushan County led the people to welcome him from ten miles away.

After the crowd dispersed, Wang Shu went back to her courtyard to tidy up, while only the county magistrate followed her by Shouhu Lake.

The current magistrate of Shoushan County is also a disciple of Qin Zijun.

"Ziming, you've probably had your share of complaints from your senior and junior brothers these past few days."

Qin Zijun stood in the pavilion in the middle of the lake, drinking tea and enjoying the scenery.

Ziming is a bit chubby, but he has a kind and friendly smile.

Upon hearing the teacher's words, his face immediately turned sour: "I receive letters from my senior and junior classmates every few days, asking me to take good care of you, teacher."

"Hey, do they even need to say that? If I can't even take care of the teachers, I'll be cursing myself."

He said this with a hint of pride in his voice.

In the end, it was I, Ziming, who took care of my teacher in his old age and saw him off in his final days.

Qin Zijun rarely spoke about her disciples; she simply smiled.

He looked at Shoushan and whispered, "Ziming."

"Students are here!"

"After I die, bury me in Shoushan. Do not build a large tomb. Just erect a stone tablet and do not bury me with any funerary objects."

Qin Zijun spoke calmly, as if she were not talking about her own life and death: "You can't take anything with you when you die. No matter how rich and powerful you are, you'll just be a handful of dust after you die."

"Your tomb is too precious; it will only attract the covetous eyes of others. Even cultivators at the Taiqing Realm have their tombs robbed after death, let alone me?"

"Although I don't care if my grave is dug up after I die, I'll try to save money if I can. It's really boring to have my grave dug up every day."

Ziming's lips trembled: "Teacher."

Qin Zijun waved her hand: "Alright, what's with that expression? It's not like I'm going to die tomorrow."

"I have long since accepted my fate and have four more years to live."

"Don't bother me these next few years unless it's absolutely necessary. I've worked hard my whole life, so please let me have some peace and quiet in these last few years."

With tears in his eyes, Ziming bowed and said, "Yes, teacher!"

He was originally an orphan with no name, surname, father, or mother. He was taken in as a disciple by his teacher, which led to his current achievements.

Hearing that his teacher only had four years to live filled him with immense grief.