"Father-in-law, do you have any plan?"
At this moment, Madam Qi Wan’s eyes were red, with a hint of helplessness in her gaze.
While it’s certain Qi Yuansi bears no ill intents, if the Imperial Envoy is determined to smear Qi Yuansi, he’s bound to find some flaw to exploit.
Now the Qi Family is at a disadvantage with nowhere to leverage power, it seems like a dead end. Even if it doesn’t lead to death, Qi Yuansi would suffer greatly.
"Hmph, that Cai Hengxing, the Imperial Envoy Cai, came for our Qi Mansion from the start. Capturing Yuansi is just an attempt to strike at our Qi Family. But as the saying goes, to accuse a thief, one needs evidence. These fabricated charges won’t do any harm to our Qi Family. Don’t worry, Yuan Wu hasn’t been toiling in Haojing all these years for nothing!"
"Big Brother?"
Madam Qi Wan looked surprised.
Upon hearing this, Qi Yi’s eyes glimmered with a hint of a smile and said, "You might not know this, but your big brother has been closely associating with Princess Qingfeng lately... Hmm, and Qingfeng is the current Emperor’s eldest sister..."
Upon hearing this, Madam Qi Wan was momentarily startled. She had heard fragmented talks at home about Qi Yuanwu having a new lover in Haojing, never expecting him to be involved with the widowed Princess Qingfeng...
However, if Princess Qingfeng is willing to speak in favor for him before the current Emperor, Qi Yuansi indeed has a chance to get through this difficulty.
"I will immediately draft a letter and send it to Haojing through multiple routes!"
Under the flickering firelight, Qi Yi’s expression was somewhat stern, and he continued.
"You also don’t need to worry; Cai Hengxing wouldn’t dare to do anything to Yuansi. After all, I’ve weathered many storms, and it’s not like I have no foundation. If they want to overthrow our Qi Family, it’s not that easy!"
Qi Yi recalled the message sent by his grandson yesterday, Zhang Jian, reminding him that someone was observing the Qi Family Mansion as if verifying some Hidden Dragon physique?
It was evident the court was suspecting the Qi Family of some treacherous intent, contemplating rebellion, which is most fatal. But clearly, Qi Yi had no such intentions, and neither was he prepared for it. He believed that the various destinies that manifested for the Qi Family wouldn’t display any abnormal signs.
As long as this could be proven, Cai Hengxing’s accusations against the Qi Family naturally had no ground.
The question was how to convince the Emperor?
Qi Yi’s eyes flickered with a hint of an indefinable sigh, his gaze somber yet resolute.
...
At the Zhang Family Mansion, Zhang Jian stood in the morning light clothed in blue, surrounded by a layer of intense pure white flames.
In the sunlight, this flame appeared particularly fierce, with strands of vast spiritual mechanism seemingly resonating with an invisible grand spiritual mechanism from the void, with Vast Energy soaring straight into the skies.
It’s hard to imagine him as anything other than a cultivator of profound magical power, more like a great scholar filled with Qiankun Righteous Qi.
This state was peculiar.
Zhang Jian knew well that the Vast Energy on his body wasn’t nurtured by scholarly accumulation, but wholly from the Seven-Orifice Exquisite Heart within him.
"The fake great scholar mode is now online..."
He thought with an amused and helpless sentiment, but indeed, this appearance easily garnered positive impressions.
With the Seven-Orifice Exquisite Heart as the foundation, he had an innate advantage in scholarly accumulation.
Supported by the Heart of Sincerity, though not continuously like in Dragon Field Enlightenment, it was certainly easy to glimpse profound truths, much more easily than before.
At this moment, all the Visualization Techniques from the King’s Cauldron Demon-Vanquishing Secret Record unwound in his mind, formerly abstruse and dizzying yet seemed effortless to comprehend now.
No need to hold his breath and clear away myriad distractions, naturally entering a state where "there’s no reason outside the heart, and nothing outside the heart."
The Divine Thought circulated within the Mud Ball Palace, no longer buzzing with hundreds of thoughts, or overshadowed by countless dark scenarios; in and around the Mud Ball Palace was now but a realm of light, where the power of Divine Thought continued endlessly gathering, effortlessly constructing the planar structure of the Sheji King Tripod mentioned in the King’s Cauldron Demon-Vanquishing Secret Record.
Though it was a second-tier result, this structure emerged and instantly unleashed an intangible mysterious force, as though suppressing the flow of his destiny, moreover subduing the Dragon and Tiger Qi around the mansion, alleviating its influence on him.
"Did it succeed?"
Zhang Jian felt incredulous.
After forming this Sheji King Tripod, he felt a flux of spiritual mechanism pouring in to reinforce the illustration of the second-tier Sheji King Tripod, stabilizing its form, thereon it could readily manifest to suppress all malign forces at the mere thought.
The influx of spiritual mechanism swiftly restored the consumed power of Divine Thought and, refined through the Sheji King Tripod image, reciprocatingly enhanced, gaining a slight improvement.
To push on!
The thought turned, the concept of a third-tier Sheji King Tripod appeared in his mind, a spatial result with clearer features, denser layers, the dragon motifs, the mountains and rivers requiring a greater substantiality and rigorous application of Divine Thought.
This third-tier structure equated to the Divination Stage Technique, while the fourth tier corresponds to the Golden Core Level Technique.
And as for the fifth-tier structure, as the name implied, it naturally corresponds to Yin Spirit Techniques.
Such are the gradations of techniques.
According to the description in the King’s Cauldron Demon-Vanquishing Secret Record, consolidation of a third-tier structure necessitates profound Divine Thought, a certain mental state, meditative prowess, and also determination.
Yet Zhang Jian perceived that under the state of Iron Bone Jade Heart, by visualizing several times more, he could rapidly complete the visualization of the third-tier Sheji King Tripod.
At this moment, Zhang Jian could even multi-task with his Divine Thought, faintly sensing that the Vast Flame within his heart was still blazing vividly.
During the consolidation of the second-tier Sheji King Tripod, hardly a tenth of the Vast Righteous Qi within was expended.
This itself was the state of Iron Bone Jade Heart.
And should he advance to Kind Heart and Bones, or even to Saintly and Exquisite Heart, the support it would render him would only be greater.
Zhang Jian, at this moment, genuinely felt the advantage brought by the so-called ’Heart of Sincerity’.
An idea sprouted within.
Cultivators possess endless timespan, setting their minds at rest, allowing the Seven-Orifice Exquisite Heart to achieve Great Success is not an impossibility.
...
While Zhang Jian led and employed Vast Flame, various experts from Fengyang County inside and out suddenly noticed that a potent, bright aura condensed above Zhang Family mansion, the Vast Righteous Qi soared into the heavens, impacting the entire Spiritual Field.
In the Dong Shen Temple, guest Xue Daoist beside the hosting Yuhe Daoist on the main seat was also startled.
Such a grand spectacle, no need even for Qi Observation, they could see clearly.
"Never thought there would be such a great scholar in Fengyang County, with such Vast Righteous Qi, must be filled with scholarly knowledge!"
Xue Dongming’s expression was surprised.
Exiting from the Jade Tower, now overlooking Fengyang Commandery City below.
From the tall buildings, Fengyang Commandery City’s most cityscape could be seen.
Yuhe Daoist appeared slightly startled at this moment, looking towards the location where the spectacle arose.
"That seems to be in the direction of the Zhang Family Mansion?"
He hesitated in his eyes and said, "I’ve heard of the eldest son of the Zhang Family being a natural prodigy, becoming a successful candidate at a young age, never expected he held such Vast Righteous Qi? This learning is no weaker than those full of scholarly learning?"
Cai Hengxing beside seemed puzzled, while Xue Dongming casually explained to him a few sentences, making Cai Hengxing somewhat astonished, but it certainly matched the ’conclusion’ in his heart.
"Possessing such Vast Righteous Qi, surely not a deceitful person; the investigation of Zhang Family can be halved!"
With a gleam in his eyes, presently bearing a hint of admiration for talent.
"With spring exams approaching, this young master of the Zhang Family would surely head to the capital for a trial, I ought to meet this champion scholar personally!"