Under Zhang Jian's directive, the Red Lotus Envoys from each county, under their respective commanders, began pulling back their forces, dispersing some key members inconspicuously into various areas.
Only a small number of purely secular Daoists remained to guard the temples.
This was to counter the court's impending sweep.
...
Having gained the experience from the first court meeting, Zhang Jian easily assumed the role of the "Emperor's Secretary."
In the Sports and Arts College, Zhang Jian's entire body was surrounded by a dense aura of spiritual light.
The Sheji Qiankun Spiritual Mechanism seemed to have opened several springs, flooding into his physique, with magical power circulating through every orifice, which was far more convenient than simply relying on elixirs and heavenly and earthly treasures for cultivation.
The golden core deep within his dantian was smoothly growing and maturing, with circles of spiritual light appearing around it.
Inside, numerous talismanic shadows were forming, representing the magical techniques Zhang Jian had comprehended from the principles of heaven and earth. While many of the techniques had not fully formed, they nevertheless held great potential.
They were immensely powerful!
The deepening of these magical techniques required him to continue accumulating understanding of heaven and earth, to condense them into form.
Compared to these unformed or just formed techniques, several golden core level techniques within him had reached complete mastery, including the Nine Heavens Wind-Riding Thunder-Controlling Technique, Cyan Nether Wind Technique, Holy Virtue Sword Cleansing Technique, and the Soul Purification Spell.
The Chaotic Star Technique's scattered forms corresponded to 108 profound mysteries of the main stars, all of which he had comprehended.
This Chaotic Star Technique was indeed vast and profound, and with Zhang Jian's current level of understanding, it had taken him this long to fully comprehend the 108 mysteries of the Star Dao Map.
It actually included multiple swordsmanship combinations, in pairs, threes, and various other configurations.
The computation required for this swordsmanship was unbelievably complex.
It was only due to his powerful divine thought and extraordinary comprehension that he could complete the comprehensions within a year.
Other golden core level cultivators, without decades or even hundreds of years of persistent daily effort, might not manage to comprehend even the first style.
Needless to say, its power is tremendous!
The second stage, the Four Symbols, is actually a formidable Yin Spirit stage technique.
This is Zhang Jian's next challenging direction.
Thanks to remote listening at the transmission hall in Tongshan, Zhang Jian has made outstanding progress in reading runes. He feels that even Yin Spirit level techniques can possibly be comprehended and cultivated.
Yin Spirit techniques require the essence of a Yin Spirit.
For a golden core realm cultivator to break through to the Yin Spirit realm, the golden core qi must be harmoniously complete, and then endure three special calamities to allow the soul to merge with the golden core, nurturing a Yin Spirit.
These three calamities are the Heart Demon Tribulation with the celestial demon entanglement.
The Wind and Fire Tribulation consisting of the Yin Fire Tribulation and Evil Wind Disaster.
The Yin Fire and Evil Wind are formless calamities blowing from the profound void, a natural opposition formed by the laws of heaven and earth when a Yin Spirit is about to be born, just as a newborn faces the external environment of nature.
However, the Wind and Fire Tribulation is more arduous and can easily harm the fragile Yin Spirit.
Zhang Jian has actually encountered the Yin Spirit of a Yin Spirit Venerable.
It refers to the Yin Spirit of the Gu God.
He is well aware of a part of the Yin Spirit's essence, noting that the Yin Spirit is imbued with a trace of the power of heaven and earth laws, possessing a portion of divine essence.
This trace of divine essence, and indeed the golden core technique and dantian magical power itself, bestow upon it.
A golden core cultivator needs to rely on their own perfect mastery of techniques, having at least one breakthrough to the Yin Spirit level, to drive the golden core to transform into a Yin Spirit.
Engraving that Yin Spirit level technique upon the golden core may trigger the Pill Break Divinity Transformation.
When golden core realm cultivators consolidate techniques of the Yin Spirit grade, it will inevitably attract a counterattack from heaven and earth, first bringing down the Celestial Demon Tribulation.
Understanding its essence, Zhang Jian naturally knows how to handle it.
Normally at this stage, golden core cultivators deliberately refine their Dao Heart or practice various techniques that suppress celestial demons or enhance the soul and Dao Heart to combat the Formless Outer Celestial Demon.
Or refine various demon-suppressing treasures.
But Zhang Jian didn't need such troubles.
Possessing vast righteous energy, the celestial demon cannot invade.
...
Zhang Jian's next task is to elevate the Chaotic Star Technique or the Four-Formed Sheji King Tripod to a Yin Spirit level technique.
Theoretically, the more Yin Spirit level techniques elevated, the more intense the heaven and earth laws engraved on the golden core, leading to faster growth of the Yin Spirit.
But even without auxiliary Yin Spirit level techniques, Zhang Jian can reach this level.
He studies various classics, gaining insights into the ultimate principles of heaven and earth and seeing through a portion of its profound mysteries.
What he needs to do is arrange them systematically.
...
Time silently passed. Besides completing the compilation of the "Daqian Complete Book," Zhang Jian either spent his leisure with Qi Yuhua or remained in the South Study of the Sports and Arts College, exploring the mysteries of the classics in the six different rooms.
This period was fulfilling for Zhang Jian.
Although most of the content in the South Study's classics held little substantial insight, their accumulated small insights were of immense significance to Zhang Jian's understanding of the profound mysteries of heaven and earth.
The emphasis was still on the sect's transmission hall.
After completing his studies in General Rune Literature, his progress noticeably sped up.
However, while Zhang Jian was absorbed in his studies with no heed of the outside world, turmoil was brewing in the Daqian Court outside.
The locust plague which began in early summer continued to spread.
Two elders dispatched from the Dong Shen Temple, after driving a beast herd into the northern territories, were never heard from again.
Soon after, news came of the fall of the two Yin Spirit Elders, prompting a significant response from Dong Shen Temple.
It's heard that many 'Dong Generation' elders from Dong Shen Temple went north in unison, and upon returning, they brought back the heads of many cultivators.
Not lacking in powerhouses!
Yet this bloody suppression exposed some issues at Dong Shen Temple.
Without the Dong Shen Ancestor's presence, it was as if the temple had lost its leader!
...
In the Sports and Arts College, Zhang Jian was surrounded by a dense aura of Dao rhythm.
He set down a "Jade Saint Scroll."
This Jade Saint Scroll is not the enlightenment text widely circulated in Daqian, but a scroll left in Phoenix Nest Mountain by the Daoist of Dong Shen Temple, originally meant to suppress the Phoenix Spirit Mountain God.
This volume was penned by the Confucian sage, the Yu Saint himself!
After the Phoenix Spirit's release, this scroll fell into Zhang Jian's hands and had once served as a trump card in the Dragon Palace's gambit!
It had never been utilized!
After taking it for himself, Zhang Jian gained immense benefits, especially in the utilization of vast righteous energy, opening a new door for him.
As he wrote, a vast flame blazed fiercely.
Characters formed in the void, infused with ink as it poured into the font.
"Heaven and earth possess righteous energy, variously bestowed to manifest forms!"
Just a few words, as if seeing the infinite vast righteous energy of heaven and earth converge into a mighty river rushing into the ten characters, embodying a power to suppress all malignancies.
After writing these ten characters, Zhang Jian ceased to write further.
At this time, a graceful figure appeared in the South Study, eyes lighting up at the sight of the ten glowing characters.
Unable to resist speaking, he said: "Scholar Zhang, why not continue writing?!"