「Three years later」
Pei Jiang was stuck at the Nine Revolves of Inner Peace Practice, only a step away from Great Success. However, his cultivation of the Nine Revolutions Inner Pellet Technique had caused a significant commotion, much to his annoyance.
No one knew that he was practicing the Art of Longevity; it was just that the resources he had poured into it were simply too vast, to the point of overburdening the people and draining the treasury.
To break through this bottleneck, each cultivation session drained a massive amount of resources, which were naturally used to craft Charms. The Spirit Platform Knowledge Wisdom Calming Spell had a low success rate and consud vast amounts of resources; on average, he needed to use 100,000 of them daily. Without the Parent-Child Linked Talisman, Pei Jiang could, at most, use only one per day.
Unfortunately, even accumulating such a large number of these Spells still ant he found progress incredibly difficult. This ti, it wasn’t just Pei Jiang’s own issue but also external environntal factors. The ongoing Calamity of the Last Law had caused the world’s spiritual energy level to drop to Level 11, greatly reducing the efficacy of the Spirit Platform Knowledge Wisdom Calming Spell. As a result, 100,000 of these Spells now barely matched the efficacy of ten original ones, yet the cost, far from decreasing, had actually risen.
Fortunately, there was so good news. After dropping to Level 11, the decline didn’t continue; it had stagnated, much like Pei Jiang himself, awaiting a breakthrough.
Wang Linchi didn’t have a solution either. He considered himself rely a chives farr; he watered them and removed pests, but if the soil itself lacked fertility and the chives failed to thrive, he was helpless. He certainly couldn’t fund such an endeavor himself, and if even Pei Jiang couldn’t manage, Wang Linchi had no better candidate.
This ans the subsequent Active Achievent will be even harder to cultivate, Wang Linchi thought, his brow furrowed. In the End of the Dharma Era, Silent Achievent could be advanced by amassing Charms, but Active Achievent posed an even greater challenge. The most basic requirent was to eat well. Nutritional intake had to be sufficient; otherwise, not only would cultivation fail, but he would end up crippling himself through overexertion.
It was true that Pei Jiang, as the emperor, could eat whatever he desired. However, if one were to follow this thod of eating, at the beginning, one would need to consu 20 to 30 pounds of food daily, with the later stages of the Nine Revolutions demanding even more. Eating a lot wasn’t the problem, but digestion couldn’t keep pace. At that point, despite consuming vast quantities, malnutrition would result even with a full stomach.
What was needed were small-volu, high-nutrition substances that could be easily absorbed. Currently, the only thing Wang Linchi had on hand was Nutrient Solution. This substance could be absorbed with utmost ease; it could even be directly injected. Originally, it wasn’t necessary to use Nutrient Solution; relying on Charms would have sufficed. However, with the drastically decreased power of the Charms, if this massive consumption continued, Great Xuan might indeed be overthrown in its second generation.
"Mr. Wang, could you lend your aid?" Pei Jiang asked. His sunken eyes spoke of sleepless nights; opposition in the imperial court had been mounting, making it difficult for him to maintain control.
"I’m already working on it," Wang Linchi replied, though a hint of impatience touched his tone. I’m just waiting for Pei Jiang, this great restorative, to revitalize the world. But this can’t be rushed.
What? Since I created the Nine Revolutions Inner Pellet Technique, couldn’t I just directly impart it to Pei Jiang? Wang Linchi mused. True, if he were cultivating it himself, he could do more than just impart it; he could max out the skill level instantly. However, this was Pei Jiang’s cultivation. If Wang Linchi were to impart it directly, this ’great restorative’ would beco tainted, its essence mixed with other properties. Ultimately, it wouldn’t be a tonic but a poison. Such things couldn’t be carelessly combined.
Upon hearing Wang Linchi’s initial assurance, Pei Jiang’s mood eased slightly, and he waited silently.
After a good while, Wang Linchi finally spoke.
"I’ve got it!"
Pei Jiang was delighted and hurriedly asked, "What is the solution?"
Wang Linchi began, "As the saying goes, ’great terror lies between life and death.’ Your Majesty, you are rely a hair’s breadth from Great Success.
"What you need is a sufficient stimulus—life and death itself, that is the stimulus.
"Your peaceful days have, in a way, dulled certain aspects of your being, leaving your state of mind incomplete, not yet at true Fulfillnt.
"Therefore..." Wang Linchi began his spiel. It was true that great terror lay between life and death, but this principle didn’t apply universally to everyone, nor to every stage of an individual’s life.
Thus, what he needed to do was weave a narrative, to make Pei Jiang believe that his own ntality was the problem, thereby achieving the effects of hypnosis and suggestion. Fundantally, the ntal could influence the physical. Coupled with his recent troubles and persistent inability to break through, Pei Jiang’s own mindset had beco problematic. What Wang Linchi needed to do was to steer Pei Jiang’s ntality back on course. Pei Jiang had no issues with aptitude—Wang Linchi had the data to prove it; otherwise, his progress wouldn’t have been so rapid. By his earlier projections, even a genius would only advance one revolution per year, yet Pei Jiang was even faster. Although Wang Linchi had helped, Pei Jiang himself had to be capable; Wang Linchi couldn’t simply drag him forward.
Pei Jiang hesitated. Between life and death... To risk my life to perfect my state of mind and achieve a breakthrough... is such a thod truly reliable? He couldn’t suppress his misgivings. What if Mr. Wang is deliberately trying to get killed? Then again, if he truly had such intentions, he could have just left long ago. I can’t live as long as he can; he could simply wait for to die of old age.
"Apart from experiencing life and death, are there other thods?" Pei Jiang cautiously asked again.
"There are alternatives," Wang Linchi said, "but a mont of carelessness could render all previous efforts futile. For instance, experiencing drastic emotional upheavals like extre joy and sorrow, or great fortune and misfortune. Nevertheless, these are far inferior to the trial of life and death. One might beco unable to escape from such experiences, remaining trapped in their psychological shadow for the rest oftheir lives.
"At that ti, although one’s life is preserved, if one cannot overco that nadir, not only will a breakthrough be impossible, but one’s cultivation may even regress." He appeared helpless.
"Moreover," Wang Linchi added, "in the face of life and death, protected by Charms, how could Your Majesty possibly co to harm? Conversely, failure through those other thods would be far more disastrous."
Upon hearing Wang Linchi’s words, Pei Jiang’s mind raced. Primarily, Wang Linchi’s words made sense: with protective Charms, it was highly unlikely he would face any true danger. The other thods, however, seed far riskier.
I cannot lose montum now. If I lose montum, I’ll certainly lose power as well. Power and immortality... they are equally important to . I cannot lose either.
Once the solution was clear, Pei Jiang’s deanor shifted. He was no longer using the common form of ’I’; he had reverted to the imperial self-address. "Given this, how does Mr. Wang plan to assist ?"
I’ll have to handle this, Wang Linchi thought. If Pei Jiang does it himself, he’ll definitely hold back, and it won’t achieve the desired effect. Aloud, he said, "I cannot assist Your Majesty. For such a grand matter, it would be better for Your Majesty to arrange everything personally." He appeared unconcerned.
"Mr. Wang, your words are mistaken," Pei Jiang said. "You and I are ntor and friend. I can rest assured entrusting this matter to you." I naturally know my own situation, he thought. That’s why I must rely on Mr. Wang. If it were anyone else, I’d be even more anxious. Can a confidant truly be trusted? Paradoxically, I can trust soone like Mr. Wang, who seems indifferent to . So many years have passed; if he harbored any ill intentions, surely they would have surfaced by now.
"Heh, do you believe that yourself, Your Majesty?" Wang Linchi scoffed, then his expression turned serious. "Very well, I’ll help you one last ti. But after this, I plan to leave."
So, it’s an exchange, Wang Linchi mused. I help him, and then he lets go. He undoubtedly could leave at any mont, yet he had feigned being forcibly confined all these years.
"This... then how should I practice my Active Achievent afterwards?" Pei Jiang asked, hesitating.
"Active Achievent is unlike Silent Achievent," Wang Linchi said leisurely. "It’s simply a matter of diligence and ’wealth.’ If your Silent Achievent reaches Great Success, I have the formula for an Innate God Nourishing Liquid that can serve as your ’wealth’ supplent." This ans we’ll talk terms after you break through, he thought.
"In that case, I shall follow your arrangents, Mr. Wang." Pei Jiang did not inquire about how to cultivate the Golden Core by combining Active Achievent and Silent Achievent; it was pointless. He hadn’t even achieved Great Success in the first stage of Silent Achievent, so how could he consider sothing so far off? Besides, even if he asked, Wang Linchi might not tell him.
"Since that’s settled, I’ll go and make the arrangents. Your Majesty should return and prepare. Don’t practice for the next few days; take a good rest," Wang Linchi said, the polite phrasing barely veiling his desire for Pei Jiang to leave promptly.
"Alright, then I will eagerly await good news." Pei Jiang understood. Mr. Wang isn’t going anywhere. Since I’m already stuck, a delay of a day or two won’t make a difference. Just as Mr. Wang said, I should go back, rest, and recuperate. Then, I can face this with a fully prepared mind, and perhaps the chances of a breakthrough will be higher.
After Pei Jiang left, Wang Linchi shook his head. "How things change, and people with them. That once passionate, hot-blooded man has beco like this. Indeed, power changes people, as does strength." Even Wang Linchi had to admit he was no longer the man he once was.
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