Chapter 181: One Character Worth a Thousand Gold

Zhang Jian immediately picked up his brush and found a sheet of xuan paper, infusing the brush tip with righteous qi.

Then he saw light appear at the brush tip, a vast and magnificent artistic conception manifesting forth.

Each character emitted light.

Gazing upon it was like seeing the long river of righteous qi surging and cascading onto the paper surface.

"Between heaven and earth there is righteous qi, manifoldly assigning to flowing forms. Below it becomes rivers and mountains; above it becomes sun and stars. In humans it is called the浩然, overflowing to fill the azure darkness..."

Just a glance, and the Pure Bright Daoist's Dao-heart surged with emotion; he seemed to see the sun and moon wheels turning, mountains and rivers and state altars evolving in the long river of浩然 righteous qi—a terrifying sight.

Every strand of浩然 righteous qi weighed as heavily as mountains and rivers.

Yet just as the itch reached its peak, Zhang Jian before him suddenly lifted his brush and set it down on the brush rack.

"Assistant Secretary Zhang, what comes next..."

The Pure Bright Daoist gazed at Zhang Jian.

"There is nothing more to come..."

Zhang Jian smiled faintly.

Upon hearing this, the Pure Bright Daoist froze, staring at Zhang Jian with some astonishment; each time they reached this crucial moment, Zhang Jian always said this, and he very much wanted to retort.

This truly disrupts one's Dao-heart.

But these mere thirty characters were indeed already sufficient.

The contained浩然 mountains and rivers artistic conception seemed capable of collapsing heaven and earth; most rare of all was the contained mountains and rivers artistic conception, vast and mighty.

With this half-sheet of calligraphy, the Pure Bright Daoist gained absolute confidence in investigating the Three-Eyed Demon-Subduing Well.

This harvest exceeded imagination.

After thinking, the Pure Bright Daoist again took out a precious pearl from his sleeve.

"Assistant Secretary Zhang, though your residual chapter was not fully written successfully, it is evident this is a timeless passage; I merely let His Majesty open the Northern Study, Eastern Study—truly I have taken advantage of Assistant Secretary Zhang; please accept this object as slight compensation!"

"Huh?"

Zhang Jian glanced in surprise at the Pure Bright Daoist.

Seeing Zhang Jian's expression, the Pure Bright Daoist pushed the pearl toward Zhang Jian's front and smiled.

"This object is the innate feminine primordial pearl, obtained by my master from a thousand-year-old clam spirit; its interior contains abundant vital essence. I have heard Assistant Secretary Zhang's lady is recently pregnant; this object is also of great marvel for pregnant women—worn close to the body daily, it can safeguard the physique, nourish the fetus, and at childbirth avoid difficult labor and dangerous omens!"

At this moment, the Pure Bright Daoist was also pleased in his heart.

The so-called: to borrow and to return, to borrow again is not difficult.

Give more benefits, and next time asking will surely be easier than for others.

Zhang Jian picked up the pink pearl before him, slightly sensed it, and knew this innate feminine primordial pearl was indeed a rare treasure.

This thing likely not only nourishes the fetus's innate qi, but Yin God cultivators can refine it into a second Yin God—truly a great treasure.

The Pure Bright Daoist has also gone to great expense.

Zhang Jian rose slightly, smiling.

"Never mind, I will accept this object!"

Seeing Zhang Jian accept the innate feminine primordial pearl, the Pure Bright Daoist's expression also gained a hint of smile.

Zhang Jian thought for a moment, then casually found a copied ink painting from beside him and presented it to the Pure Bright Daoist.

Consider it buy-one-get-one-free.

Seeing this, the Pure Bright Daoist's eyes showed joy.

After the Pure Bright Daoist departed, Zhang Jian's gaze fell upon the various 'colleagues' of the Literary Affairs Institute within the office, their looks all turning toward him, their eyes still holding a hint of disbelief.

Many officials were indeed somewhat dazed.

Just now they had clearly seen that the departing one was the State Preceptor Pure Bright Daoist.

This State Preceptor could be called a favorite in the presence of the Jingwu Emperor; his standing in court was even above the Three Dukes.

Yet before Zhang Jian, a sixth-rank official, he had observed all due courtesies.

This was not courtesy to the worthy, but equal regard!

Truly astonishing.

The Pure Bright Daoist is one who practices arcane arts, an outsider to the world.

Such outsiders have always had lofty vision; let alone Zhang Jian, a mere Assistant Secretary, even the Acting Director Huang Liangzhong, nominal head of the Literary Affairs Institute, or the Censor-in-Chief Zhuang Ying, if they approached, the Pure Bright State Preceptor might not necessarily accept.

Yet in Zhang Jian's office, there was talk and laughter, and even a lowering of posture.

This truly left many Literary Affairs Institute officials unable to fathom.

At the side, Chen Xiuming at this moment furrowed his brow, his expression doubtful and uncertain, the light in his pupils flickering.

"This Assistant Secretary Zhang truly has penetrating influence, actually having penetrated the State Preceptor's connections—no wonder he does not wish to associate with us; with the State Preceptor's aid, is it not a straight ascent to the azure clouds..."

Hearing the muttered whispers of a few editors nearby, Chen Xiuming's resolve grew firmer.

……

Zhang Jian took in the expressions of his Literary Affairs Institute colleagues, not minding them.

This afternoon, the Pure Bright Daoist personally came, delivering a passage tablet.

This is the passage tablet for the Northern Study and Eastern Study.

The Northern Study is actually no problem.

The Eastern Study, however, is close to the rear palace.

This is where the emperor and his consorts often spend time; ordinary people cannot obtain the Eastern Study's passage tablet.

That is, the Pure Bright Daoist has penetrating influence, able to let the Jingwu Emperor make an exception.

Although Zhang Jian obtained the tablet, he was not in a hurry to go.

Before him, his《Divine Cavern Scripture》is hailed as the king of all scriptures, still requiring him to spend time contemplating it.

After the court session, Zhang Jian also left the Literary and Martial Arts Institute with the crowd, but Zhang Jian noticed that many 'colleagues' at the institute had clearly changed their attitude toward him.

Even Dean Huang Liangzhong stepped forward and proactively asked a few questions about the visit of the Pure Bright Daoist this morning.

Zhang Jian responded with a few words and then returned to the State Scholar's Mansion.

"My dear, keep this close to your body; it will greatly benefit your pregnancy."

At this moment inside the mansion, the couple sat beneath a large jujube tree to one side. Zhang Jian gazed at Qi Yuhua with a hint of a smile, simultaneously taking out the Innate Yin-Yang Pearl and softly explaining its wonderful uses to Qi Yuhua.

Qi Yuhua gazed in astonishment at the pink pearl before her. She lightly pinched it between her slender fingertips, gently squeezing it, as if through this pearl she could sense a gentle, invisible spiritual mechanism flowing within.

A hint of joy appeared in her eyes, but then she immediately said:

"My lord, I already possess the Phoenix Blood Jade on me; this pearl should be given to Elder Sister Bai instead!"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Jian was momentarily startled, then smiled and said: "As for the Princess's side, I have my own arrangements—rest assured, just keep this item for yourself!"

Zhang Jian's gaze fell upon Qi Yuhua's still-flat abdomen, his eyes carrying a smile as he gently drew her slender frame into his embrace, whispering some intimate words, then his gaze once again returned to the *Divine Cavern Scripture*.

Early summer arrived, and this jujube tree, nourished by the feng shui layout of the State Scholar's Mansion, had already sprouted tender leaves early, with clusters of white jujube blossoms filling the spaces between the leaves.

As Zhang Jian contemplated the *Divine Cavern Scripture*, part of the heavenly and earthly mysteries seeped out, and the feng shui of the surrounding residences seemed to shift invisibly in response, with threads of intense thunderous vitality scattering around.

This great jujube tree also grew increasingly sturdy.

The most significant change, however, belonged to the Nine Heavens Thunder Control Technique he cultivated.

At this moment, the purple thunderlight within the talismans evolved from his Nine Heavens Thunder Control Technique gradually circulated inside his body.

It stood in clear distinction from the original red thunderlight within him.

The purple and red thunderbolts merged together.

The Nine Heavens Thunder God Talisman gradually evolved into the model of a Dao diagram.

It was actually pioneering the evolution toward a Yin God-level technique.