Chapter 172: Imperial Observatory

Taking a disciple is a major matter.

A slight carelessness could bring disaster to the sect.

Liang He had stayed by Li Rui's side long enough and had undergone tests, which allowed him to apprentice easily.

Others... didn't have this treatment.

Li Rui wasn't a casual person.

This wasn't his first time being a master, especially after the Ma Yang incident; he poured his heart and soul into teaching skills, but it didn't necessarily bring repayment, and instead could turn into resentment.

Therefore, he naturally wouldn't foolishly spread Long Chun Gong to the world.

Spreading cultivation methods casually would definitely invite disaster.

The matter of spreading cultivation methods to cultivate Qi had to be done, but it must be done steadily, not leaving himself any hidden dangers.

To walk steadily, one must see clearly every step before taking it; slowness doesn't matter, as long as one doesn't fall.

That day.

Liang He moved into Li Rui's mansion.

Li Rui was originally a patrol guard for the Galloping Tiger Cavalry, so he simply made Liang He his personal bodyguard, meaning he would no longer need to participate in training from now on.

This made Tang Hai and the others extremely envious.

They insisted on dragging Liang He to drink, and only stopped after he was dead drunk.

Cultivation has no years.

In the blink of an eye, it was the time when plums turned yellow.

Liang He's realm progressed steadily; because of the nourishment of Profound Clear Qi, it was not inferior to some sect disciples.

He had secretly inquired.

The gap between his current realm and Liu Tong's was no longer large.

"This plum wine is still best when made with green plums, supplemented with rock sugar, plus honey; it's truly delicious!"

Wei Ming raised his wine cup, drinking while appreciating it.

Liang He found an opportunity and hurried to fill the wine cup of this Lord Wei.

Tonight.

Li Rui specially invited Ning Zhongtian, Wei Ming, Ge Hong, and Tan Hu to gather in his home.

Such small gatherings happened every few days.

Liang He was long accustomed to it.

Tan Hu's ox eyes bulged: "Wei, why do you love drinking that stuff that women drink? Burning Knife is more to my taste, it's just a pity that Yunzhou doesn't have that stuff."

"Forget it."

Wei Ming knew he was playing the zither to a cow.

Tan Hu was born in the Northwest border army, and Burning Knife was the wine produced there.

It couldn't be counted as good wine, at most it was strong enough.

Wei Ming hadn't tasted it, and didn't intend to taste it.

That was stuff for poor people to lift their spirits; it burned the throat when drunk, and he was born not liking to suffer.

Ning Zhongtian stepped on the soft couch with one leg, leaning his body against the armrest.

Smiling without saying a word.

The Ghost Ming Sect rarely stopped, and Cao Wei had no movements; in leisure time, naturally, lying down was the most comfortable.

Seeing Wei Ming and Tan Hu, these two blockheads, about to argue again.

He helplessly patted the armrest of the soft couch.

The 'pa-pa-pa' sound soon attracted the attention of several people.

Ning Zhongtian saw that their attention was on him, so he told the news he recently received:

"I heard that the Imperial Observatory has changed to a new Gu Jianzheng, personally decided by His Majesty; you guess who it is?"

Imperial Observatory!

Hearing these three words, Li Rui and the others instantly became interested, and Tan Hu and Wei Ming had no heart to argue anymore.

Ning Zhongtian deliberately kept them in suspense, seeing several people staring at him with burning gazes, the corners of his mouth lifted slightly.

Regardless of gender or age, no one had any resistance to gossiping.

Let alone the Imperial Observatory, which was mysterious in the eyes of outsiders.

The Imperial Observatory followed the old system of the previous dynasty, but unlike the previous dynasty, the Yu Kingdom attached more importance to the Imperial Observatory.

In the final analysis, it was still the pursuit of longevity by emperors throughout history.

The previous dynasty also sought longevity, but focused more on the art of demon-rearing and evil god methods, while the Yu Kingdom... loved seeking immortality and questioning the Dao more.

The original duty of the Imperial Observatory was only to observe celestial phenomena and formulate calendars.

But with the vigorous support of successive Yu Kingdom emperors, it had already become a behemoth that gathered the monitoring of demons and hidden sects in the world, and the selection of alchemist talents, and could even stand on equal footing with the Ministry of Rites.

Because most of the officials were alchemists, it had a rich mysterious color.

The above main businesses were all the side businesses of the Gu Jianzheng of the Imperial Observatory.

The main business of the Gu Jianzheng had always been only one, and that was to seek longevity for the Lord of the Dragon Court.

Legend has it that in an ancient empire, the founding emperor ordered alchemists all over the world to seek immortal pills, and even let a great alchemist lead three thousand boys and girls to the East Sea, just to seek immortal pills for longevity.

Li Rui was noncommittal about this.

If one pill could lead to longevity, then what was the use of cultivating truth?

But the strength of the Imperial Observatory was beyond doubt.

Sometimes, the number of times the Emperor met the Gu Jianzheng every day was even more than the number of times he met the Grand Secretaries of the Cabinet.

Still that sentence.

The size of power doesn't depend on the height of the position, but on the distance from the Emperor.

From this perspective, the Gu Jianzheng's power was immense.

"Chief Ning, who is it? Stop keeping us in suspense; this is going to suffocate me!"

Wei Ming was the first to be unable to hold back.

Ning Zhongtian smiled triumphantly, seeing that he had kept them in enough suspense, only then gave the answer: "The Tower Master of the Questioning Immortal Pavilion."

After speaking, he also looked at Li Rui.

Hearing the candidate, Li Rui's eyelids jumped.

He secretly sighed that he hadn't seized the opportunity; if he had known, he would have kept Yao Xue to stay for a longer period.

It was very common for inner demons not to be removed for ten years.

"I heard long ago that the Tower Master of the Questioning Immortal Pavilion had met the Emperor in the capital many times; I didn't expect to take one step to the top, directly becoming the Gu Jianzheng!"

When one person achieves the Dao, their chickens and dogs ascend to heaven.

With the Tower Master of the Questioning Immortal Pavilion entering the world, the Questioning Immortal Pavilion was no longer a hidden sect, and the elders and disciples in the tower would naturally become noble, and the upward relationship would naturally emerge.

Li Rui thought thoughtfully.

The Questioning Immortal Pavilion lost a disciple, and Jiang Linxian attached such importance to it; looking back now, it was clear he had long received the news.

Subordinates feel that their superiors are making a mountain out of a molehill, often because of information asymmetry.

Looking from a different perspective can one understand the deep meaning.

"Hiss, Gu Jianzheng!" Wei Ming, Ge Hong, and Tan Hu all gasped in unison.

They had all participated in the previous case of Qu Chengfeng, so they knew about this hidden sect, the Questioning Immortal Pavilion.

If the Questioning Immortal Pavilion was only 'pure and noble' before, now it was a properly 'honorable' great sect.

You know the Minister of War, right?

Controlling the troops of the world, a Second-Rank high official, a figure like a god in the eyes of these soldiers.

In the Six Ministries,

The first two were the Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of Rites, respectively.

The status of the Gu Jianzheng of the Imperial Observatory was on par with the Minister of Rites, and even closer in terms of his relationship with the Emperor.

To use Li Rui's words from his past life:

Taking off!

Ning Zhongtian gave a smug smile: "I also heard this from Magistrate Jiang. This matter hasn't been announced to the world yet, so don't you go spreading it."

"Don't worry, Chief Ning."

=9+Shu_ba

Wei Ming and the others were grinning from ear to ear.

This feeling of knowing a secret before the rest of the world was truly thrilling.

The group felt secretly smug.

Li Rui, however, looked thoughtfully at the Immortal-Seeking Stone tied to his wrist.

"Immortal fate."

For the Immortal-Asking Tower to be valued by the Emperor, it must have real ability.

This Immortal-Seeking Stone in his hand might actually bring him an unexpected surprise.

The long street was lined with buildings, and countless pavilions and towers obscured the floating clouds and hid the horizon.

In the center, there was a touch of golden yellow that one could never avoid.

This was the prosperity unique to the Imperial Jingcheng; towers touched the clouds, and gold was everywhere.

People in the capital called themselves "Jingcheng Masters."

Which person in the capital hadn't seen a third-rank official? Calling themselves "Master" to people from outside provinces really wasn't excessive.

On the bustling street.

A carriage moved slowly, and pedestrians gave way one after another upon seeing it.

A glance revealed that the guards on both sides of the carriage were actually the Imperial Guards.

The Yu Kingdom had only one Imperial Guard force.

The function of the Imperial Guard was also singular: to guard the Jingcheng and protect the Zhu imperial clan.

Whenever the Imperial Guard appeared, it meant that royalty was present.

Passing through the magnificent Divine Dragon Avenue.

The carriage drove slowly into the Jingcheng, the place of supreme power in the world, without the slightest hindrance.

Yet the person inside the carriage was not royalty.

Inside the palanquin.

An old Daoist priest was resting with his eyes closed, with Yao Xue and Qu Chengfeng sitting on either side of him.

"The Jingcheng is really huge."

Yao Xue lifted the carriage curtain, peeking like a thief at scenery she couldn't have seen before even by standing on tiptoe.

Qu Chengfeng chuckled: "Senior Sister, actually, the Jingcheng isn't that big. I heard the Immortal Court of the past was the one that was truly big."

"Tao Shidi, you can't just say things like that."

Yao Xue hurriedly stopped him.

Recklessly discussing or belittling the Jingcheng was a grave crime if heard by others.

Qu Chengfeng laughed heartlessly, not caring in the slightest.

Yao Xue sighed softly.

Her junior brother had gone through a life-and-death ordeal and finally managed to escape back, but his flighty temperament hadn't changed a bit.

It was truly worrying.

For no reason, a figure appeared in her mind.

"Li Rui."

Compared to Qu Chengfeng, Li Rui was the other extreme; he was steady in his actions, as if nothing in the world could stir ripples in his mind.

At this moment, Old Daoist Zhang also slowly opened his eyes and laughed while stroking his beard:

"No matter, your Junior Martial Uncle is an old friend of the Emperor. As long as you don't commit treason or rebellion, he can still protect you."

Yao Xue blinked her beautiful large eyes.

It was the first time she had heard her master speak with such bravado.

In the past, when traveling the world with her master, he had always told them to endure whatever they could and avoid conflicts with others.

Now that they had come to the capital, where the waters were deepest, he had changed his tune.

Old Daoist Zhang saw the confusion of his disciples:

"Your Junior Martial Uncle has entered the court as an official. As his relatives, we cannot make him lose face."

"Oh."

Yao Xue nodded.

Old Daoist Zhang had one more reason he hadn't told his two disciples.

Their trip to the capital was destined to be unable to please everyone.

Since it was already destined, it was better to just let go and at least put that Holy Emperor at ease.

Was the Immortal-Asking Tower strong?

That depended on who you compared it to.

Compared to those true great sects of the Yu Kingdom, it was actually very far behind.

In fact, many officials in the court were mistaken about one point.

The new Gu Jianzheng of the Imperial Observatory didn't gain the Emperor's appreciation because of the Immortal-Asking Tower; rather, it was because of him that the Immortal-Asking Tower was elevated to a height it shouldn't have reached.

"This junior martial brother of yours was originally a celestial being exiled from heaven, but having fallen into the mortal world, he will surely be a great talent in the future."

Old Daoist Zhang recalled the words his master said when he took him as a disciple.

Each generation of the Immortal-Asking Tower took no more than three disciples.

Usually, having three generations gathered together was considered quite good; his master had died, and Old Daoist Zhang still had an old martial uncle.

Counting it up, there were only six people in the Immortal-Asking Tower in total.

The old martial uncle was like a dragon, seeing only the head and not the tail, playing in the human world, and could not be found at all.

His junior martial brother needed help after entering the court as an official; if he didn't come, who would?

"A life of laboring forever."

Old Daoist Zhang sighed softly.

The Immortal-Asking Tower entering the world looked extremely prominent, but it was actually fraught with crises and might not be a good thing.

Accompanying the Emperor is like accompanying a tiger.

One moment of carelessness, and it would mean the destruction of the entire family.

"This Jingcheng looks prosperous, peaceful, and solemn, but in reality, there is murderous intent everywhere."

(End of chapter)