Chapter 365: The National Destiny of Great Qi, Can One Attain Longevity? (First Update)

The fourth floor of the Yao Xian Lou.

The layout was simple and elegant, with only a table and chairs for tea tasting, and two chairs set opposite each other.

The lighting was dim, and the flickering candlelight only illuminated a wood-yellow carved thick table.

There were no servants walking around in the room, only silence.

An old man in his eighties or nineties, wearing green clothes, his face covered in deep wrinkles, and a faint luster flickering in his sparse, graying brows and eyes.

The old man reached out and touched the tabletop, which felt cold to the touch, and then slowly withdrew his withered palms.

It was none other than the powerful Su Xiang—Su Jing.

In this small attic, only one window was open, and the moonlight spilled through the window lattice onto the corner of the table.

Through this window, one could clearly see the Qunfang Banquet being held below.

The old man, however, was listless, thinking that he was old, and had long since lost interest in the liveliness of these young people, only squinting at the high-hanging moonlight.

At this time!

Su Jing slowly raised his head, looked outside the door, and then stood up.

A middle-aged man walked slowly into the room.

This middle-aged man had a slender figure, wore a slightly faded Confucian shirt, and a head of smooth black hair was casually draped over his shoulders.

Although his features could not be considered outstanding, for some reason, these ordinary features combined on his face exuded an indescribable handsomeness and beauty.

It was none other than the Third Master of the Academy.

The old man grinned and said, "Third Yu Shixiong, long time no see."

The two men's ages and appearances were exactly the opposite.

Su Jing was younger than the Third Master, but looked much older.

The Third Master stared at Su Jing, shook his head gently, and said, "Wuxin, why must you disguise yourself as this dying appearance?"

Su Jing, courtesy name Wuxin, but in the current Great Qi, no one dared to call him by his courtesy name directly.

The Third Master had already sat down under the dim candlelight.

"You still like to hide as always; back then, you clearly already knew how to recite books, but every time you were the last one to go recite, and the teacher knew but never exposed you."

"You learned the teacher's Corpse-Dissolution Method; although you cannot achieve immortality, you can remain young forever. However, you chose to show yourself in this aged appearance."

Su Jing smiled slightly and responded:

"I have stayed in the court of Great Qi for too long. If I always maintained a youthful appearance, I fear it would make them even more afraid of this 'old immortal' thing."

"I am doing this for their own good."

After speaking!

Su Jing no longer concealed it, gently took off the green clothes, revealing a green shirt underneath.

The whole person seemed to have "returned to youth."

The old man was gone, leaving only a fair and handsome young man, with only a pair of vicissitudes-filled eyes remaining.

Ripples appeared in the Third Master's eyes, but this was not because he was shocked by Su Jing's change.

It was because when he first saw Su Jing, the other party was in this appearance.

Su Jing looked down at his fair and tender hands and could not help but sigh, "Although the body has returned to youth, the heart is no longer young; in the end, it is not like a youthful journey."

The Third Master said slowly, "The Corpse-Dissolution Method is ultimately a side-door path; even if you can remain young forever, it is hard to escape the calamity of a violent death."

The Corpse-Dissolution Immortal is a concept in Daoism, emphasizing "perfection of form and spirit."

Practitioners avoid heavenly tribulations or human disasters through fake death, often associated with "crossing tribulations."

However, precisely because it requires experiencing "fake death," the Corpse-Dissolution Method is regarded by many Daoist sects as a "low-grade technique," believing it to be "opportunistic," "incomplete in form and spirit," and ultimately, after multiple dissolutions, still unable to escape human disaster.

Su Jing just smiled slightly and nodded, "The teacher used the Corpse-Dissolution Method for so many lifetimes and lived for more than 1,400 years; isn't he still in the human world?"

"If you really pursue transcendence, why don't you dare to fight for it!"

The Third Master's gaze fell on Su Jing again, a flash of realization in his eyes:

"You stole the national destiny of Great Qi's dragon vein..."

He paused, his tone deep, "The young eunuch in the palace, who has just reached adulthood and stepped into the ninth rank of martial arts, must be your corpse-dissolved body."

Su Jing nodded slightly, a secret that was enough to shock Bianjing.

The young eunuch who had dominated the martial arts world for these years was also the foundation of the Great Zhou royal family, and he was actually Su Xiang's external body.

It was truly shocking.

Su Jing sighed, "It's a pity that such a good seedling born of heaven and earth is actually a crippled body, unable to retain its original yang."

The Third Master sneered, "Why must you pretend in front of me? The external body refined by Taiyin Refining Form is meant to cut off its roots."

"Otherwise, with your personality, you pursue perfection the most and would not let him appear in the world."

Taiyin Refining Form is a type of Corpse-Dissolution Immortal, where the body is buried in a specific place after death, and after being nourished by the spiritual energy underground, it revives after the passage of time, similar to "corpse becoming Dao."

These words were Su Jing's intentional remarks.

Su Jing rarely showed a hearty smile on his face, "There are few people who talk to me like this."

"Third Yu Shixiong, you still have this personality."

The Third Master turned his gaze to the window.

The prosperous banks of the Zhi River were brightly lit, the common people were bustling, and it was extremely lively.

"You stole the national destiny of Great Qi with an external god of Taiyin fate in the palace, and then without dissolving your own corpse, you conspired with the Nine Great Clans to share the so-called national destiny, but in reality, you just gave your corpse energy to the Nine Great Clans."

Su Jing smiled, "Unexpectedly, having deceived the Nine Great Clans for so many years, Yu Shixiong saw through it with just one glance."

The Third Master sighed, "By doing this, aren't you pushing the people of Great Qi into the abyss?"

"Back then, the four of us joined forces to subdue the teacher, wasn't it for the sake of the common people of the world? Now..."

Before he could finish speaking!

The youth opposite withdrew his stored smile, leaving only a pair of eyes as calm as an ancient well.

"At that time, I didn't say it was for the world; it was just your wishful thinking."

"I have never looked at this world like this; the sky is round and the earth is square, we are like a mu of fertile land, or a cricket jar, and there are people looking down on these billions of living beings."

"Just like looking at an ant nest in groups at our feet, who cares if you step on one or scald a nest of ants with hot water?"

"Etiquette, morality, family, and country—do the immortals above care?"

"We are all mayflies of this heaven and earth, born in the morning and dying in the evening, ultimately living for ourselves."

"I, Su Jing, just want to see the scenery above; some bones buried below should be like this."

"Back then, when I entered the teacher's sect, I asked, emperors, generals, great achievements, wise scholars, eternal articles, fragrant cars and beauties, passed down through the ages, heroic spirit..."

"I, Su Jing, only ask one question: can one attain longevity?"

The Third Master remained silent.

Those with different paths do not conspire.

Su Jing also said no more.

On the fourth floor, under the dim candlelight, there was silence.

The Qunfang Banquet was still ongoing.

Every courtesan's opening poem would be sent to the fourth floor for Su Jing and the Third Master to see.

Seven or eight poems had already been placed in front of the two.

Su Jing examined them carefully and found that three of them were from the same person.

"This Xie Guan has some talent..."

Su Jing whispered to himself, then picked up his brush and wrote a poem title, ordering his servants to pass it to Xie Guan, ordering him to compose a poem on the spot.

The Third Master also looked sideways, looking at Xie Guan's name and the three poems he composed a few more times.

Just at this moment!

Two commanders from the Shen Yin Si and the Tu Mo Si hurriedly climbed to the fourth floor and bowed respectfully, "Su Xiang, Third Master."

Su Jing had returned to his senile appearance, raising his eyes slightly, "What is it?"

The two commanders looked at each other and whispered, "Su Xiang, there is an urgent matter to report."

Su Jing said lightly, "Speak, there are no outsiders here."

The two hesitated slightly, glanced at the Third Master, and then said respectfully:

"Reporting to Su Xiang, according to secret reports, the Xie family's illegitimate son Xie Guan secretly associated with the Sanzhen Sect and was in close contact with the Sanzhen Heavenly Master..."

Su Jing's expression did not change.

"Then arrest him and thoroughly investigate the Xie family."

"Yes, Su Xiang."

The Third Master pondered for a moment and said.

"Wait!"

Chen Mu's expression was poor.

With Su Shishi's words, the matter of him humiliating Xie Guan today with Lady Yuan was likely to fall through.

Su Shishi ordered the maid behind her, "Yan'er, go inside the building and get the treasure notes for Young Master Guan."

During the Yan Dynasty, Lu Chen set up and built banks, which were uniformly minted by the state.

The predecessor of silver notes was "flying money," where merchants deposited money into institutions in the capital and exchanged it locally with certificates, avoiding the risk of carrying large amounts of silver.

The Third Master also improved paper currency based on the "Governance of the North" left by Lu Chen.

Under the advocacy of the Master, Great Qi began to use paper currency extensively, called "treasure notes," which became the main form of currency.

Su Shishi had long since accumulated a vast fortune with her reputation.

The maid had already turned to fetch it.

Second Imperial Prince Chen Feng looked at Su Shishi, his tone gentle, and asked with concern.

"Shishi, do you still have heart disease recently?"

"I had someone send snow lotus from the Northern Longevity Heaven, let the imperial physician's office prepare seven treasures, and boil it with a gentle fire; it has already been sent to Qimo Chunfang, remember to take it on time."

Su Shishi nodded gently and did not refuse, "Many thanks, Your Highness Feng."

Her tone had a bit more cold detachment.

Su Shishi was originally a princess of a former enemy dynasty, and now a courtesan.

Compared to Chen Feng, a prince of Great Qi, it was like the difference between clouds and mud, and the two countries were like fire and water.

Su Shishi naturally did not want to have too many entanglements with Chen Feng.

Chen Feng was accustomed to this; he had spent many years with Su Shishi, and it had always been like this.

He had seen too many women, and even in the harem, the Empress Dowager had already selected a noble daughter of the Nine Great Clans as his primary consort, but he still had no children.

All because he was obsessed with this Fairy Su.

Linxi teased from the side, "Second Brother, stop wasting your efforts; behind Fairy Su, there are quite a few men who are soul-stirred by her."

Chen Feng smiled indifferently, unmoved.

Seeing that the matter was settled, Linxi wanted to leave, and as her gaze shifted, she looked at Xie Guan again and smiled:

"Xie Guan, you are truly completely different from your eldest brother, and there is not the slightest similarity in your brows."

Yu Ke received "Xie Guan's" memory and naturally understood who Linxi was referring to as the eldest brother.

This person was the eldest legitimate son of the Xie family's main courtyard, Xie Guan's brother—Xie Mu.

Xie Guan inherited his mother's appearance, and he did not look much like the brothers in the main courtyard.

Linxi continued, "Xie Mu likes martial arts and has no interest in poetry or ink; he is quite similar to Xue Hong of your generation."

"Your eldest brother will return home after the Qunfang Banquet; you must be careful, he cannot tolerate sand in his eyes."

Yu Ke nodded upon hearing this.

Thinking back then, "Xie Guan's mother" sought the family name for Xie Guan, and there was a dispute at the Xie family ancestral hall, causing a huge uproar in the city.

At that time, Xie Mu followed his father Xie Ling, and the young Xie Guan timidly called out:

"Eldest Brother!"

Xie Mu only gave him a cold look and responded coldly:

"You are not worthy of calling me Eldest Brother, nor are you worthy of the surname Xie."

This matter was still branded like a knife on "Xie Guan's" heart to this day, and he had not forgotten it even now.

According to the time calculation, after the Qunfang Banquet, Xie Ling should have led his troops back to Bianjing.

Yu Ke could not help but feel puzzled in his heart.

According to the earlier discussions between the Xie family's Old Matriarch and the Nine Great Clans in the Hongjing courtyard, Xie Ling should have returned to Bianjing long ago.

Why had he still not returned?

Could it be that he was quietly waiting for the variables of the Qunfang Banquet?

Jia Yu and He Xiao were a bit restrained with the Second Imperial Prince and the Prince of Yan present.

Chen Ting also cast his gaze toward Xie Guan, wondering to himself why the Third Master, who had been self-imprisoned in the Academy for decades, would actually guarantee Xie Guan.

He examined the handwriting on the paper, feeling in a trance that the Second Master's brushwork had character, if not for...

Xie Guan's talent was indeed not bad.

Xie Guan's background truly made Lady Yuan in the main courtyard unhappy.

The Yuan family and the Xie family were both the firmest supporters of the Prince of Yan.

Giving up both families for a mere Xie Guan was truly not a wise move.

Chen Yong's gaze revealed a trace of regret, but he actually highly praised this "Kunpeng Painting," thinking it was quite miraculous.

"People of the time do not recognize the towering tree, only when it reaches the clouds do they say it is high."

"The Peng wings hang in the sky, laughing at the human world, desolate and empty."

He was particularly fond of these two lines of poetry.

Chen Yong turned to look at Chen Feng and Chen Ting, a trace of contemplation in his eyes.

The exclusion of Xie Guan by the two imperial brothers today almost completely sealed his official career in Great Qi.

He was full of admiration for Xie Guan, but he did not want to offend his two imperial brothers because of this.

He had great ambitions, but he knew how to hide his light, and did not want to be too sharp at this moment.

Li Xiangjun also lowered her head slightly, knowing that they should not speak casually about such big shots, and had no intention of attracting everyone's attention.

The Second Imperial Prince and the Prince of Yan were both experienced people and would naturally not be moved by a woman from the West Wing Building.

She did not want to gild the lily and do something unnecessary.

Before long!

Su Shishi's maid had returned, holding a peach wood gift box tightly in her hand.

Su Shishi took it and handed it to Xie Guan; inside were silver notes.

A whole stack, four million taels.

"Young Master Guan, please count them."

The maid pushed the silver notes in front of Xie Guan.

Yu Ke was slightly surprised to see this; the matter had already passed, and Su Shishi did not need to rush to pay off the money.

Now that the Qunfang Banquet was about to begin, a large amount of gold and silver was still needed to buy hairpins and other items.

She took the initiative to come and settle the payment at this moment, showing her sincere intention to make friends.

"No need to count."

"Many thanks, Fairy Su."

Yu Ke did not hesitate, took the silver notes directly, and pushed them in front of Chen Yong.

"Your Highness Yong, many thanks for this matter."

Chen Yong was stunned; even though he was extremely wealthy, four million taels was not a small number.

Yu Ke did not even look at it and pushed it in front of him.

(End of Chapter) ===== CHAPTER 366 =====