Chapter 1032: Go to Coal Hill to Cross Tribulation

【Perfection?】 Pan Yun asked: 【Your former master's cultivation art?】

【That's right—the art he used to ascend!】

Pan Yun stared at that world and asked: "When can I enter?"

Pan Xiaohei: 【That's where souls rest—you won't want to go in.】

Pan Yun: 【Only after death?】

Pan Xiaohei: 【You're chattering so much—don't you hurt?】

【I hurt—I'm nearly dead from pain!】

But if she didn't ask now, she feared it would clam up again later.

Pan Yun exhaled, forcing herself to regulate her breath and circulate her art to ease the agony of her dantian swollen with primordial energy.

She couldn't undergo Tribulation Crossing inside the palace—she needed another place, but returning to Mount Sanqing was too late; she had to find a spot outside.

She hadn't expected to break through to Second Marquis so quickly; she hadn't been in Jingcheng often these past two years, so she'd never scouted a suitable spot nearby.

As she weighed the surrounding hills and open spaces, a presence descended from the sky.

Pan Yun narrowed her eyes and looked outward.

Zhang Zijin suddenly appeared at the Imperial Astronomical Bureau; the bureau's officials were gathered around Pan Yun's courtyard, too afraid to approach, only watching from afar.

When Zhang Zijin arrived, everyone straightened and lowered their heads, daring not to look further.

Zhang Zijin frowned and asked: "Are you going to undergo Tribulation Crossing inside the palace?"

His voice was quiet, yet clear through the closed door.

Pan Yun's voice came through: "I'm not stupid—Great Ming isn't so rich it can burn down a whole palace wing with one lightning strike."

Zhang Zijin's expression softened; he looked up at the sky and said: "I give you half an hour."

The next instant, the door burst open—Pan Yun flashed out and smiled: "Senior, if I'd been careless and tried to cross Tribulation inside the palace, what would you have done?"

"I'd have thrown you out."

Pan Yun: "Where to?"

Zhang Zijin raised an eyebrow: "You haven't prepared a place for Tribulation Crossing?"

Pan Yun only smiled, saying nothing.

Zhang Zijin studied her face, then said: "Though you're wrapped in merit light, your forehead is dark—too close. It risks the palace. Go farther away."

Pan Yun lowered her gaze, thought a moment, then nodded: "This journey may keep me away for a while—please look after my three junior disciples."

Zhang Zijin: "I am outside the mortal realm—I do not meddle in worldly affairs."

Pan Yun: "I promised Brother Zhang that if he died, I'd take the successor he chose and keep him by my side for ten years."

Zhang Zijin stayed silent.

The Zhang family—indeed, they could sway him.

Zhang Zijin did not refuse again.

He looked beyond the palace walls and said calmly: "They're coming."

It was Seeing Miao Zhen and the other two.

When the heavens changed, Seeing Miao Zhen was in the Ministry of Public Works, Miao He and Tao Yanbai were in the Imperial Medical Bureau—all deeply absorbed in study or work—when suddenly their hearts stirred, sensing something, and they immediately stepped outside to look up.

To ordinary eyes, the sky looked no different than usual—perhaps the white clouds, lit by sunlight, held faint new hues.

Indistinct, barely visible.

But to Seeing Miao Zhen and other cultivators, it was radiant golden merit light—like golden silk ribbons surging from all directions, pouring down toward the Imperial Astronomical Bureau.

This wasn't unusual—Little Master had gathered much merit lately.

Thanks to the telegraph and press, news of the pilot program improving artisan status spread across Great Ming in under a month; every trade now worshipped Little Master as their ancestral founder.

This benefited the artisans, and since their worship was sincere, they naturally earned much merit.

But soon, they sensed an unusual aura—and a faint pressure.

This scene felt familiar.

All three hearts jolted—they simultaneously recalled when Little Master broke through to First Marquis.

Without hesitation, they ran toward the Imperial Astronomical Bureau.

That day, people in the imperial city and palace saw the National Teacher's three junior disciples running through the palace grounds.

Unthinkable—this violated palace rules.

But they didn't care; they used lightness arts to sprint through the palace, and when they reached the Imperial Astronomical Bureau, they nearly collapsed from breathlessness.

As they entered, saw Pan Yun standing unharmed, all three exhaled in relief, gripping the doorframe to catch their breath.

Pan Yun looked at them and said: "Running through the palace—punishment: one month's confinement."

Seeing Miao Zhen said: "Little Master, let us guard you?"

Pan Yun: "Stay inside the Imperial Astronomical Bureau—don't distract me."

Seeing Miao Zhen: "If we always hide every time, we lose our spirit and edge—how can we still have the courage to pursue immortality?"

Pan Yun froze.

Zhang Zijin smiled gently: "Her cultivation is weaker than yours, but her heart is stronger."

Pan Yun laughed and nodded: "I've been too cautious."

"Fine—you decide for yourselves. But don't come near during my Tribulation Crossing. This Lei Jie far exceeds the last—you're not strong enough; you'll be reduced to ash."

As they spoke, Xue Shao arrived, panting, clutching his robe.

He braced himself on the doorframe, pointing north toward the palace: "Coal Hill—cross Tribulation at Coal Hill!"

"No!" Zhang Zijin objected first, his voice edged with anger: "Coal Hill is too close to the palace—don't you fear endangering it?"

Xue Shao stared intently at Pan Yun: "The palace has arrays and dragon qi protecting it—you cross Tribulation on the north side, and it won't touch the palace. I stake my official cap on it."

Zhang Zijin sneered: "You, a mere fourth-rank Censor, can guarantee the safety of the Imperial Palace?"

He turned his gaze to Pan Yun and said: "Pan Yun, my duty as a Daoist is to protect the Imperial Palace and the Emperor under the laws of the arcane. Don't force me to expel you from Jingcheng."

Pan Yun smiled through the searing pain in her body: "I know. I'll stay far from Jingcheng—I'll undergo Tribulation Crossing outside the city."

Xue Shao stepped before her, his voice low and firm: "Pan Yun, everyone says you were born to cultivate Dao, that you possess a natural Dao Body. Then you should trust me—undergoing Tribulation Crossing at Meishan benefits not only yourself, but Great Ming as well."

Zhang Zijin frowned, his expression uncertain as he stared at Xue Shao.

Xue Shao said: "Meishan—also called Zhen Mountain—means 'suppressing the previous dynasty, striking terror across the four quarters.' Of all the world's might, none surpasses thunder and lightning. If you undergo Tribulation Crossing atop Meishan, harnessing the power of thunder and lightning to purge evil, you will ensure Great Ming's purity for a hundred years. Even if not for yourself, what of Great Ming?"

Just as Zhang Zijin was about to object, a voice filled with delight rang out: "State Master, is what Xue Qing says true?"

The Emperor stepped down from his dragon palanquin; the ministers who had run after him clutched their knees, gasping for breath, their faces equally stunned as they stared at the three standing in the courtyard.

Yu Qian and the others quickly shifted their gazes from Pan Yun and Xue Shao to Zhang Zijin.

Their eyes held unmistakable curiosity.

A patriarch of the Zhang family had long been stationed within the palace since the time of the founding Emperor Taizu, yet few had ever seen him.

They had always assumed he was an old man with white hair, never imagining he was a middle-aged man of striking, clear beauty.

He looked even younger than they did.

The ministers all turned to Zhang Zijin and said: "Your Majesty, Lord Xue is a Metropolitan Graduate graduate. Matters of cultivation should be left to those of the Daoist sect. Since this Mr. Zhang is here, why not ask him—would the State Master's Tribulation Crossing at Meishan truly benefit Great Ming?"

Xue Shao immediately fixed his piercing gaze on Zhang Zijin and said: "Great Ming lacks celestial timing; the further our lineage extends, the worse the timing becomes. The Zhang family, alongside Minister Kuai, once helped construct the Forbidden City...