The Empress's No.1 Lackey-Chapter 532 - 403, Together in the Same Room for the Second Time (6k)_3

Because of the floor heating, even sleeping on the living room floor, the bedding was still not cold, but gradually became warm.

The long night dragged on, one slept on the bed inside the room, another on the floor outside.

Zhao Douan stared with wide eyes, tossing and turning, unable to sleep. He sighed softly, thinking to himself about how difficult it was to sleep without even a cell phone in this boring ancient nightlife...

"What are you sighing about? Can't sleep?" Xu Zhenguan's voice came from behind the curtain.

Zhao Douan looked innocently at the ceiling and said plaintively,

"It's not that I don't want to sleep, but rather that my spirit is too lively, completely without drowsiness."

Xu Zhenguan lay under a light gauze canopy, furrowing her brows, thinking this fellow was being frivolous again, then she thought of something, her eyebrows relaxed, and she reassured,

"It must be because of the Buddha's baptism; there's no need to panic."

Zhao Douan curiously asked, "Your Majesty, what exactly is this baptism about?"

After a chaotic day, it was only during this silent night that he remembered this matter.

Xu Zhenguan patiently explained,

"It's a good thing; I remember during your baptism, a green lotus was faintly visible at your brow point. At this moment, a green lotus should have been planted in your sea of awareness. The Buddha presides over wisdom, and this green lotus will nourish your Divine Soul, making your vitality flow endlessly...You aren't used to it right now, which is why you have insomnia, but in a few days you'll adjust.

With this green lotus, even if you suffer physical injuries later, the healing will be faster than others... Not only that, if you truly have a wise root, perhaps you could even learn some Buddhist Magic from the imprint of that green lotus...

However, its true benefits will likely only manifest after you step into the Worldly Realm; how exactly, I am not sure either, I have only seen vague descriptions in books."

Buddhist Magic?

That's right... Xu's "Path of the Martial God" involves Dual Cultivation of martial skills, and it was never specified that I could only learn the magic from the stone steles left by Xu... Like the Spirit Flame I learned from Pei Niannu, that counts as something external, right?

So, sneaking some learning of Buddhist techniques seems fine too...

Hmm, this means I've already learned things from the Royal Family, the Buddhists, even from the green mountain heritage... I've also learned some Martial Skill from that Chai Keqiao... The only thing I haven't learned from is the Heavenly Master Mansion.

Tsk, Zhang is truly stingy, and trapping the blame, teaching me nothing...

Zhao Douan silently despised Zhang, but said aloud,

"Then I shall strive to sprint towards the Worldly Realm next year."

Lying in bed, Xu Zhenguan was startled by his suddenly resolute tone and wanted to say that these things can't be rushed, but then it hit her... this fellow, could he be thinking that after stepping into the Worldly Realm, he'd meet the minimum requirements to Dual Cultivate with her...

In the dark winter night, Xu Zhenguan's cheeks inexplicably reddened, accompanied by annoyance.

But since Zhao Douan had not specified his intention, she felt it inappropriate to speculate wildly and ask outright.

Yet, she thought of something and softly said,

"Next year, I too shall attempt to ascend to the true Heavenly Human Realm."

Zhao Douan was stunned, and suddenly anxious, thinking she really didn't have to do this; if she broke through, wouldn't that mean even if he reached the Worldly Realm, there would still be a Great Realm between them, and a forced Dual Cultivation would just drain him into medicine dregs?

This couldn't be happening; was it really just a carrot before the donkey, eternally unreachable?

He sat up sharply and looked towards the other side of the curtain, only to hear the Empress continue,

"When the court National Treasury recovers, and the new policies start to take effect, my uncles and the rebels from Kuangfu Society will not sit by idly and will have to take action in advance.

I have a premonition that if I do not ascend to the true Heavenly Human Realm soon, there will be a major crisis... Not to mention anything else, the Xuan Yin of the Divine Dragon Temple makes me very uneasy."

Xuan Yin, the old monk?

That's right... This guy is weird. Although I can communicate with Heavenly Master Zhang, the most powerful openly Buddhist individual seems to have truly cultivated into a mortal-world Buddha.

Consistently hidden within the Buddhist Temple, using Bian Ji as a substitute to interact outside, clearly having an ambition to unify the Buddhists but almost allowing the multiple factions within the Divine Dragon Temple to entangle in covert competition...

It all feels strangely inexplicable.

"Your Majesty is worried that that old bald monk might cause trouble?" Zhao Douan asked softly.

Xu Zhenguan said,

"It's hard to say, I can't see through Xuan Yin. But even if he does nothing, I must still ascend to the Heavenly Human Realm as soon as possible. Next year, on my third year of enthronement, with the Dragon Qi adding stability, I can venture out of the Capital to attempt the sealing ritual. If successful, it would resolve issues permanently; if not..."

Sealing ritual? This world also has this thing?

Isn't that, on paper, just an honorary thing? Could it be related to ascension in cultivation? Zhao Douan was utterly puzzled.

But clearly, Zhenguan didn't want to elaborate further, and after a few words, she shifted the topic,

"The end of the year is approaching; have you thought about how to deal with Zhuang Xiaocheng next year? Hah, you delayed this matter due to illness, but if no action is taken after the new year, even if I don't say anything, certain people in the court will start making their moves."

These "certain people" naturally referred to Prime Minister Li Yanfu's faction.

Zhao Douan's feud with Li Yanfu had only paused temporarily and was far from over. Once Li Yanfu sorted out the internal issues of the Li Party, he and Zhao Douan would inevitably clash again.

"Your Majesty, rest assured, Zhuang Xiaocheng was released by me, so I vowed to capture him again,"

Zhao Douan stated confidently, then lay back down and said with a bitter smile,

"However, what I am more concerned about right now is Lord returning to the Capital for the festival, I heard it's not only Duke who is coming back for the new year, but also the other Dukes and Great Generals stationed at the borders are coming back to the Capital to report?"

At the year-end, the border army commanders returning to the Capital was a tradition of Yu Country.

It served both to reunite with families for the festival and to report the border army's affairs of the past year to the Emperor.