Akin to a piece of wood, Fang Hui dully walked out of the Seventh Prince’s study room. He had truly not expected Jing Wen’s plan to have worked so well - aside from him ingratiating himself with the Seventh Prince’s inner circle within such a short time; he could also see the effect of carnal pleasure slowly degenerating the prince’s mind and spirit.

Additionally, the information Jing Wen had presented to the Seventh Prince has evidently caused somethings to be put into motion. Though Fang Hui could not grasp the complete picture, he could feel the Seventh Prince’s downfall was soon to come into being.

Fang Hui’s body suddenly shook, causing him to stop dead on the footpath. He wondered if Jing Wen had planned all of this, and if he should report it back to Jing Wen. However, recalling the instructions Jing Wen had given him, Fang Hui ultimately against it. Picking up his pace once more, his steps now seemed to somehow carry more weight.

While Fang Hui was torn under mental pressure, Jing Wen had spent the following days after his meeting with the Liu family listening to Wang Zhixin explain elementary sign language. Wang Zhixin spoke with an astonishing amount of energy, despite the fragility of her body. Occasionally, she would use her hand to guide Jing Wen to form the correct symbols.

Learning sign language was naturally challenging to begin with, and Jing Wen’s lack of sight significantly reduced each lesson’s efficiency. By the end of a week of practice, Jing Wen eventually managed to learn a few basic symbols, along with a particular phrase.

The end of Jing Ping’s mourning came and went, and the people of the capital soon returned to wearing colourful clothing and hanging auspicious banners above their homes and storefront once more. Within Lin’an, perhaps only Jing Wen continued to wear white, which both the common folks and nobles had grown so tired of.

For most people, the death of Jing Ping had little effect on their lives. They still slept on the same bed, drank from the same well, and ate from the same bowl; seldomly would one place down their rice bowl, and thank the former Prime Minister for ending a famine some thousand li away, or for executing a corrupt official governing a far-flung part of the Empire. Their worries were far more immediate, and their joys were found in the little things in life; through the purchase another bolt of cloth or in the sweetness found within hawthorn candy.

Fortunately, the end of Jing Ping’s mourning allowed them to re-indulge in their previous pleasures. Many immediately forgot the indignation that had built up due to the restrictions of mourning, instead, they began thanking the Emperor for finally ending the period of mourning, wining and dining to his name.

While Lin’an was in a festive mood, neither Jing Wen and Zhou Aimin had forgotten that Hua Quanfu was slowly approaching the capital with the elixir of immortality. Other than learning sign language, Jing Wen had spent most of his time cultivating, despite his serious injuries. Meanwhile, Zhou Aimin frequently attended court, and met with Consort Ru to discuss matters; both were full of the vigour unique to youth.

One day, the layer of mist gathering around Jing Wen suddenly shifted, scattering throughout the Jing manor and causing the water beneath it to swirl. It was as though a great gust of wind had blown through. The waves were gentle in its quality, its surface gently undulating, yet the carps typically inhabiting the lake were nowhere to be seen.

It is said that animals are capable of predicting future weathers, and the carps were undoubtedly correct in their choice to hide.

An extremely dense strand of Qi emerged from within Jing Wen’s meridian, drifting upwards, travelling towards some unknown location beyond the grey and heavy clouds covering the world; it appeared to be leaving the expanse of Heaven and Earth.

But within a single moment, the strand of Qi, as though struck by one of Hou Yi’s arrows, fell from the heavens back to the ground. Shrinking into a speck tinier than the tip of a needle, it penetrated Jing Wen’s skin, entering his body and combed with his bloodstream.

The particle of Qi was inhumanly tiny, yet as it travelled throughout Jing Wen’s bloodstream, it released a constant stream of extremely pure and unusual essence. This essence was unlike Qi, which contained the quality of Earth, it was extraordinarily sweltering, for it had once touched the surface of the Sun.

It turns out during the brief moments the strand of Qi had exited the expanses of Earth, it had absorbed the utmost purest of essence from the Heavens.

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After an unknown amount of time, the speck eventually faded, leaving Jing Wen’s blood solemn yet smooth, dense akin to mercury.

At the same moment, the surface of the artificial lake became frenzied. It was akin to a massive pyre having been lit at the bottom of the lake, causing its contents to evaporate, forming bubbles that fervent wished to escape into the atmosphere.

Yet due to the frigid nature of the day, once the bubbles had escaped, the steam rapidly returned to liquid form, pouring back into the lake, before being evaporated once again, repeating the cycle once more. Even if an ordinary person saw this, they would unably understand that something substantial was occurring and that the energy causing the lake to become frenzied originated from Jing Wen.

To be precise, this disturbance was a sign of Jing Wen’s cultivation advancing, or perhaps more appropriately placed, returning.

There were many cases of individuals losing their cultivation throughout history, yet few were as astonishing as Jing Wen’s case, for few had reached a state as high as Qi Manifestation, and usually, most who did were too devastated to return to the path of cultivation once more.

Perhaps as few had achieved what Jing Wen has done, to advance to Body Supplementation with the experience of a Qi Manifestation state, anyone watching would inadvertently become overpowered with a sense of awe.

This awe was not because his Qi had reached an incredibly high point above the clouds, nor the frenzied nature of his advancement. Instead, it was the sheer speed that was present in his elevation of state.

Compared to Qi Manipulation, which had no clear standard, being defined simply as anyone capable of manipulation and manifesting Qi, Body Purification was far more rigid. It was the utmost transformation of the human body, strengthening the bones and skin to be capable of withstanding the later stages of cultivation, and eventually, preparing one for immortality.

Since Jing Wen’s body has already undergone Body Supplementation once, resulting in his bones becoming no different in hardness from that of steel, and supplementing his skin until it was capable of withstanding ordinary knives and spears, the process was far more straightforward for him. He merely had to borrow the essence of Heaven to transform his blood once more to enter Body Supplementation.

Mist regathered above the lake.

The water within the lake became frigid once more.

The carp that was previously hiding beneath the mud floor of the lake gradually resurfaced.

Jing Wen moved his hand to unruffle the piece of cloth covering his eyes.

Despite being previously surrounded by rain, the strip of cloth remained strangely dry, untouched by the world.

All the steam that had previously gathered returned into the lake, creating soft pitter-patters as they landed. The Qi that had caused such turbulence in the water was gradually reabsorbed into Jing Wen’s body, slightly fluttering his robes as they did so.

Others may have been extremely methodical in the advancement into Body Supplementations, taking all forms of medicine and preparing for months on end to guarantee success. However, to Jing Wen, this was treading old ground; no matter how astonishing he entered the stage, just like how the Emperor would grow indifferent to walking into splendorous Chang’an Hall after thousands of time, Jing Wen was apathetic to the whole process.

Pouring himself a cup of cold tea, Jing Wen rinsed his mouth and exited the pavilion. As he approached the banks of the artificial lake, he noticed Zhou Aimin standing by, playing with his fan.

“Fellow Jing, congratulations,” Zhou Aimin folded the fan in his hand, and genuinely praised.

Jing Wen shook his head, saying, “Reaching Body Supplementation state is a simple formality. My prowess has changed little, and I am still affected by the wounds suffered at Liu manor, unable to use Qi to do anything meaningful at the time. Even as a Body Supplementation cultivator, I cannot stand on equal ground with Qi Manifestation experts and could be easily defeated by other Body Purification cultivators if I am not careful. ”

Zhou Aimin had understood Jing Wen’s strange tendency to devalue himself. Smiling weakly, he said, “However, you are still establishing a path for you to return to your former cultivation as a Qi Manifestation expert. That is the most important.”

Jing Wen coughed and did not say anything else. To cross into Qi Manifestation state was different from any of the previous stages. If Qi Manipulation, Body Supplementation and Heart Purification were akin to an unchanging path, Qi Manifestation was a passage constantly submerged in an everflowing lake. It was ever-changing for each individual and even different for each separate attempt. The method that Jing Wen had employed to enter Qi Manifestation a year ago would be worthless now.

Zhou Aimin was aware of Jing Wen struggles and didn’t continue anymore.

The two gradually followed the path into the dining room. Once they finished breakfast, they began to chat leisurely. Jing Wen commented, “Lady Ru is a capable woman, however, you musn’t be too reliant on her. I can tell that His Majesty does not truly like her; when taking her advice, he is only considering her relationship in Jianghu.”

Zhou Aimin smiled and replied, “How could an emperor spare affection towards women. His Majesty is already excellent by taking a few concubines for siring his heirs.

Jing Wen gave a contemplating expression, before saying, “Still, he still allowed Consort Li to enter the Imperial harem, usurping power from the Empress, and disrupting politics.”

Zhou Aimin furrowed his brows and said, “Fello Jing, I don’t understand. Why is there such great resentment between you and Lady Li? So far, she did none wrong other than being a woman and exerting influence onto the Imperial Court. Yet how is that different from the action of Minister Xin and Minister Zhao?”

“Consort Li is a creature of the third gender - removed from woman or man.” Jing Wen said resolutely, “She would stop at nothing to achieve her ambition… Fellow Zhou, she may seem amiable at first, but she is truly crazy.”

Zhou Aimin was unhappy but said no more. Speaking of which, it was rather strange. From what Zhou Aimin had seen, Jing Wen was unusually tender towards women, so how could he have such a strong aversion towards Consort Li, who is considered the most beautiful woman in the world?

This hostility, or perhaps fear, appeared almost irrational and imbedded into his nature, akin to a prey’s fear towards a predator.