Chapter 58: Chapter 54: Fifth Realm, Furnace Building

For the next few days, the Great Yan Dynasty was unusually quiet. After the eastern expedition, the palace coup, and the shakeup in the Cabinet, the situation had suddenly calmed down.

Still, two noteworthy incidents occurred.

First, Emperor Yong’an announced he would abstain from court for a month, leaving all matters to be handled by the new Cabinet. The official reason given was exhaustion from the war; he needed some time to rest and recuperate.

In reality, however, no one knew what he was planning.

Second, the Eldest Prince, Lu Changfeng, petitioned the Ministry of Justice for a retrial. He claimed he was innocent and had been framed, but the Cabinet repeatedly rejected his appeal for lack of evidence.

This resulted in an awkward stalemate. Since the Holy Emperor was not attending court to issue a decree, no one dared to execute the Eldest Prince. Whether he would face death or exile, everyone was awaiting the Holy Emperor’s judgment. Until then, the Eldest Prince would remain in prison.

「Thunder Pool Daoist Academy.」

As an unremarkable-looking woman was moving about the Daoist Academy, collecting her stipend and cultivation resources, she was stopped by a man in white robes who carried a Peach Wood Sword on his back.

“Fairy Yun, I knew you were still in the Capital City.”

Xu Changqing smiled faintly, having seen through her Disguise Skill in a single glance.

The unremarkable woman’s face shimmered and changed, revealing a cascade of snow-white hair.

It was Yun Qinghe, who had been missing for a long time with no news of her whereabouts.

Yun Qinghe showed no sign of pleasure at the sight of the young, White-robed Celestial Master. Instead, she frowned. “How did you track me here?”

“Take a guess.”

Xu Changqing gave a mysterious smile.

Yun Qinghe’s expression flickered. “I’m in no mood to play games with you,” she said coolly. “I had already gone back to report on my mission, but then I was unexpectedly reassigned to the Capital City. I hear the Dao Alliance is planning a new operation. What is it? Why am I being kept in the dark? The Ancestors have even obscured the Celestial Secret.”

Hearing this, Xu Changqing chuckled. “As the saying goes, ’A Celestial Secret cannot be revealed.’ That’s exactly why. You’ll find out when the time is right, Fairy.”

“I can only tell you this, Fairy: this matter will determine whether the Dao Alliance can surpass the Confucian Temple and the Buddhist Heaven to become the foremost of the Three Religions.”

“You aren’t planning to move against Great Yan, are you? Have you forgotten what happened to the Taoist Sect two hundred years ago? They tried to depose an Emperor and suffered a backlash from the National Fortune. Unless Deities themselves intervene, not even the Three Ancestors of the Three Religions can defy the Celestial Mandate. Otherwise, the Three Religions could not have coexisted with the Central Plains Dynasty for millennia.”

Xu Changqing shook his head in denial. “How could we do something so foolish? This doesn’t involve any brutish fighting. We’re not Martial Artists, after all. You can rest assured, Fairy Yun.”

“How about you join me for a game of chess under the bamboo and sip some fine Daoist tea instead?”

“So deliberately mysterious. If you don’t want to tell me, then don’t.”

Yun Qinghe said no more. With a final, pouty remark, her body dissolved into a puddle of water that seeped into the ground and vanished.

…

「Qingzhu Hall.」

In the courtyard sat a large wooden basin filled with steaming green liquid. Lu Mingyuan was sitting cross-legged inside it, completely naked, absorbing its properties with his eyes closed.

To his left stood Hong Wan, tall and willowy with long, elegant legs.

To his right stood Zi Yun, her figure graceful and voluptuous.

The two maids stood respectfully at his side, creating a beautiful scene.

Lu Mingyuan’s eyes snapped open. He produced a small green vial from out of nowhere, tipped three drops of Cyan Jade Liquid from it, and swallowed them.

After he consumed the drops, the green liquid in the wooden basin began to boil.

A miraculous scene unfolded: the once-green liquid slowly became transparent, its color fading away.

In its place, text appeared on the panel in Lu Mingyuan’s vision.

「Blood Glutton Celestial Fall Scripture – Abnormal Eating Chapter (Fifth Floor: 5500/8000)」

「Blood Glutton Celestial Fall Scripture – Abnormal Eating Chapter (Fifth Floor: 6000/8000)」

…

「Blood Glutton Celestial Fall Scripture – Abnormal Eating Chapter (Fifth Floor: 7500/8000)」

Seeing this, Lu Mingyuan thought to himself.

’The effect of this medicinal bath is leagues behind the Essence of Heaven and Earth from the Heaven-Controlling Bottle. I’ve been cultivating nonstop these past few days. The Blood Glutton Paperman absorbs nature’s spiritual energy and refines my Acupoints on my behalf, so my progress hasn’t been slow—I gain one hundred and twenty points a day, cultivating at every moment. With the added nourishment from the Heaven-Controlling Bottle, my progress is quite fast. A single drop of Cyan Jade Liquid gives me five hundred points. I saved them for three days, so three drops gave me a total of fifteen hundred. But this military medicinal bath concoction, filled with so many powerful restorative ingredients, only yielded five hundred points after an entire Hour of soaking. After all that effort, I’m still five hundred points short of a breakthrough!’

Just five hundred more points and he would break through to the Fifth Realm of Furnace Building and construct his body’s Martial Furnace.

Just as he was feeling frustrated, his eyes darted to the side and landed on the two maids.

His gaze lingered on Hong Wan. Her crimson, cherry-like lips were moist and inviting, and her seductive “peach blossom” eyes held a natural allure that could make any heart race.

Without a word, Lu Mingyuan leaned forward and wrapped an arm around Hong Wan’s slender waist. Caught completely by surprise, she was pulled into the water.

SPLASH!

Lu Mingyuan lowered his head and gently kissed her small, cherry-like lips.

Feeling his firm, warm chest against her and gazing at his handsome face, Hong Wan felt no revulsion. Instead, her cheeks flushed scarlet. The warmth on her lips, in particular, made her body go weak.

Since she was a child, she had loved reading romance stories written by scholars. They were often filled with plots about a lonely, miserable maiden being noticed by a dashing Prince. She never imagined it would one day be her turn.

“Your Highness, please… be gentle…”

With his arm around her waist, Lu Mingyuan looked at her long, slender legs and sighed in admiration. “Wan’Er, you’re so slim.”

SPLASH!

The next moment, the water churned violently as they both sank beneath the surface.

Meanwhile, Zi Yun, who was standing nearby, felt aggrieved and insecure.

It wasn’t that she was angry about the Prince being with another maid. In this world, it was perfectly normal for a man to have multiple wives and concubines, let alone a few serving maids. From the very first day she served Lu Mingyuan, she had never expected to have him to herself.

She just hated her disfigurement and why she always felt unable to hold her head high around other women.

As these thoughts filled her mind, Zi Yun couldn’t help but pout. Her lively, almond-shaped eyes looked so pitiful it would make anyone’s heart ache to see them.

Suddenly, a large hand shot out from the basin and pulled her into the water too.

…

Half an Hour later, the commotion finally subsided.

Three heads broke the surface. The two maids’ clothing was soaked through, leaving almost nothing to the imagination.

Lu Mingyuan’s aura, however, had undergone an astonishing change!

「Blood Glutton Celestial Fall Scripture – Abnormal Eating Chapter (Fifth Floor: 8000/8000)」

He had finally stepped into the Fifth Realm, Furnace Building.

Many of the Acupoints in his body began to open up, absorbing nature’s spiritual energy, converting it into Martial Dao Primordial Qi, and storing it away.

The process of opening the Acupoints to nurture Primordial Qi was known as casting the Martial Furnace.

The body becomes a furnace, and with profound enough Primordial Qi, one can manifest it as armor—Armor Transformation.

A Martial Artist in this Realm possessed a great advantage, as their Primordial Qi would begin to accumulate, leading to a quantitative leap in power.

Grandmasters were often capable of storing fifty to a hundred years’ worth of Martial Dao Primordial Qi. When unleashed in a single strike, the power was astonishing—enough to shatter mountains and destroy cities.

This was essentially the meaning behind having “sixty years of Power.”

Lu Mingyuan found that the majority of his Acupoints had opened. He checked his panel again.

「Life Master: Lu Mingyuan」

「Cultivation: Martial Arts Fifth Realm (Furnace Building)」

「Cultivation Technique: Blood Glutton Celestial Fall Scripture – Abnormal Eating Chapter (Sixth Floor: 10/15000), Mountain Shaking Fist (Great Success), Fiery Fire Saber Technique (Perfection), Desolate Dragon Elephant Force (Second Floor: 1000/2000)」

’Fifteen thousand points for the Sixth Floor?’

Lu Mingyuan clicked his tongue inwardly.

’To reach the Grandmaster Realm at this rate, without the help of the Heaven-Controlling Bottle, it would take over half a year.’

Just then, another line of text appeared.

「Luminous Green Fate Grid – Martial Fool, Refinement Level increased to 40%」

As his Realm advanced, the Refinement Level of his Martial Dao Fate Grid rose in tandem.

「New Life Chart Trait Unlocked – Sinking Heart (Basic Level)」

「Sinking Heart (Basic Level): Allows entry into a State of Self-Forgetfulness to diligently study Cultivation Techniques and Martial Arts. Greatly increases the probability of mastery.」

Lu Mingyuan’s eyes lit up when he saw the newly unlocked trait.

’As long as I study diligently, I’m guaranteed to learn it?’

’Doesn’t that mean I can easily learn that drunkard’s ultimate technique, Celestial Spirit Hidden Dragon?’

’This Martial Fool Fate Grid is incredible. With just Sinking Heart and Martial Spirit, there are hardly any obstacles on my path of martial cultivation.’

Just as Lu Mingyuan was lost in thought, a woman’s voice called from outside the door.

“Qi Muxue requests an audience with the Sixth Prince.”

Lu Mingyuan was very surprised to hear her name.

’What is Qi Muxue doing here?’

’Could it be… something’s happened with Mother?’

…

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep