Thanks to his innate Bright King Body, he had been practicing martial arts relentlessly for over a dozen years.
The name of the Zhixing True Transmission had long resounded throughout Heavenly Dragon Temple.
He was hailed as the Living Bright King, the Bright King reincarnation.
He was just one step away from entering the Innate Realm, the pinnacle of martial arts in the current world.
If it weren’t for the Buddhist aversion to worldly fame, Xu Xing would undoubtedly bear the title of Eldest Senior Brother of Heavenly Dragon Temple by now, a testament to his strength and status.
"Junior Brother Zhishan, your Dragon Claw Hand is still a bit lacking..."
"Your body-toughening martial art is fierce, but it lacks the compassionate aura of Buddhist teachings that forbid killing."
"Nephew Yuanguang, be careful when carrying water, don’t spill it..."
Along the way, Xu Xing showed no arrogance, chatting casually with his martial brothers in the temple to strengthen their bonds.
What if he and Master Fa Hui committed bloodshed upon entering the Imperial Palace? Perhaps these martial brothers would then be the ones to perform monster slaying and demon eliminating in their stead. It was like offering incense in advance; perhaps the monks of the temple, remembering past affections, might show him mercy later on.
Of course, that was just a fleeting thought in Xu Xing’s mind. In a true battle of life and death, a struggle for the Dao, there would be no such thing as compassion. His friendliness and easy-going nature, along with making friends in the temple, were all part of consistently maintaining the persona he had always projected.
In a side room of Jinghai Zen Court, Xu Xing sat behind a desk and copied the "Imperial Court Sword Canon" from Reality onto paper.
Nourish the Royal Court and store the Left Supplementary and Right Bi Sword Qi. The Left Supplementary is Earth, the Right Bi is Water. Because of the Stony Heart Method, the True Qi in my body is of the Earth attribute, which is perfect for cultivating this Royal Court Left Supplementary Sword Qi. Once the Sword Qi is formed, I will possess a certain degree of self-preservation ability in the Instance World. As for the Water attribute, I can cultivate it using the Entangling Wave Strength Internal Practice Method from the Flower Sect. In that case... there’s no need to rush to break through to the Innate Realm.
He made some plans for the future.
With Master Fa Hui and Heavenly Dragon Temple as his backing, he wouldn’t face any immediate life-threatening danger. However, in the long run, Master Fa Hui and Heavenly Dragon Temple were very likely to betray him.
Also... after entering the Imperial Palace, I need to enhance my Destiny, which is tied to fate, he thought to himself.
In the blink of an eye, it was early winter. The fallen leaves on Lian Shi Mountain had all withered and vanished, now draped in a layer of snow.
As Master Fa Hui had predicted within the temple, the Empress Dowager had been plagued by nightmares for a long time. She had invited all renowned High Monks from the vicinity of the Capital to preach Buddhist scripture, but to no avail.
As a result, Emperor Jingyuan, who had always been filial, issued an edict to the entire nation, inviting esteemed High Monks from across the land to enter the Capital and help his mother overcome her affliction. The renowned Heavenly Dragon Temple in Hezhou was also among those invited.
A horse carriage departed from the foot of the mountain, heading straight for the Flame Dynasty Capital.
"Have you broken through to the Innate Realm?"
Inside the carriage, master and disciple sat opposite each other, practicing silent meditation. It was not until they were about twenty miles from the Capital that Master Fa Hui finally sensed Xu Xing’s abundant, ocean-deep Innate True Essence. He couldn’t help but break his meditative silence to ask.
At the same time, he was secretly deeply shaken. Truly worthy of the Bright King Body! The moment he broke through, the quality and quantity of his True Yuan were already comparable to my own.
"I had a slight epiphany in the temple and luckily broke through," Xu Xing opened his slightly closed eyes and answered modestly.
He had already experienced breaking through to the Innate Realm in Reality, so reaching the Innate Realm in the Instance World was a natural progression.
[Bright King Body]—once attained, it is an Eternal Proof.
His physique was already Innate; he merely lacked the accumulated True Yuan.
Once the accumulation was sufficient, he could easily break through the realm.
As for why he didn’t hide his strength... It was because he hadn’t practiced any techniques to conceal his aura. While he could conceal his True Yuan from ordinary people and Trained Martial Artists, his aura could not be hidden from an Innate Martial Artist like Master Fa Hui. Additionally, hiding his aura would inevitably slow his cultivation speed... Currently, Master Fa Hui was still his master and wouldn’t harm him. Even if they had conflicts, being in the same realm, he could protect himself even if his strength was inferior to Master Fa Hui’s. Therefore, there was no need to hide it from Master Fa Hui. As long as he bought enough time, he feared nothing, regardless of whether Master Fa Hui harbored good or ill intentions. On the contrary, if his apparent cultivation level wasn’t sufficient, it might provoke Master Fa Hui to act against him prematurely, which would be far from ideal.
"Having reached the Innate Realm, the chances of success are even greater."
Master Fa Hui fingered his prayer beads and nodded slightly.
With Xu Xing’s Bright King Body, it was about time for him to break through. It was merely about a year or half a year earlier than he had anticipated.
The horse carriage entered the Capital.
The master and disciple had just registered their Monk’s Scripts at Guanyin Zen Temple and settled into a Zen Room when Eunuch Huang, the chief eunuch of Cining Palace, personally arrived. He promptly escorted them to the Imperial Palace without delay.
"The Empress Dowager’s illness is getting worse and worse."
"We servants must be considerate of our mistress."
"Master Zhi Xing is renowned for possessing the Buddha Bone. The Empress Dowager has long heard of this and specially ordered me, your humble servant, to wait outside the palace. And what a coincidence, I had just stepped out of the palace when I encountered you two venerable masters..."
As soon as they entered the Imperial Palace, Eunuch Huang began to incessantly flatter Xu Xing and his master.
"Eunuch, those words of yours..."
"You must have said the same to every High Monk you’ve met, haven’t you?"
Master Fa Hui, annoyed by the chatter, paused in his steps and asked.
Although his words were calm, they were backed by his potent True Yuan. The sentence resonated like a grand pronouncement, like the tolling of a great bell, causing the listener’s heart and mind to tremble.
"Well..." Eunuch Huang smiled awkwardly and fell silent.
Seeing this, Xu Xing deliberately lowered his head, a few glints of brilliant light flashing in his eyes.
In his memory, Master Fa Hui wouldn’t lose his temper so easily. Moreover, although his own ability to maintain composure was decent, it was still somewhat inferior to that of monks who spent their days in seated meditation.
Could it be... the Empress Dowager’s nightmares are related to him? Has his heart of anger and hatred long been severed...? he boldly guessed.
However, now was not the time for such speculation.
About thirty paces ahead, the plaque of Cining Palace hung above the main entrance.
Inside the palace, the scent of sandalwood wafted through the air.
"Such a fine little monk, with red lips and white teeth..."
In the Main Hall, Empress Dowager Liu, her charm still evident, praised Xu Xing upon first sight. Then, her gaze shifted to Master Fa Hui, a hint of doubt in her eyes.
About twenty years ago, Wen Guang had wielded immense power, and a monk was among his close associates. Now, Master Fa Hui’s appearance bore some resemblance to that monk from back then. However, more than twenty years had passed, and her memories of those early years were no longer clear. Thus, though suspicious, she couldn’t be certain and had to suppress her doubts. She would have to wait until Master Fa Hui and his disciple left Cining Palace before investigating.
"Please, Empress Dowager, prepare for sleep," Master Fa Hui finally addressed the matter at hand after some idle chat. "This humble monk will now recite scriptures to dispel misfortune and alleviate the Empress Dowager’s suffering..."
Empress Dowager Liu naturally consented and, attended by her palace maids, ascended the Phoenix Couch and closed her eyes to rest.