Having reached the Xiantian stage, it was something worth celebrating. After decades secluded in the Cold Palace, Li Qing finally had some means to protect himself.
Still, there was no room for complacency. He had yet to truly step onto the path of immortality.
Without turning true qi into mana, Li Qing would always be just a martial artist.
After the Xiantian stage, one could still cultivate further. But Li Qing's Seven Forms of Flowing Water had reached its limit. If he wanted to progress, he would need to switch to a different technique.
The Martial Pavilion has plenty of techniques that lead straight to the Xiantian stage, but methods for advancing beyond that seem rare. I don't know if any would suit me. I'll have to find time to ask Grandmaster Rong Ku.
If I could directly find a cultivation method for immortal cultivation, I could immediately shift to the immortal path and skip the martial techniques of the Xiantian stage altogether.
Li Qing began to ponder.
He had a vague idea where he might search for such a technique, but he still needed more information.
As for seeking out the world of immortal cultivators, it wasn't the right time yet. And there was no guarantee he could find them.
At the very least, he would need some basic strength to defend himself before contacting cultivators.
The road to immortality was filled with countless deadly trials. Caution was essential.
If an old cultivator with great power decided to rob him or lust after him, he wouldn't be able to resist.
Contact with cultivators would have to be a slow process. First learning, then approaching.
With lifetimes ahead, there was no need to rush.
Li Qing took out the Restoration Sutra, a text said to reverse the heavens and revive life.
As long as he practiced it, Li Qing's eggs could immediately be restored, making him a real man again.
That settled it. He could no longer remain in the harem for much longer.
I'll wait for now. Once I have the strength to come and go freely in the palace, then I'll restore my balls.
Li Qing still needed to make use of the Great Qian imperial family's power, so this wasn't the time to break ties.
And serving as the emperor's personal bodyguard after restoring himself was hardly his ambition.
He put away the Restoration Sutra. Just then, he sensed two presences approaching. Both carrying the kind of aura that could threaten his life. They stopped at the Pear Garden.
Li Qing smiled faintly, then with a flicker of lightness skill, slipped into the garden.
Xiantian masters could sense each other within a certain range. Ever since his breakthrough, Li Qing had faintly detected two such auras within the palace. One in the Martial Pavilion, the other in the Hall of Mental Cultivation.
They were the palace's two resident grandmasters.
"Greetings, Grandmaster Rong Ku."
Li Qing first bowed to Rong Ku, then looked to the other, an old man with a long beard. "And this is…?"
"No need for formality. Now that you've reached the Xiantian stage, we can address each other as fellow Daoists," Rong Ku said with a smile. "This is Daoist Ran Bing, the other Xiantian master in the Martial Pavilion. He usually oversees His Majesty's safety."
"My respects, Daoist Ran Bing," Li Qing said, returning the bow. The fact that Ran Bing had a beard, and served as Emperor Jianwu's personal guard, meant he had already used the technique and was no longer a eunuch.
Ran Bing returned the salute. "My respects, Daoist Ruoshui."
Since the Pear Garden was still within the harem, Ran Bing could not linger there. The three of them made their way to the Martial Pavilion.
"In just three years, you've reached the Xiantian stage. That's an extraordinary stroke of fortune," said Rong Ku, opening the conversation.
"Just luck," Li Qing replied.
Li Qing recounted the events of years past, truthfully explaining the cause and outcome of refining a false spiritual root.
"So that's how the opportunity came about," Rong Ku said with a nod.
Ran Bing stroked his beard and sighed. "So the White Lotus Sect's spiritual root ended up with their Saintess. That means the sect leader of this generation must be a Heaven-chosen spiritual root bearer. A pity… If His Majesty had obtained that root and cultivated a false spiritual root himself, he might have abandoned his plans for foreign conquest.
"My apologies. I don't mean to say you used it wrongly," Ran Bing added to Li Qing. "It was your fated chance. I just dislike seeing the common people suffer."
"It's nothing," Li Qing said with a faint smile.
From the side, Rong Ku explained, "The Martial Pavilion originally had three Xiantian grandmasters. Daoist Ran Bing and I both have little life span left. There was another, slightly younger Xiantian, but at His Majesty's request, he left the Pavilion to campaign with the King of the Northern Garrison. That king was born with a natural spiritual root, and not long ago, he too broke through to the Xiantian stage. At present, the Great Qian Court has four Xiantian masters. And now, with you, five."
With two Xiantian masters commanding armies, it was no wonder the Great Qian state had been undefeated in war.
"However," Rong Ku added, "it's best you keep your breakthrough a secret for now. His Majesty is still seeking a false spiritual root, and you just happened to break through using one."
"I understand," Li Qing said with a nod. If word got out about his false spiritual root, Emperor Jianwu would inevitably develop designs on him. Perhaps even covet his false spiritual root.
The emperor had stirred up wars just to search the hidden treasures of other nations for a spiritual root body, or to kill a false spiritual root Xiantian master and take their tongue back.
But killing a Xiantian master was no small feat, let alone one with a false spiritual root.
Even when Emperor Jianwu campaigned against the Steppe Khanate, he had only managed to drive their Xiantian master back, not kill him.
Even though Li Qing had only just reached the Xiantian stage, as long as he didn't linger in battle, even veteran Xiantian masters wouldn't be able to hold him.
"I've been cultivating the Seven Forms of Flowing Water," Li Qing said. "Now I need to switch to a new technique. Does the Martial Pavilion have an Xiantian -level technique that suits me?"
Rong Ku thought for a moment. "In truth, you don't need to change to another technique. The Seven Forms of Flowing Water comes from Wuliang Temple in Yuanzhou. They've produced Xiantian masters before, and the technique does have follow-up stages. If you make a trip there, obtaining the continuation of the technique shouldn't be difficult."
Before reaching the Xiantian stage, Li Qing had made it a rule never to step into the martial world.
Now that he had achieved it, he could walk the jianghu; but he still had to proceed with caution.
"How many Xiantian masters are there within the borders of Great Qian?" Li Qing asked next.
"Publicly known? Aside from the White Lotus Sect's leader, there's only one. Daoist Huangmei, who lives in seclusion on Mount Qiwu in Jiangzhou. As for the White Lotus leader, his whereabouts are unpredictable, but most of the time he should be at the sect's main headquarters. For Xiantian experts, even if they meet in combat, if one side is determined to withdraw, it's hard to force a fight to the death."
"There may be other Xiantian masters hidden in the martial world," Rong Ku added with a smile. "But if they aren't out in the open, they certainly won't be mingling with others of their level."
"How old is the White Lotus leader?" Li Qing asked.
This was what he truly wanted to know.
For now, his aim was to obtain an immortal cultivation method. He couldn't yet venture into the cultivation world. And even if he did, he might not find it quickly. So he had set his sights on the White Lotus Sect instead.
A spiritual root body was so rare that even the Great Qian imperial family didn't have one. They had to wage war against other nations just to have a slim chance of obtaining it. Yet the White Lotus Sect possessed one. This alone made Li Qing suspect that the sect had inherited an immortal cultivation method.
At present, the White Lotus Sect had only its leader as an Xiantian master. But now that Li Qing had taken the spiritual root body, the sect would not be able to produce a second Xiantian master anytime soon. And might even lose the ability altogether.
Li Qing didn't need to fight the sect leader to the death. All he had to do was use an "outlive the old man" tactic, and once the leader died, he could enter the White Lotus Sect to seek his opportunity.
"He's about your age," Rong Ku said uncertainly, "probably has a little over ten years left to live. Hard to say for sure. He could die sooner, or live longer."
"What about the location of the White Lotus headquarters?" asked Li Qing.
Rong Ku glanced at Ran Bing, clearly hoping he would answer.
Ran Bing smiled. "I spend most of my time at His Majesty's side. The emperor has been investigating the White Lotus Sect for some time, but the location of their headquarters is hard to pin down. For now, we only know it's somewhere between Yunzhou and Qingzhou.
"Do you have something in mind?"
"If there's one," Li Qing replied, "there could be two. Since the White Lotus Sect has a false spiritual root inheritance, there's a chance they have another. If I could find it, it might help fulfill His Majesty's wish for immortality."
Rong Ku and Ran Bing both knew Li Qing was being insincere, and they smiled knowingly. Rong Ku said plainly, "The immortal path is elusive. When I was young, I chased after it myself, but ended up empty-handed. Look at the White Lotus Sect; they've lasted a thousand years, and in the end they're just grasshoppers in a gutter, unable to stir up any great waves."
"I'm enlightened by your words," Li Qing said, bowing humbly.