The First Lackey Under The Empress

“The mortal realm? Does this name have any connection to the ‘World’ realm? And why is the name of the mural to be contemplated only after advancing to the Celestial Human Realm?”

Zhao Du’an didn't conceal his doubts and questioned Zhenbao.

In the small building, the night was as thick as ink, closing in from all directions. The palace maids and servants were isolated outside. In the three-story wine shop, ravaged by six hundred years of wind and rain, only the hexagonal palace lanterns in the hands of the monarch and his subject cast an orange-red halo.

Xu Zhenguan paused with the lantern in hand, pondered for a moment, and shook her head, saying:

“I also do not know. The late Emperor Taizu's naming always had its own rules.”

Are you trying to say that Old Xu was terrible at naming things? Well, I should have known. After all, the murals carrying the 'Martial God' inheritance were drawn like 'stick figures'... I can't expect him to come up with good names... Zhao Du'an frantically slandered the Xu family's ancestor in his heart.

“As for why I want you to contemplate two levels in one night... it's still because of your special nature,” the Empress seemed to see through the confusion in his heart and took the initiative to explain:

“You are extremely compatible with my royal family's cultivation methods. Whether it's the Dragon Soul choosing to reside in you, or your rare contemplation of Pei Niannu in the Six Chapters Scripture, none of this has ever been recorded in the past six hundred years.

Therefore, I am thinking, perhaps letting you see higher-level murals early might also be different from others.”

Zhao Du'an was silent. He once again recalled Zhang Yan's mention of his 'special nature'.

Obviously, as the distance between the monarch and her subject narrowed to negative numbers, the Empress became increasingly concerned about the peculiarity of this 'Imperial Husband'.

“Two questions,” Zhao Du’an held up two fingers, “First, what will happen if I look at the painting of the next realm ahead of time? There must be precedents, right?”

Xu Zhenguan nodded slightly:

“You will fail to contemplate. Only when you reach a certain realm can you contemplate the corresponding painting, otherwise you will fail.”

“Second question, since you want to test, why not look at the fifth floor together?” Zhao Du’an asked, puzzled.

Xu Zhenguan raised her head and looked at the top floor of the wine shop.

The fifth floor, in theory, corresponds to the 'Human Immortal' realm.

She shook her head and said:

“There are no paintings on the stone tablet inside the fifth floor, only a blank tablet. The late Emperor Taizu never stepped into the Human Immortal realm, so naturally, he couldn't leave behind any paintings on the fifth floor. However, he placed a blank tablet on the top floor, perhaps hoping that later generations, if any descendants stepped into the Celestial Human realm, could complete the inheritance.”

So that’s how it is… Zhao Du’an nodded slightly, happily stepped forward, handed the lantern to his left hand, placed his right hand on the door, and pushed it open forcefully: “Then let’s begin.”

He was also full of anticipation for this experiment.

The squeaky, old door was opened, and the darkness inside the room was quickly dispelled by the lanterns in their hands.

A stone tablet stood alone in the center of the room, with two futons placed on the ground in front of it.

On the stone tablet, faint, blurred carvings could be seen, but it was difficult to discern their content.

“Whoosh—”

The white-clothed Empress pointed her fingers like a sword, guiding the air.

Instantly, the palace lantern in her hand burst out with crackling sounds, and a long dragon of flame shot out from inside the lantern cover, circled the room, lit the extinguished floor-standing candlesticks in the room, and then returned to the palace lantern.

On the lamp stands, white candles burned, illuminating the room like daylight.

Zhao Du’an looked at the Empress's micro-control with envy, withdrew his gaze, and looked curiously at the stone tablet:

“What is the content of this 'Great Dream Scroll'?”

Xu Zhenguan explained:

“Just like the name of the painting, contemplating this picture will make you have a 'great dream'. In the dream, you will experience another life that is so realistic that it is difficult to distinguish from reality. However, the era in which that life is located is about six hundred years ago, the same era as the late Emperor Taizu.

Everyone who contemplates has a different identity in the dream, and their experiences are also different. After waking up, that is, after each contemplation and cultivation ends, everything that happened in the dream will quickly become blurred, and only a few memories will remain vaguely. However, the martial arts and techniques learned and mastered in the dream will also be inherited upon waking up.”

What, an ancient version of a life simulator? Zhao Du’an clicked his tongue in wonder.

Old Xu is really interesting, each painting is a new set of gameplay.

Xu Zhenguan paused slightly and continued:

“However, how you will be, I also find it difficult to guess. After all, after you entered the world, your state is significantly different from others.”

Zhao Du’an withdrew his gaze and turned to look at her: “Is Your Majesty referring to Pei Niannu?”

Xu Zhenguan nodded:

“Others in the Divine Chapter Realm will contemplate an ancient person from the Six Chapters Scripture as a 'master'. After entering the World Realm, this ancient person will gradually merge with oneself. Like Tang Jinzhong, he has not yet merged, so when fighting, he will show the Floating Pagoda General he contemplated.

But as cultivation deepens, like me, like Eunuch Hai... we have completely merged. At that time, the 'ancient person' contemplated will completely disappear, shrink back into the Qi Sea Dantian, and become a prototype of a god in the martial artist's 'divine furnace', with a face that becomes more and more similar to the cultivator himself…”

In this world's cultivation methods, the World Realm is a major watershed.

After warlocks enter the World Realm, they will become closer and closer to the 'gods' they cultivate.

After martial artists enter the World Realm, their Dantian Qi Sea will change, becoming known as the 'divine furnace'. The martial arts Qi energy in the Qi Sea will transform into a state like illusory flames, burning like a furnace, connecting the sea of consciousness and soul, refining both the body and the spirit.

The Taizu Emperor of Yu Kingdom was compatible with both major systems. In the 'Martial God' system, the ancient person contemplated within the Six Chapters Scripture will first possess the body and then sink into the 'divine furnace'…

In this way, as a martial artist, the martial arts they use will have warlock effects, but they will still be based on martial arts.

It's similar to how other people's saber energy is just saber energy.

The saber energy of Martial God path cultivators comes with a layer of magic damage…

“But you are especially special. After Pei Niannu's divine descent, she shares the body with you, and you simultaneously control martial arts and warlock techniques… unheard of. Therefore, I cannot be sure how to proceed on the path ahead.” Xu Zhenguan sighed softly, her eyes somewhat resentful.

Zhenbao, as the Empress, was unwilling to admit that she was a little jealous of a female warlock who had been dead for six hundred years…

Zhao Du’an looked aggrieved: “This subject did not expect it to turn out like this…”

He was not worried about his cultivation for the time being. The further he went, the higher the difficulty of advancing. He did not know how long it would take for him to step into the Celestial Human Realm.

He could explore slowly…

“Forget it, try to contemplate. The first contemplation will not be too long, I will protect you.” Xu Zhenguan turned her head away, her white clothes fluttering, and sat down on a futon on her own, ignoring him.

She thought to herself: Xu Zhenguan, oh Xu Zhenguan, you are a dignified emperor, such a figure, how can you be as ignorant as a mortal woman?

It shouldn't be, it shouldn't be.

Zhao Du’an hesitated for a moment, but still obediently sat cross-legged on the other futon, trying to contemplate the 'Great Dream Scroll'.

The candlelight flickered, and the night was quiet.

Dimly, the familiar feeling of falling asleep came, Zhao Du’an's eyelids closed heavily, and he only felt his body sinking downward.

His consciousness gradually left the current world, and he heard the sound of wind in his ears, as if falling from a high altitude.

…

Zhao Du’an heard a woman’s “shrill” cry, accompanied by other humans’ seemingly “strenuous” shouts. He felt himself sinking into the water, and the sounds he heard were blocked by a layer.

The surrounding warm and humid force continued to accumulate, causing him to sink downward… He wanted to open his eyes, but he couldn't.

He didn't know how long it had passed, but he felt his ankle being gripped by a powerful hand and yanked hard.

“Wah!”

As if a drowning person being pulled out of the water, he breathed heavily, accompanied by uncontrollable crying.

He heard the joyful voice of the midwife in his ears: “It’s born! It’s born!”

Several days later, when Zhao Du’an finally opened his eyes, he saw the smiling faces of a young couple.

And a slightly shabby house, with thatched roofs and beams filled with straw, belonging to the common people at the bottom of society.

He had returned to six hundred years ago, to the late period of the previous dynasty, the 'Qi Kingdom', in the first year of Tian Shou.

Born in a village in the Central Plains, his parents were a pair of simple farmers.

“This is the 'Great Dream Scroll'? Experiencing another life?” Zhao Du’an lay in his swaddling clothes in surprise, looking at this world.

He found that his thinking was still clear, but all his power had disappeared, as if he had transmigrated again.

Whether it was due to the factors of the Great Dream Scroll or the insufficient brain capacity of the infant, which required a lot of sleep, in any case, the following time was jumpy.

In the blink of an eye, many days had passed, and his memories were fragmented.

He witnessed his own 'full moon', his first cry of “Mama,” his first time standing up and learning to walk… his first time eating…

This experience was extremely wonderful, making him feel very fresh. When he was bored, he would think that if he were in a novel, he should write a book called "Achieving the Martial God from Infancy"…

As if in a flash, six years passed, and he grew from an infant into a child.

Perhaps because of the dream, his name here was still "Zhao Du'an."

As Zhao Du'an grew up, his wisdom and maturity, far exceeding those of his peers, were gradually noticed by the adults.

Once, he casually copied a poem, and the old teacher of the town's school praised him as a "child prodigy". Young Zhao Du'an happily received the title of "prodigy."

The old teacher of the school came to his door with gifts, made wild promises, and successfully took Zhao Du'an away, traveling around the surrounding towns, showing off his talent beyond his peers to make a profit…

Zhao Du'an's interest greatly diminished after receiving the 'Injury Zhongyong' script. After running home to explain the situation to his parents, when the old teacher came to his door again, he was directly picked up with a iron hoe by his father in this life and chased for half the village.

"Alas, it's really lonely… No, to describe it more poetically, it should be…"

Young Zhao Du'an rested his chin on his hand, sat by the window, and looked at the scene outside the village where "father" was beating the old teacher. His tender face was full of maturity that did not match his age.

He picked up a writing brush and wrote a coquettish chapter name on the latest title of the novel he handwritten on the inferior yellowed paper:

【A Lonely Youth Like Fireworks】

Then, he dropped his pen and glanced at the novel he had made up to pass the time, and sighed softly on his small face:

"This Great Dream Scroll won't really let me be a mortal for the rest of my life, will it? No matter how I try this body, I can't sense the heaven and earth energy, and I can't even enter the mortal body…"

"Old Xu shouldn't have made up such a boring Mortal Transformation Scroll, so… according to the routine, I'm already six or seven years old, so there should be a change…"

Nothing wrong, a first a first a inside a capacity a in a see see!

Just as he was thinking, Zhao Du'an suddenly saw in the swaying rain outside the window.

Outside the village, a mysterious woman wearing a red inner garment, a "silver" mask on her face, and a steelyard inserted in her waist, came wearing a straw raincoat and a bamboo hat.

Breaking the peace of the small mountain village.

Pei Niannu floated straight into the small courtyard, her eyes crossed the window, overlooking the child in the window with a dazed expression.

Under the mask, her willow-leaf-like eyebrows raised:

"Are you the rumored child prodigy? Are you willing to follow me to practice?"

Zhao Du'an was dumbfounded and subconsciously turned his head to look at the thick stack of novel manuscripts on the table next to him, as if he saw two blood-red characters:

Update!

Immediately, a strong dizziness struck, and the dream quickly collapsed.

…

On the third floor of the old building, on the futon in front of the stone wall.

Zhao Du'an suddenly opened his eyes, breathing heavily, and beads of sweat oozed from his forehead.

"What's wrong? It seems that your unique dream is not peaceful." Beside him, the gentle voice of the Empress came.

Zhao Du'an adapted to the candlelight and turned his head to look at the Empress in white like a fairy beside him. Xu Zhenguan's face was full of exploration.

"I don't know what to say. I can't remember the details, but it's definitely a nightmare," Zhao Du'an replied after pondering for a moment.

A nightmare… Xu Zhenguan frowned slightly, then stretched out and smiled:

"The first time I entered the Great Dream Scroll, it was also a nightmare. But I got used to it later."

She didn't get to the bottom of things and ask about the specific content of Zhao Du'an's dream. First, although the two were at a negative distance, involving personal practice, it was not good to ask too thoroughly.

Husbands and wives all have privacy.

Secondly, according to the usual practice, it is indeed difficult to remember the details after waking up from a dream.

However, she didn't know that Zhao Du'an remembered everything that happened in the dream vividly without any forgetting.

"Why did Pei Niannu appear in my dream? That's right, the Great Dream Scroll is the follow-up content of the Six Chapters Sutra, and it is very reasonable to have a connection… So, in this simulated life game with a background of six hundred years ago, the role I play is Pei Niannu's disciple?"

Zhao Du'an thought to himself, with strong expectations.

He was a little curious about how real this dream six hundred years ago was and how it compared to the 'Martial God Picture'.

Can this picture be used to explore the secrets related to the "Heavenly Hunting Extinguishing Buddha" and the "Mobei Forest" back then?

"Is that so, that's good." Zhao Du'an breathed a sigh of relief and showed a smile:

"It seems that the visualization on the third floor is relatively smooth."

"You have entered the world, so naturally there will be no problems." Xu Zhenguan glanced at him suspiciously with her beautiful eyes. A woman's sixth sense told her that Zhao Du'an's nightmare was not quite right.

"Cough cough, it's getting late, I'll go to the fourth floor to take a look." Zhao Du'an got up with a guilty conscience, picked up the lantern, and looked at the candle that had been shortened a lot, indicating that the visualization just now took a long time.

"…Alright."

Although Xu Zhenguan was suspicious, she still gently "hmm"ed, got up, picked up the exquisite palace lantern with her slender jade hand, led him out the door, climbed the stairs, and arrived at the fourth floor.

Pushing open the door, the scene on the fourth floor was nothing special.

There was still only a stone wall in the room, and a futon in front.

Xu Zhenguan followed suit and lit the candles in the room. Zhao Du'an found that this stone wall was dotted with star-like "spots of light".

Those spots of light were connected to each other by lines, like a net, also highly abstract.

Damn it… Old Xu is a student of Picasso, right? So abstract? Zhao Du'an complained in his heart.

"This painting is 'The Human World', and it is also the picture scroll that should be visualized and practiced after advancing to the Celestial Realm. I had previously crossed over the Celestial Realm with half a foot. I have repeatedly visualized this painting, but I have not been able to comprehend it. Now that my cultivation has improved again, perhaps seeing this painting again will be different."

Xu Zhenguan's expression fluctuated. Under the lamplight, she seemed a little yearning, eager to try, and her eyes were shining.

Zhao Du'an asked curiously:

"Your Majesty couldn't comprehend it before? Then with my current realm, I'm afraid I won't be able to visualize it successfully at all."

"It doesn't matter. Tonight is just a try. Failure is also normal." Xu Zhenguan gave an encouraging look.

"Okay… Speaking of which, what is the content of this 'Human World'? Tell me more about it? I'd better be prepared," Zhao Du'an asked.

Xu Zhenguan hesitated, and a look of confusion appeared in her eyes:

"That seems to be a strange world. I can't understand it. It's also difficult to describe. If you can visualize it successfully, you will naturally understand."

You have aroused my curiosity… Zhao Du'an was eager to try, rubbed his fists, stepped forward and sat on the futon, crossed his legs and meditated:

"Your Majesty, protect me."

Saying that, he adjusted his breath and calmed his mind, staring at this "Human World" with both eyes, trying to enter a meditative state.

After a while, he closed his eyes, and the familiar feeling of weightlessness came, as if he was once again in the high altitude, falling towards the ground from a height of ten thousand feet.

"Could it be successful?"

Zhao Du'an suppressed his excitement and tried his best to open his eyes, and then he really opened his eyes in the visualization state.

In his vision, it seemed to be night, and below was a dense cloud layer. He was falling towards the earth like a meteorite.

However, the clouds below seemed incomparably bright, as if countless stars were dotted on the earth, vast and magnificent.

"How is that possible? At night on earth, at this height, even the capital city wouldn't have much light…"

Zhao Du'an was puzzled, but the next second, he "whooshed" and completely tore through the clouds, and a prosperous metropolis appeared in front of him.

Under the night, the metropolitan area was as bright as circles of light bands. On the ring road, the traffic was endless. In the city, tall buildings stood tall, like sharp swords piercing the sky.

On the city streets, countless ant-like urban people were going in and out of the buildings, and countless riders were speeding by…

Zhao Du'an felt as if his head had been hit hard by a stick, and his brain was blank!

He widened his eyes and stared blankly as the metropolis in his pupils quickly zoomed in. He kept falling, and finally appeared above a solemn building.

Only a few windows in the courtyard were still lit.

At this moment, in a certain office.

"Zhao Du'an", who had successfully died suddenly due to staying up late to prepare a speech for the leader's meeting the next day, was quietly lying on the computer desk, motionless.

No one paid attention.

Only the computer screen cast a light blue light.

Suddenly, the fingers of the dead "Zhao Du'an" moved, and then…

He crawled up from the table little by little, and the eyes that had died without closing were restored…

Radiance!