The Immortal Seeker: Legend of Bronze Mirror

He directly imitated what he could and skipped what he couldn't, feeling nothing more than amusement in his heart.

The only downside was that practicing this Breathing Skill made one easily hungry.

Fortunately, after he reported to the Imperial Kitchen that Xu Jieyuan was so engrossed in reading at the Wenyuan Pavilion that he forgot to eat or sleep, they started delivering meals daily for some reason.

All of which were fine meats and vegetables.

He asked Xu Qing if he wanted to eat, but Xu Qing still refused, telling him to eat instead to avoid waste.

With Xu Jieyuan's permission, the little eunuch ate the meals, but out of fear of causing trouble, he told the Imperial Kitchen staff that Xu Jieyuan didn't eat the food and let him finish it.

They didn't mind, saying it was an order from above, and as long as Xu Jieyuan was there, they would deliver the food.

The little eunuch heeded Xu Jieyuan's words and ate the meals; it made it easier for them to report back as well, otherwise returning with untouched meals would make it difficult for them to report.

The little eunuch vaguely understood that this was also Xu Jieyuan's intention for letting him eat.

He was quite delighted, having never eaten such sumptuous meals in his life, and a surge of gratitude toward Xu Jieyuan welled up in his heart.

But he didn't dare to disturb Xu Qing and kept watching him silently by the side.

Gradually, he felt his body becoming stronger and even experienced an indescribable sense of comfort. One day, he suddenly saw Xu Jieyuan assuming a posture of embracing with both hands, as if holding an infant.

He did not understand what it meant.

But he felt it was profound and far-reaching.

Suddenly, he wasn't sure if he was having a hallucination, but he saw two vague figures appear behind Xu Jieyuan: a giant python resembling a dragon and a massive turtle.

The two spiritual creatures entwined and coiled around each other, forming a divine spirit.

This...

For a moment, with an indomitable divine might, the little eunuch even fainted.

When he awoke, he only saw Xu Jieyuan by his side, smiling slightly at him: "You're awake."

The little eunuch hurriedly confessed his fault.

Xu Qing smiled and took out some gold leaves, saying, "You've unintentionally learned my Turtle and Snake Breathing Skill, so you're like an unregistered disciple of mine. This cultivation path requires money. Take this money to buy some good things and nourish your body."

It was a matter of course for eunuchs in the palace to receive money.

It also depended on one's status.

The little eunuch didn't think he had any status to be cultivated by Xu Jieyuan, feeling apprehensive and reluctant to accept.

"Take it. Perhaps in the future, I may need your help," Xu Qing said, leaving the gold leaves behind and walking away.

The little eunuch thought of some rumors in the palace, where some Grand Eunuchs rose to power due to secret support from external officials; could it be that Xu Jieyuan valued him?

Regardless, it was an immense grace and favor.

He carefully picked up the gold leaves from the ground and then kowtowed in the direction Xu Qing had left.

…

…

"The moon hides the jade rabbit and the sun the crow, naturally the turtle and snake are entwined, entwined and resilient, capable of planting golden lotuses in fire. Gathering the Five Elements in inverse use, upon completion, one can ascend to buddhas and immortals," Xu Qing whispered to himself.

He was now, to be precise, opening his Purple Mansion, achieving the Daoist spoken Golden Core, also the realm of Jade Liquid Rejuvenation.

The Mercury and Lead Blood in his body, along with the Innate Qi, were no longer separate, transforming into Jade Liquid.

And within the Purple Mansion, his Divine Soul was extremely solid.

"Fortunately, I opened the Purple Mansion in the Imperial Palace," Xu Qing sighed in relief.

He never expected that the process of opening the Purple Mansion would be so perilous.

At that time, during the process of opening the Purple Mansion, the Purple Emperor Dragon Armor clashed with the Xuanwu Gangsha, like water and fire in combat, threatening to produce a terrifying explosion within the Divine Soul.

Fortunately, he was in the Imperial Palace, the place where the Divine Soul is most heavily suppressed in the world, and this mighty clash of water and fire was forcefully contained.

The more intense the conflict within his Divine Soul became, the more terrifying the suppression from the Dynasty Destiny felt.

Under those circumstances, even a possessed Divine Soul Master would have their soul crushed to dust, yet Xu Qing was in the midst of opening the Purple Mansion, where the expansive force of his Divine Soul and the pressure of the Dynasty Destiny neutralized each other.

This led him to grasp the profound mystery of water and fire complementing each other, and Yin Yang intersecting.

This moment was what the Taoists call piercing through the mysterious life-and-death passageway. It is the most dangerous hurdle for Cultivators in Qi Refining to achieve the Dao.

To draw an analogy, it's like in novels from past lives, where Zhang Wuji achieved Great Success with the Nine Yang Divine Skill thanks to the Qiankun Cloth Bag.

"If I hadn't helped the Grand Secretary reform, which temporarily brought back a flicker of prosperity to the Great Yu Dynasty, the previous suppression from the Dynasty Destiny would definitely have been weaker. In that case, I wouldn't have been able to harmonize the dragon and tiger, to seize the Kan and fill the Li."

The dragon and tiger here represent the Yin Yang Qi.

Kan and Li are water and fire.

"Elder Fang, decades ago when he understood the subtleties of Cultivation, must also have experienced this passageway while he was compiling the Daoist Collection in the Imperial Palace."

Xu Qing chose to make his breakthrough within the Imperial Palace precisely because of Elder Fang's experiences.

He felt that since Elder Fang had understood the mysterious Dao of Cultivation while compiling the Daoist Collection in the Imperial Palace, it shows that things must be observed from both positive and negative aspects.

While the Dynasty Destiny certainly has the aspect of suppressing the Divine Soul, it might also have other benefits.

He didn't understand these subtleties at the time, but having gone through the experience himself, he was starting to understand.

Of course, piercing the mysterious life-and-death passageway and opening the Purple Mansion to achieve the Golden Core does not necessarily only have this one method. Previous Seekers should also have other methods.

Regardless, learning from the predecessors' experiences is always good.

Having opened the Purple Mansion, Xu Qing's Divine Soul finally seemed to have a true dwelling. Previously, his physical body was the home of the Divine Soul, but it always seemed to lack something.

Now staying within the opened Purple Mansion was like a deity having their own Daoist retreat, finally finding a sanctuary.

Moreover, within the Purple Mansion, there were also the Five Great Demons, who now, like Five Directions Revealing the Truth, obediently awaited Xu Qing's commands, ready to assist at any moment. If Xu Qing faced great danger and couldn't act on his own, they could even manifest themselves to protect him.

In short, although his power had not made a qualitative leap for the time being, after opening the Purple Mansion he had firmly taken the crucial step towards the Yin Spirit Ascension.

"Elder Fang reached this realm decades ago." The thought of this made Xu Qing all the more wary of Old Monster Fang, perhaps the old man himself didn't even know his own limits now.

Furthermore, Elder Fang is not a specialized Cultivator, probably thinking that the bottleneck he remains at is the so-called Ghost Immortal Barrier.

Actually, it both is and isn't.

Difficult, difficult, difficult, the Dao is most mystic, do not take the Golden Core lightly.

Without the profound teachings from a truly enlightened one, all words are but dry mouth and tired tongue.

Previously, Elder Fang had unintentionally found Dao, and hence made progress. Perhaps after intentionally seeking it later on, he got stuck instead, with an increase in power but no subsequent qualitative leap.

Seemingly intentional, seemingly unintentional, to be intentional or not is the true intention.

Xu Qing, due to his varied experiences along the way, had a vague outline of Elder Fang's Cultivation.

After opening the Purple Mansion and reaching a certain threshold in Cultivation, the next step is to achieve the Primordial Spirit Earth Immortal.

How to take this step, Xu Qing could only guess and cautiously cross the river by feeling the stones.

Regardless, his ability to protect himself was growing stronger, and in the upcoming complex and chaotic situation, he would be even more capable of moving freely without relying on external forces.

At this very moment, an urgent border report caused a great stir in the court.