The Deposed Empress Takes Up Cultivation - Chapter 2

I transformed the lotus into a throne and remained floating in midair.

My Golden Core cultivation had stabilized.

At present, my spiritual sense could cover more than half of Da Qi.

I could see every hidden current stirring in and around the capital.

Having witnessed the spectacle, all the different factions had sent people rushing to Qingyun Peak. Most were still on their way; none had been as quick as Zhao Ye’s man.

It seemed it was time to show them what I could really do.

No sooner thought than done.

I formed a hand seal and softly said, “Come.”

Every one of those travelers appeared outside the temple.

A hundred li in an instant.

The already tiny Qingyun Temple was now even more crowded, inside and out.

Once again, Shadow Guard A was too shocked to control his expression.

The people I’d summoned were more astonished still. One moment, they’d been at the city gates; a blink later, they were on a mountaintop.

“Who did that? I’m from Prince Fu’s household! Who dares lay a hand on me?”

That one was clearly used to throwing his weight around.

“Help!”

This one had spotted me floating in the air at once.

“Oh, Mama…”

And that was an ordinary citizen who’d come out of curiosity.

With so many people talking at once, the clamor kept growing.

“Silence.”

I gave a soft command, releasing just a thread of Golden Core pressure. Everyone froze where they stood as if struck by a cudgel.

There. Much better behaved.

Now, please enjoy my performance.

Oh, pardon me—my sermon.

As my Golden Core fully formed, I had grasped a trace of the Heavenly Dao’s laws.

Restoring the cultivation teachings to a world that already possessed spiritual energy was an act of great merit.

The Heavenly Dao was delighted.

That was why my cultivation had gone so smoothly as I started over.

Instead of a lightning tribulation at core formation, I’d received auspicious heavenly signs.

In gratitude to the Heavenly Dao, I didn’t mind giving these people a little introductory lesson.

In the utter stillness, I infused my voice with spiritual energy and patiently explained the basics of cultivation.

What spiritual energy was, what spiritual roots were, what cultivating toward immortality meant…

“Drawing energy into the body marks the start of Qi Refining.

“After that come Foundation Establishment, Golden Core, Nascent Soul, Spirit Division, Integration, Tribulation Transcendence, and Mahayana.

“Eight major realms in all.

“And at last, ascension to immortality.

“…

“Form a Golden Core, and you may live for a thousand years without your looks aging.

“Fly through the sky and travel through the earth. Move mountains and fill seas.

“Make fresh flowers wither and dead wood sprout anew.

“To mortal eyes, there is nothing you cannot do…”

At that, I casually took a dead twig,

made it bud and bloom, then swiftly wither again.

“Cloud. Rain. Wind. Thunder.”

At my commands, clouds dispersed and rain ceased, wind rose and lightning flashed.

Gasps rippled through the crowd inside and outside the temple.

Precisely the effect I wanted.

I’d demonstrated quite enough. Smiling, I looked down at the deposed consorts.

They were the ones this sermon was truly for.

The signs accompanying my core formation had been a gift from the Heavenly Dao.

Seated behind me, the former consorts had been bathed in heavenly light and received a cleansing of spiritual energy and laws at close quarters. The benefits needed no explanation.

Even before I began speaking, I’d noticed the first stirrings of enlightenment in those nearest me: the former Consorts De, Xian, and Hui, along with Concubines Yun and Shun.

Especially Consort De.

At the Golden Core realm, I could recognize her heavenly spiritual root at a glance.

With only the vaguest understanding of the Dao, she had unconsciously drawn energy into her body and taken her first step on the path of cultivation all by herself.

I wouldn’t be walking this great path alone.

I immediately kindled points of spiritual light and sent my cultivation method into the seas of consciousness of the few former consorts who were attaining enlightenment.

The former Consort De, Shen Jiayin, understood quickly and began drawing in spiritual energy where she sat.

By now, she was firmly at the third level of Qi Refining.

A cultivator’s five senses were sharper than a mortal’s.

Sensing my gaze, Shen Jiayin abruptly opened her eyes.

A glint flashed through them, then she bowed low.

“Master, please accept your disciple’s bow.”

The way she’d looked half a month ago surfaced naturally in my mind.

Back then, she had still been Consort De, second only to the empress in the palace.

The daughter of a Hanlin scholar, she adored poetry and books.

She cared little for lavish clothes, preferring elegant, understated cloud brocade and lustrous jade. A faint, refined fragrance always clung to her, blended from a secret formula her great clan had passed down for a thousand years.

Snow-white skin, cloudlike hair, a smile in her eyes…

And now? Coarse clothes, a wooden hairpin, and a sickly pallor she couldn’t hide.

Those slender, delicate hands, once used to holding rare books, had acquired so many cuts in just a few days of cooking over a crude stone stove.

Without today’s opportunity, the fearful look on her face would never have become this radiant glow.

That bastard Zhao Ye truly had no humanity!

Qingyun Temple had been abandoned for close to a thousand years.

For all it was called a temple, it consisted of only a few dilapidated stone rooms.

He’d put twenty-eight deposed consorts here and assigned a hundred imperial guards to watch them.

They lacked clothes and food and weren’t allowed to move about freely.

Honestly, even the Cold Palace would have been better!

Sending a group of pampered palace women to practice the Dao on this deserted, perilous peak—only he could have thought of that.

He probably intended for all these young women to die here.

No wonder the deposed empress had burned through her own soul power, pinning her hopes on a formation whose true function she didn’t even know, asking only for a way out.

Fortunately, I was the one who’d come.

I would fulfill Zhao Ye’s decree far beyond his expectations!

What fun was the path to immortality if you walked it alone?

All the deposed consorts becoming immortals together—now that would be a beautiful sight.

I gladly accepted Shen Jiayin’s obeisance.

The cultivation world had its rules too.

If you received my teachings, it was only right to honor me as your master.

After her, the remaining twenty-seven deposed consorts came to their senses.

“Greetings, Master!”

Excellent.

I nodded in satisfaction.

“From this day forward, you are all disciples of the Qingyun Sect. My Daoist name is Qingyao, and I am its sect leader. The path to immortality begins at Qingyun!”

With a light wave of my hand, I restored the ruined Qingyun Temple to pristine condition.

Its jade surfaces gave off a soft glow. Simple, yet majestic.

Another wave, and every new disciple of the Qingyun Sect was dressed in a lovely sect uniform.

There. That looked much more like an immortal sect.

Seeing the astonishment and delight on my disciples’ faces, I couldn’t help smiling too.

Before, they had served in the harem with Jiang Yao. Every one of them was kind and gentle.

Now that they were cultivating with me, I would make sure they were happy and their lives went smoothly.

At that thought, I fixed my gaze on Shadow Guard A.

“Tell your master that the Qingyun Mountains are henceforth the cultivation grounds of my Qingyun Sect. No entry without invitation.”

Then I waved all the outsiders down to the foot of the mountain.

The demonstration had served its purpose. From now on, not just anyone could wander into the Qingyun Mountains.

A little illusion formation would suffice.

Sure enough, some people below refused to give up. Yet as soon as they stepped into the mountains again, they found themselves walking back out in bewilderment.

After several attempts, they finally gave up and left in small groups.

Only the hundred imperial guards remained. Unable to get in and too afraid to leave, they set up camp at the foot of the mountain.