Yinshan Record

Chapter 607 Where Does the Shadowy Spirit Hide in the Reflection (Part 2)
Feng Xingbu and Han Liang exchanged a glance, both feeling quite uneasy.

In fact, there was a saying in Su Che's previous life in officialdom: "When you're in charge, don't cause trouble." It means that if your own faction is in control, you should maintain harmony and work together peacefully.

Now that the Great Liang Dynasty has been replaced, the Su and Wei clans of Duling are jointly maintaining the government. Given the current situation, it is natural not to cause any more trouble.

To put it bluntly, whatever requests or ideas Su Che might have had, if he had just informed them earlier, everything would have been much easier to resolve. If the current emperor's concubines couldn't be sent to the Su residence, wouldn't the female officials and maids around him be able to do so with just a word?

Both of them were completely baffled.

But if Su Che insisted on pushing his way in, there was nothing they could do.

If we were to step in and stop them at this point, wouldn't that be tantamount to announcing to the world that the Su and Wei families couldn't control the situation and had started fighting amongst themselves?

"I don't know what's wrong with you, sir..."

Feng Buxing was a disciple of Old Su and had a close relationship with Su Che, so naturally he was the one to speak up. He wanted to find out exactly what the Third Young Master Su wanted.

Su Che was quite frank, directly stating his intentions. This was originally a way to kill two birds with one stone, a convenient thing to do.

Originally, I wanted to take this opportunity to practice in the palace, but now that something else has happened, the real business is to deal with the problems in the palace.

"I just ran into an eunuch surnamed Sun. I heard he is a disciple of Princess Ning'an, but he should be a hidden member of the Demonic Sect."

Su Che said slowly, "Since this involves the palace and the demonic sect members, we must be cautious."

“What you say makes sense, my lord.”

Feng Buxing glanced at the group of people around him.

Does anyone know this man surnamed Sun?

The Liang court was quite ancient, somewhat similar to the Han and Wei dynasties of Su Che's previous life. Although it was called a court, it was more than just a court. For example, the Shangfang Bureau of the Han Dynasty was responsible for manufacturing weapons and armor. The so-called Shangfang sword refers to the "Shangfang Horse-Slaying Sword" made in the Han Dynasty palace. Lu Zhaolin wrote a poem, "I wish I had a horse-slaying sword, to first slay the heads of treacherous officials." This is what it refers to. Not to mention, the Shanglin Garden was used for training troops and minting coins. It was called a royal garden, but it was also a royal barracks and a royal factory.

The same applies to the Great Liang Dynasty. Within the palace, there were numerous government offices. Just considering horse breeding alone, there were the Flying Dragon Stables, the Imperial Horse Stable, and so on—all places for raising horses and training cavalry. In addition, there were various workshops whose products, besides being bestowed upon court officials and nobles, could even be sold on the market.

There are many men in the palace, both male and female, and Feng Xing could not possibly remember them all by himself.

Moreover, according to the official system of the Great Liang Dynasty, noble ladies like Princess Ning'an, who would marry sooner or later, had their eunuchs and maids listed separately as members of the princess's household. In addition to the regular supplies provided by the palace, their supplies also came from the princess's fiefdom.

In other words, Princess Ning'an's side was completely left to her own devices, with neither the palace staff nor the finances in charge.

However, it is precisely in such situations that more people are able to stand out.

"There are two eunuchs surnamed Sun in Princess Ning'an's palace. One of them is a new tribute from the south and is not yet an adult. The other is Eunuch Sun Xinggong, who is fifty-two years old now, about the same age as Marquis Changxin said."

A young eunuch spoke beside Feng Xingbu.

"It's only suitable for this Eunuch Sun, who has been serving Princess Ning'an since the time of the Retired Emperor, and has been in charge of the palace since then. His status is somewhat..."

Su Che looked at the young eunuch; he was indeed very young, proving that heroes often emerge from among the young.

"Who is this……"

The young eunuch quickly replied, "Reporting to Your Majesty, I am Jiang Ying, the Junior Supervisor of the Directorate of Palace Attendants."

Su Che nodded. The Directorate of Palace Attendants, then that's not surprising. This office is in charge of all the eunuchs.

"Let's go, everyone, shall we head over to pay our respects to Princess Ning'an?"

Su Che's arbitrary decision prompted Feng Xingbu and Han Liang to exchange a glance.

Han Liang gritted his teeth and said, "Your Excellency is wise and far-sighted. This matter must not be taken lightly. I will immediately muster my men to clear the way for Your Excellency."

"Alright, how could we trouble the general with such matters in the inner palace? Besides, how could we guard the palace walls without Han Yingyang?"

Su Che smiled at Feng Buxing.

"Please, Master Feng, come with me."

"Right on my mind."

Feng readily agreed.

General Han Liang, however, said with great gratitude, "I am deeply grateful for your kindness, my lord."

"Let's not talk about those things."

Su Che waved his hand casually.

Han Liang's position was actually very awkward.

He was Wei Huaiwen's henchman, and logically speaking, he should indeed be fighting for Su Che so that the two families would appear to be cooperating without any distinction between them.

However, when the soldiers entered the palace, they went straight for the emperor's favorite younger sister... Everyone knew that the reason this new emperor promoted Princess Ning'an was to compete with the Wei and Su families.

This basically means that you can take power, but don't treat me like I'm dead.

At this point, it was particularly difficult for Han Liang to grasp the right balance.

If he rushes in too aggressively, he will not only offend the emperor, but also appear to be trying to jump ship. This makes people wonder if he intends to flee to the Su family.

If we are too conservative, then we will be going against the original intention of both parties to work together harmoniously.

Su Che let him go with just one sentence, and he should indeed be grateful.

Feng Buxing dismounted and followed Su Che into the palace, followed by a neatly arrayed cavalry. The arrival of the group was impressive and magnificent, showcasing the power and influence of the Su family.

"This is a waist tag. Your Excellency can simply focus your spiritual intent on it. With this, moving around the palace will be much more convenient."

Feng Buxing took out a jade waist token and handed it to Su Che. The jade was warm and smooth, and a spirit bird with outstretched wings was engraved on it.

Su Che sent his divine will into it and felt a strange force emerge from inside the jade tablet, as if a thin thread was extending from his body.

"Your Excellency is truly ambitious and enterprising."

Back when Feng Xingbu was in Shanyin County, he had a lot of dealings with Su Che, and he was naturally a little envious of Su Che's progress in cultivation.

"It was merely a foolish mistake, but it was Lord Feng who..."

Su Che looked at Feng Buxing beside him and said, "It seems there are many obstacles ahead."

"The path of martial arts is indeed difficult to traverse and pass through."

Feng Buxing let out a long sigh, which only fueled Su Che's thoughts, reminding him of the Breathing Void Secret Technique passed down by Kongkong'er.

The so-called "Secret Technique of Breathing in the Void," if you remove the word "secret," is actually a combination of escape techniques, illusion techniques, and divine will attack methods.

The first two were relatively easy to deal with, but the final attack by divine will was quite difficult.

Because divine will, in essence, is the external manifestation of the primordial spirit of a cultivator.

According to the principles of Taoism, the reason why people can cultivate themselves is because there is a seed of innate spirit deep within their physical form and soul, which is also called the true spirit. Nurturing the true spirit to form the seed of Tao is the fundamental skill of cultivation. In addition to this true self, there is also a false self, which arises with thoughts.

For example, if your name is Zhang San and my name is Li Si, the reason why Zhang San and Li Si exist is because their corresponding thoughts constantly collide with each other.

Because of the external "you," a corresponding "I" naturally arises. Once you and I emerge, various distinctions arise, which Buddhism calls the discriminating mind. Once the discriminating mind arises, all sorts of names and forms are complete. After distinguishing between you and me, naturally there will be hot and cold, sweet and salty, sour and spicy, and all sorts of colors. And with this arise good and evil, right and wrong.

From then on, the true spiritual seed took a backseat, and the fake Zhang San and Li Si became the real me.

Based on this, thoughts are divided into manifest consciousness and latent consciousness. Manifest consciousness refers to human thought, while latent consciousness refers to the chaotic and unmanifested thoughts beneath the surface of thought. Latent consciousness is like a turbulent sea, constantly churning day and night, yet it remains imperceptible.

The manifestation of consciousness is like a floating island in the sea, drifting uncertainly on the turbulent waves.

Since practitioners take seeking truth and eliminating falsehood as their fundamental goal, they must strengthen the true spiritual seed and eliminate the false self and illusions. As a result, their thoughts become clearer and clearer, and they cultivate a serene and profound spiritual mind.

Taoist, Buddhist, and sword cultivators all share a common foundation.

In the Xuanmen (Taoist school), it is called the True Spirit Dao Seed or the Dragon-Tiger Great Elixir; in the Buddhist school, it is called the Tathagatagarbha or the Relic; and in the sword cultivation school, it is called the Sword Embryo.

In short, this thing falls under the category of the Nine Laws of Heaven and Man, and is based on the most important spiritual awareness for cultivators.

The so-called divine will comes from spiritual ignorance. From this perspective, the attack of divine will is the mutual confrontation between spiritual ignorance.

Therefore, there is a saying in the cultivation world that divine will is an extension of the primordial spirit.

The path of cultivation is nothing more than strengthening the primordial spirit and mastering the laws; the two are inseparable and complementary. Without mastering the laws, one cannot strengthen the primordial spirit. And if the primordial spirit cannot be strengthened, one cannot master the laws.

In this world, the reason why the Xuanmen sect is the number one sect and the Buddhist sword cultivators can barely rival it is because they far surpass their peers in the construction of their legal principles.

In conclusion, the completion of such supernatural powers is based on the fact that the Xuanmen (mystical sect) has fully explained the Nine Laws of Heaven and Man.

In comparison, the so-called martial arts seem slightly inferior.

Or rather, like the sword cultivators of yesteryear, they are still in the stage of building up their framework.

It will take generations of people to explore and discover a path that leads directly to the fundamentals.

Old Su, Feng Buxing, and the martial arts scholars of Bailudong were all explorers on this path. Their sacrifices and suffering are the wealth of those who follow.

Yes, even the Grand Tutor Yuwen of the Northern Dynasties, who also failed to achieve mastery in martial arts before embarking on the path of metaphysics.

(End of this chapter)