The Prince Can Do Divination

Chapter 252 - 190: Dragon Raising Its Head, The Value of the Peach Talisman, The Great Nether Empress Ascends the Throne

"What a coincidence. It’s the second day of the second lunar month, the day the Dragon Raises Its Head."

Lu Mingyuan bade farewell to the ladies of Yaoguang Palace and his mother, murmuring softly to himself.

Qi Muxue and Huo Hongling had both indicated they would inform their fathers—Qi Xingyan and the Champion Marquis, respectively—and prepare for the coming crisis.

Recently, Qi Xingyan had been living in seclusion, and his state of mind seemed to have had another breakthrough. He was originally at the Peak of the Eleventh Realm and now had a chance to break through to the Twelfth Realm.

The Twelfth Realm of the Confucian Dao could be called Saints and Sages.

Their status was equivalent to a True Monarch of the Taoist Sect or a Nirvana Arhat of the Buddhist Sect.

Every Saint and Sage was worthy of having a monument erected by the Dynasty. Their names would be recorded in the annals of history, ensuring they would never be forgotten. They could even have a statue cast in the Confucian Temple, ranked just below the Saints.

If the stone statue of a Saint and Sage received enough incense offerings and their teachings spread far and wide, they could also advance to the Thirteenth Realm and become a Saint.

However, in terms of true worth, they certainly couldn’t compare to a Confucian Saint recognized by the Celestial Dao.

Only one Saint recognized by the Celestial Dao appears every five hundred years, and they are always the one with the highest attainment in the Confucian Dao of their era.

If Qi Xingyan could break through to the Twelfth Realm, his status would undergo an earth-shattering change.

The Confucian Temple would personally send envoys to invite him to take up a significant position within its halls.

In fact, the number of Great Scholars was not large. In each Academy in the states and counties of Great Yan, there was only one, two at most.

Without being a Great Scholar, one had no right to establish an Academy, receive approval from the Great Yan Government Office, or impart knowledge to the people of a region.

Cultivating the Confucian Dao was destined to be a path on which it was extremely difficult to rise above the rest.

Most scholars, even by passing the imperial examinations and binding themselves to the Dynasty’s Destiny, could at most reach the Ninth Realm Life Temple and become a Great Scholar of the nation. Breaking through further was incredibly difficult. This was because most people’s scholarship could never surpass that of the ancient Saints and Sages, the Five Confucian Saints, or even their own teachers. Thus, their lifetime achievements were destined to be limited.

At this moment, within the Imperial Palace, a stunningly beautiful woman in a black and white Daoist Robe and a Lotus Crown appeared on a small path in a flash of uncatchable, arcane light.

Her eyebrows slanted up toward her temples, framing almond eyes and peach-blossom cheeks. Her features were exquisite, her hair a lustrous black. Even the loose Daoist Robe could not conceal her proud, full chest.

Sui Yuqing focused her senses and quickly locked onto Lu Mingyuan’s location.

Lu Mingyuan, who had just stepped out of Yaoguang Palace, saw numerous on-duty Imperial Guards bowing to a woman holding a duster.

"Greetings, Fairy."

"Greetings, Fairy."

Lu Mingyuan was quite surprised. He hadn’t expected Sui Yuqing to find him this early in the morning.

He had thought that with the busy affairs of the Thunder Pool Daoist Academy, he would have to wait at least a few more days.

Sui Yuqing nodded indifferently. Then, she pulled a single white whisker from her duster into her palm. With a wave of her sleeve, she shot it into the sky, where it formed a hidden Barrier.

Lu Mingyuan observed Sui Yuqing’s tall, curvaceous figure and bowed. "Greetings, Elder Sui."

Sui Yuqing smiled faintly. "I’ve always felt the word ’Elder’ sounds so old. Don’t you think so, Your Highness?"

Lu Mingyuan scratched his head, looking at a loss. "Then what should I call you? You have so many titles. Fairy? Lord State Preceptor? Or perhaps... Immortal Sister?"

Sui Yuqing didn’t seem satisfied with any of them and simply shook her head. "Since you are the one my Celestial Master’s Mansion is supporting, I just don’t want you to be so formal. Call me whatever you like."

"So, tell me. When you asked me to help you plot against Prince Jin, did you have some other purpose in mind? Or... was it you who killed him?"

Lu Mingyuan didn’t rush to explain. Instead, he took a Red Lacquered Peach Talisman from his waist and asked, "Elder Sui, do you recognize this?"

The moment Sui Yuqing, who had been calm and unperturbed, saw the Peach Talisman, her pupils constricted in shock.

"This is..."

She immediately took the Peach Talisman from Lu Mingyuan’s hand and began to examine it closely, unwilling to miss a single detail.

"It really is the Peach Talisman."

The shock in Sui Yuqing’s eyes had yet to fade as she drew in a sharp breath.

Lu Mingyuan, however, was completely baffled.

’Is this Peach Talisman really that amazing?’

’It looks so ordinary.’

’It has no Mana in it at all. It doesn’t seem like any kind of rare treasure.’

If not for the fact that this item was given to him by the Yuqing Ancestor Master, he would have truly thought it was just an ordinary peach talisman.

Sui Yuqing looked at Lu Mingyuan, her gaze fixed on him with eyes as clear as a spring. "Your Highness, do you have any idea how important this is? Who gave it to you?"

Lu Mingyuan thought for a moment before answering honestly, "An old man named Yuqing gave it to me."

At his words, Sui Yuqing’s expression grew even more shocked.

"You met the Yuqing Ancestor Master?!"

"It seems so."

Lu Mingyuan nodded heavily.

Sui Yuqing realized she was losing her composure. She recited the Purifying Heart and Focusing Mind Spell three times to calm herself.

She took a deep breath and said to Lu Mingyuan in an incredibly serious tone, "Your Highness, this item is not an ordinary peach talisman. It is an ancient artifact of the Taoist Sect."

’An ancient artifact?’ Lu Mingyuan wondered.

He had heard rumors of ancient artifacts and roughly knew what they were.

Although ancient artifacts were not on par with the Ancestral Artifacts of the Buddhist Sect or the Immortal Artifacts of the Taoist Sect, they were still extremely precious items.

Sui Yuqing explained, "Among Magical Treasures, the most mysterious are the Ancient Relics. They are often foundational tripods of a nation, Great Religious Relics, or similar items from antiquity. All are incomparably precious treasures, many of them serving as tokens that represent the heritage of the Three Religions. For example, the Celestial Master Seal passed down in our Celestial Master’s Mansion, which commands the power of thunder and destruction, is the symbol of a Sect Leader."

"Besides those, there are the Four Marvels of the Confucian Temple, all supreme treasures of the Confucian Dao. They consist of four ancient artifacts: the Chessboard, the Nine Diagrams, the All Living Beings Scroll, and the Huai Qin. Then there’s the Military Family’s Sword Array Tiger Talisman, the Legalist Family’s Ink Ruler, the Buddha Seal of the Ancient Leiyin Buddha, the Ancient Scripture Fragments passed down for a thousand years at the Great Celestial Dragon Temple, and so on..."

Lu Mingyuan quickly understood. He mused, "So this Peach Talisman is also one of those ancient artifacts?"

"Correct."

Sui Yuqing nodded slightly.

"Moreover, it is the heirloom token of the Yuqing Lineage, and it carries a great deal of the Taoist Sect’s Destiny."

Sui Yuqing said solemnly, "My Celestial Master’s Mansion’s dao lineage has followed the Yuqing Lineage for several thousand years, but to this day, no one has been able to obtain this Peach Talisman."

"To think that it would appear in Your Highness’s hands."

A look of profound emotion crossed Sui Yuqing’s fair features.

"If this is the Ancestor Master’s arrangement, then I understand."

Sui Yuqing made a quick calculation with her fingers and smiled slightly. "And today just so happens to be the second day of the second lunar month, the Dragon Raising Its Head."

"Are you saying that Destiny is on my side?" Lu Mingyuan asked.

"Yes and no. The second of the second month is a fresh start for everything, an auspicious sign of all things renewing and all life reviving. It is also the one day of the year a person is Blessed with Good Fortune and their Great Luck is at its peak," Sui Yuqing explained softly.

"SWOOSH!"

Suddenly, a Communication Light Talisman flew through the air and was caught in one hand by Sui Yuqing.

Sui Yuqing opened the Light Talisman. Her brows furrowed, making the vermilion mark between them seem even more prominent.

"Elder, what is it?"

Sui Yuqing flicked her duster, seemingly contemplating something. After a moment, she spoke, "The Three Academy Cultivators are gathering. There’s been another development in the Demon Country. It seems war is about to break out again."

"What kind of development?"

Lu Mingyuan was very curious.

Sui Yuqing hesitated for a moment, but ultimately decided to tell him.

"The Demoness of the Demon Kingdom that Your Highness released has formally ascended the throne today, changing the reign title to Zhu Yan. It’s a homophone for ’Exterminate Yan.’ She probably wants revenge against the Great Yan."

"No small number of surrounding nations have already bowed their heads in submission, and all address her as the Great Nether Empress."

Lu Mingyuan was stunned.

’The Great Nether Empress has ascended the throne?’

...

Haha, I just discovered a funny coincidence. It’s not just in the book—tomorrow happens to be the second day of the second month of 2024, the Dragon Raising Its Head. Even I, the author, didn’t expect that.