Proofreader & Editor: Peter Pan
Yuan Ming thought for a moment and decided to try again, locking his thoughts on his father and constantly thinking in his mind: "Turn around, turn around…"
After General Yuan finished speaking, he sat down next to the beautiful woman and picked up a cup of tea to drink, suddenly turning his head to the back.
"Good, I will have Wang Shun and his men clean Ming'er's courtyard again. Our family can finally reunite. Hmm, why are you looking back?" The beautiful woman in white saw General Yuan's movement and asked with a smile.
"Did I look back…?" General Yuan was stunned to find that he did indeed turn his head back, feeling a little confused.
"I'm talking to you about Ming'er, can you focus a little?" The white-clad beauty's face darkened.
"I understand, I understand…" General Yuan, feeling puzzled, quickly put down the teacup and nodded repeatedly in the face of his wife's scolding.
Seeing this scene, Yuan Ming felt a little sorry for his father, but also surprised and happy that he could really influence his father's behavior. Could this also be caused by the incense ash of the Willow Heart Sect?
"Ming'er has been missing for so long this time, and the Emperor is very worried. Tell him this news so he can be at ease," the white-clad beauty continued to talk to General Yuan.
"I have already sent someone to deliver the message," General Yuan said.
"These two children… Ming'er was once rejected by the Changchun Sect and vowed not to embark on the path of immortality. The Emperor also decided not to enter the path of immortality. They are really two loyal children." The white-clad beauty thought of some past events and her expression softened.
"The Emperor has his own difficulties. His decision not to cultivate immortality may not be entirely because of Ming'er. Once he enters the Foundation Establishment stage, he will have to abdicate and pass the throne to someone else. The Emperor has not yet married, and has no heirs. Once he abdicates, his line will probably be completely cut off from the throne," General Yuan said as he picked up a cup of tea and slowly drank.
Yuan Ming was surprised to hear this. It was the first time he had heard of such rules within the royal family of Da Jin.
"That doesn't matter. The power and glory of the throne are all fleeting. Even if it shines brightly and gloriously, it will be nothing but dust in a hundred years. Only by cultivating immortality can one hope to live as long as the heavens and the earth," the white-clad beauty said.
"The lady is right. The Emperor has been obsessed with cultivation recently, paying little attention to state affairs. The power struggles in the court are becoming increasingly intense, disturbing and distracting me. My own cultivation has also made little progress," General Yuan said.
"Pursuing the path of immortality is indeed good, but having heirs is equally important. I heard that once one reaches a high level of cultivation, it will be very difficult to have children. When Ming'er comes back, should we arrange a marriage for him first?" The white-clad beauty hesitated for a moment and said.
Upon hearing this, Yuan Ming secretly smiled bitterly.
His mother had always been thinking about his marriage. Before he went on a mission to the Southern Frontier, she was already arranging a wife for him. Now she was thinking about it again.
The saying goes, "A son's actions cause a mother's worry." His previous disappearance had caused her to worry day and night, and now that she knew he was safe, she was starting to worry about this again.
Yuan Ming currently only wanted to focus on cultivation and had no intention of starting a family.
He used his thoughts to influence his father, causing him to oppose his mother's proposal.
"Ming'er is still young and doesn't seem to be in a hurry to start a family," General Yuan said, in line with what he was thinking.
Yuan Ming was overjoyed. It was really useful and fun to be able to control others with his thoughts.
With this ability, he could do many more things when he possessed others in the future.
"What are you saying as a father? Marriage cannot be delayed. I think the daughter of the Prime Minister's family, Loulan, is good. She and Ming'er have known each other since childhood, and I heard she also has spiritual roots. I will send someone to inquire about it another day," the white-clad beauty said eagerly, giving her husband a glance.
"Madam, please don't meddle in matchmaking. Ming'er told me that Loulan from the Prime Minister's family has been devoted to the Emperor for many years. It's not suitable for Ming'er to be with her. Moreover, due to the Emperor's negligence, the current court relations are complex. It's not a good time for Ming'er to marry. Let's discuss this matter later," General Yuan said with some concern. The white-clad beauty saw her husband's solemn expression and did not mention the matter again.
Yuan Ming breathed a sigh of relief when he saw his mother no longer insisting.
General Yuan and the white-clad beauty went on to discuss some trivial family matters, and Yuan Ming, feeling mischievous, continued to influence his father and provoke a good scolding from his mother.
Yuan Ming couldn't help but laugh to himself, seeing his father, who was always stern and scolding, being scolded.
"Oops, I was so caught up in playing that I forgot the purpose of this possession!" he reproached himself and tried to make his father talk to his mother about the assassination with his thoughts.
However, General Yuan had no reaction this time and continued to chat with his mother about family matters.
Yuan Ming frowned. Why didn't it work this time?
At that moment, everything suddenly turned dark before his eyes. The time for possession had ended, and when he woke up, his consciousness had returned to his original body.
***
Yuan Ming furrowed his brow, pondering why he had failed to make his father talk about the assassination.
After much thought, he came up with a possible explanation: his father had no idea that someone from the Changchun Sect had come to assassinate him.
If his father didn't know about it, he naturally couldn't do it.
"It seems that influencing the person I possess is not something I can do in every situation," Yuan Ming thought to himself. He could only wait and try again when he possessed someone in the future.
Yuan Ming's gaze shifted to the remaining incense ash in his hand.
The sudden ability to influence his father during the possession was most likely related to this incense ash.He had been trying to make incense from incense ash for some time now and was gradually coming to understand a few things. The reason incense ash could create miraculous spices was due to the transformation it underwent from people's prayers and worship, triggering some peculiar change that he couldn't comprehend.
It was this peculiar change that made the spices made from incense ash so wondrously effective.
Originally, Yuan Ming speculated that the more people who worshipped, the stronger this peculiar change would be, and the better the effect after the incense ash was embodied.
However, the last two embodiments made him doubt whether his speculation was valid.
After all, the number of people worshipping ancestors in Iron Tiger Town was limited to the lord and his kin, which couldn't possibly exceed the number of commoners offering incense at Jiuli Temple.
And the Liuxin Sect before him seemed small in scale, even smaller than Biluo Cave, so the number of disciples couldn't possibly exceed the endless stream of pilgrims at Jiuli Temple every day.
"Could it be because those who offer incense at Jiuli Temple are all mortals? There are cultivators in Iron Tiger Town's lord's mansion, and all those who worship within the Liuxin Sect are cultivators, so the embodiment effect is the best?" A thought emerged in Yuan Ming's mind.
"Speaking of which, although the Liuxin Sect has declined over the years, the accumulated incense ash in this censer must be the result of years of accumulation. Although the number of people offering worship back then was not as many as at Jiuli Temple, the disciples' devout faith in the sect might be much stronger.
Whether it was the previous speculation or the current thought, they were all preliminary guesses that needed to be verified slowly in the future.
Yuan Ming stood up, took all the incense ash from the censer, and left the verdant mountain peak with his flying instrument, continuing towards the Eastern Domain.
***
Several days later, in a guest room of a small city in the Eastern Domain, Yuan Ming sat cross-legged, flipping through several thick tomes.
These were collected from the city, containing records of the geography and culture of the Eastern Domain.
The Venerable Xuanhua had not told him where the Xuanhua Observatory was located, so Yuan Ming had to investigate while traveling.
After several days, he had not found the Xuanhua Observatory, but his understanding of the Southern Border's Eastern Domain had deepened.
The cultivation forces here in the Eastern Domain were similar to the five major sects in the Northern Domain previously, with four first-rate forces almost managing the entire Eastern Domain's cultivation world, one of which was the White Dragon Island.
These four major sects were powerful and acted quite domineeringly, with the small and medium-sized cultivation sects in the entire Eastern Domain basically being their vassals.
Naturally, the Xuanhua Observatory did not belong to the four major sects. According to his guess, it should only be a relatively unknown medium or small sect.
The Eastern Domain was not divided by clans but had a stronger concept of nation-states, possibly influenced by the Central Plains' ideas.
The country where Yuan Ming was currently located was called "Lieguo," which was considered a relatively large nation in the Southern Border's Eastern Domain.
The books he was currently reading introduced the geography and famous scenic spots of Lieguo, but unfortunately, even after reading to the end, he could not find any trace of the Xuanhua Observatory.
Yuan Ming didn't mind and picked up another book to continue reading.
He had his own ways to find the Venerable Xuanhua, but it would still take some time.
Half a day later, Yuan Ming put the book aside and summoned the incense burner, whose Great Ultimate pattern at the bottom was once again fully lit.
He skillfully took out a stick of black incense, made from the Liuxin Sect's incense ash, and lit it in the censer.
Yuan Ming recalled the figure of the Venerable Xuanhua in his mind, and his vision quickly fell into darkness.
***
When Yuan Ming's consciousness awoke, a dim stone chamber appeared before him, with the Venerable Xuanhua sitting inside, meditating with closed eyes.
Seeing this scene, Yuan Ming did not act rashly. His purpose in embodying the Venerable Xuanhua was to ascertain his whereabouts, and it was unexpected that the man was also hiding in a secret chamber to cultivate. Influencing him with his thoughts might make him get up, but that would disturb the Venerable Xuanhua's cultivation.
Yuan Ming first looked around the stone chamber. To the left of the Venerable Xuanhua, there was an incense burner with a stick of purple spiritual incense inserted, emitting curling spiritual smoke, which seemed to be similar to Qingxuan incense, capable of accelerating cultivation.
On the right side of the wall, there was a large stone table filled with a dazzling array of tools.
Ordinary people might not understand the use of these tools, but Yuan Ming could see that they were all tools for making incense, much more refined than the set he had.
Yuan Ming carefully observed the surrounding environment, trying to deduce the Venerable Xuanhua's location from some details, but unfortunately, the stone chamber was very ordinary with no extra decorations, making it impossible to discern.
"Never mind, I'll disturb him if I have to." He helplessly influenced the Venerable Xuanhua with his thoughts, trying to make him get up and leave the stone chamber.
The sea of thoughts in the Venerable Xuanhua's consciousness rippled slightly but soon returned to calm, and his body remained closed-eyed in cultivation.
Yuan Ming inwardly smiled wryly, realizing that influencing the Venerable Xuanhua was much more difficult than influencing his father.
This was normal; after embodying, he could sense the strength of their souls, and the Venerable Xuanhua was indeed much stronger than his father.
Moreover, the purple spiritual incense, besides accelerating cultivation, also had the effect of stabilizing the mind, weakening the influence of his thoughts to some extent.