Chapter Twenty-Three: Qin Tian's Sermon

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That evening, an additional guest joined them for dinner. Ming Yilian shyly removed her veil to eat. When Qin Tian caught a clear glimpse of her face, he was momentarily stunned. Although she was slightly less striking than An Miaoling and Bai Xiaoru, she was nonetheless a rare and extraordinary beauty. No wonder the Emperor of Zhou was willing to offer a third of his kingdom’s territory as a dowry to marry Ming Yilian.

Noticing Qin Tian’s fixed gaze on Ming Yilian, An Miaoling’s expression soured. She grit her teeth, and under the table, her delicate hand gripped Qin Tian’s waist hard.

She sent him a silent message: "Can you calm down a bit? Just because you see a beautiful woman like this—do you think I’m not beautiful?"

Qin Tian quickly caught her hand and gently stroked it, responding silently, "You are the most beautiful. He’ll be gone in half a month, so be generous."

An Miaoling’s cheeks flushed slightly as she realized her emotions had been unsteady. She withdrew her hand and resumed eating the meat.

That day, they dined on Golden Dragon meat. After a bowl of the rich meat broth, Ming Yilian suddenly froze. She felt an immense surge of energy sweeping through her body, nourishing her flesh. She even sensed the bottleneck in her Dao Creation realm beginning to loosen, signaling an imminent breakthrough.

After another bowl, she settled cross-legged and began to attempt the breakthrough. An Miaoling watched her with envy, eager to advance herself quickly—to settle her vendettas. Her enemies were all powerful beings at the Imperial Realm.

In the following days, An Miaoling intensified her cultivation, devoting almost all her time—except sleeping and eating—to training. Yet her sword intent stubbornly refused to reach perfection, which made her restless. She wished to perfect it swiftly, so she could start comprehending the Sword Domain. Mastering the Sword Domain would allow her to face Imperial Realm opponents using her Ice Lithe Sword even before reaching the Saint Realm.

But sword intent could only be perfected through enlightenment; being too anxious was counterproductive.

Qin Tian had come to understand this over the days, so he halted An Miaoling’s relentless practice. After Ming Yilian’s breakthrough, he summoned the two women and the little fox together to impart some teachings—insights he had gained through his own practice of the Self-Transforming Great Method.

“There are three levels of the realm of intention,” he began.

“The first is to see the mountain as a mountain, the water as water. You should already know this. Simply put, it means perceiving the essence—mountain is mountain, water is water—and maintaining your original heart.”

“The second is to see the mountain as not a mountain, the water as not water. At this level, you must not only see the essence but also discern what lies hidden beneath. There may be temptations or hardships concealed within. Your task is to enlighten your mind and recognize your true nature without losing yourself.”

“The third is to return to simplicity—to carefully sort through all that you have learned and realized, constantly reflecting on it to gain clearer understanding. Only then can you be considered perfect and fully master the realm of intention.”

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The two women and the fox all felt deeply moved. They had never before encountered such principles. An Miaoling’s previous path had been the Ruthless Great Dao. Bai Xiaoru, being a member of the demon race, focused on cultivating her physical body, and Ming Yilian’s path was altogether different. These teachings seemed to open a new gateway for them.

Yet ultimately, how much they could comprehend depended on themselves. The grand principles were easy to understand, but few could truly embody them.

Afterward, An Miaoling began adjusting her approach. She ceased blindly grinding and instead calmed her mind to gradually restructure her Dao, filling in its gaps and slowly approaching perfection.

Sometimes she helped Qin Tian with chores—maintaining and replenishing the spiritual array in the medicinal garden, assisting with cooking, cleaning, and so forth.

With a more balanced mindset, her cultivation progress accelerated. Before long, she would break through to the third tier of the Dao Creation realm.

Time flew, and the agreed fifteen days passed. Ming Yilian prepared to return to her homeland. Before leaving, Qin Tian revealed that he would soon journey back to Chongming Kingdom to retrieve the Chongming Flower.

Ming Yilian was deeply grateful to Qin Tian and sincerely regarded him as her master. Under his guidance, she had glimpsed the path to sainthood, and the future—even ascending to emperor—no longer seemed impossible.

After Ming Yilian’s departure, Bai Xiaoru was able to reveal her human form again at meals. She had many powerful enemies, and when outsiders were present, she stubbornly refused to show her true form. If word leaked out, they all faced annihilation. She did not believe Qin Tian or Kunlun were ready to confront the Imperial Realm.

Ten days passed after Ming Yilian’s departure; only five days remained until the millennium maturity of the Sacred Spirit Fruit. Qin Tian prepared to set off to Chongming Kingdom, then onward to the Hidden Spirit Forest.

This time, he took An Miaoling with him, while Bai Xiaoru refused to leave Kunlun, fearing exposure.

Arriving at Chongming City, Qin Tian first visited his home, but it remained empty. He then took An Miaoling toward the imperial city in the urban center.

There, he noticed a spacious shop selling spiritual garments. He thought, “It’s time to buy some clothes for Miaoling, and a few for Bai Xiaoru as well.”

As soon as they entered, a female sales assistant approached.

“Are you looking for men’s or women’s clothing?”

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“Women’s clothing. Do you accept medicinal pills as payment?” Qin Tian didn’t have much Chongming currency, so he intended to barter with pills.

“We do, but the prices won’t be very high. Let me show you…”

“Alright, lead the way.”

Qin Tian had quite a few pills on him, so he didn’t mind.

They followed the assistant to the second floor, dedicated entirely to women’s clothing. The space was vast, over a thousand square meters, scattered with a dozen or so male cultivators accompanying female shoppers.

Qin Tian and An Miaoling browsed around but found nothing quite to their liking—at least nothing more beautiful than the white silk dress An Miaoling was currently wearing.

Noticing their dissatisfaction, the sales assistant said, “I’ll take you to the third floor, but the prices there are higher.”

“Let’s go,” Qin Tian replied.

On the third floor, there were only three or five people, but the décor was markedly more luxurious. Here they sold not only outer garments but also intimate wear.

Qin Tian led An Miaoling to the intimate apparel section first and let her choose.

Faced with the colorful lingerie, An Miaoling blushed deeply. She never imagined that a former empress would feel so shy shopping for intimates accompanied by a man.

The sales assistant pointed to one piece and began the introduction.

“This Ice Cicada lingerie is woven from millennium-old ice cicada silk. It’s highly breathable and naturally repels dust.”

Without hesitation, An Miaoling nodded repeatedly, eager to end the awkward moment quickly.

Seeing her embarrassment and reluctance to choose, Qin Tian selected six pieces himself—three for An Miaoling, three for the little fox. Imagining how they would look wearing them stirred a subtle excitement in him.

Having chosen the intimate wear, they moved on to outer garments. After browsing a while, they picked a few pieces, but Qin Tian still felt unsatisfied.

Mainly, none of the clothing was truly breathtaking. So he asked, “Do you have anything better? I want to see more.”

The sales assistant’s eyes brightened. “Please wait a moment. I’ll fetch our shop manager.”