Upon receiving Gu Yifeng's order, Qin Shan dared not delay and immediately gave the order, and the 60,000 troops immediately set out. As for the other 13,000 Mo Dao troops and Shenji Battalion, they naturally followed in secret.
In Gu Yifeng's view, this force of 13,000 men was the blade in his hand. As long as he did not reveal his full strength, the more the enemy knew, the more wary they would be.
He had secretly ordered that these 13,000 men would follow Qin Shan's instructions and enter the territory of the Great Han to support King Seung.
As for Gu Ran, Gu Yifeng sneered, abandoning all his precious steeds. He unleashed his spiritual power, stepped on the phantom of the Kun beast, and instantly left the border, heading straight for the capital of Da Gan.
Gu Ran, far away in the capital, was completely unaware of the impending danger. He continued to act arrogantly and domineeringly, and with his extraordinary ability to steal and manipulate, the entire capital trembled and bowed down before him.
The reason why Gu Ran was able to take over the capital so quickly and ascend the throne was not only because of the political parties he had left in the court, but also because he made contact with a hidden sect in the Jianghu.
Its name is Iron Blood Sect. For generations, they have made a living by forging iron and refining weapons. They have always lived in seclusion in the martial arts world, and many famous blacksmiths come from Iron Blood Sect.
With the world in turmoil today, the current sect leader of the Iron Blood Sect is quite tempted. After years of planning by Gu Ran, he has finally come out of seclusion. However, in order to avoid being accused by other reclusive sects of breaking the rules, he only sent the sect's secret guards to Gu Ran for deployment.
This led to the scene in the imperial court where those iron-faced warriors at the Dingyuan realm killed court officials.
Gu Ran's only regret is that he couldn't contact the family forces that Ruo Xu Sword Immortal came from back then. Otherwise, let alone making a big move, the entire Three Kingdoms would want to bring him under his command.
With such ambition, Gu Ran generously moved into the Hall of Supreme Harmony, where he enjoyed singing, dancing, drinking, and merrymaking every day.
As for interfering in state affairs, he delegated all authority to others, recklessly delegating power. Nowadays, all memorials and documents are reviewed by his eunuchs. Without the support of important officials like Fang Xuan, the court and the people are in a state of utter despair.
Gu Yifeng traveled swiftly, not deliberately avoiding cities along the way to save time. He could already faintly hear the winds of war, which fueled his anger. He only wished he could break through his cultivation level and increase his speed further.
"System, why have I been stuck at this cultivation bottleneck for so long and still can't break through to the late stage of the Opening Mansion Realm?"
When they were still halfway to the capital, Gu Yifeng couldn't help but ask.
"On the path of cultivation, is the host truly only focused on cultivation?"
In response to this question, the system, unusually, did not offer any criticism, but instead posed a fatal counter-question.
This question immediately brought Gu Yifeng, who was still flying on the wind and riding on the Kun beast, to a halt.
Indeed, ever since he transmigrated, he has been busy, busy without any clue what to do. After clearing his name of wrongful conviction, he only wanted to retaliate against the Second Prince Gu Ran for his own convenience.
In order to stay in the imperial prison in a legitimate way, he crushed Prince Cheng and Prince Cheng in the princes' competition with a bit of competitive spirit, and finally succeeded in ascending the throne. After that, he devoted himself to the affairs of the country.
His cultivation path seemed to have gone astray from the very beginning, because ever since he transmigrated, all he had been thinking about was completing the system missions as quickly as possible and returning to Earth.
"I have a bright pearl, long locked away by worldly troubles. Today, the dust is gone and its light shines forth, illuminating countless mountains and rivers."
Gu Yifeng unconsciously recited a poem, but it wasn't from his previous life; it was from Blue Star. It was a verse that a Zen master had attained enlightenment. For some reason, he suddenly remembered this poem.
After pondering for a moment, he continued forward, still somewhat bewildered, riding the Kun beast at a certain speed towards the capital, as if he wanted to comprehend something profound.
After about five days, Gu Yifeng finally arrived outside the capital. However, because he had been deep in thought the whole way, his mental state was quite unstable, and he crashed his body into mountains and boulders several times.
To the soldiers defending the city, Gu Yifeng looked no different from a beggar: his clothes were tattered, his hair was disheveled, and he looked dazed. In this chaotic world, no one but a madman would be so bold.
"The path of cultivation lies in cultivating the mind. The physical body and the level of cultivation are like duckweed floating on water. Without the support of the mind, they are like water without a source or a tree without roots."
Another sentence echoed in Gu Yifeng's mind. It was a sentence from his predecessor's memories, spoken by the Crown Prince's personal teacher at the beginning of his cultivation.
Thinking of this, he sat down cross-legged by the city gate. The guards wanted to drive him away, but he glared at them and they could only leave reluctantly, not daring to say anything more.
"The Dao Heart, so this is my luminous pearl? By seeking the Dao Heart, all dust will be swept away and light will shine forth."
Gu Yifeng suddenly had an epiphany, and then he calmed his mind and completely immersed himself in his own state. A vast world then appeared in his mind.
"All conditioned phenomena are like dew or lightning. All the splendor and prosperity are not my mind."
Feeling the splendor of the vast world, Gu Yifeng sighed inwardly, shook his head in silence, and continued to sense it. The myriad splendors of the vast world in his mind vanished in an instant.
"To be above all beings and to hold supreme power is not in my heart."
With another sigh, a lonely figure, high above, vanished from the vast world.
"Immortality is not what I desire. What good is a path to divinity? What I desire is only the righteousness in my heart. Those who follow my righteousness live, and those who oppose my righteousness die. Of all the paths I have taken, I seek only perfection."
Gu Yifeng finally understood that what he pursued was never immortality or fame and fortune, but rather fulfillment, reuniting with his family and friends. Even if he lived an ordinary life and died peacefully in his sleep, it wouldn't be so bad.
Having figured this out, he felt no more constraints or limitations in his heart. He felt his mind was clear and bright, and his spiritual power roared and surged through his meridians. The Devouring Heaven Record operated on its own, and his fourth acupoint activated even before absorbing enough spiritual power.
As the Devouring Heaven Record broke through to the fourth acupoint, his cultivation also exploded at this moment, instantly breaking through to the late stage of the Opening Mansion Realm. The surrounding spiritual energy surged in and poured into his body, and continued to surge.
The cultivation level only stopped at the peak of the late stage of the Opening Mansion Realm. After that, it was the Condensation Realm. To break through, one needed to cultivate one's soul and reach a certain level before breaking through the threshold and merging with the dantian to break through to the Condensation Realm.
Gu Yifeng floated in mid-air, and with a flash of light, he changed into a bright yellow robe. His previous beggar demeanor was completely gone. Now, his long hair was tied up, and his body was as clean as new. His appearance was revealed, which immediately shocked the ordinary people at the city gate.
"Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor!"
Faced with Gu Yifeng's appearance, these people did not hesitate to kneel down and worship. Compared to Gu Ran, they clearly liked the new emperor in front of them more and wished they could take a few more glances.
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