My daily cultivation progress is calculated.

Chapter 28 Reading through the ancient scrolls, the unity of heaven and man 1

Arrived at the Heavenly Prison.

Because so many prison guards had died this time, Xu Shaogong had to send someone to notify the families of the deceased guards that they should come to the prison to serve.

Shen Yan saw many unfamiliar faces appear, and even a newcomer had joined his team.

His name was Chen Gensheng. Shen Yan looked him up and down and thought he seemed honest and simple.

He handed the matter over to Chen Xiaoshuan for training, while Shen Yan drank tea in the office.

"Having power makes all the difference; even the smallest bit of power can bring enormous convenience."

Shen Yan was filled with emotion. Just by being a squad leader, he had already experienced the benefits of power.

No wonder that once they become officials, they will always want to climb higher and trample more people under their feet.

Xu Shaonian, as always, was nowhere to be seen, only appearing each month when it was time to share the profits; the rest of the time, no one knew what he was busy with.

The four squad leaders of Prison A became the ones who made the decisions, with Shen Yan subtly taking the lead.

Especially after learning that he had single-handedly killed two ninth-rank martial artists, almost no jailer in the Heavenly Prison dared to show disrespect to him.

Even the prison warden Xu Shaogong would smile and befriend Shen Yan every time he saw him.

With nothing else to do, Shen Yan went to Prison No. 3 to look for Sun Fugui.

"Brother Shen, what brings you here?"

"Any news about the prisoner who was abducted a couple of days ago?"

"Brother Shen, you must be joking. That's a mid-level third-rank expert. Which constable or yamen runner would dare to actually investigate? They'd just put on a show and then just pin it on that江湖人士 (jianghu shishi - a person from the martial arts world)?"

As expected, Shen Yan did not get any useful information. Sun Fugui smiled and took out a stack of papers.

"Brother Shen, these are the cultivation techniques we've collected over this period of time. See if any of them are of any use."

Shen Yan took the cultivation manual, glanced at it, and found that it was all beginner level, which made him somewhat disappointed.

Although quantitative change can lead to qualitative change, a seventh-rank martial artist is ultimately just a seventh-rank martial artist and finds it difficult to break through the bottleneck.

Many prisoners in cell number C have already been released. These prisoners were originally thrown in by the Embroidered Uniform Guard. Since the Embroidered Uniform Guard said they would release them, the Imperial Prison naturally could not stop them.

The jailers were somewhat disappointed, as these men represented a lot of hard-earned money.

……

……

Bianjing, the residence of the Right Chancellor.

It's night, and the bright moon is hanging high.

As Emperor Xuanwu's top minister, Yan Fan's mansion was naturally extremely luxurious, filled with countless rare treasures, and even the paving stones were made of white marble.

Yan Fan was reading by lamplight in his study when suddenly the candlelight flickered.

A dark figure appeared in front of him.

"What wind is blowing today? How did it manage to bring our commander here?"

The newcomer was Zheng Jun, the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, a renowned expert of the third rank in the Great Zhou Dynasty. His strength was unfathomable, and it was said that no one had ever survived to witness his attack.

However, his expression was rather unpleasant at the moment, which was unbecoming of a master.

"Lord Yan, please stop teasing me. My visit so late at night is truly out of necessity."

Yan Fan naturally knew that Zheng Jun's secret visit must be for something of great importance, and he was somewhat hesitant, wondering whether he should get involved.

After a slight hesitation, he still asked Zheng Jun to continue.

The two men shared a similar fate, both deeply bound to Emperor Xuanwu.

That's how it is when you're a favored minister; they certainly won't have a good ending after Emperor Xuanwu dies.

Zheng Jun understood this principle, and Yan Fan naturally knew it as well.

"I've found some clues about the birthday tribute."

"I found out. Instead of reporting back, what are you doing here?"

"It seems to be the Crown Prince!"

Yan Fan's expression immediately changed: "What?!"

"The birthday tribute was robbed in Liu County, a hundred miles away from Bianjing. According to our informant, people from the Blood-Clad Tower frequent that area."

Hearing Zheng Jun say this, Yan Fan roughly understood the truth of the matter.

Blood-Clad Tower is a killer organization in the martial arts world, and the person behind it is the Crown Prince.

Although he always thought he had hidden himself well, the Embroidered Uniform Guard had already found out.

"This matter is of great importance. You should report it to His Majesty immediately. Remember, we are all His Majesty's dogs, and the most important thing for dogs is loyalty."

"Thank you for your guidance, Your Excellency."

Zheng Jun was struck dumb, and suddenly realized what had happened.

Zheng Jun knelt outside the West Garden gate, not daring to disturb Emperor Xuanwu's cultivation.

Since the Wanshou Palace was struck by lightning and reduced to ashes a few days ago, he has moved to the West Garden to cultivate.

After an unknown amount of time, the eunuch on duty at the West Garden informed him that he could enter.

Zheng Jun compiled the truth he had uncovered into a book and handed it over to Emperor Xuanwu.

Behind the curtain, Emperor Xuanwu's expression shifted between light and shadow, and Zheng Jun lowered his head, not daring to look directly at him.

After a long while, a sigh echoed from the main hall of the West Garden.

"Sigh! This child has grown up, and he has a lot of ideas now. You did a good job. The officials and bandits in Liu County are colluding and there's a lot of corruption there. It's time to clean things up. You'll be in charge of this matter."

Zheng Jun walked out of the West Garden Palace gate, his back already soaked with sweat, but fortunately the result was good.

He understood: "It seems that the Emperor does not want to pursue the Crown Prince's matter too much, and directly blames the birthday tribute incident on the officials and bandits in Liu County."

……

……

A few days later.

Shen Yan's days of studying and seeking advice were worthwhile; he finally deciphered the ancient scroll completely.

Shen Yan was able to read the entire text, which was over two thousand words long, and he was very excited.

[Heaven and earth endure. The reason why heaven and earth can endure is that they do not live for themselves, therefore they can live long. Therefore, the sage puts himself last and yet comes first; he puts himself outside and yet survives. Is it not because he is selfless? Therefore, he can achieve his own ends...]

Looking at the words above, Shen Yan felt a little disappointed. He had studied diligently for more than half a month, all for the sake of a cultivation technique.

"This doesn't seem to be a cultivation technique. It sounds more like it's about the mysteries and principles of heaven and earth."

"Alas! As expected, peerless martial arts skills are not so easy to obtain."

He had at least a few years of schooling, so he naturally understood the meaning of the words above.

The concept described in this ancient scroll is the famous ancient Chinese concept of the unity of heaven and humanity.

The human body is a microcosm, and the earth and all things outside the body are also a microcosm. As long as we grasp the natural principles of both microcosms, the inner and outer worlds can be united as one, forming a seamless whole – this is the unity of heaven and humanity.

Although the principles are profound and mysterious, like the classics of Taoism from a previous life, they lack both internal cultivation methods and external training techniques.

This principle is like a castle in the air, seemingly lofty and profound, yet impossible to grasp.

Without a foundation, how can a tall building be constructed?

Shen Yan had only a vague understanding of this and had no idea how to cultivate it.

As for seeking advice from others, he had no such intention at all, and the way he obtained this ancient scroll was illegitimate.

If others found out, the consequences would be unimaginable. Even when consulting Master Qi, Shen Yan would scramble the text so that it was unrecognizable.

Shen Yan was unwilling to give up: "Is the Duke of Dingguo's mansion the only way?"

As for other places, Shen Yan had not considered them at all. As a member of the Shen clan, he was destined to find it difficult to gain complete trust from other forces.

Disturbed and unable to concentrate on martial arts, I could only go to bed early.

What he didn't expect was that someone in the prison had already prepared a big gift for him, just waiting for his arrival.