222: Brewing tea to gain enlightenment and break through the realm of Dharma

As Chu Jiang stepped into the academy, the environment there underwent a tremendous change.

In a desolate village, a crooked old tree stood, its trunk twisted, branches sparse, and leaves withered, resembling a sculpture, each crack seemingly narrating endless stories.

Beneath this crooked old tree sat an old man, his body hunched, like the old tree itself, broken yet unyielding.

This was an unparalleled master.

"Young friend, come and sit!" The old man smiled slightly, extending his withered old hand in an inviting gesture.

Chu Jiang didn't hesitate; he immediately sat cross-legged, cupping his fists slightly, "I apologize for disturbing you, Senior!"

This was the second time he had seen a powerful individual whose cultivation far surpassed his own; the first time, of course, was when he had just joined the Demon Suppression Division and was granted an audience with Ye Lingkong.

"Haha, as a Meeting Gift, I'll brew you a cup of tea, Old One."

Before him was a simple clay stove, its faint fire illuminating his wrinkled face.

Beside the old man was an old iron pot, steam swirling from within, and as the flames licked at it, a faint gurgling sound could be heard. He unhurriedly used a dry branch to gently poke the fire, ensuring an even flame, not too fierce.

Chu Jiang nodded, "Senior, I am not yet well-versed in the art of tea. May I ask for your guidance?"

The old man said, "Good tea leaves also need to be paired with good water to bring out their maximum effect. Some tea leaves can be brewed with well water, while others require mountain spring water, dew, or even ice water from the peak of a snowy mountain. It depends on what kind of water the tea leaves themselves are suited for."

"I have been enlightened!" Chu Jiang said with a smile.

"Secondly, it's the heat. Whether it's too strong or too weak, it will change the taste of the tea leaves and make them lose their original flavor."

As the old man spoke, his eyes were fixed on the water that was about to boil. He took out a cloth bag from his waist, extracted a verdant tea leaf from it, and then dropped it into the pot.

Chu Jiang observed the old man's movements; it was indeed just one leaf. He asked:

"Can un-dried tea leaves have flavor?"

The old man chuckled, "My tea leaves are different from others; they cannot be dried."

As the water boiled, the tea leaves churned in the pot, and the entire area beneath the old tree was filled with the aroma of tea. He took a light breath, as if savoring the fragrance, then revealed a satisfied smile.

He picked up the teapot and slowly poured the tea into a chipped porcelain cup. The tea swirled gently in the cup, creating ripples.

That verdant tea leaf also poured into the porcelain cup.

"This first cup of tea is its essence. Please!"

The old man again extended his withered old hand, inviting Chu Jiang to drink the tea.

Chu Jiang picked up the worn porcelain cup.

He began to ask the System: "Is there anything wrong with this tea?"

"Do you want to consume five hundred years of Lifespan to check?"

"Yes."

...

【There is nothing wrong with this tea, Host, please drink it with confidence】

Chu Jiang raised the porcelain cup and drank it all at once, immediately feeling as if his entire being had entered a profound and mysterious Realm.

He fell into a state of self-forgetfulness, his spirit wandering in the void.

It was like an Epiphany.

【Detected that the Host has entered an Epiphany, the panel is activated】

You were born in a small town on the border. You were conscripted into the army by the imperial court and became a small soldier. Because you were good at riding horses, your superiors assigned you to the cavalry reserve camp.

After a year of training, a war broke out on the border. Due to betrayal by an internal traitor, you were surrounded by an enemy army of thirty thousand. Ten thousand infantry were trapped, and two thousand light cavalry were annihilated. You received orders to follow the reserve camp's officer to rescue the trapped ten thousand infantry. The reserve camp only had three hundred cavalry, most of whom had no battlefield experience. However, your objective was only to harass the rear; the true main rescue force was not your reserve camp.

Li Xiaowei, the officer of the reserve camp, was a veteran of many battles. He led you through the battlefield, harassing the enemy's rear. He always found weak points and specifically targeted the enemy's rear supplies, striking and then retreating, never lingering to fight.

Under Li Xiaowei's leadership, you completed the mission assigned to the reserve camp by your superiors with a loss of only thirty men. Everyone received a meritorious service.

No twists, no turns, everything was so ordinary.

Afterward, you handed over all the spoils of war you acquired to Li Xiaowei, who greatly praised you.

When the second mission arrived, it was three years later. You had already been upgraded from the reserve camp to a formal cavalry camp, with your numbers soaring to eight hundred.

Fortunately, Li Xiaowei was still your officer.

His abilities earned the admiration of everyone.

This mission was to escort a noble woman across the desert to Barbarian City.

On the way to Barbarian City, you encountered several waves of desert bandits, all of whom were easily dealt with by Li Xiaowei. This noble woman, though dressed lavishly, had an excellent character, always greeting others with a smile and never being arrogant or overbearing.

Due to your sensible behavior in the barracks, Li Xiaowei arranged for you to be her meal delivery person. This was the core of the escort, extremely safe, and this move also had the implication of monitoring the woman.

A few days later, you learned that the other party was Changping, the daughter of the current Prime Minister.

She went to Barbarian City for peace.

Originally, the princess should have gone, but due to the Empress Dowager's intervention, a woman similar to her was found as a substitute.

Her father said, you can bring a hundred years of peace. Changping deeply believed that if she could bring a hundred years of peace to the frontier, what did it matter if she married far away to the Barbarian Tribe?

All along this journey, Changping was very happy, because before her, the two countries had been at war for nearly two hundred years, and the nation was almost crippled.

You didn't understand why a woman had to be used to exchange for peace, when their commander was fighting so well, and the Barbarian Tribe wasn't having an easy time either.

But such a major matter was not something a small soldier like you could interfere with.

You and Changping communicated for a long time. She regarded you as a friend and said that once she established herself in Barbarian City, she might even invite you to visit for a few days.

You agreed.

Finally, you arrived at Barbarian City without incident. After completing the handover, you watched Changping enter Barbarian City.

You then left; even without this marriage alliance, you would never have any interaction in your lifetime, and you didn't think much of it.

However, Li Xiaowei did not return the same way; instead, he changed direction midway, abandoned the supplies, and took a very long route, traveling day and night, exhausting hundreds of horses, and finally reached the main camp.

Only afterward did you learn that on the original path, thousands of desert bandits were intercepting them midway, but they chased for a long time without seeing anyone and could only retreat dejectedly.

You once again admired Li Xiaowei's keen judgment. After this mission, Li Xiaowei promoted you to Foreman, in charge of one hundred men. From then on, you became Li Xiaowei's close attendant, inseparable. He also took good care of you, saving your life in several missions.

In the third year, Li Xiaowei's cavalry camp was upgraded again, its size increasing to three thousand men. As Li Xiaowei's deputy, you were effortlessly promoted to Foreman.

In the fourth year, you received a letter sent from within the country, signed Yongping. You knew it was a letter from Changping. This letter must have been transshipped multiple times to reach his hands.

The difficulties involved were unimaginable.

She told you that the Barbarian Tribe kept their promise and would no longer attack you, that she was living well there, and that a mutual market had opened. In a few more years, she would invite you to visit Barbarian City.

You wrote back, describing your current situation, saying that you had been promoted and would come if you had the chance in the future.

A few more years passed, and indeed, the Barbarian Tribe did not wage war, did not invade the border, and began to trade with your country.

During this period, you exchanged more than a dozen letters, basically one every two or three months. You did not hide these communications; each time a letter arrived, you would submit it to your superiors for review, and outgoing letters would also be reviewed.

As relations between the two countries warmed, neither side stopped this behavior; instead, they heavily publicized this symbol of friendship.

In the seventh year, Li Xiaowei's cavalry camp was once again upgraded, its scale increasing to ten thousand men. You also rose with the tide, becoming a Deputy General.

In the ninth year, the Barbarian Tribe suddenly announced that Changping was indecent, saying she had committed adultery with many people, disgraced the Barbarian Tribe, and was ordered to be imprisoned. Using this as an excuse, they reignited the war.

Within three days, they captured three cities in a row.

Changping's sacrifice did not bring a hundred years of peace; less than ten years later, conflict reignited, and it was even more fierce.

Some high-ranking Barbarian Tribe officials spread rumors, claiming that Changping's actions were due to your correspondence. In an instant, you became the target of public criticism. All your past achievements turned into misfortune. The imperial court urgently wanted to hand you over and issued an order to the border commander. If you became the scapegoat, the disaster might be averted.

You were thrown into prison. Li Xiaowei ran to the central army to question the commander: This was clearly a cunning scheme by the Barbarian Tribe to sow discord among their own people, so why kill one of their own? Strangely, the commander retracted his order, and you lived.

But Li Xiaowei also paid the price of being demoted.

The next month, you and Li Xiaowei were assigned to the vanguard camp, to atone for your crimes and earn merits, commonly known as a suicide squad. The vanguard camp led by Li Xiaowei decisively defeated the enemy, but the vanguard camp suffered one-third casualties, severely weakening its combat strength.

Mid-month, Li Xiaowei was reinstated to his original position, continuing to serve as the chief general of the ten-thousand-man cavalry, and you served as his deputy. After years of fierce fighting, you were no longer the small soldier who served tea and water back then; you were also an excellent general.

Fortunately, although the imperial court was corrupt, the border commander did not relax. In these years, while the Barbarian Tribe was recuperating, they were also reorganizing their forces.

After the Barbarian Tribe broke through seven cities, they gradually stabilized their defense line and began to counterattack.

However, due to the repeated delays by the grain supply official dispatched by the imperial court, provisions could not be supplied on time, and the war situation became unfavorable again.

This month, the Barbarian Tribe captured six more cities.

The following month, the Old Emperor passed away, and the young emperor ascended the throne.

He decisively mobilized national grain and military supplies to support the front lines, and ordered the forced requisition of properties from the gentry families of Jiangnan. With the full strength of the nation, 670,000 soldiers were conscripted and all sent to the front lines.

When a nation's war machine is fully mobilized, it is extraordinarily terrifying. A million-strong army gathered at the border, and the Barbarian Tribe retreated steadily.

In this battle, you greatly defeated the enemy's chief general, and were promoted to General of the West-Conquering Army, one of the four chief generals under the commander. Li Xiaowei, on the other hand, took over the position of the old marshal.

Only today did you learn Li Xiaowei's true identity: he was the son of the late God of War, Han Fei, and had come to the border purely for experience. Now, he had achieved Perfection.

For ten years, his identity was never exposed; this ability to conceal was truly astonishing.

This war lasted for three years. Under Li Xiaowei's steady and sure strategy, all lost territories were fully recovered, and even more than a dozen Barbarian Tribe cities were captured.

However, there was strong opposition within the country. The nation was almost depleted, and everyone said that a peace treaty with the Barbarian Tribe should be signed as soon as possible.

The young emperor also bore immense pressure, but he did not order your retreat.

Li Xiaowei decided to end the war quickly, but an unexpected event occurred: Li Xiaowei was mysteriously poisoned and did not have long to live.

In his final moments, Li Xiaowei submitted a memorial, asking you to succeed him as commander and continue attacking the Barbarian Tribe.

Over so many years, under Li Xiaowei's guidance, your skill level was no longer inferior to his.

You were fully capable of taking on the role.

The young emperor agreed and issued an imperial decree stating that you would not return to the imperial court until the Barbarian Tribe was defeated.

Ultimately, Li Xiaowei died, and you inherited the command in a time of crisis.

You commanded a seventy-thousand-strong army.

It took you ten years to go from a small soldier to this point, or it could be said it was ten years of effortless advancement, with noble patrons assisting you along the way.

You inherited his will and continued the attack.

You displayed even greater talent. In just seven months, you annihilated the majority of the Barbarian Tribe's forces, and the destruction of their Royal Court was within reach.

You stepped into that Barbarian City where you had watched Changping depart.

Here, you discovered her body. According to rumors, she was not actually committing adultery, but was instead humiliated by more than a dozen high-ranking Barbarian Tribe scions.

One can imagine her despair, coming with hope and dying with humiliation.

But these people had all fled to the Barbarian Tribe Royal Court.

You did not roar in anger; you simply ordered her to be buried with full honors.

Then, you commanded the army to continue advancing towards the Royal Court.

But at this very moment, the young emperor passed away. Some said he was poisoned, but no one knew the answer.

The newly enthroned emperor was the young emperor's eighth uncle.

Even though the Barbarian Tribe Royal Court was on the verge of collapse, he issued thirteen imperial decrees, ordering you to return to the capital.

When the Old Eunuch arrived at the front line with the thirteenth imperial decree, once again pressuring you to return to the capital.

You could no longer suppress your rage. You split the imperial decree in half with a single strike and beheaded the Old Eunuch: "I obey the will of the former emperor! Until the Barbarian Tribe is destroyed, I will not return to the imperial court!"

If you were to retreat, how could you face Li Xiaowei, how could you face the young emperor's support, how could you face the millions of fallen soldiers, how could you face the deceased Changping?

You defied orders repeatedly, continued to dispatch troops, and achieved continuous victories.

With seventy thousand elite soldiers under your command, the emperor's decree could be obeyed or defied.

In March of the following year, you breached the Barbarian Tribe Royal Court and issued a commander's order for seven days of no quarter.

You massacred the entire Barbarian Tribe Royal Court.

All were slaughtered.

The Barbarian Tribe second-generation members who had insulted Changping, and the masterminds behind it, were dismembered by you, suffering every torture known to man before they died.

You came to Changping's grave again.

You said, "I'm here."

You sighed, "But you are no longer here."

You looked up at the sky.

From then on, your Dao Heart became clear.

After that.

The emperor wanted to strip you of your military power.

When the attempt to seize power failed, he directly cut off your provisions, forcing you to comply.

In a fit of rage, you dispatched three hundred thousand troops, marching directly on the capital.

Everywhere you passed, garrisons opened their gates and surrendered.

You deposed the Old Emperor and enthroned a new one.

You were granted the title of Martial King, stationed at the frontier, overseeing the military power of the eighteen prefectures in the northwest.

All your needs were given priority supply.

The world submitted.

Seventy years later, you died peacefully.

With your accomplishments brought to Perfection, wisdom naturally arose.

...

Chu Jiang returned to reality, his body undergoing a drastic transformation as if a Phoenix undergoing Nirvana.

His body began to emit a brilliant light, the light growing brighter and brighter, as if to illuminate the dilapidated and desolate village as if it were daytime.

Suddenly, he opened his eyes, and a flash of lightning seemed to streak across them. In an instant, a beam of light erupted from behind him, condensing into a hazy figure in the air.

Behind him, a gigantic wooden Faxiang stood towering, as if it were a pillar connecting heaven and earth, spanning the land and dominating the four seas.

As soon as the Faxiang formed, the Spiritual Qi in the world surged into his body like a tide. His cultivation soared to the first level of the Faxiang Realm in that instant.

The old man's eyes flashed with a hint of surprise.

"Azure Wood Emperor Skill!"