A Celestial Emperor’s Self-Cultivation - Chapter 34

Chapter 34: Being Sentimental Helps With Realization

Naturally, as the courtesan of the Embracing Moon Brothel and an ex-princess of a country, Ji Mingyue was well educated.

She could understand what Li Hanguang meant and why he was telling her that.

He said that for a person who truly loved flowers, they would never pluck the flowers and put them in a vase.

What Li Hanguang meant was that Ji Mingyue was as pretty as a flower.

And only a flower that remained planted could retain its beautiful figure.

If Ji Mingyue were to give herself up to a man, it would be like a flower begging for a human to pluck it out and put it in a vase.

Or like a dog begging a human to castrate it so that it could live in a human’s cage forever.

In layman’s terms, it was a despicable act.

Not only would her action belittle herself, but it would also make her beloved senior look no different from those perverts whose only goal was to sleep with her.

It would be a huge humiliation towards the man she loved.

Now it was evident as to why Li Hanguang would leave angrily.

Oh, Ji Mingyue, what have you done? How can you be so stupid? It’s not like Senior Li doesn’t like you. How can you make him hate you instead?

…

“Lovers for flowering plants and shrubs have we had by scores,

“How stainless it rises from its slimy bed, how modestly it reposes in the clear pond!

“Symmetrically perfect, its subtle perfume wafts far and wide while it rests in its spotless state,

“Something to be regarded reverently at a distance and not profaned by familiar approach.”

The poem reflected the situation that Ji Mingyue and Li Hanguang were in.

As different people had their own favorite flowers, Li Hanguang liked those that remained undefiled despite their terrible surroundings, like a lotus.

After being cleansed by clear water, the lotus signified purity, unlike other flowers that represented beauty and attraction. A lotus always stood tall and fresh.

It was a flower that should be appreciated in its natural surroundings and not in a room.

It was clear what Li Hanguang was trying to tell Ji Mingyue.

Li Hanguang did like Ji Mingyue—or else he would have never used up so much of his Spiritual Qi to aid the advancement of her spiritual root.

But the Ji Mingyue that Li Hanguang liked was the one who still remained pure despite living in a brothel, not a lady who would strip in front of a man.

Ji Mingyue blamed herself for getting aroused when she first saw Li Hanguang’s face after three years.

Would he think that I’m a whore? Would he still want to see me? Ji Mingyue thought to herself.

She wanted to chase after Li Hanguang to explain herself but she did not do so in the end because she had no idea how to explain her actions.

Even though her sudden action had been because that she was aroused, but she did not betray her heart.

She wanted Li Hanguang and she had been holding herself back for three years.

…

“I’ve disappointed him today. No! I can’t act like a maiden in heat any longer! It’ll only disappoint him even more!” Ji Mingyue told herself. “Senior Li is right! I’m someone whom he views highly of. If I dirty myself like this, others will laugh at his judgment! I have to become someone even better if I want others to say that Senior Li has an eye for talent!”

Ji Mingyue pondered for a second. “I now know why Senior Li didn’t come to visit me for the past three years! It’s because I’m still not at a level that allows me to stand by his side. I have to practice even harder and reach a higher stage of the Ethereal State of Mind and the Peaceful State of Mind. I’m sure that someday, Senior Li will approve of me and let me stay by his side!”

Determination could be seen in the lady’s eyes, so much so that another ring of Moon Vision appeared in her eyes.

This was proof that her determination had strengthened and her state of mind had risen to a higher level.

Ji Mingyue put her clothes back on and walked out of Tianzi Room 1. “Let everyone know that I’ll be doing Closed Cultivation for the next three months. The Moon Embracing Brothel will continue its operations, but I won’t be performing. Don’t interrupt me unless it’s something important,” she ordered.

“Noted,” the servant nodded in reply.

Oh, right!” Ji Mingyue suddenly thought of something. “Make sure Jiang Shengxie pays for everything in the next three months. Don’t let him put it on his tab again.”

Ji Mingyue was still furious at Jiang Shengxie for giving her the ugly hairpin in Li Hanguang’s name.

You little prick! I’ll settle this once I finish my training!

…

As Ji Mingyue came to this new resolution, Li Hanguang had already walked out of the Moon Embracing Brothel.

He wasn’t exactly as calm as he pretended to be.

As a normal and healthy man, he would also react to such seduction.

He almost could not hold himself back and pushed Ji Mingyue down when she stripped in front of him.

Fortunately, his reasoning won against his desires and he forced his hardened rod to calm down.

The reason Li Hanguang was able to achieve this was because Ji Mingyue still had room to grow,

At the moment, she still had not awakened to her Miaoyin Holy Body.

With the help of Omniscient Observation, he knew of two ways to awake the Miaoyin Holy Body.

The first way was by learning enough high-level Music Techniques. The body would then awaken naturally.

The second way was by understanding the real meaning of each piece of music. The more pieces of music one understood, the easier it would be for them to awaken their Miaoyin Holy Body.

The second way was much more preferable as one could forge their own path compared to the first one. It would be easier for them to achieve stable growth.

It was evident that Ji Mingyue was a talented musician.

Otherwise, she would never realize two different high-quality State of Minds just by playing a few simple songs.

Omniscient Observation had hinted to Li Hanguang that the moment he slept with Ji Mingyue, it could possibly affect her ability to perceive a music piece’s state of mind.

It sounded like a whole load of crap but it made sense in a way.

Omniscient Observation also revealed that from ancient times, being plagued by sentimentality could assist one in understanding a certain state of the other.

The feeling of being hurt because of love, the sadness of unrequited love, the pain being treated as a backup partner, the desperation of falling in love with someone they shouldn’t have, or glancing towards the sky sentimentally, all these pure emotions could help one forget about the complications of a normal life.

Under such circumstances, one would find that realizing a certain State of Mind easier.

The main reason Ji Mingyue could realize a grade-2 Ethereal State of Mind and Peaceful State of Mind in three years was because of her unrequited love for Li Hanguang.

If Li Hanguang were to accept her easily, it would definitely affect the awakening of her Miaoyin Holy Body.

If that happened, his plan would be ruined, and that was something he could not come to terms with.

…

One of Li Hanguang’s most important plans was to copy Ji Mingyue’s awakened Miaoying Holdy Body.

If he succeeded, his aptitude would definitely reach a new height.

It would cut down his time of learning a new technique by half.

He wouldn’t want to ruin his future plans just to enjoy a few hours of pleasure now.

That was why LI Hanguang had been able to hold back his desire and walk away from Ji Mingyue’s alluring naked body.

However, it didn’t mean that his trip to the Embracing Moon Brothel was uneventful.

After three years of unrequited love and the growth of her high-grade Spiritual Root, Ji Mingyue’s admiration points towards Li Hanguang had reached 414 points.

This meant he had could use his cloning ability on Ji Mingyue a total of four times.

Three years ago, Li Hanguang had cloned her Zither Mastery.

Now, he’d just cloned another three of her techniques, namely the grade-2 Ethereal State of Mind, grade-3 Peaceful State of Mind, and a skill for a traditional musical instrument, Flute Mastery.

Flute Mastery had the same effect as the Zither Mastery, giving the technique holder full mastery over the instrument.

Ethereal State of Mind also had the ability to boost the enlightenment process by calming the person down.

As for the Peaceful State of Mind, it allowed the person to absorb the essence of the moon and stars to increase the speed of Spiritual Qi Refinement.

By combining both techniques together, Li Hanguang’s cultivating speed had increased another tenfold. He would only need a short amount of time to return to his peak condition.

Being able to clone the two State of Minds was a huge win for Li Hanguang’s trip to the Embracing Moon Brothel.

…

Just as Li Hanguang was whistling happily, the plaque on his belt suddenly glowed and floated up to the front of his face.

The plaque then formed a line of words with its glowing light: ‘This is your father. I’ve finished my training. Return immediately.’

Li Hanguang stared at the message from his father, the Vast Ocean Swordmaster, and had a bad feeling.

Li Hanguang had no idea why, but he could tell that his father was annoyed by something.