The old things I repaired have become fine

Chapter 687 What's on this stone tablet? Could it be the fate of the nation?!
It was impossible for him to join the army, at least not under Zhang Xutuo's command.

Although Shen Le had a good impression of this famous general from the end of the Sui Dynasty, he must have been crazy to join the army under him after knowing his ultimate fate—was he waiting to die together?
Even if Shen Le wanted to observe the ups and downs of history up close, he could have gone to someone else, such as infiltrating Wagangzhai or the Li family in Taiyuan.

Or, if he could replay the game, he could go back to Yangzhou and wait to see what would become of Emperor Yang of Sui? Just to see what was in Emperor Yang's tomb and what the specific details were, he was even willing to die once in his memory!
He died and started over, and with the answers he saw with his own eyes, he could go to the museum and help the teachers restore the artifacts in Emperor Yang of Sui's tomb. He made a huge profit!
The artifacts in that tomb were definitely not limited to Empress Xiao's floral crown; there must have been many more exquisite ones!
However, in front of Zhang Xutuo, Shen Le still had to be careful with her words and refuse tactfully, lest she be chopped up by him or sent somewhere else.

He went on and on about declining for a long time before finally getting Zhang Xutuo to accept:

He also had to pay homage to the Lord of Mount Tai. After the pilgrimage, he would set off for Liaodong, collecting the corpses along the way and comforting the souls of those who could not return home.

Yes, we need to proceed slowly, and we might have to detour around several ancient battlefields, so please don't send me directly into the main army; it will delay my plans...

"I see... then I won't delay your important business any longer." Zhang Xutuo bowed with regret, then began to pull at the brocade pouch on his belt:

"Military supplies are scarce, and the meager rations we have have all been used to reward the soldiers. If you, Immortal, do not mind, this jade pendant was passed down from my ancestor. Please accept it as a token of my goodwill..."

The way you're saying that you never intended for me to accept it, were you?
Shen Le glanced at the lustrous, jade-like piece of jade, its color like mutton fat, and resolutely turned her gaze away. She reached out and placed her hand on General Zhang's arm, giving it a gentle push.
"No need. If it's convenient for the general, send a small squad of soldiers to take me around the battlefield; perhaps I can find what I'm looking for."

Ordinary people won't need it, but it's perfect for people like us. If you can find it, consider it my reward; if not, it's okay, we can look for it again later.

Zhang Xutuo wouldn't refuse such a request. He generously dispatched ten of his personal cavalry guards and even led Shen Le's warhorse, taking him to every corner of the battlefield.

Shen Le only needed to sit on the horse, swaying gently, with his eyes half-open and half-closed, and use his mental energy to sense and search:

"There isn't one here."

"There isn't one here either."

"Here... wait?"

The two armies fought repeatedly, and the battlefront was swept back and forth twice, but nothing was found.

They swept back and forth twice along the line of attack that Zhang Xutuo led his troops, but found nothing.

Then, the battlefield was divided into smaller sections, and the battlefield was swept grid by grid. When about one-third of the way through, something unusual was discovered among a particularly dense cluster of corpses:

"Please help me move these corpses," Shen Le said, bowing slightly to the cavalryman accompanying him. He wasn't going to pay, nor did he have that much money, so he simply waved a warm breeze.
It banishes evil spirits, drives away miasma, and brings forth warmth. As this warm wind swept by, the cavalrymen shivered, feeling as if a cold wind had been driven out of their bones, leaving them feeling warm all over.

The man leading Shen Le's horse jumped up and down, then bent down to press his right knee, and suddenly exclaimed with delight:

"My knee doesn't hurt anymore! My old injury is healed! Immortal Master, your magic is truly boundless! -- Please wait a moment, we'll move it right away!"

A group of young men started working with great enthusiasm. Shen Le was left alone on horseback, feeling slightly embarrassed.
"Uh……"

It's not actually that amazing...

If that knee injury involved muscles, tendons, or the meniscus, he definitely couldn't handle it; it wasn't a healing spell he used.

However, since he had seen a wisp of black mist there when he scanned the area with his spiritual eye, he increased the power a little more, making the warm wind blow a little longer...

Upon closer inspection, one can see that the cluster of corpses on the ground appears to be a group of farmers surrounding a particularly burly man.

Most of the farmers were emaciated and sallow-faced, carrying pitchforks, rakes, hoes, pot lids, and other tools. Only the big man was wearing half-body iron armor and holding a long-handled iron hammer in both hands.

Majestic and menacing, though he had been dead for some time, he stood firmly on the ground with his legs spread apart, his eyes glaring angrily, as if he were still alive.

A group of farmers lay sprawled around him, most of them with their backs to him, seemingly resisting the enemy with him as the center.

Only two or three men, facing the burly man, lay prone at his feet, arms outstretched, with visible wounds on their heads and backs, clearly trying to shield him from the attack with their bodies...

The strange fluctuations that Shen Le sensed came from the big man—more precisely, from the head of the long-handled iron hammer in his hand.

Shen Le dismounted and slowly approached. The cavalrymen hurriedly cleared the path for him, pulling the corpses aside, and escorted him to the body of the burly man.

Shen Le looked up at the big man's face, cupped his hands in greeting, wanting to say something, but opened his mouth without knowing what to say.

Saying "Rest in peace, I will give you a proper burial" doesn't necessarily mean the person truly cares. Besides, the soldiers might want to take his head to claim credit.

Saying "Rest in peace, your descendants will have a good life" might mean that the other person's descendants have all perished.

They said, "Rest in peace, your elders and fellow villagers will live in peace," but these days of great chaos are clearly still more than ten years away...

After a long while, he could only sigh and bow again. He bent down, reached out to touch the hammerhead, paused, then beckoned with his finger, conjuring a stream of water to wash away the broken bones and rotten flesh from the hammerhead.

"Let me see...you..."

He crouched on the ground, pressing a single index finger against the hammerhead, his eyes closed and silent. A group of cavalrymen surrounded him, all holding their breath and exchanging knowing glances.

did you see that?
Did you see that just now?
This immortal is truly powerful! Don't provoke him, absolutely don't provoke him. Serve him well, and maybe he'll reward us with something!
Shen Le was slightly aware of their subtle movements, but didn't pay much attention. He held his breath, constantly scanning the hammerhead with his mental energy, and after a long while, he sighed helplessly:
"Ugh……"

Just a little bit closer!
Just a little bit closer!

This hammerhead contains an extremely sharp and active energy; it's just a hair's breadth away from gaining sentience and becoming a true elite in the hardware industry.

It was just one breath away!
It was just one step away from being a mere mortal item, not a spiritual object. It couldn't be used to forge a spiritual weapon; it could only be used to make an ordinary blade or something...

So, is it that the intensity of this battle was not enough, and the strength of this great man as a military general was not enough to condense the surging military spirit on the battlefield into a sharp elite force?
But this battle is already a decisive battle involving tens of thousands of people! If this can't be resolved, is it going to be a decisive battle involving more than 100,000 people?
Having gained nothing, Shen Le had no other choice. He couldn't very well bring all the dead on the battlefield back to life and tell them, "Come on, let's fight again. Make sure you help me cultivate the Five Metal Elites."

He hesitated for a moment, then drew a talisman in the air on the hammerhead, erased it, drew another, and erased it again. Finally, he drew the precious sword his sect had given him—or rather, the unfinished semi-immortal sword—and pressed it horizontally against the hammerhead.
"Come...absorb all the golden energy here! Absorb as much as you can! Absorb as much as you can! The more you absorb, the faster you'll transform into a celestial sword!"

Internal energy surged forth and flowed into the sword. The sword hummed softly, appearing extremely joyful, and gradually became enveloped in a layer of white light.

After a while, it suddenly trembled and, with Shen Le's sword-wielding hand, forcefully slashed down at the hammerhead!
"!!!"

Caught off guard, Shen Le nearly dislocated his wrist and elbow from the sword! The sword slashed down as if into rotten soil, silently cleaving the hammerhead in two.

With just a glance, Shen Le saw tiny white flashes embedded in the cut surface of the hammerhead, like twinkling stars in the night sky.

However, as the sword fell and was raised again, fell again and was raised again, and was wiped along the cut several times, the flashes of light were like iron filings meeting a magnet, all of them were drawn into the sword and disappeared.

Finally, the sword let out a clear, joyful cry, as if it had eaten its fill, and flew up on its own, returning to its scabbard and settling down peacefully.

Shen Le let out a long sigh, stood up and turned around, only to see that Zhang Xutuo had walked over at some point and was standing behind him with his hands behind his back, his eyes unreadable.

Shen Le smiled and waved to him:

"Come, come! This hammerhead, the essence was almost completely absorbed by the immortal sword, but luckily there's still some left. Let's melt it down and use it to forge a treasured sword handle, a breastplate handle, it should be pretty good—"

Don't say I swallowed all the good stuff!

After saying that, he waved his hand, strode away, and walked out. After a night and a day, the battle aura on the original battlefield subsided, and it could no longer interfere with his magic.

A gentle breeze rose, joyfully lifting him, making each step feel light and airy, as if he were floating on clouds. One step, ten feet; the second, three feet; the third, five feet; and the fourth, he disappeared into the forest.
"General, take care! For the sake of the country and the people, please preserve your health!!!"

The sounds of horses' hooves, neighs, and shouts drifted from afar. Shen Le didn't turn his head, activating his magic to continue climbing the mountain.

Climbing the Eighteen Bends and reaching the South Heavenly Gate, one can see billowing smoke and dust below the mountain, and patches of withered yellow covering the land of Qilu.

The phrase "the green of Qi and Lu stretches endlessly" is probably a scene only seen in times of peace and prosperity; it's completely gone in this day and age...

Shen Le sighed, then activated his spiritual eyes again, wanting to see if the Lord of Mount Tai still possessed any spiritual power in this era. He focused his energy in his eyes, first gazing down the mountain, then sighed again:

"Ugh……"

My spiritual vision level is probably too low. Before, when I was above the battlefield, I could see the black mist floating on the battlefield, but now, standing on Mount Tai and looking into the distance, I can basically see nothing...

He composed himself and looked at the ground beneath his feet again. The Eighteen Bends, like a silver thread, hung straight upside down beneath his feet, gleaming in the sunlight;

Further down, the mountains stretched endlessly, their majestic peaks embraced by lush, verdant energy. At least for now, with his abilities, he hadn't noticed anything particularly strange.

As for the so-called Lord of Mount Tai, Shen Le couldn't figure it out. The Dai Temple is a place for worshipping Mount Tai itself and for holding the Fengshan ceremony; it doesn't enshrine the Lord of Mount Tai.
Shen Le climbed the mountain all the way up but couldn't find any temples related to the goddess. There wasn't even a temple dedicated to the God of Mount Tai, let alone the Temple of the Goddess Bixia Yuanjun—perhaps the belief in this goddess hadn't fully taken shape at that time...

Shen Le shrugged and had no choice but to walk up the Heavenly Street. The ground was uneven and the weeds were often taller than a person, completely different from the path he had trod when he climbed Mount Tai at night during his student days;
It took extreme care and constant mental exertion for him to find a brick-paved road amidst the overgrown weeds.

Clearly, this was the road used by emperors throughout history for their Fengshan ceremonies. In the spiritual eye, it firmly displayed a faint luminous color, yet it was obscured by a dark, blackish-gray hue.

The further he went, the darker the gray became. Shen Le kept pushing aside the weeds, struggling to move forward, when suddenly he looked up, his body leaned back, and he felt as if he had been punched in the chest:
At the entrance of the temple ahead stands a towering stone stele, topped with a square stone cap, completely undecorated, and devoid of any inscription on its surface.

Perhaps it had existed before, but Shen Le tried to feel every inch of it, but couldn't find a single word.

This stele is believed in modern times to be the stele without inscription erected by Qin Shi Huang, while others say it was erected by Emperor Wu of Han. But at this moment, in Shen Le's eyes, although it has not a single word on it, it radiates a brilliant golden light!
The golden light was as solid as a rock. Shen Le approached it and touched it, but it didn't react at all, just quietly looking down. Shen Le's hands could even pass right through the golden light.
However, the moment he thought, "What exactly is hidden here?" he immediately felt immense pressure, almost knocking him to the ground.

Shen Le composed himself and slowly retreated step by step until he was out of the golden light's range, then plopped down on his backside.
"call……"

What is this……

too strong……

Please don't tell me this thing is part of the nation's destiny, placed here to suppress something...

If something goes wrong with this thing, I can't fix it. Even if I put the bronze cauldron on top of it, I still can't fix it!

He carefully avoided the stone tablet, then gazed upon the ancient Dengfeng Platform at Jade Emperor Peak, crossed the mountain from the opposite side, and headed northeast, then north along the coastline. Everywhere he looked, there was only devastation and chaos:

"There's nowhere to buy food here... wait, where is everyone...?"

A pavilion every ten li, a post station every thirty li—this was the ancient system. Shen Le had seen this the whole way from Kunlun Mountain.

Unfortunately, this time, traveling north from near Mount Tai along the official road, not to mention the postmen, the pavilions and post stations themselves were all dilapidated, or simply had only half a wall left, with no roof at all.

Even though ancient rammed earth and thatched houses are relatively easy to collapse, they wouldn't collapse like this just because they weren't repaired or lived in for a year or two!

As she walked, she kept looking around. Her stomach was growling loudly, and Shen Le kept agonizing over whether to use magic to teleport directly to the beach and collect some seashells to fill her stomach.

As I walked, a tantalizing aroma of meat suddenly wafted on the breeze:
"...Is anyone home?" He followed the aroma of meat to a dilapidated house and knocked on the door. In the flickering firelight, several ragged men turned around simultaneously. Shen Le smiled amicably:
"What are you eating? Can't you beg for something to eat? -- Holy crap!!!"

Thunder in the Palm!
Thunder in the Palm!
Thunder and fire!

Thunder and fire!

(End of this chapter)