Start with a red name

The sound was too casual, and it was right next to my ear.

At first, none of the people present realized what was happening, assuming it was just something someone nearby had said casually.

However, everyone soon realized that something was wrong.

The first to react was Luo Qing, whose heart felt as if it were weighed down by a massive boulder.

He looked around abruptly, and after several glances, he finally fixed his gaze on the people behind Hong Quan, Xue Zhiheng, and others.

While everyone nearby was unaware, another person had appeared beside them.

This person was none other than Geng Xuan.

He spent more than ten hours trekking through mountains and rivers, measuring more than 5,000 miles of land on foot, and finally returned to this place before the end of the day.

Therefore, he only took two short breaks along the way.

Each time, it was only when we had to pause and rest that we started proceeding at a stopwatch-fast pace.

Fortunately, he had mastered the "Heaven and Earth Stake" technique, and with the aid of a suitable amount of Essence Pills, he was able to greatly alleviate the terrifying exhaustion accumulated from his long journey of thousands of miles within a few tens of minutes.

Seeing Luo Qing looking this way with an undisguised look of surprise, Geng Xuan smiled and nodded at him.

Although he didn't say a word, he could tell that the internal and external troubles caused by his absence for several days seemed to be concentrated on Luo Qing.

The others reacted a beat slower than Luo Qing, and they all turned to look at Geng Xuan.

"Gang leader!"

"Gang leader!"

"Boss, you're back!"

"..."

Everyone looked pleasantly surprised.

Geng Xuan looked at Xu Qiwen and asked with a smile, "Have you been waiting long?"

Upon hearing this, Xu Qiwen's heart skipped a beat, and he quickly waved his hands, saying, "No, no, no..."

In his panic, Xu Qiwen didn't even know how to utter a complete sentence.

Geng Xuan didn't wait for his reply. His gaze naturally shifted from him, sweeping over the group of people from Yuanjing beside him, and he asked curiously:
"Why are you all here?"

Xue Zhiheng stepped forward and said:
"First, we're escorting the second batch of supplies over."

Secondly, this is an opportunity to get together with everyone, to discuss things face-to-face, and to avoid becoming too estranged from each other due to long-term development in two different places.

"Furthermore, knowing that you would be returning today, Chief, I also wished to meet with you in person to report on the situation in Tianyuan Capital."

Geng Xuan knew that these reasons were basically just excuses.

The real reason should be that with the frequent exchange of information, especially with the large number of Xu family members being recruited as official members of the Giant Bear Gang, they also knew and confirmed the authenticity of "good fortune rewards merit".

Let's not even mention their joint attack on Sanssouci Palace.

Let bygones be bygones. Having already received a great reward in that battle, they probably wouldn't dare ask him to give them another "lucky reward."

But their operation against the remnants of the Wuyou Palace in Yuanjing City is not over yet.

As for the operations he was assigned to in other areas of Yuanzhou to target the remnants of the Wuyou Palace, he always used "good fortune and reward for merit" as an incentive.

If they come over and demand the same treatment, no one can say they did anything wrong.

Such a demand is entirely reasonable.

However, one can think this way in their heart, but not say it out loud.

It's even less likely that they would lay out the whole story as soon as they met.

Having figured all this out, Geng Xuan didn't delve any deeper into the matter, but instead asked:
"Is the situation in Yuanjing alright?"

Xue Zhiheng hurriedly said:
"The situation was much more tense than before the destruction of Sanssouci Palace."

However, the situation is much better than we expected.

In particular, given that we revealed Dong Guan's influence and the possibility that he might be plotting against Yuanjing in the near future, all parties have become more cautious than ever before.

...Because of these changes, our actions against the remnants of the Wuyou Palace in Yuanjing City have become more difficult to advance than we originally anticipated.

On the other hand, our situation is much more stable than we had originally expected.

Geng Xuan understood and nodded slightly, gaining an overall impression of Yuanjing's current situation.

He then looked at Luo Qing and asked, "Didn't Fang Jintang and the others come?"

Luo Qing hurriedly said:

"They're still on their way. According to the message they sent by carrier pigeon, they set off quite late. Plus, it's dark and the roads are hard to see, so they don't dare to go too fast. They'll be arriving later."

Geng Xuan nodded, looked at the stone building perched on the steep slope in the distance, and asked, "Is that the White Emperor Temple?"

"Yes."

"Is everything ready?"

Luo Qing did not answer, but turned to look at Guo Zian, Jiang Yizhi and others beside him.

Guo Zian said, "Everything has been prepared according to your requirements. Chief Su can check it out."

"There's no need for inspection; I trust your professional expertise."

As he spoke, Geng Xuan looked around at the vast and open space.

Many people have already gathered here, both near and far.

The oppressive atmosphere that had been there vanished with his arrival.

They turned into pairs of expectant eyes, looking in his direction.

Geng Xuan said to Luo Qing, "I think the situation is a bit chaotic right now. Take some people and sort it out. Bring them over when you've done it."

After giving this brief explanation, he ignored the others and strode towards the Baidi Temple.

It appears to be walking, but each step is dozens of steps away.

In the blink of an eye, he had already entered the Baidi Temple.

In his hand, he was also carrying a long wooden box.

"……Yes."

Luo Qing was stunned for a moment before belatedly taking action.

Many people present had cultivation levels far exceeding his, but at this moment, having received direct instructions from Geng Xuan, he seemed to possess the power to make his words law.

Every arrangement must be met with 100% obedience and the most positive response.

The scene, which had initially appeared chaotic, quickly became neat and tidy.

……

After flashing into the White Emperor Temple, Geng Xuan immediately entered the "Heaven and Earth Stance" cultivation state.

The journey covered more than 5,000 li, with only two brief rest stops along the way.

He had just had a brief exchange with Xue Zhiheng, Luo Qing, and others, seemingly without any change in expression, but he was actually feeling extremely weak.

Now that an opportunity has presented itself, it is being seized immediately to recover and recharge.

About half an hour later, through the "earth-listening spider web," it was learned that the originally chaotic situation was rapidly becoming orderly and was gathering in the open area in front of the White Emperor Temple.

Having recovered about 70-80% of his strength, Geng Xuan withdrew from the strange state of "Heaven and Earth Stake".

Only then did he have time to look around.

The space inside the Baidi Temple is also simple, ancient, and spacious, without any complicated design.

Walls, columns, roofs... they are all simple geometric structures composed of the simplest points, lines, and planes.

But when put together, they don't feel crude or rudimentary.

This is actually a very difficult thing.

Finally, Geng Xuan's gaze settled on an altar resembling a shrine.

This was designed according to his original requirements. Finally, the "White Emperor Stabilizing Water Stone" will be placed on this altar.

The real "White Emperor Water-Stabilizing Stone" is in Qingyuan Village, but he doesn't have time to go and retrieve it now.

Moreover, after hiding the real "White Emperor Water-Stabilizing Stone," he never intended to place it here.

This didn't stump him either.

He simply placed the long wooden box that he had brought with him onto the table. This simple wooden box was something he had made on the spur of the moment before arriving.

There's nothing inside.

Time was of the essence, so he didn't even put a fake inside.

That's enough.

He believed that no one was foolish enough to let him open the box and take a look for himself.

After doing all this, Geng Xuan turned and left the Baidi Temple.

Looking down at the crowd below.

— There are ninety-nine steps between the Baidi Temple and the open square.

In the very center of the crowd, dozens of meters in front of him, stood a shrine that was the same size as the altar but many times larger, standing silently.

The height of the third level of the altar, which is the top level, is exactly the same as where Geng Xuan is standing at this moment.

The crowd was completely gathered around the altar, and the ceremony preparations, meticulously detailed by Jiang Yizhi, Su Mingxu, and others, were fully completed, following the guiding principles given by Geng Xuan.

Luo Qing jogged up the steps, one after another, and quickly arrived at Geng Xuan's side, reporting, "Chief, all preparations are complete."

Geng Xuan nodded: "Then let's begin."

Luo Qing turned around and shouted, "The auspicious time has arrived, the ceremony begins."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Yizhi and Su Mingxu, who were already dressed in their ceremonial attire, immediately stepped forward with solemn expressions and ascended the steps to the top of the altar.

The two's attire has also changed significantly compared to their previous "divine costumes".

The colors are not as varied as before, and the styles are not as unconventional, but they have added to the solemn and dignified atmosphere.

Just as the two stepped onto the steps, the four giant drums placed at the four corners of the first level of the altar were simultaneously struck by four tall, burly, bare-chested giants.

"Oh!"

"Oh!"

"Bang, bang, bang, bang..."

Each time the drumbeats sounded simultaneously, the rhythm was neither too fast nor too slow, perfectly matching the pace of the two as they climbed the steps.

As the two climbed the thirty-three steps, the drumbeats sounded thirty-three times.

"boom--"

At the four corners of the second-level altar, flames rose up simultaneously.

Because the flames were specially flammed, the fire was so large and intense that strange sounds were heard as soon as the fire started.

After that, as the flames burned, the crackling and popping sounds continued incessantly.

As the flames rose, the third and topmost level of the altar seemed to be completely surrounded by the burning flames.

The air became distorted and pulsating. As the two ascended the steps to the third level of the altar, their figures began to blur, still swaying gently from time to time.

It was as if I had entered another world under the watchful eyes of everyone.

……

After watching for a while, Geng Xuan withdrew his gaze.

He knew that the two of them would be performing a shamanic ritual next.

He looked at Luo Qing beside him and asked, "Are there statistics on everyone's achievements and deeds?"

Luo Qing nodded and said:
“We have carefully counted and tallied everything, not only asking them in person but also verifying it with others indirectly.”

Except for those cases where no one else was present to verify their authenticity, all others were confirmed to be correct.

He paused here, then added:
"However, even with corroborating testimony from others, complete veracity cannot be guaranteed, as there are many instances where the testimonies corroborate each other."

If they've planned this in advance, even if it's fake, we won't be able to tell at all.

...This situation was most evident in the various teams that had just returned from missions to wipe out the remnants of the Sanssouci Palace.

They couldn't go and verify for themselves what they had done, how many enemies they had killed, or how many merits they had made; they basically just believed what others said.

Geng Xuan didn't seem to care at all, nodding and saying, "It's good that you did it."

Before his last trip north to Xuanzhou, Luo Qing wanted to record everything that had happened since the project's inception. Inspired by this, Geng Xuan asked Luo Qing to also record what each cultivator did during the project.

This is the basis for rewarding them for their contributions.

Because for those practitioners who participate in labor, their merits must be quantified more accurately.

Otherwise, if everyone has the mentality of "I work day and night" and "I have made a great contribution", even if someone has the ability to see through people's hearts, they will not be able to tell who has done more and who has done less.

Then, they went a step further and expanded the "record of merit" to all people who needed "rewards for good fortune."

He knew, of course, that doing so was far less reliable than simply "reading people's hearts."

Many loopholes have been created out of thin air, allowing people to exploit them.

But only he knew that these loopholes actually did not exist.

His real purpose was not to carefully examine the "record of merits" that was likely rife with irregularities.

Instead, it highlights the process itself.

In this way, he no longer needs to use words to guide them; when these people appear before him with such thoughts, he can directly see whether they are "true" or "false".

No one knew his true thoughts; what they cared about most was the amount of credit he had received.

According to their thinking, credit should naturally be recorded as much as possible, the more the better.

In fact, for him, the standard for how much merit he deserved was actually very flexible.

Because how much good fortune and blessings are bestowed is entirely up to him.

Whether he gets 32 points of good fortune, 8 points, 2 points, or none at all... it's entirely up to him.

In this situation, "truth" and "falsehood" are the core of his concern.

Only when the facts are true can the amount of merit have relative reference value.

In any case, only he knows exactly how much good fortune he received.

No one will jump out and say that he gave too much or too little.

Geng Xuan said to Luo Qing, "Before arranging for everyone to enter the hall, we must double-check everything."

This is naturally intended to reinforce and deepen everyone's thoughts about the relevant experiences, so that when they appear, the corresponding emotions will be exposed more clearly and obviously.

"Yes... then I'll go and prepare?"

"Go."

Luo Qing backed down the steps, while Geng Xuan turned around and entered the Baidi Temple.

I stood next to an altar with an empty wooden box on it.

His feet seemed to be rooted to the ground, becoming one with it, and he was halfway into the "Heaven and Earth Stance" state.

Not long after Jiang Yizhi and Su Mingxu finished their "performance," people began to climb the steps and enter the hall through the left-hand gate.

After entering the spacious hall, everyone silently looked around before respectfully kneeling down before the altar where the "White Emperor's Water-Stabilizing Stone" was enshrined.

Apart from the sounds of footsteps, kneeling, and kowtowing, the scene was unusually quiet, with no other noises.

Although the hall was quiet, in Geng Xuan's view, the scene inside was unusually lively and "lively".

Because everyone silently reports their merits and contributions to "Heaven" in their hearts.

All of this, whether true or false, is centered around the "records of merit" that they have submitted and that have been recorded and verified by Luo Qing and others.

This made all the changes in their thoughts clear, concise, and crystal clear in Geng Xuan's eyes.

A few drops of good fortune flowed out of the "flint" like water, and were injected into different people's bodies according to the amount.

As he bestowed different blessings of good fortune upon different people, Geng Xuan couldn't help but think:
"The efficiency is still too slow. Next time, we should refer to the Black Wind Gang's approach and process the data in batches."

In this way, each group entering the temple only needs to have their identities verified before being given the same blessing of good fortune.

Because of their different objectives, Geng Xuan's approach to dealing with the Black Wind Gang was simpler and more brutal. As long as they were "one of their own," and after a comprehensive assessment based on various factors, batches of red envelopes were distributed.

But here, Geng Xuan's operation is much more precise and delicate.

Even so, after this optimization, the efficiency was still much faster than in previous instances of rewarding merit in Qingyuan Village. (End of Chapter)