Start with a red name

time flies.

Before we knew it, a year had passed.

December 30th, late at night.

Deep within the imperial city, located in the center of Xinyuanjing, lies a majestic palace, as imposing as a sleeping behemoth.

The fragrance of sandalwood wafts through the air.

On a jade couch made of polished, reddish-brown jade.

Geng Xuan sat cross-legged with a calm expression. He slowly closed his eyes, and the tedious affairs of the past year receded from his mind like a tide, sinking into the abyss.

The past year has been filled with chaos, bloodshed, and death.

This was something no one but him had anticipated.

Whether they were those who followed him with various motives, or the many who failed to board his ship, they all believed that his entry into Yuanjing with his iron cavalry would mark the end of chaos and the beginning of a new era.

However, Geng Xuan, who had initially secured his position as "ruler," did not continue to follow everyone's expectations and push forward the overall situation as everyone had anticipated.

Just before he was about to ascend to the highest position, he stubbornly stopped at the very last step.

Of course, he wasn't being unreasonable; he had his own explanation.

First, because the action was too swift, from the time Su Ruiliang and others took over Yuanjing, although the entire land of China was firmly in their hands, it was still a hollow, floating position.

If we consider the hundreds of millions of people in Kyushu as a large tree, what they currently hold in their hands are only the "fruits," the "branches and leaves," and most importantly, the "roots" that penetrate into every corner of Kyushu, but have never been brought under their control.

It's not that we lack the ability, but rather that we don't have enough time.

"Fruit" naturally refers to those cultivators and those who seek profit, while "branches and leaves" and "roots" represent the vast number of ordinary people, farmers, craftsmen, hunters, and other producers.

The former may appear glamorous, but their loyalty determines the fate of the land. The latter, however, is the true foundation.

If when he ascends to the supreme position, only the rentiers witness it, while the producers, who number dozens or hundreds of times more than them, do not participate, wouldn't that be a solo performance?

Therefore, we must quickly establish a definite and solid connection with these ordinary people!

Due to time constraints, anything not yet under control must be brought under control as soon as possible.

Those slaves, unregistered households, and those who, for other reasons, could not be placed under the jurisdiction of Kyushu, must be registered and brought under its jurisdiction.

—It was neither "freeing slaves" nor "banning slaves," but simply re-establishing the population register. Under the rule of the Nine Provinces, all people except for unseen savages must pass through open channels to prevent the hidden breeding of unseen slaves and servants.

Only when he ascends to the throne in the presence of all the people of the Nine Provinces and the descendants of the Five Emperors can he be considered to have rightfully ended the more than five hundred years of chaos and obtained the "divine artifact" handed over from Emperor Yuan.

This reason is perfectly legitimate and justifiable.

Those who were hoping for Geng Xuan to take the helm quickly were speechless and unable to utter a word in the face of such a statement.

This is only the first reason.

Reason two also left them speechless.

The current Yuanjing is a deformed monster that grew out of the real Yuanjing's "corpse".

The real Yuan capital was burned to ashes by Ba Wang, and the few remaining remnants were also reduced to ruins in the ongoing turmoil.

The subsequent reconstruction of Yuanjing was forced upon everyone by the dense population.

Moreover, over the past few centuries, Yuanjing has suffered from numerous wars and changes of power, resulting in the destruction and reconstruction of buildings within the city—major repairs were rare, but minor repairs and maintenance were a constant occurrence.

There are no unified regulations to speak of, and there is no unified management body.

Looking at it from a local perspective, Yuanjing does indeed have many noteworthy aspects.

But if you look at the whole city, it's really a terrible mess, there's no way to look at it.

Moreover, the imperial city, which was supposed to be magnificent to project authority, simply did not exist.

With such a "beggar version" of Yuan Jing taking the throne, even if I don't find it shameful, don't you feel ashamed at all?

Therefore, the current Yuanjing must be completely demolished and a new Yuanjing must be rebuilt.

Even if it doesn't surpass the regulations during Emperor Yuan's time, it should at least be on par with them!

In addition, there is a third reason.

A complete set of etiquette regulations that can both demonstrate dignity and avoid appearing bizarre or outlandish, while also being passed down in an orderly manner and uniting the people of Kyushu in a shared vision, is also essential, isn't it?

Are we just going to find a few shamans to do a charade and get it over with?

That would truly be like a monkey wearing a crown.

The reasons presented one by one left everyone speechless.

While it's not impossible to argue back, this isn't a debate about right and wrong. Since Geng Xuan already holds the moral high ground and has enough power to back him up, naturally no one will dare to stick their neck out and refuse to back down.

Even if there are a few tactless ones, Geng Xuan is happy to let them be, and he wouldn't mind physically eliminating these fools.

To put it more bluntly, one of his purposes is precisely the reason why he is so "unpopular" and cannot be told to outsiders!

The reasons he listed naturally became the action plan for the year.

Nearly six hundred years after Emperor Yuan, the trillions of people under the rule of the Nine Provinces once again received the attention and care of the one who stood at the very top of power and status in the "center" of the world.

From then on, they were no longer wildflowers and weeds, but "crops" with owners that had been transplanted into the great field of Kyushu.

Although they are still "grass", at least no one dares to trample on or bully them anymore.

It sounds simple, but to achieve this goal, Geng Xuan mobilized at least 100,000 people.

This "100,000" refers to the core and backbone members who followed "Su Ruiliang" or the other two, fought in the north and south, made great contributions to the unification of the Nine Provinces, enjoyed at least one "lucky blessing", had a cultivation level of at least Blood Refining Realm, and immediately pledged allegiance to the "new master" after he took over as Geng Xuan.

If we expand the scope, this one project alone mobilized over a million cultivators across the entire Nine Provinces, and the number of ordinary people who devoted their lives to it exceeded ten million.

Whether in terms of operational efficiency, coverage, or depth of reach, it is all unprecedented.

It extends from the coast in the east to the quicksand in the west.

North of the northern borders of Xuanyou and Erzhou, the land is entirely covered with permafrost and ice that never melts.

South of the two prefectures of Yan and Zhu, beyond the vast forests, lies a place where magma and flames surge year-round.

As it turns out, cultivators are indeed extremely powerful.

If their power can be mobilized in the right way, in the form of hundreds of thousands or even millions, they can completely break through the constraints of the outdated and hasty system and unleash their potential to change the world.

Extraordinary speed, superb endurance, and the ability to overcome all natural obstacles such as treacherous mountains and rivers, ferocious beasts, and poisonous miasma, combined with an information network covering the entire Kyushu region established using a larger number of trained pigeons, allowed the mission to reach the passing grade set by Geng Xuan in just nine months.

Within the territory of Kyushu, wherever there are populated areas, contact has been made, population statistics have been conducted, and the arrival of a new era has been preliminarily announced.

Furthermore, areas where over 90% of the population reside have achieved an "excellent" level of performance.

One by one, "nails" were driven into the local area, which not only conveyed his will but also established a stable channel for the flow of information and materials to the outside world, allowing the local area to truly integrate into the "sea" of Kyushu.

As for the remaining less than 10% of the population, their distribution is too remote and their population density is too low, so there is indeed no time or energy to take care of them for the time being, and they can only be left for the future.

Is this all there is to the past year?
of course not.

From a certain perspective, Geng Xuan, who had not yet officially taken the throne, had already accomplished a great feat—combining the strengths of all tyrants and incompetent rulers.

The way he achieved this was by exhausting the people's resources—because ordinary people's abilities are no match for cultivators in every aspect, so this "people" can be more precisely defined as the group of "cultivators".

Even the notoriously harsh Emperor Yuan had to step down and yield his throne in this regard.

In addition to using a sophisticated information network built around trained pigeons to command a massive number of cultivators to wander aimlessly across the vast land of Kyushu, Geng Xuan was also simultaneously advancing another enormous project.

The “Zhushui River Channel Restoration and All Related Ancillary Projects” led by the Giant Bear Gang was unprecedented, and was successfully completed after obtaining sufficient manpower by taking advantage of the famine that swept through Yuanzhou.

This kind of mega-project, which directly invests millions of people and indirectly mobilizes tens of millions of people, has brought countless experiences and lessons, and has directly and indirectly promoted countless fields.

Organization and management, scheduling and planning, statistics and arithmetic... each aspect is enough to write a magnificent masterpiece that will be remembered for thousands of years and lay the foundation for all generations.

The technological advancements are countless.

Iron forging, woodworking, earthmoving, slope protection, tunnel excavation...

And what "incubated" all of this were the millions, or even tens of millions, of participants.

In Geng Xuan's eyes, these were all treasures, the most divine artifacts among divine artifacts, and there was no reason to let them sit idle and go to waste.

Therefore, larger engineering projects were naturally proposed.

This project was not proposed blindly, but rather it was designed to complement the first task.

Road construction.

After witnessing the extraordinary performance of the Xuanyou Horse as a pack animal, Geng Xuan conceived the idea of ​​building a high-speed carriage that would connect the nine provinces.

Now, this idea has become a reality, imprinted from his mind onto the land of Kyushu.

These high-standard straight roads are like lifeblood, connecting one populous community after another.

They sealed off mountains and dug tunnels, and built bridges over rivers.

Even major rivers like the Hanghe and Mangjiang will not become obstacles; on the contrary, with the construction of high-standard ports and the dredging and standardization of waterways, they will become the "main arteries" of this vascular network.

This project had already begun before Geng Xuan led his troops into Yuanjing, starting even earlier than the first mission.

But after a year of all-out effort, the progress to the final blueprint in Geng Xuan's mind was only about 10-20%.

Besides the sheer scale of the project and the fact that "human resources" are not inexhaustible, there is another important reason: another major project, which is even more advanced in the pipeline, is being carried out simultaneously.

The old Yuanjing, which had been roaming chaotically for five or six hundred years and contained countless unknown secret corners and dens of iniquity, was thoroughly and systematically demolished and buried, both above and below ground.

A new Yuanjing, with a completely new and unified plan, was born on this land that had been reborn as a blank slate.

Because Geng Xuan's expectations for the new Yuanjing were too "mythologized"—

Based on his own experience, Geng Xuan envisioned a future where a vast network of land and water routes would converge on Yuanjing from all over the Nine Provinces, and the world would return to order, allowing people to travel freely without hindrance. Furthermore, a large number of cultivators, Xuanyou horses, and other unprecedented magical creations would significantly raise the upper limit of backward production relations. In this scenario, the population ceiling of Yuanjing would easily exceed ten million.

Because of these considerations, the final scale of New Yuanjing was almost ten times larger than others had imagined.

To everyone except Geng Xuan, this was utterly insane.

However, in the end, no one dwelled on this issue too much, simply because of Geng Xuan's statement, "Without magnificence, there is no way to project authority."

They treated the New Yuanjing project as a "spectacle".

Little did they know that what they perceived as madness was actually the result of Geng Xuan's conservatism.

Considering the financial burden of supporting such a megacity in this era, Geng Xuan ultimately capped it at the level of tens of millions, and planned to excavate a Grand Canal connecting the Hanghe River in the north to the Mangjiang River in the south, with a large number of satellite cities surrounding it to alleviate the pressure on transportation and population.

Because the planning of New Yuanjing was too ambitious, although a large number of cultivators were put into construction, less than one-tenth of the area was completed after a year.

However, even this less than one-tenth of the completed work is basically enough to meet Yuanjing's current living and daily needs.

The imperial city, which has reserved large undeveloped areas, has also carefully constructed several key locations to ensure that Geng Xuan's enthronement ceremony tomorrow can proceed smoothly.

For Geng Xuan, the past year was much more leisurely than the year before. He basically didn't leave Yuanjing. The specific work of implementing various plans in different parts of Kyushu was handled by dedicated personnel.

Geng Xuan wasn't worried about not having enough people at all.

Just to get a chance to show their faces in front of him, even if it's a trivial matter from a remote place tens of thousands of miles away, countless people will rush out to fight for it like vicious dogs snatching food.

One aspect is the desire to jump on the big ship of the new era.

Geng Xuan's increasingly stable position and prestige are also factors.

More importantly, the people of the world have longed for peace and tranquility for far too long.

When Geng Xuan demonstrated sufficient ability and prestige, he also had a group of powerful supporters behind him who established a framework of order throughout the Nine Provinces, and all obstacles that could stand in his way were crushed and kicked aside.

Everything that followed was almost a matter of course.

There were no further noteworthy incidents of obstruction.

Of course, the absence of any "notable" obstacles does not mean that there were no "insignificant" obstacles either.

Not only do they exist, but they are countless and innumerable.

As each task progressed, Geng Xuan's will spread from Yuanjing to all parts of Kyushu, it was like walking barefoot on a gravel road, with fine sand hitting your feet with almost every step you took.

Sweeping away these "fine sands" and thoroughly "cleaning up" Kyushu was one of the core driving forces behind Geng Xuan's efforts to promote these matters.

How many lives have vanished silently like sparks, no one knows.

Only the "Lucky Points" within the "Flint Pearl" have been steadily increasing, now exceeding nine figures, silently witnessing this silent cleansing.

Compared to the previous year's sweeping conquest of the north and south, and the unification of the nine provinces, the death toll this year was far higher, yet it seemed to happen so quietly.

Apart from Geng Xuan, the others, either due to incomplete information, intentional neglect, or being focused on their own tasks, were unable to see the full picture of this death.

Geng Xuan, the only one who knew the truth, remained silent and simply observed calmly.

In his view, this killing was necessary.

The most opportune time is the eve of this transition between the old and the new. Once he officially takes office, this kind of thing will be much harder to do—this "eve" itself is something he deliberately seized.

It wasn't that he was cold-blooded; it was just that his sweeping conquest of the north and south and the unification of the nine provinces came too quickly.

To put it bluntly, apart from the fact that the Giant Bear Gang led by "Su Ruiliang" had limited contact with the scum of the lower class during its early rise, as the power he could manipulate snowballed, no one without a certain level of strength and status even qualified to be served at the dinner table.

In other words, although he used clever and powerful means to seize control of the entire Kyushu with lightning speed.

If Kyushu were viewed as a great lake, he had almost managed to acquire ownership of this "great lake" by only causing ripples on the surface without causing violent upheavals throughout the entire lake.

But here's the problem: the massive amount of sediment at the bottom of the lake, which is the main reason why this giant lake has become stagnant, has not been cleaned up.

Over the past year, the vigorous advancement of the three major tasks has essentially caused widespread unrest in Kyushu within a controllable range, and has also given him the opportunity to conduct a large-scale cleanup of those "dregs".

Although it is far from being completely cleaned up, at least half of the filth has been removed compared to a year ago.

"A new era, a new atmosphere, this is how it should be."

Geng Xuan, who had been "stirring things up" for a year, had no intention of stopping. On the contrary, he was still brewing new plans for stirring things up.

The straight road connecting the nine provinces and the unprecedented new Yuan capital are just the beginning. In his mind, there are countless similar blueprints.

Once the new Yuanjing is developed, the other eight states besides Yuanzhou should naturally have their own brand-new state capitals, and there are many strategic locations by land and water, with new cities waiting to be built.

There is also the Grand Canal, and other water conservancy projects with a much larger scale than the straight sections.

The reopening of the Zhushui River was merely a small test. With waterways like the Hanghe and Mangjiang Rivers, the vast Xuanqing Sea, and countless other major rivers, tributaries, snow-capped mountains, and lakes, it's a complete waste that the vast Xuanyou and You prefectures are suffering from severe water shortages.

There are also the three vibrant southern states, but their population density is similar to that of the Xuanyou states, and their development rate is less than one percent.

In conclusion, there is great potential, great potential indeed!
In Geng Xuan's view, any problem that can be solved by engineering is not a problem.

Even if the relations of production were still in a semi-slave, semi-feudal era, the group of cultivators who could simultaneously be intelligent excavators, tunnel boring machines, bulldozers, and all other engineering machinery, as well as a large number of wondrous secret techniques and methods, could completely push productivity back to the level of Geng Xuan's previous life.

This is true, at least, in the field of engineering and construction, and perhaps even more so.

As for the argument that this approach is too inhumane to the cultivation community, Geng Xuan stated that this is precisely one of the core motivations behind his actions.

The so-called "inhumanity" is nothing more than tearing off the labels of superiority and meat-eaters that have been ingrained in people's minds for thousands of years, and letting them return to the ranks of "producers".

As long as they complete their tasks normally, he will not mistreat them or restrict their progress. On the contrary, he will continue to expand the breadth and height of the path of cultivation, guide more people to this path, and help them reach higher realms.

If this is considered "inhumane," then he deserves to be left behind in the new era; he should be eliminated.

The good fortune they contribute can be used to cultivate truly new talent.

This is also what Geng Xuan desires in his heart.

The "Flint Pearl" has accumulated a massive amount of hundreds of millions of lucky points, and as its tentacles extend to every corner of Kyushu, this number continues to increase every moment.

Over the past year, he has not performed miracles and bestowed good fortune on him as frequently as he did last year.

But that doesn’t mean he’ll hoard them like a miser. Soon, these lucky points will be released like a floodgate opening, going to those who are actively working to usher in the new era.

The entire land, encompassing hundreds of millions of people, is like a lump of clay, which Geng Xuan carefully molds into the shape he desires.

As for what kind of image he would have in the hearts of his followers and even trillions of people after doing this, Geng Xuan would be curious with a hint of mockery, but he wouldn't really care much.

"Perhaps, I will soon replace Emperor Yuan in the spotlight, as an unprecedented tyrant!" A series of thoughts flashed through Geng Xuan's mind like a revolving lantern. He slowly closed his eyes and focused all his attention on himself.

……

This year has been filled with many complicated matters, but Geng Xuan was only responsible for sitting in the central command, pointing out the direction, and listening to progress feedback from time to time. All other practical matters were thrown out by him.

Therefore, although everyone was extremely busy, Geng Xuan had plenty of free time.

He certainly didn't waste that time.

On the one hand, he personally followed up on several projects.

In terms of importance, any one of these projects is no less significant than the three mentioned above that are currently causing unrest throughout Kyushu, and may even surpass them. The first is the establishment of etiquette and laws.

Having personally traversed the entire land of China on foot and witnessed the vast differences in appearance, thought, and organizational structure between humans in the frigid north and the jungles of the far south, Geng Xuan gained a profound understanding of the importance of etiquette and law, especially now that the land of China has been fragmented for nearly six hundred years since the death of Emperor Yuan.

The spirit of the people of Kyushu, which has been completely shattered, urgently needs to be reunited to rebuild a community of consciousness that can encompass all the people of Kyushu.

Considering the precedent of Duke Ji establishing rites, and the need to make progress while remaining as close as possible to the public sentiment and not disregard reality, taking too big a step would make it impossible to implement. Therefore, re-establishing rites and music was the best approach.

Geng Xuan delegated the specific implementation of this project to Jiang Yizhi and Su Mingxu, two seasoned veterans with considerable practical experience.

Of course, he also clearly outlined several standard lines.

First, we cannot be unconventional or start from scratch; instead, we must continue the complete main line of civilization, from the Five Emperors laying the foundation, to Ji Gong taking over, and to Emperor Yuan carrying it forward. All the formulation of rites and laws must have a source, be traceable, and stand the test of history.

At the same time, we cannot simply copy and paste; we must make progress and innovation. We must not only serve the present era but also play a leading role, like a flag.

As for completely abolishing human sacrifice, animal sacrifice, and even the sacrificial rites made of pottery, wood, and stone figurines, and replacing them with various standardized rituals, and simplifying the complex as much as possible while maintaining the spiritual core, it is necessary to invite a large number of relevant scholars from all over Kyushu to participate in the discussion, including professionals such as priests, shamans, and elders from various ethnic groups... These are all just lower-level specific requirements.

However, although he was in charge, Geng Xuan actually only listened to the arguments and bickering of these "charlatans" from all over the country every now and then, or listened to Jiang Yizhi and Su Mingxu report on the progress, and made some minor adjustments to the direction to prevent it from going astray.

At other times, they are left to their own devices to work without any further specific requirements.

Besides these, Geng Xuan devoted even more thought to the other matters, because they were more or less related to his current cultivation and his future cultivation, which was still in the planning stage.

Among them, the one with the lowest relevance is "museum".

The organization was initially established simply to satisfy his desire to collect all the "sacred artifacts" in the world.

Ordinary wooden buckets have become sacred weighing instruments, and there are also ancient artifacts such as the "White Emperor's Water-Stabilizing Stone" and the "Nine Provinces Altar." Later, Luo Qing and others organized and compiled the "Code of Construction," which was born from the restoration project of the Zhushui River. It first became a sacred instrument with the success of the Zhushui River project, and then this year, with the commencement of the construction of the Nine Provinces Straight Road and the new Yuanjing, it has been further revitalized...

These concrete pieces of evidence naturally inspired Geng Xuan to search the entire world and see how many similar "sacred artifacts" existed within the Nine Provinces.

The achievements are numerous, including the "Emperor Yuan's Jade Seal" used by Emperor Yuan, as well as the "Overlord's Whip" and "Overlord's Bow," which were already famous throughout the world and accompanied the Overlord in his conquests.

There was also an ordinary medicine chest, but what made it extraordinary was that it had been passed down for seven or eight generations in a family that had been practicing medicine and martial arts. Each generation carried this medicine chest with them when they traveled, and they would not charge a penny to any poor person who asked for their medical help. It was for this reason that the medicine chest possessed a sacred quality.

However, upon closer examination of the places these physicians have traveled for generations, they have basically not ventured beyond the mountainous and forested areas in the southeastern corner of Cangzhou.

There are many similar discoveries.

Later, Geng Xuan realized that it was a waste to go to such lengths and organize so many people just to search for the "sacred artifacts".

So he assigned a new task: to sift through the entire Kyushu region using a rough classification method that includes plants, minerals, and artifacts.

Geng Xuan knew, of course, that it wouldn't be possible to achieve results in just one or two years.

At present, his requirements are also very low. He does not need to discover any new species or inventions, but only to identify the grains, medicinal herbs, livestock, etc. that already exist in various places, or even those that have been popular in a certain place for many years but have not spread to other places due to the chaos of the times.

For example, there's the sand barley grown in Xuanyou and Erzhou, as well as other drought-resistant and cold-resistant grains, the long-haired sand sheep that grows wool quickly and has excellent warmth retention, and the Canglan horse with a very high overall cost-performance ratio, etc. Similar situations exist in each state. All that's needed is to break down the cognitive barriers between states and let everyone know that there are so many good things in the world. There's no need for any additional promotion; people will take the initiative to introduce and spread them.

This led to all sorts of folk remedies for treating illnesses and saving lives, good farming techniques, good transplanting and grafting methods, and other miscellaneous things, all of which Geng Xuan crammed into this hodgepodge-like "museum" and handed it over to Luo Qing, Cao Ao, and a few others to manage.

As for Song Mingzhu and others, they were mainly responsible for projects with greater implications and more complex relationships, such as reconstructing the register of the Nine Provinces, connecting the straight road through the Nine Provinces, and constructing the new Yuan capital.

In addition, Geng Xuan also opened two other academies: "Secret Arts" and "Martial Arts".

There's not much to say about these two institutions; you can tell what they do just by looking at their names.

Geng Xuan personally served as the dean of these two institutes, and he devoted most of his time to them over the past year.

Apart from him, none of those qualified to enter these two academies were "good guys".

The threshold for entering the Academy of Secret Arts is to master any secret art to a high level, and to gain a voice in the academy, one must achieve the status of a master.

The conditions for entering the Martial Arts Academy are even more stringent. The entry threshold is that one must cultivate any martial art to the level of Grandmaster or above, and only those who have reached the Perfection Realm are qualified to speak. There are only a dozen or so people who dare to exchange and spar with Geng Xuan face to face. Without exception, they are either at the Innate Realm or have the same level of achievement as the High Priest of the Holy Mountain.

The purpose of these two academies is not to serve Geng Xuan personally, but to pave the way for the entire world!

Geng Xuan's self-created "Heaven and Earth Stakes," which combines the mystery of secret techniques with the fundamental principles of cultivation, also spread within a small circle within these two academies. The system he built upon it, which both continued the previous methods and opened up new paths for the future, quickly took shape after colliding with the most outstanding cultivation minds in the entire Kyushu region.

—Geng Xuan did not keep his idea of ​​forging a new path to himself, racking his brains alone and hoping to one day shock the world. Instead, he publicized the "new path" before it was fully formed and widely solicited opinions to gain inspiration.

Those who can surpass millions of people in secret techniques and cultivation, and stand at the top of the pyramid in the Nine Provinces, undoubtedly possess talent, comprehension, and wisdom.

With the strong support of these people, who filled in the gaps and made improvements, the framework, which was originally just a rough outline, has now become rich, complete, and full of life in just one year.

Now is the moment to prove this achievement, the moment when flesh and blood give birth to a soul.

Thinking this, Geng Xuan closed his eyes and sat cross-legged. Both his body and mind were already prepared, as if he were standing on the dark and silent abyss.

Then, he calmly took a step forward.

In an instant, the dark abyss in his mind vanished, and he felt as if there was real earth beneath his feet and a real sky above his head.

And he stands tall between heaven and earth.

A standard "heaven and earth stake".

However, his actual physical body showed no signs of performing the "Heaven and Earth Stake" technique; it was entirely a figment of his imagination.

Contrary to his imagination, Geng Xuan genuinely felt the feedback from heaven and earth.

Moreover, this feedback is ten or even a hundred times greater than that of physical cultivation...

"At this stage of cultivation, the body has become an obstacle to the cultivator's communication with heaven and earth."

Now, he has completely bypassed and ignored the obstacles of his body, and directly communicated with heaven and earth.

In the realm of the mind, the "I" that was originally insignificant between heaven and earth rapidly grows and expands by taking advantage of the bridge between heaven and earth.

The top of my head was rapidly approaching the sky, while my feet were continuously sinking deeper into the earth.

This mysterious experience, along with the feedback from the real world, surged into Geng Xuan's heart like a tidal wave.

Centered on where Geng Xuan was, the area first encompassed his sleeping quarters, then the imperial city, and then the entire capital of Xinyuan, and continued to expand like a bubble...

At first, Geng Xuan could see and hear clearly, but soon, as it expanded, everything became distorted and twisted.

Feedback from the real world is gradually becoming unreal.

Geng Xuan immediately became alert.

"While the body does hinder my direct communication with heaven and earth, it is also an indispensable safety valve. Without it, I would soon explode and follow in the footsteps of the Overlord. At best, I would be like those innate realm cultivators who are actually half-crippled."

And the key to the new path lies precisely here.

At this point, "my" growth exceeded the upper limit of the body's "safety valve". Since I could not transform and improve my body in a short period of time, I could only find a new safety valve as a ballast.

The most convenient way is to find those "sacred artifacts" in the "museum".

If I succeed, those cultivators who have already reached the Innate Realm and have contributed considerable intelligence and effort over the past year will all choose this path. Because those who have already entered the Innate Realm can only use this method to make up for their shortcomings and "patch up" their progress.

And of course he doesn't need it.

Because once the "Heaven and Earth Stake" is perfected, the two most direct choices facing him are either the "Heaven" above his head or the "Earth" beneath his feet.

"Although the sky is vast, it is too ethereal, and it is still difficult for me to grasp it at present."

Thinking this, Geng Xuan looked down at the boundless, deep, and heavy earth beneath his feet, a vast land that both bears and nourishes all things.

Just as Geng Xuan was about to completely entrust his soul to the boundless earth beneath his feet and become one with it, suddenly, Geng Xuan felt a crimson fire reaching the heavens and the earth.

Geng Xuan was stunned for a moment.

This is his own unique spiritual world, created by the "Heaven and Earth Stake".

In such a world, it is impossible for a fourth entity to exist besides "Heaven, Earth, and Man".

Naturally, there could not be such a towering, all-encompassing flame.

"Where did the fire come from? Where did the light come from?"

With these thoughts in mind, Geng Xuan naturally focused his attention on his physical body.

Deep within the brow bone, a "flint" that had long since merged with the body and become a part of it was now shimmering with a continuous, candle-like glow.

This faint candlelight was a crimson flame that illuminated his inner world, reaching to the heavens and the earth.

When his attention fell on the "flint," a massive amount of information flooded into Geng Xuan's mind.

Geng Xuan immediately understood.

After obtaining the "Flint Pearl," this pearl was unsealed twice.

The first time was when I had just received it.

One such instance is when good fortune accumulates to over ten thousand.

Geng Xuan had also hoped for a third, or even more, lifting of the lockdown.

But even after accumulating hundreds of thousands, millions, or even tens of millions or hundreds of millions of good fortune, the "flint" remained unchanged.

Geng Xuan believes that these two lifting of restrictions represent its limit.

But now it's clear that this third, and final, lifting of the lockdown does exist.

However, in addition to accumulating good fortune long ago, one's spiritual realm must also grow to a sufficient level.

Now, with him taking this step towards becoming a Primordial Being, the conditions for unlocking the seal have been quietly met.

Inside the fully unsealed "Flint Pearl," a massive amount of information flooded into his mind.

In the past, this amount of information would have been enough to overload his brain, and it wouldn't be surprising if it turned him into an idiot.

But now, after being bombarded by the boundless information of heaven and earth, Geng Xuan says that although it is difficult, he can endure it.

"Perhaps this is why the 'Flint Pearl' has three layers of seals; its purpose is not to restrict, but to protect."

If he had done this right after getting the "Flint Pearl," his head would have exploded on the spot.

With this massive amount of information entering his mind, Geng Xuan immediately understood the true nature of the "flint pearl".

This surprised Geng Xuan somewhat, but not too much.

Although it deviated somewhat from his previous conjectures, it wasn't too far off.

To put it simply, this "flint" is the embodiment of the flame of civilization.

Civilization in this world began with a group of primitive people eating raw meat and drinking blood, gathered around a fire, and then spread through the Five Emperors, established by the Duke of Ji, and continued by the Yuan Emperor, passing on the torch for thousands of years.

After Emperor Yuan's death, the Nine Provinces remained in turmoil for nearly six hundred years.

The real Kyushu is still there, but the "Kyushu" that exists in people's hearts has long been broken and disintegrated, and is not far from disappearing completely.

The "flint" was born under such circumstances.

Its sole purpose is to reunite the "Nine Provinces" that have been scattered in people's hearts and to ensure their continued existence.

After understanding the true nature of the "flint," aside from the somewhat magical aspect of "the embodiment of the torch of civilization," it seems that this thing is far less powerful than Geng Xuan had imagined.

Compared to the heavens and the earth, it is utterly insignificant.

Having seen through all this, and just as he was looking for a place to anchor his soul, Geng Xuan did not hesitate to change his original plan of "entrusting his soul to the earth" to "entrusting his soul to the Fire Pearl," or rather, entrusting his soul to the civilization of the Nine Provinces represented by the Fire Pearl.

Before heaven and earth, the common people of the nine provinces who dwell on the earth's surface, who are the carriers of the civilization of the nine provinces, are certainly insignificant, like a mustard seed.

But Geng Xuan naturally preferred this choice.

It's not just because of a stronger sense of control.

It is more like the "person" in the Heaven and Earth Stake, born from Heaven and Earth, yet the only one that transcends "Heaven and Earth" and breaks free from its cocoon!
"This is the ultimate truth of the Heaven and Earth Stake!"

When Geng Xuan made his choice and entrusted his heart to the depths of the "Flint Pearl," the previously seemingly infinite sense of expansion instantly stopped, contracted, and finally settled peacefully inside a small "Flint Pearl."

When Geng Xuan opened his eyes, everything seemed unchanged.

But soon, as Geng Xuan immersed his mind in the depths of the "Flint Pearl," a vast world unfolded in his heart.

This new world is like a boundless ocean, or a starry sky twinkling with countless stars.

Geng Xuan knew that every drop of water in this "ocean" and every star in the "starry sky" represented a person whose heart yearned for the Nine Provinces, and were the foundation that made up this starry sky and ocean.

"As long as this sea doesn't dry up and the starry sky doesn't go out, I will never die!"

"In other words, as long as the Kyushu civilization lives, I will live."

Upon realizing this, Geng Xuan was both shocked and delighted. Looking down at his current body, he wondered curiously, "This bead, this civilization, has become my true form, while this physical body has become nothing more than an empty shell?"

Just as he was thinking this, Geng Xuan suddenly felt a chill run down his spine.

Attention was focused on a remote corner of this seemingly boundless sea of ​​light.

Although birth and death are commonplace in the entire sea of ​​light.

But the starlight there was falling into a oscillation of similar frequency and was gradually extinguishing—meaning that they were most likely encountering the same calamity that would destroy them.

When Geng Xuan focused all his attention on it, the starlight, which had been oscillating and fading away, suddenly became a vivid image.

Thus, a scene appeared in Geng Xuan's "eyes".

Yangzhou, a small coastal city in the southeast.

Dozens of strangely shaped sailboats were moored in the harbor, flames raged throughout the city, and killing and death were everywhere.

As Geng Xuan focused his mind, more detailed images were imprinted in his heart.

A group of thugs, completely different from the people of Kyushu, are carrying out the most brutal killings in this peaceful seaside town.

Dark brown skin, brown hair, a twisted, manic face...

Most importantly, these people are not only not loyal to Kyushu, but they also exude a strong aura of bloodlust and darkness.

—In this field of vision, the three-layered halo that distinguishes friend from foe not only did not disappear, but was actually strengthened.

"Is this the backlash of calamity?"

This year-long killing spree brought Geng Xuan a great deal of good fortune, but it also brought him a great deal of bad luck.

This dark fortune, which should have erupted as a calamity, was unable to produce a calamity or punishment commensurate with it because of his absolute power and the absolute control that covered the entire Kyushu.

Therefore, Geng Xuan has been speculating about what form this massive amount of dark fortune will ultimately take.

Now, he saw a clue.

Geng Xuan's gaze fell on those strange sailing ships that were not of the Kyushu style, and then looked past them into the boundless deep sea. In the light sea's vision, it was an invisible void, but Geng Xuan seemed to have already seen more enemy ships from beyond the realm floating on the sea.

Beyond the Nine Provinces?!

Geng Xuan was both expectant and nervous.

A new era has arrived quietly.

But what everyone else thought was a new era was nothing more than a grand ceremony to be held after dawn, at which time Geng Xuan would succeed Emperor Yuan and become emperor again.

Only Geng Xuan knew that the true beginning of the new era was in the little-known southeastern coastal area.

In the past, people regarded the nine provinces as the entirety of the world, but now, a wind is blowing from outside.

Where the world will go is something even Geng Xuan cannot predict, but the only thing he is certain of is that, having already formed a life-and-death bond with the Kyushu civilization, he has no way out and only one choice.

Geng Xuan couldn't help but lament his terrible luck, "Could this also be part of my destiny?"

If I had known beforehand, choosing to entrust my cultivation to the earth would have been safer, right? After all, no matter who occupies this world, the world itself will still exist, and their cultivation will naturally not be damaged in the slightest.

However, after careful consideration, Geng Xuan realized that he would still make the same choice.

To share life and death?

Then let's face life and death together.

(End of the book)

……

……

I have so much to say, but I don't know where to begin. (This includes the concept for my new book, several possible research directions, and why it's been so long, etc.)

I wanted to start a new book after the New Year, but I feel like this pen name has been completely ruined for me. I'm even more ashamed to face the readers who have genuinely supported several of my books. I want to change my pen name. *covers face*

I wish all my readers a Happy New Year.

……

Finally, I can't help but complain a bit. It's my own fault, though. If I hadn't acted recklessly, I could have reaped some of the year-end "kill line" bonus. Longtime readers should know that my first book, "Starting from Global Travel," had the idea of ​​viewing the New World as the lair of the demonic path, and the capitalists as the ultimate ancestors of demonic cultivation. I've always regretted that the world-building at the time was too grand, making it increasingly abstract and unrealistic as I wrote, preventing me from fully exploring that idea. So I thought of a more grounded approach… Isn't this a perfect fit for the ARMY ecosystem under the "kill line"? Hahahaha—(I laughed speechlessly) (End of Chapter)