Cursed Mountains and Seas

Chapter 307 The Statue is Deceived, the Test Subjects are Selected

On the outskirts of Yujing City, there is an imperial estate surrounded by hundreds of acres of fertile fields and a jade belt.

Lu Yunchen, who rarely gets to switch shifts with his third uncle Lu Yi, took a day off and was romantically farming with Han Shushu, with whom he had secretly pledged his life to him!

They not only summoned officials and soldiers to work the land together, but also rolled up their sleeves and did the work themselves.

Unlike Lu Yunchen, whose body was so weak that he had to stop and catch his breath from time to time even when he was just doing simple seeding.

Han Shushu had no shortage of resources, inheritance, and mentors, and before she knew it, she had finally broken through to the sixth rank [Sea Scoop].

She rolled up the cuffs and legs of her coarse cloth clothes, carried a hoe taller than herself, and turned the soil over quickly, not even afraid of turning up earthworms thicker than her fingers.

Behind her, a domineering phantom of a tyrant appeared, more imposing than three old oxen combined.

"Brother Lu, hurry up, exercise is good for your health."

The emperor has bestowed such a fine imperial estate upon you; we cannot let it go to waste.

There are still ten acres ahead, enough to warm up.

"Huffing and puffing, warming up?"

Sweating profusely, Lu Yunchen carried a wicker basket of corn seeds in his left hand and a sunshade on his right, looking at the ten acres of land in front of him that were only enough for Han Shushu to warm up, but enough to kill him. He gave a bitter smile.

In his genius eyes, everyone else seemed like an idiot, especially the silly girl in front of him, who was unique even among idiots.

But it might be because the couple complements each other.

Aside from being a bit clumsy, this energetic and vibrant young woman is like a little sun, making him want to get closer to her. Even her clumsiness is exceptionally adorable.

The only unfortunate thing is that her warm-up was already a lethal dose for her.

He plopped down on the ground, sprawled out, and, imitating an old farmer from the village who had fled famine from Yuzhou to the capital and had been saved by him, weakly called out:
"I don't think so."

Turning his head to look at Wang Cheng, who was using the Heavenly Ruyi Incense to guide them in farming beside the field, he said helplessly:
"Fugui, laugh if you want. Cough cough cough."

Wang Cheng sighed, feeling a deep empathy:

"I can't laugh either, bro."

His life cultivation has indeed improved, and his physique is much better than Han Shushu's. However, his opponents are the two Sister Axiao, and his situation is not much better than that of Lao Lu, who has fallen into the hands of violent lolis.

The only difference between the two is: "Shinged Dog, is it okay?" and "Is it okay, Shinged Dog?" One has already been decided, while the other is still pending judgment.

In order to turn the tables and become the master at home, one must cultivate this life force.

Changing the subject, he looked Lu Yunchen up and down, and said with concern:

"Old Lu, why is your health worse than before after you advanced to the fourth rank?"

I told you before that if you agree, I can find someone to help you get rid of the 'ghostly jealousy'.

Even without the three classes of fellow practitioners, your exceptional talent as a person of the Three Wonders Noble Personality is enough to advance to the first rank.

He glanced at the money in the background and noticed that his original obsession with becoming "omniscient and proficient in everything" had quietly transformed into something even more challenging:

"Break free from the dynastic cycle and enjoy the comforts of a warm home with your wife and kids!"

Obsession is no longer an obstacle.

Lu Yunchen coughed twice, covering his mouth with a handkerchief, and then summoned a ball of lightning and fire in his palm to burn the blood-soaked handkerchief to ashes, leaving no medium that could be used by the curse.

His wide smile was very open and carefree.

"I eat the king's food, serve the king, and bear the king's worries! Even if I have to give up an official position, I must at least wait until I am safe and secure by the king's side."

Anyway, as long as I advance fast enough, even the King of Hell can't catch me.

By the way, I've already decided on what to use to store the dirty stuff.

According to the rituals of the Shenxiao Taoist priest, the five elements of heaven, earth, water, gods, and the earth—the five thunderous energies—are condensed into the Shenxiao Five Thunder Talisman and placed into a clay divine embryo.

"At that time, I'll need the vigorous growth energy from the new crops you and your siblings are promoting to help me plant a landmine."

Wang Cheng didn't press him, and readily agreed.

"No problem, it's a piece of cake. I'll personally help you open the altar and gather the energy."

At the sixth rank, the officials of the Divine Path cultivate the Five Internal Organs Temple; at the fifth rank, the five temples transform into the Five Military Commands, condensing military tokens and clay-sculpted divine embryos, and then enlightening the six roots and six orifices of the divine embryos one by one.

Upon reaching the fourth level of cultivation, one needs to perform the "Five Temples Divine Treasury," a ritual derived from the ancient practice of filling the statues of gods with filth. Just as one would fill the statues with filth, one must also fill one's own clay divine body with filth.

The so-called "filling with filth" involves placing a symbolic object carrying a specific spirituality inside the statue, thus endowing the statue with "internal organs" and "divine consciousness".

Statues of deities that have not been "cleansed" are merely handicrafts lacking spiritual power. They not only fail to exert their divine power to protect the temple and bless believers, but may also attract evil spirits and bring disaster to believers.

The offerings used to hold the deities vary widely, differing among Buddhist, Taoist, Confucian, and folk beliefs, but all unanimously favor the number "five".

For example, filling the container with five grains—rice, wheat, soybeans, mung beans, and white sesame seeds—symbolizes the bounty of heaven and earth and the harvest, signifying favorable weather and abundant harvests.

The five metals—gold, silver, copper, iron, and tin—represent precious metals and wealth, symbolizing immense riches and abundant riches. The five treasures—gold, silver, coral, pearl, and agate—symbolize unparalleled wealth, signifying a house full of gold and jade and lasting prosperity.

Other items used include five-colored threads, five-colored stones, relics, bronze mirrors, scriptures, and the Heaven-Turning Seal.

The clay sculptures of deities that correspond to the human body cannot, of course, have a hole made in them like a statue of a god to put the real object inside. The Five Temples of Gods and Gods are essentially filled with various kinds of "Qi"!
Not only did Lu Yunchen begin preparations, but Wang Cheng was also pondering A Xiao's ritual of feigning illness:

“The cultivation of the divine way regards ‘Qi’ as the manifestation of ‘Tao’, which is a transitional stage between the formless Tao and all things in the form, and also a long stairway to heaven.”

The Book of Transformation says, "The essence of the Dao is to transform emptiness into spirit, spirit into qi, and qi into form," and "The primordial true qi, though formless, can give rise to form; though without image, it can give rise to image." This proves that qi is the foundation for the generation of all things and the intrinsic driving force for the changes of all things.

The three classes of officials each have different methods of "faking dirt" in this stage.

For example, the Shenxiao School inherited by Lao Lu uses thunder energy to refine a set of five [Shenxiao Five Thunder Talismans], which are then used to store internal organs.

Sister Axiao, who is also of the fourth rank, needs to absorb the Qi of the Earth God and the Grain God to refine five items—a seal, a bead, a sword, a bell, and a talisman—before she can be imprisoned.

Everything else is fine, but the three new crops among the five high-yield grain crops that were originally planned need to wait a little longer.

I should write another letter to urge Her Majesty the Queen.

It wasn't just about Sister Axiao's feigned innocence and promotion; the situation in the Central Plains was already extremely urgent, and the imperial court had wasted far too much time.

Corn was introduced to China thirty years ago, but no one discovered its enormous potential, and almost no promotion was carried out.

Farmers working on the front lines of the fields have no incentive to plant unfamiliar crops on their established farmland because they cannot afford any risks.

Moreover, the imperial court's tax revenue was based on traditional crops such as rice and wheat. Farmers could not even determine the tax conversion ratio when planting new crops, so even if they had a bumper harvest, they might end up losing everything.

As for the government officials, from the Hanlin Academy to the local prefectures and counties, apart from being able to write poems encouraging agriculture, they were all lazy and ignorant of the five grains, let alone any technological improvements.

The general attitude from top to bottom is that it's better to avoid trouble.

In addition, although the Great Zhao is now plagued by frequent natural disasters, corrupt officials are everywhere, and there are millions of displaced people, it has not yet reached the point of widespread starvation.

If the demand isn't urgent, people naturally won't be proactive.

I heard that someone once presented corn to the palace as a rare and exotic flower from overseas.

However, the ruler of the state is not all-powerful and does not possess any rare or valuable assets, so he naturally did not attach much importance to it.

If it weren't for the accident on the night of July 15th, Emperor Shaozhi might never have realized the power of corn until his death.

However, he did not rashly order the whole country to follow suit in his capacity as the "ruler of the state".

Wang Cheng was pleased to see this.

He was willing to bet that if the emperor dared to issue an edict, those greedy local officials would dare to use the emperor's name to pull off a scheme to "change rice paddies to corn."

It was only natural to seize the prime farmland from the farmers, forcing them to cultivate corn on the hillsides, which only added fuel to the fire of the already suppressed public resentment.

Therefore, the emperor privately supported them in carrying out this task through the divine means, which was much better than having the government take the lead. If this task was done well, everyone in the Great Zhao would benefit.

As I said before, the people's demands are really not high; as long as they don't starve to death, no one will rebel.

Wang Cheng knew that the Little Ice Age was coming, and no amount of "divine intervention" could stop it. If they didn't stockpile more food, it would be too late.

As the incense stick, symbolizing good fortune, was about to burn out, Lu Yunchen's expression suddenly turned serious:
"Fugui, there is something very important to tell you. The forty-nine days to refine the elixir of immortality are getting closer and closer. Even those on duty outside the palace can gradually smell the fragrance of the medicine."

His Majesty selected the children to participate in the drug trials yesterday.

Wang Cheng's eyes lit up:
"I knew His Majesty probably wouldn't take this first Five Organs Returning to Truth Pill himself. Who is he planning to have test it on? It's not you, is it?"

Lu Yunchen coughed twice more, his voice filled with anguish, then gave a self-deprecating laugh:
"Although I am in poor health and look like I should take more medicine, the selection of test subjects is not that simple."
Failure is one thing, but at worst, one is just a corpse.

But if it succeeds, or if the side effects are minimal, it would mean that His Majesty has personally created the first immortal person in the Great Zhao, which would be quite significant.

What should we do with him? Should we put him under house arrest? Offer him an official position or title? Or simply kill him?
His Majesty's idea is to make him, the Daoist Emperor, a 'Daoist friend,' someone who is not only a national advisor but also more like one.

Therefore, this person must be 100% loyal, of extraordinary status, and preferably in poor health to maximize the effects of the elixir of immortality.

Just as Wang Cheng was putting himself in the emperor's shoes, weighing the pros and cons, trying to find a suitable candidate.

Lu Yunchen had already stated a name directly:
"It is Prince Jing, Han Zaizhen!"
It is said that he took half of the curse for His Majesty, which damaged his health and earned His Majesty's pity; he also had a filial heart and took the initiative to write a letter to risk his life to test the medicine for His Majesty.

Yesterday, His Majesty finally made up his mind to give the first elixir of immortality to this son who most resembles him.

After saying that, he couldn't help but sigh:
"If he succeeds, the fourth prince may be able to turn the tide and have a chance to become the crown prince."

But everyone only has one life, and he was clearly gambling on whether his life was tough enough!

"What child laughs every day? What gambler always wins? I don't know if Prince Jing has turned misfortune into a blessing this time, or if he's just digging his own grave."

Upon hearing this, Wang Cheng's expression immediately turned serious, and his eyes flashed with a sharp light.

"Does a person only have one life? That's not necessarily true."

(End of this chapter)