A Scroll of Infinite Glory

Chapter 272 Tai Qing Chi Ming

The ascension in the Water Margin world is not like that in the Tang Dynasty world, where a clear bronze circular gate appears in the sky.

On the day of ascension, the only unusual phenomenon was that countless petals made of colorful light floated down from the entire city.

Guan Luoyang was gazing at the sky in front of the palace when he suddenly felt his body float up, and the scenery before him changed drastically, as if he had entered a different world.

【Notice!

The Reincarnator has been detected engaging in inter-world travel outside the Main God Space, which will trigger an autonomous development mission.

note!

It has been detected that the Reincarnator has not joined or created any warbands. The self-developed mission is temporarily suspended. The coordinates of this world have been saved and can be viewed through the Reincarnator's personal interface.

note!

This world is temporarily named "Taiqing Chiming" Realm. The timeline of this world is inconsistent with the timeline of the original mission world.

Adjust the mission timeline to reflect this world. The original mission time limit has 30 days remaining, and you can stay in this world for 30 days.

The local common language and script have been transmitted.

The notifications from the Main God Space came one after another.

Guan Luoyang composed himself and looked around. He was now at the top of a lush, green hillside.

Under the warm sun, the scenery was beautiful. Looking down the mountain, there were terraced fields stretching all the way to the fields on the flat land. Golden waves of wheat rippled, as if it were harvest season, and many people were busy in the fields.

Looking into the distance, one can pass by nearby villages and see the city built against the mountain in the distance.

The city walls are majestic, entirely dark blue-black, and one can vaguely see some extremely tall buildings within the city, with glazed tiles, golden ridges and eaves, gleaming in the sunlight.

Guan Luoyang squinted and roughly surveyed the city. The city wall alone was probably nearly fifty feet high. Although the buildings in the city were full of ancient style, they were actually much taller than the city wall. In a typical ancient world, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that it was built by immortals.

However, since there are farmers and fields, it doesn't seem quite right to say that this place is a fairyland.

"Taiqing Chiming... the common script, it looks like Small Seal script..."

Guan Luoyang carefully examined the messages that had popped up in the Main God Space, pondering their meaning, before strolling down the mountain.

Since he had no mission to complete, he didn't need to rush to the city to investigate. He could take a stroll in the countryside first, where the scenery was quite pleasant.

When he got closer to the edge of the field, he realized that he had underestimated it.

Those farmers had long, deep breaths and were agile, but they looked to be only at the first level. Apart from their strong bodies, there was no trace of them having cultivated any internal energy techniques, let alone anything else.

Just look at the wheat in this field. One stalk of wheat can actually produce nine branches, and on each of the nine branches, there are plump ears of wheat.

Even the shorter wheat plants are waist-high, while the better-growing ones are almost chest-high.

Even before being hulled, the wheat already exudes a fresh, earthy fragrance, carried on the warm breeze to the surrounding mountains and fields.

"Hahaha, where are you from, buddy?"

An elderly farmer who was harvesting wheat smiled and struck up a conversation with Guan Luoyang, "Why do you look so surprised at this single stalk of wheat?"

Guan Luoyang asked curiously, "Are nine-eared wheat grains very common?"

Upon hearing this, the farmers who were nearby straightened up, looked over, and smiled at each other.

The old farmer chuckled and patted his belly gently: "Nine-eared wheat, five-colored rice, must be planted in spring and autumn. This Shennong rhyme has been passed down for thousands of years. We country folk can hum it to our two or three-year-olds. What's so rare about nine-eared wheat?"

He countered with a question, "Where in the world is wheat not harvested with nine ears?"

A younger man said, "This young master must be from the city. He lives a life of luxury, never having to lift a finger to harvest rice or wheat. It's only natural that he finds it novel at first sight."

Someone else called out, "Are you from the city? I heard there have been several monster incidents in the city recently. You're such a handsome young man, you shouldn't be wandering around alone. You should go home early, lest you also be targeted by a monster."

Guan Luoyang smiled and thanked him.

"Uncle, grandpa, take a break, come and have some water."

From the other side of the field came the innocent voice of a child.

Guan Luoyang looked up but saw no child. Upon closer inspection, he was surprised.

A cicada flew in from the edge of the field, with a delicate and adorable child perched on its back, and several small buckets beside it.

The cicada is of normal size, about the size of Guan Luoyang's thumb. You can imagine how tiny the baby cicada on its back must be.

As for those small buckets, they're even less worth mentioning; if you stacked them together, they'd probably be no bigger than an ant.

The cicada landed on the country path. The child jumped off the cicada's back, swayed for a moment, and then transformed into a normal-looking child of about ten years old.

He was dressed in dark blue coarse cloth clothes, with a square scarf wrapped around his hair. He had deer-like eyes and rosy cheeks, and his complexion was excellent. He was truly a radiant little boy.

After landing, the child took turns lifting the small buckets off the cicada's back, and they all transformed into water buckets more than a foot tall, filled with brown herbal tea.

There was another empty bucket containing a stack of black porcelain bowls.

The farmers had gathered around, sharing cool tea. Some ruffled the child's hair, while others pinched his cheeks; they all clearly adored the child.

But the child wouldn't have it. He struggled to squeeze past his uncles and aunts, jumping up and down and saying, "Don't touch my head! Touching my head will stunt my growth!"

The uncles and elders burst into laughter.

The child straightened the headscarf on his head, turned around and saw Guan Luoyang, so he took an empty bowl, scooped half a bowl of cold tea and ran towards him.

"You've been staring at me, are you going to have some tea too? Here you go."

Guan Luoyang accepted the tea, squatted down, and said, "Thank you, young man. What's your name?"

"My parents call me Bai Xiaofu, and my master calls me Bai Yuchan."

Bai Xiaofu blinked, her pupils turning a jade-white color for a fleeting moment. "Huh, you seem pretty amazing. You're not thirsty at all, are you? I get it. You weren't staring at the tea just now; you were staring at me. You admire my skills, right?"

"You figured it out."

Guan Luoyang had a mischievous idea. He took a sip of tea and deliberately spoke in a scary tone, "Actually, I'm a very powerful bad guy who specializes in catching smart kids like you."

Bai Xiaofu crossed his short, chubby arms over his chest and snorted, "Don't lie to me. I can tell if someone has bad intentions from a distance. You don't have any bad intentions at all. But you're not a good person either, trying to scare me."

Guan Luoyang exclaimed in surprise, "You're so young, yet you possess so many skills?"

Bai Xiaofu nodded: "Yes, but it's all innate. Even if you want to learn, I can't teach you."

The cicada flew over and made a muffled sound: "Fellow Daoist, I am young and ignorant and cannot see your great supernatural powers. If my words have offended you, please forgive me."

Even a cicada is a high-level four-star creature.

Guan Luoyang stared at the cicada for a moment and said, "I see that the people around him whom he calls uncles and elders are just ordinary people. How come this child is so special? Is he truly born with supernatural abilities?"

The old cicada said, "Although most humans are mediocre and cannot compare to demons, dragons, and the like, there are quite a few who are fortunate enough to obtain a wisp of spiritual energy from the world and are born with supernatural powers."

"Xiao Fu's extraordinary talent is due to his good fortune and has nothing to do with his bloodline. My master, the city lord of Yutan City, has chosen him as his disciple. However, because he is young, he is left to stay with his parents so that they can enjoy family life. In two months, after his tenth birthday, he will go to the city to study the Dharma and cultivate diligently."

The old cicada spoke very humbly, because when he used his magic to probe Guan Luoyang's cultivation level, his magic eye was so bright it was almost blinding, as if he had seen a raging thundercloud that was not yet unleashed.

Bai Xiaofu was young and naive, but to this old monster, he was terrified and trembled all over.

Fortunately, he was a virtuous person. If it were those evil demons, they would probably have turned around and run away, not daring to come close at all.

Guan Luoyang finished his cold tea and said, "Yutan City, is that the city over there? I've been wandering in these remote mountains for a long time, and I'd like to find a bustling city to rest in. I wonder if your city has any taboos against outsiders like me?"

Old Cicada said happily, "Fellow Daoist is too kind. My city lord's reputation for hospitality is known to everyone within a radius of three thousand miles. Not to mention a highly skilled person like you, even ordinary hunters from distant mountains or traveling merchants who come to the city to rest will never be treated unfairly."

"I must protect Xiao Fu and cannot leave my post without permission. But if you would like, I will send a message to the city and ask the city lord's mansion to send someone to guide you. I will make sure you feel at home and have a wonderful time."

Guan Luoyang nodded: "Alright."

The old cicada circled in the air, a tiny golden glint appearing in the air, before suddenly flying towards the city.

A moment later, a golden cloud, about an acre in size, rose from the city and flew toward the fields.

From within the golden clouds, hundreds of soldiers clad in golden armor, wielding long spears, will descend, exuding an imposing and majestic aura.

The leading general, clad in golden armor, had a long sword at his waist and held a yellow jade bowl in his right hand.

However, there was a person beside this general who caught Guan Luoyang's attention at first glance.

The man was dressed in an ancient costume with a narrow waist and wide sleeves, but his short hair, glasses, and watch on his right wrist made him stand out from the golden-armored soldiers around him.

"A reincarnator? No, we can't be so sure. Since I could ascend from the Song Dynasty to this world, perhaps there are others who have ascended from the modern era as well."

Guan Luoyang's mind raced, and he openly glanced at the man a couple more times.

The man looked back but didn't notice anything unusual about Guan Luoyang's attire; he simply adjusted his glasses.

Guan Luoyang could sense a hidden and subtle electromagnetic fluctuation emanating from the glasses and extending to a great distance; it was probably a radar-like detection device.

The golden-armored general asked in a low voice, "How is it?"

The bespectacled youth said, "Fortunately, within a ten-mile radius, apart from these few in front of us, there are no other traces of high-energy... well, powerful demons."

As he spoke, he pushed up his glasses again, focused his attention, and looked at the two people and the insect in front of him.

Both Bai Xiaofu and the cicada are shown as four stars.

The energy response representing Guan Luoyang was approaching the threshold, projecting a bright red warning mark onto the bespectacled youth's retina.

"Wow, another six-star hotel!"

The bespectacled youth thought to himself, 'I wonder who's stronger, the Jade Pool City Lord with his ancestral, pseudo-six-star power or this wild six-star? But if he's human, that's a good thing; I can try to win him over…'

The golden-armored general immediately addressed Guan Luoyang: "Fellow Daoist, you must be the distinguished guest Old Cicada mentioned in his message. I am Jin Congyun, the Inspector of Yutan City. I will personally guide you shortly, but it will take a moment longer. Is that alright?"

Guan Luoyang is certainly not out of the question.

The golden-armored general then addressed the farmers, saying, "Fellow villagers, soon it will be the tenth birthday of the young master of my city lord's mansion, which will also happen to be the birthday of Young Master Yu Chan."

"The city lord intends to hold a grand banquet and has specially ordered us to invite all the villagers to come to the city with Young Master Yu Chan to participate in the feast. After the banquet, we will send you all back to your hometown."

The old farmer quickly said, "General, we still need to harvest..."

"The harvest will be handled by people from the city lord's mansion who will use magic to help you collect the grain into each household."

Since the golden-armored general had already said all that, how could the farmers possibly refuse? They trusted the reputation of the city lord's mansion implicitly, and immediately went back home overjoyed to inform their families.

When the whole village had gathered, the jade bowl in the golden-armored general spewed out many golden rays of light, which fell to the ground like silk, spreading out and covering the feet of the people.

More than a hundred golden-armored soldiers shouted in unison, slamming their long spears into the ground and channeling their magic power into the golden clouds.

In an instant, the clouds rolled and surged, like a soft, supple golden silk cushion, carrying the entire village into the air.

Guan Luoyang was also above the clouds, accompanied by the golden-armored general and the bespectacled youth, standing at the forefront of the clouds as they flew towards the city.

The bespectacled young man subtly inquired about Guan Luoyang's background, but Guan Luoyang evaded all questions except for his name.

After a moment, the bespectacled young man sighed softly and whispered, "Fellow Daoist, do you know why I had to move the people of this village?"

Guan Luoyang had some guesses, but he decided to play dumb and smiled, "Aren't you attending a banquet?"

"Ugh!"

The bespectacled youth shook his head and said, "General Jin, please cast a spell to prevent our words from being overheard by the people behind us."

"Fellow Daoist Guan, in fact, there have been many signs of monsters causing trouble near Yutan City recently, disturbing the people and preying on villagers. There are too many to count."

"Especially those children with exceptional talent are more likely to be targeted by vicious monsters, and few in an entire family or even an entire town can survive."

"Bai Xiaofu is the disciple designated by the Lord of Yutan City. He is born with supernatural abilities. I originally thought that keeping a protector from the Lord's Mansion would be enough to protect him."

"But the news coming from various places recently has become more and more horrifying. I heard that even the Giant Spirit Cave, which is on par with Jade Pool City, has had several guardians at the Loose Immortal level eaten. That's why the city lord had the idea to move the entire village back to the city."

Guan Luoyang did not answer, because the golden clouds had already crossed the city wall.

Outside the magnificent mansion in the center of the city, a fair-skinned beauty in blue looked up.

Guan Luoyang looked at the familiar face and suddenly asked the bespectacled youth, "Are you a member of the Blue Scorpion team?"

"What did you say?!"

Upon hearing this unexpected remark, the young man was so startled that his glasses fell off.

(End of this chapter)