Ming Dynasty, New Rome, and Infinite Divine Machine

"Ah," Shangluo understood, but not completely. "I now know that those flying Wang Lingguans are actually Yanqiu's 'Original God of Life'. But what about those explosions? What are those huge explosions that happen all over the place?"

"Yeah." Sa Shoujian smiled. "That's right. The special effects account for the bulk of the film's production budget."

"But in my opinion, there seems to be no way to directly process the image at present? Except for painting directly on the film."

Master Sa Tianshi looked at him.

Shangluo was stunned. "Really?! I'm really drawing on film!"

"It's true." Yanqiu nodded. "It's precious. That's why they call it Tianyi Guiren. It's really expensive. After learning Divine Strike: Heavenly Dao Shadow Puppet, Lei Xiu first learns Divine Strike: Moon General; and we Xuan Xiu first learn Divine Strike: Tianyi Guiren. We have a large production site over there, so there's no way to replicate it here. But...eh?"

Her ears suddenly moved, and she looked at a square box that had been placed on the tea table and plugged in the power supply.

"So the master has already prepared it. Then let's show it to them?"

"Well, let's go."

After receiving Sa Shoujian's approval, Yanqiu walked over to the square box, pressed her hand, and said, "Play."

The box projected light like a movie projector onto the wall - it was the scene when they came in, sat down, and talked to Sa Shoujian.

"Fast forward." She gave the command, and the projector sped up until it reached the present moment, a real-time image of them three seconds prior. The image wasn't as sharp as a movie; the colors were distorted and there was a lot of noise. But it was undoubtedly real-time.

"Is this a camera? Or a real-time projection? What kind of high-tech is this!!" Shangluo was shocked.

"What kind of technology is this? This is immortal magic." Yanqiu held the box over, the wires still trailing behind it. However, strangely, as soon as she picked up the box, the image began to vibrate violently, inconsistent with her movements.

"Stop talking nonsense for now." After putting the box down, Yanqiu knocked on the box three times, like knocking on a door.

There were three "dong dong dong" sounds from inside, and then she opened the box - the structure inside was clear at a glance.

The wires connected to the light bulbs that projected the film. Besides housing the film, the box also contained a small observation room, a drawing room, and a projection room. In each room, there were some broad beans.

There was a bean sitting in each of the projection room and the observation room, and four in the drawing room. The bare beans sat there, without arms or legs, but small parts like paintbrushes, notebooks, and speakers were scattered around them, as if they were working.

A single frame of film was about the size of a broad bean—clearly chosen for their size. As the film rotated, it passed right in front of the four broad-bean-shaped seats in the drawing room. Their tiny brushes lay on the table, their tiny ink cartridges beside them.

"The Tianyi nobles here won't work when they are watched. After closing the lid, they will start to paint. Because the picture is relatively simple, four Tianyi nobles can complete it, which is the picture It came out a little distorted. Those noises were drawn too fast, and there were some clerical errors. The field we used for the special effects post-processing was much larger than this."

She gestured to a wall-high cabinet. "We call this kind of machine a 'Ganshi' (constructed camera), and the number of Tianyi Guiren (noble people) is calculated in 'soldiers and horses.' This one has six soldiers and horses, the smallest one. Our large-scale 'Ganshi' cameras usually have three or four hundred soldiers and horses. The machine is huge, as big as a wardrobe, and it has to have a bedroom, bathroom, dining room, and so on."

"It's not all broad beans here; there are also peas, mung beans, and the like, which perform different functions. There are 12 types of Tianyi Guiren, and different beans can be used to summon them. For example, small beans are more delicate than large broad beans. Red beans, for example, have better color processing, while mung beans have better lines, and so on.

"If you want a higher frame rate, like 60 or 120, or better image quality and special effects, you have to arrange the number and composition of troops according to different needs. Producing the Wang Lingguan movie required the mobilization of thousands of troops and burned a huge amount of food. These are the assets of our Shenxiao Sect, which are quite different from your inner court, right?"

After she finished speaking, she lifted the lid and said hello to the people inside: "Thank you for your hard work. Your food and fodder will be distributed when we finish work."

She closed the lid. The Tianyi nobles in the box continued painting, and the image was projected onto the wall again. This time, the image quality seemed better than before.

Chapter 296 Jujube

"How is it?" Sa Tianshi took a sip of tea. "Seeing that Wang Lingguan is all special effects, I wonder if it disappoints you."

"No, no, no." Wen Yuan and Han Xingzhi were even more excited. They had originally thought it was just a special effect from an animation, but they hadn't expected it to be real thunder magic—it was like the Shenxiao Sect's recruitment promotional video.

"I'm even thinking of switching to Shenxiao Sect!"

"Me too!" Even Han Xingzhi raised his hand.

"You two are from the Imperial Palace, disciples of Daojun, so you should be happy. Don't rush to learn from the Divine Heaven Sect just because it's fun—if you want to learn, you can learn at any time. Whether you have the energy to do so besides practicing the Imperial Palace's techniques is another matter."

Sa Shoujian didn't object at all. But he also told the truth—the people before him all had masters. Furthermore, in terms of success rate, the success rate of the Da Nei Clan's techniques was higher than that of other sects, and Shen Xiao Clan often had people serving in the Da Nei Clan.

If there's one thing the Shenxiao Sect is best at, it's the fun. The Heavenly Dao Shadow Puppet and Bean-Scattering Soldiers are incredibly fun, so fun they're simply irresistible.

"By the way, Master Sa," Shangluo asked, "are there any differences in the cultivation methods among the various Taoist sects today?"

"There are huge differences. For example, you can see that our Shenxiao Sect specializes in talismans, and both thunder cultivators and Xuan cultivators use them. As for Master Qiu Tianshi's Quanzhen Sect, they have Xuan cultivators and alchemy cultivators, but they don't value talismans. Instead, they cultivate in caves and heavens, practicing both internal and external alchemy. There are ten great caves and heavens, thirty-six minor caves and seventy-two blessed lands. For example, the Wudang Sect also has many different methods, but they all use martial arts to enter the Tao. They learn martial arts. As for the Sword Immortal Sect, they don't have a mountain gate. All the wandering Taoists in the world can be considered to be from the Sword Immortal Sect."

"So, what about Ouchi?"

"Hmm," Sa Shoujian thought for a moment, "aside from the strong emphasis on the inner alchemy realm, it's hard to say what exactly the Da Nei cultivate. The Da Nei's thunder cultivators cultivate talismans, the qi cultivators practice martial arts, the mystical cultivators open caves, and the sword cultivators run around everywhere. But the Da Nei is, after all, the Dan Ding Sect. Although the alchemy path isn't obvious, you can see that everyone is in the state of alchemy cultivation—that is, entering the world. Entering the world is the Da Nei's method of cultivation. Since Xu Fu, the alchemy industry has required a patron. The biggest patron is undoubtedly the imperial court. Now that the imperial court has the Tiandi Honglu, of course, refining for oneself is the most convenient."

"Ah!" Wen Yuan and Han Xingzhi both agreed. Wen Yuan was a trainee Jinyiwei, and aside from her salary, she didn't have to worry about any training resources. Han Xingzhi hadn't signed up, but his uncle was guarding the gate at Yuxi Palace, and his uncle was clearly quite relaxed.

This situation did not exist in other sects. Although the imperial court provided everyone with a "baseline" supply of spiritual fluid, it was far from sufficient for cultivation. The Shenxiao Sect, Wudang Sect, and Quanzhen Sect all had to raise funds on their own.

Of course, raising their own funds wasn't a problem. The Quanzhen Sect, with its caves and grottoes, was largely self-sufficient, producing valuable materials. The Wudang Sect, dedicated to the Great Emperor Zhenwu, served as the imperial family temple, boasting substantial funds and assets. As for the Shenxiao Sect, while lacking a prominent mountain gate, its prominent teachings of thunder magic provided excellent employment prospects.

Cultivating immortality requires wealth, companions, techniques, and a place. Assuming everyone's techniques are of the same standard, the Quanzhen Sect possesses blessed caves and sanctuaries, Wudang Mountain boasts royal tributes, and the Shenxiao Sect boasts connections. But the Imperial Palace possesses everything except tranquility.

Therefore, whether it was Shangluo, Wen Yuan or Han Xingzhi, if they did not intend to leave the world from the beginning, the best choice would be to stay in the palace and not come out.

"So, if you want to learn, you can learn," Sa Shoujian said to the group. "I'll come to guide you regularly. If you have any questions, you can ask through Shangluo. If you have the energy to learn, it wouldn't be a bad idea to learn a few magical fighting skills. Who doesn't want to try to turn beans into soldiers, right?"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." Wen Yuan and Han Xingzhi nodded like clockwork monkeys. "Learn, learn, learn. I want to play."

"But Shangluo is the only one you must learn. There are two reasons - first, learning supernatural powers is very important to you. This is the result of a discussion between us and Daozu. You must learn all of them, including supernatural powers, magic power, and martial arts. Don't miss any of them. I don't know about other families, but supernatural powers, especially talisman supernatural powers, are quite easy for you. You will be able to learn them quickly."

"Really? That fast?"

"Of course, that's too fast. Come." Sa Shoujian turned over his palm, opened his five fingers one by one, and a red date suddenly appeared.

"Oh!" Wen Yuan exclaimed, "Is this the legendary curse technique?"

"Have you eaten yet?"

"No. I've heard of it, but I haven't eaten it."

"Has anyone never eaten it?" Sa Shoujian asked everyone, and everyone nodded. Besides Shangluo, only Yanqiu from the Shenxiao Sect had eaten it.

"That's it." Sa Shoujian flipped his hand again and pulled out a folding fan. He unfolded the fan and flipped it again—a handful of dates appeared on the white folding fan. There were seven large dates in total, a large handful, about two or three pounds.

He motioned Shangluo to stretch out his hand, and handed all seven dates to Shangluo.

“So there are so many?”

"The jujubes are transformed by the pound. You can get seven coins for one jujube. If you can only transform ten jujubes a day, you can get seventy coins, which is enough for a day. If someone in our sect learns the jujube-transmuting technique, they can transform seven jujubes a day and never starve. But 70 coins doesn't seem like enough in Yujing."

"It's very expensive," Phaethon replied. "Excluding rent and commuting costs, it's about 70 wen a day. And without the relevant health permit, you can't sell food for business purposes."

"As expected, it's not easy to live in the capital. So Shangluo, have you learned it?"

"so?"

Shangluo also stretched out his hand and took out a date.

After witnessing Sazu perform it once, he instantly mastered it—because it was so simple. For a celestial being, it was as easy as eating or drinking. He didn't even feel the spiritual energy was expended; it was as effortless as snapping his fingers.

As a child, snapping your fingers can be difficult, but in due time, as muscle strength and coordination develop, you can easily learn to snap your fingers on a casual afternoon.

"Is it really that simple?"

"Yes, it's that simple," Sa Shoujian replied. "The art of cursing dates is the most basic of all arts, but it's easy to learn but difficult to master. Mastering it will benefit you for the rest of your life. For example, there's a method where you curse seven dates every day and then swallow them yourself. If you do this every day, you'll become an immortal."

"Really?"

"Of course it's true. Of course, this cultivation method doesn't mention a specific timeframe. Anyway, you won't starve to death by eating the cursed dates. Eat them every day, every month, every year. If you're still alive when the thunder tribulation arrives, then you can survive it. See, isn't that how you become an immortal? From this perspective, drinking water can also make you immortal, because those who have achieved immortality have all drunk water. And all dates are not all the same."

Shangluo also noticed that the dates he had just conjured up didn't look very tasty.

"Legend has it that during the Western Han Dynasty, a Taoist priest named Li Shaojun conversed with Emperor Wu of Han. Li Shaojun recounted a meeting with an immortal from the East China Sea, a pre-Qin period immortal who had attained enlightenment. The immortal invited him to eat giant dates as big as melons. He said, 'If you can conjure giant dates as big as melons, and eat seven a day, you'll be close to becoming an immortal.'"

Chapter 297: Soldiers on the Altar

"Are you teasing me, Sazu? I think if I eat seven of them, I'm really close to becoming an immortal."

"It all depends on your luck. How could an immortal die from being stuffed to death? But remember one thing—you can only have seven."

"Only 7?"

"Yes, only seven. I learned the art of cursing dates from a hermit immortal, and he told me I can only have seven a day. You learned the art from me, so you can't exceed this limit. If you want to learn unlimited cursing dates, then figure it out on your own. But there's no need to make too many. The bigger the dates, the more powerful they are, not the more they are. Even if ordinary dates weigh a hundred pounds, they'll only fill you up."

“What happens if there are more?”

"You can still eat them, but they'll lose their medicinal properties," Sa Shoujian replied. "Cursed dates can cure illnesses, but only if you have less than seven of them. You have to be clear here: they can only cure illnesses, not injuries. In other words, they can only treat internal illnesses, not external injuries. If you want more, or dates with other effects, you can figure it out yourself. Many Taoists have their own unique methods. I started by learning, and then I developed my own."

"Yeah, I got it."

"Very good." Sa Shoujian glanced at his watch. "It's almost time. If the rest of you want to learn, just go directly to Shangluo. Yanqiu, let's go. We have another roadshow."

"Okay." Yanqiu put the tea set back to its original place, picked up her bag and was about to follow -

"Ah, Sazu, what should I do with this camera?"

"This is a small gift for the children in Shangluo. How about it? Do you want to take it home and play with it? It's very fun and easy to raise."

[Ah~~ This is fun. I want to grow broad beans too.]

"Hmmmm," Shangluo nodded repeatedly. It was quite interesting. It was only the size of a lunch box, yet it integrated the functions of a projector and a camera. And with careful development, it seemed like it could have even more uses.

"Then Yanqiu, you come teach him how to use it. See you in the conference room later. Shangluo, contact via Fetion. Everyone else, see you later."

"Goodbye, Sazu!"

Several people stood up and said goodbye.

"Well, Shangluo, I'll teach you how to use it. There are really two points: First, don't use it for bad things. Second, provide food and fodder immediately. The reason is simple. Do you want a detailed or brief explanation?"

"Well, a more detailed one would be better? I want to hear the principle so that I won't make mistakes easily."

"So, from a principle perspective, the Shenxiao Sect divides all summons of troops into three altars: the Upper, Middle, and Lower. Summoning troops from the Lower Altar is forbidden, as they will accept any request, and the retribution is the responsibility of the caster. The soldiers from the Middle Altar are the soldiers of the City God, or rather, the gods, ghosts, and immortals. These require some social etiquette, and we generally do not summon them. And the Shenda Tianyi Guiren before you summons soldiers from the Upper Altar—in other words, they are heavenly soldiers and generals."

"This..." Shangluo took a look at the small box. There were six broad beans living in the box.

"Yes, they are heavenly soldiers and generals, noble beings born from the wandering lights of heaven and earth. So first of all, you must understand that they are not your personal property. They are just here to work, and you must follow the rules. They have their own dignity and their own karma, so they will never do anything that breaks the law. It's not that I don't trust you, I'm just mentioning it."

"Do I look like someone who would do something like this?"

"Well, I know you won't, so I'm just saying this. This is the biggest difference. The soldiers of the Lower Altar have no personality, and nothing they do counts. The soldiers of the Upper Altar are heavenly soldiers and generals. They have their own ideas and sometimes they will refuse you work - but, you know. Because they are born from the wandering light between heaven and earth, sometimes they are just like newborns."

"Very bad?"

"You can't say that, or they'll get angry. But sometimes training is necessary. Take, for example, the thousands of troops we frequently work with; they're well-trained professionals who can properly handle the special effects processing tasks we've subcontracted. And your Jinyiwei's switchboard is also a very professional Tianyi Guiren team."

"Huh?" Wen Yuan was stunned for a moment. "You mean, the switchboard we used to make the call?"

"Yes, that was the Tianyi nobleman we sent over. Otherwise, how could we possibly handle so much information exchange manually?"

"But he still scolded me! He said I was busy chatting about Wang Lingguan or something."

"Yes, so that's a very powerful Tianyi Guiren. They can already curse. But this is also what you taught them, after all, the phone can tell everything. Whatever your training is like, that's what the Tianyi Guiren will be like. So when you bring a Tianyi Guiren home, you must train and adjust them well with the mentality of a teacher. Although they will be weak at first, they will become stronger and stronger, and they will understand you more and more."

"I understand." Shangluo nodded. "Then how do we supply food and fodder?"

"Turn to the last page of the Lei Shuo in your hand. It contains a complete list of commonly used spells. Look at the phrase 'Sa Zhenjun Yangqi Mantra' and you will understand it by reciting it."

Shangluo turned to the end:

"Always hold the iron can in your hands, and all living beings will be saved. The mantras, dates, and talismans are all effective, and you will be selfless in spreading the teachings on behalf of God. Is that so?" Shangluo recited the "Sa Zhenjun Yangqi Mantra".

"Hmm. So do you understand? 'Always hold the iron cans,' and food and fodder are iron cans. We in the Shenxiao Sect use iron cans to store food and fodder—the food and fodder in the iron cans is canned food."

"Canned??? They eat canned food?"

"Yes, they eat canned food. If you put the canned food in, they will open the can and eat it themselves. But they won't eat anything outside of a tin can, it must be a tin can. In theory, you can put any tin can, but canned food is the most convenient, and Tianyi Guiren also likes to eat it."

“Why does it feel like raising a cat?”

"Canned cat food is not allowed. They should eat whatever you eat. Don't feed them things that you yourself think they can't eat. Give them what you like to eat, and the Tianyi nobles will get along better with you."

"Why does this sound familiar to me?" Shangluo touched his forehead. "It seems they're not the only soldiers who eat canned food all day."

"Haha, isn't that funny?" Lu Liang looked at him. "I eat the same thing as the broad beans. That's so cool! We're all soldiers, all heavenly generals, and we all eat canned food."

"I wonder if the work group in the switchboard has become like that because they eat the canned food of the Jinyiwei all day long."

"Ahem," Yanqiu coughed. "That's all. I'll leave these six soldiers in your care. We'll treat them to a meal later. Just feed them the food in the tin can. Before you feed them, remember to cut a small circle on the side of the can, bigger than a broad bean, otherwise they won't be able to get in or out."

"Okay, I understand. See you next time."

"I have one more thing. Miss Phaethon, what's your Feixin number? I'd like to contact you tonight about shampoo."

"Oh, I didn't. Wait a minute." She pulled Shangluo in front of her. "Just add his WeChat ID. He'll let me know."

Chapter 298 Feeding