"Earth Emperor Shennong tasted countless herbs and discovered medicinal herbs that can cure diseases and save people... Take this Angelica dahurica in my hands, its flavor is sweet and warm, it mainly treats coughs and reverses qi, warms malaria and cold fever..."
In front of the thatched cottage, Xuan Du successively explained the properties and pharmacological actions of several herbs.
He was very meticulous in his explanation, even teaching the villagers and children present every detail such as the growth process, life cycle, and optimal harvesting time of each herb.
Whenever there was a question from someone raising their hand, he would patiently answer the question, always wearing a gentle smile on his face, making people feel as comfortable as bathed in the spring breeze.
He was neither tall nor short, neither fat nor thin, and his appearance wasn't handsome, his features always lacked anything particularly remarkable; his eyes were neither large nor small, his eyelashes neither long nor short, his eyebrows neither thick nor thin, his nose neither high nor flat, his lips neither thin nor thick...
Everything about him seemed to be at the level of just right, "not too much nor too little."
Logically speaking, someone like him, whose features and physique are just right, should appear very pleasant. However, Xuan Du just looked like a very ordinary middle-aged Daoist.
Yu Yuan observed him for a long time and couldn't find any feature that could be called distinctive.
He even had a strange feeling that this Great Master Xuan Du appeared as if he had been sculpted.
Recalling the other's background, this feeling seemed not unfounded.
"Brother, what brought you here?"
While Yu Yuan was observing Xuan Du, Wen Zhong also spotted him and hurried over, his eyes filled with surprise.
Yu Yuan teased with a smile, "I haven't received any messages from you for a long time; I came to see if any demon had whisked you away to get married."
"Brother, you're teasing me again."
Wen Zhong's face slightly reddened, somewhat embarrassedly saying: "My Dao Xing is low, the Communication Jade Scroll can't reach the Penglai Holy Realm, and Sound Transmission Treasure Bead is too precious, not to be used recklessly except in emergent situations… I didn't expect to make you worry, Brother."
Yu Yuan smilingly said: "How could I not worry? If a demon had kidnapped you, and a few years later you had a litter of little demons, not only would I need to give a gift, but I'd also have to give each one a meeting present!"
Wen Zhong: "..."
This is an undodgeable topic, right?
Brother indeed hasn't changed, with one sentence he wiped out all the gratitude in his heart!
While he was murmuring in his mind, Yu Yuan handed over a bronze mirror stamped with the "Xun Palace" mark.
"Here, this bronze mirror is for you, from now on you can contact me anytime."
"Thank you for the treasure, Brother!"
Wen Zhong, without any reservation, expressed his thanks and took the bronze mirror in his hands, fiddling with it momentarily, utterly confused about how to use it.
Eventually, it was Yu Yuan who personally taught him how to operate it, and only then did he try to send out the first message in the bronze mirror.
Yu Yuan also took out his own mirror, and saw that a line of celestial script appeared on it:
Xun: Brother?
Zhong: Mhm.
Xun: Wow, this treasure is so interesting! Can it really contact you anytime, anywhere?
Zhong: It should.
Gen: Definitely! This poor Daoist has great confidence in this treasure!
Yu Yuan smiled wryly, his confidence in the treasure also increased.
Zhongnan Mountain is far away in the central-west of the Southern Continent, across most of the land from Linhuan Pass in the southeast, but now messages could be sent without delay, enough to prove the power of this bronze mirror.
"Eh?" Wen Zhong, holding the mirror, curiously looked towards Yu Yuan and asked, "Brother, who is this 'Gen'?"
"His identity remains confidential for now." Yu Yuan smiled and said: "You just need to know he's a master artifact refiner; this bronze mirror is his work, and you can discuss more with him if you encounter difficulties in artifact refining.
Also, this bronze mirror can be used for one-on-one communication with me, certain things that aren't appropriate for public discussion can be discussed in private."
"Mhm, I understand!"
Wen Zhong nodded repeatedly, holding onto the bronze mirror, unable to put it down.
Though his Dao Xing was low and his understanding of Primordial insufficient, he still knew how precious this Spiritual Treasure that could transmit messages regardless of distance was!
Moments later, through the bronze mirror, Wen Zhong and Gen - that is, Yun Zhongzi, briefly acquainted themselves.
The reason for concealing identities was also a sudden spark of inspiration from Yu Yuan.
Because his set of nine bronze mirrors was meant to be distributed, given to different individuals.
When the time came, with everyone's identity and status being different, forcibly mixing them together might make communication restrained, even if they wanted to interact freely.
For example, Yun Zhongzi.
Though he appeared young, he was in fact a second-generation disciple of the Chan Sect, and strictly speaking, both Yu Yuan and Wen Zhong should address him as 'Uncle-Master'.
Yu Yuan didn't mind, but Wen Zhong couldn't possibly be as casual as Yu Yuan.
Moreover, if the Chan Sect and Jie Sect were to engage in even fiercer struggles in the future, conflicts were more likely to erupt as they were stationed in different camps.
Thus, it is still better to conceal the names. Everyone knows who each other is, which facilitates better communication.
Of course, the bronze mirrors were all sent out by Yu Yuan, so he definitely knew everyone's identity.
Playing with the bronze mirror for a while, Wen Zhong finally remembered the pressing matters and as he put it into the Hundred Treasure Bag, he said to Yu Yuan, "It's been a long time since brother has visited, and now Linhuan Pass has changed dramatically... Please follow me, brother."
Yu Yuan nodded slightly and followed him to tour Linhuan Pass.
The population of Linhuan Pass has gradually thrived.
Compared to his last visit, hundreds of villages had sprung up around the town.
According to Wen Zhong, these villages had migrated from the upper reaches of the Huai River.
Originally, Linhuan Pass was a small city where Great Shang was expanding towards the southeast, mostly covered with wasteland.
Therefore, the local Human Race not only did not reject these migrating villagers but also welcomed them and even proactively helped them build houses and cultivate the wasteland.
Now, the population of Linhuan Pass, roughly estimated, might have reached over one hundred thousand.
This was almost ten times the population when Yu Yuan first arrived!
"Not bad, not bad!"
Yu Yuan nodded in satisfaction and praised.
Along the way, Yu Yuan saw neatly arranged houses, water wheels constructed along the riverbanks, and the boundless fruitful farmland.
He was very pleased with this.
Initially, he had imparted knowledge from his previous life to Wen Zhong, hoping to see if a new path could be forged.
Clearly, Wen Zhong had done it very well.
If the experience of Linhuan Pass was extended to the entire Human Race, it would definitely lead to a brand-new transformation.
However, the influence it could create might potentially affect the entire Primordial world!
As the Human Race is the eternal protagonist of Heaven and Earth.
The trends of the Human Race are the trends of Heaven and Earth!
"By the way, there is another matter I want to discuss with you, brother."
On the way back to Linhuan Pass from the fields, Wen Zhong seemed to suddenly remember something and said seriously to Yu Yuan, "Now, Linhuan Pass has a good reputation within a thousand miles, attracting many villagers to migrate here.
However, Linhuan Pass lacks court officials to manage, and I alone am a bit overwhelmed.
Brother, do you think we should ask the Great Shang Court to send some officials over?"
The original officials, gentry, and priests of Linhuan Pass had fled after the "Huai River Water God" was killed.
Initially, Wen Zhong thought that Great Shang would soon send new officials to take over Linhuan Pass, but no one had come after such a long time.
Therefore, he considered whether he should personally return to Chaoge and bring a group of officials to govern Linhuan Pass.
Yu Yuan looked at him and asked, "Why not select prestigious individuals from among the people to govern Linhuan Pass?"
Wen Zhong frowned slightly in surprise and said, "If we do that, wouldn't that mean breaking away from Great Shang?"
"Is that not possible?" Yu Yuan retorted.
Wen Zhong was stunned.
He had never considered this.
As a noble from Great Shang, he had a deep sense of identification with it.
Had it not been for the journey to the Penglai Holy Realm with his master, he would likely have entered the court as an official by now.
In these years, while helping the people of Linhuan Pass, he also harbored the intention of pioneering for Great Shang.
Suddenly hearing Yu Yuan's words, he was somewhat unable to react.
Breaking away from Great Shang, did that mean establishing his own dynasty?
If that were the case, wouldn't Great Shang's army immediately come attacking?
What exactly was his brother thinking?
Seeing his troubled expression, Yu Yuan smiled and said, "What I mean is, you could request an enfeoffment from the Great Shang Court, making Linhuan Pass your own territory.
If I remember correctly, your Wen Family is hereditary barons in Great Shang, asking for a piece of land shouldn't be too hard, right?"
Wen Zhong's eyes lit up, and he laughed, "Brother, you're right, this indeed is a feasible approach. Tonight, I will communicate with our father to make arrangements in the court."
Yu Yuan nodded, thinking to himself: Once Linhuan Pass becomes a fief of a feudal lord, that Luck God Dragon will have a place to reside.
He only hoped that his junior brother would be able to see things differently in the future and not blame him for this.
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