Time flies by; in the blink of an eye, deep autumn arrives.

The rice in the fields gradually turns golden.

At Linhuan Pass, a scene of bountiful harvest unfolds.

Ever since the implementation of measures such as dredging silt to fertilize fields, selecting quality grains, and irrigation with water wheels, Linhuan Pass has been enjoying abundant harvests year after year.

Now, the rice yield per acre in Linhuan Pass has reached nearly fourteen stones, more than triple what it used to be.

And as the rice varieties continue to improve, the yield is expected to increase further for some time to come.

Amid this joyous atmosphere of plentiful harvest, the people are all beaming with happiness, and the entire Linhuan Pass is thriving.

The bountiful grains only require a tax payment at a ratio of one thirtieth; the rest is entirely theirs.

Moreover, the officials of Linhuan Pass, big or small, are now all elected by the people themselves. They must present a public report of their work at set intervals, and only with the approval of over eighty percent of the people can they continue to hold office.

The people no longer need to worship divine spirits, nor are they oppressed and exploited by officials and the wealthy. They can fully sustain themselves and their families and even have extra time to learn new things.

Animal husbandry, fishing, fruit and vegetable cultivation, weaving and logging, shipbuilding, and house construction...

When the busy farming season is over, there is so much they can do.

All these activities allow them to live a richer life.

Yu Yuan has also been busy during this time.

He released Wu Zhiqi, letting this local snake draw out the Spirit Vein of Huai River, and after a slight alteration, he placed the Luck God Dragon into the spirit cave.

As the Luck God Dragon nurtures and grows stronger in this place, the downstream area of the Huai River affected by it will also become a land of outstanding people and spirit, and in the future, many talented individuals will be born here.

With this, Linhuan Pass has gained ample conditions for future development.

According to Fairy Yun Hua, the Luck Mystical Bird won't die anytime soon, and the Great Shang will have at least a few more decades of reign.

During this period, the western Luck Phoenix and the southeastern Luck God Dragon will both absorb Human Dao Destiny from the Mystical Bird, slowly growing and expanding until one day they take its place.

This is part of Yu Yuan's strategic planning for the Divine Enthronement Calamity.

The Jie Sect is closely related to the Great Shang; many of its disciples are bound to the destiny of Shang, sharing in its glory and misfortunes.

The struggle between the Chan Sect and the Jie Sect is not only a contest of the grand Dao but also a battle of destiny.

The ability of the Human Race dynasties to gather Human Dao Destiny is crucial!

Under the efforts of many Jie Sect disciples, the destiny of the Great Shang's Mystical Bird is tightly linked with that of the Jie Sect, bringing the Jie Sect's destiny to its peak.

A congregation of ten thousand immortals, hailed as the foremost sect in the Primordial era!

By supporting the Zhou Clan of Xi Qi, the Chan Sect aims to strike at the Jie Sect as much as possible by seizing the opportunity of dynastic change.

The cycle of rebirth and the replacement of old with new are the very fundamentals of the Heavenly Dao.

Thus, the change of dynasties is inevitable!

If the Jie Sect is quick to recognize the signs and timely disengages from the Great Shang, it will only lose part of its destiny. However, if they are too reluctant to give up the foundation of the Great Shang, they would be stubbornly resisting and defying the operation of the Heavenly Dao.

It could be said that no matter what choice the Jie Sect makes, what awaits them is a reckoning.

But now Yu Yuan has opened up a third path—establishing a new dynasty!

When the time is ripe, those Jie Sect disciples within the Great Shang could easily transfer over, seamlessly transitioning from a decaying dynasty to one full of vitality.

By then, not only will they avoid retribution, but they will also become heroes of the new dynasty, continue to be valued, and the Human Race destiny will still be closely connected with the Jie Sect!

The other major sects can only watch enviously.

Of course, all these are based on the ideal scenario where everything goes smoothly.

The actual implementation is bound to be fraught with difficulties.

Not to mention, the greatest competitor—Xi Qi—certainly does not wish to see Linhuan Pass rise to power.

But these are not concerns for the present.

Right now, what Yu Yuan needs to consider first is how to help Linhuan Pass rapidly develop.

Taking advantage of this free time, he has created tools like saws, rulers, augers, and plumb lines and has also reintroduced the system of weights and measures.

For currently, throughout the Great Shang, including Linhuan Pass, there is no unified standard.

The Human Race's understanding of measurement units initially related to the human body—hand spans to measure length, finger widths for inches, a handful as "yi", two hands as "ju"...

These are obviously inaccurate, as the sizes of these units can vary from person to person.

Yu Yuan directly forged rulers, cups, bushels, and scales and established standards for length, volume, and weight.

The tools he crafted may not be Spiritual Treasures, but they possess divine effects of everlasting durability and precision. They are worshipped as divine objects by the people and then replicated in large quantities for use.

Every so often, these are compared with the standards Yu Yuan created for repair and calibration.

The news of Linhuan Pass's bountiful harvest once again attracts numerous people to migrate here.

One by one, they arrive in tattered clothes and with rumbling bellies.

Wen Zhong accepted all of these commoners without exception and even took out the tax grain to provide them with relief.

After all, south and east of Linhuan Pass, there is still a large amount of wasteland, so there is no fear no matter how many people come.

As long as they survive the first year, life will get better and better thereafter.

Moreover, aside from food, Linhuan Pass is rich in water sources and abundant resources. As long as there is no oppression or exploitation, people can always find a way to survive, whether it's through fishing, hunting, or gathering.

After all, this is how the Human Race from the Ancient Era survived.

Wen Zhong's relief efforts for the incoming immigrants also dispelled the last concerns of many Human Race commoners in the nearby cities and passes, as they started to flock to Linhuan Pass with their families.

It seems like the Human Race is born with a herd mentality.

When more and more people migrated to Linhuan Pass, those left behind started to feel restless, too.

Here at Linhuan Pass, without the need to worship Divine Spirits, yet with a climate that could be wind-smoothed and rain-predicted, and land that was fertile enough to bring great harvests year after year, it naturally attracted a large influx of commoners.

...

Zitong Pass

Located five thousand li southwest of Linhuan Pass, nestled in mountains and waters, the scenery is pleasing.

The water is from Huai River, the mountain is Shan Mountain.

In the still of the night, a leopard with a pattern of spots travels along the rugged paths in the mountains, sprinting upwards rapidly like a sweeping gale, and in the blink of an eye, it reaches halfway up the mountain.

But now, the originally resplendent Mountain God Temple on Shan Mountain has become a pile of rubble.

The leopard twitched its nose, confirmed that no one was around, then stood upright and transformed into a yellow-robed Daoist. With a light flick of his hand, the pile of debris scattered to either side.

The yellow-robed Daoist looked down to see a mass of white bones under the rubble and a broken statue of the Mountain God.

"Just as expected."

The yellow-robed Daoist sighed, his voice raspy and harsh.

He took out a Jade Lotus and tossed it into the air.

The lotus emitted a white light, and from it came an indifferent voice: "Have you found anything?"

"The Divine Temple is shattered, the Golden Body broken, the Divine Soul annihilated... The Mountain God of Shan Mountain has also perished," the yellow-robed Daoist replied softly.

"Calamity is imminent; immortals are like weeds, gods like dust!"

The White Lotus floated in the air, emitting a deep voice.

"We cannot continue like this."

"That Profound Immortal of the Human Race has occupied Linhuan Pass for years, and this Venerable One has not troubled him over it."

"But now he is starting to hunt Divine Spirits everywhere!"

"If he is allowed to continue, I fear this Divine Kingdom that I have painstakingly established will be destroyed by his hands!"

The yellow-robed Daoist's expression flickered slightly, and he said in a low voice, "With just a command from the Venerable One, I will immediately head to Linhuan Pass, and by dawn at the latest, I will ensure that he is annihilated both in form and spirit!"

He had been coveting the Spiritual Treasure in the hands of that Human Race Profound Immortal at Linhuan Pass for a long time.

Unfortunately, the Venerable One had always forbidden him from taking action.

Hearing that the Venerable One might be considering it, he did not hesitate to volunteer for the mission.

"There's no need for us to take action!"

From within the White Lotus came a cold voice: "This Venerable One remembers that this Mountain God of Shan Mountain has an elder who is a disciple of Jie Sect, whose cultivation place is not far from here in the East Sea's Qingbo Mountain. You take the Mountain God statue and seek his help!"

A hint of surprise flashed in the eyes of the yellow-robed Daoist. He found it somewhat incomprehensible; to deal with just a Profound Immortal, why was there a need for such complications?

He did not know that the Venerable One before him was no longer the original Venerable One.

The newly born White Lotus was endowed with the "previous" complete memories.

Although he also did not know the origins of that Human Race Profound Immortal from Linhuan Pass, based on the principle that it's better to avoid unnecessary troubles, he had not provoked any disputes in these years, pretending as if past conflicts had never happened.

In these years, that Human Race Profound Immortal had also stayed honestly in Linhuan Pass, and both sides lived in peace without interfering with each other.

But now, that Human Race Profound Immortal suddenly began to recklessly hunt the surrounding Divine Spirits, and even publicly exposed their misdeeds.

If it was just a matter of some Divine Spirits dying, it would not be a big issue. The problem was his public exposure of the misdeeds of the Divine Spirits, arousing the disgust and resistance of the commoners towards them, essentially cutting off the source of the Power of Faith!

This was a grave matter that shook the foundation!

In recent times, the amount of Incense Bronze in the entire southeastern region was reduced by more than half.

Because once the Human Race commoners heard of a place like Linhuan Pass, which resisted Divine Spirits yet still enjoyed favorable weather, they found it hard to genuinely worship the Divine Spirits.

Even if the White Lotus did not wish to stir troubles, at this point, he had to strike back.

Otherwise, the Divine Kingdom he had worked so hard to build was bound to eventually be destroyed because of this!

"Let that disciple of Jie Sect take action; we'll just reap the fisherman's benefits!"

...

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