Lord Shenxiu
Chapter 840 840: Galloping Path (2600 Extra Words)
Sixty Years of Heavenly Destiny.
Han Tyrant Emperor Xiang Yu abdicated, titled 'Supreme Emperor', and passed the throne to Xiang Qi.
After founding a nation, there must be a ruler who governs steadily and persistently to strengthen monarchical power and restore stability.
Unity True Monarch realized this, reluctantly served as Emperor for sixty years, causing his breakthrough into the Refining God Realm to lag more than fifty years behind Nine Spirit Dragon Mother Primordial Monarch!
After Xiang Qi ascended the throne, he continued Unity True Monarch's national policies, lightening taxes and duties, and promoting production.
At the same time, he enforced strict laws to eliminate local unlawful strongmen and establish the prestige of Yan Han.
He ruled for forty-three years, bringing great governance under heaven, and unfortunately passed away in the autumn of Heavenly Destiny Year 103, historically known as 'Emperor Han Xing'!
Later historians praised this flourishing era as the 'Ba Xing Dynasty', a testament to the greatest accolade for Emperor Han Xing, with words of praise and admiration.
After Emperor Han Xing's death, his son Xiang Ming ascended the throne, ruled indifferently, and died twenty years later, with the posthumous title 'Ming'.
From then on, Unity True Monarch gradually discovered a harsh reality.
After that entity defined the Three Realms of Heaven, Earth, and Man, the laws of the world seemed to change.
Becoming the ruler of Jiuzhou, an Emperor, a Son of Heaven... dragon fortune on one's body greatly hindered cultivation!
This resulted in both Emperor Han Xing and Emperor Han Ming, although they mastered Cultivation Techniques and had countless resources, being lifelong unable to achieve Foundation Establishment and Core Formation, living and dying like ordinary people.
Even Unity True Monarch himself was delayed for more than fifty years!
Fortunately, he did not crave power, retired courageously, now seeing the flaws in it, but it mattered little.
With him and Nine Spirit Dragon Mother, the two Primordial Monarchs, secretly overseeing, it was enough to ensure that future emperors might be mediocre but never dim-witted.
If one dared to appear, they would drag him to the ancestral temple and beat him to death directly!
...
Time flows endlessly, passing by in a flash.
On this day, a person holding a peach wood staff, wearing a crane robe, exuding an air of immortality while appearing very young, strolled into the Yan Han Imperial City—Changluo!
"Boy ahead!"
This person called out to an elderly man with white hair in front, smiling and asking, "I have been cultivating hard in the deep mountains, unaware of the days and months outside, what year is it today?"
"You boy, haven't you seen that my beard is all white?"
The old man responded angrily, "Truly devoid of manners..."
A nearby woodcutter carrying firewood passed by, chuckling, "Is this young man joking? It's naturally Year 108 of Heavenly Destiny..."
"Majestic Great Han, now sheltered by the Overlord, may endure for millennia without falling..."
The crane-robed youth, naturally Liu Ji, appeared with a look of nostalgia on his face, "That is evidently far more glorious than that four-hundred-year dynasty..."
"You youngster are joking again, before Yan Han was Five Hundred Years of Immortal Qin, before Immortal Qin was Zhou, before Zhou was Shang, which four-hundred-year dynasty are you talking about?"
The old man remained disgruntled.
"Ha-ha, I'm old enough to be your grandfather."
Liu Ji laughed, indifferent, took a step, seeming to shrink the ground, leaving only a silhouette.
This rendered the old man and the woodcutter aghast, "Turns out he's a cultivator!"
The Yan Han people know there's such a thing as Immortal Dao in the world.
Moreover, the Five-Dou Rice Dao and Taiping Dao are the foremost Daoist lineages in the world, spawning many Daoist factions, and even more Jianghu Mages and unorthodox paths.
Although the court cracks down harshly on this aspect, the civic pursuit of seeking immortality and the Dao continues unabated.
Watching this scene, the old man feared Liu Ji might be a demonic figure, worried about legal entanglement, and quickly departed in silence.
Liu Ji strolled through two streets, confirmed evading some surveillance, continuing his exploration east, seeking liveliness.
"The carriage has arrived! The carriage has arrived!"
Suddenly, he stopped his steps, noticing a huge structure resembling a modern station.
On the ground lay parallel black wooden tracks, in a whistle, eight tall stallions pulled carriage compartments, traveling at about thirty miles per hour, swiftly arriving.
"This..."
Liu Ji was instantly bewildered.
"Ha-ha, country folk, haven't been to Changluo, have you? This is our Yan Han 'Rapid Road'!"
A nearby youth in scholar's attire laughed loudly, "This 'Rapid Road' exists only in our Guanzhong, capable of carrying a thousand people at once, ten thousand bushels of cargo, yet still traveling swiftly..."
"Truly remarkable, remarkable!"
Liu Ji swept with his divine sense, discovering the 'Rapid Road' wooden tracks utilized an ironwood, very sturdy, more convenient than iron tracks.
And the horses pulling the carriages likely had demon beast bloodlines, probably needing meat and wine daily, otherwise unable to pull such weight, yet move swiftly.
'Perhaps due to Changluo's high population and heavy cargo transport, forced innovation... truly unexpected, this huge gap and stimulation did not spawn steam locomotives but directly solved it with Daoist Skill...'
Liu Ji sighed inwardly.
In Yan Han's extraordinary world, Daoist Skill is the primary production power.
Whether ironwood or demon beasts, evidently neither can be tamed and obtained by mortals.
This inevitably leads to class solidification, cultivators becoming increasingly noble, controlling numerous economic lifelines.
Liu Ji could not help but feel lost, increasingly puzzled by this world's future direction.
This time descending the mountain was also him reaching the Peak of God Refining, having much comprehension toward breaking through, further experiencing the worldly life.
Although the Demon Refining Gourd had accumulated enough spiritual energy to break through to the next level, heart cultivation and Dao Heart still needed to be tempered by personally entering the world.
"Turns out you're an old acquaintance!"
Just as Liu Ji finished observing the station's bustle, intending to leave, a voice suddenly reached his ears.
He looked back to see a man and a woman on a distant tavern balcony, raising their glasses in toast, the man exuding dominance, the woman appearing elegant and dignified.
A few lavishly dressed, knife-bearing servants approached boldly and respectfully bowed, "My master invites you!"
His tone was exceedingly respectful, displaying a proper demeanor.
"Indeed, an old acquaintance!"
Liu Ji laughed heartily, went up the tavern, finding it already booked, first performing a courtesy, "Greetings to Overlord and Lady Yu Ji!"
Although the Emperor before him was the founder of Yan Han, Liu Ji still preferred calling Xiang Yu Overlord.
Moreover, these two were now at the Peak of God Refining, with incredibly solid foundations, slightly moving Liu Ji.
"Life is short and fleeting over a hundred years, old friends mostly wither away, seeing you today brings great joy!"
Unity True Monarch toasted Liu Ji with a drink, laughingly spoke.
No matter past grudges or hostility, after a century, mortals have changed five or six generations, those former subordinates, if not on the path of cultivation, have also become merely yellow dirt, today meeting is more comforting than cautious.
"Fellow Daoist, why have you come?" Nine Spirit Dragon Mother Primordial Monarch asked.
"I've cultivated bitterly for a hundred years, now at the time of breaking through above Refining God, especially come to refine my heart in the worldly life..." Liu Ji honestly replied, "Also seeking fellow Daoists, to verify Daoist Skill..."
In ten years of chaos, he went from a mortal to Nascent Soul.
But after Refining God, breaking through became increasingly difficult, added with arduous cultivation ultimately not being the transmigrator's correct path, causing his cultivation speed to slow over tenfold.