Famous Flower
Mu Xiulan did not ask about the origin of the tea.
Because it's unnecessary.
The fact that they were able to produce this tea alone speaks volumes.
This is the celestial tea from Penglai...
That's something that only exists on Penglai Island. The other party is Shaman, yet they were still able to obtain such a thing...
This already identifies the other party.
A disciple of Wushen Mountain, and a seventh-rank one at that.
A legitimate Shaman.
They might be one of those three lineages.
If such a person wants to visit the king, the king will most likely not object.
Of course, he never even considered the possibility of 'young master'.
That's too far away.
Besides, if a young master wants to visit a king, he doesn't need to find someone to introduce him. He can simply walk over, and the king will even have to come out to greet him.
Just like the former Great Deer Kingdom Lord.
Therefore, Mu Xiulan never considered leaving voluntarily, bidding farewell to Li Qi, and going to contact the Sovereign of Lingxiao Kingdom through her own connections.
Xia Li Qi alone in the garden. He was told to treat the place as his own home and to just say what he wanted.
Li Qi was well aware of the young master's identity and the fact that he could directly visit him.
However, he had his own considerations.
The ruler of the Sovereign of Lingxiao Kingdom is different from the ordinary Baiyue Sovereign. Other Baiyue Sovereign have lost their Dao Path and have no choice but to take a shortcut to advance to the fifth rank.
But the Sovereign of Lingxiao Kingdom is different. She couldn't stay in the Tang Kingdom anymore, so she ran to Baiyue. As the Flower Goddess of the world, the fifth rank is not a difficult thing for her.
In fact, the existence of the Lingxiao Kingdom was merely dispensable to her. It wouldn't matter if Lingxiao Kingdom were destroyed; she wouldn't lose face because of it, at most she would lose some strength.
However... Li Qi looked up and glanced at the decorations around him.
Everywhere, there were traces of Trumpet Flower.
Li Qi got up, not intending to stay at the prefect's residence any longer, but instead planning to go and see the local customs and culture of the Lingxiao Kingdom.
Anyway, it will take at least a day or two for the other party to report it.
As he walked out, he was also thinking about the ranking of the flower goddesses.
Among the most precious flowers, orchids, peonies, and plum blossoms are undoubtedly the finest, representing the pinnacle of floral beauty.
Next are peony, lotus, clove, and jasmine.
Next are chrysanthemum, apricot, berry, pear, peach, and pomegranate.
Then came the likes of Ziwei, Lingxiao, and Haitang.
As for cockscomb, sunflower, carnation, papaya, and camellia, they are considered inferior.
In other words, the Trumpet Flower is a mid-level flower goddess, much better than flowers like the carnation and the papaya, which are considered inferior. It is said to be a "screen of flowers".
The outer screen, placed outside the door, is meant to resemble a tree-lined wall.
A tree wall is a barrier erected to demarcate a certain area.
The term "flower screen" likely means "wall of famous flowers," referring to a gatekeeper among flowers who has barely reached a certain level, not quite falling into the Lower Vehicle.
However, because of a poem by a famous scholar of the Tang Kingdom, she directly lost her position as the goalkeeper and fell to the level of a lower-class flower goddess.
Therefore, restoring and maintaining its status is probably the most urgent need of the Trumpet Flower.
As for climbing the ranks... that's not something Li Qi can interfere with.
The competition for the ranking of the Flower Goddesses is a battle among hundreds or even thousands of beautiful women, each with many loyal followers.
Three women make a drama, let alone so many beautiful women.
The Flower Goddesses are like celebrities, with many admirers, including quite a few high-level cultivators.
It is said that the peony's status as the most revered flower originated from its association with the imperial palace.
Now let's look at the Trumpet Flower.
Who were the original fans of the Trumpet Flower?
That's really hard to say; we'd probably have to ask the Trumpet Flower God herself.
Li Qi walked alone on the street, pondering these questions.
Just then, Li Qi suddenly saw a large crowd of people surging towards the street.
Li Qi wouldn't normally care about such things, but he stopped anyway, maintaining a Body Merged with Nature posture, and curiously watched the group of people riding horses.
Because, on their chests, they all wore a bunch of trumpet Trumpet Flower.
This prompted Li Qi to observe these people more closely.
They were all riding horses, each one as proud as a little rooster. There were men and women, but they had one thing in common: they were all young, no older than Li Qi, and mostly under thirty.
They wore the same uniforms, had many followers, and were all cultivators, all at the ninth rank.
This gave Li Qi some ideas.
These must all be genius disciples, right? There are quite a few of them, forty or fifty.
Are genius disciples gathered together? They must be having an event.
The genius disciple of the Lingxiao Kingdom...
Seeing them swaggering around, thinking they have extraordinary talent, is truly disheartening.
Li Qi was somewhat interested in them because they all wore Trumpet Flower on their chests, indicating that they were at least related to this. He wanted to see how the Trumpet Flower was viewed in such a large-scale event in the Lingxiao Kingdom.
Along the way, these people received a lot of attention, and many residents looked at them with envious eyes and whispered among themselves.
Many manure collectors followed behind them, constantly picking up the horse manure.
Horse manure is a valuable resource; it's not something you can usually find because you rarely see so many spirited horses.
Li Qi followed them, listening to the opinions of those around them, but no one could see him.
This gave him a sense of absurdity. Was it possible that when he was still a boatman, there was also a seventh-rank official who walked up to him and listened to him talking to himself?
However, they themselves were completely unaware of it.
Just like what I'm doing to others now.
Regardless, Li Qi still managed to learn about the origins and circumstances of these people through this method.
It turns out that this was a rally in Ezhou.
These forty or fifty young geniuses will represent Ezhou to travel to the Lingxiao Kingdom, listen to the king preach in person, and then stay there to receive the best education.
Hmm, the Sovereign of Lingxiao Kingdom really does value education.
Li Qi followed the group of roosters with their heads held high all the way to an altar in the center of Ezhou City.
Upon arriving at the altar, one sees an elderly eighth-rank Shaman, who appears to be the one presiding over the rituals.
As people gradually arrived, the Shaman began to preside over the sacrificial ceremony.
Li Qi wasn't interested in the sacrificial ceremony; it was all simple stuff that could boost Heart Qi and give these young people some fighting strength and spiritual support—nothing special.
However, after watching for a while, Li Qi immediately noticed something special.
The ritual incorporated elements of the Trumpet Flower.
Li Qi saw the old Shaman waving a large number of Trumpet Flower, chanting. "Wearing clouds, I seem to have the ambition to soar to the sky; facing the sun, I do not lack the heart to support it. I strive to climb the red sun and compete for brightness, just like a dragon entering the pure void!"
The poem's meaning is simple: it hopes these young people will have lofty ambitions like the Trumpet Flower, daring to race alongside the sun like Kuafu chasing the sun, rather than chasing after it. The climbing trumpet creeper is just like you, like a true dragon soaring straight into the clouds.
It's somewhat pieced together, but that's the general idea.
This appears to be an accusation and rebuttal from the Sovereign of Lingxiao Kingdom.
She is not some opportunistic flower, but rather tenacious and vigorous.
This element was incorporated into the ritual, along with other procedures, allowing Li Qi, a traditional Shaman, to decipher its meaning.
The founder of this ritual wanted to say, "Among the most admirable wisteria flowers, none is more venerable than the trumpet creeper."
To curry favor and curry favor with the powerful?
Strive to climb, persevere and never give up?
Um...
The Sovereign of Lingxiao Kingdom was very Qi Ingestion.
Li Qi witnessing the entire sacrificial ceremony, Li Qi quietly left and returned to the prefect's residence.
He transcended his Body Merged with Nature, allowing others to see him.
Then, he waved to summon the servants of the prefect's residence.
"Does Lingxiao Kingdom have historians?" Li Qi asked his attendant.
The attendant laughed and said, "Your Excellency is joking. What country doesn't keep history? Of course, there are historians. Does Your Excellency wish to summon a historian?"
Li Qi shook his head and said, "There's no need to summon me. I just want to look at the national history. There shouldn't be any taboos about that, right?"
"Of course not. It's just that the unrevised national history cannot be viewed, as it contains many omissions and is not suitable for public viewing. However, the revised version is available for your perusal."
"Then let's look at the revised version," Li Qi replied.
"The revised version is from ten years ago. Shall I go and fetch it for you, sir?" the attendant said immediately.
"Yes, thank you." Li Qi nodded.
The servant was a little taken aback by the thank you; he felt unworthy of Li Qi's thanks as an important figure.
But he left quickly and, in less than half Chen, brought Li Qi dozens of books.
This is the national history of the Lingxiao Kingdom.
Li Qi thanked him again, then closed the room and began to read.
He planned to create a profile of the Sovereign of Lingxiao Kingdom, using what he already knew and what he was about to learn, to see what kind of person he was.
He began to read history.
By now, Li Qi's reading speed has become extremely fast. He can quickly digest even the most complex and difficult documents, let alone these simple records of national history.
The national history does not contain any difficult language or complicated information; everything is simple and clear.
On what day, what happened, and it ended.
He wrote dozens of books using this format.
There is no personal emotion involved; it is simply a log entry. I don't write stories or reflections; I only record what happened.
This narrative style made reading much easier for Li Qi.
Once we know what happened, we can naturally draw other conclusions.
As he read, he also learned about the major events that had occurred in the Lingxiao Kingdom over the past few hundred years.
Originally, the Trumpet Flower God was despised and suppressed, and left the Tang Kingdom in anger, intending to go to the Western Regions.
Because the admirers of the Trumpet Flower are not students, scholars, or anything else, but monks.
That's right, Buddhism is the true supporter of the Trumpet Flower.
A poem says:
When the osmanthus tree first finds its home, the vines cling to it and soar into the sky.
The leaves are round and delicate, and the flowers are bright and vibrant.
Therefore, it can continue to bloom, and its beauty is all the more fleeting and ethereal.
He had a tree in his hand and wanted to plant it, so he asked a monk for seedlings.
The Trumpet Flower is considered by Buddhists to be the flower that blooms in front of the Buddha's throne, so Buddhist temples plant a great many of them.
Inside the White Horse Temple, known as the 'Source of Buddhism in Central China,' the walls and roof are covered with Trumpet Flower. (Note 1)
Therefore, when the Trumpet Flower left the Tang Kingdom, the first place she wanted to go was the Western Regions.
Then, before she even set off for the Western Regions, she received guidance from a high-ranking monk at the White Horse Temple.
If we go to the Western Regions this time, the Trumpet Flower will not be in danger of dying, but it will become nothing more than a beautiful sight.
Upon hearing this, the Trumpet Flower God immediately retorted, "With such a majestic presence, why would she deign to be someone's mere eye candy?"
I am a trumpet creeper, destined to climb to the sun; how can I be reduced to a mere plaything?
So she changed her mind.
At that time, the Trumpet Flower was a sixth-rank flower. In order to continue to rise, she thought of a quick way to advance from the sixth rank to the fifth rank.
He then became the Baiyue Sovereign.
This is the story of how Lingxiao Kingdom was founded.
Of course, Li Qi felt there might be some embellishment involved, but it didn't matter.
It should be fairly accurate.
After that, came the many arduous and difficult tasks that the Trumpet Flower God undertook in establishing the Lingxiao Kingdom.
Building a country in a place like the world is no easy task, especially since she was only a sixth-rank official at the time.
There are many incomprehensible problems along the way, such as facing provocations, exploitation, and coercion from many neighboring countries.
Internal strife continues, compounded by natural disasters.
Due to a lack of resources, she had to use her savings in the Tang Kingdom to secure her livelihood, and she also sought help from many external forces, such as asking the eminent monks of the White Horse Temple for assistance.
Perhaps out of gratitude for the Trumpet Flower blooming before the Buddha, White Horse Temple did not refuse.
After that, several eminent monks from White Horse Temple came to spread the Dharma, and the temples of Zunfo Mountain and Fengde Temple, which are still famous in the Lingxiao Kingdom today, were built.
Only then did Lingxiao Kingdom finally overcome the difficult initial construction period and embark on the road to development.
"Zunfo Mountain ..." When Li Qi read this part of history, he recalled the address that the Xin Ming Xinming had mentioned on the way.
That Buddha sculpture is located on Zunfo Mountain.
Is it the Buddha sculpture built at Fengde Temple? Or is it being built recently?
It certainly wasn't built in the past, because there's no mention of large Buddha sculptures in historical records. If it had really been built, it would definitely have been recorded.
This is no small matter. The statue that can bear the power of the Heavenly Eye will be mentioned in great detail, and it can't be hidden from us.
This indicates that it must have happened recently.
With such assistance, Lingxiao Kingdom's development went smoothly afterward, and it quietly accumulated strength. Historically, almost every hundred years, the Sovereign of Lingxiao Kingdom was able to bring back a world of a certain grade from beyond the realm as a resource world.
These worlds are not far from the world, similar to the Earth Oil Realm of the Great Deer Kingdom. Even if you are in the world, you can get there quickly without needing to use transportation like the Golden Platform or the Liesu.
The Sacred Flame Realm is far too far in comparison. If one wants to get to the Sacred Flame Realm, one would need to go to Liesu, which would take several Chen. Therefore, once Li Qi takes control of the Sacred Flame Realm, he will need to move it to a location closer to the world to facilitate transportation.
From this perspective, the Sovereign of Lingxiao Kingdom is truly a diligent and ambitious person. He has dragged one back every hundred years, he is practically a workaholic, working tirelessly day and night.
Li Qi continued to analyze the situation.
About three or four Chen passed.
Suddenly, Li Qi put away the Lingxiao Kingdom and looked up.
True Knowledge Dao Charm had begun to tremble.
The aura of a fifth-rank official.
The Sovereign of Lingxiao Kingdom has arrived.
Sure enough, a few seconds later, a female voice came from beside Li Qi: "Young master is indeed very perceptive, as he was able to sense my arrival."
Note 1: Trumpet Flower is widely planted in Buddhist temples. In reality, Fengde Temple and White Horse Temple both have Trumpet Flower that are over a thousand years old.