The Agrarian School had countless spells. Divided by philosophical doctrine, they fell into three categories.
Namely: the Celestial Timing Faction, the Earthly Advantage Faction, and the True Self Faction.
The Celestial Timing Faction's central doctrine was: "Understand the timing of heaven, determine the timing of heaven, alter the timing of heaven."
They believed that the most important condition for plant growth was celestial timing.
In ancient times, the Xuanhuang Continent had endured the "Era of Natural Disasters," when celestial phenomena were extraordinarily unstable.
A single day could pass through all four seasons; a single year could turn seas into mulberry fields.
Even now, many places across the Xuanhuang Continent still possessed such chaotic weather patterns.
For example, mountain ranges where flames burned without end, and frozen seas that never thawed.
There were even places where the morning sun blazed fiercely enough to melt gold and iron, only for water to freeze into ice at night and people to freeze stiff like corpses.
Some places were not so extreme, but still experienced "disordered seasons" and "reversed solar terms."
Thus, the Agrarian School's Celestial Timing Faction believed that the direction of spell research should be to understand celestial timing, alter celestial timing, and establish celestial timing, creating a stable farming environment for the local people.
Their most famous spell tome was the "Solar Terms Decree."
After cultivating it, one could regulate celestial phenomena and establish the local solar terms. The spells within all revolved around this principle.
The Earthly Advantage Faction's core doctrine, meanwhile, held that celestial timing could not be reversed and celestial phenomena could not be changed. Rather than wasting effort on that, it was better to think about how to transform barren, bitter lands into lands of excellent feng shui.
Then, one could plant crops upon that foundation. Under the combined influence of the land and the plants, the suitable living environment could gradually extend outward and expand.
As long as the soil was made fertile enough, plants could blossom and bear fruit even in the harshest weather.
Who was to say that delicate snow lotuses could not bloom atop an iceberg?
The Earthly Advantage Faction's classic secret arts included the "Later Earth Returning Origin Method" and the "Earth Treasury Origin Gate Formation." This faction excelled at using tools and formations, and was closely associated with the Engineer School.
As for the True Self Faction, they simply declared that the rest were all trash.
What celestial timing and earthly advantage? They were all external things. Only one's own strength was true strength!
The True Self Faction believed that plants themselves were miracles, filled with tenacious vitality and capable of adapting to any environment.
They gathered rare flowers and exotic herbs, divine trees and immortal branches from across the world, selecting the best to cultivate. After repeating this for several generations, they could obtain seeds capable of resisting all external factors.
The True Self Faction believed that spells should develop in the direction of "making plants stronger and stronger."
Its most famous tome was the "All Things Growth Chart."
"At this point in time, the Celestial Timing Faction is flourishing and occupies the mainstream position. The Earthly Advantage Faction and True Self Faction can only take a secondary role."
"Only in the revival version will those two factions have their time to shine. There may even be Void Seeds that take root in the void, as well as miraculous soil that can make plants evolve several ranks." On the way to the divine temple, Zhao Xing had already decided on his current main cultivation direction.
Mainly because he did not have the conditions to follow the Earthly Advantage Faction or the True Self Faction right now.
"My ability to act is still too weak. If I gain the ability to travel far in the future, I could look for some treasures from this era, such as the Lava Earth Fire Lotus, Bloodthirsty Vine, and the Parasitic Seeds and mutant species preserved in several ancient tombs."
"As for now... I'll make do with whatever I can get."
Gucheng Divine Temple was a county-level divine temple.
The statues within were not illusory legendary gods. A small number depicted famous historical figures, while most were deceased civil and military officials of Great Zhou.
Some had been enshrined in Great Zhou's divine temples because they had fought bravely in life; others because their governance had benefited an entire region.
Among them, civil and military officials from the Grand Ancestor's era were the most numerous.
For example, the main hall Zhao Xing now saw enshrined the "Earl of East Lake" from the Grand Ancestor's time.
Born by East Lake in Gucheng, he had made his living as a fisherman in his youth. During the Grand Ancestor's campaigns against a thousand kingdoms and unification of the chaotic age, he joined Duke Zhao's command and became a charioteer. In the end, he was granted the title Earl of East Lake.
After returning to his hometown, he spent all his family wealth building bridges and roads and transforming the region. He even voluntarily gave up most of his fields for refugees to farm, allowing Gucheng to develop from a mere town into a county.
After his death, he entered this divine temple to receive Incense Offerings and became an underworld deity.
"Earl of East Lake excels in martial arts. It would not be ideal to seek a method from him. This era is best suited for the development of the Minister of Agriculture profession, not other professions. I took the Dao Embryo Pill. If he sees that I have good foundations and decides I ought to train in martial arts, then randomly grants me some martial arts manual, that would just be a waste of time."
Zhao Xing did not enter the hall. He merely inserted incense before a bronze censer outside, paid his respects, and prepared to leave.
Dong!
A bronze bell within Earl of East Lake's divine hall rang on its own. A powerful thought entered Zhao Xing's mind with crystal clarity, as if it were trying to keep him there, or persuading him not to leave.
Zhao Xing's expression stiffened. He had not expected that merely bowing from outside the hall would cause trouble. Earl of East Lake had actually manifested and tried to keep him?
Was the Dao Embryo Pill really this damn incredible... Zhao Xing cupped his hands again, then quickened his pace and ran away.
"Alas."
After Zhao Xing left, the statue let out another faint, almost imperceptible sigh.
The Ceremonial Official meditating inside the hall looked outside in puzzlement, only to find no one there.
He then looked up at the statue, but received no revelation whatsoever. He could only scratch his head and continue meditating.
After that little episode, Zhao Xing no longer dared to pay his respects carelessly.
He quickened his pace and arrived at a side hall—the True Lord Cao Xi Hall.
"Cao Xi served as the Registered Field Magistrate of Nanyang County in the early years of the dynasty. Because he vigorously promoted the Engineer School's Return to Origin Waterwheel, constructed the Peaceful Lake Thirteen Canals, and combined them with Engineer Family Formations to control floods, he was recognized as an outstanding figure of the Agrarian School's Earthly Advantage Faction."
"However, he was well versed in numerous factions. He wrote Cao Xi's Agricultural Treatise and was also a man of practical action. There should be no problem with seeking a method from him."
"It'll be you, Elder."
Zhao Xing handed the County Office's approval document to the Ceremonial Official guarding the hall. The Ceremonial Official held a position under the Directorate of Ceremonial, responsible for overseeing the procedures of sacrificial rites.
It was the profession players called the "spirit-writing" profession, an early "divine office." Those in this profession could invite gods to possess them and summon underworld deities into battle.
Once, Zhao Xing had also wanted to switch to it for a bit of fun. But as the Dynasty of Fate collapsed, its combat power plummeted. In the revival version, becoming stronger through it was extremely difficult and complicated, so he could only give up on the idea.
Now, it was even less likely that he would abandon the Minister of Agriculture profession for the sake of momentary enjoyment and choose this early-game divine office.
"The document is in order. Once inside, simply sit cross-legged on the prayer cushion, calm your mind, and pray." The Ceremonial Official guarding the hall was not old, yet spoke with an aged air. "Remember, methods cannot be forced. Gaining something is already a great blessing. If you gain nothing, it only proves that your strength is insufficient. Come again next time. Do not allow distracting thoughts to arise."
This was a reminder that if Zhao Xing failed to obtain a method, he should not develop any obsession or resentment, because underworld deities were highly sensitive to thoughts related to themselves.
"Yes, thank you, Ceremonial Official." Zhao Xing took a deep breath and stepped into the True Lord Cao Xi Hall.
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