Soul Journey Along the Heart Path

"The Spring and Autumn Brush, the Literary Ancestor Paperweight, and the Northern Abyss Jade Basin —these three items possess supernatural Divine Ability and are extremely precious. It was already strange that Han Wei'er left these things with me, but now it seems there's more to it than meets the eye. The vortex above these three items is the same as the Gate of Scholar Forest..."

Through the Lesser God, Qiu Yan immediately noticed the changes in the room, but he could only ponder them in his mind and had no way to intervene for the time being.

At this moment, Qiu Yan's attention was focused on his Divine Soul.

After Fleshly Body Qiu Yan's Divine Soul entered the vortex, he felt that everything around him was hazy and unreal. The light and shadow shifted, and even his own existence became thin, like a drop of water falling into a river, indistinguishable from the real thing.

This feeling was not unfamiliar to him.

"Hmm? This feeling is remarkably similar to when my Heart Demon Body entered the Pitch-Black Space. Could there be some connection between the two?"

As Qiu Yan was pondering this, he suddenly felt something and sensed a vague consciousness appearing in his Divine Soul. This consciousness was as pure as an infant, and it felt a deep affection for him.

"This is..."

He had just figured out the origin of this consciousness when his train of thought was interrupted by a thought coming from ahead—

"Brother Qiu, you've arrived..."

Along with his thoughts came a constantly shifting mass of light and shadow, like a stretched dough. The light and shadow slowly approached, and Qiu Yan detected Chen Jing's aura fluctuations within it. He immediately realized that Chen Jing's Living Soul was approaching.

"How did Chen Jing's Living Soul end up like this?"

Confused, he suddenly realized that his own Divine Soul was probably in the same state.

"Brother Chen, what's going on?"

As he spoke, Qiu Yan unleashed his senses, probing deeper into the tunnel. He discovered a multicolored tunnel, filled with the sounds of reading and scattered thoughts. Upon closer inspection, he could find scriptures, aspirations, and ideals, but they were all broken fragments. If one were to capture them, one might become tainted by these fragments of thought, affecting one's own thinking.

On the other side, Chen Jing's thoughts responded, "Brother Qiu, this is the Scholar Forest Passage, also known as the Heart Path. It is not the Scholar Forest, but only its outer perimeter. We still need to go deeper to finally reach it."

Qiu Yan had already guessed this to some extent, but that wasn't what he wanted to ask.

Chen Jing seemed to have guessed Qiu Yan's doubts and then transmitted a thought to him at the right moment, "Where this path of the Heart Path leads is not fixed. It has been recorded in the ancient books left by our predecessors. Each time one goes there, the place of the Scholar Forest that one arrives at is different, but the details are not clearly written. That is why I did not mention it."

"I do know a little about this." At this moment, another ever-changing light and shadow approached, and Daoist Lu's thoughts came from within it, "This Heart Path changes constantly, but it still has a general range. The four of us are traveling together, and we have arrived at the same place."

"Where exactly is the scope?" Suddenly, a slightly flustered thought came from the side. The others immediately recognized that it was Tao Ying who sent the thought.

Tao Ying was just an ordinary person. Now that her soul was adrift and had entered the passage of the Heart Path, she was naturally panicked, but fortunately she did not completely lose her composure.

"The Scholar Forest area is different from the outside world. Even if we know its boundaries, there's no point in saying them out loud." Daoist Lu's thoughts answered in time, and his words made Qiu Yan nod in agreement.

Chen Jing then transmitted his thoughts, saying, "That's the truth. To us, the entire Scholar Forest is a foreign land, so what difference does it make? However, I've heard that if someone has ever offered their writings to Sage, they will absorb some of that Fortune, leaving a trace in the Scholar Forest. Once they enter, they won't be like headless flies, but will be drawn there by that trace..."

All the academies enshrined Sage Worthies Clay Statues. In addition to Apricot Altar Dao Discourse, they would also offer articles to the sages on a regular basis to stimulate the spiritual Order within the academy, enhance the understanding of the disciples and students, and at the same time reinforce the Order Spirit in the clay sculptures.

Qiu Yan learned all these things from Ji Zheng, so he knew that the offerings Chen Jing mentioned referred to the articles used to invigorate the spirit and maintain Order.

As he continued, Chen Jing sighed, "It's a pity that I didn't have the opportunity to write articles for the Principle Sect Academy while I was there. Brother Tao and Daoist Master had difficulty accessing the Sage Worthies Hall, and although Brother Qiu is highly talented, he didn't join the academy, so naturally he couldn't submit his articles. Otherwise, with articles to guide him, he wouldn't have to worry about finding a place to stay. I've heard that such places are generally very stable and in line with one's own studies."

As they spoke, the light and shadow formed from the souls had been traveling in this colorful tunnel for quite some time. They communicated with each other through their thoughts, and their minds gradually calmed down. Even Tao Ying's panic gradually subsided.

At that very moment.

Call!

Suddenly, an inexplicable force spread out, carrying an aura of Pity the Farmers, and it filled the entire area as soon as it arrived!

Then, this compassionate aura quickly connected with Qiu Yan's Divine Soul, pulling and dragging it, forcibly changing the direction of Qiu Yan's Divine Soul and the surrounding five-colored tunnel to another route!

Distortion! Change!

"What happened?"

The souls were surprised. Now that they were far from their physical bodies, their souls were exposed, and their thoughts and emotional fluctuations were difficult to conceal. Without the interference of Qi and Blood, these emotions were particularly intense. Even the slightest change could cause emotional fluctuations that would affect the entire soul.

Therefore, after discovering that the passage was bent and deformed, the other souls reacted immediately. Apart from Tao Ying being panicked, Daoist Lu and Chen Jing were trying to figure out the reason by studying the map.

Soon, noticing the connection between that mysterious power and Qiu Yan's Divine Soul, Daoist Lu and Chen Jing finally figured out the reason behind it.

"Brother Qiu, it seems that your handwritten articles were once enshrined in the Sage Worthies Clay Statues, leaving a mark on the Scholar Forest..." Before Chen Jing could finish speaking, the colorful tunnel shattered with a crash!

Instantly, the intense light engulfed the four souls!

In an instant, all I could perceive was a vast expanse of white!

When Qiu Yan's senses returned from the bright light, he suddenly discovered that he could actually feel his physical body!

The thought crossed my mind, and my five fingers twitched, bringing a feeling of weakness and powerlessness.

This was a body that had never practiced martial arts. Sensing this, Qiu Yan remained still, his Divine Soul shifting to examine the entire body. He realized that his soul and body were united, as if they were one, without the slightest rejection. However, various doubts arose in his mind—

"What's going on with this physical body? Could it be...?"

Before he could gather his thoughts, a gruff voice rang out. "What proof does the imperial court have that it wants to offer us amnesty?"

Qiu Yan could tell from his Divine Soul ears that the voice was full of suspicion and malice.

With a thought, Qiu Yan looked up and saw a group of men in tattered clothes. Each of them deliberately made a fierce and menacing face, but many of them were pale and thin, looking malnourished, which greatly diminished their fierce aura.

The leader was fair-skinned and dressed in coarse cloth. There was Yin Qi between his brows, which was a sign of doubt and suspicion.

"Who are these people? Didn't I join the Scholar Forest? How did I end up here?" Qiu Yan looked around in confusion and found himself in a wooden village. The walls and ground were covered with figures, each with a different expression and wearing simple clothes, some even in rags, giving off a sense of poverty and chaos.

Noticing the farm tools and a few swords in the hands of these people, Qiu Yan immediately understood. "These people seem to be an army composed of poor farmers. This should be a military camp, but what is their connection with the Scholar Forest?"

As Qiu Yan was pondering, a voice suddenly rang out beside him—

"Wang Sheng, the Grand Minister of Agriculture personally entering the camp, doesn't that demonstrate the court's sincerity?" The speaker was a boy, who looked only twelve or thirteen years old. He was dressed in official robes, his hair tied up, and he rebuked loudly, displaying a certain authority.

"We know the reputation of the Grand Minister of Agriculture." The leader bowed to Qiu Yan, but then frowned and said, "However, rebellion is a capital offense. If one were not truly desperate, why would one rise up in rebellion? If we cannot produce the King's edict, we dare not trust it."

He pointed around and said in a deep voice, "Which of us brothers doesn't want to stay home and farm peacefully, living a stable life? It's just that the Principle Rice' is hard to grow. Your Majesty only listened to Zhang Qin's words and ordered the whole country to switch to rice cultivation. Now, it's not adapted to the soil and water and has all died. Your Majesty is not worried, but we are going to starve to death!"

By the end, Wang Sheng's tone was heavy, and he exuded a sense of desperation.

After listening to these words, Qiu Yan roughly understood the gist of the matter.

"This place is called Liang Kingdom. For some reason, the farmers switched to growing a new type of rice, but the rice failed to survive, forcing the farmers to revolt. Now I've become the Grand Minister of Agriculture of this kingdom, venturing into the lion's den to persuade them to surrender, but they dare not believe me and demand proof! It's quite a thrilling drama. But where is Scholar Forest? Judging from this situation, could it be that I've time-traveled again?"

Qiu Yan knew about the position of Grand Minister of Agriculture. It was ranked among the Three Dukes and Nine Ministers. Its original name was "Governor of Grain". It was a financial official in charge of the country's money and grain. Later, after several evolutions, it became the household official in charge of granaries and encouraging agriculture and sericulture.

"The current situation is too strange. Chen Jing and the others have disappeared. The people in this military camp seem thin, but they are united and powerful. They also You Di towards me, so we must be on guard. However, the rice that has been changed to be called 'Principle Rice' seems to have some meaning. Hmm?"

As Qiu Yan was pondering, he was suddenly jolted. The various scenes before him suddenly became illusory, as if they were floating in mid-air and about to dissipate. But in just a moment, they returned to their original state and became real again.

This change came quickly and went quickly, like an illusion, but Qiu Yan naturally wouldn't think it was an illusion. His Divine Soul was still intact, and his State of Mind was clear; how could he easily have an illusion?

"This is unusual. It seems that to figure out what's going on, we must first get past this hurdle..."

With this in mind, Qiu Yan made a decision.

"Wang Sheng," he suddenly spoke, "I have come here not merely for the purpose of receiving amnesty. Please recount the matter of the Principle Rice in detail..."

ps:

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