Historical River

"Whose will is this? To erupt so recklessly?"

"It seems to have come from the Historical River, or perhaps someone entered ahead of time?"

"We'll split up. You go and inform Mr. Bei that my third brother and I will go investigate."

After the conversation, the figures separated and went their separate ways.

On the other side, Zhang Qin suddenly composed himself and sneered, "Even if we can't take action for now, we can't let that person have it easy. Let's give him some fun..."

Even so, his expression grew increasingly grim. The extent of the loss this time was truly beyond his imagination. If he were a physical body instead of a soul, he would probably be so enraged that he would vomit blood!

Forcibly suppressing his resentment, Zhang Qin suddenly spat out a Heart Fire, which landed on the riverbank and merged into the sand. Then, his Divine Soul shifted and he vanished into thin air.

As Zhang Qin left, the area fell silent, save for the gentle murmur of the water. Within that sound, one could almost hear whispers, songs, poems, wails, and sobs...

"This Zhang Qin is decisive in his actions. Seeing that things were hopeless, he was able to endure huge losses and, like a hero cutting off his own arm, simply left!"

Above Liang Kingdom, Qiu Yan's Divine Soul gradually became clear. Among the several spiritual energies surrounding him, three condensed into books and fell into the Masters Section Bookshelf.

The remaining three principles of trading are ever-changing, seemingly destined to be condensed into a book, yet they have never quite taken shape.

"These three spiritual principles were seized from Zhang Qin, but they are currently difficult to condense into a complete document. The essence within them is incomplete, and they only one-sidedly emphasize the way of trading, which is not perfect!"

Qiu Yan's original three Sage Spirit, including the essay "Exhortation to Learning," originated from bamboo slips in the Pan Household Library, and were likely handwritten by the Sage.

The essay "The Heavenly Timing, Earthly Advantage, and Human Harmony" by the Second Sage was obtained from Wuxin City. It was a scroll of manuscript carried by Ginseng Baby, and was later confirmed to belong to Zhao Bingcheng, a Confucian scholar. It has since been returned to its rightful owner.

The spirit of "The Nothing Is Better Than Explicit Law" is part of the "Third Difficulty" sent by Han Yi's messenger. It contains two parts: Manifest Law and Mind Arts, but only the Manifest Law part can be transformed into spirit.

All these spirits originated from a Sage Manuscript, were understood and refined by Qiu Yan, and were finally condensed. In addition, they must be in harmony with the Order of heaven and earth in order to unleash their great power.

"However, these three principles related to trade, although originating from three Sages, are difficult to compile into a book, this..."

A thought flashed through Qiu Yan's mind, and two possibilities emerged—

"Either, these three principles were not summarized from the manuscript, but were seized from others, making them rootless and without source, thus difficult to condense; or, these three principles themselves are problematic. The lineage of the School of Diplomacy has always been adept at taking things out of context, misinterpreting others' intentions, and using others' own arguments against them. The origin of these three principles is highly questionable, or perhaps they are incomplete, flawed, and inconsistent, which is why they could not be compiled into a book."

Thinking about this, Qiu Yan suddenly had a clue. "If that's really the case, it explains why Zhang Qin was able to mobilize so much of the Sage Spirit. Judging from his actions, he always uses force to suppress, not to be inclusive. He shouldn't be able to bear too much spirit, but as Diplomat School, he might have a special method to use his own spirit as a basis to intercept and imitate the ideas of other schools, thereby achieving his goal..."

As he thought about it, he became increasingly convinced that this was highly likely.

"However, regardless of the origin of these three spirits, they all have their merits. Food and commodity trade are closely related to Human Path. Keeping these three spirits and studying them carefully will be very helpful in understanding Human Path."

Thinking of this, Qiu Yan's Divine Soul transformed into a bookshelf, with the four characters Classics, Histories, Masters, and Anthologies) rotating and changing within it, like a giant mouth swallowing the three Incomplete Sage Spirit.

Then, with a shift in his Divine Soul, he returned to human form, and Qiu Yan's expression turned solemn.

"Now let's get down to business..."

With a thought, he visualized the figure of an old man.

Two Agricultural School Spirit manifested from the soul, intertwined and transformed, condensing into a drop of blood!

Swish!

The blood swelled, spread, and changed, and in the blink of an eye, it transformed into an old man dressed in coarse clothes and hemp shoes.

The old man had a kind and benevolent face, yet he remained silent, emanating an indescribable aura—ancient, simple, and imbued with wisdom, as if he had stepped out from the depths of history.

At the same time, the Heart Fire within his Divine Soul was rapidly consumed, almost completely depleted in just a breath!

Fortunately, Incense Faith surged from the Soul Aperture, replenishing the energy and making up for the depletion, thus preventing the Heart Fire from going out.

Once the Heart Fire is extinguished, it will cause unimaginable damage to Qiu Yan's consciousness and mind, leading to a state of spiritual exhaustion.

At this moment, the old man suddenly stretched out a hand, and the earth trembled. A crack appeared in the air, through which one could see streams of water flowing.

Then, Qiu Yan's Divine Soul trembled, and the old man's figure dissipated, transforming back into two spirits that returned to him.

As the Agricultural School Spirit returned and his mind was filled with various information, Qiu Yan gained a better understanding of farming seasons and cultivation.

"The exact time of construction of that underground Sage Worthies Hall is unknown, but the one enshrined inside is undoubtedly the ancient sage of Agricultural School. The reason why his spirit has remained undiminished for thousands of years without anyone offering worship to him is because of the blood of the Sage!"

Recalling what had happened before, even Qiu Yan couldn't help but sigh. He had studied under the Sage and opened the door to the scholarly Scholar Forest, and in doing so, he had obtained a drop of the Sage's blood from the Sage Worthies Clay Statues.

It is precisely because of the existence of the blood of Sage that the spirit has endured for thousands of years.

Originally, without Qiu Yan's intervention, this drop of Sage's blood would have quickly dissipated, and the spirit on the clay sculpture would have ceased to exist. However, Qiu Yan offered a scroll, opening his Heart Path, causing that drop of blood to be drawn out, merge into his Divine Soul, and lie dormant.

Subsequently, Qiu Yan embarked on Heart Path, only to be drawn to the Liang Kingdom. There, he advised the Liang ruler on the matter of the Principle Rice, further experiencing the Agricultural School Spirit.

Without Qiu Yan's knowledge, his article was enshrined. As you all know, the root of this matter lies in the Quanyou Academy, where the poem "Pity the Farmers" was enshrined. This poem itself is in line with the principles of Agricultural School, and the traces left by Scholar Forest are also related to agriculture. That is why Qiu Yan was brought to the Liang Kingdom, where disputes arose over agricultural matters, and attached himself to the Grand Minister of Agriculture who was in charge of agricultural affairs.

Qiu Yan was initially confused, but he quickly grasped the gist of the matter and set a direction. Although he was unaware of the existence of the Agricultural School Spirit, he guessed that it was related to agriculture. Therefore, when offering advice, he used the words of an old farmer as a starting point, with planting trees and cultivating the land as the main theme, supplemented by simple meanings, to move the King of the Liang Kingdom.

"As a feudal lord, Lord Liang is different from commoners. His power is not bound by laws. Once his thoughts change, it will cause a chain reaction, allowing the Agricultural School Spirit to identify with me, which is why it has come to manifest. Zhang Qin originally intended to disrupt the world and leave the Agricultural School Spirit without support. He probably changed his mind after seeing my background."

Qiu Yan recalled that when advising the King of the Liang Kingdom, Zhang Qin did not speak out against it, but instead remained a bystander.

As Qiu Yan pondered, he looked down at the land below. High in the sky, the clouds obscured the view, but the vast land was still clearly visible. It was the farmland on this land that nurtured the Agricultural School Spirit.

"Although the Agricultural School Spirit has been revealed, the land and farmland are still there, and farmers and ordinary people are still working on them. The corresponding ideas will continue to develop, and even if they are temporarily extinguished, they will never be completely eradicated."

As Qiu Yan sensed the two spirits merging into his soul, he had a sudden realization, and the connection with that drop of blood became increasingly clear.

During his battle with Zhang Qin, the blood of the Sage within Qiu Yan's Divine Soul surfaced and merged into the spirit of "the Market Prices Must Be Uniform," giving him a sense of blood connection and further linking him with "the Rulers and People Farming Together."

Qiu Yan feigned anger precisely to lower Zhang Qin's guard and buy time to analyze the blood. As he gained a deeper understanding of the Agricultural School Spirit, he grasped the True Intention of the blood before launching his counterattack. In the end, he not only seized two strands of Agricultural School Spirit but also took away three Incomplete Sage Spirit strands of Zhang Qin's spirit, leaving his opponent with a double loss.

But the real gain lies elsewhere.

While shaking Zhang Qin, Qiu Yan, drawing on his past life experience, proposed an idea that caused the two Agricultural School Spirit to shine, and the Sage blood integrated into them was completely activated, forming a figure.

This figure seemed like Sage reborn, yet it was illusory and unreal, as if it were a figment of imagination. However, it possessed astonishing power. As soon as it made a move, it overwhelmed Zhang Qin, a cultivator at the third level of the Third Realm third realm, making him unable to defend himself. He even became suspicious and left without a fight.

"Although the Blood-Colored Sage is incredibly powerful, the Heart Fire is consumed too quickly during visualization. Even with Incense Faith to replenish it, there is still a lack of sustained power. Once the consumption exceeds the replenishment, there will be great danger, so it cannot be used lightly. In addition, what kind of Divine Ability this visualization of the Sage actually possesses still needs to be investigated in detail in the future. However, it is time to leave now..."

With this thought in mind, Qiu Yan's Divine Soul stirred, and he soared upwards, rushing into the crevice opened up by the Blood-Colored Sage, passing through a membrane, and arriving in the water.

With Divine Soul consciousness and an expansion of his senses, Qiu Yan instantly grasped an extraordinary artistic conception from the flowing water.

He also discovered that the place where he had just broken through the sky was merely a drop of water, and the world like that of the Spring and Autumn Annals was faintly visible within that drop.

Upon closer inspection, it seems that every drop of water reflects a world, each with its own unique color and atmosphere.

"Here it is..."

Qiu Yan was still in astonishment, a thought suddenly struck him, and his Divine Soul broke free from the water.

This is a long river, ten zhang wide, with various scenes constantly emerging and changing in its waters, exuding an aura of vicissitude and antiquity.

The next moment, three figures appeared around Qiu Yan's Divine Soul, appearing from nothing and finally solidifying into the shapes of Chen Jing, Daoist Lu, and Tao Ying.

"Phew..." Chen Jing let out a long sigh of relief. Just as he was about to speak, he suddenly saw the long river below and noticed the scenes that kept appearing in it. His eyes widened immediately.

"The Historical River! The real Historical River!" Although he was prepared, Chen Jing still exclaimed in a low voice when he actually saw the river and felt the vicissitudes within it.

"The Historical River?"

Qiu Yan pondered these four words, narrowing his eyes.