Posthumous Remnant Thought

"Oops!"

The sudden clap of thunder startled Hua She, who was lost in thought. He quickly put down the woodblock and ran frantically in all directions, closing all the open windows.

Woodblock Printing requires ventilation and is susceptible to moisture and rain. Therefore, closing the windows on rainy days is a basic requirement. Hua She had long been accustomed to this and would reflexively start closing them at the sound of thunder.

However, as he reached the last window, his movements suddenly froze. He leaned out the window and looked outside, only to see a clear night sky, a bright moon, and a clearly visible crescent moon. There was no sign of rain whatsoever.

"That's strange. Could it be that thunder is striking out of nowhere, but no rain is falling?"

Amidst his confusion, the old gatekeeper called out, "Young man, it's getting late. There was a clap of thunder just now; it's likely to rain tonight. You'd better hurry back, or you'll catch a cold."

"Ah, thank you for reminding me, Uncle Zheng." Hua She had the same concern in his heart. He thanked him and went back into the house to tidy up his things. He put away the woodblocks he had taken out, and finally took out a small block from a box, wrapped it up, put it in his pocket, blew out the lamp, and left the house.

As he passed the gatehouse, the old man called him over, handed him a lotus leaf bundle, and said with a smile, "Take this for Xin'er. It's a little cold, but it'll fill you up."

Hua She took the package and opened it. Inside was a cold sweet potato. His eyes immediately reddened, but before he could speak, the old man said, "No need for further words. Just remember, when you become successful in the future, let this old man enjoy some of your blessings."

Hearing this, Hua She. Looking at the old man's thin and frail appearance, as well as his aged yet kind face, a fire seemed to burn in his heart.

He bowed, then turned and left.

Traveling by moonlight, it was already late at night when Hua She arrived at the small house where he was staying.

This area is also considered part of the Meng Residence estate. However, unlike the grandeur of the main courtyard, it gives off a simple and cramped feeling.

This is the residence of the servants and maids of the Meng Residence. As soon as night falls, it will soon be pitch black. Lamp oil is a luxury here. Few families can afford to light lamps at will. It is incomparable to the Hua She in the Book-Printing Hall before.

Pushing open the door, a pungent, unpleasant odor rushed out. The room was small and had no windows. If the door were closed, the air inside would quickly become unpleasant to smell.

"Brother..."

The door opened, and a childish voice came from inside, followed by rustling sounds. Soon after, a dark figure emerged. By the moonlight outside, one could vaguely make out the thin figure, as if a gust of wind could blow it away.

"Still not asleep?" Hua She smiled when he saw this.

The thin figure said, "We're waiting for my brother. Didn't we say we'd be listening to Grand Confucian's lecture today? Xin'er wants to hear you tell me about it; I've never met the Grand Confucian before."

"Silly girl, when can't I tell you? You should go to sleep early." Hua She walked into the house and handed her the lotus leaf package. "But it's perfect, eat this, it's still warming."

That frail figure was Hua She's younger sister, Hua Xin. The two siblings had fled here and settled down, relying on each other for survival.

Taking the lotus leaf package, Hua Xin immediately noticed what was inside and let out a joyful exclamation. She quickly suppressed her excitement and said, "That's great! Brother, take this sweet potato with you tomorrow, and lunch will be taken care of! I've heard people say that listening to lectures is quite mentally taxing; a single steamed bun won't suffice!"

Upon hearing this, Hua She felt a lump in her throat and inwardly blamed herself for being useless, but she said aloud, "Xin'er, there's no need for that. Second Brother Ting and Fourth Brother Wei have been very kind to me. I'll just eat with them." After saying this, she briefly explained what had happened that day, and Hua Xin finally felt relieved.

"Both of the Meng Clan brothers are kind people; these things should be remembered." After saying this, the little girl stopped, yawned, and went back to sleep. Only when her brothers returned could she truly sleep peacefully.

On the other hand, Hua She's heart grew heavier, feeling the pressure on his shoulders. With his parents gone and his servants scattered, he was the head of the family and had to shoulder the heavy responsibility. He couldn't let his sister continue to suffer like this.

After tidying up a bit, Hua She lay down fully clothed, took out the small tablet, and touched each of the engraved characters on it through the thin cloth, pondering it repeatedly in his mind.

"Perhaps this is an opportunity, but how can we find the key? The drawback of woodblock printing is that it is time-consuming and labor-intensive, and can only be used a few times in the end. Perhaps we should start from this point..."

This idea lingered in his mind, but although he had a vague concept of it, he still couldn't determine the direction, let alone know how to start.

Since the invention of woodblock printing, he wasn't the only one who noticed this issue; there had been many attempts, but none had been successful. How could Hua She possibly have accomplished such a transformation in just one night?

However, there was a force at play behind the scenes, imprinting a brand-new idea in his mind and allowing him to touch that thin veil.

Hua She was unaware that while he was constantly turning his thoughts, a tremendous wave was raging in the Void. What was stirring up the waves was not seawater, nor Spiritual Qi, but the surging thoughts that had settled in the history of Donghua from ancient times to the present!

These thoughts, though their creators may have aged and died, still retain a sense of awe for heaven and earth, gods, and the extraordinary, allowing those departed thoughts to emerge and merge into the larger trend, accumulating little by little.

After each living being dies, it leaves behind only a tiny speck. But when that speck travels across thousands of years and gathers from all corners of the vast land and boundless ocean, it becomes a truly terrifying sea!

The backyard of the Meng Residence's villa.

"I never imagined that the thoughts left behind after death, unconsciously scattered in the Void parallel to the present world, would be so vast. They are usually restrained by the various Dragon Vein. If I hadn't thrown a huge stone of Human Path into it today to stir up waves, I wouldn't have been able to discover it. This shows how closely this Posthumous Remnant Thought is connected with Human Path!"

Qiu Yan stood in the courtyard, observing the celestial phenomena.

After that thunderclap, he noticed that his own Fortune was fluctuating rapidly. The Fortune of the entire dynasty was showing signs of movement, as if something was brewing, but it could decline at any moment. It would be difficult to find without deliberately looking for it, but Qiu Yan did it intentionally, so he naturally sensed it immediately.

"Compared to the ocean of Posthumous Remnant Thought, the accumulated People's Wishes and Divine Office within the Broken Lotus Valley Zhou Rao Continent over thousands of years are nothing at all. Those People's Wishes and Divine Office may seem like an ocean, but compared to the Posthumous Thoughts in this Void of Donghua, they are merely a pond!"

Feeling the waves emanating from the Void, Qiu Yan's thoughts became increasingly clear.

"However, that pond is quite abundant for Divine Spirit Body, but whether it can be swallowed whole depends on how much ripple the Humanistic Divine Path can cause this time, and how much Human Path power from Donghua can be borrowed."

As he pondered this, he turned and went back into the house. As he walked, the stone slabs under his feet creaked and groaned, clearly bearing the weight of the heavy load!

"The tide of Human Path is as vast as the sea, Human Path transformation is like a stone. Whether it's mud and stones flowing into the sea or the truth emerging from the depths depends on whether one can follow the tide. Because I intervened, Human Path suffered a backlash. Things are different now. My cultivation and the Order within my mind have already taken shape. I am no longer simply dependent on Human Path, but rather a signpost that can subtly interfere with Human Path progress. I am now facing the pressure of Human Path's transformation..."

When Qiu Yan went north to take the imperial examination, he brought out a lot of things along the way, some of which even exceeded the level of Human Path in this Continent, but it did not cause much of a stir. This was because his status was still very low at that time, and it did not have much impact on the changes in the Ocean of Human Path.

Now, he not only aligns with several Order, but his own status is also in Qi Manifestation. His recent trip to the Grasslands has also drawn him into the grand scheme of things. All of this has made his every move have a profound impact on the Donghua People. If he is not careful, he may even cause a huge change in the Human Path. Whether for better or worse, he has already touched the edge of the laws of heaven and earth.

In this way, they will naturally be subject to invisible suppression.

This suppression, which was previously very subtle, became the focus of attention in the Void Human Path after a day of lecturing. He used the framework of the Way of Knowledge and Action to touch upon the fusion of the Divine Path and the Human Path.

Although no one in the Continent has noticed this yet, the natural suppressive force of heaven and earth will not let it go. When he was lecturing, there were already signs that descended upon him and suppressed him, which has continued until now.

Therefore, Qiu Yan could only use another method, taking a roundabout approach, to give the Confucian scholars some inspiration, guide them to promote the development of the matter, and finally bring out his own intervention, so that he could bring out the foreign concept.

This is also the reason he explained the division of the Grasslands: to guide people according to their positions and to take advantage of the situation.

Crack!

Back inside, the stone-paved floor made a cracking sound; he had broken a stone slab under his foot.

Looking at the shards at his feet, Qiu Yan narrowed his eyes.

"Whether the Fleshly Body will be arranged like this floor, covering the earth, or shattered, depends on tomorrow's test. If one can grasp the degree of this, then one's actions will have a standard."

The next day, Hua She got up early. He hadn't slept well that night, and even in his dreams he was troubled about how to ask Qiu Yan for advice.

After a quick packing, Hua She bid farewell to his sister, but instead of heading to the Meng Clan's villa, he went to the Book-Printing Hall to check in, prepare the ink, and then asked for leave. The foreman, knowing his situation, readily agreed with a smile.

Then, without bothering to wash himself, Hua She left immediately, only briefly touching his face on the way. By the time he arrived at the villa, the lecture had already begun.

Qiu Yan remained seated on the steps, but this time he wasn't talking about his observations. With yesterday's groundwork laid, he directly took out classical texts and began to dissect their profound meanings using the Way of Knowledge and Action. Given what had happened before, no one would think he wasn't qualified. However, as the lecture continued, questions still arose.

Fortunately, after speaking for a while longer, Qiu Yan waved his hand, allowing everyone present to voice their doubts.

This immediately piqued everyone's interest, but Hua She hesitated and found it difficult to muster the courage to step forward.

P. S.: Thanks to "Wan Xia Xia La" and "I Can't Get Full" for the donations!

Thank you to "lobo", "dry", "crotch is dead", and "Five-Li Pond" for your monthly votes!