"Then I'll give it a try in the Spirit Garden."
Changle accepted the bag of grain seeds.
"I wonder if the young sage prefers lush foliage or tall, robust plants..."
"This is grain; try to get as many seeds as possible."
Su Che said.
"This is the top priority right now, and we need to put in a lot of effort."
"Yes."
Changle was taken aback at first, then slowly nodded.
"Some people rise from the highest heavens, only considering it an achievement when they've accomplished something great. Let's start with small things and move forward step by step."
Su Che patted Changle on the shoulder, moved by her gesture.
"Thanks for your hard work."
After explaining the matter, Su Che left the Azure Emperor's Treasure Garden and reappeared in his room at Tongde Tower.
Someone was gently knocking on the door.
"Sir, your food has arrived."
"Bring it in."
Su Che gave a soft call, and two servants in blue robes and small hats entered the room carrying two wooden trays.
They carefully arranged the cooked dishes and poured the warmed Shaoxing wine into the glasses.
"Sir, we're right outside. Just let us know if you need anything."
Su Che nodded.
My mind was still on the Mount Zhong Association.
The two servants carefully closed the door.
One person quietly walked to the end of the connecting corridor to await instructions, while the other carefully walked out of Tongde Tower and headed towards the villa behind it.
Tongde Tower occupies a vast area, with a towering five-story pavilion in front and a winding path leading to several secluded villas in the back, though these have never been open to the public.
The young servant in blue turned left and right among the crowd, finally finding a room and slowly pushing it open.
The woman who had met Su Che briefly on the road was carefully examining a Buddhist scripture when she saw the young servant in blue return. She suddenly smiled.
"Going off to fool around again?"
"A message just came from the front saying that a very strange person has arrived, so I went to check it out."
"Oh?"
The woman frowned slightly. Although there were some subtle conflicts between the Prince of Wuling and the Crown Prince, it was unlikely that they would extend this struggle to her.
Although Wang Jian was the chief secretary of the Prince of Wuling, he was, after all, from the Chen Commandery Xie Clan, and the Wang Langya Wang Clan was also a noble family that shared the fate of the country and had been intermarrying with the government for generations.
If something really happens, it's probably some kind of evil spirit stirring up trouble out of a desire for something rare and valuable.
With you by my side, what could possibly happen?
"That person had a strange smell. At first, I thought it was Dragon Clan from the Eastern Sea and wanted to meet it, but it wasn't. We can't figure out what kind of person it is. We should be careful."
The servant took off his hat and straightened his clothes; he turned out to be the maid who had always been by Lady Xie's side.
"Didn't you say something was off about Tian'an County?" Lady Xie smiled. "Let's rest for a day first, and then set off tomorrow, heading straight for Ci Prefecture. There, not only are there the Imperial Demon Hunters and the Night Pacification Bureau, but the City God is also Law Power powerful, a rare Law Power revered deity among the current Divine Path."
"If possible, let's leave tonight."
The maid wrinkled her small nose.
"The stench of evil spirits in this area is still too strong."
Su Che sat in his room, drinking alone. The dishes were all delicious, and the Shaoxing wine was also very fragrant.
Mount Zhong Association is likely just one of many pawns in Zhongyuan's game.
Besides the Mount Zhong Association, Su Che felt that if the " Listening-Rain Tower " mentioned by the Ghost Ancestor was indeed real, it should also be a force under Zhongyuan.
On that day in the Yin-Yang Realm, the Ghost Ancestor fought against several Second Grade Buddhist School. He himself happened to witness the Ghost Ancestor and Yuwen Rui plotting together outside Guobei County.
The change in the Ghost Ancestor's attitude, in retrospect, must have been part of Zhongyuan's plan.
What exactly was Zhongyuan planning and strategizing for?
A familiar feeling came over him, Su Che moved, finding himself in another world.
A towering Bronze Divine Tree reaching into the clouds, a statue of an immortal floating in the air, and a giant dragon carrying a candle wandering through the sky.
And of course, there's that mysterious master wearing an ancient bronze mask.
" Lord Dongwang."
Zhongyuan sat upright in his seat, one hand supporting his chin, his eyes bright and piercing.
At this moment, there was no one else in front of the Mount Zhong Association, only Zhongyuan sitting high above him.
"How is Ci Prefecture?"
Su Che thought for a moment and replied silently.
"It's nothing more than Life and Death and death, separation and reunion—the norm in human life."
"That's just how things are." Zhongyuan slowly shook his head.
"Did you see the wicked dragon that fled into the Eastern Sea when the Yin-Yang Realm shattered?"
"I've seen it. But it winds eastward, occasionally revealing a glimpse of its power, enough to freeze thousands of miles of mountains and rivers."
"What left that day was merely a remnant of the evil dragon's spirit. You can imagine how powerful he was in Primordial Era times." Zhongyuan seemed to be recalling the distant past. "Back then, beings like him occupied this world, their breaths becoming rain and their inhalations becoming wind. They possessed unparalleled Divine Ability, yet they also caused immeasurable suffering to the human world."
" Mysterious Capital Palace follows the Dao of non-action. They purify the world and kill the most wicked creatures. At the time, we thought that if we could eliminate all these Primordial Wilderness evils, the world would be at peace."
"Although natural disasters have been averted, man-made calamities remain." Zhongyuan sighed softly, "When I was cultivating, I found the so-called Law of Dao and Virtue of the Mysterious Capital Palace quite laughable, but later I realized that it would be truly tragic for cultivators to be without the constraints of these two words."
"Back then, some people, in order to befriend the Eastern Sea Demon Race, abducted tens of thousands of people to feed them. Others, seeking the Heavenly Demon Self-Transformation Freedom Art, sacrificed tens of thousands of people in a single day as a blood sacrifice." Zhongyuan looked at Su Che: "It seems that you, Lord Dongwang, have never witnessed the ugly state of Earth Immortal once they let go of evil and act recklessly."
"Therefore, I and several friends, along with old acquaintances from this world, decided to establish a set of rules for the world. Among them are the Five Directions and Five Emperors of the Five Directions, as you know them. In addition to them, the founder of the Divine Firmament Sect, the leader of the Yellow Heaven Sect, and many other extraordinary Earth Immortal are also included."
"At that time, we discussed and decided that we should imitate the dynasties of the human world and establish a Heavenly Court to set rules for all cultivators in the world. This is the Ancient Heavenly Court."
Zhongyuan sighed softly, "Back then, the Buddhist School was closed off and only concerned with their own self-contained system of the Six Paths of Reincarnation of Reincarnation. The Mysterious Capital Palace followed the Law of Dao and Virtue and neither supported nor opposed our actions. The Devil Sect was still insignificant, and although the demons claimed to be a race, how could a tiger be ranked with a flock of sheep? They're still just a disorganized mess."
"That was indeed the best opportunity back then, but unfortunately, we made a mistake at the last minute and failed. We can't blame anyone else for this."
Zhongyuan casually remarked, "Things went wrong at the end," Su Che could still sense a strong stench of blood.
That mishap was a catastrophe that led to the fall of Five Directions and Five Emperors and the complete collapse of the Ancient Heavenly Court.
It is precisely because of this difficulty that the distinction between High Antiquity and Medieval Era times arose.