Chen Mu was secretly surprised. He hadn't expected that Landuo, at his age, could learn how to set up a rune array so quickly. It seemed that his comprehension was quite good.
Unfortunately Landuo is too old. Although Chen Mu managed to procure spiritual herbs through Hou Sailei's connections, enabling Landuo to break through to the Earth Talisman Master, it is almost impossible for him to advance further in the future.
"Hmm, very good."
Chen Mu gave a compliment and continued walking towards the inner circle of Chen Village.
"Master, you previously told me to select some qualified young people in the village to cultivate the Dao of Talismans, and I have indeed found two."
Landuo casually mentioned the matter of taking on apprentices to Chen Mu.
"Oh? Haha, very good! They're all from the Chen Clan?"
"Yes, one of them is your adopted sister, Chen Ju."
"Alright! Then I'll trouble you to teach them well."
Chen Mu felt somewhat ashamed towards his adopted sister Chen Ju, as he had hardly had time to care for her; it was mostly Chen Duo who communicated with her.
After entering the inner circle of Chen Village, he went straight to his third uncle's house, where a feast had already been prepared. Chen Mu, Chen Duo, and the other three had been working hard for so many days, so they enjoyed a good meal and the joy of reunion.
With Chen Mu's automated rune printers providing stable funding, and the Chen Clan also having cultivation resources such as the Chen Clan Cultivation Tower and the Five Elements Body Tempering Art, the clan members are making rapid progress.
Most of the Chen Clan clan members have now advanced to the Qi Nourishing Realm, and there are more than twenty members at the Qi Nourishing Realm. Chen Zihu and Chen Hongjie have even broken through to the Late Qi Nourishing Realm. Although they are a little slower than Chen Mu and the other three, it is still a level of strength that they could never have imagined before.
During Chen Mu's absence, many things happened in Chen Village. However, Chen Village did not participate in the struggle for supremacy with the outside world, but instead remained steadfast on Black Rock Mountain. Other forces, knowing Chen Village's strength, did not dare to coerce Chen Village.
There is a strong call within the tribe to expand. With Chen Village's current strength, it is already strong enough to become a top-tier middle-level tribe, and in a few more years, it would be perfectly feasible to become a high-level tribe.
" Chen Mu, while you were away, the village boys really lived up to expectations. Last month, we discovered another tungsten-iron mine in an unknown area, and we've already taken it over."
Chen Village is thriving, and Chen Hongjie, full of pride, tells Chen Mu about village affairs as if showing off a treasure.
Tungsten ore can be purified into ferrotungsten, which is harder and more heat-resistant than ordinary iron, making it an excellent material for making weapons and protective gear, and it sells for a high price on the outside.
With the tungsten-iron mine, Chen Village has gained another huge source of income.
"Okay! So we have three mines now?"
It seems our Chen Village still has too few people; we need to absorb more vassal tribes!
The maintenance, mining, and guarding of the mine all require manpower. Even though Chen Village's vassal tribes and slaves already number three to four thousand, there are not many people available to allocate now. If Chen Village wants to continue to develop, it can only increase its manpower.
"Yes, Chen Mu, I think it's time for us to expand."
Chen Hongjie stared intently at Chen Mu, as if he had been holding these words in his heart for a long time.
Chen Mu looked at Chen Hongjie and burst into laughter.
"Third Uncle, I knew you'd bring this up when I got back!"
I think that's fine! Then tomorrow, let's discuss the specific expansion plan again.
"Okay! Let's talk tomorrow, and drink to our hearts' content today. Cheers!"
Chen Hongjie was in a great mood, picked up his wine glass and took a big gulp, feeling extremely refreshed.
On the day he returned to Chen Village, Chen Mu spent most of his time catching up with the villagers.
Besides members of the Chen Clan, the chief of the Weng Mountain Tribe, Gebu, and others also came to pay their respects to Chen Mu. Chen Mu chatted with them, and time flew by.
The next morning, Chen Mu didn't rush to find Chen Hongjie, but instead went to the talisman-making room.
After Chen Mu left, Landuo took over the use of the talisman-making room in Chen Village, and it was expanded, with many facilities improved.
" Landuo, while I was away, what progress has been made on your mechanical puppets?"
"Thanks to your great fortune, Master, the mechanical puppets I've created have reached the Middle Stage of the Qi Nourishing Realm. However, they're still far inferior to your Rune Puppet No. 1!"
As Landuo spoke, he directed a mechanical puppet to emerge from the talisman-making room.
Chen Mu examined the mechanical puppet made by Landuo and saw many traces of imitation of his own.
Unfortunately, the core of the Talisman Puppet he created was a combat program supported by Rune Core.
Landuo had never studied programming and didn't understand how programs worked, so these mechanical puppets couldn't match the combat power of his own Rune Puppet No. 1.
However, after a closer look, Chen Mu discovered that the mechanical puppet also contained his discarded Rune Core No. 1, and that Landuo was actually imitating him in writing combat programs.
Although Landuo's imitation was superficial and didn't significantly enhance the mechanical puppet's combat capabilities, Chen Mu saw in it the potential for the widespread application of programming thinking.
Chen Mu used to think that people in this world couldn't understand physics or programming logic, but Landuo's example made him realize that he had been imprisoning himself.
However, for most people, it is indeed unnecessary to understand what physics is.
Because if they simply cultivate themselves and resonate with Spiritual Power, they will naturally be able to fly, travel through the earth, prolong their lives, and be omnipotent. So why should they need to learn what physics is or what science is?
With Spiritual Power depleted on Earth, humans are unable to cultivate themselves and have no other way but to improve themselves through external forces. From this perspective, the process of humans learning scientific principles is similar to that of talisman masters comprehending the Rules of Heaven and Earth and earth.
However, they are not entirely the same. But Chen Mu had a feeling that people with scientific thinking would find it much easier to comprehend the Rules of Heaven and Earth than people in this world.
Procedural thinking is a type of scientific thinking, full of rationality and logic. If it can be taught to others, it might create a new school of thought in cultivation.
However, for Chen Mu, establishing his own sect is not his ambition, at least not in the short term. He is only thinking about it now, and he will consider this issue after he becomes one of the strongest people on the continent.
" Landuo, have someone clean this room. I'm planning to build a teleportation array here!"
Chen Mu's casual remark struck Landuo like a thunderclap.
"A teleportation array? Master, you can even build teleportation arrays?"
Landuo looked at Chen Mu in disbelief. Although he knew that Chen Mu would definitely improve after the Heaven-Questioning Pavilion, Chen Mu had only been studying there for a little over a year.
Although Landuo's own strength was not high, he was knowledgeable and knew that to set up a teleportation array, one needed at least Solid Realm Divine Soul Realm or higher.
In just over a year, he went from Earth Talisman Master to Spirit Talisman Master?
Landuo shocked he couldn't close his mouth.