One Stroke of Good Luck After Another

Zhang Xuezhou trusted Gongsun Hong to a certain extent, but not to the point of entrusting him with his life.

Going to sea is not a matter of just a few days or two; it can take as long as ten days, half a month, or even several months.

Zhang Xuezhou can enjoy playing on inland rivers now, but he still feels some pressure facing the sea.

Without the advantage of playing on the water, Gongsun Hong's suggestion would have been rejected.

"I do indeed have some clues about the Mohists's Mechanical City. There are three pots overseas, which are three mountains in the sea. The first is Fanghu, which is Fangzhang; the second is Penghu, which is Penglai; and the third is Yinghu, which is Yingzhou," Gongsun Hong said. "The Mohists's Mechanical City is in search of these three mountains!"

"Why are these three mountains named after teapots?" Zhang Xuezhou asked curiously.

"A mountain is a mountain, and a pot is a pot. But if there's a pot within a mountain and a mountain within a pot, then that's another world entirely," Gongsun Hongdao said. "These three pots must all be extremely rare secret locations!"

"Doesn't that mean these three secret locations all have owners?" Zhang Xuezhou asked doubtfully.

"It's a coincidence that none of these three secret realms have owners; only those who happen to be there have the chance to enter!"

How did you determine that it didn't have an owner?

"In fact, it's not just the Mohists and us who have been searching for these three places; many immortals, gods, demons, and ghosts from the four continents Three Realms have also sought them out. If these three places had an owner, so many people wouldn't be searching for them!"

Why is everyone searching for these three places?

"The various blessed lands and grotto-heavens all have their own destinations, leaving only these three unoccupied. It's not that people lack these three secret places, but rather that these secret places are hidden away, and they might contain extremely primitive innate treasures. You must know that more than a thousand years ago, even a novice Qi Refiner wielding an innate treasure could make a current True Self Realm cultivator kneel down and call him 'Grandpa'..."

Gongsun Hong still harbored some delusions.

Whether it's the Mohists's Mechanical City or the Three Pots Mountain overseas, there's a chance to obtain powerful weapons and treasures.

Confucian School is inclusive, and Gongsun Hong did not resist using treasures, even if it was just scraps from the Mohists.

If there were some treasure that could grant him top-tier strength, Gongsun Hong would be willing to abandon even the highest cultivation ideals of the Sole Self Realm and True Self Realm.

One moment he could diligently cultivate, striving to improve every bit of his cultivation; the next moment, having obtained the treasure, Gongsun Hong could also become a carefree person, never to cultivate again.

For Gongsun Hong, his transformation could be so drastic.

As he recounted the stories of cultivators from ancient times, Gongsun Hong even felt a pang of envy, wishing he could travel back hundreds or thousands of years and change his life with a primordial Law Treasure, thus leaving behind a illustrious reputation in history.

"What a pity that so many treasures are gone!"

Zhang Xuezhou echoed his agreement.

He had not only heard of Gongsun Hong's theories, but he also understood the struggle between cultivators who controlled innate Law Treasure and those who cultivated themselves.

For Zhang Xuezhou, some of the things Gongsun Hong mentioned were just things he heard again.

Not all innate treasures are useful. For example, the purple-gold gourd that Zhang Xuezhou and others used may be an innate treasure, but they may also have been tricked by it.

Zhang Xuezhou also had a water gourd hanging from his waist, but Zhang Xuezhou had never drunk the water from it.

There is a high probability that Brahma, the god of the Western Sect, also obtained a primordial treasure that could release poison, and from then on became a superior being.

These innate treasures vary in quality; some are useful, while others have been used to swindle people.

In comparison, Zhang Xuezhou preferred to use some acquired talents.

He and Gongsun Hong chatted and laughed, finding the journey quite enjoyable.

They spent the night in Liangyuan, and then rode their horses through the lands of Zhao and Qi.

Zichuan Kingdom belonged to the Qi region. After returning to Qi, Gongsun Hong did not go directly back to his hometown, but instead sent Zhang Xuezhou to Li Shaojun's Taiqing Temple.

Look there!

Gongsun Hong pointed to a small Daoist temple.

This Daoist temple was not located in the city, but was built at the foot of a small mountain outside the city. The location was remote and difficult to reach, and there was no road access. Pedestrians could only walk there from several miles away.

However, people continued to flock to the Daoist temple, and even though it was almost sunset, there were still people queuing outside to offer incense and pray to the gods.

Building a Daoist temple is not difficult; as long as you get the permit, you can build it. However, once the temple is built, it needs people to worship in order to generate income. Getting people to worship is a difficult task.

Gongsun Hong was quite envious of Li Shaojun's Daoist temple. He even tried to build a Confucian School hall in imitation of it. However, compared to Li Shaojun's Daoist temple, his ancestral hall did not fare so well. To this day, he has not even recouped his investment.

"This Daoist temple of Li Shaojun isn't very big," Zhang Xuezhou said. "It only has three rooms, which is much smaller than I imagined."

"It doesn't matter how small the viewpoint, as long as the spirit is there, there's money!"

A reply came, and Zhang Xuezhou was about to nod in agreement, but he quickly realized that it wasn't Gongsun Hong speaking.

When Zhang Xuezhou turned his head, he saw a worshipper heading to the Daoist temple wink at him.

"They actually acted as shills for their own Daoist temple?"

Even though Li Shaojun had changed his appearance and was wearing a gold-embroidered robe, Zhang Xuezhou could still recognize him, especially since the guy had actually spoken up.

Looking at the tribute items Li Shaojun was carrying, Zhang Xuezhou almost wanted to spit them out.

He had seen various new stores pay people to queue up and create a lively atmosphere for their grand openings, but he had never seen a Daoist temple do this.

Li Shaojun's ideas on running his own Daoist temple were obviously very advanced. Zhang Xuezhou had seen shills in the real world of business, and Wang Li had often created atmosphere on Flying Entertainment Livestream, but he had never actually seen shills here.

He smiled very politely at Li Shaojun and followed behind him.

"Let's go light some incense together!" Zhang Xuezhou said to Gongsun Hong with a smile.

"I don't believe in Daoism, I only worship Sage Kong and Sage Meng, I can't do this," Gongsun Hong shook his head repeatedly.

"Then I'll go to the Daoist temple," Zhang Xuezhou said. "I'll return to Anqiu County later!"

"Please!"

Zhang Xuezhou intended to say goodbye to Gongsun Hong, but Li Shaojun was right outside his own Daoist temple, which made things go far too smoothly for Zhang Xuezhou.

If things went smoothly, there's nothing more to say; his official business is finished.

Once the meeting with Li Shaojun at Chang'an City, and Li Shaojun was lured to the imperial court to gain some advantages, the matter was basically settled, and Zhang Xuezhou no longer needed to go through the trouble.

He reached an agreement with Yao Yuanguang at Liangyuan in Suiyang City and encountered Li Shaojun directly upon entering the Outer Dao Anqiu County. His luck was so good that even Zhang Xuezhou was somewhat surprised.

Zhang Xuezhou felt something was off. After all, he had good luck in water areas, so it was impossible for him to have good luck in non-water areas like Liangyuan and Taiqing Temple.

This official trip was as simple as it could be.

Once was a coincidence, but twice made Zhang Xuezhou realize something was amiss.

"Could it be that Master Dong has already performed his fortune-telling ritual in Jiangdu, and I've somehow benefited from his luck?"

If Zhang Xuezhou had to find a reason, he could only think of Dong Zhongshu, who was on good terms with him, whose skills were so fierce that they even influenced him.