Chapter 1775: News of an Old Friend
"A child, from conception to birth, passes through sixteen cosmic epochs, and is personally named by the teacher himself."
Southern Hibiscus Primordial glanced at Qin Mu and his wife, saying, "Seventh Young Master, what do you and your esteemed spouse intend to do? Can your child bear such blessings?"
The long river stretched endlessly. Qin Mu and Ling Yuxiu stood at the bow of the ship, gazing down at the magnificent history of the Sixteenth Epoch below. Qin Mu smiled and said, "The child naturally cannot bear it, but his father can make him worthy of it."
Southern Hibiscus Primordial's eyes flickered as she said, "Then on this journey, you and your wife will surely encounter all kinds of dangers. I somewhat regret agreeing to take you to the Miluo Palace."
Ling Yuxiu took Qin Mu's arm and laughed, "Fellow Daoist Southern Hibiscus, rest assured. We have weathered many dangers before; this journey is not particularly perilous."
Southern Hibiscus Primordial said no more.
Qin Mu's heart stirred slightly. A Guixu lotus flower flew out from between his brows, gently drifting into the chaotic long river. The lotus spun, and two or three lotus leaves floated on the river's surface, following the World-Crossing Golden Ship as it sailed toward the opposite shore.
He also summoned the World Tree, which took root in the chaotic long river, allowing both the Guixu lotus and the World Tree to absorb energy from the chaotic river.
The World Tree's branches and leaves grew fuller, its roots stronger, while the Guixu lotus became even more delicate and vibrant.
Threads of faint Dao light rose from the lotus platform, drifting into Ling Yuxiu's lower abdomen. At the same time, a flower bud appeared on the World Tree, and essence energy wafted over, harmonizing with the lotus platform's Dao light to nourish the fetus in Ling Yuxiu's womb.
Southern Hibiscus Primordial opened her mouth as if to speak, then hesitated, ultimately deciding to turn a blind eye.
"I am merely a hall master—why should I meddle in so much?"
She thought to herself, "The young masters and the old monsters outside the Miluo Palace will never sit idly by and allow this child to be born. This journey will likely be fraught with peril."
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Southern Heaven.
White Jade Qiong had pacified the rebellion in Southern Heaven, promoting education and establishing academies and schools. After the Battle of Southern Heaven, White Jade Qiong and the Nether Abyss Crown Prince joined forces to decisively defeat the Heavenly Court's army. Shang Pingyin fled, and remnants of the Heavenly Court caused chaos everywhere. It took White Jade Qiong and the Nether Abyss Crown Prince over ten years to wipe out the various rebel forces.
Even so, some Heavenly Court remnants still lurked in Southern Heaven, occasionally sparking a rebellion or two, though large-scale uprisings had ceased.
"Crown Prince, I am going to Yan-Kang to meet Emperor Yanfeng and report on the situation in Southern Heaven. Southern Heaven is in ruins, and many things need rebuilding. The education sector, in particular, has been deeply poisoned by Fire Heavenly Lord, making it difficult to resolve. My purpose in visiting Emperor Yanfeng is to seek his assistance."
White Jade Qiong said to the Nether Abyss Crown Prince, "Your Highness is extraordinarily capable, but you are honest and straightforward. This trip will take me a year or two to return. You must be wary of Shang Pingyin's resurgence."
The Nether Abyss Crown Prince replied, "Shang Pingyin has no troops or generals left; he is not worth worrying about. If he were wise, he would go into hiding and never emerge again—that would be his only path to survival. If he attacks me, he will only meet his death."
White Jade Qiong, accompanied by her personal guards from Qionghua Palace, boarded the Celestial Master's Treasure Chariot and entered the Spirit Energy Teleportation Bridge, heading toward Yan-Kang.
Southern Heaven's Spirit Energy Teleportation Bridge was relatively small, making it difficult to support someone of her strength. It took over a month for White Jade Qiong and her party to finally reach Yan-Kang's Spirit Energy Teleportation Bridge.
The Celestial Master's Treasure Chariot flew through the sky, not far from the ground. White Jade Qiong looked down at the towns and cities below, observing Yan-Kang's people's livelihood. She was in no hurry to see Emperor Yanfeng.
Southern Heaven's problems were too numerous. Although she wanted to carry on Meng Yungui's legacy and awaken the people of Southern Heaven, after nearly thirty years of bloody battles, the people there still knelt at the sight of any deity, lacking any spirit of resistance. This filled her with a deep sense of powerlessness.
Another purpose of her visit to Yan-Kang was to observe its people's livelihood and education, absorb its experiences, and implement them in Southern Heaven.
Yan-Kang had also been devastated by war, but within just over ten years after the conflict ended, it had nearly caught up to its pre-war state.
"If this were the Heavenly Court, after such a war, it would take a thousand years to recover its vitality."
She traveled at a leisurely pace, stopping to inspect elementary schools in the countryside and then visiting universities in the divine cities above. She gained much insight and was filled with deep emotion.
However, she also noticed many problems.
Yan-Kang's rural areas were in trouble. Most able-bodied young people had gone to the cities to work, often leaving as couples. The villages were left with only the elderly and children, not only draining the countryside of vitality but also breeding various social ills.
Although Emperor Yanfeng had noticed this issue and sent many cultivators to support education in the villages, offering them compensation, those willing to go were often less accomplished. Truly capable individuals tended to stay in the divine cities.
The quality of education in the villages was worrying, with a clear gap compared to urban education.
Village children, lacking parental guidance, were often left to their own devices, which boded ill for the next generation.
"How can Yan-Kang solve this problem?"
One day, she entered a village elementary school and found the learning atmosphere there very strong. This school was famous throughout the surrounding area. The village children studied desperately, striving to rise above their circumstances, which deeply moved her.
"Village children may need to put in ten times the effort of city children and spend ten or even twenty more years just to stand on equal footing with them. But at least this path upward hasn't been blocked—that's a good thing."
Just as she thought this, she noticed a young village instructor and felt a stir in her heart.
The young man was very intelligent and articulate, teaching the children about divine abilities with unique insights of his own.
What moved White Jade Qiong was that she felt a sense of familiarity with this young instructor.
"Learning lies in application. If you learn but don't apply it, you've wasted your effort. Between learning and applying, there is a path called thinking."
The young instructor spoke eloquently, showing great insight: "Thinking. Memorizing runes by rote is not advisable. You need to think about the principles behind each rune, the principles of rune combinations, and then think about the Dao they contain. That makes things much simpler..."
White Jade Qiong waited quietly. After a while, the bell rang, and the young instructor walked out with his books tucked under his arm.
She stopped him and smiled, "Fellow Daoist, I listened to your lecture. Your insights are profound, and your talent and comprehension are extraordinary. Why do you stay to teach in this elementary school? If you went to a big city, you would surely have a brighter future."
The young instructor, seeing her noble and extraordinary bearing, knew she was an important figure. He returned her greeting with neither humility nor arrogance, saying, "I was born here and have deep feelings for my hometown. After completing my studies in the city, I naturally returned. I plan to teach more people and help them leave the countryside."
"But you might be held back. You could have a better future."
White Jade Qiong probed, "If you are willing, I can take you to the capital. That is where you can truly showcase your talents."
The young instructor shook his head and declined.
"Meng Zhiyun, let's go!" Another instructor called out to him from a distance.
The young instructor excused himself and hurried away.
"Meng Zhiyun..."
White Jade Qiong watched him leave. It was a long time before she came back to her senses. She boarded the Celestial Master's Treasure Chariot and looked out the window at Meng Zhiyun, murmuring, "Is it you? Senior Brother Meng... Cui'er, bring me a handful of soil."
A guard quickly scooped up some soil from the ground and brought it into the chariot.
White Jade Qiong shaped the soil into incense and lit it. The smoke curled up, forming a three-headed, six-armed form of Earth Lord Qin Fengqing, who controlled the Six Paths of Reincarnation.
White Jade Qiong bowed and said, "I dare to ask the Earth Lord to investigate someone's origins for me."
Qin Fengqing, formed from the smoke, opened his eyes and said coldly, "This great war and the operation of the Six Paths involve the origins of many new lives. It is not easy to investigate. I cannot bend the rules for Your Majesty, the Southern Emperor."
White Jade Qiong quickly said, "Please, for the sake of my daughter and the Beast Realm Lord..."
Qin Fengqing sighed helplessly, "This is the last time."
White Jade Qiong breathed a sigh of relief and asked him to look into Meng Zhiyun.
After a moment, Qin Fengqing said, "Meng Yungui of the Heavenly Court suffered in the Netherworld for thirty-one years, burned away all his karmic fire, and reincarnated into the Meng family. He is now eighteen years old."
White Jade Qiong's heart trembled. She murmured, "It really is him... Why doesn't he recognize me?"
"To maintain fairness, anyone who reincarnates has all their memories erased. His past life memories have been completely burned away by the karmic fire."
Qin Fengqing dissolved into smoke, his voice coming from the Netherworld: "Your Majesty, the Southern Emperor, you must not interfere or awaken his memories. Otherwise, you will violate the rules of the Netherworld! I am very ferocious and never show favoritism..."
White Jade Qiong stood stunned for a long time. Suddenly, she pushed open the chariot door and rushed out, quickly arriving before Meng Zhiyun.
Meng Zhiyun looked at her in surprise, a puzzled expression on his face. White Jade Qiong handed him her name card and smiled, "I am White Jade Qiong of Southern Heaven. If you ever go to Southern Heaven or the capital, Fellow Daoist Meng, you can come find me."
Meng Zhiyun accepted the card. White Jade Qiong turned and left, her heart filled with joy.
Another month passed before she finally arrived at Yan-Kang's capital.
Yun Yunxi, acting on Emperor Yanfeng's orders, came to welcome her and escort her into the city, saying, "His Majesty knew you were coming and guessed your purpose. He has already dispatched thirty thousand cultivators to Southern Heaven. Thirty thousand cultivators can establish a hundred schools and academies."
"A hundred is far from enough!"
White Jade Qiong drove a hard bargain, raising one finger: "At the very least, we need to open a hundred thousand schools and academies! Celestial Master Zixi, don't forget—back then, you disguised yourself as a man and deceived my feelings for tens of thousands of years! You owe me!"
Yun Yunxi had long since resumed wearing women's clothing. Upon hearing this, she said helplessly, "After the war, Yan-Kang doesn't have that many people. Now even Carefree Village and the Crimson Bright Suspended Realm have been merged into Yan-Kang, and we are severely short-handed. If I give you all those people for Southern Heaven, Yan-Kang's education system will collapse. Make do with what you have for now..."
Her deception of White Jade Qiong's feelings was an old story, and she knew she was in the wrong, but Yan-Kang simply couldn't spare the manpower. She was at her wit's end.
White Jade Qiong walked alongside her and suddenly said, "I met the reincarnated Celestial Master Meng. He is doing well now, with his own career and ideals. With his wisdom, he will achieve something different from his past life. I heard about Zhuo Cha. Have you gone looking for him?"
At these words, Yun Yunxi's expression darkened. "After reincarnation, he became a farmer. He doesn't like me..."
White Jade Qiong was stunned, then covered her mouth and snickered. "Zixi, look at you now!"
Yun Yunxi shot her a glare and said helplessly, "He's a blockhead. But don't worry—sooner or later, he will fall for me!"
White Jade Qiong suddenly remembered something and quickly asked, "How did you find out where Zhuo Cha reincarnated? Earth Lord Qin Fengqing said he is impartial and never bends the rules."
"He's talking nonsense!"