Chapter 1127
Extra Chapter 1: The Great World
Wang Cong stepped onto Guangzhou Port with high spirits, greeting everyone he passed by, whether he knew them or not.
They bought a row of houses in Guangzhou Port, which they used as warehouses and living quarters for the sailors. They also set aside the two best-located houses to make shops, ostensibly to sell their imported goods, but actually to take on wholesale business.
Guangzhou Port is developing rapidly, attracting not only merchants from Southeast Asia but also blond-haired, blue-eyed people from the West. They are unfamiliar with the Ming Dynasty and are often taken advantage of.
Wang Cong's two shops were set up for them. He could wholesale goods from the Ming Dynasty to them, including exquisite silks, porcelain, and even tea and wine.
His prices are higher than those of those who cheat them, but he guarantees authenticity and quality.
After being cheated once or twice, those Westerners became smart and only bought goods from Wang Cong.
Wang Cong followed them to the Western Ocean, opening up new shipping routes and quickly seizing market share in the West.
At present, Wang Cong is one of the largest Ming Dynasty merchants in the Western trade, and another is an official ship of the Ministry of Foreign Trade.
The Ministry of Foreign Trade was established in the thirteenth year of the Jingtai reign by the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of Works, and was specifically responsible for the Ming Dynasty's official foreign trade.
It can be said that the Ministry of Foreign Trade played a crucial role in the smooth progress of the Ming Dynasty's commercial tax reform.
The silver brought back by the Ministry of Foreign Trade each year filled the gap left by the exemption of poll tax and the reduction of land tax.
Whether it's tax reduction or exemption, the prerequisite is that the national treasury must have a sufficient surplus to cover the court's expenditures; otherwise, let alone tax reduction or exemption, it would be good enough if taxes weren't increased.
Wang Cong went directly to his own large villa.
He bought a piece of land and built it. It was very desolate at the time, but because Guangzhou has developed well over the decades, it has become prosperous.
As soon as he got out of the car, he felt that the people on the street were excessively excited. The old and the young were all smiling, and the children were running around in the street singing and holding flowers.
As Wang Cong walked by, a child saw that his hands were empty and he didn't even have a flower in his hair, so he took one of the flowers in his hand and gave it to him.
Children love to join in the fun, and when his friends saw this, they generously gave Wang Cong flowers. One of them even asked Wang Cong to squat down so he could pin a flower in his hair.
Wang Cong laughed loudly. He was getting old, but thanks to his junior uncle and his father's elixirs, he had broken through to the first rank of Marquis ten years ago and officially entered the ranks of cultivators.
Although he was much slower than his junior brothers and sisters, he was content.
He looks like he's in his thirties now, but everyone in the martial arts world knows that he's been active at sea for over thirty years.
No one dared to underestimate him.
Wang Cong half-squatted down to let the child put the flower on his head, then calculated with his fingers and asked, "Is it some kind of auspicious day lately? Why aren't you in school?"
"The Imperial Preceptor has ascended to immortality, so the school is on holiday."
Wang Cong's smile froze on his face. He asked incredulously, "What...what did you say?"
"The Imperial Preceptor has ascended to immortality, the whole country is celebrating, and we are on holiday."
Wang Cong ran back to the villa, neither laughing nor crying.
Wang Xiaojing is old and has long since stopped going to sea. He is now Wang Cong's chief manager in Guangzhou.
He had prepared everything at the villa early in the morning. As soon as Wang Cong returned, he stuffed a handful of incense into Wang Cong's hand and said happily, "Brother Cong, Junior Uncle has become an immortal!"
Wang Cong's eyes were bloodshot as he asked, "When did this happen?"
Seeing that Wang Cong didn't seem happy, Wang Xiaojing paused slightly and whispered, "Just the other day, I heard that lightning struck for twenty-one days, and the newspapers were full of reports about it."
Wang Xiaojing immediately showed him the newspapers he had collected, and everything he knew came from the newspapers.
Of course, he also knew something that wasn't in the newspapers. Wang Xiaojing whispered, "Brother Cong, Abbot Wang wrote a letter asking you to go back to Sanqing Mountain as soon as you return. He said that Second Uncle and the others have also gone back."
Wang Cong forced back his tears all the way back to Sanqing Mountain.
To others, Pan Yun's ascension to immortality was a joyous occasion, and he was happy for himself, but he didn't get to see his junior uncle one last time.
No one knows what the other world is like. Will Junior Uncle be able to come back? Even if he does, will he be able to see him again?
Wang Cong slapped himself, thinking, "Serves you right for not cultivating diligently. Otherwise, I would have received the news much sooner..."
That's not right, how come he hasn't received any messages?
For the safety of the Ministry of Foreign Trade, the royal family, and merchant caravans, the Ming Dynasty deployed base stations in many overseas locations, and information could be transmitted entirely via radio.
Although his cultivation level was not high, he flew slowly and always needed to rest, but he was still faster than a ship.
He spent a full twenty-one days undergoing tribulation; he could have easily flown back!
Wang Cong returned to Sanqing Mountain in tears.
The Sanqing Temple on Sanqing Mountain was very quiet. Apart from Wang Feiyin, Yin Song, and Yin Qingjun, there were only a few chickens.
Wang Cong's crying startled the chicken, which flew away. Only after realizing that the strange noise posed no danger did it fall from the tree, turn its neck, glare at Wang Cong with its little eyes, and then continue to wag its tail as it went to forage for food.
"You're back?" Yin Song said coldly, pointing to the prayer mat beside him. "Come here, we can cry with you one more time."
Wang Cong sat down on the prayer mat and wiped away his tears: "I'm crying because I didn't get to see my junior uncle one last time. What about you?"
"Coincidentally, Qingjun and I didn't see her either, but we weren't crying because of that. It's because she took away the third and fourth brothers and your junior brothers and sisters, leaving only the four of us. Oh, your father doesn't count. He can't leave even if he wanted to. Sanqing Mountain is still here."
Wang Cong's expression went blank: "What do you mean by taking away Third Uncle, Fourth Uncle, and Junior Brothers and Sisters?"
Yin Song glanced at him and said, "Your junior uncle has a space that can hold living things. Don't tell me you didn't know that. She put them in the space and took them with her."
Wang Cong immediately wiped away his tears, looking astonished: "You can do that?"
Yin Song said, feeling aggrieved, "So you knew?"
Wang Cong immediately comforted him: "Master, since Junior Martial Aunt has taken Junior Brothers and Sisters away, she will definitely bring them back."
Wang Cong no longer felt upset and asked curiously, "I didn't see my martial uncle because he was at sea, but why did you?"
Yin Song's resentment deepened: "Qingjun and I were conducting an experiment on converting lightning fields into electricity in the mountains. We were the only two people in the deep forest, cut off from all communication and completely unaware of anything. We only came out of the mountains yesterday."
Therefore, they found out about this a day earlier than Wang Cong, and by the time they rushed back, Pan Yun had already disappeared.
Yin Song looked towards the door.
Wang Cong followed his master and junior brother's gaze to his father, who was huddled outside the door.
Yin Song was full of resentment: "Junior Sister is undergoing tribulation, it's understandable that she can't be distracted, but how come Senior Brother forgot to inform us?"
Wang Feiyin said guiltily, "You don't know, at that time, Heaven was acting as if it wanted Junior Sister to die for the cause. My mind was on that. Not to mention you, I even forgot I needed to pee."
The three disciples: ...
Wang Feiyin considered it carefully and said, "Why don't you go to Lop Nur and take a look? Maybe you can contact Junior Sister there. She's not going to the Upper Realm, but rather to return to her previous life's world first."
"Past life? Wasn't Junior Uncle a person from the former Tang Dynasty in his past life?"
Yin Song pondered, "I thought they were from before the Han Dynasty, but they're actually from another world?"
Wang Feiyin: "Never mind where she's from. If you want to find her, go to Lop Nur. A lot of people are going there recently to search for miracles. Be careful when you're looking for her, so you don't get discovered."
Construction is underway in Lop Nur.
A temple, funded by the royal family and constructed by the Ministry of Works, led to the emergence of inns and markets in the surrounding area.
The once sparsely populated desert has become bustling with people.
Wang Cong and the other two first went to see the large sand pit where the tribulation was being conducted.
The large sand pit was created by lightning. Sand is naturally mobile, and the desert is windy. It is common for a sand dune to move to another side tomorrow, but this large sand pit has been preserved.
Wang Cong immediately saw through the deception.
Vitrification.
Or, to put it another way, it's called vitrification.
Because of the fierce lightning strike, the sand turned into glass under the high temperature. Not only in the sand pit, but also around it, a lot of glass was scattered. They weighed heavily on the sand, and some were even embedded in the sand pile, perfectly fixing the sand in place. So this large sand pit was temporarily preserved.
Wang Cong dug in the sand and pulled out a cone-shaped piece of mottled glass. It was very heavy, with semi-vitrified sand inside, and the end was very hard; one wrong move and it could kill someone.
When someone saw them, they immediately waved their hands and shouted loudly.
After listening carefully, Wang Cong and the others realized that they were being advised to put their things down.
"This is a miracle, you must not steal it. Many who have stolen it have been cursed. Some have had their hands cut, and some have had their feet pierced. You should stay away from it."
Wang Cong looked up and saw that under the sunlight, the glass in the sand reflected a dazzling light, colorful and magnificent.
Wang Cong pondered for a moment: "I have seen very beautiful glass in the West, which is better than the glass that we in the Great Ming Dynasty make ourselves. It must be a matter of temperature control. If we can do this well, we can make even more beautiful and perfect glass. At that time, everyone in the Great Ming Dynasty will be holding a miracle in their hands. Wouldn't that be wonderful?"
Yin Song: "...I sent you to find Lao Wu, but you're thinking about doing business instead."
Yin Qingjun: "Master, have you figured out how to find Junior Uncle?"
Yin Song remained silent. The sky was clear and blue, looking perfectly intact, without a single trace. How could he possibly find it?
Shouting at God?
He didn't believe Pan Yun could hear him, as they were separated by a world.
Wang Cong chuckled and said, "I might have a way."
As night fell, the bustling desert quieted down, with only the flickering fires. Those who were tired from exploring for treasure during the day lay down by the fires, while Wang Cong and his group left quietly.
The three of them lightly touched the sand with their toes and used their light-footed skills to reach the edge of the sandpit.
They didn't know if this place was closer to that world, or if the whole world was the same, but Junior Martial Aunt must have had her reasons for choosing this place.
Yin Song set out a table and arranged the offerings, incense burner, and talismans.
Wang Cong respectfully took out the stone statue of his master and placed it next to Pan Yun's stone statue before issuing a yellow talisman with a vermilion hue.
At a glance, Yin Song recognized it as a talisman drawn in blood: "What is this?"
"Ever since I set sail for the Western Ocean, my junior uncle has given me a divine talisman drawn with her blood every time I go out to sea."
"A divine will talisman?" Where in the world could there be such a talisman? Yin Song took it and examined it carefully, his lips twitching slightly: "It does resemble a speech talisman."
Wang Cong grinned: "It's an improved form of speech symbol."
Sure enough, the talisman was different from the speech talisman only in the middle two strokes. It seemed that... Yin Song looked thoughtfully at the two stone statues in front of him. The speech talisman seemed to be related to the stone statues.
Once a cultivator's cultivation reaches a certain level, they become very sensitive. This sensitivity is not only reflected in their perception of danger and their ability to foresee the future, but also in their perception of everything related to themselves.
For example, someone might mention his name, birth date, etc.
If he were worshipped in the mortal world like a deity, he could occasionally hear the strong wishes of his believers.
This is the power of faith.
Pan Yun was able to hear the wishes of believers even before she broke through to the third level of the Marquis realm because she had taken the initiative to bind herself to Pan Gong, the god of Sanqing Mountain, and voluntarily took on his sins and shared half of his merits.
Therefore, she possessed a touch of divinity.
Whether she makes a wish to Pan Gong or to her, when the wish is particularly strong and can stir up the energy between heaven and earth, she can hear "their" voices.
Most wishes can be fulfilled with the protection of Master Pan.
Actually, what they want is a guiding energy.
Similar to the common wish of praying for great wealth and smooth sailing in everything, Pan Gong only needed to give them a slight breeze to make them feel that this year would be very favorable for them, so they would work hard and strive...
As long as you work hard and strive, the result won't be too bad. Even if you're working in the wrong direction, God will make you unlucky and eliminated early to minimize your losses.
However, some special wishes, such as praying for the disappearance of illness, good health, a child, or salvation, suddenly erupt with strong energy that vibrates the energy of heaven and earth, allowing Pan Yun to hear their voices, and she will pay attention to them.
Because their will is so strong, they must have paid a great price in their hearts. As long as Master Pan accepts their will, she will have to find a way to fulfill their wishes.
Otherwise, all the good deeds would be in vain, and in the end, she and Pan Gong would suffer the consequences.
Being a deity isn't so easy.
Therefore, when Pan Yun occasionally left the palace, taking Miao Zhen, Miao He, and Tao Yanbai with her, she would travel around to fulfill people's wishes.
There was nothing she could do; her master lacked divine power and couldn't fulfill their wishes on his own.
It is precisely because those who make wishes soon encounter various benefactors and have their wishes fulfilled that the number of believers in the Sanqing Mountain God is increasing, and the merits they accumulate are becoming more and more substantial.
After Pan Yun transcended her tribulation and ascended to immortality, her sensitivity increased to an even higher level. Coupled with the increase in offerings from the common people and the accumulation of merit after her death, this talisman and the stone statue...
Believe it or not, it's actually quite possible to get in touch with her.
Yin Song's spirits lifted, and he stared intently at Wang Cong.
Wang Cong held the yellow talisman between his fingers, his hand trembled, and the talisman ignited. His brows furrowed, and he chanted a spell in a low voice: "Heaven is clear, earth is spirited, I burn incense and respectfully invite Immortal Master Pan Sanzhu... This disciple wholeheartedly beseeches Immortal Master to descend. So be it!"
Then, with a serious yet resentful expression, he said to the stone statue, "Junior Uncle, have you forgotten Cong'er on the other side of the sea...?"
Seeing that he was getting nowhere and that the yellow talisman was about to burn out, Yin Song angrily covered his mouth and shouted loudly in front of the stone statue, "Junior Sister! I'm going to another world to train too, come back and get me!"
Yin Qingjun immediately added loudly, "And me too! Junior Uncle, you can't forget Qingjun—"
Pan Yun's mind went blank for a moment, and she felt completely disoriented.
Miaozhen keenly noticed that Pan Yun was distracted and quickly tugged at her: "Junior Martial Aunt?"
She looked warily at the talking, turning bird head on the roof. It was this bird head that had spoken, which was why her junior uncle had been stunned.
Pan Yun shook her head and murmured, "I think I just heard Wang Cong, Second Senior Brother, and Qingjun's voices."
Miaozhen exclaimed in surprise: "Master and Senior Brother are back?"
"So soon? Does that mean we can see them if we stay a little longer?" Miaohe said with a regretful expression.
Pan Jun glanced around the laboratory, then looked at the display screen on the life support capsule, which showed the time.
Upon seeing the time displayed above, both Pan Yun and Pan Xiaohei froze. This was... only fifty-three days after the accident?
This is the rhythm of one day being like another year.
To be honest, in Miaozhen's eyes, who was unaware of the theories of time, space and parallel universes, this really did have the feel of a higher realm.
Pan Yun touched his nose and said to Miao Zhen, "With my cultivation level, I would never have hallucinations. They must have returned. But there is a time difference between the two realms. My masters will arrive in a while. I need to meet with them first and then go back to pick them up."
Miao Zhen's eyes lit up: "Can we go back and pick them up?"
“Of course,” Pan Yun said, “Since we were able to come, we can certainly go back.”
However, she still needs to find Pan Xiaohei to reconstruct the spatial coordinates, and she also needs to accumulate strength.
It would take time to get back, and most importantly, the flow of time was different in the two times. Pan Yun didn't want Wang Cong and the others to wait in vain and worry about this matter, so before the professors arrived, she sat down cross-legged, calmed her mind, and sensed the location of her stone statue and talisman through the faint connection.
On the desert, dawn was approaching, and Wang Cong began to doubt himself. Could it be that because they were separated by a world, his junior uncle had not received it?
Looking at the rising sun gradually appearing on the horizon, Yin Song sighed, stood up, and said, "Let's go, we'll try again tomorrow."
Yin Qingjun was also hanging his head and about to tidy up the table when he saw words suddenly appear on the table in front of Pan Yun's statue.
"This...this...Master, Senior Brother, look!"
Yin Song and Wang Cong both jumped up.
"Peace, just wait. It will take at least three years, and at most seven years."
Wang Cong excitedly put his hands on his hips, looked up to the sky, and shouted, "Awooooo—!"
Yin Song couldn't help but yell too, and the two, who were not much different in age, hugged each other and yelled wildly.
Yin Qingjun was also happy to jump around on the spot.
Wang Cong rolled up his sleeves and said, "Three years? I'd better prepare properly!"
“It could be seven years,” Yin Song frowned. “Why so long? Could it be that Junior Sister wants to establish herself first before coming back to fetch us?”
At that moment, Pan Yun in another world had just opened her eyes when her professors received the message and rushed back.
The scene immediately erupted into an excited family reunion, though of course, Wang Cong and the others in this world were completely unaware of this.
They calculated the time and felt they could still do a lot during that time.
Inspired by Pan Yun's tribulation, Yin Song felt that the desert was a great testing ground. It was empty, sparsely populated, and had nothing of value. Yet, after being struck by lightning, a precious item like glass could still appear. They should set up their testing ground here.
It's a pity that there's rarely thunder and lightning here.
They can trigger lightning, but there are conditions for doing so.
It's not that you can conjure thunder out of thin air just by making a hand seal. If thunder does appear after making a hand seal, then there must be conditions in the sky for thunder to form.
The desert presents challenging conditions for mine formation.
But it wasn't impossible, and Yin Song decided to give it a try while waiting for his junior sister.
Wang Cong could not possibly stay in one place indefinitely without doing anything.
He has so many ideas.
He just wanted to broaden his horizons; he wasn't going to never come back, so the Sanqingshan industry couldn't be abandoned.
He glanced at the vast desert and decided to try setting up a glass factory here to see if he could produce glass.
Wang Cong does whatever he wants.
Like Wang Cong and Yin Song, many people were led by Pan Yun to search for treasure in the desert.
And it's not limited to cultivators; there are also many ordinary people.
Among these people were those who aspired to become immortals and searched for traces of immortality, as well as those who simply regarded Pan Yun as an idol and decided to follow in her footsteps.
Anyway, they all rushed into the vast desert and began their desert adventure and treasure hunt.
Many people still had some articles written by Pan Yun and books she edited or hosted.
Believe it or not, they actually found a treasure in the desert.
Someone found brine, and most importantly, someone found potassium salt deep in the desert.
The scholar, who idolized Pan Yun and dedicated his life to engineering, trembled with excitement after discovering potash. He didn't care that his dry, peeling lips were covered in blood: "This is a national treasure, a national treasure!"
Potassium salt, according to the scholars at the Ministry of Agriculture, is an important substance that can enhance crops' resistance to pests, diseases, drought, and lodging. It is one of the key items that the Imperial Advisor ordered to be searched for, but the Ming Dynasty has found very little of it so far.
Unexpectedly, such a large area was hidden deep within Lop Nur.
"This is a gift from Heaven to the Ming Dynasty, a present from the Imperial Advisor before his departure!"
When this discovery was reported back to the Central Plains, the whole country was shocked.
The Duohuolati tribe, which had been eager to make a move because of the development of Lop Nur, quietly withdrew its claws and knelt down to beg the national teacher for protection, and sincerely followed the Ming Dynasty to develop the Lop Nur potash.
The Duohuolati tribe belonged to Yilibali. The Central Plains preferred to call this area Tubo. In reality, after Tubo was destroyed, Yilibali did not have strong control over this area, and it was always autonomous for each tribe.
After Emperor Jingtai subdued the Oirat and Tatar tribes in the north and established tributary states, Yili Bali wisely submitted to the Ming Dynasty.
Later, due to increased contact and stronger relations with the Ming Dynasty, in the twelfth year of the Jingtai reign, the court officially designated this place as a tributary state. It was still under the autonomy of the various tribes, but the court would send troops here to establish garrisons and liaison officers.
It goes without saying that after the establishment of the tributary states, the imperial court provided them with aid every year, mainly in terms of food and education.
In the words of the national advisor, only cultural identity equates to true submission.
Rebellious forces persisted in the various tributary states, but more and more people submitted to them, and more and more people genuinely identified with the Ming Dynasty.
With ordinary people's lives getting better and better, who would want to follow those nobles in rebellion?
They just ramble on and on, and before anything even gets out of hand, the local people usually stop them.
They could go to the Central Plains to learn Taoism, enter the academy, and cultivate the art of longevity.
Even if one cannot achieve immortality, as long as one can enter the Dao, one will have a promising future. Whether one serves as an official in the court or goes out into the world, one can make a living easily.
Even after retiring, life is much better now than before; taxes are decreasing and welfare benefits are improving.
Before, we only hoped not to starve to death. Now we can eat our fill. If we work hard, we can wear new clothes and live in new houses every year. Why should we follow those noble lords in rebellion?
There are very few truly foolish people in this world who are completely blinded by greed. (End of Chapter)