"master!"
"So you're acknowledging me as your master now?"
Hearing the fair-skinned girl in front of him and her clear, melodious voice, Feng Bingwen was momentarily stunned. It was much simpler than he had imagined.
"I can't think of any reason to refuse you, sir!"
Lady Jade replied expressionlessly.
"Then why didn't you acknowledge Fellow Daoist Chixiao as your master?"
Feng Bingwen asked curiously. He hadn't forgotten that when the old dragon handed Baiyujing to him, it had mentioned that there were many places in Baiyujing that even he couldn't enter.
It's a bit of a shame to force it, but it's also a waste to throw it away. It's become a double-edged sword. After weighing the options, giving it to him as a favor, as a deposit for the Daoist script, becomes the best choice.
"He is a dragon, not a human."
"Only humans can become your masters?"
"Yes."
Lady Jade answered in a measured and formal manner.
Aren't you afraid it will get smashed?
"Better to be a broken piece of jade than a whole piece of tile."
"Aren't you worried about the problem with my human identity?"
"There is no problem with your human bloodline."
This question elicited a slight reaction from Lady Yu's cold and hard face. She gazed at Feng Bingwen and revealed the true reason for her recognition of him as her master.
"Perhaps you are the reincarnation of an ancient great being, but whatever you were before, you have already chosen the human race in this life, which means you identify with the human race. Therefore, I will naturally not object."
"I was actually human in my previous life, but I've been luckier in this one."
Upon hearing this, Feng Bingwen nodded, understanding the reason why the Jade Goddess recognized him as her master. Ultimately, it was because of his human bloodline. She only recognized people and nothing else, not even if it was broken.
I saw it.
Lady Jade spoke.
What did you see?
“The Radiant Sun God has been around since the ancient times, and his legends still exist even when my Taiqing Dao was destroyed.”
"You know him?"
Feng Bingwen's eyes lit up. He had always known that each of the beings that emerged from those seven gourds had a great background, but because their origins were so ancient, even ordinary immortals and saints were unaware of them.
"I don't know him."
"?"
A look of doubt naturally appeared in Feng Bingwen's eyes.
"It matches the description in the legend."
"So it's just hearsay. Forget it, I'm not interested."
Feng Bingwen didn't want to listen anymore after hearing this. This level was too high for him. Inquiring about these ancient gossips would not benefit him much, and would only make him more unrealistic.
"So how do you truly acknowledge someone as your master? Don't tell me it's enough to just call me 'Master'?"
"This is the Control Seal. Master, you can infuse your magic power into it and refine it to gain initial control over the Jade Palace."
Upon hearing Feng Bingwen's words, Lady Yu pointed her finger, and instantly, countless white jade fireflies appeared, then gathered at her fingertips, condensing into a square seal, majestic and dignified.
"so."
Following instructions, Feng Bingwen stepped forward and infused his immortal spiritual energy into the seal. Guided by the jade spirit, he successfully refined the seal. Instantly, Feng Bingwen felt a connection between himself and the Jade Palace. He could even feel the crack created by the spear.
"It can actively repair itself!"
Feng Bingwen's eyes lit up. After refining the magic seal, he gained initial control over Baiyujing and developed a preliminary understanding of this jade city. It was a celestial city capable of self-repair.
"The damage that Divine Lord's spear inflicted on Bai Yujing was too great. If you cannot provide the repair materials, it is estimated that it will take nearly three Jiazi (60 years) to fully repair it!"
"Three cycles of sixty years? That's too long."
"As long as you can find the right materials, the repair speed can be greatly improved."
What materials are needed?
"The more spiritual energy a jade possesses, the better."
"..."
Feng Bingwen remained silent. For cultivators, especially Daoist cultivators, spirit jade could be considered a strategic reserve resource. No one had too much of this stuff, because no one would complain about having too much; it was the hardest currency among hard currencies.
"Tell me about Bai Yujing!"
Feng Bingwen changed the subject, and Lady Yu spoke expressionlessly.
After the introduction, Feng Bingwen felt both delighted and somewhat disappointed.
Baiyujing truly lives up to its reputation as the abode of immortals and saints. Its spirit-gathering array surpasses the effects of 99% of the spiritual veins and immortal mountains in the world. If one could find a spiritual vein, the spirit-gathering effect would be even more terrifying.
As a place for cultivation and daily life, Baiyujing is perfectly qualified; Feng Bingwen could even use Baiyujing to establish a sect. However, as a sect, Baiyujing is completely unqualified.
Because this palace is made entirely of spirit jade, it contains no defensive or offensive formations, making it a sitting duck for combat.
"The positioning is different, there's no need to be disappointed."
Feng Bingwen comforted himself, explaining that Baiyujing lacked combat capabilities mainly because the original purpose of building this jade city was for the Supreme Elders and core disciples of the Daoist Sect to cultivate and retire. They never intended to send this thing to the battlefield.
"Activate the concealment array so that mortals don't see you, and then stay here and don't wander around."
"Yes, sir."
After arranging things for Bai Yujing, Feng Bingwen, who had left in high spirits but had returned somewhat disappointed, went back to the mansion and quietly awaited the visitors who might follow.
However, somewhat unexpectedly, for a long time afterward, Feng Bingwen did not receive any visits or retaliations from any major sects or demon kingdoms, and it is unclear what the Xuan Ting Dragon King said.
The anticipated bustling scene turned out to be deserted. Not only were the forces from the Dragon Palace silent, but even the Great Gan Dynasty remained quiet and inactive.
This puzzled Feng Bingwen greatly. Baiyujing was such a large jade city, suspended above Wolong Lake, invisible to ordinary people. However, the City God of Qingshan County was not to be trifled with. It was impossible for that old man Chenghuang to be pretending to be blind.
"How strange, not a single one has come to our door?"
The huge gap between his expectations and reality made Feng Bingwen somewhat restless, but he eventually calmed down, focused on his cultivation, and stopped speculating too much.
With no one to disturb him, he could finally find peace and quiet to cultivate in peace. As the sun rose and set, time passed day by day. With the autumn imperial examination approaching, the entire Qingshan County was in an uproar.
Well, what really stirred up the people of Qingshan County was not the once-every-three-years autumn wedding, but rather the news of the approaching imperial examinations and the return of Feng Zichuan, the wealthy and powerful father of Feng Zichuan.
This filial son, who had abandoned his studies for business, risked having his legs broken by his own father after hearing that his son was preparing to take the imperial examination, and rode a novel contraption that had never appeared in Qingshan County before, back to his hometown.
"Wen-ge'er, Wen-ge'er, where are you? Your father is back!"
"Stop reading and come with us to go see what's going on!"
“Brother Wen, your father has been brought back by an iron horse.”
It was a beautiful, sunny autumn day when Feng Bingwen was painting in his courtyard. Just as he was getting into the middle of a crucial moment, he heard a chattering sound coming from outside. Looking up, he saw several young men running towards him excitedly.
"Erhu, Sangouzi... what brings you here?"
Seeing these childhood playmates and friends, Feng Bingwen couldn't help but feel curious. It was quite a sad thing, really. After his family became wealthy, he didn't need to do anything. These playmates who used to play in the mud together had all drifted apart, creating a huge rift between them—even though they couldn't play together anymore in the first place.
But today, these young men, who have grown up and some are even about to get married and have children, are flushed and excited, as if they have seen something extraordinary and are eager to tell their childhood friend, whom they have never met before.
“Wen-ge’er, your father has returned from the prefectural city. The carriage he rode in was made entirely of pig iron.”
"Yes, the cart was pulled by an iron horse with frighteningly bright eyes, and its breath was so hot it could burn a person's skin."
"I was curious and touched it, and I almost got burned."
Amidst the chatter of three or five teenagers, Feng Bingwen quickly pieced together the whole story.
It turned out that his father had brought back something novel from the prefectural city that the people of Qingshan County had never seen before—an iron horse that didn't need to eat grass, drink water, or rest.
This novel thing, which had never been seen before, caused a great sensation in the county town. According to his childhood friends, his father was currently stuck in the county town and unable to move.
At this time, the county town was practically deserted as everyone wanted to see what was going on. The few of them managed to squeeze in, touched it, and after getting their fill, they rushed back to tell him.
"Iron Horse!"
Upon hearing this, Feng Bingwen immediately put down the wolf-hair brush in his hand. He couldn't help but think of the large fleet that had once appeared in the underwater dragon palace.
There is no need to question it; the powerful imperial court possesses technology beyond the imagination of ordinary people, and the tools it forges are enough to suppress ordinary demons and monsters.
However, these extraordinary tools have never circulated in the mortal world before, but now, things have changed.
"Let's go take a look!"
On a whim, Feng Bingwen got up and walked towards the outside of the Feng residence. Several shirtless or short-sleeved young men surrounded him excitedly, chattering excitedly, their conversation revolving around the iron horse.
Feng Bingwen had only taken a few steps when he saw two elderly people who had also received the news and were hurrying towards the door. He decided to go out with them.
As soon as the two elders and the young man stepped out of the gate, they immediately saw a procession, whose head was visible but whose tail was not, heading towards the Feng residence on the main road leading from Fengjia Village to the county town, which had been expanded and repaired several times.
And directly in front of the procession, just as described, was an iron horse gleaming with a cold metallic luster.
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