Chapter 254 Knowledge Expansion (1)
After retracting his physical body back into his sea of consciousness, Luo Xuanyi opened the last dozen or so wooden boxes. He did not find any rare spiritual objects like the Wind and Rain Ganoderma, but instead found four volumes of books he had never seen before.
Having not read for a long time, Luo Xuanyi felt an inspiration. Since all her harvest had been sorted and stored, she simply found a peach tree, leaned against it, and flipped through the four volumes.
After carefully reading the frontispieces of each volume, I found them to be "Sifang Tianling Gangmu," "Jiushi Yitan," "Qizhe Kuangjian," and "Zhongqu Zhinan Yihua." The author of "Jiushi Yitan" and "Zhongqu Zhinan Yihua" is the same person, Wen Xiuhui, while the remaining two are from an unknown author.
Zang Yaozong's books didn't have a custom of signing names, but after arriving in Xuancheng Prefecture, Luo Xuanyi had already learned many differences between the two places and was no longer overly surprised. She first picked up "Old Stories and Anecdotes" and read it carefully, noting that the beginning of the volume had a "brief reading" written on it.
"There are countless interesting things in the world like flowing water. I just want to pick up a few fallen petals with my pen to make you smile." - Wen Xiuhui
It seemed the book recounted the various anecdotes the author had witnessed and heard. Luo Xuanyi continued reading, finding them to be short stories, each composed of just seven or eight sentences, written humorously, followed by a sentence or two of Wen Xiuhui's additional commentary.
Some of the text explained historical allusions, while others recorded anecdotes I had witnessed while traveling around Xuancheng Prefecture. Luo Xuanyi gradually immersed herself in the book, reading faster and faster, and before she knew it, she had finished the entire volume.
This book truly is the key to understanding Xuancheng Prefecture. Stories like the afterbirth honors of Gao Taigong and Ding Gong Jiang Yujie, and the unfortunate deeds of the founders of the Shangguanzhe Dao, are all recorded. Local legends and customs are also recounted with exquisite prose. This Wen Xiuhui must have been a man of great humor.
Not yet satisfied, Luo Xuanyi opened "Southern Anecdotes of Zhongqu", which tells the stories of the three major sects and three small countries south of the Zhongqu Mountains.
This book made Luo Xuanyi perk up and read it carefully. Luo Xuanyi had always been curious about what the south of Zhongqu was like. The knowledge she gained from Zang Yaozong only allowed her to have a rough understanding of Xuanchengzhou.
She planned to go to Zhongqu Mountains in the future to open the Yu family ruins left to her by Yu Linghe. Maybe she would also go to the south of Zhongqu to learn more about the things in the south of Zhongqu. It would never be a wrong thing to do.
South of Zhongqu lies three states: Tianyan State, Hairuo State, and Diling State. Tianyan State and Hairuo State are inhabited, while Diling State is known as the Land of Dragon Falls. It is usually sealed off and only opens once every sixty years.
Tianyan Prefecture is three thousand miles from east to west and two thousand miles from north to south. Half of it is fertile and fruitful land, and the other half is full of water-swamped mountains and forests. The Great Freedom Palace has taken root in it and supported the Ran Kingdom to monopolize it.
The Mahabodhi Hall is a Buddhist practice that advocates that all things are at ease and can be controlled by one's heart, without any external constraints. This is the true way.
Wen Xiuhui recorded: "The Ran Kingdom has thousands and thousands of acres of fertile land, all dedicated to the Buddha's land enshrined in the Great Freedom Hall. The kingdom is filled with silver and jade ornaments, and the royal family and dignitaries all wear Buddhist robes and silver beads."
"The Buddhist temple shone with a thousand golden rays, its extravagance unparalleled, without a trace of other colors. Walking around, one saw a temple on every mountain, ten mountains a palace, all radiant with gold, like countless suns in the sky. Though the land was vast, there was no distinction between day and night."
Unlike the Great Freedom Palace and the Ran Kingdom, which monopolize the two realms of cultivators and mortals in Tianyan Prefecture, the Taoist practitioners in the Taoist temple and the Confucian practitioners in the Buli Academy gather together in Hairuo Prefecture.
Hai Ruo Province, unlike the inland Tianyan Province, lies adjacent to the Celestial Sea. It stretches four thousand miles north to south and one thousand miles east to west, with the sea stretching out in a continuous line, divided into two parts by Mang Mountain.
The land in the east is fertile, and rice can be harvested three times a year. The Weiran Taoist Temple supports the land of Wei State.
However, Taoist temples and practitioners of the Dao adhere to the same principles, without modification or alteration, following the natural course of the Dao. This can also be seen in Wen Xiuhui's description of the Wei Kingdom: "The land of the Wei Kingdom is fertile, and diligent farmers in Xuancheng Prefecture can harvest rice three times a year. But how lazy the people are! Thousands of miles of wild grass stretch, with no farmers to be seen. The people of the country gather wild vegetables and wild vines to eat."
"The monarch changes every three to five years, and the court officials, unwilling to care about the mundane world, retreat to the mountains and forests. Alchemy is prevalent, and even children can refine fifth-grade elixirs. Those with high positions live in caves and bamboo huts, while those with lower positions can walk on their mats. Everyone can discuss Taoism, and practicing it is no different from ordinary people."
I think Wen Xiuhui was born in Xuanchengzhou, a place with little land and food. He couldn't bear to see Wei Kingdom destroying the fertile land, so he was a little angry when he started writing.
Luo Xuanyi didn't understand his anger and just continued reading. Wen Xiuhui finished looking at the Ran Dao Temple and Wei Kingdom, then crossed Youmang Mountain and arrived in the west, where he could see the Buli Academy and Jin Kingdom.
The long lines along the western coast are suitable for fishing, and there are forests that grow "water trees", but it is not possible to grow crops.
The Jin Kingdom, which was under the jurisdiction of the Buli Academy, was almost opposite to the Wei Kingdom, separated by only a mountain range.
Hui recorded: "It was the first time in my life that I saw land ships speeding across the sand. It was indeed a different scene. People from the Jin Kingdom did not travel on foot. Instead, ships of all sizes sailed across land and sea in an orderly manner."
"The palace of the Jin Kingdom is composed of six celestial ships, floating like clouds on the sea. The hierarchy is observed by everyone, and the clothing, embroidery patterns, and speech and behavior all follow the calendar. Even the crown prince is forbidden to violate this."
Wen Xiuhui wrote very little about not leaving the academy, because he was "shocked by his clothes and thought he was a strange man from the mountains, so he was expelled from the country."
The book only tells us that the Buli Academy strictly enforces order and respects etiquette, and that it deeply despises the Ran Dao Temple and the Wei Kingdom to the east, believing that they are "given by nature, but refuse to change, and must be condemned!"
In fact, the three southern schools of Zhongqu dislike each other and are incompatible. The conference held every five years is even more chaotic.
Under the influence of the three major factions, the Ran Kingdom was ready to move its troops southward to annex the Wei Kingdom several times. However, although the Wei Kingdom had no army, it was full of various medicinal herbs and elixirs. The Ran Kingdom army that rashly entered was defeated every time due to poisoning.
The Jin and Wei kingdoms were incompatible, each considering the other "a nation beyond human control." However, Jin was located on the sea, while Wei was home to medicinal herbs. Despite minor conflicts between the two nations, they never resorted to war.
The people of the Three Kingdoms were divided into three factions, and they could not get along with each other. They would curse and beat each other when they saw each other, and the three kingdoms were all weak. Therefore, they were targeted by the Dayan Dynasty in the north of Zhongqu, which had already unified the country. The royal family of Dayan had been eager to move south to seize the land.
Not only are there conflicts among the people, but the three major factions also have long-standing grudges with the six major alliances. Even on the issue of fighting against the six major alliances, the three major factions can barely reach a consensus.
Second update~
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
