"The abandoned forge in Peaceful Town was originally the site of the Heavenly Craft Workshop twelve years ago."
"Due to a major issue when igniting the Earth Fire, the ground veins went berserk, resulting in the deaths of many people at that time."
"My family also set up a factory here before, but just after newly constructing the forge and recruiting workers, an incident occurred. Later, Nanyang County issued a ban, and it wasn't long before it was shut down, making it a losing business."
Zhao Xing sat in Zong Shichang's carriage, looking at the barren land and dilapidated houses outside.
They had circled this area for a quarter of an hour, and there wasn't even a decent tree; mostly, there were only low, small trees.
There were plenty of weeds, mostly bizarre thorns, as only such resilient plants could survive in the scorched earth.
"Destruction is easy, but reconstruction is difficult. In the first three years, here, let alone trees, not even a blade of grass grew," Zong Shichang said. "Now, it's much better; Chen Shijie has indeed done a lot."
"Indeed," Zhao Xing nodded slightly.
Chen Shijie had come to Grain City three years ago.
Before him, this scorched earth in Peaceful Town had been neglected for nine years.
The previous head of the Agricultural Affairs Bureau was someone who feared involvement and had always been reluctant to restore this land.
Because the land was directly approved by Nanyang County, and the destruction was caused by the Heavenly Craft Workshop in Grain City, with investment from prominent families like Zong Shichang's.
The issues of rights and responsibilities had never been clarified, so it was left unresolved.
With no oversight from above, Grain County Magistrate Li Wenzheng also did not want to intervene.
The previous head of the Agricultural Affairs Bureau dared not take action.
Thus, the land and the factory in Peaceful Town were left to waste for nine years until Chen Shijie arrived.
Upon learning of the situation, he prepared to restore it without hesitation.
Li Wenzheng did not want to intervene but did not stop him either; however, he was also unwilling to provide assistance.
Chen Shijie planned to bring the assistants of the Agricultural Affairs Bureau to start working.
Every week, he would come down to cast Earth Vein spells to adjust the ground veins and conduct soil restoration.
This task was thankless, and at that time, only Xue Wenzhong expressed support. Tang Wanchun, Gao Linong, and Pang Yuan felt it was difficult and opposed it.
Old Chen was also domineering; difficult? Then let’s not do anything at all!
He halted all administrative affairs of the Agricultural Affairs Bureau, regardless of what Tang Wanchun, Gao Linong, Pang Yuan, and others reported, it was simply two words: no approval.
Old Chen's attitude was that since you all want to be lazy, then let’s just be lazy to the end; we’ll all get the evaluation of 'inept officials' for these years.
After all, I was penalized and didn’t want to be in this bureaucratic position anyway, so I’m not afraid of being demoted again.
There was no choice; the assistants of the Agricultural Affairs Bureau could only work begrudgingly.
Later, Old Chen went to the Agricultural Affairs Bureau to find Gongsun Yang, borrowing manpower and the divine weapons of the workshop. Gongsun Yang was initially unwilling, fearing involvement.
As a result, Chen Shijie kept a close watch on Gongsun Yang, often causing hail to fall on his ancestral grave; whatever Gongsun's family planted would die, either from wind or rain.
When Gongsun Yang learned of this, he angrily went to confront Chen Shijie.
"What? Why is the weather so bad for your family’s ancestral grave and land?"
"I previously told you I wanted to borrow tools and manpower to start work, didn’t you agree?"
"Sorry, I only have this much ability; I can’t manage the weather in Grain City. If you have the ability, go report me to the county city!"
Gongsun Yang was so furious that he nearly pulled out his beard.
There was no choice but to agree to his request.
After a year, Chen Shijie restored this scorched earth to the level of wasteland.
Next, Chen Shijie reported his achievements to the county government. The higher-ups knew that this person was unafraid of trouble and could only begrudgingly give him a commendation.
Although the abandoned factory had not been dismantled, this matter allowed Chen Shijie to establish a foothold in Grain City, winning the hearts of the Agricultural Affairs Bureau personnel and impressing Gongsun Yang and Li Wenzheng.
Thus, in the Agricultural Affairs Bureau, Chen Shijie had always been the one to call the shots, and no one dared to oppose him.
"Old Chen's first achievement is right here. He’s about to leave, yet he set up this situation to attract the Mysterious Heaven Sect, planning to gain military merit here... he really has a bit of an obsession," Zhao Xing looked outside.
November is the last solar month, and Chen Shijie's transfer was not a secret.
This time, the assessment in Peaceful Town had many participants, unlike the Autumn Equinox when the East Lake Army maintained order and the county's inspector was present.
The protective forces seemed relatively weak.
Zhao Xing thought that if he were the leader of the Mysterious Heaven Sect, he would also take this opportunity to strike.
Chen Shijie suspected that the Mysterious Heaven Sect might take action at this opportunity.
The Mysterious Heaven Sect suspected that Chen Shijie would guess they would act.
"These possibilities are not hard to guess... it just depends on who dares to act and who is better prepared," Zhao Xing thought silently.
From 'historical experience,' the Mysterious Heaven Sect's planning during Emperor Jing's reign had learned from past failures, and their actions were more successful than before.
Whether the Mysterious Heaven Sect succeeded or failed in Nanyang County, Zhao Xing did not know, but with his reminders, Old Chen's plans had changed significantly from the original.
What the outcome would be, Zhao Xing could not be sure.
However, his mindset was quite good.
"There’s no life-threatening danger; if I happen to be caught by the Mysterious Heaven Sect, then I’ll just work hard on their ship. It’s not impossible to survive until the revival era in the sect camp." Zhao Xing was not so rigid. However, the path of the Fortune Dynasty was still more stable; he hoped not to be captured.
The Agricultural Affairs Bureau's Winter Solstice Assessment began on the afternoon of November 7.
The assessment times for the other departments' officials were also unified.
Although it was called a joint assessment, in reality, it was just throwing the officials into one area, with completely different contents.
There was no competition between different professions; the main competition was among the same profession.
The content of the Agricultural Affairs Bureau's assessment required them to grow at least ten different types of plants in this scorched earth.
The content of the Heavenly Craft Workshop's assessment required the officials to forge a new furnace here and reignite the Earth Fire.
The content of the Weaving Department's assessment was to create law robes for martial artists, mechanism masters, agricultural officials, and ceremonial officials, limited to four types: one for the Harmonious Law Robe, two for the Fire Avoidance Law Robe, three for the Soul Guarding Law Robe, and four for the True Essence Law Robe.
The content of the Martial Department's assessment focused on 'capturing demon people.' In the area outside the abandoned factory, some 'sect demon people' played by soldiers would launch sneak attacks from the outer area to cause destruction.
They would be rated based on the number of 'demon people' captured.
The content of the Temple's assessment was similar to that of the martial artists, except the targets were the souls that had perished in this factory.
"The start and end times of the five professions are all different."
"The weaver's assessment started the earliest, entering at the hour of the rabbit on the seventh day to weave law robes. It ends at the hour of the rabbit tomorrow, lasting only twelve hours. The materials for the law robes are all prepared; regardless of whether they are completed or not, they must leave after one day."
"The mechanism master's assessment lasts for two days, starting at noon on the seventh and ending at noon on the ninth."
"The Temple and martial artists start the latest, beginning at the hour of the rooster on the seventh and ending at the hour of the dragon on the tenth, lasting two and a half days."
"The Agricultural Affairs Bureau starts at the hour of the dog on the seventh afternoon and ends at the hour of the rabbit on the eleventh, lasting three days and four nights."
Zhao Xing stepped out of the carriage, looking at the entrance of the ruined factory, deep in thought: "Old Chen believes my judgment but doesn’t fully trust it; this is fine."
At the hour of the dog, the Agricultural Affairs Bureau began organizing the reference officials to enter the designated area.
Zhao Xing carried a much larger bamboo box than last time and walked into the abandoned factory.
This time, the number of reference officials from the Agricultural Affairs Bureau was not many, as it was not a lucrative job; as long as they were not aiming for official positions, no matter how well they performed, they would not receive much money at year-end.
The situation was different for the other departments; the number of participants was still quite large.
"Zhao Xing, let’s go together," Zong Shichang hurriedly approached. "Which type do you plan to grow?"
"Do you trust my judgment?" Zhao Xing pointed to a piece of land not far from the entrance. "You can plant here; I think this is good land."
"Really?" Zong Shichang looked; that was just a piece of scorched earth.
"I’ve learned quite a few Earth Vein spells; don’t you believe me?"
"I believe you, but where are you going?" Zong Shichang asked.
"Are you playing dumb?" Zhao Xing said. "Such a small piece of land can’t possibly support two people planting."
"Let’s do it together; I think it’s boring alone..."
"Get lost! Don’t come and affect my results." Zhao Xing said coldly. "Can’t you understand human language? I don’t want to work with you."
"You..." Zong Shichang was stunned; he didn’t understand why Zhao Xing's attitude had changed so drastically and stood there in a daze.
Zhao Xing ignored him and directly walked towards a certain area of the ruined factory.
As the saying goes, secrets that are not kept will lead to loss; Zhao Xing knew some of Chen Shijie's plans but not the whole picture, and he certainly wouldn’t disclose it to Zong Shichang.
Moreover, if there were really demon people attacking this time, having Zong Shichang follow him would not be a good thing.
The abandoned factory covered a considerable area, as it was originally a project approved by the county city.
Zhao Xing, carrying the bamboo box, wandered through, seemingly searching for something.
After walking for about a quarter of an hour, he arrived at a relatively intact house; this had once been the workers' accommodation area of the workshop.
"This is it." Zhao Xing pushed the door open.
"Meow~" The mountain cat jumped over happily upon seeing its master.
"Shh~" Zhao Xing signaled the mountain cat to be quiet. "Stay here obediently and don’t make a sound."
The little mountain cat nodded.
Zhao Xing then looked around the room.
This room was prepared for him by Chen Shijie.
In addition to the exotic beast mountain cat, there were also many items prepared inside; the room was stacked with numerous dark red bamboo tubes, about the thickness of a calf.
In the center of the room, there was a table, an oil lamp, a piece of paper, and a set of ink and brush.
On the long table in front, there was a wooden sculpture of the East Lake Duke.
In the southeast corner stood a scarecrow dressed in a raincoat and straw hat, which was the guardian scarecrow that had followed Zhao Xing out of the city before.
"Everything is in order." Zhao Xing checked and then took out the Calamity Avoidance Almanac, hanging it behind the door. He also tied the Thousand Li Communication Token around his wrist.
Then he sat at the table, picked up the paper and brush, and signed his name on the yellow paper.
This was a land deed.
From the moment he signed his name, Zhao Xing became the owner of this house.
After that, he took out the Soul Calming Box from the bamboo box and began to move the dark red bamboo tubes, burying them one by one around the fence outside the house.
After completing all this, Zhao Xing patted himself and rested on the steps.
He was no longer just an ordinary examinee; as one of the informed parties in Chen Shijie's plan and an important talent that the Mysterious Heaven Sect wanted to capture, he naturally had extra privileges.
After resting for a while, Zhao Xing began to plant in the fenced yard.
In addition to the ten types of seeds required for the assessment, Zhao Xing also brought three additional types.
"The assessment task only requires planting ten types of herbal seeds to fill this fenced yard."
"First, plant the assessment task plants."
Zhao Xing set down the bamboo box and cast the Floating Cloud Technique, causing clouds to cover the entire yard.
Then he summoned the wind to plow the ground.
"Whoosh~" Small tornadoes plowed the soil into furrows.
"Whoosh~" A gentle wind swirled the grass seeds from the bamboo box, accurately dropping them into the furrows.
"Drip drip~" Raindrops began to fall from the clouds.
"Grow strong!"
"Return to the Earth Veins!"
"Boundless Subterranean Palace!"
Zhao Xing quickly cast spells.
He explored the Earth Veins, utilizing the Earth Veins of the yard to cast the Earth Return and Boundless Subterranean Palace techniques.
The first few spells went smoothly.
However, when he attempted to cast the Subterranean Palace Technique, he encountered a problem.
"What’s going on? Why isn’t it successful?" Zhao Xing was taken aback. His Boundless Subterranean Palace was already at the eighth turn of the middle stage; although the Earth Veins here were weaker than elsewhere, they still existed, so there should be no possibility of failure.
"Let me try again." Zhao Xing took off his shoes, stepped on the ground, and as he cast the Boundless Subterranean Palace, his mind seemed to delve deep into the earth, beginning to explore the Earth Veins.
Soon, Zhao Xing discovered the fluctuations of the Earth Veins; there was a dark red Earth Vein, and based on his sensing, he estimated it reached the strength of a third-level fire vein.
This discovery surprised Zhao Xing.
"Third-level Earth Vein? Did I sense it wrong?"
"How is that possible? This area was once burned by the Earth Veins Fire; even after Old Chen's restoration, it should only reach the level of a first-level Earth Vein."
"Why does my sensing now indicate it’s a third-level? No, it might even be close to fourth-level!"
With confusion in his heart, Zhao Xing continued to cast spells, the golden light enveloping his mind as it continued downward.
But at that moment, a faint yet clear thought came from the Earth Veins: "Why is it you?"
"You... Old Chen?" The golden light representing Zhao Xing fluctuated beside the Earth Veins, clearly surprised.
Chen Shijie did not mind Zhao Xing's address and asked in surprise, "Didn’t you say the Subterranean Palace Technique you mastered was only at the third turn? How could you discover me?"
Zhao Xing controlled the golden light's fluctuations, transmitting information through the Earth Veins: "I ran out of uses for the painting at the end of the month and made some progress. You were too busy, and I didn’t have time to explain it to you in detail."
Chen Shijie said, "Now, what turn are you at?"
"Eighth turn."
"…"
Seeing that Chen Shijie was silent for a long time, Zhao Xing couldn’t help but ask, "What’s going on with this Earth Vein? Wasn’t it said that this place was burned by the Earth Veins Fire, and the Earth Veins were not visible, only at the first level?"
"It was once, but half a month ago, I cast a spell to strengthen the Earth Veins here. After a month, it will return to its original strength."
"Then why can’t I cast the Subterranean Palace Technique?"
"Look carefully downwards."
Zhao Xing increased his vital Qi output and supplemented another wave of vital Qi, finally seeing below.
He saw a dark red palace faintly visible beneath the Earth Veins, and the color of this palace was very similar to that of the fire vein, shrouded by a vague power like cloud energy; if one did not look closely, they would not see it at all.
When that vague feeling dispersed a bit, Zhao Xing immediately caught a glimpse of one corner.
"Hiss~"
A massive fire-red palace, just that one tile, was three to four meters long and wide.
Based on the scale of the palace's top layer, Zhao Xing immediately judged that this fire-red underground palace could cover the entire abandoned factory area.
"This is the Fire Prison Subterranean Palace Technique!" Zhao Xing exclaimed in surprise. "Old Chen, did you do this?"
You even recognize this? Chen Shijie was also taken aback, then said lightly, "Indeed, you don’t need to waste extra energy casting the Subterranean Palace Technique anymore."
"Impressive." Zhao Xing thought to himself how amazing it was.
But then again, he had known during the theoretical assessment with Bai Lu that Chen Shijie was from the Earth Vein faction.
It was only natural for him to know the Subterranean Palace Technique.
Zhao Xing's Boundless Subterranean Palace was characterized by its size, but now that he looked at it, he knew that his Boundless Subterranean Palace could not compare to Chen Shijie's Fire Prison Subterranean Palace in terms of 'size.'
"I'll go up first."
"Be careful." Chen Shijie reminded again, "If anything happens, Long Xiao and I may not be able to pay attention to you."
"Understood." Zhao Xing naturally would be careful and not cause trouble for Chen Shijie.
That night, the fenced yard was filled with grass plants and vines, with bamboo shoots gradually emerging.
As night fell, Zhao Xing lit the candle on the table, keeping it burning all night.
On November 7, nothing happened.
On November 8, at the hour of the rabbit, the officials of the Weaving Department completed their assessment.
After the rankings were announced, the weavers could give the law robes they made to the other four professions.
Zhao Xing also encountered a weaver who lightly knocked on the yard door.
"Hello..."
"Don’t, thank you." Zhao Xing waved his hand without even raising his head.
Lin Baiwei, who had just received the top score, looked at Zhao Xing, who was focused on planting, and the words she wanted to say were suddenly swallowed back. She silently hung the law robe on the fence and turned to leave.
After a while, Zhao Xing raised his head and found the item on the fence, instantly confused: "Did she weave her brain wrong? I said no, why is she still insisting on giving it?"
He beckoned and ordered the scarecrow to bring it over, discovering that the quality was surprisingly good. It was a third-tier upper-grade True Essence Law Robe, which could enhance vital Qi recovery speed when worn.
In the Weaving Department's assessment, it could at least earn a top score, but in Zhao Xing's eyes, this was of no use.
"How strange; I don’t even know any weavers... Do I look handsome?"
Zhao Xing casually tossed the law robe aside and continued to cultivate.
On November 8, during the day, the sounds of battle echoed; Zhao Xing stood on the courtyard wall and looked out, seeing the personnel from the Martial Department fighting against soldiers disguised as demon people.
On November 9, the long-lasting lamps began to sway at night, and the personnel from the Temple started to use lanterns to capture souls.
Zhao Xing scanned the surroundings with keen eyes, noticing that these ghosts all bore a hint of fire red, indicating the manner of their deaths in life.
On November 10, at the hour of the dragon, the assessments of the Martial Department and the Temple concluded, and the surroundings quieted down, leaving only the assessment of the Agricultural Affairs Bureau still ongoing.
On November 10, at night, at the hour of the rat.
Having confirmed that he could achieve a top score in his assessment, Zhao Xing was resting with his eyes closed beside the table, while the mountain cat lay bored in front of its master, yawning.
Suddenly, the mountain cat jolted! It arched its back, its eyes glowing green, staring intently at the door.
"Whoosh~"
The long-lasting lamp shook violently, then suddenly extinguished, plunging the surroundings into silence.
It pawed at Zhao Xing, but the latter did not wake up, seemingly in a deep sleep.
"Clatter~"
Hearing a noise, the mountain cat turned its head.
It saw the Calamity Avoidance Almanac automatically flipping to a page, quickly stopping:
[Nightmare Evasion Technique, Great Calamity!]
(End of Chapter)