Chapter 18: Token and Almanac

【You have obtained a Thousand-Mile Transmission Token!】

【Thousand-Mile Transmission Token (Custom-Made)】

【Quality: Third Rank, Upper Grade】

【Effect: Once triggered by vital energy, automatically sends a distress signal to a designated location and marks the bearing for the receiving target.】

【You have obtained a Warding Calamity Almanac!】

【Warding Calamity Almanac (Custom-Made)】

【Quality: Third Rank, Upper Grade】

【Effect: Can issue warnings based on the user's fortune level; the higher the level, the stronger the effect. Maximum compatible level is 'Yan Three'.】

Having received the treasures, Chen Shijie offered a few words of advice, and the crowd thanked him and withdrew.

Zhao Xing held the two treasures, feeling rather surprised.

He had not expected that the appearance of the Xuantian Sect would allow him to obtain these two treasures ahead of time, and custom-made versions at that.

"The Thousand-Mile Transmission Token, compared to the Thousand-Mile Transmission Talisman, has an additional automatic tracking and positioning function. Sometimes in an emergency, there's simply no time to speak, so a token is far better than a single-use talisman." Zhao Xing examined it and saw three colored beads—red, blue, and green—set into it.

Each corresponded to a different level of emergency; red represented extreme danger, generally something like an enemy invasion. Upon receiving such a signal, at the very least a small detachment of troops would have to be dispatched to investigate.

Recalling what Wang Long had said earlier about the East Lake Army, Zhao Xing felt this token must have been specially made by the military.

One could tell from its grade alone—a Third Rank Upper Grade treasure was something ordinary people would find very hard to come by.

Almanacs were quite common; ordinary households had them, but most had not entered the ranked realm.

But any that had entered the ranked realm basically all had miraculous effects.

Take this Warding Calamity Almanac, for instance.

"It's not the complete version of the almanac, but it's still a custom-made version, with the auspicious-attracting effect erased and the calamity-warding effect strengthened."

"The higher the fortune level, the more pronounced the effect."

The complete version of the almanac was extremely hard to get hold of, because its complete version resided in the imperial palace, a super-grade 'priceless treasure.'

Every almanac in the world was derived from that super-grade 'treasure.'

This treasure's ranking was no weaker than the later 'Cloud Dream Academy,' though of course it was still a notch below the Great Dream Academy—that was a true national treasure.

Even so, obtaining the Warding Calamity Almanac was still quite good.

Almanacs with an 'auspicious-attracting' effect were exceedingly rare, all requiring Fourth Rank or above, and to truly produce a powerful effect, one needed Seventh Rank quality.

Fortune dynasties would basically all set things up this way—why? To prevent people from using the thing to do evil, and also to prevent anyone from gaining without working for it.

Moreover, if everyone could 'attract auspiciousness,' then it would be the same as no one having it.

"The poor and destitute cannot obtain the 'auspicious version' almanac, and those who possess it are already rich or noble, so they basically wouldn't use it to seek profit."

"Mm, my fortune level is Yan Two, so the Warding Calamity Almanac's effect should be quite good… huh?" Zhao Xing had just left the Si Nong Dao and was planning to head to the eastern suburbs to check on his fields, when suddenly the almanac flipped on its own without any wind.

Rustle~ The almanac's pages turned, then stopped on one particular page.

【Jingxin Calendar Year Fifteen, July Twenty-Two, Yuzhong, Si Hour, Third Quarter.】

【Warding Calamity Warning: Moderate Calamity; traveling far to the due east, hidden peril lies in wait.】

This was what the almanac displayed.

At the same time, a prompt also popped up on the panel.

【You have used the Third Rank treasure 'Warding Calamity Almanac.' Based on your fortune level and known information, you receive the following prompt:】

【You depart at Si Hour, heading to the eastern suburbs, and at a certain tea shop you encounter hidden Xuantian Sect believers, inadvertently drawing their scrutiny—life and death uncertain. Do not go!】

"Damn, hidden peril—could those Xuantian Sect lunatics really have come near Gucheng?" Zhao Xing looked at the almanac, compared it with the panel prompt, and was somewhat at a loss for words.

Calamity omens were divided into four levels: Minor, Moderate, Major, and Extreme.

Normally speaking, the latter three were relatively rare.

He hadn't expected that the moment he got it, a moderate-level omen would actually appear.

Because Zhao Xing himself already knew of the Xuantian Sect's existence and much related information, the panel's presentation was more detailed.

Was his fortune really this useful? The moment it appeared, he got a prompt like this?

"Do not travel far at Si Hour, hidden peril lies in wait—I'm outta here." Zhao Xing decisively chose to avoid the east; he wasn't going to the eastern suburbs today.

As for reporting it? That was impossible—too little information, and there were so many tea shops to the east, who knew which one had the demonic cultivators. Even if he knew the details, he couldn't possibly do that right now—how would he explain it? The Warding Calamity Almanac didn't show things in such detail.

The Great Zhou had no sects; the former sects had all been expelled from the Nineteen Provinces. 'Expelling the sects to the lands beyond'—that referred to the achievements of a certain emperor of old.

Therefore, once the system of a great unified fortune dynasty was established, there was basically no living soil for evil gods, licentious cults, or sect demonic cultivators—at most some shady small-time shenanigans.

"Yet under these conditions, the Xuantian Sect, this faction, has actually been able to stir up trouble every now and then across several dynasties, flaunting its existence—its power is truly terrifying. It is also one of the few ancient sects that still has active disciples even in the dynasty era."

"The main branch is mostly sealed, in a state of slumber, but the remaining believers and followers are still a force not to be underestimated—at least for the current me." Zhao Xing thought to himself.

"I don't know if others will notice, but if there really are Xuantian Sect believers lurking around the public fields right now…"

Turning around, Zhao Xing went back to the Si Nong Dao and found Chen Ziyu and Qian Dong.

"Ziyu, Qian Dong, what are your plans for later?"

"Ziyu and I were planning to go to the eastern suburbs, then head home for lunch, and after that go to the eastern suburbs again." Qian Dong said lazily, "The food at the Si Nong Dao doesn't suit my taste."

"We're already in the Great Heat solar term now. To re-cultivate the elemental rice, we have to keep using the 'Cultivation' spell to keep it alive—it's really exhausting, sigh…" Chen Ziyu said with a worried frown.

"Oh right, big brother, what did Chen Shijie call you in for?" Qian Dong asked.

"He said there were demonic cultivators causing trouble, specifically abducting clerks from the Si Nong Dao and the workshop. Chen Shijie warned us to be careful and also bestowed some protective items." There was nothing he couldn't say about this—after all, the news had already spread.

Nanyang Commandery's public order was still quite good, at least in his impression, so neither Chen Ziyu nor Qian Dong paid it much mind. Instead, upon hearing that Zhao Xing had obtained two treasures, they clamored to be shown them.

Zhao Xing was more than happy for them to drop the idea of going to the eastern suburbs. The three of them simply ate in the city, and by the afternoon, he took out the almanac and walked toward the east, finding that no warning appeared. He immediately felt much more at ease.

"No warning appeared—they must have left? Probably just came to scout the place? I heard Li Chengfeng and the other top-list clerks didn't take it seriously at all, and even deliberately went to the eastern suburbs in groups, hoping to earn merit. I wonder if anyone's gone missing." At this point Zhao Xing was almost hoping the Xuantian Sect would stir up some trouble and grab some of the people on the top list—fewer powerful competitors meant his chances of becoming permanent would be much greater, wouldn't they?

But such thoughts were destined to remain a fantasy. Right up until early August, no one went missing, Gucheng remained peaceful, and even the East Lake Army withdrew some of its forces.

On the second day of the eighth month, the veteran Si Nong Xue Wenzhong returned to the Huai Liu Court after ten days of sick leave. Everything seemed to be without any major changes.

The people of the Supervisorate of Agriculture soon forgot about this matter as well, because the Start of Autumn Assessment was about to begin.