Chapter 583: Jiang Ziya in a Daze

Following this, Jiang Ziya chatted with an old farmer for a long time, and also sought out other farmers to talk with.

The more he understood, the more he admired Di Qi.

This was a person who had comprehensively surpassed the Saint Ancestor Cheng Tang, and whose merit even exceeded that of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors.

He pioneered Simplified Characters, invented paper and books, wrote books such as the Book of Rites, the Classic of Filial Piety, and the Classic of Mathematics, invented various daily and agricultural tools, abolished the Slave system, promoted literacy, implemented Tianhua, promoted Taiji Rice, and so on.

One by one, these meritorious deeds would take half a day just to finish listing.

In the words of the common people, the lives they were living now were the immortal lives they had once only imagined.

Yet, how could such a sage-like monarch be a ruler of a fallen state, and how could he not be an enlightened monarch?

If this were not an enlightened monarch, what would count as one?

Jiang Ziya's thoughts were in a tangle.

On one side was what his master had said, on the other was what he had seen with his own eyes; which one was the truth?

His master could not be lying to him, because his master was a Saint.

What he saw before him could not be lying to him either; he had specifically sought out many people to ask, and acting could not be performed to such an extent.

In a daze, he was startled awake by a voice.

"Daoist! Daoist!"

Jiang Ziya steadied his mind and realized he had arrived in front of a luxurious manor; there were gatekeepers at the entrance, and he had been awakened by one of them.

This guard had a burly physique and thick Qi and blood; he was actually an Earth Realm Martial Artist.

Looking at the manor plaque, it was inscribed with the two characters "Song Fu".

"Greetings, Daoist. This is Song Fu; are you sure you haven't taken the wrong path?"

The burly guard cupped his hands and asked very politely.

He had been watching the old Daoist earlier; his eyes were vacant and his feet were walking mechanically, as if he had lost his soul.

Jiang Ziya returned the salute: "May I ask if the master of this house is Song Yiren?"

Song Yiren, his sworn elder brother.

He had not expected that he would arrive at Song Fu without realizing it, only that this manor had changed drastically.

The former Song Fu was merely a courtyard and somewhat old; it was nothing like the current grandeur, with red bricks and green tiles, an area estimated to exceed ten mu, surrounded by lush trees, and even the gatekeepers were Earth Realm Martial Artists.

In the original work, the description of Song Yiren was that he possessed a fortune of ten thousand strings of cash, had a hundred qing of fertile land, and owned thirty or fifty restaurants in the city.

Over these years, following Yin Qi's various new policies, Song Yiren had also seized the opportunities, and his wealth had climbed rapidly.

After all, being right outside Chaoge City, he was close to the water and got the moonlight first.

The burly guard said: "That is correct. May I ask what business you have, Daoist?"

Jiang Ziya stroked his beard and said: "This poor Daoist is Jiang Ziya, a sworn brother of Elder Brother Song. Please trouble yourself to announce me."

"Very well, Daoist, please sit here for a moment and have some tea. I will have someone go and report it immediately!"

The burly guard nodded and led Jiang Ziya to the pavilion on the west side.

This was prepared specifically for unfamiliar visitors.

………

Song Yiren was calculating accounts, the abacus clicking and clattering.

He was one of the prominent wealthy merchants in Chaoge; under his name, he not only had fifty-three restaurants of various sizes but had also established fifteen factories outside the city, with over ten thousand people relying on him for their livelihood.

Although every restaurant and factory had its own accountant, he was still accustomed to taking inventory once a month.

Knock, knock!

A knocking sound came from outside the study.

"Come in!"

"Master, an old Daoist has come to the door, claiming to be your sworn brother, Jiang Ziya!"

"What, my virtuous brother has returned."

Song Yiren stood up in pleasant surprise; he threw down his ledger and walked straight outside.

Arriving outside the manor, looking at Jiang Ziya with his youthful face and crane-like hair, the memory that had long been blurred in his mind instantly became clear.

He stepped forward excitedly and said: "Virtuous brother, my virtuous brother, you have finally returned."

"Elder Brother!"

Looking at the excited Song Yiren, Jiang Ziya was also moved beyond measure.

Thirty years of separation, and the two men gripped each other's hands tightly.

After a long while, Song Yiren suddenly came to his senses and said: "Oh my, this is not a place to talk. Virtuous brother, come into the manor with me quickly."

"After you, Elder Brother!"

……

Arriving at the main hall, the two took their respective seats.

Subsequently, servants brought over various exquisite snacks, preserved fruits, and fragrant tea.

Song Yiren sighed: "Thirty years of separation, virtuous brother, you are truly heartless to have only returned now. If it had been a few years later, I fear you and I would have been separated by life and death."

Jiang Ziya said: "Elder Brother, you speak too seriously. In this younger brother's view, Elder Brother still has fifty years of life remaining."

"How did you see that, virtuous brother? Tell me, virtuous brother, what is your cultivation level now, and what skills have you learned?"

Song Yiren asked curiously.

In the past, he certainly would not have understood these things.

But in recent years, with the massive development of the newspaper and publishing industries, information had ushered in an unprecedented explosion, and various Common Knowledge regarding cultivation was no longer a secret.

And as the center of the world, one did not know how many immortal cultivators had flocked to Chaoge over these years.

As a wealthy merchant, the factories under his name employed over a hundred immortal cultivators.

Although, the highest cultivation level is only Golden Core.

Jiang Ziya shook his head and said, "I am ashamed; after thirty years of Daoism, I have only just barely achieved Earth Immortal. Although there are countless divine abilities and secret techniques within the sect, I have only ever been fond of the arts of strange gates and calculations, and have not learned much of anything else."

"My worthy brother is actually an Earth Immortal!"

Song Yiren was pleasantly surprised and did not pay attention to Jiang Ziya's "self-deprecation." He said joyfully, "Worthy brother, the Imperial Court is currently vigorously recruiting powerful cultivators. With your cultivation level, entering the Martial Hall would surely allow you to become a high-ranking official.

Even if you do not enter the Martial Hall, you could go to the Lianqi Gongyequ or the Alchemy Industrial Zone; both have bright futures.

At the very least, entering the government as an official would not be a problem."

Because of business matters, he had frequent dealings with the Martial Hall, the Lianqi Gongyequ, and the Alchemy Industrial Zone, and thus knew some of the situations in these three places.

If an Earth Immortal were to go, they would immediately be high-ranking and directly responsible to the Great King.

If one could gain the appreciation of the Great King, the future would be boundless.

Jiang Ziya asked, "Big brother, I do know about this Martial Hall, as I have chatted with people about it before. But what kind of places are this Lianqi Gongyequ and Alchemy Industrial Zone, that they are worth your recommendation?"

Song Yiren laughed and said, "Worthy brother, these are two excellent places. I believe you saw various trucks and cars on the road earlier; those were first introduced by the Lianqi Gongyequ.

In fact, all kinds of civilian Dharma Treasure originated from the Lianqi Gongyequ.

Later, the Great King issued an order allowing the Lianqi Gongyequ to authorize civilian Refining techniques to the outside world. I seized the opportunity to purchase the method for refining cars, and now I earn hundreds of millions annually.

It is said that the current Lianqi Gongyequ possesses over a million artifact refiners, with dozens of people in the Immortal Realm.

At the lowest level, they can refine Low-grade Spirit Tool, and at the highest, they can refine large Warship.

Moreover, they are directly responsible to the Great King.

As for the Alchemy Industrial Zone, that is even more extraordinary.

Nowadays, 99% of all kinds of Pill on the market come from the Alchemy Industrial Zone. It is said that they have over 500,000 alchemists, and every day there is an output of over a dozen large trucks.

Although your big brother does not practice cultivation, I take one Essence Pill every day, which can replenish my essence, Qi, and spirit, and delay aging.

And one Essence Pill is worth ten Low-grade Spirit Stone."

Jiang Ziya was stunned.

Two million artifact refiners, over five hundred thousand alchemists—this was simply inconceivable.

One must know that in the past, in all of Zhaoge, being able to find fifty artifact refiners and ten alchemists would have been quite remarkable.

From this, one can imagine how terrifying the strength of the Yin Shang is today.

As for Xiqi, could it replace the Yin Shang?