A Mortal’s Immortal Gourd
Chapter 41: Era of Peace and Prosperity

When Ergouzi came out of the library, he borrowed several books.

One was History of the Great Zhou, another was Geography of the Great Zhou, and the third was Essays on the Dao of Immortality in the Great Zhou.

He had only skimmed through them in the library, but was already deeply engrossed by their content.

Carrying the books back to his room, it took him three days to carefully read through all three.

Though he had learned much while studying under Li the Half-Immortal, he'd always remained somewhat ignorant.

It wasn’t until now that he finally saw the true face of the world.

From this point on, his vision was no longer confined to Sanchazi Town and Anchan County.

According to the books, before the establishment of the Great Zhou Dynasty, this land was a chaotic mix of humans and demons, with countless sects.

Ordinary humans could only cling to a few powerful immortal sects to survive.

These immortal sects were indeed formidable, filled with experts who could fly and vanish at will, able to protect entire regions.

Though all sects were human-led, their stances differed, and within they were split into branches such as the Righteous Path, Demonic Path, and Ghost Path.

Even within the Righteous Path, there were divisions like the Artifact Sect, Sword Sect, Puppet Sect, and Alchemy Sect.

And even within those smaller sects, there were various internal factions, outwardly united but secretly at odds.

Each sect and faction harbored their own agendas, constantly warring and fighting among themselves.

Human infighting was never-ending, constantly depleting their strength, giving demons the chance to invade and causing ordinary people to suffer.

It was during this chaos that a remarkable rogue cultivator rose up, rallying human cultivators to drive back the monsters and unify the land under the Great Zhou Dynasty.

The new king Han learned from history, suppressing the growth of immortal sects and seizing full control of all resources and power.

He organized a powerful cultivator army to fight demons on the borders and defend the nation.

Internally, he implemented the imperial examination system, selecting Martial Xiucai, Martial Juren, and Martial Jinshi to recruit talent to serve the dynasty.

In times of war, these selected talents would play crucial roles.

However, to maintain stability, the Great Zhou government gathered all cultivation methods into official hands.

Anyone who passed on cultivation techniques privately would be severely punished.

Ordinary people had no access to cultivation methods. As a result, peace prevailed, and no one dared harbor disloyalty.

With cultivators ruling the land and governing the common people, the entire nation was submissive.

According to History of the Great Zhou, there had been several major rebellions in history, each gaining massive momentum.

But each time, the court dispatched cultivator armies, and with a wave of their hands, they slaughtered the rebels cleanly.

After countless such events, all the unruly and disobedient troublemakers were wiped out.

The common folk of the Great Zhou became more and more docile, and no more uprisings ever occurred.

Thus, the Great Zhou entered a golden era of peace and prosperity, which lasted to this day.

When Ergouzi closed History of the Great Zhou, he couldn’t help but sigh—thank goodness he was born into an age of peace.

That book Essays on the Dao of Immortality in the Great Zhou gave a general outline of the path of cultivation.

Most beginners entered through martial training, practicing various martial techniques.

Once a martial artist could sense the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, they officially stepped into the path of cultivation, becoming a first-stage Qi practitioner.

After reading the book, Ergouzi finally realized that he had not only entered the path of cultivation but had already reached the third level of Qi Refinement.

His master hadn’t lied to him after all. He had truly risked capital punishment to pass on a valuable immortal cultivation method.

And yet, he had actually doubted his master—how ungrateful of him, blind with pig fat.

Next time he met his master, he must repay him properly.

But his master was detached from fame and fortune, viewing wealth as dirt, unmoved by worldly possessions.

Giving him money would only taint his immortal air.

Better to serve him a few more cups of tea from time to time.

Ah! Someone like him would never understand his master’s state of mind.

Though Ergouzi was glad to learn he was a cultivator with third-level Qi Refinement, the joy didn’t last long.

Third-level Qi Refinement was hardly anything to brag about—not worth being proud of.

The characters recorded in History of the Great Zhou, even the least remarkable ones, had already reached the Foundation Establishment stage.

Only after ten levels of Qi Refinement could one form a foundation. Above Foundation was Golden Core, and above that, Nascent Soul.

In the days that followed, Ergouzi immersed himself in books, thirstily absorbing all the knowledge he could.

Every two or three days, he would visit the library and borrow a few books.

In about ten days, he had roughly gotten a grasp of everything in the library.

Sure enough, there was every kind of book—but not a single cultivation method.

History of the Great Zhou had told no lie— to maintain peace and order, the government had confiscated all civilian cultivation methods.

The cultivation method left by his master didn’t feel complete—many parts were vague or unclear.

And at best, it could only train up to the tenth level of Qi Refinement. Nothing beyond that.

Still unwilling to give up, he approached Deputy Hall Master Sima, hoping to ask where he might find cultivation methods.

The answer was just as he expected—all civilian methods had been confiscated and destroyed.

Only those who passed the Martial Juren exam and served the dynasty could be granted cultivation methods as a reward.

So if he wanted to continue on the path of cultivation through official means, becoming a Martial Juren was the only way.

All other paths came with the risk of losing his head.

After staying in the county for over ten days, Ergouzi finally left carrying a big sack of books.

Most of the books were on martial techniques and military strategy, useful for preparing for the Martial Juren exams.

Just a dozen or so li outside the county, a man and a woman approached him.

The man was handsome, the woman charming—clearly young nobles from a wealthy family, unused to sun or labor.

"Are you Scholar Zhang, by chance?"

From a distance, the two bowed and asked.

"That’s me. May I ask what business you have?"

"We are Ding Xiuxiu and Ding Xiulang of Ding Family Village. By order of our patriarch, we’ve come to invite Young Master Zhang to visit our home."

As Ding Xiulang spoke, he respectfully offered a bright red invitation.

Ergouzi accepted it and saw the cover decorated with gold foil patterns and the large golden characters “Ding Family Village.”

He’d heard of Ding Family Village while at Zhengwu Hall—wealthy and powerful, on par with the Sima clan.

But Ding Family Village kept a low profile and rarely involved themselves in government affairs.

Seeing it for himself today, the reputation was clearly well-earned—even the invitation alone was worth several hundred coins.

Since they had graciously invited him, he might as well visit and enjoy their hospitality.

So he followed them off the main road onto another path. All three were martial artists and moved swiftly, covering over ten li of mountain road quickly.

As they turned past a mountain valley, a vast expanse of farmland came into view—a sea of golden yellow.

What a beautiful rice field!

As a farmer, wherever he went, Ergouzi instinctively observed the crops’ condition.

The vast field of golden rice rippled like waves in the wind.

The stalks grew thick and strong, the ears heavy and drooping—a scene of bountiful harvest.

But it was already autumn turning to winter. Elsewhere, the fields had long since been harvested.

"Why haven’t you harvested your rice yet?"

"Hahaha..."

"This is our Ding Family Village’s specialty—Cat’s Fang Rice. It’s very popular throughout Sanyang Commandery. Even the Hongyan Restaurant in the county uses it to cook and brew wine."

The Ding siblings introduced their rice with pride.

"Cat’s Fang Rice was personally cultivated by our ancestor. It takes ten full months to mature before harvesting."