The Immortal Seeker: Legend of Bronze Mirror
Chapter 414 - 181: Xuantian Ascending Dragon Pill (Subscribe Request)_3

Chapter 414: Chapter 181: Xuantian Ascending Dragon Pill (Subscribe Request)_3

Xu Qing was also deep in thought on his way to Dragon Tiger Mountain.

The ideal of unification not only deeply resonated with people but also represented cultural homogeneity.

Unity in writing, language, and various measurement standards was crucial to maximally leveraging the manpower and material resources of this land to avoid internal consumption.

Because while the feudal system had the advantage of expanding territories, by this era, the surrounding border areas could hardly compare to the wealth of Central Earth.

Naturally, this was also related to productivity.

With enhanced productivity, the resources of many border areas could be effectively utilized, and the benefits of expanding territory would naturally outweigh the costs.

Ultimately, it boiled down to interests.

"No wonder many Seekers believe that transcending worldly fame and fortune is what defines an Immortal. Otherwise, no matter how powerful, they are merely ’human.’"

How easy is it to transcend the pursuit of fame and fortune?

Furthermore, Xu Qing wondered if, assuming Immortals exist on a higher dimensional plane of life, they regarded the worldly people fighting over fame and wealth in the same way people view ants?

The strife among ants is naturally inconsequential to humans.

Upon this thought, he couldn’t help feeling somewhat ashamed as an "Outer Heaven Demon" for always entertaining such deviant thoughts.

Actually, from Jiangning Prefecture to Dragon Tiger Mountain is merely seven or eight hundred li. If Xu Qing traveled alone on his Fire Cloud Horse or hastened the journey himself, he could arrive within a day.

However, since he was visiting Dragon Tiger Mountain officially, he decided to follow the proper procedures for the visit.

Wei Yuan from Chaotian Temple planned to go to Dragon Tiger Mountain later to fulfill his master’s command.

Upon reaching Yingtian Prefecture, he became quite active.

It seemed he was also continuing the connections of Li Wendding, Governor Li, from the Dragon Gate Sect.

Clearly, these traditional powers had keen senses and were pre-emptively strategizing.

Xu Qing now had no plans to deliberately network anymore.

Not that he cared more about keeping his team pure.

Because he was a network in himself.

Though currently only a Scholar, when compared to other Scholars, isn’t he like eight taels of Gold to half a pound of bronze?

What kind of Scholar are you, and what kind of Scholar am I?

Could our stature be the same?

Xu Qing arrived at a post station in a lower county and interacted wine glasses with the local County Magistrate, Mr. He.

A lower county is a poor one, where even related Scholars could sit in official positions.

County Magistrate He was one such connected individual.

He was from the He family of Nanyang, whose ancestor was He Jin, the great general during the late Eastern Han, a remarkable man who single-handedly altered the situation at the end of the Han Dynasty!

He was also an ancestor to He Canzheng.

Although Xu Jieyuan was lofty, he still treated a lesser Scholar with kindness and as if bathed in a spring breeze.

Such is the advantage of superiors. Just being a little nicer to those below makes others see you as utmost gracious.

If you were just a Scholar, such an attitude would seem ungrateful.

You would have to kowtow and act like a fawning dog!

County Magistrate He was indeed very sycophantic.

Of course, after enjoying the flattery, Xu Jieyuan also declined County Magistrate He’s kind offer to arrange for a courtesan to serve him at night. Mr. He, undeterred, mentioned a widowed woman of unparalleled beauty who greatly admired Jieyuan Gong’s literary grace.

Look at his awareness.

Ordinarily, people in the scholarly community call him Jieyuan Lang.

County Magistrate He went straight to calling him Jieyuan Gong.

With such skill, Xu Qing felt that County Magistrate He’s potential might not be below that of He Canzheng, the Second Rank Scholar.

After all, those with lower limits are often not short of higher limits!

But with the courtesan and the widow, it all sounded rather ominous.

Xu Qing, recalling the misfortune Cao Cao faced at Wancheng, naturally shivered internally.

This County Magistrate He being from Nanyang, and Wancheng being in Nanyang Prefecture, wasn’t he taking him for a cuckolded Cao?

Although Cao Cao suffered greatly at Wancheng.

Was County Magistrate He implying that he now represented Cao Cao?

Was his perception that profound?

Alas, he is currently akin to the midlife persona of Sima Yi, praised as the Grand Secretary and the fire-fighting team leader.

Xu Qing and County Magistrate He also discussed the recent floods in the Yellow River. While County Magistrate He was excellent at flattery, his operational level was not bad.

He told Xu Qing the truth: the flood was largely man-made.

It was the machinations of nobles in Central State. Firstly, to resist the Court’s reforms, not wishing the Court to resurvey the lands; secondly, it was an opportunity to annex lands.

Well, the He family of Nanyang also had a hand in this.

Xu Qing smirked at this revelation.

Yet he sighed softly within, knowing that these nobles might well become his allies in the future, and eventually, his enemies.

"If you were to say, the civil unrest in East Mountain Province also relates to me, if sins were to be counted, I share part of them too. The title of Outer Heaven Demon suits me well after all."

Regardless of whatever remedial measures Xu Qing would take later,

to say he felt no guilt or remorse would be false.

Because he too was human, flesh, and blood.

If given another chance, he would make the same choices again.

This doesn’t conflict; humans are like that—contradictory, complex, hypocritical, yet capable of genuine goodness, beauty, and truth.

If one were to dissect the dark places of a person, few could withstand their own inner darkness.

For instance, in future generations among boyfriends and girlfriends, who could smile after looking through each other’s phones?

That’s unrealistic.

Even for someone like Cao Cao, who was known for massacring cities, Xu Qing believed that when he wrote "Bones exposed in the wilderness, across the fields no birds are seen. From a hundred living people, only one remains—such thoughts break a person’s heart," he genuinely harbored sympathy and sorrow for the common folk.

Yet he eventually opted for military agriculture, harshly exploiting the civilian population.

However, considering the contradictions and circumstances at the end of the Han Dynasty, strengthening the central government was necessary. If Cao Cao hadn’t unified the North swiftly, the calamity of the Five Barbarians wreaking chaos in China might have happened sooner.

After these turbulent thoughts, Xu Qing soon calmed down.

Historically, there are more records of Cao Cao crying than Liu Xuande, who reportedly cried only once or twice. Li Shimin also often cried.

Many of these heroic figures were genuinely emotional.

The sincere expression of their emotions didn’t conflict with their broad perspective.

To achieve great things, one naturally had to follow the Heavenly Dao, act according to the circumstances, and be minimally influenced by personal feelings.

With a calm mind, Xu Qing faintly touched upon the "Daoist Law of Nature" Realm he had long sought.

This was key to his future potential breakthroughs to becoming a Ghost Immortal or Martial Saint in his Dual Cultivation of Magic and Martial Arts.