Yu Yuan had long anticipated Wen Zhong's choice.

In the way of cultivation, the Red Dust is not a place one can easily step into.

The higher the Dao Xing realm one achieves, the further they must stay away from the Red Dust.

Because within the mundane Red Dust world, desires are complicated, the multitude of races in the Primordial alone number beyond trillions.

Once a cultivator steps into the Red Dust, they make contact with all beings.

At that moment, karma is instantly established.

Contact with thousands brings forth thousands of karmic bonds.

Contact with tens of millions brings forth tens of millions of karmic bonds.

Whether it's good karma or bad karma, as time goes by, it deepens, evolves, and entangles into a vast net; the longer one stays, the deeper one sinks into it.

Just like in this moment, as Wen Zhong beheads the Huai River Water God, at least a hundred thousand people around Linhuan Pass are greatly affected.

Accordingly, Wen Zhong has to take on the karma of these hundred thousand people.

And this doesn't even count those river spirits and water demons!

Such karma may not seem like much, but day by day, year by year, how could the accumulated karma be less than trillions?!

Once karma collapses and deteriorates, various calamities will inevitably follow!

Hence, the vast majority of cultivators seclude themselves in Cave Heaven Blessed Lands, rarely venturing into the world of mortals.

However, every coin has two sides!

By entering the Red Dust and experiencing the secular world, one inevitably becomes tainted with karma, but it also tempers one's will and solidifies the Dao Heart, and one can also cultivate using the power of Incense Fire Luck.

Gathering incense worship and accumulating Human Dao Destiny.

This method is not orthodox in Xuanmen but was created by the two saints of the Western Sect.

Somehow, for some reason, it suddenly spread throughout the Primordial.

Countless cultivators switched to the Incense Fire Divine Dao.

In Southern Continent and the Western Continent, over mountains and rivers, lakes and seas, incense smoke curled and clouds steamed everywhere.

This cultivation method is extremely effective and allows for rapid improvement.

As long as there are enough devout believers offering incense, pure Power of Faith can be formed.

This Power of Faith can not only be used by cultivators to enhance their mana but can also increase the power imbued in Spiritual Treasures, or crystallized into forms such as Incense Bronze, Earth Silver, Heavenly Gold, etc., to be stored and circulated among the deities of incense worship.

Therefore, for the deities of incense-worship, the most important thing is territory!

As long as the land is vast and the population large, an endless stream of the Power of Faith can continue to converge.

And the Great Shang Dynasty, which rules the largest population, is the largest territory in this world and has gathered the most robust Human Dao Destiny!

Therefore, taking office in the Great Shang to borrow from Human Dao Destiny for cultivation can help some cultivators with shallow Dao Xing to speed up their progress.

However, this method is not Xuanmen orthodoxy, and in the later stages, it may well be that due to excessive contamination with karma, they will be bogged down by Human Dao Destiny and never reach the summit of the Immortal Path.

Usually, only cultivators with poor innate talent would choose this path.

Wen Zhong naturally has excellent talents, but he happens to have a heart for the Red Dust... or rather, he is too upright to turn a blind eye to injustices.

If he stayed in Penglai, it would be fine, but once he comes into the world of mortals and sees these unjust matters, he cannot stand by idly.

In plain terms, cultivation is an extremely selfish affair, and one must look through it clearly.

There are countless injustices in the world; if you truly wanted to intervene, how could you ever manage all of them?

Therefore, the vast majority of cultivators choose to seclude themselves in Cave Heaven Blessed Lands with clear water and green mountains, gathering the spiritual energy of Heaven and Earth, and concentrating the essences of all things.

Concentrating solely on cultivating their own Great Dao.

But a character like Wen Zhong, with a bursting sense of justice, simply cannot turn a blind eye.

Therefore, for him, walking this path was almost a certain thing.

It was exactly because Yu Yuan observed this that he made some preparations in advance, organizing some basic knowledge from his past life memories into a "Compendium Encyclopedia," and took it out at this moment.

In his view, this "Compendium Encyclopedia" can definitely be called a secret manual among secret manuals, enough to help Wen Zhong quickly stabilize his footing in Great Shang, and even hold a pivotal position among the Human Race.

Having been in the Primordial for more than a thousand years, the beings Yu Yuan observed the most were the Human Race.

The mortals of the Primordial, even without practicing Daoist Skills, far exceed the mortals from his memories in terms of physical fitness and other aspects.

Ordinary mortals can live a hundred years through spring and autumn without their actions deteriorating.

The strength, endurance, speed, etc., of an average adult, all surpass top-level trained athletes from his memories.

The hundreds of pounds of heavy cauldrons used for cooking, an ordinary woman can easily lift over her head.

A few sturdy men can carry several thousand pounds of wood and still move swiftly.

Tens of thousands of pounds of large rocks can be moved aside by twenty to thirty people.

However...

According to what Yu Yuan observed over a thousand years,

This world is technologically backward, and the production methods are outdated.

It's basically rough cultivation with meager yields, dependent on the weather for food.

The most important point is that the development of civilization is incredibly slow!

In these thousand years or more, Yu Yuan has not seen any change!

Take crop farming for example.

This world doesn't even know about fertilizing fields with silt, not to mention composting.

As for irrigation, selection, and breeding of seeds, they are also non-existent.

Growing crops is pretty much limited to tilling, sowing, and harvesting, at most adding weeding.

With such processes, it's nearly impossible to expect a large yield.

Even when people rely on worshipping divine spirits for favorable weather, they still cannot harvest much grain by year's end.

The land around Linhuan Pass is fertile plain.

The local climate is also suitable for growing grains, but the reports submitted to Chaoge clearly state: "For every ten mu of land, the annual yield does not exceed forty dàn."

That's four dàn of grain per mu per year.

Yu Yuan estimated that one dàn in Great Shang is roughly equal to 24 catties in his memory, meaning a mu of land yields 96 catties of grain a year.

Even on this most fertile land, under the basis of good weather, only so much grain is produced, one can imagine what the harvest on other poor lands must be like.

The majority of the "Encyclopedia" passed on to Wen Zhong by Yu Yuan consists of common knowledge about agriculture, water conservancy, animal husbandry, construction, mathematics, medical sanitation, and so forth.

Such common knowledge in his eyes was unheard of in this world.

Wen Zhong was initially indifferent, but after taking another look, he couldn't help but gasp in amazement.

"If this water wheel and canal can be built, wouldn't it be possible to divert water to the fields whether it rains or not?"

Wen Zhong's biggest concern had been that after slaying the Water God, there would be no one to ensure good weather and timely rainfall for the region.

But now, after seeing these "Secret Manuals" given by Yu Yuan, he suddenly felt that perhaps it was not such a big deal after all?

Linhuan Pass relies on the backing of the Huai River, only needing to construct water wheels and canals.

Whether in drought or flood, they could always timely divert or drain water!

What need then for a Water God?!

Thinking this way, he couldn't wait to go and share the news with the Human Race commoners on the shore.

"Look at you, all flustered and hurried."

Yu Yuan shook his head, speaking somewhat irritably: "Constructing water wheels and canals is not something that can be achieved overnight; it requires a considerable investment of labor and resources... This matter cannot be rushed, better first bring forth a Water God."

"Huh?"

Wen Zhong looked puzzled, not quite understanding his meaning.

"Follow me."

With a slight flicker, Yu Yuan had already arrived inside the Water God Temple.

This temple was built magnificently and imposingly.

Because the Huai River Water God had been slain, the temple's witches were now nowhere to be seen; only a clay sculpture of the god, gilded and colorfully painted, still sat upright on the divine pedestal.

Yu Yuan stretched out his hand and called forth, and the sculpture shattered, revealing ingots of golden-yellow, which flowed out appearing similar to bronze, yet emanating a thick scent of incense fire.

"This is..."

Wen Zhong, who followed into the temple, looked at the copper ingots scattered all over the floor with a face full of astonishment.

He was not a mortal and naturally sensed that these copper ingots were no ordinary items.

"This is Incense Bronze."

Yu Yuan spoke indifferently: "The people of Linhuan Pass constantly burn incense and offer sacrifices; the power of their incense fire faith accumulates within the divine effigy, eventually condensing into this material!

According to the abundance and strength of the faith, it is classified into Incense Bronze, Earth Silver, and Heavenly Gold. A hundred ingots of Incense Bronze can only be exchanged for ten ingots of Earth Silver, or one ingot of Heavenly Gold...

You'll inevitably have to deal with these gods of incense fire, so you'll need to understand a bit more about this."

"Thank you for your guidance, Senior Brother!"

Wen Zhong nodded solemnly and then asked with some curiosity: "With these ingots of Incense Bronze, one can become a Water God?"

Yu Yuan shook his head, "You still need an artifact capable of summoning clouds and rain, adjusting the water veins."

Before his voice fell, a streak of azure light shot towards them, revealing a figure in front of the temple gate.

It was a Dragon Clan youth, with dual horns on his head and a delicate and exquisite appearance.

In his hands, he held a small triangular flag, azure and verdant in color, diffusing a faint glow.

"Reporting to master, as per your instructions, this small dragon has found this artifact in the Water God's cave mansion, also rescued over thirty mortal women, and eradicated all cannibalistic river monsters and demons..."

Hearing this, Wen Zhong finally understood the source of the dragon's roar that protected the commoners ashore earlier.

At the same time, he felt somewhat ashamed.

While his Senior Brother was undertaking these actions, he considered all aspects thoroughly.

Unlike himself, who acted on a spur of passion.

Yu Yuan, unaware of his thoughts, simply introduced them casually and, while Ao Yi was presenting his respects, he had already taken the triangular flag.

Holding it in his hand and merely infusing a thread of mana, he could feel the water flows within hundreds of miles under his control.

This was the Huai River Water God's artifact for summoning clouds and rainfall.

By injecting mana into it, one could decide the rainfall within hundreds of miles.

In other words, as long as one possessed this object, with a bit of mana, one could become a new Water God!

Yu Yuan carefully examined the triangular flag, discovering it bore the unique marks of a mass-produced Spiritual Treasure.

Obviously, it wasn't crafted by that Huai River Water God.

Instead, someone made it and gave it to water demons like the Huai River Water God, letting them masquerade under the guise of divinity, collecting incense fire faith!

Yes, this Huai River Water God was indeed an impostor.

The real Huai River Water God was named Wuzhiqi, with profound divine skills, one of the Four Rivers Water Gods, once led the demon lineage to create havoc and obstruct Da Yu's water management.

After several great battles, he was eventually trapped by Da Yu with an iron chain around his neck, and a golden bell threaded through his nose, pressing him under Gui Mountain.

Looking at the triangular flag, Yu Yuan contemplated in his heart.

If it were just to collect incense fire faith, that would be fine, but he feared that the person behind the scenes might be plotting something.

Might as well take this opportunity to see what that person behind the scenes was really up to.

Having made up his mind, Yu Yuan handed the triangular flag to Wen Zhong, letting him test the function of the artifact.

"Incense Bronze can transform into mana; coupled with this flag, a mortal can possess the power of a Water God. You can choose a new Water God from the commoners of Linhuan Pass."

"Choose a Water God?"

At that moment, Wen Zhong felt his mind heat up, and ancient legends emerged from the depths of his heart.

In the primordial times, there was a Saint Emperor who governed the world.

From among the people, he appointed the wise and capable to positions such as river lords, mountain gods, and local deities of various territories.

Charged with guarding the land.

To bless the commoners and protect all beings!

Senior Brother previously imparted to me the "Method of Governing," and now is having me perform Divine Enthronement, could it be he wants me to...

But what virtue or ability do I, Wen Zhong, possess to compare with a primordial Saint Emperor?

Moreover, today is not the era of the Saint Emperor governing with a hands-off approach, but the era of the Great Shang Dynasty!

However, if Senior Brother supports me, it's not impossible...

Hmm?

Hmm, hmm?

My path... seems to have gone astray!

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