Handing it over so readily?

Seeing the White Lotus lad hand over the God-controlling Banner at the Pharmacist's instruction, Yu Yuan couldn't help but feel somewhat astonished.

Could this item be a fake?

However, when he took the God-controlling Banner into his hands, he immediately sensed thousands of runes within this treasure, each one corresponding to an incense-worshiped God.

Holding the God-controlling Banner, he could easily sense the general whereabouts of those incense-worshiped Gods, and even influence and control them to some extent through the runes!

After handing over the God-controlling Banner, the Pharmacist took a deep look at Yu Yuan and then promptly soared away, stepping on the Seven-colored Lotus Platform.

Once he left, the White Lotus lad and the Yaksha King didn't dare linger and quickly followed.

Yu Yuan did not hinder them, but rather Wu Zhiqi smacked his lips regretfully, evidently enjoying the thought, "It's been a long while since I've had such a satisfying battle. That guy, despite being so dark and ugly, was tough and could really take a beating, which made it quite enjoyable to fight."

And you with a face full of hair and a thunderous mouth dare to call others ugly?

Yu Yuan glanced at him with annoyance and passed the God-controlling Banner over.

"For me?"

Wu Zhiqi pointed at himself in some surprise.

Yu Yuan nodded, smiling, "These incense-worshiped Gods have cultivated successfully. If you left them unattended, who knows what trouble they might stir up. If you wish to continue as the Huai River God, this should be a good opportunity.

Of course, if you do not want these incense-worshiped Gods as subordinates, I can hand them over to someone else."

"I want it! Of course, I want it! Only a fool would not want it!"

Wu Zhiqi took the God-controlling Banner, his face lit with excitement: "I've patrolled these guys, the weakest among them has the cultivation of Profound Immortals, and there are quite a few True Immortals. Though they fall short compared to the Demon Kings under me in the past, with them as a foundation, ruling over the Huai River... no, ruling over the Four Drains is not a difficult task!"

Yu Yuan nodded slightly, noncommittally: "With your Dao Xing and reputation, unifying the Demon Clan of the Southern Continent wouldn't be difficult for you.

However, let me be blunt, if you take over these incense-worshiped Gods, you must be responsible for them. If any of them bully the common folk or harm living beings again, I will come looking for you."

Hearing this, Wu Zhiqi unconsciously recalled the punch Yu Yuan had given to the Pharmacist just before, and shuddered slightly.

Just as he was about to say something, he realized that Yu Yuan had already walked far away.

"Lord Water God!"

Only when Wu Zhiqi was left alone in the Divine Spirit Valley did the little demons dare to show up, their gaze towards Wu Zhiqi filled with increasing reverence.

Wu Zhiqi looked around, seeing more and more little demons emerging from the corners, bowing respectfully towards him—it was almost like returning to the days when he reigned as king in the Huai River.

…

Leaving the Divine Spirit Valley, Yu Yuan rode the Golden-eyed Five Clouds Camel to Linhuan Pass.

After many days, the sight that met his eyes was a resplendent pastoral painting of bountiful harvest.

The endless rice fields stretched far into the distance, the rice ears like a golden ocean, swaying under the caress of the breeze. The hardworking and joyful human commoners with their sharp sickles harvest the brilliant rice ears in bundles.

The full rice ears emitted a unique fragrance that pervaded every corner of the air. Yu Yuan stood quietly by the rice field, took a deep breath, and the refreshing fragrance of the rice invigorated his spirit.

Besides that, there were billows of thick smoke coming from the distant blast furnaces.

These were blast furnaces recently drafted by Yu Yuan himself, with Wen Zhong leading the commoners to construct them in a remote valley downstream of the Huai River.

From afar, one could see a massive blast furnace standing in the valley, like a solemn giant. Constructed of huge stones and bricks, it was cylindrical and tens of feet tall. Flames shot up from the top of the furnace, and roaring sounds from within made it seem as if a raging beast was awakening.

Carefully selected craftsmen skillfully managed materials like iron ore, coke, and limestone, dumping them into the furnace where the extreme heat and rising flames burned away the impurities from the iron ore.

Despite the distance, with Yu Yuan's realm, he could easily feel the blazing airflow burst from the furnace and hear the sound of iron ore melting within.

Gradually, as the flames within the furnace rose ceaselessly, molten iron began to flow out, scorching and splendid like a burning river.

Craftsmen carefully caught the molten iron, pouring it into the pre-made molds to create essential tools like sickles, axes, saws, shovels, and more.

As the saying goes, to do good work, one must first sharpen one's tools.

For the rapid development of Linhuan Pass, handy tools were indispensable.

Compared to the bronze ware common in this era, ironware was materially stronger, more durable, and had higher hardness and strength, capable of withstanding greater pressure and impact, more suitable for making weapons and tools.

Although ironware usually lacks the ornate appearance of bronze ware, it is sufficiently simple and sturdy, with a broader range of use.

With these fine iron-made tools, the development of Linhuan Pass was undoubtedly accelerated.

Yu Yuan watched as some human commoners took axes and saws into the forest, quickly cutting down suitable timber to build simple wooden huts beside the rice fields to guard their croplands, protecting this rich vitality from wild beasts.

Some children played laughingly among the rice fields, their lively smiling faces as bright as sunshine.

"Yao Ge, come and play!"

"Yao Ge, big sister—"

Yu Yuan looked in the direction of the children's voices and saw a svelte woman standing on the ridge of a field, her hands on her hips and grumbling indignantly, "You should call me 'Lord Mountain Spirit'!"

The woman had rosy lips and bright teeth, sparkling eyes full of expectation, dressed in a long, green dress adorned with many colorful flowers, looking like a Flower Immortal.

She was the mountain spirit Yao Ge whom he had "kidnapped" from the Northern Continent and brought back to Linhuan Pass, where she had already been staying for some time.

Initially, she wanted Yu Yuan to take her back every day, but now she seemed to have forgotten about it, mixing in well with the children of Linhuan Pass, becoming a sort of king among the kids.

Yu Yuan was actually quite happy to see this situation.

Upon arriving at the thatched cottage in the southern part of the city, he found Wen Zhong writing and drawing with a brush.

When Wen Zhong noticed Yu Yuan's arrival, he happily greeted him with a bow, "Big brother, you've come at the right time. The population of Linhuan Pass is increasing. I am contemplating expanding Linhuan Pass, but I lack the experience in this area. Big brother, would you help me figure out how to properly design the city walls?"

"Just think about it yourself."

Yu Yuan replied nonchalantly with a toss of those words.

As if he was experienced in such matters.

After all, he had given all the knowledge he should, and Wen Zhong absorbed it very fast. Sometimes, the questions raised by Wen Zhong were beyond Yu Yuan as well.

Common knowledge was still manageable, but some of the questions were truly beyond their scope!

Who would memorize pi to a million digits if they weren't idling about?!

After briefly chatting with Wen Zhong in the thatched cottage, Yu Yuan then visited his own Treasure Hall built beside the Huai River.

Before he had left, this Treasure Hall had become the dwelling of Huo Ling'er, Fairy Yun Hua, and Yao Ge. At the moment, as he approached the river, from a distance he saw Fairy Yun Hua busy around a large cauldron, while Huo Ling'er was at her side, occasionally asking for advice.

Listening closely, Yu Yuan discovered that Huo Ling'er was actually asking about culinary arts!

Upon seeing Yu Yuan's arrival, Fairy Yun Hua promptly bowed respectfully, "Many thanks to the Immortal for helping me escape the Investiture of the Gods!"

"It seems you can sense it yourself."

Yu Yuan also brightened up upon hearing her words.

After acquiring the Investiture of the Gods and the Divine Beating Whip, the first thing he did was to erase Fairy Yun Hua's name from the list.

This was also done to verify the effectiveness of the Divine Beating Whip.

Now, it was clear that the Divine Beating Whip indeed had the ability to modify the Investiture of the Gods.

With this thought in mind, he turned to Fairy Yun Hua with a smile, "Indeed, you should properly thank me. In order to get my hands on the Investiture of the Gods and the Divine Beating Whip, even the Saints of two Sects clashed fiercely."

"Could it be that the recent clash of Saints above the thirty-three heavens was because of the Immortal?"

Yun Hua opened her eyes in astonishment, staring at Yu Yuan with disbelief.

Huo Ling'er was also shocked, "What exactly did you do in your trip to the Western Continent? You even alarmed the Grandmaster?"

Yu Yuan briefly recounted his experience, leaving both of them stunned.

"I had no idea there was such danger involved!"

Fairy Yun Hua bowed once more, "Immortal's great kindness and virtue, Yun Hua will remember in her heart, and one day I will surely repay it!"

Yu Yuan laughed, "Let's not talk about repaying for now, might I first have some gourmet food to taste?"

"Of course!" Fairy Yun Hua quickly agreed, "If the Immortal likes gourmet food, then I will prepare some additional dishes for the Immortal to taste in the future."

"That's great." Yu Yuan nodded with a smile, handing her some spice jars he had collected.

Fairy Yun Hua was a person who kept her word, making some delicious dishes every day for Yu Yuan to taste.

She was indeed talented and interested in gastronomy, replicating many of the renowned dishes Yu Yuan taught her.

Each dish was exquisitely crafted, and thanks to the superior ingredients, the taste was extraordinary.

This satisfyingly indulged Yu Yuan's craving for good food.

One day, while Yu Yuan was lazily chatting with White Lotus and Yun Zhongzi through a bronze mirror, his brow suddenly knit together, sensing an unusual presence.

Shortly thereafter, a gaunt figure abruptly appeared before him, glancing at the bronze mirror in his hand with a tinge of surprise in their eyes.

Yu Yuan promptly stood up, stowing away the bronze mirror and respectfully bowing.

"Greetings to Saint Zhunti! May I ask what brings the Saint here so suddenly?"

Could it be because of the earlier incident in Divine Spirit Valley, when he beat up the Pharmacist and seized the God-controlling Banner?

While his thoughts raced, Saint Zhunti looked at him with a smile, "I've noticed you seem to have some misunderstandings about our Western Sect, so I've come to have a chat with you today.

I hope to clear up any misunderstandings and also hope you can feel the goodwill of our Western Sect."

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