Shennong Daojun.

Chapter 547 Seeking the Dao, Severing Qi, Observing the Heavens, Testing the Soil, and Competing for Inheritance!
Time passed, and in the blink of an eye, Zhao Xing had served as a protector on Penglai Island for seven hundred years.

Inside the cave on Moon Spirit Peak, a boundary core flickered twice and disappeared, replaced by Zhao Xing's figure.

"Time flies, and the opportunity to inherit the Penglai Divine General's legacy is almost here." Zhao Xing said with some anticipation. "For more than seven hundred years, I have been diligently cultivating the Ksitigarbha Dharma, and it is time to verify the results."

His role as a Dharma protector is indeed very easy; he doesn't need to spend too much time on his work and has a lot of time to devote to his personal cultivation.

Therefore, Zhao Xing has also made great progress in the Ksitigarbha Dharma.

"Don't get too excited yet, this opportunity may not actually be triggered," Bovi's voice echoed in his mind.

"Huh? What does the elder mean?" Zhao Xing asked, somewhat surprised.

"What, you didn't read the book 'On Time and Space' that I gave you carefully?" Bowei reminded him. "Your understanding of time and the great principles of history is still very superficial. You should read this book more often in the future."

"Yes, Elder, I will definitely study harder in the future. But what do you mean by 'it might not trigger'?"

At this moment, Bowei, dressed in the clothes of a historian, slowly explained: "In the historical event of the inheritance of the Penglai God General, more than 78 people have participated in countless reincarnations, but no one has successfully taken away the inheritance."

"If it is taken away, starting from the time of success, the Penglai God General will no longer appear in the event of chance, and it will completely disappear."

"Furthermore, not every time you enter this time-space instance, you will be able to trigger the opportunity event of 'Inheritance of the Penglai Divine General'."

"It may happen, or it may not happen; it is not inevitable."

"Such a thing is true?" Zhao Xing found it somewhat intriguing. "Elder, why would this happen?"

"The reason is simple. As a god-general, Penglai knows that he has been constantly reincarnating in the 341st century before the desolate region. He can sense that the Great Dao of Time has generated countless branches within him."

"Of course, he can only sense it, but he cannot break free from the constraints, because he is deeply involved in the major event of the cosmic ship's fall."

Zhao Xing was somewhat confused. Even though he had studied the theory of time and space for many years, he could not clearly understand it because the perception and control of the Great Dao of Time was a divine domain.

"Elder, please explain further. Aren't gods able to transcend the constraints of the river of time?"

Bovi waved his hand and dug out a river in his inner world.

Bovi slowly walked into the river, the water reaching above his knees.

"Look, this is what happens when a god travels through the river of time under normal circumstances."

"Wow~"

Bovi suddenly jumped up and landed on the shore, then moved back and forth upstream and downstream.

After the first demonstration, Bove jumped into the river again.

The second time, Bovi swam to the deep water and entered the large ship that was stuck in the mud and sand.

“This is an abnormal situation, but I will still jump with the same force.”

"Pong!"

Bovi's head hit the ceiling.

Zhao Xing suddenly realized: "Divine power is indeed enough to transcend the river of time, but you didn't say that the river of time bound the Penglai God General. Rather, you said that the Penglai God General couldn't escape this cosmic ship."

Bovi nodded: "Yes, his life, destiny, karma, everything is deeply bound to the Space Ark. In this major event, he can no longer escape on his own."

“The two great god-kings did not give any way back when the ship was being built. Even the two god-kings of Zhoushan and Dizang could not get out, let alone him.”

Zhao Xing pointed to the sunken ship in the river: "In other words, the Penglai God General was able to know that a descendant had entered the Cosmic Ship, but to save it would be equivalent to salvaging the entire Cosmic Ship, and the Cosmic Ship is too heavy to be reversed by the river of time to change the outcome."

“Yes.” Bovi nodded: “In fact, at the beginning of the sinking of the Cosmic Ship, the Primordial Hill, the Primordial Heavenly Palace, and the Temple of Reincarnation also thought of reversing the entire spacetime of the Overturning Mountain Domain to completely save the two God Kings, but they were powerless to do so.”

"Firstly, because the spaceship is too 'heavy,' and this weight is based on the spacetime laws of the entire universe."

"Secondly, the two great god-kings have made it disappear, which adds another layer of difficulty to the reversal."

"Furthermore, it was solidified at the end of the 341st era of the Desolate Region, and even the God Kings such as the Moon God Palace Master and the Samsara Palace Master were powerless to reverse it."

"Who solidified the event of the Spaceship's demise?" Zhao Xing asked.

“The True History Party, that group of gods,” Bovi said, “only recognizes true history. In fact, because of their existence, neither righteous gods nor evil gods could send anyone back to the cosmic ship of the first solar year. It wasn’t until some accidents happened later that they were able to.”

Zhao Xing had also heard Bowei mention the True History Party, which only recognizes true history, that is, preserving the original appearance of historical events and not allowing people to go back in time to change, distort, or pollute them.

However, he didn't realize how powerful this group was. No wonder Bovi wanted to integrate the school of astronomical historians in the Desolate Era; it seems there was a reason for it.

Zhao Xing was puzzled: "With so many gods going back and forth in the river of time, and even divided into multiple camps, if that's the case, then real history simply doesn't exist."

"Furthermore, if they want to maintain this, won't that create the false history they're talking about? Isn't that a contradiction?"

Bovi nodded: "Yes, a theory is just a theory. Polaris and polar continents are also a kind of theory of the Minister of Agriculture."

"However, this organization is very powerful. It is said that the True History Party can share a common method of proving the Dao of Heaven and Earth, so almost everyone in the organization is an invincible True God powerhouse of the same level."

"Almost all of them are true gods of history?" Zhao Xing was also shocked. How terrifying must this organization be?

No wonder Bowei said that if you see the god of the true history party, you should stay as far away as possible.

I just don't know what the taboos of this organization are, or what would trigger their pursuit.

Zhao Xing wanted to press further, but Bowei didn't continue: "Back to the matter of the Penglai Divine General, a divine general of Penglai's level has a profound understanding of the Great Dao of Time, so he can know how many invaders have entered."

Bowei: "In each cycle of reincarnation, if the Penglai God General finds that there are no good talents and the number of people is very small, then he will not leave behind a test of inheritance, so the descendants will not trigger the inheritance opportunity event."

"In short, he can live in the cycle indefinitely, and he's not actually in a hurry."

Zhao Xing: "So, does that mean the trials for inheriting the Penglai Divine Generals will change every time?"

Bowei: "There have been changes, but not every time, and not all of them. For example, he set up tests related to the Ksitigarbha Dharma every time."

"As for the others, they vary a lot, and sometimes they even involve the egoist and the opportunist factions."

Zhao Xing thought to himself that the test of the Penglai God General was probably not simple. He had seen so many geniuses fail to hand over their inheritances. Could he handle it this time?

I'm not sure, but since I'm already here, I might as well give it a try.

As the time for the event drew closer, Zhao Xing stopped cultivating and instead communicated telepathically with the people who used to patrol the mountain.

Inside a spiritual sanctuary, Liu Qingci sat in the main seat, while Xu Huai, Zhuo Hua, and Zhao Xing occupied the guest seats.

"Fellow Daoists, the opportunity for the Penglai Divine General is about to begin."

"I wonder if all three of you fellow Daoists will participate?" Liu Qingci spoke first.

"Of course I will participate!" Venerable Zhuohua laughed. "To be honest, I am a proper Minister of Agriculture of the Geographical Advantage Faction, and in my time and space, I am also a mountain lord of the Zhoushan Domain."

"If we're talking about confidence, among the four of you, if I claim to be second, then none of you would dare to claim to be first, right?"

Venerable Zhuohua spoke these words with confidence.

There was a reason he said that.

Zhao Xing and Xu Huai's most powerful magic in the past was the Hou Bianfa of the Tian Shi School.

Therefore, Zhuohua believes that these two are the genuine Tian Shi faction's Minister of Agriculture.

As for Venerable Yusheng Liu Qingci, needless to say, she is a priestess. Although she can also perform the agricultural magic, this is a simulation of the core of agricultural magic using spiritual tablets. It is considered cross-realm cultivation, and compared with the real agricultural magic, she is probably still somewhat inferior.

"Brother Zhuohua, you're too proud of yourself." Xu Huai snorted, "Perhaps you're considered powerful among us, but who knows how many invaders there are on Penglai Island!"

"You think you're better than me? Hmph, brother, have you ever been on the Bai Zhuo Ji Genius List?"

Zhuohua's face darkened upon hearing this. The Baizhuo Era Genius Ranking was a list created by the Shadow Temple, summarizing all the famous geniuses of the Baizhuo Era.

Xu Huai had been on the list before, but later dropped out of the rankings. However, this alone is enough to keep bragging about. Whenever they chat, Xu Huai will inevitably mention it "inadvertently".

Zhuohua couldn't refute it, because he really hadn't been on the list: "What's the Genius Ranking? If I'm going to be on it, I'll be on the New God Ranking!"

If it weren't for the sake of inheritance, Zhuohua would have broken through long ago. In the Yas Sea, he would have already gathered enough resources for a breakthrough.

As a resource for those who specialize in the Earthly Advantage Sect, he can directly use the Earth God Crystal to break through, without having to wait until he leaves to exchange for it.

The reason why Xu Huai and the others haven't broken through is probably because they belong to different factions.

"Is Venerable Zhuohua a mountain lord of the Ancient Hill? I wonder which era he belongs to," Zhao Xing thought to himself.

"The Blazing Era Genius Ranking? There's such a ranking?"

"It seems that the Shadow Temple's bunch of 'funnis' came up with this."

Seeing that Zhao Xing remained silent, Liu Qingci took the initiative to ask, "Brother Han, why are you not saying a word?"

“That’s right, Venerable Han,” Venerable Zhuohua said, “I’ve already revealed everything, but I still don’t know your identities.”

“Actually, I am also the Minister of Agriculture of the Ancient Hill,” Zhao Xing said casually.

"Oh?" Venerable Zhuohua was somewhat surprised: "What a coincidence."

"What kind of fate is this?" Xu Huai sneered. "The Minister of Agriculture of the Geographical Advantage School came from the Primordial Era. Which genius of the Geographical Advantage School didn't spend some time in the Primordial Hill? Han Bing, what position have you held?"

"Me? I'm not worth mentioning, let's not talk about it." Zhao Xing waved his hand, not wanting to say more.

However, Xu Huai thought that Zhao Xing had only held some unimportant positions.

Zhuohua comforted him, saying, "With Venerable Han's talent, in my time and space, he would at least be a peak master. If he were to focus on the Great Dao and write some treatises, he would be more than qualified to be a mountain master."

"Since Venerable Han also cultivates the Great Way of Earthly Advantage, does he have any scriptures or treatises? We might as well discuss them."

"These are just mediocre opinions; I dare not offer them."

Within his inner world, Bovi couldn't help but chuckle upon hearing this.

"If I really told him, Zhuohua would probably be scared half to death. Even if you gave him the Ten Directions Mountain Scripture, he probably wouldn't dare to look at it."

Knowing too much isn't necessarily a good thing; it could be a big problem.

Time passed little by little as the four chatted idly.

Soon it came to the second solar year, 354.

"Om~"

In early 354, Zhao Xing discovered that the Xuanling History Book indicated that the Penglai Divine General's fortuitous event had been triggered!

At the same time, a divine decree was faintly sent forth from temples throughout Mount Penglai:
"I am the God of Penglai. All who hear this may enter the Bamboo Elephant Grotto and participate in the trial of inheritance!"

Inside Moon Spirit Peak, Zhao Xing heard this voice and immediately opened his eyes.

"It's here! The event has finally been triggered!"

"Bamboo Elephant Cave Heaven? The entrance is inside the temple at the foot of Mount Penglai." *Whoosh~ Whoosh~*
Zhao Xing immediately set off, flying towards the entrance of the Bamboo Elephant Cave.

After he flew out of the cave, he also sensed countless powerful auras rushing towards the Bamboo Elephant Cave.

"There are many demigod-level officials in charge of agriculture, but most of them are around the fifteenth rank, with only a few exceeding the fifteenth rank."

Reaching the fifteenth level of demigodhood is a threshold. For example, the ancestor of the Carlos family was at the fifteenth level, but he couldn't unleash his full power, otherwise he wouldn't be able to suppress the True Spirit Tribulation.

Anyone who can surpass the fifteenth level is a genius among geniuses.

However, such cases are rare. Zhao Xing didn't find a single one like himself at the eighteenth level, but he did sense a few at the seventeenth level.

"Logically speaking, the Great Dao of Time and Space was more perfect in the past, and its origin was more abundant, so there should have been more geniuses and demigods. How come there are so few geniuses? Could it be that their auras were suppressed?"

"That's true. If there's a karmic order protecting you, then my senses aren't very accurate."

“Unless you see it with your own eyes, observation via a panel is very accurate.”

……

In the winter of 354, the Bamboo Elephant Cave was closed.

The first round of selection hinges on whether or not one can hear the voice of the Penglai God General.

Zhao Xing roughly counted the number of people; there were about ten thousand people who had entered the Bamboo Elephant Cave.

Almost everything in sight was a descendant.

"It seems that the Penglai God General did indeed know of the existence of the 'Descendants,' which is why he simply did not choose the people on the Space Ship."

"I just don't know if there are any gods in the realm."

What Zhao Xing saw were all demigod-level officials in charge of agriculture; not a single god-level one.

After entering the Bamboo Elephant Cave, Bowei also fell silent. In the divine realm of another divine general, Bowei chose to remain hidden and not interfere with the Penglai divine general's test, which was the greatest help he could give to Zhao Xing.

If a god intervenes, even by merely offering a reminder, it would be disrespectful to the Penglai God General, backfire, and could even result in being kicked out.

"Om~"

The moment the Bamboo Elephant Cave closed, the second trial for the Penglai God began.

The land shifted like a swamp, and Zhao Xing found himself moved to a different location. Everyone was neatly arranged in a fixed place, like a queue.

And they were all holding a bag of seeds.

"This test of inheritance involves a total of 13481 people, each with a territory of 1 world unit beneath their feet."

"Everyone has exactly the same environmental conditions."

"The seeds are ordinary bamboo, and there are only ten of them."

"The soil is ordinary soil of the first grade."

"Personal attacks are prohibited during the test."

Everyone listened quietly to the words of the Penglai God General, not daring to miss a single detail.

"I have no affiliation with any faction. As long as you can achieve the goal of 'ordinary bamboo soaring to the sky ten thousand feet high' or cultivate 'a divine land', you can inherit my legacy."

“If none of you meet this requirement, then it proves that none of you are suitable to be my successor.”

"If multiple people meet this requirement, a second test will be added."

"start."

As the Penglai deity's initiation signal rang out, everyone began to move.

Zhao Xing did not act immediately. He held the seed bag in his hand and began to examine the question.

"There were only ten common seedlings in the seed bag, all of which are bamboo species."

"The soil is only at the first level of the Spirit Rank."

"But now you want to make mortals soar to the heavens by 100,000 degrees, or make the soil beneath your feet produce a handful of divine soil?"

"It's hard, it's hard!"

After reviewing the question, Zhao Xing realized that it was almost impossible to do.

The others were also internally ranting and raving.

"The Penglai God General must have seen countless monstrous geniuses; this inheritance test is getting harder and harder!"

"Are you crazy? If I could achieve that, what would I need his legacy for? I could easily get a decent reward in Xi Tian Divine King City!"

"No wonder so many reincarnations, hundreds of thousands of geniuses have come here, yet none of them have received his inheritance. It's clearly impossible to complete!"

"We are the officials in charge of agriculture, and we can't conjure up materials out of thin air like historians. If the total amount of materials is limited, how can we cultivate them?"

"Hmm? These seeds have been modified, making their life essence extremely fragile. There are only ten seedlings in the bag, and only ten chances."

"Ten chances may seem like a lot, but this is a mortal species, too fragile, and can easily be destroyed."

"A bamboo reaching the sky with a height of 100,000 'ji'? That's too difficult. The height of bamboo is measured in zhang (a unit of length), but the 'ji' of a cultivator is a huge unit of measurement. They're not even on the same level."

"..."

Countless people felt the difficulty, but some were thinking of ways to overcome it and even began to try.

Instead of cultivating the land, Zhao Xing experimented with different methods.

"Inquiry into the Dao, severing the Qi, observing the heavens, and testing the soil—these are the four methods of judgment found in the Primordial Earth Store Sutra."

"The Penglai God General did not say that the use of the Heavenly Timing Method and the True Self Method is prohibited, but the Heavenly Timing Great Dao and the True Self Great Dao are not manifest here. If you want to cultivate them by relying on the Heavenly Timing Method and the True Self Method, the difficulty will increase dramatically."

Zhao Xing first performed the "Inquiry," and two golden rays appeared at his fingertips, reaching the heavens above and the earth below.

It was soon discovered that only the Path of Geographical Advantage was most prominent here, while the Path of Heavenly Timing and the Path of True Self were significantly weaker.

In other words, if you use the advantage of your location to complete the test, you will reap what you sow.

If it were one of the other two paths, it would take a lot of hard work to reap a little reward.

"Although the Penglai God General does not reject the other two factions, he also believes that the right time and one's true self are not as important as the right place."

"It can serve as a supplement, but it cannot become the main focus of this test."

Zhao Xing then performed the "Severing Qi" ritual. Qi refers to the six types of Qi: the Qi of Heaven, the Qi of Earth, the Qi of Sunset, the Qi of Flying Spring, the Qi of Dew, and the Qi of Morning Glow.

“The Qi of Heaven is insufficient to provide such a large amount of nourishment, but it exists underground.”

After observing the sky and testing the soil, Zhao Xing suddenly realized the truth.

"I understand."

"It's definitely not enough to just count the territory of this one realm I'm standing on, but if we can plunder nutrients from a larger area, we'll have a chance to achieve our goal."

"The Penglai deity said that personal attacks are forbidden, but he didn't say that plants can't compete for nutrients. As long as you don't hit people, it's fine!"

Zhao Xing turned the seed bag over and immediately planted ten bamboo seedlings around it.

At this point, those who act quickly can already see bamboo shoots shooting into the sky and rapidly taking root in the ground.

"There is only one test, but there are two battlefields, one above ground and one underground."

Zhao Xing glanced around. The seeds beneath his feet fell and grew wildly, unstoppable.

"The Qi of Heaven, the Qi of Dawn, and the Qi of Sunset exist in the sky, and the higher you go, the stronger this Qi becomes. The more you absorb, the more beneficial it is for your growth."

"The sky is the first battlefield."

Looking up at the sky, the sun and moon shine together, the moon's radiance and the sun's divine glow are hidden above the dark clouds.

At this time, the sky was still very open, but as the bamboo grew and became larger, with lush branches and leaves, its canopy began to block out the sun, preventing other territories from absorbing the Qi of Heaven.

Zhao Xing looked at the edge of his territory, which was shrouded in shadow by the bamboo canopy of the descendants all around him.

It's like someone is holding an umbrella next to you, blocking your sunlight.

Zhao Xing did not retaliate, but instead looked down at the ground.

"However, most bamboos become weak when they reach the halfway point of growth."

"Therefore, we need to draw strength from the depths of the earth. This strength is the nourishment, the earth's energy, the stagnant energy, and the energy of the springs that are generated in the earth's veins."

"The second battlefield is the underground root war."

When your gaze reaches the ground, the seemingly calm surface conceals a turbulent undercurrent beneath.

Countless roots spread wildly into the ground, and soon the bamboo planted by others had roots that exceeded the territory it occupied and began to encroach on the territory of others.

The roots intertwined, like writhing dragons fighting, entwined together, strangling each other.

Some rhizomes are like needles, piercing into other root systems and absorbing their nutrients.

Zhao Xing saw that the bamboo roots in the territory directly in front of him had their vitality drained by a piece of territory to the left. When they reached half their maximum size, they began to wither and not only could they not continue to grow upwards, but they were also about to collapse.

“Who said the Penglai God General doesn’t like fighting and killing?” Zhao Xing couldn’t help but laugh. “He may not like fighting and killing himself, but he might enjoy watching others fight and kill.”

As time went by, in less than a month, Zhao Xing discovered that the official in front of him, the Si Nong, had been eliminated.

All ten of his bamboo plants had withered, but the tallest one was no more than half a meter tall. Although the soil was covered with a layer of luster, it was taken away by the people next to him after his failure.

"Pong!"

When he was eliminated, he was directly moved out of the Bamboo Elephant Cave. Without the support of the Minister of Agriculture's magic, this completely illogical bamboo collapsed and turned into nutrients for the earth.

But he didn't stay long before being taken away by the Minister of Agriculture from the territory to the left front.

"Huh? It's coming for me."

Zhao Xing felt a shadow looming over him from his left front. It turned out that after robbing one person, the man had set his sights on him, who looked weaker.

Because his ten bamboo plants are only half a meter tall and have only one shoot tip, they look like they are underdeveloped.

“Fellow Daoist, you have crossed the line.” Zhao Xing transmitted his voice to the silver-haired Minister of Agriculture sitting cross-legged on a bamboo branch in the territory to his left. “This is my territory.”

The silver-haired Minister of Agriculture opened his eyes and glanced disdainfully at Zhao Xing's empty territory: "What's the point of an incompetent person occupying land? It's better to eliminate him early so as not to hinder me."

(End of this chapter)