Divine Tang Era

"Two penniless bastards."

Xu Dan sat on the hillside cleaning up the two people's belongings, looking at them with disdain as he did so.

When going out treasure hunting, a storage bag is the most basic equipment, but these two people who were fighting amongst themselves didn't even have one. If they're not poor, then who is?

The two of them didn't have much on them: a few taels of silver, twenty or thirty copper coins, a pile of food and digging tools, and a wine cup that had just been dug out of the ground.

The wine vessel was cast in gold, and five gemstones—red, blue, white, purple, and turquoise—were inlaid at the waist, making it extremely luxurious.

No wonder that person was murderous. This wine cup, if sold in Jingning City, could provide a comfortable life with a little saving. If sold in a major city, its price could be several times higher.

Xu Dan searched through the items, keeping the money, the gold wine vessel, and the crossbow; he buried the rest in a pit.

If you take something from someone, you should at least give them a gift in return.

So, out of kindness, he chanted sutras to help them pass on to the afterlife. For murderers, he chanted the "Taiyi Jiuku Tianzun Shuo Bazui Fengdu Xuehu Miaojing" (The Wondrous Scripture of the Great Sage Who Saves from Suffering and Expels Sins from the Blood Lake of Fengdu), sending them first to the eighteen levels of hell to experience the customs of being subjected to knives, fire, and boiling oil, before performing the ritual to help them pass on. For the murdered, who suffered greatly, he chanted the "Taishang Dongxuan Lingbao Jiuku Bazui Miaojing" (The Wondrous Scripture of the Supreme Mysterious Treasure for Saving from Suffering and Expelling Sins), directly washing away their sins and granting them liberation.

After reciting the sutras for deliverance, he also recited the "Purification Mantra of Heaven and Earth" several times:

"Heaven and earth are natural, and impurities disperse. The cave is mysterious and vast, bright and clear. The mighty gods of the eight directions make me natural. The spirit treasure talisman is proclaimed to the nine heavens."

"Qianluo Dana, Donggang Taixuan. Slaying demons and binding evil, saving countless people. Zhongshan Divine Mantra, Yuanshi Jade Script. Reciting it once cures illness and prolongs life. Traveling to the Five Sacred Mountains, its fame spreads throughout the Eight Seas. Demon kings bow their heads, guarding my abode. Evil and filth dissipate, the Dao's Qi endures."

As for whether it can truly deliver souls and purify the world, we don't know.

All he knew was that after reciting it, he felt at peace and free from all worries.

After finishing the chanting, we packed our things and continued onward. We crossed two small hills covered with alpine meadows and suddenly saw a herd of antelopes grazing on the hillside ahead. Each one was strong and plump, with two long, jade-like horns that pierced the sky.

Haha, I'm so lucky, I'll have meat for dinner tonight.

Xu Dan took out the powerful bow he had bought from his storage bag, drew the bowstring, and was about to shoot.

Xiu Ran felt a chill run down his spine. Looking up, he saw a tall, imposing antelope king standing on the opposite hill. The antelope king stared at him coldly with deathly eyes, as if icy rain were lashing him relentlessly.

At that moment, Xu Dan felt that if he shot the arrow, he would probably have to treat the person to braised noodles that night.

Eating braised noodles is a custom in his hometown. In his hometown, whenever someone passes away, the family will make braised noodles and invite the people who came to help to eat them, so passing away is called "eating braised noodles".

The noodles are made with alkaline water and are yellow alkaline noodles.

The "lu" (卤) is not a type of braised dish or seasoning, but rather a broth made by simmering chicken and pork bones to create a rich stock, then adding lean meat, fresh bamboo shoots, shiitake mushrooms, pork skin, quail eggs, abalone, squid, dried scallops, shrimp, dried bean curd sticks, enoki mushrooms, and other ingredients to thicken the broth. When eating, the broth is poured over noodles and garnished with cooked bean sprouts, chives, and spices. The flavor is delicious and leaves a lingering aftertaste, making it a local specialty.

A poem says:

"It's not braised, and it's not soup."

The taste is so exquisite, even the immortals would marvel at it.

Li Bai drank ten thousand cups of wine and indulged in unrestrained revelry; Su Shi loved meat and found joy in it.

I hold a bowl of braised noodles in my hands and savor it, regardless of spring, autumn, summer, or winter.

Xu Dan swallowed hard, seeing the antelope king's chilling gaze, and put away his bow and arrows. The chill instantly dissipated, but the antelope king still watched them warily. It seemed he wouldn't be getting any mutton. With a flock of sheep blocking his path, he had no choice but to change direction.

After walking for a while, as darkness fell, Xu Dan found a sheltered spot against the mountain to set up camp.

As usual, first dig a hole in the ground, pile soil around the edge of the hole, then put the tent on top and cover the corners with soil.

This was done to protect against wind and rain. For some reason, I always felt unsafe living on the ground, so it was better to live in a pit.

After setting up the tent, it got dark. Xu Dan sealed off the tent entrance, leaving only a small gap for ventilation. Then he took out a blanket and laid it in the pit, dug a hole next to it, took an oil lamp from his storage bag and placed it on the hole, and the tent was lit up.

The food had already been prepared, and there was still plenty in the storage bag.

Feeling unwell for dinner, Xu Dan took out the large meat buns he had bought and the beef soup made by his mother, and began to eat.

The storage bag was still, so the buns and soup were still hot when they were taken out. Xu Dan ate the meat buns and drank the soup, feeling incredibly content.

After finishing his meal, he couldn't fall asleep. So he took out the "Shen Tang Ji Yao" (Records of the Divine Tang Dynasty) he had bought from the Sansheng Study and started reading. He had already read the book once, but the more he read, the more confused he became. In his mind, he still equated the Divine Tang with the Great Tang, when in fact they were not the same thing at all.

The Divine Tang Dynasty gained power through martial arts, so there were countless martial arts practitioners, and almost everyone knew martial arts.

But just as the heavens have the sun and moon, and humans have two hands, martial arts cannot be the sole pursuit.

Therefore, the emperor established the imperial examination system and set up academies. Confucianism gradually flourished, Confucian studies became popular, and Confucian scholars rose to prominence. Later, a sage, based on Confucian scholars, created the Literary Way, a lineage of cultivation that focused on literary cultivation, allowing all literate people in the world to practice it, rather than making it the exclusive domain of Confucian scholars.

From then on, the academic atmosphere of the Divine Tang Dynasty flourished, with both literary and martial arts being promoted, and a diverse range of schools of thought being incorporated. The national fortune of the Divine Tang Dynasty rose rapidly, becoming better day by day.

Xu Dan had read about the history of the Tang Dynasty in his previous life, but there was no mention of martial arts or literary cultivation, which is why he became more and more confused the more he read.

The book also says that the territory of the Divine Tang Dynasty was divided into twenty-four circuits, including Yanran, Beiting, Longyou, Guannei, Shanxi, Bohai, Yunzhong, Jiangnan, Qianzhong, Minzhong, Huainan, Jiannan, Xuantu, etc. Each circuit was further divided into prefectures, each prefecture into counties, each county into towns, each town into villages, and some villages were further divided into communities.

These were all things he had never heard of before.

The text also mentions a frozen plateau in the far north, perpetually covered in snow and ice, shrouded in mist, and extremely cold. Only during the hottest months of May and June can people roam freely there. At other times of the year, survival is nearly impossible. This frozen plateau is rich in resources; beneath the frigid ground lie the remains of countless ancient beasts, making it an excellent material for crafting weapons.

Therefore, during the hottest time of the year, many practitioners travel to the frozen plateau to search for the corpses of ancient beasts, often reaping substantial profits.

Xu Dan was confused again when he saw this. Wasn't this talking about the Siberian Plateau? How did it become a permafrost plateau?

Besides, isn't that the land of the Rakshasa Kingdom? How did it become part of the Divine Tang territory?

I don't understand, I really don't understand. After thinking about it, Xu Dan felt that he could no longer associate the Divine Tang Dynasty with the Great Tang Dynasty, but had to treat it as a completely new world with the customs and habits of the Great Tang Dynasty, otherwise he would go crazy.

His head was throbbing from reading, so Xu Dan tossed the book aside, opened the tent entrance, and planned to take a leak and go to sleep.

A bright moon hangs high in the sky.

"The weather's nice today," Xu Dan thought as he peed.

Suddenly, a man and a woman floated by. They wore clothing different from that of the Divine Tang Dynasty, and flew swiftly through the air. Passing in front of Xu Dan, the woman glanced at him and giggled, "This little guy is quite cute."

"This is uncivilized. Hurry up and leave; the Yin Ruins are about to open," the man urged.

"understood."

After watching the two leave, Xu Dan packed his things, tightened his belt, and then angrily cursed, "What little brats? I'm a dragon, you know! You have absolutely no knowledge or culture."

Suddenly, I remembered their conversation.

Yinxu, what is that? Is it a market town?

There's a market at night; are the things sold to ghosts? Xu Dan became increasingly curious. Since he couldn't sleep anyway, he decided to follow them and see for himself. He quickly packed up his tent, gathered his belongings, and ran in the direction the two had gone.