The establishment of the Celestial Dynasty began with the bestowal of the title upon the River God.

Inside the prefectural governor's mansion, Li Yi, unaware that Ling Mingqing's value had been diminished by Meng Yunjie, had already dismissed the officials and was browsing the list in a small room on the first floor.

Meng Yunjie was amazed by the effectiveness of the magic, but he did not know that it was not entirely due to the magic.

Don't forget, besides being a Qi Refining stage cultivator, Li Yi is also a "minor official in the heavens," a legitimate deity who enjoys incense offerings.

If he were to reveal his identity, the waves he could stir up would far surpass those of a local river god or land deity.

Unfortunately, his divine authority was limited to the local deities under his jurisdiction, and he was not blessed by the spiritual energy of heaven and earth—just as the Investiture of the Gods commented, his cultivation was meager.

The official handed over two lists: one for martial arts suitable for those with a wood-elemental body, and the other for body-forging method suitable for those with a wind-elemental body.

Li Yi glanced through them; the former had over a hundred options, and the latter had more than ten.

"This is the foundation of the Great Zhou army; they've even accumulated so many body-tempering techniques for cultivators from the outer two ranks..."

Gongsun Ling smiled faintly and said, "This doesn't even include the fact that some soldiers are unwilling to spread the word. Moreover, outside the ranks, immortal sects and clans also have unique methods. Over thousands of years, countless profound Daoist techniques have been accumulated throughout the Nine Continents."

Since there are so many mysterious methods, I wonder if there is one that can help me return home?

Li Yi's thoughts drifted away, and he unconsciously flipped through two pages of the list. When he came to his senses, he flipped back to look at it again.

Each martial art on the list has its required military merits and characteristics marked. They range from second-rank to third-rank, with the most valuable being close to Ling Mingqing's, while Li Yi could exchange a dozen or twenty of them for.

As for the Wind-Riding Body Tempering Method, there are only twelve copies, each of which is quite valuable. Even if Li Yi used all his military merits, he could only choose one of the methods from half of them.

He gently closed the list. Although he had already made up his mind, he still couldn't bring himself to ask indirectly:

"Does the military really offer little care to cultivators from the other two factions?"

Gongsun Ling cast a mischievous glance at him. This was just human nature, and there was nothing to make fun of.

"Of course there are, and not just the outer two ranks. Every soldier in the army who cultivates Qi and opens their acupoints will receive corresponding body-strengthening methods..."

She flipped through the list and pointed to a popular body-strengthening method worth twenty second-rank military merits, "This is the one."

Li Yi smiled broadly. Now that Xiao Guan's body-forging method was settled, he could freely choose his own wood-element martial arts techniques.

After reviewing them once, I had eight or nine books in mind, but now that I have enough military merits, I can eliminate a few more.

"The Vigorous Green Pines", "The Graceful Steps of Quhe", and "The Collection of Jiamu Shengyang"

Li Yi pointed out these three martial arts techniques to Gongsun Ling, saying, "The 'Qingsong Jin' aims to temper the body and strength. Its moves are simple and unpretentious, with large, sweeping movements. It is accompanied by a picture of a pine tree growing tall. Regularly contemplating it will help with martial arts training."

The "Quhe You Shen Bu" technique is complete in terms of body movements and footwork, but lacks offensive moves. However, it excels in its agility and versatility, making it difficult to be defeated in one blow.

As for the *Jiamu Shengyang Collection*, the catalog says it is the most difficult to master, yet it contains fighting techniques, footwork, and power techniques. It is also the most expensive of the three, requiring all military merits to be spent.

Gongsun Ling took the list, glanced at it, and frowned, saying:

"The Jiamu Shengyang Collection is good, but it requires the wood element to be at its highest level."

Li Yi's lips trembled as if he wanted to say something, but Gongsun Ling glanced at him and continued without pausing:

"The 'wood yang' mentioned here refers not only to the wood qi in your body, Brother Li, but also to the purity and quantity of yang qi. In my opinion, it is more suitable for the gallbladder wood body cultivation in the later stage of qi refining."

Li Yi remained silent, seemingly struggling, but after a long while he finally spoke, pointing to the "Jia Mu Sheng Yang Ji" and saying:

"I've made up my mind, this is the one I want. My cultivation speed is not slow, so it shouldn't take long."

They have an attitude of "I like it, so I want it".

Gongsun Ling was speechless for a moment, but since the military merits were not hers to earn, she stood up and said, "Then let the clerk bring the treasure mirror and record your 'Ling Mingqing' in it. Then you can gain military merits and exchange them for martial arts skills."

Li Yi immediately did as instructed, then returned and asked curiously:

"Does it only need to be entered once?"

"The usual procedure is three times. The Wu Dynasty will send Danmu cultivators to learn the skills, and once they have mastered them, they will be responsible for passing on the knowledge—of course, Brother Li will be in charge of Qifeng County, and each entry will earn corresponding military merits."

This is great! Not only can you exchange it for equivalent cultivation techniques, but you'll also receive a steady stream of military merits. No wonder the Great Zhou army can collect so many Taoist techniques, body-strengthening methods, and martial arts skills.

Once I've accumulated enough military merits, I should exchange them for the Gallbladder Wood Daoist Technique and replace this run-of-the-mill "Essentials of Five Elements Qi Gathering".

The clerk outside knocked on the door and entered, saying respectfully:

"The treasure mirror is ready. Please follow me, gentlemen."

The treasure mirror was placed on the fifth floor. The entire floor was not decorated much, except for a pillar in the central hall that resembled an altar, on which sat a thick, gold-covered book.

The official had previously gone upstairs to report, and an old man with a white beard was already waiting behind the treasure mirror. Upon seeing the three of them, he picked up the treasure mirror, glanced at it, and made it hover in front of Li Yi.

The old man slowly stepped forward, waved his hand as if turning a page, and stopped at a blank space.

"Please place your hand on the page and silently circulate the spell. Please also mentally indicate any precautions to take during the practice."

Li Yi closed his eyes slightly, walked through the Lingming Qingyun Qi route once, and silently recited a few words. Then, the treasure mirror collected a wisp of wood Qi, and words appeared out of nowhere.

The old man walked to the three of them, examined the text, stroked his beard, and said, "Finding a place with both water and wood elements for cultivation is not difficult. However, when casting spells, one must be careful when circulating qi through the Heavenly Pool. If one is not careful and it enters the Pericardium Meridian, there is a risk of qi deviation and demonic possession..."

He carefully reviewed the precautions and, finding nothing particularly noteworthy, put away the treasure mirror. "Alright, young man, if there's anything you'd like, have someone take you to exchange it."

Li Yi thought that he had also obtained the "Jia Mu Sheng Yang Ji" from the treasure mirror. Upon hearing this, he had no choice but to follow the official downstairs and obtain the martial arts technique he had been longing for on the second floor.

Gongsun Ling noticed his confusion and, after leaving the mansion and boarding the carriage, offered her advice to resolve his doubts:

"The Prefectural Governor's Office's Treasure Mirror is only the Sub-Mirror. All the Taoist techniques and martial arts skills it contains will also be included in the Mother Mirror. It is not usually used to transmit the teachings."

Li Yi picked up the "Jia Mu Sheng Yang Ji" in his hand. "So, the paper used in this book and the 'Sheng Sheng Lian Ti Fa' are both imitations of the Bao Jian?"

Gongsun Ling replied, "That's right, and each book only has one sheet; the rest are made of ordinary Xuan paper."

A brief silence fell over the carriage. Li Yi had already heard that the three magical treasures were divided into mother and child.

The Investiture of the Gods, the Book of Life and Death, and now the Treasure Mirror—one wonders what kind of extraordinary talent will be in charge of it.

Little did he know that the Book of Life and Death was the manifestation of the innate authority of the Lord of the Underworld, just as the River God, the Earth God, and other local deities controlled the corresponding spiritual energy within their jurisdictions.

The carriage took the two back to the government office. Li Yi bid farewell to Gongsun Ling and eagerly mounted his yellow horse, heading straight for Sanyi Manor.

Gongsun Ling's advice was not without reason, but Li Yi had his own considerations and was confident that he could complete the "Jiamu Shengyang Collection".

He hurried back to the official residence as quickly as possible to test his idea.