Killing Dao Fruit
Chapter 700 - 588: Born with Jade in Mouth, Immortal Enters the Scene_2

Chapter 700: Chapter 588: Born with Jade in Mouth, Immortal Enters the Scene_2

Zhou Jinghuan also had in his hand a [Deceit Object·White Jade Cicada] left behind after Xue Donglou’s death.

Ability: Cicada Shedding and Rebirth (Scapegoat), it is best worn close to the body, preferably kept in the mouth, so that when a fatal crisis approaches, it can die in one’s stead once.

In any case, all "Jade Pendants" are related to death, which is by no means an auspicious item for a newborn.

Wang Yuan, this uncle, as the Taoist Master of "Yin Mountain Taoism" and the top official of the Yin Department, had no aversion to the Jade Horn in his mouth.

He just thought that the last child known as "born with a jade in mouth" was described as:

"Seeking sorrow and hatred without cause, sometimes acting as foolish as mad, though born with a fair skin, the inside is but weeds and brambles.

Slovenly indifferent to worldly affairs, dull and afraid to read essays, with strange acts and perverse nature, regardless of the vilification by others.

Unable to appreciate wealth and unable to endure poverty’s desolation, pitifully wasting the prime of life, without hope for country or family.

The most incompetent in the world, unmatched in mediocrity throughout history, a warning to the pampered and well-fed, not to emulate this child’s form."

Listening to this judgment, where from start to finish could one find a positive word?

Although not his own son, if his grandnephew truly grew up to be like this, he truly could not bear to see it.

Even compared to being seized by "innate evil," it seemed not much stronger.

However.

But when Zhou Jinghuan carefully pried open the child’s mouth and let him see the Jade Horn, all these worries instantly vanished into thin air.

The white jade was pure, yet there was a broken edge, and at the base, there were engraved patterns, which obviously did not seem like a naturally occurring thing.

The others were still unclear for a moment.

Wang Yuan and Zhou Jinghuan exchanged glances and were overjoyed.

"No wonder he’s holding jade in his mouth, could it be this object?!"

"What a good son, earning great merit just after being born!"

Having jade in the mouth is equivalent to the word "国" (nation), and the jade within the nation naturally represents the legitimacy of the Dynasty... the Imperial Jade Seal!

Of course, this is clearly not the complete [Imperial Jade Seal].

Not to mention that the [Imperial Jade Seal] is being offered on the altar beneath the tenth hall of the Yin Department—Wang Yuan, the Eastern Ghost Emperor, cannot even take it out.

Even if they had the child bite it, he couldn’t hold onto such a big Jade Seal in his mouth, but it’s possible to keep a piece of jade there.

At this moment, the piece extracted from his mouth was a pristine white Jade Horn, exactly the missing corner of the [Imperial Jade Seal].

"When the New Dynasty’s imperial in-laws usurped power, they stored the seal in the Empress Dowager’s location at Changle Palace. When the Emperor sent emissaries to retrieve it, the Empress Dowager cursed them and threw the seal to the ground, breaking off one corner.

The Emperor ordered artisans to repair it with gold."

Now, the [Imperial Jade Seal] offered on the altar of the Yin Department has one corner made of gold.

Despite its grandeur, it is considered quite vulgar compared to the sacred artifacts of the state.

It has also caused the power of the [Imperial Jade Seal] to diminish greatly, with the effectiveness of the "Dragon Qi Prohibition" also weakening.

Having obtained just a Jade Horn for now, if it is offered at the core of the "Mountain and River Country Formation" in Yunjing City,

the potency of the "Dragon Qi Prohibition" across the three provinces will immediately increase by thirty percent on top of the original basis, almost on par with the remnants of the Great Yan’s Jianming Dynasty.

Moreover, with this treasure, their chances of seizing the [Imperial Jade Seal] in the future are probably going to surge by at least thirty or forty percent.

[Duke Bingling], the Immortal who has achieved Corpse Dissection and seen much, following closely behind Wang Yuan and Zhou Jinghuan, also recognized the origin of this Jade Horn at once.

His eyes slightly reddened, he murmured to himself:

"The Divine Artifact returns, favored by Heavenly Destiny.

Our Red County Divine Land might really have the chance to break the curse that a Dynasty’s Qi Fortune lasts no more than three hundred years!"

Saying so, he gave Wang Yuan a deep bow.

"This is all due to Tai Bai’s merit, please accept this old man’s bow."

Clearly, his vision was higher and farther than that of the vassal kings.

Back then, the ruler of the New Dynasty was a reformer from within the [Nine Soldiers].

He was supported by several Corpse Dissection Immortals, including [Duke Bingling].

First, he overturned the decayed old Dynasty with the method of "the cuckoo usurping the nest."

Then, wanting to achieve his ideal world of Great Unity in one fell swoop, breaking the cycle of incessant fighting due to the "Five Virtues," and the continuous bleeding in conflict (Chapter 359).

Unexpectedly, he faced a brutal backlash, and though holding an absolute advantage, was defeated by the Later Han’s Child of Qi Fortune with a meteorite from the heavens, causing a devastating defeat.

In the end, not only did their entire clan perish tragically, but it also completely severed the Immortals’ aspirations to meddle in the Mortal World and influence the rise and fall of Dynasties.

Back then, the Jade Seal was damaged in their hands, but now its return signifies an extraordinary and unique meaning.

"Elder Brother, you flatter me too much, please rise!"

Wang Yuan’s excitement was in no way inferior to his.

People possess Qi Fortune, countries possess national fortunes, and clans possess clan fortunes.

The Imperial Jade Seal represents the Heavenly Destiny and national fortune of a Dynasty; to possess it is to be "Heavenly Mandate," while its loss signifies "the end of its allotted time."

For thousands of years, through the cycle of the Five Virtues, the cycle repeated, yet no one could truly break Red County Shenzhou out of the strange loop of three hundred years.

Regardless of which Emperor reigned, or which governmental system was in place, human civilization seemed to have come to a standstill, utterly stagnant.

Even the powerless lament had been voiced: "In times of prosperity, the commoners suffer; in times of decline, the commoners suffer."

Not to mention any higher pursuit of warding off the Weird.

If the feudal agricultural Dynasties continued down this path, they would not need a powerful external enemy; they would play themselves to death step by step.

Wang Yuan’s vision transcended his era.

He understood that the root cause of the Dynasties’ failure to last more than three hundred years was problematic resource allocation within society.

Take land, the most important resource in an agricultural society, for example.

At the beginning of a new Dynasty’s establishment, it was common for the population to shrink rapidly, reducing by three-fifths or even four-fifths.

There was naturally ample land to redistribute to all levels of society, making everyone happy and easing conflicts.

Why is there often a period of prosperity at the beginning of a nation’s founding?

The root lies in the relative abundance of resources; national policies such as "light taxes and ample rest to recuperate" are secondary factors.

After a few generations, land gradually concentrated in the hands of the warlords, and a large number of farmers lost their land to become tenants or refugees.

The national treasury’s income plummeted while expenses could not be cut, and even had to increase for stability maintenance, leading to increasingly tense finances.

For farmers, losing their land naturally made them prime candidates for rebellion and insurrection.

For the state, every time a landless farmer became a refugee, it also meant that the government’s actual control over the locality decreased a bit.

The factors for unrest increased a bit.

At this time, just a spark was needed, perhaps a natural disaster or a man-made calamity, and it could become the final straw that broke a Dynasty’s back.

This is also why even in Wang Yuan’s era, countries were always on guard against a large wealth gap.

Striving for social harmony is just the surface reason; preventing the lower classes from turning into a powder keg is the underlying and practical reason.

Today, the most critical social resources have finally begun to break through their upper limits, presenting the possibility to break the predetermined Heavenly Destiny of Dynasties and ethnic groups.

Heavenly Destiny! National fortune!

It was like when Wang Yuan first awoke in the Wang Family’s ancestral hall in Daling, with dark clouds overhead and an uncertain future.

If he failed to struggle and save himself, death on the spot was only a matter of time.

Many plans proposed by the Nine Soldiers hadn’t been able to touch the essence of the problem.

The "Daoist Skill Industry System" led by Wang Yuan truly enlarged the pie, lifting the agricultural civilization that had persisted for millennia step by step.

Leading his clan, amid the encircling Deceit, he gradually broke free from the inescapable Fate!

The "Daoist Skill Industrial Revolution" was just one aspect, and in the future, the might of "High-Yield Crop Cultivation" and the "Modern Medical System" would certainly continue to elevate national and clan energy.

"Truly a formidable younger generation!"

With the lost and recovered Jade Horn as proof, Duke Bingling only then truly saw the dawn of the Human Clan’s future.

To know that in the [Nine Saints’ Mountain Altar Ceremony], the Taoist Ability of each avatar of the mundane gods determined Duke Bingling’s own realm, and the development of the Human Dao in turn determined the Taoist Ability of the mundane gods.

One link followed another.

This leader of the world’s mundane gods was the one who most wished for a breakthrough in the development of the Human Dao.

Upon being helped up by Wang Yuan, he flicked open his folding fan on which "Nine Soldiers One Handful of Soil" was wildly inscribed, firmly making up his mind.

’Isn’t it just an All Living Beings Tribulation that could even bring down an Immortal?

As for this handful of soil that provides where there is need, what harm is there in adding bricks and tiles to this once-in-a-millennium dawn?

One day, I will send you a grand gift!’