"I understand. This has nothing to do with you. It's just that it changed its appearance after absorbing some life force." Xu Le put the token into his pocket and placed it solemnly, after all, this thing might be related to the root cause of the changes in this world.
Xu Le put away the flames and suddenly saw several balls of light appear beside the thatched hut. It seemed that they had been there for a while, but because he had just illuminated the area within a radius of several hundred meters with his flames, he had not noticed them.
Xu Le's heart tightened. Thinking of the little girl who was still sleeping inside, he grabbed the puzzled Yi Ming beside him, took off, and flew over.
…………
Beside the thatched hut, several local gentry and landlords of some standing stood anxiously outside, like children awaiting a scolding from their teacher. The county magistrate was also among them, surrounded by a group of people, who subtly centered their authority over him.
The heads of the Wang, Sun, and Zhou families each occupied one side, looking at each other with hostility, but without making any rash moves.
They also saw the fiery dragon soaring into the sky in the distance, and their doubts about the immortal were gone. They were now preoccupied with how to win the immortal's favor. Only the old magistrate frowned, his expression full of worry.
Suddenly, the fire dragon dissipated, and a young man in a Taoist robe descended from the sky carrying a raggedly dressed boy.
Xu Le looked at the group of people huddled outside the thatched hut and understood. He asked calmly, "Who are you, and why are you here?"
Upon hearing Xu Le's question, the crowd exchanged glances, unsure how to answer. At this moment, the county magistrate stepped out from the crowd, bowed, and said, "I am Liu Hanzhong, the county magistrate of this place. I heard that an immortal has arrived, so I came to welcome him. If there has been any neglect, please forgive me, immortal."
Xu Le gave him a half-smile, then went into the house, leaving behind only the words: "If you have something to say, talk to my Taoist disciple."
The young Taoist, Yiming, watched with a mixture of excitement and fear as these usually high-ranking figures obediently stood outside the door.
Hearing Xu Le suddenly ask him to handle the matter, he was somewhat surprised, but he still braced himself and said loudly, "What brings you here? Tell me, and I will report this to the Lord."
The more he spoke, the more confident he became, and his voice grew louder and louder, changing the group's initial somewhat dismissive attitude. His ability to speak so eloquently in front of a group of people of higher status was commendable; no wonder he was chosen as a Daoist disciple by the immortals.
He wondered if he should also send his own child over, in case the immortal took a liking to him, that would be a great honor for his ancestors.
“We have all come to pay our respects to the immortal. Since the immortal is tired and does not wish to see us, then we will leave these small gifts behind and come to pay our respects again tomorrow.” The magistrate could tell at a glance that Xu Le did not want to see them, so he wisely put down the gifts and turned to leave.
Seeing this, others followed suit.
"Young master, look, this is a century-old ginseng that my family has treasured for many years."
"Young man, look, this is a fine wine that my family obtained from the wine god Du Chun at great expense. It has been treasured for twenty years."
"Young sir, this is from my collection..."
The group of people were like vendors hawking their wares in a market, each trying to outdo the other in their loudest voice, all in an effort to make the person in the room hear their message and win their favor.
At this moment, Yiming was welcomed by everyone, as if he had become a superior person.
But he did not lose himself in it, because he knew very well who had brought it all on.
Only by firmly grasping this golden opportunity can he soar to great heights, instead of dying a mediocre and uneventful death.
Therefore, he meticulously recorded every gift he received, wanting to demonstrate his own value. This was an experience he gained from years of hardship: only those who are valuable will be needed.
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Chapter Twenty-Nine: An Immortal Touches My Head
The clouds obscured the moon's light, as if covering the earth with a black cloth.
About fifteen minutes later, everyone left their gifts and took their leave, glancing reluctantly at the thatched hut, only to find a pile of weeds and dilapidated walls.
Yiming carried the gifts one by one into the room, then reported them to Xu Le. He wiped the fine sweat from his forehead, looked at his sleeping sister and Xu Le sitting cross-legged by the bed, and felt that the future was bright.
Xu Le looked at the gifts and felt somewhat satisfied, but in order to maintain his immortal demeanor, he could only ask Yi Ming to accept the gifts on his behalf.
From what he knew, this was just an ordinary town in the Shang Kingdom, yet some of the local gentry in this ordinary town had such wealth.
Rare medicinal herbs like century-old ginseng are almost extinct in the real world, and are only collected by some undeveloped remote forests or by some high-ranking people.
While they aren't exactly everywhere in this world, they're certainly not rare. To him, this world is a vast treasure trove of medicinal herbs. Even without any other gains this time, acquiring these herbs would be worthwhile.
However, collecting these treasures by individuals is ultimately too inefficient. In a society based on slavery, as long as the emperor, who resides in the Forbidden City, speaks up, people will continuously offer these treasures.
"It seems I still need to go and meet the emperor of this world."
Xu Le called out to Yi Ming, who was about to lie down on the pile of weeds to sleep, beckoned him over, and asked softly, "Do you want to become stronger?"
Xu Le had carefully considered this, since Yi Ming was too weak, so weak that any soldier with a knife could easily kill him. If things continued like this, he might be assassinated one day, and all his plans would be in vain. Therefore, Xu Le decided to make him stronger.
"I, I do."
Unexpectedly, the surprise came so suddenly that Yiming's face turned red with excitement, and his voice trembled slightly.
He had long admired the power of immortals. Although he didn't aspire to be as powerful as them, he hoped that they could at least provide a good life for him and his sister.
Xu Le placed his hand on Yi Ming's head, and the God Cube began to rotate in a magical way. Streams of brilliant golden light continuously fell along the edges of the cube, spreading outward from the heart. After the blood and qi in his body surged, they gathered in the palm of his right hand, turned over, and transformed into a small golden dragon.
The golden dragon gave Xu Le a human-like look, then glanced at Yi Ming, nodded while floating in the air, and then suddenly rushed into Yi Ming's crown chakra, finally entering his body completely.
Yiming felt a little uneasy, feeling the hand placed above his head. He could vaguely sense a sacred power above him, as if it were scrutinizing him.
Suddenly, a powerful force surged from the top of his head throughout his body, continuously strengthening his muscles and bones, and a faint golden light emanated from his body. He could clearly feel his power increasing every second.
If he could look inward, he would find that within his body, the golden dragon glanced at him with disdain, then transformed into countless points of light and merged into his entire body, gently integrating its power.
Xu Le was inspired by seeing the trio of extras in the animation transformed into martial arts masters by Dao Long's demonic energy. If Dao Long could do it, why couldn't he? After carefully searching the encyclopedia of spells, he finally found the spell. However, lacking demonic energy, he slightly modified it, using the power of the God's Cube to replace it.
Unfortunately, this method depletes the Rubik's Cube's inherent power; this modification alone will take more than ten days to replenish it. Although the depletion isn't significant, frequent use will affect the Rubik's Cube's future potential.
Xu Le has never been a short-sighted or greedy person. Besides, although the people created in this way have good potential, their strength cannot compare to that of the Shadow Warrior in the short term.
Half an hour later, the pale golden light emanating from Yiming disappeared, and the small golden dragon inside his body lay weakly inside his heart, falling into a deep sleep.
Yiming opened his eyes and suddenly punched the air, creating a slight gust of wind.