Chapter 1209: Chapter 744_2
They drank glass after glass of wine, eating as if their stomachs were bottomless!
In fact, the wine they drank and the food they consumed were merely absorbed for the spiritual energy within, savoring the deliciousness of the food, while treating the rest like air and expelling it!
After indulging for an hour, Jiang Tang felt it was time. It was already afternoon, and he tapped the hovering Flying Artifact, which was flying in the sky!
At this time, they had the leisure to observe the Mortal Realm!
The Mortal Realm was not as prosperous as the Cultivation World; there were many ordinary people, some wealthy, but more were poor!
These poor people relied on physical labor, taking from the mountains what they could, taking from the sea as well!
Most of the poor on land would rent land from the wealthy for food, work long hours for them, or sell themselves into bondage as slaves!
Only the cities near the Imperial Palace were wealthy!
Jiang Tang noticed those Scholarly Cultivators typically resided near the Emperor’s residential cities; they might be lecturers at some academies or civil officials of the court!
As for the Martial Cultivators, they were not restricted, possibly in the Martial World, possibly in the army, or possibly in some martial halls!
The Flying Artifact circled around the Mortal World, and Jiang Tang had no interest in seeking resources; he just wanted to observe how strong Scholarly Cultivators could be?
Is there room for advancement among the Martial Cultivators?
Jiang Tang discovered that the Imperial Tomb was actually not far from the Capital, perhaps only 200 or so miles, a distance the Flying Artifact covered in less than half an hour!
This was a small mortal country; the Capital was not very prosperous, not at all comparable to the castles of Amery he had seen before!
Perhaps it was due to a different style of construction, with garden courtyards as centers; wealthy families certainly had no shortage of people, as human reproduction was relatively abundant.
This was also a kingdom where men were superior to women. Once men had money, they had many women, and despite the intrigues of the backyards, there was never a shortage of offspring!
Only those slightly poorer people adhered to monogamy!
But even so, the poorest could not afford to raise children, selling sons and daughters into slavery!
Jiang Tang clearly noticed that the Imperial Palace in the Imperial Capital, felt upon his arrival in this Mortal Country, had a haze of black qi indicating illness or the common presence of ghosts wreaking havoc inside!
Upon revisiting the palace now, there was a vibrant and spirited atmosphere, showing that the prior maladies no longer existed inside!
This was beneficial for a palace, and for someone seated as the Emperor!
It can be said that such a person’s reign could stabilize, indicating that the Mortal Realm would not yet experience severe disorder!
Jiang Tang further observed those written characters belonging to a certain academy; not all academies could possess such Literary Qi.
No minister’s home would naturally have this Literary Qi!
This was a place claiming to be an academy, yet it was a special documentation center, effectively a workplace for civil officials!
Jiang Tang looked around; this place resembled an academy yet also a civil employee office, and those inside were dressed as individuals who had passed the Jinshi exam!
Their official posts were achieved through evaluations, capable enough to become officials, and the academy was named Rulin Academy.
The youngest among them had Literary Qi, which was weaker compared to the older Great Scholars!
This Literary Qi cultivation ability, Jiang Tang explored it a bit, could, upon reaching a certain level, allow for ascension like cultivators!
Perhaps ascension hadn’t occurred in a millennia, and although these cultivators could live longer, they still could not ascend.
This was a common flaw Jiang Tang perceived across planets he traversed!
Jiang Tang did not thoroughly examine, as this was merely the Mortal Realm; even the Cultivation World had yet to study the ascension passage status, those Mortal World cultivators couldn’t ascend, suggesting that the ascension passage was out of reach!
Jiang Tang then observed some temples and Taoist temples where there were some cultivators, but they weren’t involved in heretical sects’ activities.
He paid them no mind.
As for those martial artists, some belonged to martial halls, or were Generals in the army, and even more belonged to the noble martial clans!
These people cultivated high martial skills, achieving longevity, Qinggong and Qi, but for spells like flying or Earth Escape, cultivators were more skilled!
The Flying Artifact circled the small country of the Mortal Realm!
Jiang Tang and Ye Tian observed and chatted, noticing this resembled an ancient era, belonging to an ancient epoch within a planet!
The cultivators here might be slightly different from those in places they previously visited, but the direction was similar, striving for longevity and pursuing the path to ascension.
“Jiang Tang, do we want to continue our travels?” Ye Tian asked the question, not out of impatience, but because he missed his girlfriend!
Jiang Tang shook his head and decisively said: “Not yet, we must complete the task!”
His words made Ye Tian completely understand that it meant the Sect Leader of the Invincible Sect and some disciples were not yet eliminated!
“Alright, once that’s done, where do we go next?”
Jiang Tang had not yet decided where to go after completing this task.
But overall, he journeyed across each planet, searching within for the secret passage to ascension!
Jiang Tang knew that by now, perhaps several months had passed in his original place, and his girlfriend surely missed him, but a man’s major duties take precedence!
He aimed to achieve something substantial in the Cultivation World; searching for the ascension passage here was a significant undertaking!
It was their common ideal; he wished to complete this to stabilize his cultivation in the future!
Jiang Tang wanted to ascend quickly; it was not just for himself, but also for his companions, and his team!
Jiang Tang tapped the Flying Artifact, discovering traces of the Invincible Sect’s Sect Leader in a place belonging to another small country, that area being the Western Region!
No, it belonged to the Chinese District, another small country!
It was also an ancient Chinese district, divided into one small country after another, not yet unified!
It only took two hours for the Flying Artifact to reach this so-called Western Region!
This place belonged more to Taoism, and even more to Buddhism!
Buddhism here wasn’t dominated by monks; they were direct descendants of the Buddha Ancestor, unlike the Buddhist Cultivation of Central Plains’ Taoist scriptures!
Some Buddhist temples here, with their strong incense offerings, were as splendid as the Imperial Palace!
He found that the King in the palace was unexpectedly also a Buddhist Cultivator, plainly displaying that the Buddha Ancestor also married!
Children born to Buddhist cultivators, whether male or female, cultivated Buddhist scriptures.
These living practitioners did not shave their heads, appearing more like secular disciples, and the Buddhist cultivators in the temples did not shave their heads either!
This was a normal state of cultivating Buddhist scriptures, unlike the tradition where monks did not marry nor eat dog meat or drink alcohol; men and women all cultivated Buddhist scriptures!
The male and female cultivators in temples, akin to the Imperial Palace, had separate courtyards, not mingling complexly!
Families formed by couples and their children had their own small courtyards, which was quite distinct!
Jiang Tang and Ye Tian had traversed numerous places, or in their original civilized world, where monks did marry, but they were still bald!
Women practicing Buddhism were nuns, or laypeople simply studying Buddhist scriptures, not true monastics!
The Buddhism here appeared to be rising among cultivators, not resembling monastics!
In the Imperial Palace or the ministers, wealthy families who were practitioners cultivated Buddhist scriptures for longevity, aspiring towards the True Lord, serving a True Lord akin to an ascended Deity; this was another type of practitioner pursuing the path to ascension!
“Jiang Tang, this kind of Buddhism is quite intriguing!” Ye Tian observed that Buddhist Cultivators were more common in this small country, while Taoist Cultivators were fewer!