Wei Yuan slowly gathered his thoughts.

He raised his hand to retrieve Zhang Daoling's Dharma sword, holding it in his hand as he surveyed the wreckage, sighing. He then picked up the three bronze artifacts. The Shang King's bronze jue and the elixir cauldron had returned to normal, but the bronze short sword shimmered with flowing light, which gradually dissipated after a while.

Wei Yuan turned the blade of the short sword and handed it to Su Yu'er, who was still in a daze. She silently accepted the short sword and said, "Thank you." Even though she was shaken, she still helped clean up the mess before leaving in a daze. Wei Yuan watched her return, withdrew his gaze, and touched the talisman on the back of his hand, still feeling a burst of stinging pain.

Clearly, this talisman decree had been subjected to considerable pressure, almost reaching its limit and backfiring.

The scene he had just witnessed was incredibly real, not an illusion.

The reason he couldn't maintain it, couldn't connect with the person in the scene, was possibly because Wei Yuan's own cultivation was insufficient, or perhaps because he was still missing two bronze artifacts.

Unfortunately, although he had glimpsed the formation of five bronze artifacts in the image contained within the elixir cauldron, he couldn't see the appearance of the final two. He didn't know if there were special methods or techniques in that image, so that only by seeing the bronze artifacts in his mind could he see their true forms in the image.

But what did that image represent?

Wei Yuan sorted out his thoughts.

Did Di Xin ultimately conceal the true Chaoge City?

Did he even leave behind the people of the Yin Shang dynasty to multiply and continue their lineage into this era?

In a way, that might be a tribe of humans from the age of gods, a branch of modern China.

It was a microcosm of what China would be like if it didn't follow the earth deities or worship the昊天上帝(Haotian Shangdi, the Celestial Jade Emperor). Although the place was too narrow, resources were limited, there was a lack of communication with the outside world, and the population was too small to truly thrive, it still had a complete culture, a complete system, and even a complete inheritance from the age of gods.

It was hard to say whether this was a blessing or a curse for modern China.

As a Chinese person, it was right to help their compatriots on this land, and they might even obtain more extraordinary information and unravel the mysteries of the age of gods. However, if the residents of Chaoge City still retained their bloody and barbaric sacrifices, would they pose a certain degree of shock to modern order?

Although Wei Yuan believed that modern weapons and power were enough to turn these people from the age of gods into beings who could sing, dance, and do good deeds, contact would inevitably be accompanied by a certain degree of conflict and contradiction, requiring a period of easing.

Of course, this was just speculation, and he still needed the other two bronze artifacts.

Moreover, this was a relatively optimistic view. It was also possible that the people in Chaoge City were remnants of the Yin Shang dynasty who harbored generations of hatred and longed to return to China to take revenge, creatures who hated the human world. Wei Yuan rubbed his temples. After pondering, he decided to inform the Celestial Master Mansion and Nü Jiao of this matter, as they had higher cultivation than him and knew better how to handle such large-scale contact with the past.

Well, but how should he tell Daoist Zhang…

Hello, Old Zhang, I have another harvest this time.

It's a group of survivors from the age of gods, probably several tens of thousands of them, possibly all cultivators. Please have the Celestial Master Mansion take them in.

Wei Yuan seriously considered that if he said this directly, Zhang Ruosu's avatar might go gray. Anyone would be stunned by this situation. Besides, the matter was still uncertain, so there was no hurry to say it. After thinking about it, he decided to discuss it with Nü Jiao first. After all, she had lived since the end of the Five Emperors period and had experienced many things.

Moreover, Su Yu'er was being protected in Qingqiu Country, so it was impossible for Nü Jiao to know nothing about this matter.

He would wait until the time was ripe before handing it over to the Celestial Master Mansion.

In the meantime, he could try to slowly mention this matter to Zhang Ruosu, discussing the possibility of needing to resettle ancient people.

……………………

The next day, Wei Yuan sorted out the talismans he had used up and rested a bit in the museum.

Then, on his phone, he mentioned the matter of Wu Xuan and the fact that he might be going to Qingqiu to Nü Jiao. Nü Jiao agreed and also asked Wei Yuan to bring the jade dragon pendant.

On the third day, Wei Yuan took the high-speed train to a city near Qingqiu Country and came to the bridge where he had once seen souls going to their appointment. Using the token of Qingqiu Country as a reliance, he entered this country recorded in ancient books. The fox guard at the gate still politely saluted, and then a fox girl led the way to see Nü Jiao, whose white hair was as before.

Wei Yuan placed the flower cakes he had bought on the table.

Nü Jiao pretended to be surprised and smiled, "Oh dear, you can just come, why bring gifts?"

Wei Yuan twitched his lips, feeling that if he came empty-handed, he would probably be played to death.

Nü Jiao poured two cups of tea and asked Wei Yuan to sit down. While sipping tea, she listened to Wei Yuan recount what had happened to Su Yu'er earlier, as well as the reaction of the Yin Shang dynasty and Chaoge City, combined with his own speculation. Nü Jiao casually asked, "What do you think is the reason for this?"

Wei Yuan replied, "I'm afraid it's a method Di Xin came up with when he saw that he couldn't match the military strength of King Wu."

"To preserve the foundation of Chaoge City and the Yin Shang dynasty, waiting for the day to rise again."

"It's still impossible to confirm what attitude ancient Chaoge City holds towards the modern human world, so we can't ignore it. I want to find a way to collect the bronze artifacts of the ancient Yin Shang dynasty to see if I can gather the remaining two, observe further, and then make plans."

Nü Jiao slowly nodded and said, "Acceptable."

Wei Yuan took a sip of tea, inexplicably feeling like he was participating in an exam defense.

After exchanging pleasantries for a while, Nü Jiao put down her teacup and said, "Release the descendant of the Wuxian Kingdom. Let me see who it is."

Wei Yuan nodded, took out a medicine bottle, and tore off the talisman on it.

Then he turned the mouth of the bottle downward.

Black gas filled the air, and the soul body rushed out impatiently, transforming into Wu Xuan's human form, gasping for breath.

He had been suffocated in the medicine bottle, which was more than half the size of the original bronze cauldron, almost suffocating to death. He was about to tell the guy named Yuan to give him a quick death and use whatever means he had. He was a member of the Wuxian royal family and was not necessarily afraid of him. When he looked up, he saw Nü Jiao, who had white hair but still had a quiet temperament. Seeing her looking at him with a smile that was not a smile, she said:

"I was wondering who it was. It turns out to be Wuxian's favorite thirteenth grandson."

"I didn't expect you to survive?"

Wu Xuan's thoughts froze, and his face turned pale. "Nü Jiao?"

He looked at the wizened witch, and at the young-faced civil official with a long sword on his back. Suddenly, he felt his heart beat faster. He couldn't believe it. This, this… Then he saw Nü Jiao raise her eyes slightly, her gaze falling behind him, with a hint of a smile, and softly said:

"Why did you only come now?"

"Come sit here."

??!

Wu Xuan's pupils suddenly contracted.

Yu's wife and Yu's ministers were all here.

Then, who was coming was King Yu?!

Wu Xuan's face turned pale, and his soul body instantly shattered into strands, then re-condensed, directly prostrating on the ground, his head hitting the ground hard, not daring to move, not even daring to speak. If compared to humans, he had been scared unconscious, and then woke up in his sleep.

The weight of his power, separated by thousands of years, was still so great.

Wei Yuan looked at Wu Xuan, who was kneeling on the ground and trembling slightly. First, he lamented the weight of King Yu's power, and then he felt a strange sense of déjà vu. Nü Jiao shook her head, her smile fading, and stretched out her hand, seemingly looking through Wu Xuan's remaining thoughts and past actions. Her face gradually sank, and finally she slowly said:

"Seducing mortals, refining Wuxian medicine, using the lives of ordinary people as medicinal bait."

"This has already violated the agreement we made with you back then. The sin is unforgivable."

"With what you have done, death is not enough. If it were Yu, he would at most kill you, but he is not here. Since you crave immortality, then transform into a stubborn stone and suffer the pain of wind and sun for thousands of years. When will it weather? When will this punishment end? It can be regarded as fulfilling your remaining wishes, and you can barely be considered immortal."

Wu Xuan's face changed, and before he could open his mouth, he gradually turned into a stubborn stone.

Lifelike, kneeling on the ground.

His true spirit was still there, but he could not move or react to the outside world. Maintaining this state for thousands of years as punishment, the extreme anger and unwillingness, as well as fear and regret, appeared in the eyes of Wu Xuan's stone statue. However, Wei Yuan knew that he only regretted being caught and being subjected to this punishment by Nü Jiao, not the things he had done in the past.

Then, the fox clan of Qingqiu Country dragged the Wu Xuan, who had turned into a stubborn stone, out and placed it next to King Yu's statue.

Wei Yuan did not interfere.

The witch Nü Jiao made arrangements, finally withdrew her gaze, and after a moment of silence, said:

"The Wuxian Kingdom back then had already embarked on a crooked path, attacking ordinary people."

"It's just that we considered that they had made great contributions to China in the past, so we didn't kill them all, but only诛杀(zhu sha, executed) the chief culprits and cut off the connections between Wushan and the human world, so that they could no longer attack ordinary people. After that, Qingqiu Country stayed away from the human world and no longer entered the world. I didn't expect them to be so crazy."

The witch Nü Jiao shook her head and said, "Forget it, let's not mention them."

Wei Yuan hummed and proactively changed the topic, asking with some curiosity, "Witch, what do you want me to do with the jade dragon pendant?"

Nü Jiao turned her eyes to Wei Yuan and said, "Didn't you mention that there might be your true spirit in the jade dragon pendant?"

"I am also a witch, so I will try to see if I can stimulate a trace of the hidden true spirit. It's not a difficult task."

Mentioning the jade dragon pendant to Nü Jiao was something that happened after Wei Yuan suspected that he had been abducted by Buddhism for a lifetime of true spirit remnants. It was to ask Nü Jiao if she had a way to solve it. He was surprised at the moment, and then took out the jade dragon pendant and placed it lightly on the table, saying, "How do you want to do it?"

Nü Jiao said solemnly, "We need to use the ancient Tushan tribe ceremonies to try to communicate."

Wei Yuan pondered and nodded. Then, according to what Nü Jiao said, he first went to a hot spring in the fox clan to bathe and change his clothes, and then put on ancient and dignified clothes and sat on a stone. There were fox girls chanting, holding a very solemn and dignified ceremony, and the fox clan danced around.

Sometimes they scattered flower petals.

Sometimes they used a brush to draw a stroke on his face.

Sometimes he had to dance the sacrificial dance.

Wei Yuan's whole body was stiff, like a puppet, cooperating with this complicated ceremony.

It took a full hour or two, and even the physical strength of a martial arts cultivator felt a sense of fatigue, but there was still no special feeling. When the ceremony finally ended, Wei Yuan sat in his seat, exhausted, and felt that there was still no response from the jade dragon pendant.

Nü Jiao said, "Oh, right, give me the jade dragon pendant."

She took the simple and unadorned Warring States dragon pendant, brushed it, and then threw it to Wei Yuan:

"Here, it's done."

Wei Yuan: "…………"

Wei Yuan held the jade pendant, looked down at the spirituality on the jade dragon pendant, and stiffly raised his head, looking at the witch Nü Jiao.

After a moment of silence, he said:

"Only the last step is needed?"

Nü Jiao answered as a matter of course, "Yes."

Wei Yuan's mouth twitched: "…Then what was I doing for the past hour or two?"

The white-haired fox girl was surprised, and then smiled slyly:

"Because it was fun."

Wei Yuan: "………………"

Take a deep breath.

King Yu, rest in peace.

When my cultivation is enough, I will definitely summon your soul back.

This life is impossible.

He lowered his head, staring at the jade dragon pendant, his eyes slowly closing, his breath long.

……………………

The 'young man' opened his eyes and still saw the jade dragon pendant in front of him.

Then he quickly withdrew his gaze, only standing on one side, looking down at the front, his heart vaguely annoyed.

This place was a solemn place. How could he be so rude?

In front of him was a table, with wine utensils on it. In the main seat, a heroic man wearing墨衣袀玄(moyi xuan, black upper and lower garments), and a通天冠(tongtian guan, a tall, cylindrical crown) sat upright. The jade dragon pendant was on this person's waist. A young eunuch with a fair and handsome face, but no beard, lowered his head and whispered:

"Your Majesty, the Fangshi (Taoist alchemist) Xu Shi requests an audience."

"Summon him."

ps: Xu Shi, courtesy name Junfang, also known as Xu Fu… This is the first update today, three thousand six hundred words

Thanks to 丨麻雀丨(Ma Que, Sparrow) for the ten thousand reward, thank you very much.