Master of Strange Dao

"""

In a lifetime, a mortal might live smoothly without any wars and never encounter cultivators passing by in battle.

But it's also possible that, in a mortal's lifetime, the Divine Dynasty was constantly at war.

Ten years passed, and the thin branches of Juice grew thicker, with ever more plump bud points.

Yu Ziqing routinely came to inspect, water, and share some with the other magic plants.

Then he sat in front of Juice, continuing the story he hadn't finished last time.

"Where did I leave off last time, oh, I was talking about Boss Zhang and his feat of killing over two hundred, so I'll continue..."

Yu Ziqing sat there, talking for an hour, letting his thoughts take him wherever.

After Yu Ziqing left, on the somewhat bare branches of Juice, a plump bud gradually broke open, and a tender new leaf sprouted out.

At that moment, the vitality of the entire plant began to climb geometrically.

The accumulated power started to explode, and each plump bud began to shoot out new buds.

The crimson new buds unfurled, growing rapidly into new leaves.

In the short time of one incense stick, dozens of new leaves appeared on the bare branches.

Sunlight shone on the leaves, with vibrant life beginning to emerge.

The surrounding magic plants danced joyfully.

The fine serpents hanging from the Snake Willow twirled as if crazed, hissing and flicking their tongues.

The large mouths of the Venus flytrap opened and closed, making a sound like pfft, reminiscent of farting.

That they possessed spiritual wisdom and hadn't gone crazy, retaining rationality, had much to do with the Bloodthirsty Devil Flower, but the most crucial reason was, in fact, their growth around Juice.

The next day, when Yu Ziqing came to see, he found that Juice was already full of fresh leaves, brimming with vitality.

"Wow, vitality has returned, nice, very nice, following my method indeed works."

Then, Yu Ziqing took out a transparent round box.

"Vitality has returned, the growth is also good, now we can proceed to the next step. I want to let you be reborn, freeing you from the old tree root below. Are you willing to try?"

Yu Ziqing looked around, a bunch of magic plants were all watching with their unique methods.

Yet no one tried to stop Yu Ziqing.

"Alright then, I'll give it a try. To ensure a hundred percent restoration, I had to talk wet to get someone to make this box."

The transparent, openable round box seemed to be made of plastic.

Yu Ziqing took out a small knife, lightly peeled a circle of bark from the lower half of Juice's branch.

Then filled the transparent round box with soil, covering it to wrap around the wound.

"This is called the air layering method; it can generate new roots, allowing you to free yourself from the old tree below.

In my view, it's not that you're at your limit after nine blooms, but rather that your foundation has reached its limit.

But I think, directly cutting you off from the foundation would probably be fatal.

So this is the only method I can use, hang in there.

Alright, it's done, I'll continue the story..."

After a few days, confirming that Juice's vitality was indeed increasing, seemingly not too greatly affected, Yu Ziqing finally breathed a sigh of relief.

What's next is to quietly wait for the new adventitious roots to grow, then it can take form as a new plant, freeing from the old tree foundation.

Perhaps, Juice would be reborn.

Yu Ziqing didn't even think there'd be a chance to regrow an Immortal Herb.

According to legends and the words of a giant, by the time the Immortal Herb matured, he would already be dead.

That seemed to be a very, very distant prospect.

Yu Ziqing mused that he would live for a long, long time and didn't hold out hopes.

But saving an Immortal Herb that even a giant deemed dead felt delightful.

Wait then, and on the day Juice truly breaks free from the old tree and is reborn, Yu Ziqing would surely show off to the giant first.

Wait for now.

Having not left Jinlan Mountain for a long time, it was about time to check on Dadui.

Ten years should show some results.

Leaving Jinlan Mountain, Yu Ziqing headed south, talking with Han Dong along the way.

In the southern Wilderness, the vitality had visibly increased, from a barren world to one teeming with weeds and some growing trees.

Around Dadui Arch, what was once barren had now become lush with vegetation.

Upon entering the archway, Yu Ziqing instantly vanished, appearing in Dadui.

The moment Yu Ziqing appeared, Jia Shisi followed closely and, upon seeing Yu Ziqing, respectfully greeted him.

"Congratulations on ending your seclusion, Your Majesty."

"Hmm, I've reached a new stage, so I took the chance to have a look. How are things here?"

"This way, please, Your Majesty."

Flying with Yu Ziqing to the Cabinet, Jia Shisi secretly sighed.

Initially, truth be told, they were all quite afraid of Yu Ziqing messing around.

It was a psychological shadow.

Not just him, everyone was the same; regardless of appearances, when speaking privately, they candidly discussed such thoughts.

Yet at the time, a nation couldn't go a day without a ruler, and they truly had no one more suitable than Yu Ziqing, forced to endorse Yu Ziqing with reservations.

Moreover, both explicitly and implicitly, the fortunes of the Dadui Divine Dynasty indicated that besides Yu Ziqing, there was no other candidate.

In name, it had to be Yu Ziqing as Emperor Dui.

When Yu Ziqing didn't want to hold a coronation ceremony, they silently agreed.

Now, they wanted relentlessly to hold a coronation ceremony, and Yu Ziqing always said next time for sure.

They now truly weren't afraid of Yu Ziqing messing around; they feared him abandoning them.

Following the big direction set by Yu Ziqing, along with the Jade Tablet's assistance and the Earth Deity's aid.

For ten years, everything went very smoothly, with favorable weather.

The population had more than doubled.

With more newborns, they vigorously developed agriculture, with cultivators directly setting assessments, and should anyone starve to death, the biggest official would take the blame.

This way, not a single person had starved to death.

With food supplies ample, they started in animal husbandry development.

With more wealth, they then developed spirit fields to cultivate spiritual medicine.

Everything could be said to be thriving.

Yet, the more it was so, as Yu Ziqing hadn't been there for ten years, the more the cabinet members feared Yu Ziqing would truly abandon them.

Jia Shisi sent out word so that, by the time he arrived at the Cabinet with Yu Ziqing.

He found that the others had already gathered.

As Yu Ziqing sat down, before any business was discussed.

He saw the cabinet members stand up, coming to the front.

And outside the hall, countless officials, both high and low, had gathered.

Everyone looked solemn, all eyes on Yu Ziqing.

Zhang Quli bowed deeply with a solemn face.

"Your Majesty, please select a day for the coronation!"

At his voice, everyone followed suit, calling out in unison.

"Your Majesty, please select a day for the coronation! With a full ceremony!"

"""