Chapter 1784: Old Friend's News

A child, from conception to birth, would experience sixteen cosmic epochs and furthermore, would be personally named by the Teacher.

Heavenly Sovereign Nanxiang glanced at Qin Mu and his wife. "Seventh Young Master, what do you two intend to do? Can your child bear such immense blessings?"

The long river stretched on. Qin Mu and Ling Yuxiu stood at the bow of the ship, observing the magnificent history of the sixteenth epoch unfolding below. Qin Mu chuckled, "Of course, the child himself cannot bear it, but his father can enable him to."

Heavenly Sovereign Nanxiang's eyes flickered. "Then on this journey, you two will certainly face various dangers. I'm somewhat regretting agreeing to take you to the Miluo Palace."

Ling Yuxiu linked her arm through Qin Mu's, smiling. "Daoist friend Nanxiang, please don't worry. We've overcome countless dangers; this journey poses little threat."

Heavenly Sovereign Nanxiang said no more.

Qin Mu's heart stirred slightly. A Ruins Lotus flew from his brow, gently drifting into the River of Chaos. The lotus spun, and two or three petals floated on the river's surface, moving along with the Golden Ark of Deliverance as it sailed towards the opposite bank.

He then summoned the World Tree, which also took root in the River of Chaos, allowing both the Ruins Lotus and the World Tree to draw energy from the River of Chaos.

The World Tree's branches and leaves grew fuller, and its roots robust, while the Ruins Lotus became even more delicate and vibrant.

Wisps of ethereal Dao light rose from the lotus pedestal, drifting into Ling Yuxiu's lower abdomen. Simultaneously, a flower bud emerged on the World Tree, from which vital essence floated over, harmonizing with the Dao light from the lotus pedestal, nourishing the fetus in Ling Yuxiu's womb.

Heavenly Sovereign Nanxiang opened her mouth, about to speak, but stopped, finally deciding to ignore it.

"I'm just a hall master; why should I concern myself so much?" she mused inwardly. "The Young Masters and the old monsters outside the Miluo Palace will absolutely not stand by and watch this infant be born. This journey will likely be fraught with extreme peril."

***

**South Heaven**

Bai Yuqiong quelled the chaos in South Heaven, promoting education and establishing academies and schools. After the Battle of South Heaven, Bai Yuqiong and Crown Prince Youming jointly crushed the Heavenly Court's army, forcing Shang Pingyin to flee. The remnants of the Heavenly Court caused disturbances everywhere, and it took Bai Yuqiong and Crown Prince Youming over a decade to wipe out the various rebel forces.

However, remnants of the Heavenly Court still lurked in South Heaven, occasionally instigating minor rebellions, but large-scale uprisings had ceased.

"Your Royal Highness," Bai Yuqiong said to Crown Prince Youming, "I am going to Yankang to meet Emperor Yanfeng and report on the situation in South Heaven. South Heaven is in ruins and needs rebuilding, especially its education system, which was severely poisoned by Heavenly Venerate Huo and is difficult to remedy. My trip to see Emperor Yanfeng is to seek his assistance."

"Your Highness possesses extraordinary abilities, but you are also loyal and honest. My journey will take one to two years before I can return, so Your Highness must beware of Shang Pingyin's return."

Crown Prince Youming said, "Shang Pingyin has no soldiers or generals under his command; he's not worth worrying about. If he's wise, he should remain hidden and never reappear; then he might survive. If he comes to attack me, he'll only be heading towards his demise."

Bai Yuqiong, accompanied by her personal guards from Qionghua Palace, boarded the Heavenly Master's Carriage and entered the Spirit Energy Teleportation Bridge, heading towards Yankang.

The Spirit Energy Teleportation Bridge in South Heaven was smaller, making it difficult to support a powerhouse like her. It took over a month for Bai Yuqiong and her entourage to finally arrive at Yankang's Spirit Energy Teleportation Bridge.

The Heavenly Master's Carriage flew through the sky, not far from the ground. Bai Yuqiong looked down at the towns and cities below, observing the civilian life in Yankang. She was not in a hurry to meet Emperor Yanfeng.

South Heaven suffered from too many maladies. Although she wished to inherit Meng Yungui's dying wish and awaken the people of South Heaven, after nearly thirty years of bloody warfare, most of South Heaven's populace still knelt at the sight of a god, lacking any will to resist, which filled her with a deep sense of powerlessness.

Her other purpose in coming to Yankang this time was to examine Yankang's civilian life and education, absorb their experiences, and implement them in South Heaven.

Yankang, too, had experienced great warfare and was in ruins, but within a little over a decade after the war's end, it had almost caught up to its pre-war state.

"If it were the Heavenly Court, having gone through such a major war, it would likely take thousands of years to recover its vitality."

She traveled, stopping often, visiting villages to observe primary education and then divine cities in the sky to see university education. She gained much insight and was filled with countless emotions.

However, she also discovered many issues.

There were problems in Yankang's villages: most young adults went to cities to work and earn a living, often with both spouses leaving together. Only the elderly and young were left in the villages, causing them to lose their vitality and giving rise to many chaotic situations.

Although Emperor Yanfeng had noticed this problem and sent many divine arts practitioners to the villages to support education, compensating them for their efforts, those willing to enter the villages were often less accomplished, while the truly capable ones tended to remain in the divine cities.

The quality of education in the villages was quite worrisome, showing a clear disparity compared to urban education.

Children in the villages, without parental guidance, were often left to fend for themselves, which was very detrimental to the next generation.

"How should Yankang solve this?"

One day, she entered a village primary school and saw a strong learning atmosphere. This school was famous throughout the surrounding villages, and the rural children studied desperately, eager to make something of themselves, which deeply moved her.

"Children from the countryside might need to put in ten times the effort and spend ten or even twenty more years than city children to achieve equality with them. However, this path of upward mobility has not been blocked, which is a good thing."

Just as she thought of this, she suddenly noticed a young lecturer in the village, and her heart stirred.

That young man was very intelligent and astute, teaching and explaining divine arts to the children, demonstrating unique insights in their application.

What moved Bai Yuqiong was a sense of familiarity she felt towards this young lecturer.

"Learning lies in application. If one learns but does not apply, then the learning is in vain. Between learning and application lies a path called 'thought'."

The young lecturer spoke eloquently and insightfully: "Thinking. Rote memorization of runes is not advisable; one needs to ponder the principles behind each rune, the principles of rune combinations, and then consider the Dao contained within them. This makes things much simpler..."

Bai Yuqiong waited quietly. Before long, the dismissal bell rang, and the young lecturer walked out, carrying his books.

Bai Yuqiong stopped him and smiled, "Daoist friend, I listened to your lecture; your insights are profound, and your aptitude and comprehension are extraordinary. Why do you choose to teach in this primary school? You would surely have a better future if you went to a large city."

Seeing her noble and extraordinary appearance, the young lecturer knew she was an important figure. He greeted her without being servile or arrogant, saying, "I was born here and have an attachment to my hometown. After achieving success in my studies in the city, I naturally wanted to return. I plan to educate more people and help them leave the countryside."

"But you might be held back; you could have a much better future."

Bai Yuqiong probed, "If you are willing, I can take you to the Capital. That is where you can truly display your talents."

The young lecturer shook his head, declining her offer.

"Meng Zhiyun, let's go!" A lecturer waved to the young man from afar.

The young lecturer excused himself and walked away quickly.

"Meng Zhiyun..."

Bai Yuqiong watched him leave, and only after a long moment did she regain her senses. She boarded the Heavenly Master's Carriage, then looked out the window at Meng Zhiyun again, murmuring, "Is it you? Senior Brother Meng... Cuier, bring me a handful of soil."

A personal guard quickly scooped up a handful of soil from the ground and brought it into the carriage.

Bai Yuqiong molded the soil into incense, lit it, and the smoke curled upwards, transforming into the form of Earth Lord Qin Fengqing, who had three heads and six arms, controlling the Six Paths of Reincarnation.

Bai Yuqiong bowed, saying, "May I humbly request Earth Lord to help me ascertain the origins of a person?"

The smoke-formed Qin Fengqing opened his eyes, looking rather indifferent, and said, "This great war has affected the operation of the Six Paths, concerning the origins of many new lives, making it difficult to investigate casually. I cannot act with favoritism for Your Majesty, the Southern Emperor."

Bai Yuqiong quickly said, "For the sake of my daughter and the Lord of the Beast Realm..."

Qin Fengqing sighed helplessly, "This shall not set a precedent."

Bai Yuqiong breathed a sigh of relief and asked him to investigate Meng Zhiyun.

After a moment, Qin Fengqing said, "Meng Yungui of the Heavenly Court suffered in Youdu for thirty-one years, burning away his karmic fire, and was reincarnated into the Meng family. He is now eighteen years old."

Bai Yuqiong's heart trembled slightly, and she murmured, "It really is him... Why doesn't he recognize me?"

"To maintain impartiality, all reincarnated individuals have their memories erased. His past life memories have been completely burned away in the karmic fire." Qin Fengqing dissipated into smoke, and his voice echoed from Youdu: "Your Majesty, the Southern Emperor, you must not interfere with him or awaken his memories. Otherwise, you will be violating Youdu's rules! I am very ruthless and never show favoritism..."

Bai Yuqiong stood stunned for a long time, then suddenly pushed open the carriage door and rushed out, quickly arriving in front of Meng Zhiyun.

Meng Zhiyun looked at her in surprise, showing a puzzled expression. Bai Yuqiong handed him her calling card and smiled, "I am Bai Yuqiong of South Heaven. If Daoist friend Meng ever goes to South Heaven or the Capital in the future, you may seek me out."

Meng Zhiyun accepted the visiting card. Bai Yuqiong turned and left, feeling very happy.

Another month later, she finally arrived at Yankang's Capital.

Yan Yunxi, by Emperor Yanfeng's command, came to welcome her and invite her into the Capital, saying, "His Majesty knows of your arrival and has guessed the purpose of your trip. He has already dispatched thirty thousand divine arts practitioners to South Heaven. Thirty thousand divine arts practitioners can establish one hundred schools and academies."

"One hundred is hardly enough!" Bai Yuqiong made an exorbitant demand, holding up one finger: "At least one hundred thousand schools and academies! Heavenly Master Zixi, don't forget, you once disguised yourself as a man and deceived my feelings for tens of thousands of years! You owe me!"

Yan Yunxi had reverted to her female attire. Hearing this, she said helplessly, "After the great war, Yankang doesn't have that much manpower. Now, even Carefree Village and the Chihming Void World have been incorporated into Yankang, leading to a severe shortage of personnel. If we give them all to your South Heaven, Yankang's education system would be ruined. Just make do for now..."

Her deception of Bai Yuqiong's feelings was an old matter, and she knew she was in the wrong, but currently, Yankang couldn't spare the manpower, so she was helpless.

Bai Yuqiong walked alongside her and suddenly said, "I met Heavenly Master Meng after his reincarnation. He is doing very well now, with his own career and philosophy. With his wisdom, he will achieve something different from his previous life in the future. I heard about Zhuo Cha; have you gone to find him?"

Yan Yunxi's expression darkened upon hearing this. "The one who reincarnated as a farmer doesn't like me..."

Bai Yuqiong was startled, then covered her mouth and chuckled, "Zixi, you've met your match today!"

Yan Yunxi glared at her, then said helplessly, "He's a blockhead. But don't worry, he'll like me eventually!"

Bai Yuqiong suddenly remembered something and quickly asked, "How did you know about Zhuo Cha's whereabouts after his reincarnation? Earth Lord Qin Fengqing said he's strictly impartial and never practices favoritism or corruption."

"He's talking nonsense!"