Revelation of the Way of Heaven

Chapter 416 The Fisherman's Troubles

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As a cultivator, Qin Xiaochuan could completely understand what Old Man Yang was saying. He nodded and said, "I can understand why you don't care so much about magic crystals, but why would he resort to such unscrupulous means to bestow favors upon others?"

Old Man Yang glanced at the ginseng spirit and said, "Because in Yunmeng Marsh, the most important thing is merit. How much wealth a person can acquire in his life depends entirely on how much merit he has accumulated. The more merit he has, the greater his blessings, and the more wealth he will possess. Not only that, some mountain spirits and stone monsters can even cultivate into immortals and benefit endlessly."

"Oh, I see. That's why he goes to great lengths to give away elixirs that prolong life, all to accumulate merit. In that sense, it's out of good intentions. Why won't you accept them?"

"Because getting something for nothing is depleting one's own good fortune," Mr. Yang explained.

Upon hearing this, Qin Xiaochuan immediately understood. The reason he couldn't comprehend the logic behind the two people's actions was because he had been in a utilitarian world for too long. He hadn't expected the people in Yunmengze to have such high moral standards, so he found it strange to see such simple things. Now, thinking about it carefully, it really did seem absurd.

Seeing Qin Xiaochuan's sudden realization, Old Man Yang said, "Now that you understand, do you think I should give him the magic crystal?"

Qin Xiaochuan nodded and said to the ginseng spirit, "Although the way of thinking in Yunmengze is different from that in Huaxu, the essential principles are still the same. There is a saying in Huaxu, 'Intention to do good but not doing good.' I don't think it's a wise thing for you to accumulate merit in this way."

Seeing Qin Xiaochuan speak up for him, Old Man Yang started arguing with the ginseng spirit again. The ginseng spirit had no choice but to accept Old Man Yang's magic crystal.

Seeing that the ginseng spirit had accepted the magic crystal, Qin Xiaochuan returned the pills he was holding to the ginseng spirit. The ginseng spirit sighed helplessly and said, "It's really hard to be a good person these days. I can't even give away the elixir that can prolong life." After saying that, it walked away, leaning on its medical banner.

Hearing the ginseng spirit's words, Qin Xiaochuan felt a strange mix of emotions. In Huaxu, people also said that it was really hard to be a good person these days, but the reasons were completely different. He didn't know why there was such a big difference between the two worlds.

Seeing that Old Man Yang had sat back down under the willow tree, Qin Xiaochuan squatted down beside him with a puzzled look and asked, "Excuse me, sir, where did you get the magic crystals in your hands?"

"You mean this magic crystal..." Old Man Yang condensed a magic crystal in his palm and showed it to him while explaining the principle of the magic crystal.

It turns out that in the Yunmeng Marsh, there exists a blessed field in the consciousness space of every living being. The magic crystal is formed from the virtuous power in their blessed field, and it can also be transformed into virtuous power to nourish their own blessed field.

"The virtue you're talking about must mean the power of merit, right? So, your field of blessings can automatically generate virtue?" Qin Xiaochuan asked. If that's the case, then making money is much harder than they imagined.

Old Man Yang shook his head and said, "That's not possible. We can only earn magic crystals from the outside world and then transform them into virtue to nourish the blessed fields."

"Oh, I see. Isn't Futian just like your virtual wallet? You can withdraw and deposit money at any time." Qin Xiaochuan suddenly realized that this function seemed to be no different from the mobile banking in Huaxu.

"That's right, that's a valid way to understand it." Old Yang nodded.

Hearing Old Man Yang's affirmative words, Qin Xiaochuan felt relieved. We don't have any lucky fields; we can just keep the magic crystals in our pockets like silver. As long as it doesn't affect their ability to make and spend money, there's nothing to worry about. So, Qin Xiaochuan asked Old Man Yang about the location of nearby pawnshops.

After Old Man Yang told him the location of the pawnshop, Qin Xiaochuan asked, "I wonder how many magic crystals one tael of gold can be exchanged for here?"

"Gold? Who wants that stuff?" Old Yang frowned, looking incomprehensible. "You can't eat it, you can't use it, and it's so heavy. Who would spend money to buy such a useless thing?"

"Huh?" Qin Xiaochuan thought he had misheard. He didn't expect that the hard currency in Huaxu would become a burden here. Actually, thinking about it, it makes sense. Without the symbolic meaning of currency, gold can only be used as an ornament. Due to the difficulty of processing, the value of gold ornaments is more reflected in the processing fee. Plain gold bars are almost worthless.

This completely disrupted their plans. If they couldn't get magic crystals, their food and lodging would be a problem. He glanced at Old Man Yang and suddenly had an idea. He said to Old Man Yang, "We are new here and penniless. Could we go with you to catch some fish and exchange them for some magic crystals at the market?"

Upon hearing Qin Xiaochuan's words, Old Man Yang looked troubled. He took a puff of his pipe before saying, "It's not that I don't want to help you, it's just that it's getting harder and harder to catch fish in this Yunze these days. If you come with me, I'm afraid you'll be disappointed."

"How can we not catch any fish in such a big lake?" Qin Xiaochuan asked in confusion. The Yunze Lake was vast, with clouds and mist rising and stretching as far as the eye could see. The land they saw were just islands in the Yunze Lake. Even the market they were in was built on a large central island. The waters were almost no different from the sea. How could we not catch any fish in such waters? It was no different from not being able to cut down any trees in the forest. It sounded absurd.

"I know it sounds absurd, and I'm really puzzled too. How come we can't catch any fish in such a big lake? But since a few years ago, I don't know what's wrong with Yunze Lake. There seem to be a lot of fish, but it's just so hard to catch them." Old Yang couldn't help but sigh after he finished speaking.

"So that's why you were sighing here just now?" Qin Xiaochuan asked. Old Man Yang had been targeted by the ginseng spirit because he had been sighing under this willow tree.

"Yes, I've been catching fewer and fewer fish lately. Yesterday I didn't catch a single one, which has never happened before. Sigh, if this continues, I'll only be able to live a life of getting something for nothing, and my life will become meaningless." After saying this, Old Yang took another deep drag on his pipe.

Hearing Old Man Yang's words, Qin Xiaochuan's eye twitched involuntarily. Why did those words sound so Versailles-esque? He couldn't help but ask, "If you can't catch fish, shouldn't you be worried about not earning magic crystals? Why are you worried about getting something for nothing? What kind of logic is that?"

Old Man Yang shook his head and said, "People living in Yunmeng Marsh will never lack magic crystals, so we won't worry about not being able to earn them."

"Why? Didn't you say that magic crystals wouldn't be produced automatically in Fukuda?" Qin Xiaochuan asked, puzzled.

Old Man Yang explained, "Because the entire Yunmeng Marsh is governed by the supreme and great god Donghuang Taiyi, although magic crystals will not be automatically produced in the blessed fields, Donghuang Taiyi will regularly bestow virtue power into everyone's blessed fields. This virtue power is enough to maintain our basic life, so we don't have to worry about magic crystals at all."

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