Yang Hong could not feel the change in his own merit.
However, Song Yu, far away in the Endless Mountain Range of the Central Continent, could.
"My cheap disciple is truly diligent. His merit grows every day.
I am only his nominal master, and have not yet taught him any techniques or divine arts, yet the merit he shares with me daily is equivalent to ten days of my own hard cultivation."
"It's just a pity.
The karma surrounding him is too great, otherwise, I would truly want to teach him my techniques and divine arts."
Song Yu sighed inwardly but had no intention of seeing Yang Hong, nor did he wish to impart cultivation methods to him.
When he advanced to a tribulation-level Loose Immortal, a Mahayana cultivator from the Heavenly Mystery Sect came to congratulate him and explained Yang Hong's true karma.
He then dared not harbor any ill intentions toward Yang Hong.
However, he still issued an order that at the Five Directions Dynasty's Heavenly Pride Competition three years later, the Carefree Pavilion should also select disciples and must recruit several more from the Yang family's royal lineage,
considering it a form of indirect compensation for Yang Hong.
...
Yang Hong was unaware that his efforts to earn merit were bringing benefits to the Yang family of the Great Sui Dynasty.
He was currently extremely depressed.
Shi Feixuan, that annoying fellow, had directly achieved Foundation Establishment by following Yang Hong and benefiting from his merit.
She achieved Foundation Establishment effortlessly, without any bottlenecks or danger.
It was even simpler and smoother than when Jia Yuanchun achieved Foundation Establishment.
This greatly vexed Yang Hong.
If he had known he had this effect, he would have taken Song Yuzhi, Jia Yuanchun, and the others to do good deeds everywhere long ago.
Why would he have to labor so hard every night himself?
However, it was not too late to know now; there was much more room for maneuver in the future.
"Junior Brother, let's leave the northern border of the Great Sui for now.
We'll head to the next location."
Once Shi Feixuan finished her breakthrough, Xi Miaohua did not pause to advance her own cultivation but directly flew on her sword towards the northern borders of the Great Tang and Great Ming Dynasties.
For this, she no longer cared about the consumption of spirit stones, flying on her sword the entire way.
As for Yang Hong's opinion?
That was not important, as long as Yang Hong was brought onto the sword.
Yang Hong also felt a bit helpless. Xi Miaohua was truly too impatient.
Not just impatient, she was practically resorting to any means necessary.
It was manageable in the Great Tang. Yang Hong revealed his identity, and with his status as Li Shimin's son-in-law, the government could still cooperate to some extent with Xi Miaohua.
In the Great Ming Dynasty, although the common people feared cultivators, they had their own selfish motives.
The mining of coal was progressing rather slowly.
Even though Xi Miaohua could locate coal mines in a very short time, mining them required a large amount of manpower and resources.
In the Great Sui and Great Tang, thanks to Yang Hong, measures like work-relief and grain-for-work could be implemented very smoothly.
But the Great Ming could not. The emperor of the Great Ming at this time was Zhu Di, a capable ruler,
but the administration below him was not very good.
With a facade of compliance but actual obstruction, a month had passed without completing half the work that had been done in the Great Sui and Great Tang in half a month.
"Senior Sister, let's give up on the Great Ming. We'll go straight to the Great Yuan Dynasty.
It's colder there, and they will definitely need coal more."
At the coal mine outside Fengtian City in the Great Ming, Yang Hong stopped Xi Miaohua, who was drawing her sword and about to go on a killing spree.
She was a cultivator of high status and was utterly fed up with these high-ranking and minor officials.
In the month she had spent in the Great Ming, she had already killed over a thousand officials.
"Fine. After I kill these imbeciles, we'll leave."
Although Yang Hong's reasoning made sense, Xi Miaohua still swung her sword.
"Sss~"
With a crisp sound, all the officials who had been haggling with Xi Miaohua, a total of 372 people, were sliced in half.
"Alas~"
Watching the officials still groaning in agony as they were not yet dead, Yang Hong only sighed and said nothing more.
Even though Xi Miaohua had heeded Yang Hong's advice and had not killed many people during this period,
she was still a proud "Immortal" from on high.
Although she had restrained her aura and temper, her pride remained.
This sword strike also sobered up Shi Feixuan. Since she had begun interacting with her master, Xi Miaohua, Xi Miaohua had always been gentle and kind.
Now, she also understood the temper and methods of cultivators.
"Senior Sister, I once joined the Great Yuan Dynasty's state religion—the Vajra Temple. I have some old connections there. We can act through the Vajra Temple in the Great Yuan."
As their sword flew into the Great Yuan Dynasty's territory, Yang Hong suddenly proposed again.
"Vajra Temple?
An outer sect of the Vajra Sect?
Then let's go take a look. I should have a map here.
Once found, we'll go there directly."
Upon hearing Yang Hong's suggestion and recalling the difficulties in the Great Ming, Xi Miaohua was once again amenable to his idea.
She had discovered that Yang Hong truly possessed luck protection; even the most unreliable ideas could generally be realized smoothly.
A day later, the three of them successfully met the abbot of the Vajra Temple, Monk Kuhlun.
When Monk Kuhlun heard that it was Yang Hong's idea and that the prospective saintess of the Qian Yuan Sword Sect was fully supporting it,
his eyes lit up.
They were all old foxes, and at a glance, they saw the merit involved.
For this, he disregarded his cultivation, seniority, and reputation, and personally investigated the coal mines with Xi Miaohua.
He even personally mobilized and persuaded the Great Yuan Dynasty's court, government offices, and tribes.
He was truly more diligent than Xi Miaohua.
However, Xi Miaohua could only be angry but dare not speak.
Monk Kuhlun was a cultivator in the middle Nascent Soul stage,
and he could easily kill her, Xi Miaohua.
However, this was still not bad; at least she could still get one-third of the merit.
If she had encountered someone more ruthless, they might have simply killed her.
Kuhlun also noticed Xi Miaohua's displeasure, so he secretly gave her a gift.
After reviewing the gift, Xi Miaohua was quite satisfied.
The Great Yuan, which was more than ten times larger than the Great Sui, took over a month to complete the work under Kuhlun's leadership.
The time had already entered February of the new year,
and spring was about to return.
"Junior Brother, let's return to the Great Sui now.
I am very sorry for dragging Junior Brother out for so long, preventing him from returning home for the New Year.
As an apology, Senior Sister will host a good meal for Junior Brother tonight."
In a luxurious side hall of the Great Yuan imperial palace, Xi Miaohua said to Yang Hong with a look of apology.
"It's alright. I was also very happy to be able to travel the world with Senior Sister,"
Yang Hong replied softly, looking into Xi Miaohua's eyes.
He only dared to glance once before immediately averting his gaze.
Although Xi Miaohua always wore a veil, her eyes were bright and expressive, and they seemed to speak.
With just a glance, you would know what she wanted to say.
Xi Miaohua indeed hosted the banquet, accompanied by Monk Kuhlun and many members of the Great Yuan royal family.
And everyone was very enthusiastic.
With all this enthusiasm, Yang Hong was drunk under the table.
He only remembered being sent to his room, and then he had a dream,
a dream of passionate intimacy.
Most incredibly, he lost in the dream.
...
At the moment Yang Hong's primal yang was broken,
in a certain place a thousand zhang underground in the Great Sui imperial palace,
a dim phantom gradually solidified.
"I'm not dead? Where am I?"
A muddled voice echoed in the dim underground.
If this figure appeared before Yang Hong, he would certainly be very familiar with it.
...
The next day, Yang Hong slept until the sun was high in the sky before waking.
Upon waking, Yang Hong found himself already in clean sleepwear, clearly changed by the maids of the Great Yuan imperial palace.
However, just as he was about to depart for the Great Sui ahead of Xi Miaohua, he was stopped by Shi Feixuan,
who informed him that Xi Miaohua was experiencing a breakthrough due to a sudden insight.
Yang Hong paid no mind to this.
Cultivators were like this; they would either be unable to break through for ten or a hundred years,
or they would achieve a breakthrough with a single realization.
After waiting for five days, Xi Miaohua reappeared, and as expected, she had reached the peak of the Golden Core stage.
Her complexion was also very rosy, and even her spirited eyes had become watery.
However, after exiting seclusion, Xi Miaohua spoke very little to Yang Hong.
From the Great Yuan imperial city to Daxing City in the Great Sui, Xi Miaohua only spoke three sentences to Yang Hong.
"Hold on tight."
"Goodbye."
"..."