Super System in the Early Tang Dynasty

The palace was filled with the aroma of corn! This caused the palace maids and servants who had no chance to eat any to stare wide-eyed and swallow hard.

Before long, the two large loads of corn were completely devoured. Although everyone was still not satisfied, even the most gluttonous and thick-skinned person obediently stood back down, cupped their hands, and rolled up their sleeves when they saw the person sitting high up.

"What do you all think of the taste? When the day comes that every citizen of our Great Tang can enjoy such a delicacy, wouldn't that be a blessing for our Great Tang?!"

"Your Majesty is wise and benevolent, Heaven blesses our Great Tang!" All the civil officials stepped forward, their voices of congratulations and admiration rising and falling, which made several burly old men on the side curl their lips in disapproval.

"Sweet potatoes and corn will be produced in abundance. In a few days, I will have people all over the Central Plains planting sweet potatoes and corn, and the people will no longer go hungry!"

A minister stepped forward and exclaimed, “In the past, there was Shennong, who obtained the five grains and sowed them throughout the land; now, our Holy Emperor has obtained two kinds of grains, sweet potatoes and corn, so that all people can eat their fill. This is the result of the Emperor’s great wisdom!”

"His Majesty is wise! His Majesty is wise!..."

***

Chang'an, southeast side, the backyard of the Li family mansion.

Li Qing was sitting in the courtyard, enjoying the scenery and sipping tea when suddenly, he felt a radiant light rise in his mind, like a small sun. The normally calm mind was suddenly filled with a huge surge of energy!

All the strength in my body seemed to be out of control, rushing towards my brain like a dam breaking, unstoppable!

Li Qing's head felt like it was about to split open! Just when he felt his head was about to crack into pieces, a golden light shone out, instantly melting away the pain. Only a warm feeling spread through his head, like a gentle breeze blowing through the willow branches, extremely comfortable!

"boom--!"

Li Qing felt as if a whole new world had opened up in his mind, amidst surging waves!

Suddenly everything became clear! Scenes from the past flashed before my eyes!

As the surrounding white mist dissipated, a small patch of land gradually became clearer and larger in view. The cave within was vast, with immortal herbs and spiritual plants growing everywhere, and the vegetation was extremely lush, creating a peaceful and serene atmosphere!

Not far away, a huge mountain range, like a dragon coiled around the land, stretches out and forms a secluded valley. Cold springs and waterfalls rise sharply, and mist fills the air. Trees grow among them, but they cannot compare to the vibrant life and abundant mushrooms in the flat area in the middle. They are quite interesting in their own way!

"Big brother—big brother! Is that you? Have you come?"

Li Qing was startled when he suddenly heard a deafening shout, and his face lit up with surprise!

"Erlang—is it Erlang?!" As soon as the words were spoken, the scenery before their eyes changed, and a huge blue stone appeared in front of them. Standing on it was a young man in blue robes, none other than Erlang, the little dog egg who had been recuperating in the spatial cave for a long time.

However, life inside the cave is quite different from that outside; the child has grown into a young boy of eleven or twelve.

"You're Erlang?!"

"Big brother! It's me, Erlang!" Before the words were even finished, the boy leaped lightly and actually jumped down from the towering structure! Just as he was about to hug him, he suddenly realized that he had passed right through him and that he couldn't touch him.

"Big brother, you?!" The young boy's face was filled with shock and worry, and his face turned pale.

Li Qing was taken aback, then realized that perhaps his body hadn't been brought in. He suddenly remembered that if he came in now, things outside must be in complete chaos. It would be a grave mistake to cause his elderly grandfather worry!

"I'll tell you about this later. I have some things to take care of outside. I'll come back in a while!" After saying that, he didn't explain anything more. With a thought, his originally clear soul suddenly became heavy and solid, returning to his body.

At that moment, a golden halo appeared high in his mind, illuminating every part of his body!

In the instant Li Qing was stunned, the entire city of Chang'an, regardless of whether they were Buddhist temples or Taoist monasteries, was filled with horrified people with powerful cultivation!

Although they are all mortals, and in the path of Qi cultivation, they are far inferior to Li Qing without the help of a system and many treasures, they can see things that ordinary people cannot see in the field of Qi divination and feng shui!

"Could it be that yet another highly virtuous and accomplished person has achieved perfect merit?"

Those ordinary monks and heretics who were originally skeptical about the things of cultivating the Tao and accumulating merit seemed to see a golden door to enlightenment open before them. But when they tried to go to it, the golden light had disappeared and the Buddha was no longer there. Although they were disappointed, their faith was firm. They no longer hesitated and wavered, and only the thought of the Tao remained in their minds!

Li Qing never expected that, by a twist of fate, he would gain immense merit, open the gates of Taoism to the heavens for all those seeking the Dao, give everyone a glimmer of hope, and push the doctrines of Taoism, Buddhism, and metaphysics of the entire Tang Dynasty to another peak!

At this time, chaos also broke out in the Li residence.

They are mere mortals, lacking the supernatural powers of those beyond the secular world, and cannot see the golden light of merit. However, the fact that their young master has fainted is of utmost importance!

At this moment, a bald monk barged into the Li residence, and the surrounding servants could not stop him.

Li Qing opened his eyes and saw a bright light bulb shining right in front of him!

"Young brother, what a fortunate opportunity and great merit you have!" Even a monk with such cultivation and state of mind couldn't help but feel envious and jealous, his eyes showing surprise.

Li Xingzhi was furious when he saw the big monk in front of him—these bald monks, even if they became Buddhas and patriarchs, were all bad! No wonder later novels always used Buddha and the Western Saint as a target of ridicule!

"You damned monk! You've made me suffer so much! Give me back my wine, and you're treating it like a huge favor!" Looking at the fat, big-eared monk with a forced smile, for some reason, the words he wanted to utter were stuck in his throat, and he couldn't help but complain and grumble.

The senior monk knew he had acted somewhat dishonestly, so he couldn't continue with his thick tongue. He chuckled and said, "Who told you to be an anomaly by birth, and with such extraordinary talent! It's a pity I didn't see it back then, otherwise I would have definitely brought you into my Buddhist order first!"

Upon hearing this, Li Xingzhi inwardly scoffed: Of course you can't see it. If it weren't for that heaven-defying system, you'd have no talent whatsoever! But aloud he said, "As the saying goes—a thousand-mile horse is common, but a discerning eye is rare. I, your humble servant, am a genius who can dazzle you..." The rest of his words were somewhat vulgar, so he didn't say them aloud, but the big monk vaguely knew that they weren't anything good.

“Alas—Buddha guides those with affinity, indeed it cannot be forced! Since you have come to your senses, I will not make a fool of myself here. Consider this string of prayer beads my apology!” After saying this, the head monk took off the prayer beads from his left hand, put them in Li Xingzhi’s hand, and took a step outside the wall!

"He's running for his life!" Li Xingzhi thought to himself, watching the monk leave in a hurry. He figured the monk must be embarrassed and wouldn't dare to stay any longer. To be honest, he harbored a lot of resentment towards this freeloading monk!

Li Xingzhi felt a wave of fear wash over him. Luckily, he had remained steadfast; otherwise, having possessed a heaven-defying system, he would have been tricked into becoming a monk by a bald monk and become a laughingstock!

He held the three-colored Buddhist beads in his hand and suddenly felt a weight. His previously unstable energy, which had been affected by the successive encounters and breakthroughs, began to flow smoothly and obediently along his meridians.

Li Xingzhi was delighted. Although this thing was nothing to him, it saved him the trouble of searching through the system store and earned him some merit.

"It may be a bit ugly, but I'll just have to make do with it!" Li Xingzhi thought happily, holding the Buddhist prayer beads in his hand.

If the head monk knew that his most treasured possession had been so belittled by Li Xingzhi, I wonder if he would have come back to fight to the death!

"Master, Master, come and see the young master! He just fainted, and then a big monk came and woke him up. Now he's acting like a dazed fool again!"

Upon hearing this, Li Xingzhi paused. What did he mean by "a monk came and he woke up"? Was it all the monk's fault that he woke up? What did he mean by "foolish and dazed"?

Old Master Li Gao, panting heavily and trembling, walked in through the small stone door.

"Grandpa, I'm alright!" Although Li Xingzhi had regained his memory, his call of "Grandpa" came out without the slightest hesitation, entirely due to the old man's meticulous care over the past few days. Besides, he had taken over the body of someone else's grandson, so he should do something, shouldn't he?

He treated this kind and pitiful old man as if he were his own grandfather.

"He's still a fine son of the Li family!" The old man's hand trembled as he touched Li Xingzhi's head.

Suddenly remembering something, he said, "That monk is here again. Is it because of your illness? I should have agreed to let you go with him to cultivate, and we wouldn't have suffered like this. Who knew that next time..." The old man's face showed some vicissitudes and reluctance, "If that monk comes next time, you should go with him!"

Li Xingzhi's eye twitched incessantly!

"Great monk, you've really caused a lot of harm!"

Li Xingzhi gave a wry smile, unsure how to explain. Looking at the Buddhist prayer beads in his hand, his eyes lit up, and he said, "Look, these are the prayer beads that the great monk gave me. He said that with these beads, I will surely be able to turn bad luck into good and bring great benefit to the world!"

Looking at the ordinary-looking Buddhist prayer beads in Li Qing's hand, with nine beads of three distinct colors, Old Master Li felt relieved and a look of joy appeared on his face. He said, "I wonder which temple that high monk is from. We should give him more incense money to pray for blessings."

"He's just a wild monk. Next time he comes, just give him some leftovers!"

"Child, do not be so disrespectful!"

"That's not what I said, but what the monk told me. He said that if we give him good food and money, he might not be happy and it would just delay his cultivation!"

Li Xingzhi's face remained solemn, but the demon in his heart let out a wicked laugh. The monk, who was nowhere to be found, shuddered, his prayer beads twirling in his hand, and his feet moved even faster...