Scripture of Days Past

Before going to see Hao Yongtai, Chu Qiguang made a trip to the Daoist temple to visit Daoist Master Law Origin.

He offered another bribe of ten taels of silver, and Daoist Master Law Origin gladly invited him in for a meal.

"Isn't drinking wine against the rules of the Daoist temple, Daoist Master Law Origin?" Chu Qiguang asked.

Daoist Master Law Origin raised his cup with a smile as he explained, "This is not just any ordinary wine; it's Dao wine. It's brewed from many types of medicinal ingredients, and it may smell and taste like wine, but it's not true wine."

The Heavenly Master Religion had many rules that its Daoist priests had to follow. Over a hundred years ago, most of the religion's Daoist priests were very disciplined and restrained, and those rules were strictly upheld.

However, in the present day, not only was there severe corruption in the officialdom, the ethical standards among the Daoist priests of the Heavenly Master Religion had also plummeted drastically.

More and more Daoist priests had begun chasing material pleasures, and all kinds of loopholes had been created to get around the rules.

This is an inevitable result of rapid economic growth, Chu Qiguang thought. Not only are the upper elites of society accumulating more and more wealth, but there are also more indulgences and luxuries for them to spend that wealth on, gradually giving rise to a culture of decadence and excess. Stories of different merchants earning generational wealth overnight only further fuel this culture, making money the ultimate pursuit for everyone in society. A person's worth is often measured by their ability to make money.

Along with this comes cultural and ideological emancipation. Many people who would've been regarded as virtuous individuals back when the Great Han Empire was first founded are now seen as dogmatic pedants, and everyone has become extremely materialistic. Of course, this isn't really a bad thing. No one can survive on morals and ethics alone, so there's nothing wrong with pursuing materialistic things. However, once this mindset is taken to the extreme, problems begin to arise, just as they have in the Great Han Empire.

If this type of ideological emancipation is used productively, it can lead to rapid technological and scientific development, but that hasn't been the case here. That said, the current state of the world presents many opportunities for me.

After sharing some drinks with Daoist Master Law Origin, Chu Qiguang casually asked him some questions about the pills of the Heavenly Master Religion.

This wasn't the first time Daoist Master Law Origin had encountered someone looking to buy pills. He had also taken quite a liking to Chu Qiguang, so he was very open and forthcoming on the subject.

"I'm just a low-ranking Daoist priest in the temple, so I'm not able to get my hands on much. I can tell that you're destined for great things, Brother Chu, so I'll give you a good price on what I can..."

According to Daoist Master Law Origin, the only pills he could obtain were Eye Opening Pills, Ear Opening Pills, and Nose Opening Pills. As for pills of a higher level, he either didn't have any in stock and would have to request them from Dragon Serpent Mountain or the White Moon Daoist Temple in the capital, or he was keeping them for himself.

Dragon Serpent Mountain was home to the headquarters of the Heavenly Master Religion, and it had a far better and more extensive range of pills and talismans than the Azure Sun Daoist Temple.

At the moment, Chu Qiguang only needed Ear Opening Pills, and Daoist Master Law Origin was offering them at forty taels of silver per pill.

That didn't sound much more expensive than Hundred Refinement Ointment, but the problem was that each Ear Opening Pill only lasted fifteen minutes. If one were to use ten or so a day, that would amount to several hundred taels of silver.

However, according to Daoist Master Law Origin, pills like Eye Opening Pills, Ear Opening Pills, and Nose Opening Pills worked by temporarily stimulating one's senses, and only two or three should be taken per day. Excessive consumption would cause pill poison to accumulate in the brain, leading to disability or even death.

These three pills were meant to be used by the Daoist priests of the Heavenly Master Religion in battle or when tracking demons and fiends. Very few people had the wealth to be able to use them to supplement their cultivation.

Even clans like the Wu and Hao Clans didn't use Ear Opening Pills for daily cultivation. Unlike Chu Qiguang, most martial artists improved their cultivation slowly and steadily, bit by bit.

However, if Chu Qiguang only had Ear Opening Pills, without the other two types of medicine, then he most likely wouldn't be able to reach the third state in a month as Qiao Zhi had projected.

The problem was that even if he only consumed Ear Opening Pills, that would still cost him over three thousand taels of silver a month.

No wonder the poor can only take the scholarly route. Cultivating martial arts is like a bottomless pit! I've earned over a thousand taels of silver over the past two months, but it's pretty much all gone now. Even the Hao and Wu Clans probably don't spend this much money on cultivation.

For the martial artists of the Wu and Hao Clans, there was really no hurry. In the eyes of the average martial artist, the Dao Comprehension state was far beyond their reach, so the fifth state was already their perceived limit. Even if they spent all their money on pills, they would only reach that goal a few years earlier than they otherwise would.

Furthermore, all the wealthy clans had to allocate funds to things other than cultivation, such as business and making connections.

However, Chu Qiguang knew that the world was about to descend into chaos in just a few decades. The fall of the Great Han Empire was going to be a catastrophic event, so he had to gain more power and climb up the ranks as quickly as possible.

After reaching an agreement with Daoist Master Law Origin to purchase medicine, Chu Qiguang made his way to the Hao Manor.

*** 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

At the Hao Manor, Hao Yongtai had a wide grin on his face as he praised, "Your plan is working perfectly, Brother Chu! He Wenyan has been running around like an ant on a hot frying pan these past few days! In just a few more days, there'll probably be a full-blown conflict between South Gully Town and the other twelve towns. It could easily turn into a mass uprising! If that happens, He Wenyan likely won't even be able to keep his position as county magistrate, let alone implement any reforms!"

"Don't get complacent," Chu Qiguang warned. "I feel like there's more to this than meets the eye."

Hao Yongtai didn't take Chu Qiguang's warning seriously. He brushed it off and eagerly invited him to stay for a meal.

Chu Qiguang was still full from his meal at the Daoist temple, and he couldn't help but recall how, just two months ago, he had been constantly hungry, surviving on just one or two small meals a day.

Well, I guess there's always room for a drink...

After sharing a few drinks with Hao Yongtai, Chu Qiguang decided the timing was right, and asked, "Have you heard of golden wine, Brother Tai?"

***

Under Chu Qiguang's persistent urging, Hao Yongtai drank one cup of wine after another. Before long, he was completely drunk. Chu Qiguang had successfully promoted his Golden Wine, which was another medicine that he had made up, supposedly a superior version of brain platinum. It was agreed that he would bring some the next day for Hao Yongtai to try.

After asking the servants for directions, Chu Qiguang helped the drunken Hao Yongtai back to his room. While doing so, he took the opportunity to collect a blood sample from Hao Yongtai for Qiao Zhi to examine.

As he stepped out of Hao Yongtai's room, Chu Qiguang ran straight into Hao Xiangtong, who was watching him with a displeased frown.