As he spoke, a trace of gratitude appeared in the black mist man's eyes.
He overlooked below.
The black mist man was located in the high sky of the nine heavens. Below was the vast land of Great Xia, with majestic mountains and rivers, prosperous cities, surging lakes and seas. The vast Great Xia was not only flourishing in a golden age but also densely populated.
After more than a day of understanding this era, the black mist man had already come to know that the population of Great Xia in this era reached 1.4 billion.
And wanting to search for his reincarnated wife among this vast population of 1.4 billion was no different from fishing for a needle in the ocean. But he still searched for his reincarnated wife, as well as Lady Miao Gu, one of the ten grandmasters of Bureau 749.
"Thanks to Qin Zun. If it weren't for Qin Zun, I and Xiaogu would never have the fate to reunite."
Feeling gratitude in his heart, the black mist man did not pause. He quickened his pace toward the next mountain range, needing to quickly complete Qin Ye's instructions while also taking out the jade pendant to send a message to Qin Ye.
———
On the other side.
[Great Xia, Kaifeng City.]
At this moment, Qin Ye was sitting in a roadside shop, eating soup dumplings.
After separating from the old Taoist Li Hanguang, he did not idle around. From the capital all the way south, he investigated Earth God Temples, Mountain God Temples, City God Temples, and various divine spirit temples along the way, even examining the process of god-making.
And as he had expected, not a single celestial or god could be contacted.
At this moment, Qin Ye was about to finish his meal and continue searching elsewhere. Just as he was thinking about where to go next, Qin Ye took out the jade pendant.
As he read the message sent by the black mist man, Qin Ye smiled and said, "Xiao Hei sent a message so quickly? Has the Hengduan Mountain Range been handled? That was fast. As expected of Xiao Hei, his efficiency is truly excellent…"
Just as he was speaking, Qin Ye read the latter part of the message and was momentarily stunned.
"Old turtle? A demon cultivator with four thousand years of cultivation? Huh, have I ever guided such a young demon cultivator? Why don't I remember… Oh, I recall now, was it that little green-haired turtle from back then?"
Qin Ye reminisced for a moment and suddenly understood. As the memories resurfaced, a scene played in his mind.
It was during the Northern Song period, not long after Qin Ye had been given the title "King of the Night." He encountered a little green-haired turtle that could speak human language. At that time, it was being pursued by a group of demon cultivators who wanted to refine it into a medicinal pill.
He still remembered the little green-haired turtle had shouted that it was from a demonic noble lineage, and if they killed it, its grandfather would never let them go.
"So it wasn't lying back then? It really was from a demonic noble lineage? I thought it was just bragging." Qin Ye laughed out loud.
He remembered that at the time, he found the little green-haired turtle amusing, saw that it had outstanding talent, and since the demon cultivators were using captured souls to refine pills, he took action to save the little green-haired turtle and casually guided it.
Furthermore, because the little green-haired turtle was amusing in speech, eloquent in conversation, and suited Qin Ye's taste, he specially entrusted someone to recommend the little green-haired turtle to Emperor Taizong of Song.
The Song Dynasty was different from modern times. In the Song Dynasty, the imperial authority that managed the supernatural realm was the Royal City Division established by the emperor, similar to today's Bureau 749.
Qin Ye thought that the little green-haired turtle had good talent and should not be wasted, so he sent it to the Royal City Division to establish some status there.
And if Qin Ye remembered correctly… after the little green-haired turtle was recommended, the person Qin Ye entrusted later told him that when they presented the turtle to Taizong, Taizong thought he had offended Qin Ye and assumed that Qin Ye was sending the green-haired turtle as a warning. After all, during the Northern Song period, green-haired turtles were rare.
However, during Qin Ye's slumber, he vaguely heard rumors that the little green-haired turtle had made a name for itself.
Not only was it well-known, it was even taken under the wing of a certain celestial or immortal, though he wasn't sure whether it became a mount or a guardian beast of a mountain or sea.
Thinking about this, Qin Ye patted his forehead.
"I actually forgot about this. I can go find the little green-haired turtle!"
If the little green-haired turtle really became a mount or guardian spirit, then it would be connected to the celestial realm and be considered a member of the immortals.
Since he couldn't get in touch with the Earth Gods or Mountain Gods, why not ask the little green-haired turtle instead?
With this thought, Qin Ye acted immediately. He took out his phone, planning to search for the little green-haired turtle. If it had indeed become an immortal, there should be historical records of Great Xia's immortals on Baidu.
However, just before he searched, he first read the remaining content of the black mist man's jade pendant message.
The next second, Qin Ye made a surprised sound.
"Xiao Hei found Xiaogu? Damn, that was fast! My efforts to go to the underworld and retrieve the Three Lives Stone for this couple were worth it."
A smile appeared on his face. He was happy that the black mist man had found his reincarnated wife.
Feeling pleased, Qin Ye didn't idle and quickly searched on his phone. Soon, search results appeared on the phone screen.
Qin Ye smiled knowingly after reading them.
"The little green-haired turtle really gave Taizong a fright, huh?"
On the screen, it displayed…
[The earliest record of green-haired turtles can be found in the "Records of Searching for Gods," which states that during the Yin and Zhou period, a great turtle grew hair, signifying the rise of military conflicts. Thus began the inseparable bond between green-haired turtles and the Chinese people.]
[By the Northern Song period, green-haired turtles were still a novelty. In the capital city of Bianjing, a single green-haired turtle could be sold for tens of thousands of coins.]
[Folk records say that at the beginning of the Song Dynasty, a strange scholar presented a green-haired turtle to Emperor Taizong. Upon seeing it, Taizong felt extremely uneasy and said to Prime Minister Lü Duan, "What a strange thing. This turtle has grown hair—could it be a warning from heaven?"]
[Yet, two hundred years later, green-haired turtles had spread across streets and alleys. From nobles to commoners, everyone adored them.]
[Even when Qin Hui celebrated his birthday, an official named Sun Wei wrote a poem to congratulate him, likening Qin Hui's beard to the green-haired turtle's fur: "His face is red like a crowned crane, his beard long like a green-haired turtle." At that time, both green-haired turtles and crowned cranes were highly coveted pets. How could Qin Hui not be pleased?]
Reading this information, Qin Ye first laughed, then shook his head in amusement.
"So Xiao Wang wasn't joking back then. I asked him to send a green-haired turtle, and it actually scared Taizong? But how did this rumor spread into saying that gifting a green-haired turtle was a heavenly warning to Taizong?"
Qin Ye didn't think too much about it. After all, it had been a thousand years. There was no point in investigating further.
Moreover, it wasn't impossible that Bureau 749 had deliberately altered the historical record, given its connection to the supernatural realm.
He continued searching, entering multiple keywords, trying to track down the little green-haired turtle.
Because if the little green-haired turtle had become a deity of Great Xia, there must be a statue of it somewhere. Finding the statue meant finding the little green-haired turtle.
———
On the other side, while Qin Ye was searching for the little green-haired turtle.
[Netherworld, The Bridge of Helplessness.]
If it were in the past, on Helplessness Bridge, the souls destined for reincarnation would surely line up in a long queue, one by one stepping onto Helplessness Bridge, drinking the Meng Po Soup handed out by Meng Po on the bridge, forgetting past and present lives, stepping into the cycle of reincarnation.
However, now... the towering and immortal Helplessness Bridge is broken, the bridge surface blasted apart, completely separating both sides of Helplessness Bridge.
The souls destined for reincarnation are unable to cross Helplessness Bridge, unable to pass through the Yellow Springs River, unable to reach the other shore of reincarnation.
Helplessness Bridge is broken. Yellow Springs River is stained with blood. The other shore flowers on the riverbank wither, some tainted with ghostly fire.
A glance, it seems to have been burned by some great powerful being with a single fire, only a few other shore flowers remain, blooming with the final brilliance of the other shore flowers.
Looking around Helplessness Bridge, the only thing intact is the scattered pieces of Three Lives Stones along both sides of Helplessness Bridge, adorning the other shore flowers.
Three Lives Stones engrave past lives, present lives, and future, containing reincarnation, as solid as a rock, difficult to damage or destroy, and thus survived this disaster.
At this moment, a figure appears, walking step by step on the Yellow Springs Road, heading this way.
He is dressed in tattered yet luxurious clothing, though tattered, though in the eerie Yellow Springs Road, it still cannot conceal his ethereal and celestial aura.
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