This ti, it didn’t take much effort to gather a general understanding.
“Yin-Yang secret arts?” Li Shun asked with interest.
Deputy Magistrate Zheng Zhi, the middle-aged man who had previously received the two of them, nodded. “The circulation of Yin and Yang divides day and night. The rhythm of Yin and Yang can alter the flow of ti itself. Imperial Mausoleum Commandery is essentially an independent world, unaffected by Great Qian’s Yin-Yang cycle. Because of this, manipulating the speed of ti here is far easier by comparison.”
“In fact, within Great Qian, there are quite a few secret realms and grotto-heavens where ti flows differently from the outside world.”
Li Shun gave a slight nod.
From Fang Xun’s mories, such places did indeed exist across Great Qian.
The most famous among them was the Sea of Ti Sands in the northwest of Great Qian. It was a boundless desert shrouded in endless yellow sand, where ti itself was chaotic and distorted. There were those who had accidentally entered it, only to erge a day later with hair already turned white. Others had been swallowed by the desert and disappeared for decades, yet when they reappeared, they remained exactly as they had been, their lifespan seemingly untouched. It was an exceedingly strange and uncanny place.
Li Shun smiled faintly. “Though you reside within the Imperial Mausoleum, Elder Zheng, you seem to know quite a bit about the affairs of the world.”
“I would not dare accept such a title, my lord. Please do not call ‘Elder Zheng.’ Just address by my na from now on,” Zheng Zhi said hurriedly, his expression tinged with unease.
He then added, “The Imperial Mausoleum models the mountains and rivers of the world within a single commandery. Though I have seldom left in my lifeti, I have patrolled many regions within it. Through this, I have managed to glimpse the broader world.”
Li Shun continued speaking with Zheng Zhi for a while longer.
Although Zheng Zhi seed to know a bit about many things, his knowledge remained superficial.
For example, regarding the thod of altering ti’s flow, he only knew it stemd from the mysterious transformations of Yin-Yang secret arts. As for the exact nature of those arts, who perford them, or by what ans, anything involving the fundantal principles was entirely beyond his knowledge.
“After all, he is rely a town deputy magistrate.”
Li Shun did not think much of it.
After seeing Zheng Zhi off, he remained within the yan, continuing his work and reviewing docunts.
By now, it was already deep into the night. His attention was focused on a particular map scroll.
“General Map of Imperial Mausoleum Commandery.”
“Though it is only a map of a single commandery, due to the unique nature of Imperial Mausoleum, it can, in a sense, be regarded as a map of the entire Great Qian.”
Li Shun’s gaze slowly swept across the map.
“Great Qian has thirteen provinces and one hundred and eight commanderies.”
“They are divided according to the Nine Heavens.”
“The North is Xuantian, corresponding to Bingzhou. The West is Haotian, corresponding to Yongzhou. The East is Cangtian, corresponding to Qingzhou. The South is Yantian, corresponding to Jingzhou. The Northeast is Mintian, corresponding to Yingzhou. The Northwest is Youtian, corresponding to Youzhou. The Southwest is Zhutian, corresponding to Liangzhou. The Southeast is Yangtian, corresponding to Yangzhou. These eight directions of heaven correspond to their respective regions.”
“Each province governs thirteen commanderies. Lengshan Commandery belongs to Bingzhou under the Northern Xuantian. anwhile, Imperial Mausoleum Commandery lies within Qingzhou under the Eastern Cangtian.”
“And then there is the central Juntian. It corresponds to the four commanderies of Zhenji, Tianshu, Lingtai, and Jianzhang. Each commandery is equivalent to a province. This is the ancestral land of Great Qian, its core foundation, the very root of the empire.”
“The Nine Heavens together make up twelve provinces.”
“As for the final province… it is the Sacred Capital.”
Li Shun’s gaze fixed firmly on the very center of the map.
“Standing above the Nine Heavens, the center of Great Qian’s power.”
“The place Fang Xun dread of returning to…”
From the fragnts of mory he had seen, Li Shun could already sense the grandeur and solemnity of the Sacred Capital.
“No wonder heroes across the world flock to it,” Li Shun murmured, shaking his head slightly.
He studied the map once more in detail.
Dongshan Town governed thirteen provisional commanderies, corresponding to Qingzhou under the Eastern Cangtian.
“Leize Commandery, Donghui Commandery, Changyuan Commandery, Daizong Commandery…”
Li Shun’s gaze continued drifting eastward, toward the very edge of the map.
That was a stretch of blank territory marked as [Heavenly Dao Severance Sea].
“Heavenly Dao Severance Sea?”
Li Shun’s brows knit slightly.
It wasn’t just the eastern border. In truth, the other three directions were also surrounded by similar blank regions.
To the west lay [Withered Sands of Ti].
To the north, [Frozen Wastes of Oblivion].
To the south, [Interminable Blood Miasma].
rely repeating these nas in his mind sent an uncontrollable chill deep into his bones.
“The four provisional forbidden lands… nine heavens, thirteen provinces, one hundred and eight commandaries.”
Li Shun’s perspective rose once more, encompassing the entire territory of Great Qian.
“Orderly and precise. Not sothing ford naturally, but shaped by human hands. Almost like…”
“A colossal formation.”
For so reason, this thought surged violently within his mind.
At that very instant, he felt as if a pair of utterly indifferent eyes hovered above, gazing down upon all living beings. An imnse, invisible pressure bore down on him, nearly suffocating him.
The sensation ca swiftly and vanished just as quickly.
“This territorial map was clearly redrawn after the founding of Great Qian. I wonder what the world looked like during the era of the Eight Nations’ contention before its rise.”
After pondering for a long while, Li Shun finally put away the map and turned to other records.
Though Dongshan Town was but a small settlent, the archives within the magistrate’s office were surprisingly extensive.
Detailed records were kept of the specialty products from the thirteen subordinate counties.
These were not re summaries. They covered dicinal uses, growth cycles, survival habits, and more in ticulous detail.
“One of the duties of a garrison commander is to supervise and tend to these transplanted spiritual resources. There must neither be too few, nor too many.”
At this point, Li Shun’s gaze flickered faintly.
Within Imperial Mausoleum Commandary, the balance of yin and yang between heaven and earth was fixed within strict paraters.
As such, the quantity of all spiritual resources had to be controlled within a predetermined range.
If there were too few, they would be transplanted again from the outside. If there were too many, the overseer would personally carry out the excess.
“Any spiritual resource worthy of being buried alongside the imperial tomb is imnsely valuable. Normally, once cleared, they should be sent outward. However…”
“If one were to embezzle them, there would be no inspectors to investigate. Ti flows far faster in Imperial Mausoleum Commandary than in the outside world. Entering it is akin to burning away one’s lifespan. With millions of listed resources, a thorough audit would take an enormous amount of ti. As such, few are willing to co here in person.”
“In truth, as long as the number of resources under one’s jurisdiction conforms to the calculations of Heaven, everything can be overlooked.”
“No wonder the previous garrison commander lived for so long. He must have nourished himself with these spiritual resources quite frequently.”
Li Shun felt a stir in his heart as he morized all the information recorded in the archives.
Ti passed quietly, and before he knew it, dawn had arrived.
Despite remaining awake all night, the puppet body showed no trace of fatigue.
“A body born of heaven itself.”
Just as Li Shun was inwardly marveling, he suddenly shot to his feet.
He turned toward the direction of his true body, his expression instantly darkening.
Because just monts ago, the connection to his main body had abruptly been severed.
“This is… dead?”
Li Shun found it hard to believe.
After several attempts to confirm, he finally arrived at the truth.
“It’s really dead!”
“If I hadn’t split off my consciousness to attach to this puppet body, I would have no choice but to passively wait for Threefold Self-Reflection to rewind ti.”
“The key issue is… I died without even knowing how!”
“I was clearly just speaking with Li Qing through the night like brothers, then went to sleep.”
“So how did I end up dead now? Could it be… Li Qing noticed sothing was off?”
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