Xing Honglang's offhand remark gave Li Daoxuan a sudden spark of inspiration.
If the entire realm were someday covered in proper cement roads? Yes—glorious, inevitable… and utterly impossible if every handful of cement had to come from him. Two roads were already finished, and the villagers—after days of sweating, cursing, and occasionally contemplating mutiny—had finally mastered the basics of cement work. Perhaps… yes, just perhaps, it was time to teach them the earliest cement formula.
He opened his laptop, sneaked into his favorite history-and-warfare forum, and anonymously posted:
Brothers, anyone got the oldest cement recipe? Writing a time-travel novel, need it to teach ancient folks how to make cement.
Reply 1: Stop writing tech stuff. Write about flirting with ancient girls. That's what sells.
Reply 2: Reply 1 is full of nonsense. No romance! No female leads! Tech supremacy forever!
Reply 3: Ignore those two degenerates. Write whatever you like. Here's the ancient cement recipe: XXXXX
Li Daoxuan copied the whole chunk, converted it to Traditional Chinese, printed it, and—because he loved dramatic timing—dropped the massive paper right in front of Gao Yiye.
Gao Yiye was chatting cheerfully with Xing Honglang when the heavens abruptly delivered a sheet of doom. Even reduced to compact size, it was still larger than she was. Yiye recognized a few characters… then her head began to spin.
Xing Honglang recognized a few more characters… and her head spun faster.
Both women stared at the dense black text as if it were a demon scripture.
"Dao Xuan Tianzun… this is…?" Yiye asked weakly.
Li Daoxuan's voice descended from above:
"Pass this to the mud-workers. Have them follow the instructions and attempt to produce cement. If successful, reward them heavily."
This part they understood instantly.
"Ah! This is the method for making the gray divine mud used for paving!" they exclaimed together.
Xing Honglang moved like lightning, trying to roll the enormous page with her one usable hand. She failed miserably and barked:
"Saintess, get over here! Help me roll this up!"
"Huh? Why?" Yiye blinked.
Xing Honglang glared at her.
"This is a divine formula! If we took it to market, we could start bidding at ten thousand taels of gold, and that's just the appetizer! How can we let anyone casually peek at it?"
Yiye froze.
"Ten… thousand…?"
"You villagers really don't know how rich nobles are," Xing Honglang snorted. "Those aristocrats and princes—anything labeled a 'divine recipe'? They'd fight their own mothers for it."
Now Yiye truly understood the risk. Together they rolled up the enormous "scroll of destiny."
From the sky, Li Daoxuan watched them shuffle along—two girls carrying a giant roll like a pair of ants lugging a tree trunk. Very comedic. Very cinematic.
Truth be told, he didn't mind if the cement recipe spread. In fact, he'd prefer it. But this was late Ming—an era where famine, bandits, and exploitative officials were the daily trifecta. Last time Liang Shixian wanted to build a cement road, Shansier had to talk him down: common folk simply couldn't survive that kind of workload.
Better to keep the formula local… at least until the world was less apocalyptic.
Xing Honglang and Gao Yiye finally delivered the scroll to the craftsmen, tossed it down, clapped their hands like heroes done with a quest, and walked off proudly.
Meanwhile, the freshly completed cement road was officially "opened." A solar bus was already packed full of villagers from Wangjia Village, hollering with excitement as they rolled toward their fields.
Their fields had long been prepared for spring sowing, but who cares? Today was about experience. About ceremony. About shouting "Woohoo!" on a moving vehicle.
For Wangjia villagers, it felt like achieving the peak of life.
Cengcheng County – Chenghuang Temple, Side Hall
The Third Madam sat serenely, hands folded, breathing slow and refined—like an immortal about to transcend. Before her knelt a crowd of ragged townsfolk, all of whom had been saved by the "divine medicine" bestowed by Dao Xuan Tianzun.
Every cure created another devout believer.
And recently, believers in Cengcheng were multiplying like rabbits with strong work ethic.
At the door of the hall stood a middle-aged Daoist with a strange, stiff expression, watching silently.
He waited until every devotee had finished chanting and left. Only when the hall was nearly empty did he step inside, bowing deeply:
"Poor Dao is Ma Tianzheng, disciple of Wang Zhenren of the Quanzhen Longmen School."
His introduction startled the Third Madam.
Quanzhen Longmen was one of the great Daoist lineages. Wang Zhenren—full name Wang Changyue—was a near-legend, famed throughout the land, over a hundred years old, practically a living fossil of Daoism.
She bowed hurriedly.
"I did not expect a senior of such lineage. What instruction does Daoist Ma bring?"
Ma Tianzheng's expression remained… complicated.
"I have traveled widely, teaching and spreading Daoist scripture. But passing through Cengcheng, I heard rumors of a 'Dao Xuan Tianzun'—said to be a Daoist true deity. Naturally, I was confused…"
"Oh?" Third Madam smiled.
"I had never once encountered such a deity's name. I thought perhaps my knowledge was lacking, so I searched through many ancient texts. Yet I still found no mention of this Dao Xuan Tianzun. Could Senior Sister enlighten me?"
Ah. So that was the issue.
The Third Madam smiled warmly.
"To be frank, before witnessing His manifestation myself, I too had never heard His name. But after seeing Him with my own eyes… the question is no longer whether Dao Xuan Tianzun exists. The only question is whether the books have recorded Him properly."
Ma Tianzheng's eyes narrowed.
Manifestation…? A god revealing Himself?
He had spent his entire life searching for such a thing. Believing, hoping, doubting, slapping himself awake during lonely nights to keep the faith alive.
Could this be real…?
The Third Madam said gently:
"Leave the city. Walk northeast for about thirty li. There is a small place called Gaojia Village. Go there and see with your own eyes."
Footnotes
Quanzhen Longmen School
A major lineage within Daoism. In late Ming, the Longmen branch saw significant revival and influence.
Wang Changyue (Wang Zhenren)
A real historical Daoist. Lived from around 1522 to 1680, renowned for extraordinary longevity and ascetic cultivation. His lifespan alone made him a magnet for believers.
Cement in Ancient Times
The earliest forms of "proto-cement" in China involved lime, clay, and sometimes sticky rice. Li Daoxuan's forum-sourced formula represents the Roman–Byzantine-style mix, unknown in Ming China.
Cultural Context – "Divine Recipes"
In late Ming, anything considered a "secret technique" could command absurd prices among nobles—alchemy, metallurgy, even farming tricks. Xing Honglang's reaction is extremely historically accurate.
Solar Bus & Cement Roads (Cultural Humor)
The villagers' excitement mirrors late-imperial peasants experiencing technology far beyond their era. Their joy reflects real cultural fascination with novelty—like the first railway passengers centuries later.