The devout men and women were overjoyed. When they had received the Third Lady's notice about witnessing a divine manifestation, they hadn't been entirely certain they would actually see anything. After all, they had lived this long without ever truly seeing a god reveal themselves.
Yet today, they had not only witnessed Tianzun's manifestation but had also received a reward—a truly unexpected delight.
"This… this whole little hill of flour, we can really take it?"
"Take it!" Gao Yiye smiled. "Tianzun has decreed, take as much as you can carry. Do not be greedy, for avarice is a great sin."
The faithful hurriedly gave thanks, performed a deep bow of reverence, then climbed up beside the giant, golden finger.
Standing upon the colossal golden palm made them tremble with awe and fear. Several of them took a single step, then performed another grand bow, their progress barely faster than a snail's.
Li Daoxuan had one hand inside the box, palm upturned and held perfectly still—a rather uncomfortable position. Watching the miniatures move in slow motion, he couldn't help but mutter, "Hey! It's getting dark! Stop dawdling! Pick up the pace."
The miniatures heard him: Oh no, we're inconveniencing the Venerable Tianzun!
They immediately quickened their movements, scrambling over to the mound of flour balls. They hadn't brought any containers, unsure how to carry the flour. Fortunately, with winter approaching, everyone wore several layers of thick clothing. Shedding an outer garment, they scooped up the flour, bundling it into the cloth and tying the sleeves into knots, creating large bundles of "flour-wrapped-in-clothing."
Hoisting their heavy bundles, they jumped down from the "divine hand." No sooner had they found their footing than the giant hand rose back into the sky, retracting into the clouds and vanishing from sight.
The faithful felt as if they had just awoken from a grand dream. Everything they had just witnessed seemed unreal. But they hefted their cloth bundles, filled to the brim with flour balls—that was undeniably real.
"Very well, return now," the Third Lady said with a sanctified expression. "Today, Tianzun granted you special grace, manifesting before you and bestowing grain. How you should conduct yourselves henceforth needs no further explanation, does it?"
The faithful understood perfectly. From now on, they would follow Tianzun with unwavering loyalty. If Tianzun commanded east, they would never go west. If Tianzun then commanded west, they would turn on the spot.
After all, this was a true deity!
---
Meanwhile, at the Waxi Archway in Fengxin County, Jiangxi.
Song Yingxing, forty-one years old this year, sat on a large rock outside his home. He watched a group of craftsmen constructing a building in the distance while scribbling furiously on a sheet of paper.
He was compiling a book titled The Exploitation of the Works of Nature, documenting all the agricultural and handicraft production techniques he knew.
(Ming Context: Song Yingxing's The Exploitation of the Works of Nature (Tiangong Kaiwu) was a monumental 17th-century encyclopedia covering technology, agriculture, and manufacturing. Its pragmatic focus on applied knowledge, rather than just philosophy, was revolutionary for its time.)
The section he was currently writing concerned "triple-mix mortar": one part river sand, two parts loess, mixed evenly with glutinous rice and kiwi vine juice. Once compacted, it becomes solid and never crumbles. This is called triple-mix mortar...
Just as he wrote this, he sensed someone standing before him.
Looking up, he saw a travel-worn middle-aged Taoist priest.
The priest was Ma Tianzheng. He grinned. "Boundless longevity and blessings. Would you be Master Song Yingxing?"
"I am indeed Song Yingxing," Song replied. "What guidance does the Reverend have for me?"
Without a word, Ma Tianzheng produced a spring.
Song Yingxing's attention snapped to the spring. What strange object was this? Iron wire? But why coil the wire into such a spiral shape?
As he pondered, he saw Ma Tianzheng clap his palms together, flattening the metal coil.
Song Yingxing: "?"
A question mark had just sprung to his mind when Ma Tianzheng released his hands. The iron coil sproinged back to its original shape.
Song Yingxing: "Huh? Oh! Fascinating! Utterly fascinating! What is this? Why does it possess such elasticity?"
Ma Tianzheng offered no explanation—in truth, he lacked the knowledge to explain it. He simply produced a small bag of cement and a piece of paper detailing its method of use.
He placed the spring, the cement, and the paper into Song Yingxing's hands, then turned and walked away, tossing a final sentence over his shoulder: "This humble Daoist is lodging at the dilapidated temple one li (about half a kilometer) to the west. If Master Song wishes to speak, come to the temple."
Song Yingxing was utterly bewildered. The Taoist was a strange one. However, his curiosity for the strange was far outweighed by his fascination with the objects now in his hands. Setting aside thoughts of the odd priest, he looked down. He was instantly enamored with the spring, envisioning dozens of potential uses for it in the blink of an eye, delight making him scratch his ears and cheeks.
He then turned to the strange gray powder. A glance at the instructions on the paper prompted an "Oh?" He looked from the cement instructions to his freshly written "Method for Making Triple-Mix Mortar," sensing a subtle similarity between them.
He hurriedly called to his servant: "Quickly, go fetch me some river sand! Fast, fast, fast!"
---
Back in Chengcheng County Town, rumors about the Daoist Mystic Tianzun multiplied by the day.
In every street, alley, teahouse, and tavern, people were constantly discussing the deeds of the Daoist Mystic Tianzun.
"Hey, have you heard? That Li Goudan next door to me saw the Daoist Mystic Tianzun manifest with his own eyes."
"That Wang Laoqi next to me says he saw Tianzun too."
"Nonsense! I've heard countless tales of gods and immortals since I was a child, never once actually seeing one reveal themselves."
"I think they're just spinning tall tales. Not credible at all."
"Erwa even says he saw Tianzun's giant hand! Bigger than the one drawn in The Tale of the Daoist Mystic Tianzun Vanquishing Demons."
"Bragging, all of it. Those devout types have been fooled silly by the Taoist priests. They spin tales about gods who've never appeared, each story more 'real' than the last. Pah! If gods really existed, why would there be so much suffering?"
"Oh, the priests have an answer for that. Your suffering is due to sins in a past life, hahaha! It's not that there are no gods, hahaha!"
"You're wrong to speak like that! I truly saw Tianzun. The Venerable One even gave me a huge bundle of flour."
"Yes, yes, we believe you, hahaha!"
"You don't believe? Hmph! Suit yourself. Those who don't believe get no flour."
Their discussion fell upon the "patrolling" Li Daoxuan in the sky, prompting a soft chuckle.
Excellent. Although some voices of disbelief remained, the believers were growing in number. This was what was called a "mass base."
Once that mass base was solid and firm, his next move would undoubtedly be spectacular.
Just as this thought crossed his mind, he suddenly noticed a fast horse galloping into the county town. The rider wore the attire of Magistrate Liang Shixian's household guard. The horse charged through the streets, its rider shouting loudly: "Urgent military report! All idlers clear the road! Urgent military report!"