Even as the farmlands of Jishan County rapidly adopted celestial fertilizer, seizing the heavens' generosity to drive astonishing increases in yield, the cotton fields of Puzhou were also quietly undergoing transformation.
They, too, had entered an era of scientific cultivation.
This year, the cotton fields had become Gao Family Village's foremost strategic priority.
Grain fields, they already had in abundance. But cotton—this was their first true large-scale attempt at cultivating an economic crop.
For years, Gao Family Village's textile industry had relied almost entirely on cotton supplied directly by Dao Xuan Tianzun. It worked—but everyone knew how precarious it was.
Within Gao Family Village, a number of clear-headed individuals—San Shier, Tan Liwen, Liang Shixian, Feng Jun, and a large cohort of middle-school graduates—had long recognized the danger.
What if one day, Dao Xuan Tianzun grew displeased?
What if the celestial cotton stopped descending into the mortal realm?
If that happened, the textile industry would collapse overnight, and the shockwaves would ripple outward, dragging down every other sector with it.
Thus, Gao Family Village mobilized its sharpest minds, dispatching wave after wave of technical experts to Puzhou, determined to raise cotton yields to the highest possible level.
Their objective was clear:
By next year, every textile workshop would rely entirely on Puzhou's cotton, no longer troubling Dao Xuan Tianzun with mundane mortal needs.
In April, at the threshold of early summer, Saintess Gao Yiye personally arrived in Puzhou.
Her usual "personal guards," Flat Rabbit and Zheng Gouzi, had both been sent to Xi'an, so she was assigned a new escort detail.
They were impeccably obedient—almost too obedient.
Without Rabbit Lord, a great deal of fun was missing.
Still, Gao Yiye found joy simply standing among the cotton fields.
At present, not a single fluffy white cotton boll was in sight. Only waist-high green stalks stretched stubbornly upward, brimming with life.
Cotton farmers filled the fields, bent low between the rows, methodically clearing weeds.
And among them—
There was a tiny Puppet Dao Xuan Tianzun, barely thirty centimeters tall, scampering through the furrows.
Now and then, he would seize a weed with both hands, grunt with effort, and yank it free.
Gao Yiye burst into laughter and chased after him.
"Dao Xuan Tianzun! Dao Xuan Tianzun, wait for me!"
The Puppet Dao Xuan Tianzun suddenly darted beneath a cotton plant and vanished.
As expected, Gao Yiye rushed past him.
"Dao Xuan Tianzun? Where did you go?"
In the next instant, the little figure popped out from behind her, laughing openly.
The cotton farmers nearby couldn't help but smile.
"Please be careful, Saintess! Don't fall!"
Gao Yiye waved a hand. "It's fine! I won't fall and crush the cotton."
The farmers hurriedly replied, "We're not worried about the cotton—we're worried about you!"
She laughed again. "That won't do either. I'm waiting for the cotton to ripen so I can steal some myself!"
Cold sweat instantly broke out on several farmers' backs.
The Saintess… wants to steal cotton?
If she really steals it, are we supposed to arrest her or not?
Before they could reach a conclusion, the Puppet Dao Xuan Tianzun poked his head out from beneath a cotton seedling.
"If she steals cotton," he said cheerfully, "you should catch her and hand her over to the authorities!"
The farmers broke into even colder sweat.
A divine decree… but is this serious or a joke?
Who would dare test it?
And then—
Without warning, a roar split the sky.
Torrential rain came crashing down.
Cries of alarm rose from all directions.
It was early summer, and Gao Yiye wasn't wearing heavy clothing. If she were drenched through, the soaked fabric clinging to her body would be… improper, to say the least.
Startled, she hurried toward the edge of the field.
Her guards surged forward, snapping open oiled-paper umbrellas. In just a few steps, her clothes were spared, though several strands of hair grew damp, clinging lightly to her cheek and lending her an unexpectedly delicate charm.
Several guards ran toward the Puppet Dao Xuan Tianzun with another umbrella.
He shook his head. "No need. I'm not afraid of getting wet."
They withdrew at once.
Unhurried, the Puppet Dao Xuan Tianzun walked through the rain and approached Gao Yiye.
She knelt, cupped him gently in her hands, and set him on her shoulder.
Thus, beneath the umbrella, the Saintess and Dao Xuan Tianzun watched together as the rain pounded the earth, drumming steadily across the fields.
"So much rain, right at the start of summer," Gao Yiye murmured. "This year's weather is truly… strange."
The fourth lunar month, corresponding to May or June—early summer.
Heavy rain wasn't unheard of.
But after years of relentless drought, such abundance felt unsettling.
The cotton farmers, however, did not retreat.
Instead, they plunged into the fields.
Li Daoxuan, who lacked deep farming knowledge, watched with curiosity.
What are they doing?
Moments later, he understood.
They were checking the drainage ditches.
For thousands of years, farmers under his dynasty had battled heaven and earth. Their experience was hard-earned. They knew that no matter how fierce the rain, proper drainage meant survival.
If water could flow, the crops would live.
But this time—
Trouble surfaced.
Years of drought had made people complacent. The drainage ditches, dug long ago, were neglected. Many sections were collapsed or clogged. Some were packed solid with dirt and stones, trampled hard as roads.
The farmers' faces turned pale.
"Clear the ditches! Quickly!"
"With rain like this, the fields will flood within an hour!"
"Dig! Call everyone—dig together!"
They dug desperately.
Rain poured down in sheets. Water pooled rapidly between the rows. Yet as the ditches cleared, the water began to flow outward, rushing into larger channels.
Then—
Disaster.
The main drainage canals were clogged as well.
No one had touched them for years.
Water surged into the canals, rising fast, spreading outward.
The farmers' hearts sank.
If the main canals overflowed, there would be no time—no manpower—to fix them.
Just as panic reached its peak, Gao Yiye smiled beneath the umbrella.
"Don't be afraid, everyone," she said softly. "Dao Xuan Tianzun is about to act."
The farmers erupted with joy.
"Dao Xuan Tianzun is willing to help us?"
At that moment, Li Daoxuan was searching intently.
A shovel wouldn't do—it was too wide. One careless scoop would gouge a river and destroy both sides of the canal.
He needed something narrow.
His gaze swept across his desk and stopped.
A Monkey King figurine.
The Great Sage held a Ruyi Jingu Bang—
Its width was perfect.