You have obtained a Thousand Mile Communication Token!
Thousand Mile Communication Token (Special Edition)
Quality: Third Rank High Grade
Effect: Upon Origin Qi activation, it automatically sends a distress signal to a designated location and marks the direction for the receiving target.
You have obtained a Calamity Aversion Almanac!
Calamity Aversion Almanac (Special Edition)
Quality: Third Rank High Grade
Effect: Can provide warnings based on the user's Luck Rank; the higher the Rank, the stronger the effect, with a maximum adaptive Rank of 'Yan San'.
After receiving the treasures, Chen Shijie gave a few instructions, and everyone thanked him and departed.
Zhao Xing held the two treasures, a little surprised.
He hadn't expected that the appearance of the Xuan Tian Sect would allow him to obtain these two treasures early, and they were even special editions.
"The Thousand Mile Communication Token, compared to the Thousand Mile Sound Transmission Talisman, has an additional automatic tracking and positioning function. Sometimes in urgent situations, there's no time to speak, so the token is much better than a one-time Talisman." Zhao Xing looked at it; three colored beads—red, blue, and green—were inlaid on it.
They corresponded to different degrees of emergency. Red represented extreme danger, typically situations like enemy invasion, and upon receiving the signal, at least a small contingent of troops would need to be dispatched to investigate.
Recalling what Wang Long had previously said about the East Lake Army, Zhao Xing felt that this token should be specially made by the military.
Its Rank alone indicated that a Third Rank High Grade treasure was difficult for ordinary people to possess.
Almanacs, on the other hand, were common; ordinary households had them, but most were unranked.
However, any almanac that had attained a Rank generally possessed miraculous effects.
Like this Calamity Aversion Almanac.
"It's not a complete version of the almanac, but it's also a special edition, with the auspicious effect removed and the calamity aversion effect strengthened."
"The higher the Luck Rank, the more obvious the effect."
The complete version of the almanac was too difficult to acquire because its complete version was in the imperial palace, a 'rare treasure' of Super Rank.
All almanacs in the world were derived from that Super Rank 'treasure'.
The ranking of this treasure was not inferior to the later 'Yunmeng Academy', though it was certainly a bit weaker than the Great Dream Academy, which was a national treasure.
Despite this, obtaining the Calamity Aversion Almanac was still very good.
Almanacs with 'auspicious' effects were exceedingly rare, all requiring a Fourth Rank or above, and to truly achieve a powerful effect, a Seventh Rank quality was necessary.
Luck Dynasties would generally set it up this way. Why? To prevent people from using it for evil deeds, and to prevent anyone from gaining without effort.
Moreover, when everyone could 'seek auspiciousness,' it was as if no one could.
"The poor and distressed cannot obtain the 'auspicious version' of the almanac, and those who possess it are either rich or noble, so they generally won't use it for profit."
"Hmm, my Luck Rank is Yan Er, so the effect of the Calamity Aversion Almanac should be good... Hmm?" Zhao Xing had just left the Directorate of Agriculture, intending to go to the eastern suburbs to check on his fields, when suddenly, the almanac moved without wind.
Whoosh~ The almanac flipped, then stopped on one of its pages.
"Jingxin Calendar Year Fifteen, July Twenty-second, mid-morning, three-quarters past Si hour."
"Calamity Aversion Warning: Moderate Calamity; traveling far to the east, hidden danger awaits."
This was what the almanac displayed.
At the same time, the panel also showed a prompt.
"You have used the Third Rank treasure 'Calamity Aversion Almanac'. Based on your Luck Rank and known information, you have received the following prompt:".
"You depart at Si hour, traveling to the eastern suburbs, and encounter hidden Xuan Tian Sect believers at a tea shop, inadvertently attracting their scrutiny. Life and death are uncertain. Please do not go!"
"Damn it, hidden danger awaits. Could it be that those Xuan Tian Sect fanatics have really come near Gucheng?" Zhao Xing looked at the almanac, compared it to the panel's prompt, and was somewhat speechless.
Omens of misfortune were divided into four Ranks: minor, moderate, major, and extreme.
Normally, the latter three were quite rare.
He hadn't expected that as soon as he got it, a moderate-Ranked omen of misfortune would appear.
Because Zhao Xing himself knew about the existence of the Xuan Tian Sect and much information, the panel's presentation was more detailed.
Is his Luck so useful? He just got it and immediately received such a warning?
"Do not travel far at Si hour, hidden danger awaits. I'm out of here." Zhao Xing decisively chose to avoid the east; he wouldn't be going to the eastern suburbs today.
As for reporting it? That was impossible. The information was too scarce; there were so many tea shops in the east, who knew which one had evil people. Even if he knew detailed information, he couldn't do it now. How would he explain himself? The Calamity Aversion Almanac didn't have such detailed information.
The Great Zhou had no Sects; the former Sects had all been expelled from the Thirteen Prefectures. 'Expelling Sects to the outer realms' referred to the achievement of a certain emperor in the past.
Therefore, as long as the unified Luck Dynasty system was established, there was basically no fertile ground for evil gods, licentious sacrifices, or Sect demons to survive, at most just some small, clandestine skirmishes.
"However, under these circumstances, the Xuan Tian Sect, this force, has managed to cause trouble and assert its existence from time to time across several dynasties. Its power is still terrifying, and it is one of the few ancient Sects that had active members even in the Dynasty era."
"Most of the main Sect is sealed, in a state of slumber, but the remaining believers and followers are also a considerable force, at least for me right now," Zhao Xing thought to himself.
"I wonder if others will notice, but if there really are Xuan Tian Sect believers lurking around the public fields at this time..."
Turning around, Zhao Xing returned to the Directorate of Agriculture and found Chen Ziyu and Qian Dong.
"Ziyu, Qian Dong, what's the plan for later?"
"Ziyu and I plan to go to the eastern suburbs, then go home for lunch, and then go back to the eastern suburbs," Qian Dong said lazily. "The food at the Directorate of Agriculture doesn't suit my taste."
"It's already the Great Heat season. To re-cultivate Origin Rice, we must continuously use 'cultivation' Spells to keep them alive. It's truly laborious, sigh..." Chen Ziyu frowned, looking troubled.
"By the way, Big Brother, what did Chen Shijie call you for?" Qian Dong asked.
"He said there were evil people causing trouble, specifically abducting officials from the Directorate of Agriculture and the Directorate of Imperial Manufactories. Chen Shijie instructed us to be careful and also bestowed some defensive items." There was nothing secret about this; it had already spread.
The public order in Nanyang Prefecture was still very good, at least that was the impression, so Chen Ziyu and Qian Dong didn't pay much attention. Instead, upon hearing that Zhao Xing had received two treasures, they clamored to see them.
Zhao Xing was also eager for them to abandon their plan to go to the eastern suburbs. The three simply ate in the city, and when it was afternoon, he took out the almanac, walked east, and found that no warning appeared, which immediately eased his mind considerably.
"No warning appeared, so they must have left? Perhaps they were just scouting? I heard that Li Chengfeng and other Rank A minor officials didn't take it seriously at all. Instead, they deliberately went to the eastern suburbs in groups, wanting to earn merit. I wonder if anyone went missing." Zhao Xing at this time was even hoping that the Xuan Tian Sect would cause some trouble and capture some people on the Rank A list. With fewer strong competitors, wouldn't his chances of becoming a regular official greatly increase?
But this thought was destined to be a luxury. Until early August, no one went missing, Gucheng remained peaceful, and even some of the East Lake Army withdrew.
On the second day of August, Old Director of Agriculture Xue Wenzhong returned to Huai Liu Courtyard after ten days of sick leave, and everything seemed to be largely unchanged.
Everyone at the Directorate of Agriculture quickly forgot about the matter, because the Autumn Equinox assessment was about to begin.