Master of Strange Dao

Bringing the wheels, Yu Ziqing had considered for a long time.

The Earth Deities of Dadui, Yu Ziqing would not miss the opportunity to convert them into productivity, a better wheel, could Yu Ziqing just let it sit idle?

Or, to put it another way, since the wheels had a path of advancement, Yu Ziqing naturally would help them, as for the by-product of increasing productivity, of course, it was good not to let it benefit outsiders.

Before Dadui existed, when Yu Ziqing wanted to experiment with a filth bucket, to gather all the filth in the world and help Wu Shuangge's Companion Magical Treasure advance, the most suitable would be Dali, which naturally benefited them.

Now, this should of course first benefit Dadui.

Yu Ziqing briefly explained to Zhang, who understood what Yu Ziqing intended to do, and went with a strange expression to make arrangements.

He had always known that his Majesty's ideas were somewhat unconventional and did not follow the usual path.

Also, he had gotten some insider information from an indescribable Yang.

Regarding His Majesty's reputation outside, you could say it was good, most people indeed thought it was pretty good; saying it was bad, among some significant figures, it really was quite poor.

Now even a figure who might have been a Deity in the past has been brought in, to contribute to enhancing Dadui's national prosperity.

What more could Zhang say? Even if their Majesty didn't review memorials, often disappearing for decades, he still found it acceptable.

As the head of the Cabinet, Zhang advocated pragmatism, decisive in doing things, and since Yu Ziqing wasn't around, his working style naturally influenced the overall direction.

Soon enough, he found over a hundred people, all meeting the requirements, stable and reliable.

Since nowadays, many places had cooperating Earth and River Gods, with favorable weather, confining people to one place, making waterwheels and controlling them wasn't really a lucrative profession anymore.

Dadui generally wasn't severely short of water, just that hydraulic resources were unevenly distributed, previously due to numerous River Gods and an excess of water in some places, especially during the rainy season, which made floods easily occur.

In some places, River Gods had a higher status than Earth and Mountain Gods for objective reasons.

Places with less water needed waterwheels to channel water, as planting required large amounts of water, and relying on manpower was simply insufficient.

Small families could barely feed themselves, but if the land was a bit larger, relying on manpower for watering wasn't a feasible solution. Official source ıs noᴠelfire.net

Dadui wasn't extravagant enough to have random farmers being robust Body Cultivators, capable of drawing water and irrigating dozens of acres with ease.

No matter how development progressed, the number of cultivators compared to the overall population was still a minority, because resources were limited.

If it ever reached the point where everyone was a cultivator, then surely the Seventh Tier wouldn't be much different than a dog, and the Ninth Tier would be everywhere, and Dadui could dominate the world.

Water conservancy projects were necessary for development, relying solely on the River Gods was far from enough.

In Yu Ziqing's eyes, River Gods were real-time monitors for flood disasters, adjustable water storage dams, and tools capable of overall adjustment and observation from a high perspective.

That was, of course, if the River Gods behaved and didn't cause trouble.

Unruly and troublesome River Gods faced only one end – extermination.

Some made sacrifices of cattle and sheep to River Gods after harvest, which was fine.

But if anyone sacrificed young boys and girls, regardless of the circumstances, the River God would be taken down first.

Having experienced the Earth Deities' unrest, Yu Ziqing was willing to be lenient to some Earth Deities, but it didn't mean that the overall atmosphere would just be forgotten.

After experiencing the chaotic killings of Earth Deities initiated by Jia Shisi, it was impossible to completely change his views.

It was the same with others, everyone maintained the necessary vigilance.

Yu Ziqing thought it was quite good, staying vigilant prevented repeating past mistakes.

The ritual was handed over by Yu Ziqing to Zhang, instructing him to teach it to the group.

The materials needed were those that Dadui couldn't gather, mostly brought by Yu Ziqing.

This was a ritual improved by Mo Huitou, using current materials to replace some of the already extinct ones.

Perhaps because of the improvements, the advancement achieved from sacrificing to the wheels was different from those of the Saints.

A bit inferior to the Saints, yet the cost was negligibly low, which Yu Ziqing found very practical.

Three months later, the first batch of ten people who had fully mastered the ritual and were proficient enough not to encounter problems were brought over by Zhang.

Yu Ziqing personally verified once, confirming there were no issues, and then found a riverside to begin the first experiment.

The honest and straightforward man performed the ritual meticulously, but this time, the wheel itself didn't appear; there was only a memorial tablet erected.

The tablet held the power and imprint of the wheel, capable of directly connecting with it.

Low chants of spells were sung, peculiar forces gathered, numerous runes appeared, just like during Wang Qi's advancement.

The advancement process itself went without any incident.

Next, it depended on the result of the empowerment.

The man who received the advancement, following instructions, approached the waterwheel beside it, reaching out to touch it.

The next moment, a large rune mark appeared at the center of the waterwheel, threads of black energy seeped into it, altering the structure and material of the waterwheel.

The previously somewhat decayed waterwheel seemed to be renewed, the surface was smooth, covered with a layer of patina, and even the creaking sound during its rotation was lightened.

A large volume of low-lying river water, driven by the waterwheel, transformed into a stream of water, lifted from the river and poured into the canal behind the wheel, providing the required moisture for the vast farmland beyond.