Chapter 3

Proofread by Cloud Chip Cake

The flow of time in the Yin Realm and the Yang Realm^[1]Yin & Yang (阴阳 yīnyáng) – the duality present in all aspects of the universe. For instance: Yin is Female / Soft / Death / Dark / the Moon, while Yang is Male / Hard / Life / Light / the … Continue reading differs. In the instant Ye Chen, who rolled down the slope and died on the spot, was surrounded by the staff, he miraculously resurrected, completely unscathed, not even a slight scratch on his head. Forget claiming medical expenses from the crew, he didn’t even have the confidence to claim a band-aid.

Only Ye Chen knew that he had actually died once, and his life had undergone earth-shaking changes in these seemingly uneventful seconds.

The two segments of ancient god bloodlines inherited by Ye Chen through ancestral heritage were Fuxi’s^[2]Fuxi or Fu Hsi (伏羲) is a culture hero in Chinese mythology, credited along with his sister and wife Nüwa with creating humanity and the invention of music,[2] hunting, fishing, domestication,[3] … Continue reading

and Shennong’s^[3]Shennong (神農), variously translated as “Divine Farmer”] or “Divine Husbandman”, born Jiang Shinian (姜石年), was a mythological Chinese ruler known as the first Yan … Continue reading) bloodlines. It was probably due to the union of the descendants of the two ancient gods, and Ye Chen was the nth generation descendant born from this union. Initially, when Ye Chen heard the names Fuxi and Shennong as mentioned by Jing Ling, he was not disappointed but rather pleasantly surprised. However…

Fuxi was adept at fishing and hunting, and able to control hundreds of beasts. Shennong was skilled in planting, having sown the five grains. The combination of these two segments of ancient god bloodlines in one person meant…

Divine power capable of destroying heaven and earth?

No.

It meant that Ye Chen would awaken the four great talents of agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry, and fishing!

Pigs raised by Ye Chen would grow plump and round, with layers of fat and meat; chickens raised by Ye Chen would have tender meat and plump feathers; vegetables grown by Ye Chen would be organic and nutritious; fruits harvested by Ye Chen would be sweet, juicy, and fleshy…

“What’s the use of this?” In the Yin Realm, Ye Chen’s despairing roar echoed through the heavens.

“How could it be useless?” Jing Ling retorted, “These are the two ancient god bloodlines most suitable for repairing the Mountain and Sea Realm.”

“But it’s nothing like what I imagined!” Ye Chen was extremely disappointed, almost on the verge of turning into a vengeful ghost.

Jing Ling’s expression darkened as he threatened, “Your physical body has been fully restored. Hurry back to the mortal world and complete your tasks, or do you want to endure the punishment of being struck by lightning?”

Ye Chen’s soul immediately shrank into a small ball the size of a fist, pitifully saying, “N-No, I don’t want to.”

So he obediently returned to the mortal realm.

After resurrecting, Ye Chen’s account miraculously had an additional balance of over 147 million yuan, and his phone inexplicably had an app called “Mountain and Sea Realm.”

The savings came from the future, and the app was the manifestation of Jing Ling. Due to the complete depletion of Jing Ling’s power, the application he manifested was extremely rudimentary, with only functions for viewing the overview of the Mountain and Sea Realm and receiving tasks available, which often experienced frequent lags. The first task Ye Chen received was to buy a certain courtyard within the Second Ring Road within a specified period. Ye Chen first went to the real estate agency to inquire about the situation and found that the courtyard happened to be for sale, not accepting loans. Including various fees, the total cost would amount to over 150 million yuan. 

The original three million in savings, plus over 147 million in future earnings from his entertainment career, were just enough to cover all expenses. After careful calculation, Ye Chen realized that after buying the house within the specified time frame, he would be left with only a few thousand yuan of his entire fortune. 

Clearly, the situation was completely under Jing Ling’s control… 

Even selecting Ye Chen, who possessed Fuxi and Shennong bloodlines might have been within Jing Ling’s expectations, because only after purchasing the courtyard did Ye Chen fully understand what Jing Ling meant by “these are the two ancient god bloodlines most suitable for repairing the Mountain and Sea Realm.” 

The method to repair the Mountain and Sea Realm was to raise all the mythical beasts that once lived in the realm to maturity and to fill the Mountain and Sea Realm with various plants that existed only in legends, restoring the prosperity and vitality of the Mountain and Sea Realm of the past. Moreover, according to Jing Ling, the crops planted by Ye Chen would be rich in spiritual energy, and the young mythical beasts could accelerate their growth and cultivation speed by consuming spiritual crops planted by Ye Chen. 

Raising mythical beasts and planting spiritual plants, this task was simply tailor-made for a descendant of Fuxi and Shennong. 

The owner of the courtyard resided abroad for a long time, and the house had been uninhabited for a long time. After completing the handover procedures, Jing Ling issued the second task, asking Ye Chen to move to the courtyard. 

Previously, Ye Chen lived in a high-end apartment rented by the company, but under the threat of being struck by lightning, he had no choice but to move to the dilapidated courtyard for renovation.

After moving into the courtyard, Jing Ling taught Ye Chen several oral formulas from the Qimen Dunjia^[4]Qimen Dunjia – ancient Chinese divination tradition.

Although the Mountain and Sea Realm overlaps with the courtyard’s space-time, it does not manifest externally. Only by calculating its position and steps through the oral formulas can one walk into the realm through the invisible space-time passage. Moreover, all living beings, except Jing Ling, must obtain the approval of the Lord of the Mountain and Sea Realm to enter or exit.

In a great battle many years ago that led to the demise of ninety percent of the divine beasts, Jing Ling carved out a small independent space within the Mountain and Sea Realm, at the cost of consuming spiritual veins, to preserve the souls of the fallen divine beasts and the seeds or sprouts of various spiritual plants. In short, it was like the Noah’s Ark of the Classic of Mountains and Seas, and this independent space overlaps with the courtyard’s eastern wing room in space-time.

When Ye Chen first stepped into this independent space, he was deeply shocked by the view: the space was extremely vast but lacked illumination due to its closure, with velvety darkness flowing in all directions like liquid. Suspended in this dim background were thousands of bubbles emitting faint light, each storing the seed or sprout of a spiritual plant or enclosing the soul of a divine beast.

The divine beasts that fell in the great battle lost their power, memories, and even their bodies. They reverted to the state of infants, waiting for rebirth under the protection of Jing Ling.

Ye Chen saw Zhulong^[5]Zhulong – Torch Dragon, a giant red solar dragon and god in Chinese mythology. It supposedly had a human’s face and snake’s body, created day and night by opening and closing its … Continue reading Cub, as thin as a little finger, holding a tiny candle in its mouth, just like a baby with a pacifier; there was also Fenghuang^[6]Fenghuang – Phoenix/Chinese Phoenix Cub, the size of a palm, covered in real fire, unafraid of the cold, with its burning little belly facing upwards; and the chubby Taotie^[7]Taotie – one of the “four evil creatures of the world”. On ancient bronze and jade iconography detailing the face of a bulging-eyed, gapping-mouthed beast. Associated with gluttony. … Continue reading Cub, with a pair of horns larger than its head, grinding its teeth in its dreams, drooling bubbles… Most of these glowing bubbles containing cubs were small, with only a few larger ones, which, according to Jing Ling, were about to wake up.

“So cute… so amazing!” Ye Chen’s eyes were not enough, he constantly looked around and exclaimed, “So many divine beasts, and spiritual plants too! These sprouts will surely grow into beautiful plants!”

Jing Ling introduced gently from his phone, “The Mountain and Sea Realm was born during the time of Pangu^[8]Pangu – Creator of the universe in Chinese mythology, formed from the heart of Pangu. Since its inception, it has inherited the will of Pangu’s heart, bearing the responsibility of guarding the mortal world and protecting the people.”

If the evil god were to return, these divine beasts would become the sharpest swords and the most formidable shields for ordinary people. They had already proved this in the previous great battle—ordinary people were protected so well that hardly anyone knew about it.

Thinking of all the divine beasts he saw before him who had fallen while protecting the world, Ye Chen couldn’t help but feel a bit emotional. 

But Jing Ling burst his bubble and said, “Don’t be moved yet. All the divine beasts here belong to you now. Aside from that, you have to at least handle their hunger, thirst, and other basic needs. You also have to take care of the spiritual plants. I’ll consider you passable only when the vegetation coverage in the Mountain and Sea Realm exceeds 80%.”

“…” Ye Chen choked for a moment, murmuring softly, “I feel like crying even more now.”

To help Ye Chen quickly grasp the relevant knowledge and avoid confusion when doing tasks, starting from the day he transformed into an app, Jing Ling spared no effort to push daily technical essays to Ye Chen, such as “Techniques for Transplanting and Post-Transplantation Management of Rhizomes”, “Hybrid Breeding Techniques of Jujube Trees”, “Prevention and Treatment of Tumors in the Roots of Mulberry Trees” as well as “Care After Fenghuang Egg Laying”, “How to Avoid Infection with African Swine Fever” and “The Dual Divine Nature of Kunpeng is Not a Disease”…

Every day, Ye Chen patiently read through the articles pushed towards him by Jing Ling. The more he read, the more he realized that most spiritual plants were difficult to cultivate, either requiring strict growth conditions or a significant amount of time for care. Ye Chen didn’t dare to take it lightly, fearing that he, a novice in planting, would kill rare seeds. So, during the process of Qiongqi, Xuanwu, Pulu, and Hou Cubs gradually reviving, Ye Chen only bought some ordinary crop seeds and farming tools, setting aside all burdens of being a celebrity, and began to experiment with farming in the Mountain and Sea Realm.

After all, anything grown by his hands, even ordinary cabbages, would become spiritual cabbages, fully capable of providing nutrition and spiritual energy for the divine beast cubs.

Thanks to his divine farming lineage, the crops Ye Chen planted grew many times faster than normal. Crops that normally took a hundred days to mature could mature in just ten days in his fields. After a month of toiling in the vegetable garden, Ye Chen finally managed to establish a crop planting cycle when he was left with only ten yuan at the bottom of his pocket—harvest and circulation, barely enough for self-sufficiency.

…

But if a few more divine beast cubs were revived, the vegetables wouldn’t be enough to feed them, and… Ye Chen, making tomato and egg noodles at the stove, pondered tomorrow’s money-making project, feeling that expanding the scale of planting and breeding was imminent.

The noodles were cooked, and Ye Chen took out four large and one small bowl to serve the noodles. He poured the tomato and egg broth onto the drained noodles with a ladle. The soup clung thickly to the noodles and egg flowers, then seeped into the gaps and sank to the bottom of the bowls. The bowls were filled with bright red, soft tomatoes, and fluffy golden egg flowers, and Ye Chen sprinkled some finely chopped green onions for color and to enhance flavor.

The three babies had already followed the scent, and Qiongqi Cub carried Xuanwu Cub on his back to the dining table. Together with Hou Cub, they lifted Xuanwu Cub onto the chair, creating a warm and friendly scene.

Ye Chen divided the noodles into three large bowls for them, then took a large and a small bowl to the backyard. The large bowl was for feeding Pulu Cub, and the small one was for himself. Pulu Cub struggled to lift his head and slurp the noodles, afraid that his lips would touch the ground and affect his appetite. After a difficult dinner, Ye Chen brought a small basin to help Pulu Cub urinate and then used a towel to wipe his face. Finally, Ye Chen covered Pulu Cub with a small cotton quilt, tucked him in tightly, and even placed a few bricks around his head to prevent him from getting cold from the wind.

The next morning at four o’clock, Ye Chen was awakened by his alarm clock and got up immediately. Today, the filming of 《Aspiration For The Throne》 officially started, and the driver would come to pick him up at eight o’clock. But since he had promised the cubs to let them eat chicken legs yesterday, he had to get up early to earn some money for chicken legs.

Ye Chen put on his worn-out work clothes, grabbed a basket, and went to the field to pick vegetables—tomatoes, green beans, baby bok choy… He picked some of each ripe crop until the basket was full. Then, he stuffed a piece of plastic sheeting into the basket, put on a mask, hat, and sunglasses, and headed to the nearest morning market.

The sunglasses were Prada, finely designed, with unique enamel metal browline frames, paired with a cross-strap vest, green rubber shoes, and a vegetable basket, Ye Chen gave off an obstinate sense of fashion.

Yes, obstinate.

The author has something to say:

Ye Qiongqiong: A fashionable boy never gives up. 🙂

Ye Qiongqiong’s Daily Ledger:

Income is coming soon, just hold on a little longer…

PS: This setup is a bit complex. I’m the first to be anxious if there’s suspense left in the text. I have to explain it clearly in my mind to feel at ease… So, Si Feng will make his appearance in the next chapter. No rush, no rush~

PPS: Don’t be fooled by the setting, actually, the big boss Chi You was eliminated during the setup phase, hahaha. Chen Chen is just responsible for post-war reconstruction, there won’t be any serious plot, after all, I’m not a serious author… It’s just the daily routine of the cubs being cute + falling in love.