"Who are you?" Ye Yun looked at the white-bearded old man irritably. "Are you crazy? We don't even know each other, and you're here to help me."
"Junior, speak with caution! This is the first patriarch of the Southern Sect of Daoism, Zhang Boduan! Known as True Person Ziyang!" Xue Daoguang was instantly anxious upon hearing this.
"Zhang Boduan? The author of your 'Wuzhen Pian'?" Ye Yun was stunned, looking at the white-bearded old man who was slowly landing in front of him, feeling somewhat bewildered.
"Good heavens, another thousand-year-old demon. And the founder of the Southern Sect of Daoism. Too bad there's no signal here, otherwise I'd definitely ask Baidu about him."
"Senior, you said you were here to help me? What do you need to help me with?" Ye Yun asked curiously, looking at Zhang Boduan, who had a kind expression.
"Heh heh, Daoist friend, what do you want me to help you with?" Zhang Boduan looked at Ye Yun and smiled.
"I want you to help me take these people back to Earth. Is that okay?" Ye Yun looked at the old man, always feeling that he had ill intentions.
"This... Junior, these people were corrupted by demonic energy even in their fetal state. They have long been integrated with the demon realm. If you take them back to a place without demonic energy, they won't survive for long!" Zhang Boduan looked at the crowd behind Ye Yun and sighed.
"Let alone these ordinary people, even Zi Gong (Zhao Youqin's courtesy name) and I would be the same." Zhang Boduan looked at the two still kneeling, and with a single hand, he helped them up.
"If that's the case, then these people can't go back at all?" Not that they couldn't go back, but they shouldn't. Ye Yun hadn't expected this outcome.
"It's fine if they can't go back. Then help me build a city here, a city where humans can settle down. How about it?" Ye Yun hadn't really expected to take these people back anyway, so he continued.
"This is simple. Rise earth!" The old Daoist said, flicking his finger. Instantly, the earth above seemed to be compressed by some force, and soon, a tall building rose from the ground.
"Holy crap, this move would shame anyone involved in national infrastructure projects."
A pavilion covering an area of nearly a thousand square feet was built before Ye Yun's eyes in less than two minutes.
"Amazing. Just build it according to your memory of Chang'an City." As long as it doesn't cost me money, anything else is negotiable.
These people, to be blunt, were no longer pure humans. If Ye Yun were to send them back to Earth, he would confine them to certain areas. Moreover, Ye Yun was constantly thinking about how to maximize their benefits, so there was no way he would use his own money to cover it.
"Um, Daoist friend, a city on the scale of Chang'an requires immense time. I have nine Golden Cores, but only one is earth-elemental. So it will take at least half a year." Zhang Boduan said to Ye Yun with some embarrassment, unaware that Ye Yun was listening with trepidation.
Nine Golden Cores!? And not just earth-elemental, but others too. This was indeed the originator of the Golden Core Dao!
Ye Yun felt incredibly envious and jealous. However, Ye Yun believed that with his current strength, he could definitely slap this old man to death with one hand. Moreover, given his current talent, cultivating nine Golden Cores would only take half a year to a year.
"It's fine, as long as it's enough to live in. Also, that node needs to be specially arranged." Ye Yun said indifferently. At this moment, Black Ant emerged from the node and returned the Sumeru Ring to Ye Yun under Zhang Boduan's shocked gaze.
"Master, the supplies are all here. The 'Heavenly Dao Ring' brought over 17,000 items this time, 15,000 tons of grain. There are also various clothes and fabrics." Black Ant glanced at Zhang Boduan, sensing a power from him that could threaten his life.
"En. Well done! Little Black, I plan to build a city here. You will be in charge of this city from now on." Ye Yun was very confident in Black Ant.
"Master, do you mean I can stay here?" Black Ant's excitement was evident in his words.
"En, but there are conditions. Your current strength is too low. I want you to control this planet within a year and make it my property, Ye Yun's property. Can you do it?" Ye Yun looked intently at Black Ant.
Black Ant's current strength was at the peak of a seventh-rank Demon General, just one step away from becoming an eighth-rank Demon King. Given Black Ant's uniqueness, his progress in the demon realm would be terrifying.
"This... Master, I can do it!" Black Ant hesitated for a moment, seemingly not expecting Ye Yun to give him such a difficult task.
The entire Canglan Star was tens of times larger than Earth, and the number of demons would only be much greater than humans on Earth. Becoming the ruler here would be difficult, let alone within a year.
"Don't worry, these humans will help you in the future. Senior, I think we should teach these people the preface and the first level of the Great Nirvana Scripture. That way, they won't hold back my pet."
...
Xue Daoguang and the others looked at Ye Yun with a hint of resentment. "Look, is this something a person would say?" But they couldn't refute him.
No one opposed Ye Yun's arrangements. Zhang Boduan had already built several large buildings, and houses were rapidly taking shape under his hands, while Zhao Youqin was arranging for everyone to settle down.
"Senior, I heard that there is an old scholar in Tianye City who teaches literacy and numeracy to demons. That old scholar should be you, right?" Ye Yun nodded with satisfaction as he watched everyone performing their duties, then walked up to Zhang Boduan and said calmly.
"En, it is I. That Demon Emperor Tianye was also a big fish I raised. He later followed me to the demon realm and discovered that this little fellow's cultivation speed was astonishing. Coupled with the cruelty of demons towards humans, so..."
"So you helped him become one of the three great Demon Emperors, and then used his position to try and enlighten these demons? Yet after a thousand years, you realized that all your efforts were in vain?" Ye Yun finished his sentence for him.
During the Song Dynasty, Buddhism had taken root all over the country. The rapid development of Buddhism was mainly due to the fusion of its doctrines with the local Taoism, and Taoism was the same.
Just as Buddhism could save all living beings, Taoism's principle of teaching without discrimination was similar, yet with distinct differences.
Teaching without discrimination meant assimilation, while salvation was a disguised imposition in the name of faith.
"Does Senior remember this saying: 'Those who are not of my race will have different hearts'?" Ye Yun said calmly to Zhang Boduan.
"Heh heh, but aren't you also raising a pet?" Zhang Boduan retorted. If it weren't for his fear of Ye Yun's strength, he might have slapped anyone else who lectured him like this to death.
"It's different. You raised a loyal subordinate, while I don't need one, because it exists because of me." Ye Yun said with a smile, not delving deeper.