blogombal Chapter 399 Transforming the Loess Plateau
Chapter 399 Transforming the Loess Plateau
Late autumn of 1982.
The air in Kashgar, Xinjiang is dry and cold, carrying the smell of sand and roasted naan.
Lin Yan pushed open the door and walked into the alley of Kashgar's old city. The sunlight was golden, shining on the earthen walls.
He decided to slow down here and blend into the pulse of Kashgar.
Watching white doves in Id Kah Square in the early morning.
During the day, I watched the potters work in the old street and even bought a few pottery bowls.
He used his Leica to capture the steam rising from the old teahouse and the wrinkles on the old man's face.
He captured a photo of the Uyghur girl's Atlas silk skirt fluttering as she turned around in the bazaar.
He ate braised pork in a clay pot and baked buns at the night market.
The autumn scenery in Kashgar is profound.
In December 1982, after the first snowfall, he walked eastward.
Lin Yan traveled along the edge of the Taklamakan Desert.
The poplars shed their leaves in the bitter cold, their branches gnarled and twisted, stubbornly resisting the wind and sand.
Golden fallen leaves carpeted the sandy ground.
In Korla, he tasted the fragrant winter pears, their juice refreshing and sweet.
He then turned towards the Tianshan Mountains and arrived at Sayram Lake.
The lake was frozen over, resembling a huge piece of blue-glowing ice jade.
The snow covered the ground, and the wind howled.
The ice layer emitted muffled "thump-thump" sounds, like the earth humming.
He spent half a month in quiet meditation by the lake.
As the ice and snow melted, he entered the Ili River Valley.
In March, icicles bloom amidst the remaining snow; they are yellow and look very delicate.
In April, the wild apricot blossoms in Xinghua Valley were in full bloom, a sea of pink and white, like clouds and rosy dawn.
He walked under the rain of flowers, capturing the beautiful scenery with his camera.
In May, the grasslands turn green again. The pastures of Narat and Kalajun are a vibrant green.
The cattle and sheep are like pearls scattered on a green carpet.
He rode his horse and walked with the Kazakh herders for a while.
The herdsmen invited Lin Yan to stay in their yurt, drink milk tea, and listen to them play and sing on the dombra.
Spring in Yili is a vibrant, exuberant season.
In the height of summer, Lin Yan ventured deep into the Tianshan Mountains.
In Gongnaisi Forest Farm and Tangbula, the spruce trees are lush and green, mountain streams flow, and the climate is cool.
He often sat by the stream, watching the light and shadows move.
In early July, Lin Yan went to Bayinbuluke.
It was a flat, alpine meadow surrounded by snow-capped mountains.
At sunset, he admired the winding Kaidu River, its waters shimmering with the light of the setting sun.
The world is vast and magnificent.
In August, he photographed wrestlers and young horse racers at the Naadam Festival on the grasslands.
When the autumn winds rose, Lin Yan headed north to Kanas and Hemu.
From late September to early October, this place becomes a paradise of color.
Dark green pine forests, golden birch trees, and fiery red shrubs are reflected in the emerald-green Kanas Lake.
In the early morning, the wooden houses in Hemu Village are shrouded in morning mist, with wisps of smoke rising from their chimneys.
He strolled through the woods every day, watching the leaves fall like rain.
Afterwards, Lin Yan passed through the canyons of Keketuhai, where the autumn colors were vibrant.
Finally, we arrived at Jiangbulak to see the golden wheat waves rolling in the wind.
The grand feast has come to an end.
In the late autumn of 1983, he stood by the Heavenly Lake. The summit of Bogda Peak was covered with fresh snow, and the lake water was a deep blue.
Over the course of nearly a year, he read the long scroll depicting the four seasons of the Western Regions.
The culture of Kashgar, the desolation of the desert, and the purity of the glacial lake.
The vitality of the river valley, the vastness of the grassland, and the splendor of the autumn forest.
The fiery passion of the mortal world, the cold indifference of heaven and earth.
They are all imprinted on the body of the mortal world.
It's time to go.
He turned around and stepped into the teleportation array.
In early spring of 1984, the Loess Plateau was still a desolate wasteland.
Lin Yan stood on the bank of the Yellow River where the rain was sent during the foundation building.
The river water was still muddy and yellow, but shallower than I remembered, exposing large areas of the riverbed, like parched wounds on the earth.
The ravines on both sides of the river remain as they were, and the deep trenches carved out by rainwater have fragmented the plateau.
The wind blew, stirring up the dry yellow earth, turning the world into a hazy yellow. The scene before him was even more shocking than he remembered.
The crops in the distant fields drooped and looked lifeless, a grayish-green.
His divine sense swept across the soil, perceiving its extreme barrenness and thirst. Its water retention capacity was almost nonexistent, organic matter was scarce, and the ecosystem was as fragile as a thin film about to burst.
This stands in stark contrast to the lush, humid south, the treasure-filled underground of Myanmar, and the colorful Xinjiang.
He remembered the old man digging for water in the dried-up riverbed and the longing look in his grandson's eyes.
A spiritual rain during foundation building can only provide temporary relief, not a cure for lifelong suffering.
It's time to fulfill the vision from back then.
Lin Yan did not act immediately.
He traveled by sword and spent a month covering the core areas of the Loess Plateau, including Shanxi, Shaanxi, Gansu, and Ningxia.
He used his divine sense to penetrate deep underground, figuring out the main watercourses, soil structure, and the areas most severely eroded.
A grand "overall plan for the transformation of the Loess Plateau" gradually took shape in his mind.
Back in his space, he summoned ten Nascent Soul cultivators who were most skilled in earth, wood, and water-based techniques and formations.
"Elders, I have come here today with a request."
Lin Yan stood in front of a group of Nascent Soul cultivators and pointed to the holographic image of the Loess Plateau drawn in the air with spiritual power.
"This land is barren, and I want to help it rebuild its foundation and prevent its flesh and blood from draining away to nourish the barren soil."
He elaborated on the complete "Loess Rebirth" plan, the core of which is to utilize spatial resources and cultivation techniques to carry out an "accelerated ecological restoration" that conforms to the laws of nature.
Ten Nascent Soul cultivators received their orders and went out into the high plateau, posing as geological exploration team members, water conservancy engineers, and other roles.
Based on the "master plan" drawn by Lin Yan, they deployed a complex array at key points of soil erosion, wind gaps, and the source of gullies.
The first layer is the "Nine-Bend Yellow River Spirit-Locking Array".
The Nascent Soul cultivators were deployed along key sections of the Yellow River and its major tributaries.
The formation uses its power to channel water, settle sediment carried in the water, and slowly return some of the water to the strata along the shore, enhancing the soil's water retention capacity and simulating the effect of natural wetlands.
The second layer is the "Five Elements Earth-Stabilizing and Wind-Suppressing Formation".
The cultivators set up array channels on a large scale across the vast plateaus, ridges, and hills.
This formation draws on the scientific principles of "grass grids," but its core is based on the spiritual power of the formation.
The celestial array eye draws in high-altitude micro-airflows, reducing near-ground wind speeds, while the terrestrial array eye penetrates deep into the soil. Its spiritual energy fluctuations significantly promote the germination of seeds of native drought-resistant plants such as Caragana korshinskii, Hippophae rhamnoides, and Alternanthera philoxeroides, and stimulate their root systems to penetrate deep downwards and spread laterally at a speed far exceeding normal limits, quickly forming a stable plant network.
The human-positioned array eye (i.e., array pivot) is connected to the entire Yellow River system, providing precise "drip irrigation" when plants need it, ensuring their survival and growth in extreme environments.
Where the formation covered, the ground seemed to be firmly enveloped by an invisible, vibrant net.
Stabilizing the soil preserves the "flesh and blood," while fertile soil regenerates the "marrow."
Lin Yan entered the space and arrived at the endless sea.
With a thought, countless fish in the sea were gathered by an invisible force and piled up into a small mountain on the shore.
Immediately, the "Five Elements Transformation Array" was activated.
The formation enveloped Fish Mountain, and under its operation, the fish meat and bones rapidly decomposed, fermented, and transformed, retaining only the most essential organic matter and spiritual essence, turning into top-grade "spiritual soil fertilizer" with a dark brown color, soft texture, and a faint earthy smell and spiritual fragrance.
One day outside is equivalent to one year inside the formation, and tons of fish and meat are transformed in a short period of time.
The Nascent Soul cultivators used earth-遁 (earth-遁 is a technique used in traditional Chinese geomancy) to bury the "spiritual soil fertilizer" in layers and a net-like pattern under the already stabilized soil layer, according to Lin Yan's "Earth Vein Nourishment Chart".
The array will slowly regulate its decomposition rate, ensuring a sustained and even release of nutrients, and interact with the soil microbial community to fundamentally improve the soil's organic matter content and activity.
Within the space, Lin Yan used the water from the spiritual spring, mixed with some of the essence of "spiritual soil fertilizer," to create "Creation Spiritual Rain," which possesses extremely strong life-activating properties.
Through a pre-laid network of "earth vein channels," much like the capillaries of the human body, the "spiritual rain of creation" slowly seeps into the parched depths of the Loess Plateau.
This not only provides moisture but also nourishes the earth, subtly improving the regional microclimate and increasing the chances of effective rainfall.
The entire project was massive and meticulous, carried out silently.
The Nascent Soul cultivators move mountains and soil, set up formations and ditches, all of which are beyond the sight of mortals.
Occasionally, villagers returning home at night would see a hazy halo flash across the distant mountain ridges, but they could only assume that the wild grass in the fields was growing exceptionally fast and green this year, or that it was just their eyes playing tricks on them or that the weather was favorable.
Lin Yan built a hut in the Qinling Mountains and personally served as the central hub, coordinating and dispatching resources.
His mind gradually connected with this land.
Change is slow but steady.
A year later, Lin Yan's aerial view showed that the green spots on the Loess Plateau had significantly increased and were now contiguous.
Two years later, the gullies eroded by summer torrential rains showed a significant reduction in sediment content, and hydrological monitoring data from some sections of the Yellow River showed subtle, positive changes.
The hillsides that were once barren of trees are now covered with patches of sea buckthorn and caragana.
Three years later, many farmers in the villages found that the barren land they had cultivated for decades seemed to have become "oily," and the seedlings were much stronger than in previous years with the same seeds.
The mountain spring, which had been dry for many years, began to seep out again.
By the fifth year, the changes were already visible to the naked eye.
On the vast plateau, although ravines still crisscross the landscape, they are no longer raw scars, but rather the natural texture covered and soothed by lush green vegetation.
Sea buckthorn, caragana, and other shrubs have formed a forest, firmly locking in water and soil.
The crops in the terraced fields are growing vigorously, and the soil has a healthy dark color under the sunlight.
The once formidable "yellow dragon" (dust storm) has been greatly reduced in power.
The Yellow River, though still yellow, seems to flow more steadily and powerfully. Biodiversity is beginning to recover, with a noticeable increase in wild rabbits and birds.
On this day, Lin Yan sat quietly in his hut, his mind completely merging with the earth.
He could "hear" the subtle sounds of grass and tree roots extending joyfully in the fertile soil, "see" the groundwater flowing quietly along the improved network, and "feel" the deep and steady pulse of the entire plateau ecosystem being restored.
Suddenly, without warning, the heavens above erupted in a storm of wind and clouds. A majestic and solemn will of heaven and earth descended.
The thick, pure, and dark yellow golden light of merit, like a celestial river pouring down from the depths of the sky, poured directly into Lin Yan's head!
Its scale and solidity far surpassed anything he had ever obtained before. This golden light was not merely a reward for his benevolent act of "manipulating clouds and rain," but rather the highest recognition from Heaven for his grand achievement of "reshaping the land, nourishing countless lives, and restoring the cycle of heaven and earth"!
As the merit entered his body, Lin Yan trembled violently.
Bathed in the primordial light, the nascent soul emitted a soothing hum, becoming more solid and complete, and its connection with the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth became far more intimate.
His mortal body also shone brightly, completely absorbing and integrating this magnificent Taoist charm of "great virtue carries all things".
He even vaguely felt a mysterious, guardian-like connection between himself and the Loess Plateau beneath his feet, which he had personally nurtured.
The golden light lasted for a full quarter of an hour before slowly dissipating.
Lin Yan opened his eyes, his gaze shining brightly. Although his cultivation had not broken through directly, the depth of his foundation, the abundance of his merits, and the profound resonance with heaven and earth were already incomparable to what they had been before.
He got up and walked out of the thatched hut.
Before us lies the revitalized Loess Plateau. A summer breeze stirs the green waves, creating a vibrant tapestry of life.
He knew that the "cause" he had sown would continue to bear the "fruit" of blessings for all people for many years to come.
He earned this "great merit" with a clear conscience.
It was time to leave. He took one last look at the land, then his figure transformed into a streak of light and disappeared into the horizon.
Behind them lies the loess land that has truly been "reborn".