In the royal palace of the State of Ji, Cangwu sat in the central seat. Below him, the King of Ji was seated to his left, and Sun Chao'en to his right.
The King of Ji spoke first. "Now that the peace treaty is concluded and not a single fraction of our territory was lost by my hands, I finally have the face to see our ancestral sovereigns."
Cangwu snorted. "Your ancestors have all been sent off to Qingming—you couldn't see them even if you wanted to. You might feel relieved, but you have put me in an awkward position."
The King of Ji replied placidly, "Our ancestors are well-traveled and experienced. After living in Qingming for a time, they will surely uncover the flaws of that rogue Wei Yuan and bring back a method to defeat our foe."
Cangwu gave a dry laugh. "Do you truly think so?"
The King of Ji nodded with utter sincerity, betraying not the slightest flaw. Beside him, however, cold sweat streamed down Sun Chao'en's face. Were secrets like this something he should ever be hearing?
Cangwu turned toward Sun Chao'en and asked, "You have heard things you shouldn't have as well. What do you think you should do next?"
Sun Chao'en panicked. With a thud, he dropped to his knees, kowtowing repeatedly. "This subject is still useful! I have my uses!"
Cangwu asked slowly, "What use do you have?"
"Attacking political rivals, engaging in partisan strife and factional intrigue, purging dissidents, catering to my lord's whims, indulging in pleasure and revelry—this subject is adept at them all!"
A smile touched the King of Ji's lips, while Cangwu stared in astonishment, never expecting such an answer. Yet upon mulling it over, Cangwu actually felt that if he were on the throne, he would indeed need at least one talent of this sort.
Sun Chao'en remained prostrate on the floor, unable to see the expressions of either the King of Ji or Cangwu, shivering continuously as cold sweat drenched him.
Cangwu said indifferently, "With you in court, everything will surely be thrown into foul chaos. As far as the realm is concerned, what use is there in keeping you?"
Sun Chao'en scrambled to say, "Leading troops into battle and governing local territories are also skills this subject possesses, as both the Great King and the Immortal Monarch well know. But those are minor talents, far less important than keeping the two of you pleased. If it is truly required of me, I can handle those duties as well—setting an example for those ignorant fools who boast of having clean hands but achieve nothing, showing them what true local governance looks like. And if the rebel forces grow too cumbersome to manage, I can go and crush them as well, asking for not a single crumb of reward upon my triumphant return to court."
The King of Ji looked toward Cangwu, who said, "You are deeply entangled with Wei Yuan, and Wei Yuan has promised you a future path of cultivation. Just accept that goodwill of his. With a cultivation path open to you, you will gain at least several hundred more years of lifespan, so you won't be quite so fearless of death, will you?"
"This subject only wishes to live well!"
Cangwu nodded. "It is good that you fear death. While I may not be able to help you advance another step along your path, I can cut it short halfway through at will. However, if you perform your duties well, substantial rewards will naturally come your way—no less than what Wei Yuan offered. Rise."
Sun Chao'en showered him with endless thanks, perching precariously on the very edge of his stool.
Cangwu pondered for a moment, then spoke slowly. "The territories within the borders are now pacified. In five years, the grand endeavor can be achieved."
The King of Ji asked, "Five years... could there be any unforeseen variables?"
Cangwu looked toward Sun Chao'en. "What do you think?"
Sun Chao'en braced himself and said, "This subject knows not what the grand endeavor entails, but five years will pass in the blink of an eye. Wei Yuan will not be able to stir up any great waves. Previously, he pooled the entirety of Qingming's might just to develop the single corner of Guantun County, which brought about earth-shaking changes. Now, the territory of the Mountain Folk spans a full ten thousand li, and he has taken in another thirty million people. Merely reclaiming wastelands and achieving self-sufficiency will take a decade. Therefore, in five years, we may at best see a region with some faint vigor, barely capable of sustaining itself. However, after five years of construction, his defense lines will undoubtedly be thoroughly fortified, making them even harder to breach."
Cangwu replied flatly, "So-called fortifications are nothing more than dirt and timber. A single immortal art cast down can completely invert dozens of li of terrain. Fortifications of any kind would be utterly useless."
"The Immortal Monarch's divine might is peerless!" Sun Chao'en blurted out.
Cangwu waved his hand, saying with annoyance, "Cut that out! Did you just say Wei Yuan could achieve self-sufficiency in five years?"
Sun Chao'en hurriedly said, "The Immortal Monarch is wise! Beneath Wei Yuan serves a True Monarch hailing from the Hall of Jianmu named Chuhe. Having performed meritorious deeds for heaven and earth, he follows the path of attaining sainthood through merit, possessing extraordinary expertise in land reclamation and agriculture. With such a man present, reclaiming fields in three years and enriching the soil in five is no mere fable. That is why this subject said self-sufficiency should be attainable within five years."
Cangwu suddenly grew somewhat irritated. "Let him be. What use are mortals, no matter how many? A rebel army of a few hundred thousand could flatten them and slaughter them all. It is only five years; as long as Wei Yuan doesn't stir up trouble, leave him alone. As for this Chuhe, he must not be touched lightly. This intelligence of yours is very useful."
Sun Chao'en quickly concurred, "The Immortal Monarch has profound insight! It's merely five years—could Wei Yuan possibly ascend to immortality in that time?"
Cangwu's knitted brows relaxed. "There is some truth in that. You two go on talking; I take my leave."
Cangwu took a single step and arrived within the secret realm. The two gatekeeping disciples were dozing; upon seeing the Patriarch arrive, they hurried forward, greeting him aloud as Patriarch, and then fell silent, having nothing further to say.
For some reason, even though Cangwu had just found Sun Chao'en's endless flattery of 'The Immortal Monarch is wise' terribly grating, looking at these two dull disciples now made him feel that such words were not so harsh on the ears after all—hearing them once in a while was rather pleasant. But this was something disciples had to realize on their own; having to instruct them to speak that way would be downright shameful.
After Cangwu left, the King of Ji and Sun Chao'en exchanged looks, neither certain whether Cangwu had truly departed or was still lingering.
A moment later, the King of Ji asked, "In five years, can Wei Yuan truly bring about no unforeseen developments?"
Sun Chao'en said, "To the best of this subject's knowledge, I truly cannot fathom such a possibility. Fifty years, however, would be a different story. Wei Yuan will surely reach Scenery Command, and he should be able to ascend to immortality within five hundred years."
The King of Ji fell deep into thought, drifting into a daze, before letting out a soft sigh.
Afterward, Sun Chao'en took his leave and returned to his manor. A supervising eunuch reported that Cai Miao was already waiting outside. Yet the King of Ji suddenly felt all interest wane, and ordered her sent back to the Sun manor.
A moment later, Xu Shang entered the study in elaborate finery. Having heard that the King had sent Cai Miao back, she had rushed over in high spirits, believing she could regain the royal favor.
To her shock, the King of Ji suddenly lost his patience and barked a single word: "Get out!"
After driving Xu Shang away, the King of Ji walked out onto the terrace and gazed up at the starry sky, standing there unconsciously until dawn broke.
***
In the territory of the Mountain Folk, Wei Yuan remained occupied with what many cultivators would deem trivial chores, so much so that Xiaoyu could hardly bear to watch anymore. She came to confront him directly: "What in the world are you doing day in and day out?"
Looking up from amid the dense cluster of light orbs swirling around him, Wei Yuan said, "I'm busy working! Look, we need to build at least fifteen cities. I have to inspect the site selection for every single one personally, and choosing the city lords gives me quite a headache too. My thought is to give most positions to fellow disciples of the Palace of Grand Beginning, while reserving a few for talents nurtured right here in Qingming."
"Must you do all of this yourself?"
"Who else?" Wei Yuan felt somewhat exhausted as well, sighing, "Matters concerning the livelihood of the people are of paramount importance. If even a small error creeps in, by the time it's discovered, the consequences could be dire."
"What about your cultivation, then? Immersed in mundane affairs like this, when will you ever advance further?" Xiaoyu's tone was exceedingly sharp.
Advance further? Wei Yuan fell into a momentary daze, then glanced at the heavenly demon working diligently.
Due to the influx of massive numbers of Mountain Folk souls during this period, the heavenly demon had been toiling day and night without pause.
During this time, Wei Yuan had been hopping back and forth incessantly between dharma idol and Scenery Command—forward, backward, left, right, endlessly.
Or was she talking about the far-flung seventh Grotto-Heaven?
Calculating the orbit for a seventh Grotto-Heaven was practically an impossible task for Wei Yuan right now. By this point, he had acquired a fair amount of knowledge regarding Grotto-Heavens. They were divided into grades represented by different colors—a crude classification system established by the Patriarch of the Palace of Grand Beginning.
Ordinary Grotto-Heavens had less stringent orbital requirements, allowing multiple ones to be placed at will; for instance, the Wise King of the Left and the Little State Preceptor each possessed dozens or even a hundred Grotto-Heavens.
However, when it came to silver or golden Grotto-Heavens, the burden imposed on the foundational mind-image realm was immense, making orbital calculations of paramount importance. Every immortal's fundamental mind-image world had a limit to what it could bear, so the goal was to cram in as many Grotto-Heavens as possible beneath that threshold.
Though Immortal Monarch Yanshi possessed only twelve Grotto-Heavens, every single one was a golden Grotto-Heaven—truly shocking the world. The moment he ascended to immortality, he had been able to trade blows evenly with the Wise King of the Left and the Little State Preceptor, and had even severely wounded the Wise King of the Left with Wei Yuan's help.
Meanwhile, each of Wei Yuan's six Grotto-Heavens was exceptionally unique; without a doubt, they would all become golden Grotto-Heavens upon his ascension. Yet while Wei Yuan had martial valor in spades, his calculating intellect fell short. Despite possessing a mind-image world peerless beneath heaven, he was thoroughly stuck on the orbital calculations.
At this level, sheer diligence could no longer bridge the gap; what was required was innate genius. Take the Molten Dragon, for example: he had mastered mathematics in a mere month, leaving behind a book for Wei Yuan to chew through—a book Wei Yuan had yet to finish digesting.
Yet Wei Yuan had his own path: so long as he poured in one hundred million points of mortal karmic luck, he could forcibly pound out the seventh orbit.
That sheer volume of mortal karmic luck gave Wei Yuan a faint premonition that on the day his seventh Grotto-Heaven was accomplished, he might already be lingering right outside the celestial gate.
As for using mortal karmic luck to forcibly bash out a Grotto-Heaven orbit, Wei Yuan would certainly share that with Xiaoyu in due time. It was truly infuriating—hugely infuriating, outrageously infuriating—which made it all the more essential that he share it promptly. And since it concerned his personal path of cultivation, there were very few people he could share it with anyway.
At this precise moment, however, Wei Yuan truly was not giving any thought to mortal karmic luck.
Thirty million newcomers had arrived, bringing a tangled mess of countless tasks. Weak and frail as they were, a single oversight could easily cost hundreds of lives to various causes. Thus, Wei Yuan had no choice but to handle matters in person, relying on his superhuman task-processing capability to save as many lives as he possibly could, one by one.
Wei Yuan knew there was little point in doing so, yet he did it nonetheless.
Xiaoyu tried urging him otherwise for a long time to no avail, leaving in a huff. Before departing, she threw an insult behind her: "You big pig trotter!"
Those words struck Wei Yuan into a daze. Even with a divine sense capable of processing ten thousand tasks concurrently, he could not fathom what a pig's trotter had to do with him. Wei Yuan looked down at his own hands, thinking that a pig's trotter was nowhere near this good-looking.
***
Time seemed to enter a cycle.
The cultivators of the Palace of Grand Beginning remained engrossed in work and cultivation; by now, even all the new disciples from Water Moon Hall had grown accustomed to working for mortals.
Chuhe dashed back and forth, reclaiming land here and cultivating fields there, taking time whenever free to feed the chicken.
Ever since the Little State Preceptor left, the immortal chicken had gone through a period of moping, losing its appetite for an entire day until it finally felt hungry on the second day.
Watching from the shadows, the Little State Preceptor had been moved to tears.
Sun Chao'en shouldered ever more responsibilities and accrued greater and greater power, reporting not only to the King of Ji but constantly to Cangwu as well. Sometimes, pondering quietly in the dead of night, Sun Chao'en could not understand why Cangwu, an exalted immortal, would take such interest in the petty trivia of the royal court.
As for Wei Yuan, he busied himself untangling the livelihoods of the Mountain Folk territory while simultaneously battling the Mountain Folk army in fierce clashes to the northwest. Every day brought countless matters to attend to, and each new dawn brought fresh joys and worries.
Zhang Sheng stood atop the mountain peaks, watching the sun set and rise, the moon sink and ascend.
Fleetingly, five years slipped by just like that.
Chapter 1074