Unwavering

Wei Yuan's words were heard by only a rare few; those who could hear them naturally understood them. A true spirit represented a cultivator's epiphany and understanding of the Great Dao of heaven and earth, serving as the foundation for ascending to the Immortal Heaven and wielding the authority of the Great Dao in the future. The lotus seed contained true intent of the Great Dao, and a true spirit awakened through it would already possess an extraordinarily high standing. That was why Immortal Ancestor Zhao Li had assumed Wei Yuan would surely accept it. Yet Wei Yuan's final words made it clear that even a true spirit awakened with the personal assistance of mighty figures above the Immortal Heaven held no allure for him. The true spirit each person could awaken could never exceed their own comprehension of the Great Dao. Wei Yuan believed he would inevitably surpass even these mighty figures, and thus chose to rely on his own strength to comprehend a true spirit unique to himself. The aid of mighty figures would only bind and constrain him. As the myriad wraiths burned away, the monsters within the black water were mostly eradicated. After absorbing the lotus seed, the King of Zhao's flesh glowed with an azure light. Flesh and blood regrew over his frame, which had been gnawed down to a bare skeleton, and beneath a fresh layer of membrane, each organ regenerated. Every piece of flesh and sinew radiated the pure, ethereal aura of the wood element, akin to a body forged of lotus root and seedpod. The King of Zhao opened his eyes and flew out from the black water. His head and face had barely managed to regrow completely, though much of his skin still bore the hue of greenwood. Below his shoulders, his body remained a skeleton cloaked only in membrane, appearing utterly terrifying. With a beckoning wave of his hand, a robe flew over and draped across his form, concealing his body. He closed his eyes slightly, then opened them again; within each pupil, a lotus blossomed. Immediately afterward, a landscape scroll slowly unrolled behind him, depicting ink-wash mountains and rivers of infinite grandeur. Nestled among the peaks was a clear pool, where a solitary lotus swayed gently. The King of Zhao's mindscape world was exceedingly unique: substituting a painting for reality, blurring inside and outside so none could tell which was surface and which was core. Amidst its majestic, sweeping vistas, the landscape carried an elegant rustic charm, drawing all eyes naturally toward that lotus and stirring the true intent of the Great Dao embedded within. This mindscape world concealed the real within the illusory, harbored the subtle within the vast, balanced all Daos in harmony, and was crafted with consummate brilliance. The King of Zhao opened his eyes once more, looked deeply at Wei Yuan, and then surveyed the entire assembly, declaring in a resonant voice, "Having been tempered by heaven and earth and aided by a bosom friend, I have overcome this tribulation and achieved my mindscape world, ascending to Scenery Command from this day forth!" Below, a supervising eunuch crawled out from the rubble and cried out loudly, "The rite is complete!" Following this, the heavily stricken palace musicians scrambled to their feet and blew their instruments with all their might. Amidst the clamor of pipes and strings, large detachments of the Imperial Forest Guards entered to clear away the corpses, leaving the scene in utter disarray. Seeing that the matter here was settled, Wei Yuan was about to turn and leave when he overheard several people not far away discussing him. An elder from an aristocratic family remarked, "Did you see that earlier? That heavenly tribulation was unheard of, and truly vicious beyond measure! As for those subsequent three beams of light—your cultivation is insufficient to see them clearly, but they were actually the strikes of Immortals acting together to halt the tribulation. "And that first sword light came from none other than Wei Yuan, Regional Governor of Yizhou! Lord Wei is clearly only at the Dharma Idol realm, yet the power of that sword light was on par with an Immortal's! I fear Lord Wei can scarcely find an equal beneath the ranks of the Immortals now. "Allow me to explain the profound mysteries of that sword light, though even I could only discern ten or twenty percent of it. First, this sword light... "Second, it is... "Third, it is—" The aristocratic elder held forth for well over a thousand words. Although most of it was plausible nonsense, Wei Yuan nonetheless listened to every single word before walking to the edge of the Heaven Sacrificial Altar. Taking a single stride forward, he vanished. When that step landed, Wei Yuan was already above the Immortal Heaven, standing directly before Immortal Zhao Li. Immortal Zhao Li gestured for Wei Yuan to take a seat, poured a cup of wine himself, and handed it to Wei Yuan. Wei Yuan made no ceremony of it, raising the cup and draining it in one gulp. Immortal Zhao Li poured another cup and placed it before him. Thus, Wei Yuan drank three cups in succession, drinking until a misty drizzle began to fall within the Splendor of the Many Realms. After three cups, Immortal Zhao Li's flagon was empty. Stowing the flagon away carefully, he said, "Five hundred years from now, this bottle will be full once again." Afterward, Immortal Zhao Li sat back down at the table and said, "There is no need for many words between us, but this time you not only saved Shenji's life, but also ensured the survival of my Zhao Li lineage. The figures behind the scenes sought to borrow power from all sides, using Shenji as a primer and sacrificing our Zhao Li bloodline to Heaven to destabilize the Martial Ancestor's grand design. The depth and peril of this scheme were truly unlike anything I have seen in my life. By a mere hair's breadth, our Zhao Li would have suffered utter ruin. "Words cannot express my gratitude for such kindness. However, there is still one thing I do not understand, and I wish to hear your answer in your own words." "Please speak, Senior." Immortal Ancestor Zhao Li said, "This scheme was aimed at Shenji. He shares few ties with you; to be frank, there have been more grievances between you than goodwill. How could you set aside your current Daoist path just to help him succeed?" Wei Yuan smiled faintly. "Though that lotus seed is fine, it is useless to me. My true spirit can only be comprehended by myself; even mighty figures cannot help me. That is the first reason." Immortal Ancestor Zhao Li nodded slightly. "Yet that reason alone is not enough. Even if it were useless to you right now, securing such a supreme treasure for later would still be of great benefit. Moreover, given the situation at that moment, it was rightfully yours to take." Wei Yuan replied, "Naturally, there is a second reason: I promised Senior that I would do my utmost to protect the King of Zhao as he crossed his tribulation. The mortal karmic luck Senior bestowed that day helped my teacher survive his killing tribulation. Such grace and benevolence cannot be repaid easily, which is why my promise to Senior cannot be shaken by any treasure, no matter how precious! "Let alone a mere lotus seed, even if someone placed the Heavenly Dao origin directly before me, it would not suffice to make me break my word." Immortal Ancestor Zhao Li was moved and sighed. "To think that an unintended act back then would yield today's fruit. That boy Shenji is truly blessed with fortune." Wei Yuan then inquired about what followed regarding the Heavenly Pillar. The three strikes from the Immortals—the meditative finger was not Buddhist arts, the jade sword was not sword intent, and the destiny light was not Daoist technique. All had concealed the heavenly secrets of their execution, preventing anyone from discerning who had acted, and Immortal Zhao Li was no exception. The three Immortals who intervened were all at least of the same tier as Immortal Zhao Li. After the Heavenly Pillar shattered, the otherworldly monster suffered severe injuries and fled the world. As it fled, time and space turned chaotic, and in an instant, its whereabouts vanished, leaving even Immortals unable to track it. Thus, this calamity was both a heavenly tribulation and not one. That terrifying otherworldly monster had somehow been drawn here, tentatively launching an assault against this world, only to flee after being wounded. When destroying the Heavenly Pillar, Wei Yuan's strike had truly been pivotal. That sword strike carried the intent of Solid Breaker, carving open the Heavenly Pillar's protection with a single blow, which enabled the subsequent attacks of the three Immortals to achieve such magnificent results. Thus, in terms of contribution, Wei Yuan's was scarcely less than that of the three Immortal figures. Naturally, the three mighty figures had had to conceal heavenly secrets, significantly dampening the power of their strikes. Wei Yuan, on the other hand, had encountered Heavenly Pillars in the Desolate Realm, and a wisp of Heavenly Pillar vitality was still sealed within his mindscape world; he was thoroughly familiar with the Heavenly Pillar, which greatly enhanced the efficacy of his strike. Even so, that Wei Yuan could stand shoulder to shoulder with three Immortals with a single strike was utterly astounding! Originally, among the cultivators attending the ceremony, there were quite a few outstanding Dharma Idol juniors from various noble clans who had harbored doubts about Wei Yuan, many believing the gap between themselves and Wei Yuan was not so wide. But after witnessing that world-shaking sword strike with their own eyes, all those young Dharma Idols abandoned any thought of comparison. Wei Yuan conversed with Immortal Zhao Li for a while longer, then rose to take his leave. As they parted, Immortal Zhao Li suddenly asked, "If the Heavenly Dao origin were truly placed before you, would you really not waver?" "Of course!" Wei Yuan answered without hesitation. Immortal Zhao Li was taken aback. He asked himself whether, if faced with the Heavenly Dao origin, he might even abandon Li Shenji. How could Wei Yuan remain so resolute? Could there truly be such a noble and virtuous person in this world? Just as Immortal Ancestor Zhao Li began to doubt his very immortal existence, Wei Yuan burst into hearty laughter and said, "I can make such a choice because there's no way a portion of the Heavenly Dao origin would ever be placed before me!" Only then did Immortal Ancestor Zhao Li realize, bursting into laughter himself. With a flick of his wide sleeve, he swept Wei Yuan a hundred and eight thousand li away. Regardless, the sudden assault on this realm by an otherworldly monster was truly a grave matter. Some had already recognized that the Heavenly Pillar bore similarities to the Three Heavenly Pillars of the Desolate Realm of the past, and the immortals had no desire to relive the Desolate Realm's tragedy within the human domain. Thus, the Immortals of the noble clans prepared to convene a conclave to deliberate on a response.