The Era of Dao Contention

Beneath the Lu Clan Ancestral Mountain, another sight unfolded within Wei Yuan's vision. He sat cross-legged atop the void. Below lay endless fog, within which a giant hand loomed indistinctly. The massive hand reached toward the heavens as if trying to grasp hold of something, yet in the end, it was all for naught; an aura of desolation and ancient sorrow washed over him. Beneath Wei Yuan was a radiant expanse of light, from which countless threads showered downward into the fog, dissolving the mist bit by bit. As more and more fog melted away, a crystal would tumble out, drawn upward before Wei Yuan. This crystal was immortal essence, born from the dissipated immortal qi mingling with the mortal world following the demise of an immortal. As the immortal remains were steadily refined, the escaping immortal power condensed into immortal essence the instant it touched the mortal realm, at which point Wei Yuan immediately collected it. If not gathered promptly and left to sit for a while, the immortal essence would disperse, altering the surrounding environment and gradually transforming the mortal earth into blessed soil. A single small piece of immortal essence was enough to convert several square li into blessed soil. It was also an extraordinary pill-refining ingredient—one piece was just enough for Wei Yuan to refine a single Scenery Command Grand Pill. Beyond these slender threads stood four colossal pillars of light in the distance, connecting heaven and earth. One end plunged into the swirling mist while the other pierced directly into the unfathomable depths beyond the heavens, propping up this realm. Around Wei Yuan, yet another spectacle unfolded. Long scrolls descended slowly in succession, unfurling around him. Some were landscape paintings depicting the grandeur of immortal houses; others were calligraphic scrolls bearing verses of heavenly scripture. With every scroll that unrolled, myriad wonders manifested. Spiritual birds and spirits fluttered around Wei Yuan, and one or two, blessed by natural fortune, even slipped into his sea of consciousness. Instantly, a shower of spiritual rain fell within his consciousness; wherever it touched, vitality flourished, occasionally birthing fledgling sparks of spirit. Floating before Wei Yuan were countless stars, totaling over eight thousand. If one counted the ten thousand divine intents dedicated to maintaining the grand array's operation, the total number of his divided divine intents had surpassed twenty thousand! Yet not all of these divine intents truly belonged to Wei Yuan himself. Stationed within the immortal mountain and refining the immortal remains, various profound phenomena arose of their own accord, vastly boosting his divine intent and conjuring more than five thousand out of nowhere. Even outside the grand formation, Wei Yuan could split fifteen thousand divine intents at this moment—an astonishing advance. Purely in terms of dividing divine intent, Wei Yuan considered ten thousand threads to be the threshold of an immortal; without reaching this number, weathering the tribulation of immortal ascension would be exceedingly difficult. Divided divine intents could manipulate dharma artifacts, drive avatars, study the Daoist canon, or handle administrative affairs—their utility was truly boundless. Although a single strand of divine intent could only control a Dao Foundation artifact—and not an overly fine one at that—when gathered in large numbers, the sheer power became terrifying. Wei Yuan had already begun arrangements, directing the Weaponsmith Workshop to forge Dao Foundation flying swords exclusively for his use. Acceptable quality was sufficient; they did not need to be top-tier. With Wei Yuan giving the order, Yu Zhizhuo naturally spared no effort, first forging a set of Five Elements flying swords. Two thousand swords each for the virtues of metal, wood, water, fire, and earth—ten thousand in all—had taken a year to complete. Next were the swords of the Three Anomalies—ice, wind, and lightning. These were considerably harder to craft, requiring another year, and only one thousand of each would be produced. To ensure Wei Yuan's divine intents were not left idle, Yu Zhizhuo had specially crafted ten thousand non-elemental flying swords. These blank swords were far simpler to produce, churning out at three thousand a month. In another three months, they were expected to be finished and delivered to Wei Yuan. Once every sword was in place, a single thought from Wei Yuan would unleash ten thousand flying swords upon his foes. At present, Wei Yuan oversaw the grand array while managing official business, still retaining enough leisure to contemplate broader matters. Warfare under heaven generally took place on two tiers. On one hand was ground warfare between armies. Though Dao Foundation and dharma idol cultivators took part, it remained primarily fought at the Body Casting level, which could be considered a struggle between mortals. The other tier lay at Scenery Command and above, decided beyond the heavens, where even immortals directly clashed in battle. The conflict on this tier was what truly determined the overall course of the world. Back then, the Western Jin's court was decadent and its governance corrupt, rotten to the core from top to bottom. Yet it had stood firm. Despite constant setbacks on its northern frontier, it managed to hold on by retreating slowly; it could have held out for at least another century before the Liao Clan reached the walls of its royal capital. The State of Ji, plagued by internal strife and foreign woes with rebel forces everywhere, had likewise held firm against the Mountain Folk, losing only two commanderies over several decades. The reason was that although the mortal armies of both states were decayed, their domestic immortal clans remained formidable. Their immortal numbers were sufficient to counter the foreign True Immortals opposite them. So long as they did not lose on the immortal tier, the grand situation could hardly collapse. Back then, Xu Wangu had defeated Tinghai, using the victory to achieve rebirth. Yet Tinghai had not perished on the spot, the Palace of Grand Beginning still had an unaccounted-for Palace Master, and Yanshi and Zhu Yan could forcefully ascend to immortality at any time. Consequently, after that battle, Xu Wangu promptly retreated into his grotto-heaven, never showing his face again. The Xu family had also become considerably restrained toward Wei Yuan. Otherwise, given Qingming's diminutive size at the time, if the Xu family had deployed all their Scenery Command experts... they still would have returned empty-handed. After all, below the level of immortals, the advantage of the Palace of Grand Beginning's high Scenery Command cultivators was glaringly obvious—they could take on three Xu families tied together. As long as Xu Wangu stayed put, True Monarch Xuanyue and his friends were more than enough. Granted, True Monarch Xuanyue himself did not know how many friends he had, and those friends tended to shout threats of murder the moment they met... Furthermore, Qingming had once held firm against the assault of the Shaman Clan's Realm of Rain with only the strength of a single domain. That was due partly to All Living Beings in a Flash holding the front lines in ground combat, but the true linchpin was Xuanyue and the other Grand Beginning Scenery Command masters, along with the Scenery Command cultivators sent from various prominent clans, who held back the Nether Shamans and Desolate Shamans. Meanwhile, at the cost of two hundred years of lifespan, Wei Yuan himself had left two great geniuses of the Shaman Clan dead or crippled. Even though Hongye had sought death, Wei Yuan still had to be capable of killing him. Had Wei Yuan shown the slightest inadequacy during their duel, Hongye would have deemed dying by his hand an insult, and the outcome would have taken a very different turn. Thus, the conflicts of the world were divided into three tiers: immortals set the anchor, establishing the overall balance; mortals were like ants, gradually gnawing away and occupying land; and between immortals and mortals lay the Dao contention. Dao contention stretched down to the Dao Foundation and up to Scenery Command. By Scenery Command, Dao contention already brushed against immortals, inextricably linked to the grand situation. In certain engagements, even dharma idols could influence immortals, just as Wei Yuan had done when bearing hundreds of millions in human luck. Dao contention bridged the upper and lower tiers, exerting influence in both directions. Barring world-shaking geniuses, fighting across cultivation realms was out of the question. If Dao Foundation cultivators won, they could aid their side's dharma idols; if dharma idols triumphed, they could assist Scenery Command masters or sweep through the Dao Foundation battlefield like dry leaves in an autumn gale. In the past, the higher the tier in Dao contention, the more polite and restrained the combatants were, stopping before taking things too far. After all, the Seven Great Clans, Thirteen Prominent Families, the Nine States, the Four Great Immortal Sects, and the Twelve High Sects were deeply intertwined, their roots tangled together. When two Scenery Command cultivators met, they could always trace some distant kinship or share mutual acquaintances. When they competed, they had to respect both personal sentiment and outward face. If feelings could be preserved, one could talk about saving face; if not, bowing one's head and sacrificing a bit of pride was preferable to burning bridges completely. For thousands of years, the Palace of Grand Beginning was essentially the only faction that never played by the rules. No one even knew where their founding Patriarch had come from, making it impossible to curry favor or claim ties. The second, third, and fourth generation palace masters had each dominated their era, acting entirely as they pleased without regard for sentiment or reason. What was worse, their cultivation was exceedingly peerless, each aiming to suppress the entire world, leaving the great families and the Nine States suffering in misery. Furthermore, starting from Demon Venerable Suchan, they particularly despised hearing anyone utter the word 'demon.' Back then, he had stomped across the mountain gates of over a dozen sects just to force them to change their tune and respectfully address him as Immortal Venerable. During that catastrophe, even the Four Sages Academy was not spared; they were forced to alter Records of the Immortal Dao Pivot, the historical chronicle of cultivation compiled by the academy, and swear an oath never to change it back. Afterward, because of this single entry, the Four Sages Academy added dozens of footnotes and dedicated an entire biography to Suchan, filled with snide sarcasm and biting satire, but that single change remained immutable... though that was a tale for later. By the time of the Fourth Generation Palace Master, Xihe, things went even further. Originating from a minor demonic sect, she rose like a dragon soaring across the nine heavens, first uniting the seven demonic sects and then forcing her way into the Palace of Grand Beginning. Upon assuming the position of Palace Master, she declared a motto: 'Where my sword points, there lie only evil demons.' Thus, Xihe spent her entire life slaying demons to defend the Dao; though the great clans and immortal sects loathed her to the bone, they were powerless to stop her. When Immortal Lord Qingkong finally took over, he was of the Bao family, hailing from pristine orthodox stock. Yet burning with vengeance for Xihe, his eyes had long gone bloodshot with slaughter; even elders of the Bao family had fallen by his hand. Only in the most recent centuries, when that elusive Palace Master took the throne, did the tone shift, welcoming disciples from great clans and prominent families in large numbers. Yet before the world could enjoy peace for long, Wei Yuan appeared, bringing with him the portents of great upheaval once again. At present, while Qingming might not be completely invincible in mortal warfare, where its armies pointed, no nation other than Southern Qi could stand against them. The tier of mortal warfare was no longer an issue. Above in the immortal skies, ever since Zhu Yan ascended to immortality, the Palace of Grand Beginning had reversed its passive, beaten posture. However, the situation above was extraordinarily complicated, with tangled interests requiring various strategic alliances. Yet in Dao contention, Qingming remained at a distinct disadvantage, still needing to borrow the influence of the Palace of Grand Beginning. Honestly speaking, among the pillars of Qingming, aside from Zhang Sheng and Baoyun, the rest were disciples of the Palace of Grand Beginning first, and Qingming cultivators second. Such a distinction in identity hardly mattered under normal circumstances, but Wei Yuan always hoped to cultivate Qingming's own cohort of cultivators who could step openly and rightfully onto the chessboard of Dao contention. The reason Wei Yuan had now placed strengthening the Golden Pellet dharma idols on his agenda was that he was already preparing for Dao contention. Supported by hundreds of millions of affluent, robust mortals—especially the new generation—Qingming had nurtured over twenty million Body Casters, and upon that foundation, a million Dao Foundation cultivators. Though their templates were weak, sheer numbers alone could overwhelm any foe. What was missing now were the Golden Pellet dharma idols. Dharma idol cultivators were both the backbone of a faction and its public face. Yet the uselessness of Qingming's Golden Pellets had already become infamous across the states. After nearly a decade of biding his time, Wei Yuan felt that the world had entered an era of Dao contention. Following its sweep of the mortal realm, Qingming had to establish a firm foothold in Dao contention as well, growing into a true colossus! As for the loss of face suffered by Great Realm Lord Wei himself—that was merely a minor matter, hardly worth mentioning.