Although it was somewhat humiliating, a True Monarch's word carried the weight of a thousand jin. Having already nodded his agreement, Xuan Yue could hardly go back on his promise. Still, he was rather curious and asked, "How has your Hall of the Bright King become so wealthy lately?"
The Hall Master of the Bright King had finally gotten the question he had been waiting for. He burst into hearty laughter. "This is only the beginning! Give me a little more time, and our Hall of the Bright King won't be inferior to the Hall of Heavenly Secrets or the Monastery of Creation. In this day and age, what is the most precious thing? Talent!"
True Monarch Xuanyue was left completely bewildered, but facing such a generous patron, it was hardly his place to cast doubt on the man's words.
The Hall Master of the Bright King did not linger. Slapping two additional jade rings onto the table, he rose and took his leave.
After he departed, True Monarch Xuanyue pondered in silence, unable to comprehend why the hall master was willing to invest so heavily. If it were solely for the Qingming immortal stone, that hardly seemed enough to justify such expense.
He suddenly recalled something. A few days ago, at the council of True Monarchs from all the halls held every three months, someone had pointed out that centralized instruction over the past two sessions had yielded remarkable results. More and more disciples were attending: less than thirty percent in the first intake, already over half in the second, and by the time the next cohort arrived, it would likely exceed sixty percent.
Now that centralized instruction had proven effective, the Reform Faction took their second step: masters choose disciples, and disciples choose masters.
Specifically, disciple recruitment would be handled uniformly by the palace. Once brought in, they would no longer be assigned directly to the various abbeys and halls; instead, an additional stage of mutual selection was introduced. In this phase, each abbey and hall could pick their favored disciples, and the disciples could choose where they wished to go.
This proposal had won the backing of many True Monarchs—the higher a hall ranked, the stronger its support—and so the matter was settled. True Monarch Xuanyue had originally felt indifferent toward the change. Over recent decades, Sky Azure Hall had truthfully seen a few too many genius disciples. Producing Zhang Sheng had already strained their resources, and who could have foreseen that Wei Yuan would come along right after? If a few more prodigies showed up, True Monarch Xuanyue, whose reserves were already bled dry, wouldn't even know what resources to use to train them.
Pulling such a stunt at this exact time, the Hall Master of the Bright King surely intended to lead all the new recruits through the Hall of Myriad Manifestations during the selection phase, flaunting the divine strength of his Hall of the Bright King disciples bearing the continent aloft! That way, the new disciples' favorable impressions of the Hall of the Bright King were bound to soar, and a few years down the line, they would surely yield several more Heaven Foundations.
At this thought, True Monarch Xuanyue inwardly cursed the man for being an old sly fox. He had never imagined the Hall Master of the Bright King was laying groundwork for this! Who dared say body cultivators were honest and straightforward?
Yet True Monarch Xuanyue was hardly someone to be trifled with either. When the time came, he planned to send a disciple in disguise to loiter in the Hall of Myriad Manifestations. Once the Hall Master of the Bright King finished showing off the strongmen hoisting up the continent, that disciple would reveal to the new recruits exactly what those four stout men were carrying on their backs.
Yet thinking of this brought True Monarch Xuanyue's thoughts back to Wei Yuan.
Right now, Wei Yuan was embarking on his first solitary trial. Only a few days had passed, yet he had already stirred up this immense storm of making an immortal stone recognize him as master, instantly leaving True Monarch Xuanyue frantic and overwhelmed.
Qingming had been renowned in ancient times; when it was forged, heaven and earth shook. Since antiquity, boundary stones that manifested celestial anomalies upon completion numbered fewer than the fingers on two hands. Yet shortly after Qingming was forged, it disappeared, leaving no trace for tens of thousands of years. Everyone assumed it had fallen into alien hands and been destroyed. No one anticipated that it still existed—or that Wei Yuan would trigger its recognition.
Upon receiving Wei Yuan's letters, True Monarch Xuanyue had immediately dispatched Zhang Sheng westward. Furthermore, the two Perfected Persons Fenhai and Lanhua had set out alongside him, preparing to hold Hanyang Pass and deter the Xu family. What sort of man was True Monarch Xuanyue? From a few stray phrases of Wei Yuan's, he had deduced that something was amiss with the Xu family. Otherwise, with the Xu family right before his eyes, why would Wei Yuan not turn to them for rescue, sending so many distress letters back to the palace instead?
At this moment, the treasuries of both Sky Azure and Water Moon Halls were utterly empty. Aside from heirloom treasures at the True Monarch and Immortal Monarch tier passed down through the lineage, nearly everything else had already been liquidated. True Monarch Xuanyue had searched the vaults, barely scraping together a hundred thousand taels of immortal silver worth of supplies for Zhang Sheng to take along. Naturally, those ancestral treasures could not be sold; otherwise, it would be no different from squandering the family estate.
Yet to pioneer and expand territory, how could a hundred thousand taels ever be enough?
Fortunately, the Hall Master of the Bright King had offered charcoal in the snow, resolving their pressing crisis. When the offer had reached two million, True Monarch Xuanyue had almost agreed. Fortunately, having been a True Monarch for so many years, his composure was thoroughly seasoned, and he favored pausing three beats before speaking under any circumstances. In the end, not only had he secured a five-million-tael loan, but he had also obtained an assistant with an immortal foundation for Wei Yuan.
Still, even after obtaining this sum from the Hall of the Bright King, relying solely on Sky Azure and Water Moon Halls to hold Qingming would remain a difficult feat.
Just as True Monarch Xuanyue was nursing a headache over this, Immortal Monarch Tinghai's voice suddenly resonated in his ear: *Come to Leisure Peak. Let us confer regarding Wei Yuan.*
Figures continuously materialized atop the mountain peak where Immortal Monarch Tinghai resided. In the end, fifteen True Monarchs arrived in total; several others were in secluded cultivation and unable to attend.
Immortal Monarch Tinghai sat by the cliff's edge, fishing. At that moment, his fishing rod bent into an immense arc, clearly with a large catch on the line. Billowing white steam rose from his head. He suddenly exhaled and shouted—*Hei!*—finally hoisting the rod!
The long rod swung high into the air, yet there was nothing on it.
The Immortal Monarch pondered for a moment, set the rod aside, rose, and walked into the main hall. Taking the seat of honor, he said, "I have summoned you all today to discuss the matter of Wei Yuan."
"Did something just happen?" someone asked.
Pei Tinghai replied, "I crossed hands with Xu Wangu again. I suffered a minor defeat this round; something I had been plotting for some time slipped through my fingers. However, it is of no great consequence."
Still bearing the appearance of a youthful Daoist, True Monarch Yanshi said, "I observe that the atmospheric omens in the west are growing increasingly perilous. That old fellow is playing with fire! We must beware of him taking desperate gambles."
The Hall Master of the Bright King snorted. "Isn't that obvious? The old bastard's lifespan is nearing its end. To take one step further, he stops at nothing. At a time like this, no other family wishes to provoke him, which is why he acts with ever greater impunity."
Everyone knew that Xu Wangu was the old ancestor of the Xu family, having attained Unity over two thousand years ago. Because of the suppression from an Immortal Monarch's standing, these Scenery Command True Monarchs could not directly utter Xu Wangu's name, lest it trigger an inkling of prescience in him. If one's cultivation were lower, it would actually pose no problem.
True Monarch Xuanyue rose and said, "Wei Yuan mistakenly had Qingming recognize him as master and is at fault first. I shall shoulder responsibility for this matter myself."
Someone sneered, "Can you bear it?"
Another remarked, "An immortal artifact mistakenly recognizing a master? Heh, if I hadn't studied the Dao of artifact refining to some degree, I might have actually believed that!"
Xuanyue's brows gradually slanted upward in anger, and he made to rise. Pei Tinghai made a pressing gesture with his hand, immediately quieting the assembled True Monarchs.
"I was the one who dispatched Wei Yuan to the west," Pei Tinghai said. "Although making Qingming recognize him as master was intentional on his part, the circumstances at the time were exceptional. Considering the hundreds of thousands of common folk, having Qingming recognize him as master cannot be called a fault."
A True Monarch with long eyebrows drooping to his shoulders kept his eyes downcast, not lifting his eyelids, yet spoke: "How can the mere lives of a few hundred thousand mortals compare to the immortal artifact Qingming? If Qingming is put to good use, the people it saves could be counted in the tens of millions or hundreds of millions. To plant Qingming for such a meager group of people—to put it politely, it is penny-wise and pound-foolish; to put it bluntly, it is short-sighted and defiant insubordination!"
"Are those words appropriate?" True Monarch Xuanyue's voice was already dripping with chill.
The long-browed True Monarch remained unmoved, replying calmly, "I am merely addressing the matter on its merits. Xuanyue, speak from your Dao Heart: if Qingming were moved to the north, it would surely break the current stalemate in one stroke. Manage it properly for a few centuries, opening three thousand li of territory and saving fifty million people—and that is a conservative estimate, is it not? Even if there is a chance of defending that land in the west, the north offers absolute certainty. How can the two even be compared?"
True Monarch Xuanyue was momentarily at a loss for a rebuttal and could only say, "Yet it might not have been possible to bring Qingming back."
Immortal Monarch Tinghai raised his hand once more to halt the dispute and said, "At present, Qingming at least belongs to our Palace of Grand Beginning. Xu Wangu came away empty-handed, and on top of that, lost a capable subordinate like Xu Guanwen. Therefore, in this round, we have achieved a major victory. Wei Yuan deserves the foremost credit, and his merits outweigh any faults. As for what comes next, it depends on whether we can hold it. This time, I have decided to raise all merit points earned from activities in Ningxi by thirty percent. Thus, if any hall or abbey has strength to spare, you might as well take part."
The long-browed True Monarch slightly raised his eyes. "This would shift the focus of the entire palace."
"Only slightly."
The long-browed True Monarch nodded and spoke no further.
Immortal Monarch Tinghai continued, "For the period ahead, I shall journey west to witness the Dao arts of Immortal Monarch Wangu. It may be as brief as a few days, or as long as a year. During this time, you may decide minor palace matters for yourselves, while major matters are to be resolved by joint council."
The Hall Master of the Bright King said immediately, "Under no circumstances! That old bastard has cultivated for over a thousand years longer, and right now he is teetering on the edge of madness. Palace Master, your immortal path is vast, with hopes of advancing further. How can you clash head-on with that old fellow at a time like this?"
Pei Tinghai smiled faintly and said, "Everyone thinks so, and so does Xu Wangu. But if I fear having my immortal path severed, does he not fear having his hopes of extending his lifespan shattered? If I perish, he will not survive past ten years either. In the worst-case scenario, even without me, we still have the Palace Master holding down the fort, and we have all of you. With genius disciples arising in every generation to come, our Palace of Grand Beginning will still stand firm and unyielding. As long as there are worthy successors, what do I have to fear?"
The assembled True Monarchs exchanged glances, and Pei Tinghai said, "There is no need to say more; my mind is made up. Having suffered such a massive loss over Qingming recognizing a master, he will certainly not let the matter rest. If I do not go, Xu Wangu will assume that everyone must yield to him! But there is no need to worry overmuch—an old bastard with so little lifespan left is actually the one most terrified of death."
With no words left to dissuade him, the True Monarchs watched as Immortal Monarch Tinghai walked toward the cliff's edge, stepping into the sea of clouds stride by stride until he vanished completely.
Chapter 124