This was the former grounds of Lanshen Palace, so there were existing layouts to reference, making it possible to determine the course and distribution of the primary earth veins. The main hall was where Qingming resided and could not be moved, making it the highest priority. In the future, the surrounding hundred li would be designated as the core district, where all important structures would be placed.
Of course, the core district did not need to be so large right now, so many buildings could be temporarily erected here. Once the domain expanded in the future, they could simply be relocated bit by bit.
The original disciple quarters served as a ready-made residential area. However, Lanshen Palace had never had many disciples, so the existing quarters fell far short and required separate planning.
Between the disciple quarters and the mortal towns, as well as along the periphery of the core district, Wei Yuan selected several scenic spots nestled against the mountains and facing water to demarcate commercial districts. When merchant caravans arrived in the future, or large shops set up permanent branches, they would open here. Aside from having slightly inferior spiritual qi, the scenery across these parcels was first-rate.
Wei Yuan drafted these plans in one go without needing to expend much thought. Then, sinking his mind deep into Qingming, he used its power to begin a detailed survey of the surrounding earth veins and mineral distributions.
After an inspection, he found no major mineral veins for the moment, but his examination of the earth qi yielded results.
The main peak was two hundred zhang tall, sheer and steep, naturally drawing in earth qi and vital energy from all directions. As a result, the gentle slope spanning a dozen or so li between the peak and the main hall where Qingming was planted was the place with the richest earth qi and vitality in the vicinity. Previously, Lanshen Palace had cleared a medicinal garden on this tract, but it had been small, maintained with little care, and destroyed along with the sect.
The tracts on either side of the main peak were a grade lower, yet still decent. Even by the standards of the Palace of Grand Beginning, both could be developed into medicinal gardens; once Qingming thoroughly transformed this world in the future, they would easily meet the standard of top-grade medicinal gardens.
Lanshen Palace had originally built some disciple quarters here, which was a dreadful waste of heavenly treasures. After inspecting the earth veins, Wei Yuan relocated all disciple dwellings to the foot of the mountain in his plans. At the base of the peak, he set aside only a small area to construct high-grade immortal caves in the future. The summit was not large, currently holding only a small courtyard; down the road, it could accommodate a few halls and courtyards, which would serve as the residences for the domain's core personnel.
Wei Yuan also designed an immense formation between the main hall and the main peak to gather heaven-and-earth spiritual qi and the vitality of the earth veins. Once the formation took shape, the finest garden in this area would match the superior grade of the Palace of Grand Beginning. And when Qingming advanced in the future, it might even attain the supreme grade.
Such a grand formation was not difficult for Wei Yuan. Back then, the instructor for Theory of Heaven and Earth had covered over a dozen widely used grand formations, the largest spanning a thousand li. There was no need to lay down a complete formation right now; setting up a basic framework capable of providing fundamental utility would suffice.
With the grand formation planned, Wei Yuan walked to the designated core of the formation diagram to inspect it. This spot was an abandoned medicinal garden overgrown with weeds, interspersed with a few stray medicinal herbs that were nothing precious. However, once the formation was complete, this would be the place with the most abundant earth-vein spiritual qi in the entire domain, where spirit herbs and spirit plants would grow the fastest and attain the highest quality.
Waving his hand, Wei Yuan sent out a wave of flames, first incinerating all the weeds across the ground, with those worthless herbs buried alongside them as collateral. Next, he cast an Earth Dragon Art. Beneath the surface, it seemed as though an earth dragon were burrowing through; wherever it passed, the soil churned, turning the earth over thoroughly. Wei Yuan then unleashed several Water Blade Arts. The blades of water shot continuously into the ground, not only moistening the soil but also loosening it once more in the process.
After a busy bout of labor, Wei Yuan finally cultivated a plot three zhang square. Just then, hoofbeats sounded as Xu Wenwu finished walking the horse and returned to report.
Wei Yuan gradually reeled in the karmic luck. Sure enough, after Xu Wenwu took the horse out for a circuit, the retrieved luck had decreased once again! This time, half a strand of black qi was missing. Although it was only the lowest grade of karmic luck, for an ordinary horse, it was no small amount.
After the karmic luck was withdrawn, the horse's build shrank only slightly, remaining one zhang tall. Near its hooves, tufts of feathers had actually sprouted on its four legs, and coin-sized scales had appeared on both cheeks of its head. Faint spiritual power had developed within its body, meaning it was no longer an ordinary horse. While not yet an immortal steed, it had already joined the ranks of exotic beasts; even the mounts of the Liao domain's Snow Eagle Cavalry that day had been no better than this.
Wei Yuan's thoughts stirred. After another bout of work, he cleared another three-zhang-square plot, planted two seeds of Celestial Star Nightshade, and said to Xu Wenwu, "For the next few days, water and loosen the soil for the tree on the left. Don't touch the one on the right."
"Don't worry, Eldest Brother!"
"Once you finish that, ride this horse for two hours. Do this every day."
Wei Yuan had expected Xu Wenwu to look miserable, but to his surprise, the young man was eager to try, appearing quite enthusiastic about farming.
Wei Yuan explained the Celestial Star Nightshade's affinity for moisture and qi—that it needed ample watering and frequent aeration. Xu Wenwu committed it all to memory on the first hearing, then found a magic artifact longsword blank to use as a shovel. But after just a few strikes, he was dripping with sweat and had to switch to a dagger blank.
Wei Yuan readjusted the distribution of Jia Wood Life-Mystic, concentrating most of it in the area of the two Celestial Star Nightshades, and observed for a while. In just a short time, the vitality of the seeds in the earth showed growth. By this estimate, the medicinal herbs in the domain's medicinal garden originally grew at five times the normal rate; with the power of Jia Wood Life-Mystic concentrated here, the growth rate increased to fifteen times the original.
This speed satisfied Wei Yuan considerably. Leaving this matter aside for the moment, he prepared to check on the progress of clearing the battlefield. But at that moment, he felt a sudden premonition and looked up at the sky.
In the sky, two hazy clusters of azure qi appeared, drizzling down threads of rain. These threads of rain were actually manifested heaven-and-earth origin qi, offering immense benefit to cultivation. As clusters of origin qi fell, they converged into Qingming, advancing its nurturing progress by leaps and bounds.
Such an anomaly had also been mentioned during lectures back then. Once a cultivator formed a dharma idol, they began to resonate with heaven and earth; thus, their fall would trigger heaven-and-earth anomalies as well. If someone slayed a True Person of the Dharma Idol realm, heaven and earth would often bestow a gift upon the slayer, though how much was unpredictable. The gifts of heaven and earth did not distinguish good from evil, treating all alike: an evil person who slayed a good person would still receive a gift, and when non-human tribes slayed a human dharma idol, they too would receive a gift from their own heaven and earth—perhaps even more.
The azure qi overhead was precisely such a gift of heaven and earth, comprised entirely of the highest grade of heaven-and-earth origin qi. The two consecutive clusters of azure qi had presumably been obtained from slaying Xu Guanwen and the Great Shaman.
Having transformed the world with Qingming, Wei Yuan saw differences in the heavenly gifts after slaying the two dharma idols: Xu Guanwen's was smaller, while the Great Shaman's was noticeably larger. Yet by common knowledge, these gifts from heaven and earth should have gone to Wei Yuan—so why had Qingming intercepted all of them?
Wei Yuan could not understand why, feeling somewhat exasperated. Soon, however, he discovered that as Qingming's nurturing advanced, the range over which Ten Thousand Li of Rivers and Mountains could manifest also increased accordingly, expanding from one thousand zhang to two thousand zhang in a short span!
And having fused into one with Qingming, Ten Thousand Li of Rivers and Mountains was essentially manifested at every single moment, slowly drawing in heaven-and-earth spiritual qi across the entire manifested area.
Although the spiritual qi that any single patch of ground could absorb was infinitesimal, producing merely a wisp over the better part of a day, the manifested area was now two thousand zhang, making the total amount of spiritual qi quite substantial.
Wei Yuan began to understand: perhaps this was the proper way to cultivate after possessing Ten Thousand Li of Rivers and Mountains.
Moments later, the azure qi dispersed and the gift of heaven and earth concluded. The vital energy within the jade mountain grew even more vigorous, beginning to pulse with strength. Suddenly, a hairline crack opened atop the jade mountain, and a tender sprout pushed through!
As the sprout germinated, Qingming trembled in tandem, spewing forth a deluge of vital energy and spiritual qi. The heaven-and-earth spiritual qi within the domain rose a whole tier, and the entire world grew brighter and more vibrant. Countless living beings rejoiced, the flora grew livelier, and ancient trees with years behind them seemed on the verge of awakening spirituality.
Stunned, Wei Yuan found himself momentarily unsure whether Qingming was perfecting Ten Thousand Li of Rivers and Mountains, or Ten Thousand Li of Rivers and Mountains was perfecting Qingming.
Chapter 127