In those days, Chan Master Jingshan possessed an eccentric mind. He was prone to fantastical notions and often clashed with the abbot. Consequently, after cultivating for over two hundred years, he remained a low-level chore monk only one rank above a novice, his primary daily duty being sweeping and dusting. The vast majority of chore monks were merely at Body Casting, with scarcely any Dao Foundations among them. Jingshan was the sole dharma idol in their ranks, meaning he was not only mocked by Body Casting monks, but also bullied by Dao Foundation chore leaders.
If there was one thing the Pure Land never lacked, it was dharma idols. Golden bodies came in an endless variety of titles, and certain powerful fruitions possessed more than one golden body. Thus, a self-cultivated dharma idol like Jingshan truly held less standing than an ordinary Dao Foundation cultivator. An ordinary Dao Foundation cultivator still had the potential to achieve a golden body and ascend to heaven in a single bound, whereas an unregistered dharma idol like Jingshan was destined to spend his life as an off-the-books chore monk doing grunt work and taking the blame.
That was until one day, the two-hundred-odd-year-old Chan Master Jingshan suddenly wanted to test the great terror of a femme fatale. Upon testing it, he discovered it was indeed terrifying—after a single night, he inexplicably found himself with children on the way.
The matter was concealed for several years before finally coming to light. Jingshan could no longer stay; he was driven out of the temple, receiving a thorough beating before being expelled.
After leaving the temple, he discovered that the woman he deeply loved and had ruined his future for had absconded with his Buddhist treasure kasaya. As for the two children, she had dumped them at the temple, where they were registered as novices. They now had no relation to him whatsoever, and he could not reclaim them no matter how much he pleaded.
Jingshan stood dumbfounded at his own doorstep for several days, neither eating nor moving, until the new owner arrived to claim the property and throw him out.
It turned out that house had also been sold off by that woman.
He abruptly let out three great bursts of laughter, drifted away into the distance, and vanished without a trace.
A month later, a cultivator named Zhang Jingshan appeared in Qingming, claiming proficiency in the Buddhist path.
When the cultivator overseeing the talent recruitment project for high-level cultivators tested his cultivation, erudition, and Dao practice, they were astonished by his brilliance and immediately reported him to Feng Chutang. After testing him personally, Feng Chutang approved it on the spot, adding Zhang Jingshan to Qingming's Thousand Dharma Idols Plan.
Under the relevant regulations, Zhang Jingshan was allocated half a floor of an apartment as his working residence, plus a scenic courtyard manor outside the city for holiday retreats. His routine baseline compensation was matched to the Dharma Three tier, his subsidies doubled, with research funding budgeted separately.
The night Zhang Jingshan finalized his paperwork, several colleagues held a welcome reception. The gathering featured numerous young, attractive cultivators, male and female alike, their beauty making his head spin. At long last, Zhang Jingshan found the recognition and dignity he had lacked for over two centuries. He drank until he was thoroughly intoxicated—and by that very night, he had fathered offspring.
Zhang Jingshan was by no means an isolated case. Over recent years, cultivators had been steadily arriving from the Pure Land and the Academy, their numbers increasing year after year. Qingming's initial quotas for dharma idols had been exhausted long ago, forcing the Hundred Talents Plan to expand into the Thousand Dharma Idols Plan, and even that was rapidly running short.
Back when Wei Yuan conquered the Heaven of Joy and Bliss, he paid close attention to talent along the Buddhist path, bringing Zhang Jingshan and over a dozen others into his view. After reading the Fourfold Exegesis, Zhang Jingshan applied to join the compilation of various scriptures, while also founding the Fruition Research Institute to specialize in the creation and development of fruitions.
Thus, the path of Buddhist cultivation followed a distinct trajectory in Qingming. In the Great Baohua Pure Land and other ancient Chan sects, eminent monks first attained and verified a fruition, then worked backward to research how to channel mighty power downward to bless their believers. Whatever fruitions the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas possessed dictated what blessings believers received; they had no choice in the matter.
In Qingming, however, the researchers were mortals rather than immortals; whatever power they desired, they would invest effort into the corresponding field. Take Zhang Jingshan, for instance. Having spent the first two hundred years of his life in suffocating frustration and suffered a ruthless betrayal at the hands of his beloved, he had never understood why the world was the way it was, and yearned to know what people truly thought deep inside.
With this obsession lodged in his heart, his progress in researching the divine ability of Broad Hearing and Comprehensive Listening advanced exceptionally fast, placing him among the top three across numerous Buddhist research projects.
While other fruitions were determined by Wei Yuan, the underlying principle was the same. Wei Yuan himself had no shortage of divine abilities—his seven grotto-heavens were each of a higher tier than the last, meaning he had no need for fruitions to augment his own power.
Wei Yuan therefore used the Splendor of the Many Realms to understand what most people in Qingming were thinking and what they needed, subsequently designing fruitions to see if they could fulfill those needs.
Thus came the two Arhats, Miluo Guangjia and Duowen, first resolving the challenge of communicating vital information across vast territories. As more Arhats were introduced in the future, communication would gradually open to the general public.
Ultimately, Wei Yuan hoped to realize a world where anyone, by devoutly burning a stick of incense, could reach their distant loved ones.
The opening victory on the northern battlefield was entirely within Wei Yuan's expectations. Yet that wisp of immortal opportunity woven into the blade light striking at Xiaoyu lingered persistently in his mind.
While Xiaoyu was still cleaning up the battlefield, Wei Yuan arrived above the Immortal Heavens and knocked on the courtyard gate of Immortal Zhao Li's residence.
Immortal Zhao Li was savoring tea in the courtyard. Seeing Wei Yuan, he was exceptionally delighted, rising to welcome him inside before solemnly taking out a box forged of star core gold. Inside lay seven jade leaves. After showing them to Wei Yuan, he gave a grand wave of his hand, conjuring multiple shadow-retaining orbs that began recording from every angle.
Steeping one of the jade leaves, Immortal Zhao Li said, "These Yaochen Jade Leaves were granted to me by great fortune when I first became an immortal, twelve in total. Each one can grant an ordinary immortal a divine ability. Over a thousand years have passed, and only seven remain. I'm in good spirits today, so you and I shall share another leaf to help you master a divine ability!"
Wei Yuan was surprised, but took careful note of the shadow-retaining orbs. Sitting upright and proper to ensure his composure was flawless from every angle, he asked, "What are these shadow-retaining orbs for?"
"A little quirk of mine! Whenever I partake in some marvelous heavenly treasure, I must document it so I'll have mementos in my old age. Not to mention anything else, just take your Palace Master Yanshi. He always boasts of loving tea and knowing tea, but all his tea leaves put together aren't worth a single one of my Yaochen Jade Leaves!"
Wei Yuan tactfully asked at once, "Then how much is this leaf worth?"
Immortal Zhao Li held up a single finger, smiling without a word.
Wei Yuan instinctively wanted to say one hundred million Qingyuan, but swallowed it back and ventured instead, "Ten million Qingyuan?"
Immortal Zhao Li chuckled, declaring proudly, "One hundred million!"
Wei Yuan clicked his tongue in profound shock. Veteran, powerhouse immortals with an innate gift for seeking good fortune truly must have hoarded an unimaginable wealth of treasures.
By now, Immortal Zhao Li had finished steeping the tea. Only then did he stow the shadow-retaining orbs, chuckling, "Old rule: the shadow-retaining orbs eat first." He then pushed a cup before Wei Yuan and poured one for himself, leaving not a single drop in the pot.
Yet Wei Yuan could not quite understand why Immortal Zhao Li was suddenly treating him so well.
Immortal Zhao Li smiled without replying. Only after Wei Yuan finished his tea did he speak: "I've treated you to the very best treasure at the bottom of my coffer. Now we can discuss business."
"Senior, please go ahead."
Stroking his beard with a smile, Immortal Zhao Li fixed his gaze on Wei Yuan, lightning-like divine light flashing in his eyes. Word by word, he said, "The children Little Six bears this time—as I see it, a thirty-seventy split!"
Wei Yuan's expression turned solemn. "I have just enjoyed your fine tea. If I only grant you thirty percent, that would hardly be justifiable!"
Seasoned by several millennia of winds and waves though he was, Immortal Zhao Li faltered for a moment. Keeping his smile intact, he asked, "Then how do you propose we split them?"
"Naturally, they are all mine!" Wei Yuan met Immortal Zhao Li's gaze, refusing to yield an inch.
"Utterly impossible! Sixty-forty—sixty for me, forty for you! The children who return to the State of Zhao will all be princes in the future, hereditary in perpetuity!"
Wei Yuan shook his head. "Without fiefdoms, titles are hollow. I have more than enough Qingyuan. That petty stipend of yours wouldn't even be enough to buy toys for my children!"
Instead of getting angry, Immortal Zhao Li laughed. "What kind of toys are so expensive? Could they possibly be spirit treasures?"
Wei Yuan's gaze turned deep, sitting motionlessly.
The smile vanished from Immortal Zhao Li's face.
Blank-faced, Immortal Zhao Li said word by word, "The children allotted to me will each receive a commandery as a hereditary fief in perpetuity."
"Three commanderies! Not a single one less."
"Two commanderies at most!"
"Deal."
Genuine smiles broke across the faces of the two foxes, one old and one young. Wei Yuan asked, "It hasn't even been three days. How did you know?"
Immortal Zhao Li replied indifferently, "With karma of this magnitude, it leapt right before my eyes without me even needing to divine it."
Wei Yuan understood, then asked, "Then this time, how many will there be?"
"The dragon bears nine sons. What do you think?" Immortal Zhao Li countered, a faint, disdainful smirk tugging at the corner of his lips.
Wei Yuan was profoundly shaken, then bowed in sheer admiration.
Only a month later did Wei Yuan realize what Immortal Zhao Li's smile had meant: a dragon might bear nine sons, but the Sixth Princess was fiercer than a dragon.
Chapter 1279