Reserves

Wei Yuan swept his divine sense across the Sixth Princess's lower abdomen, instantly making contact with numerous faint yet lively consciousnesses. Like a brood of little chicks, they chirped incessantly toward Wei Yuan. However, when he counted them, his expression shifted abruptly. "Why are there more?" Originally, when the Sixth Princess first became pregnant, Wei Yuan had counted multiple times: there were fifteen in all. Princess Ningguo's mystical prowess was far behind, managing only three. Yet now, as Wei Yuan counted again, the little lives in the Sixth Princess's belly had become eighteen! Could people really hop aboard midway like this? Faced with Wei Yuan's bewilderment, the Sixth Princess said, "Oh, that? It's very simple. A while ago, I tidied up the little ones and stacked them neatly, which freed up quite a bit of room. Seeing how much empty space there was, I squeezed three more in. They're all part of the same clutch anyway, and leaving space empty would just be a waste." There was something about this explanation that Wei Yuan found terribly off. Chiefly, where had those last three come from? A possibility suddenly crossed his mind, and his face instantly darkened. Could it be that in this world, someone actually dared to cuckold him? Seeing Wei Yuan's grim expression, the Sixth Princess covered her mouth and giggled. "Rest easy, Husband. In this life, you're the only one who could ever wrong me; I would never wrong you. Those three were originally reserves meant to be saved for the next clutch. Since there was room this time, I let them out early." "Wait, what do you mean, reserves?" Wei Yuan felt his mind spinning. After the Sixth Princess explained for a while, Wei Yuan finally understood. It turned out that after that single day and night back then, Wei Yuan's Desolate Roar had been reduced to zero; yet beneath that agonizing price lay a bountiful harvest. That time, the Sixth Princess had gathered a total of eighty-one eggs. She had released just over a dozen for this first clutch, while the rest were stored inside her belly, waiting to be released when the right time came. Once Wei Yuan grasped what had happened, he felt his vision go dark. The Sixth Princess quickly comforted him, saying that these little things wouldn't all come out one batch after another. They could survive for ninety-nine years, so whenever she felt bored on any given day, she would lay a clutch to play with. "Husband, where is the divine pill?" A vermilion-lacquered pill box appeared in Wei Yuan's hand. Inside lay neatly arranged pills, every single one bearing pill patterns. These were Spring Cicada Feather-Shedding Pills, capable of improving a dharma idol's physique and constitution. Priceless and unobtainable on the open market, they could only be exchanged with merit in Qingming. This box in particular was exceptionally precious, personally concocted by Wei Yuan and possessing tiered pill patterns. Wei Yuan thrust the whole box into the Sixth Princess's hands, instructing her to take one every three days. Not only would it cleanse and refine her own physique and constitution, but it would also refine the little ones along the way. Leaving the residence, Wei Yuan felt not only his head buzzing, but his entire body weighed down. Between a new grotto-heaven and ninety-nine kids suddenly springing up, he wasn't sure which was the heavier burden. Yet Wei Yuan immediately remembered his agreement with Immortal Zhao Li. If all ninety-nine were actually born, wouldn't half of Zhao's territory be partitioned? Wei Yuan temporarily set his troubles aside. With his true body seated in the immortal city, he convened the city lords of Qingming's various cities for a council. Meanwhile, a wisp of his divine sense slipped quietly above the Sea of Bitterness, passed through the Heaven of Joy and Bliss, and settled upon the two fruitions of Guangjia and Duowen Xiting. Passing through the fruitions, Wei Yuan's divine sense arrived in the northern reaches of Eastern Jin, within the fortress Xiaoyu had erected. A Three Realms Temple had been built in the fortress right away as a top priority. Wei Yuan's divine sense descended upon an arhat statue standing in the temple, possessed a monk at random, and walked out of the small temple. Outside, an immediate clamor rose up. Columns of soldiers rushed back and forth, some hauling munitions and supplies, others carrying wounded men on stretchers toward the hospital. Many officers shouted at the top of their lungs, searching for soldiers under their command, plunging the entire fortress into bustling chaos. Evidently, a major battle had just concluded. Everyone was seizing every moment to rest the troops, adjust deployments, and shore up weak spots in the defensive perimeter. Seeing this, Wei Yuan felt an overwhelming sense of familiarity. When Qingming was first founded, he had fought his way up battle by battle in this exact manner. A low roar reverberated across the sky as three floating boats arrived above the fortress, descending slowly. Seeing the vessels, many soldiers on the ground waved and cheered in excitement. The appearance of flying boats meant supplies, reinforcements, and the evacuation of the wounded. A sweep of Wei Yuan's divine sense located Xiaoyu. Xiaoyu was currently in the central command tent by the sand table, analyzing the battle situation with a host of generals. Sensing Wei Yuan's summons, he dismissed the generals, and then saw an ordinary-looking middle-aged monk appear inside the tent. Xiaoyu stared at the monk for a long while, still unable to connect him with Wei Yuan. As a result, he became thoroughly convinced in his heart that the Buddhist path was an evil cultivation path—otherwise, how could this monk be so ugly? "How is the battle going?" Wei Yuan asked. Instead of answering, Xiaoyu countered, "Is it comfortable walking around wearing something like that?" Wei Yuan smiled faintly. "It's just like wearing clothes. The higher your cultivation, the better the fit. In time, you forget the clothes even exist." Xiaoyu suddenly remarked, "If you go around doing bad things wearing a skin like this, wouldn't it be hard for anyone to catch you?" Wei Yuan blinked. "If I wanted to do bad things, why would I need to wear a skin?" The moment the words left his mouth, Wei Yuan realized he had misspoken, and Xiaoyu realized he had asked the wrong question. Both fell into contemplative silence for a moment, looking at each other, neither willing to accept the fact that they weren't all that virtuous. Xiaoyu cleared his throat and decisively steered the conversation back to the military situation. "So far, the Liao Clan has launched three assaults, suffering total losses of over a hundred and fifty thousand. Right now, over nine hundred thousand Liao troops are blocked by me to the south. They're mobilizing troops from the north and east, preparing a three-pronged pincer attack to level the fortress." Wei Yuan frowned slightly. "The east? What on earth is Northern Qi doing?" "Those bald thieves wish nothing more than to see you die young. Why would they ever help you pin down the Liao army?" The words were barely out of Xiaoyu's mouth when he realized there was a bald head right in front of him. But the curse was second nature to him, and such habits were hard to break. Wei Yuan stared at the sand table. Gradually, a plan surfaced, and the Splendor of the Many Realms went into gear, checking for deficiencies and filling gaps at astonishing speed until everything was thoroughly perfected. Wei Yuan tapped his finger to the east of the fortress. "One fortress isn't enough! Start constructing fortification belts toward both the east and west flanks immediately. Once you beat back the eastern reinforcements, build three more fortresses!" Looking at the line Wei Yuan traced, Xiaoyu turned solemn as well. It was like a lock clamping shut a colossal pocket, and trapped inside that pocket were over a million troops of Northern Liao's southern legion. "You want to swallow the entire million-strong army in the south?" "Not just them—their eastern reinforcements too! A million and a half in all. I'm taking them all." Xiaoyu hadn't expected Wei Yuan to have such an immense appetite, but after Wei Yuan explained, Xiaoyu understood. Now that Wei Yuan held the Heaven of Joy and Bliss and his dharma body presided over the Sea of Bitterness, wherever Buddhist power reached, the power of the Yellow Springs would expand. For every Liao soul that fell into Wei Yuan's hands, Qingming would gain an exceptionally gifted child in the future, while the Liao Clan would lose an outstanding warrior. This wasn't merely wiping out 1.5 million enemies—it was also adding 1.5 million exceptional people of their own. Xiaoyu frowned. "I need more troops." "They're already on the way," Wei Yuan replied. Xiaoyu was still somewhat worried. "We're fighting the Shaman Clan and the Mountain Folk at the same time right now. Aren't we opening too many fronts? On my end, I'm afraid I'll need six hundred to eight hundred thousand. The front is too long, after all, and the Liao Clan's mobility is formidable. If our forces are spread too thin, it'll be too easy for them to punch through." Wei Yuan said, "No problem. I have already set aside plenty of reserve troops." "How many reserves did you keep?" The moment the words left his mouth, Xiaoyu wished he could slap himself across the face. Sure enough, Wei Yuan smiled, speaking in a calm, measured voice. "In the rear, our first-tier reserves number another million, while our second-tier reserves are five million." Compared to Wei Yuan's grand scale, Xiaoyu instantly felt shortsighted, timid as a rat, fit only to catch sparrows and dig for mice. Fortunately, this wasn't the first time. By now, Xiaoyu's skin had ascended many times over. If the various parts of the human body could cultivate independently, the skin of his face would certainly be the first to ascend to immortality. After all, being around Wei Yuan meant his thick skin endured a tribulation every single day. Xiaoyu took a deep breath. Knowing Wei Yuan wasn't done talking, he asked, "What should I do right now?" Wei Yuan said, "First, gather the core commanders in the army and have them commit fully to studying the Three Realms Sutra and Exegesis of the Four Divisions. Get them to take refuge in me as early as possible so I can grant them blessings. When they take the field, hundreds or thousands of blessed officers will surely give the Liao Clan a bitter time. "Additionally, I've already prepared your fruition golden body. This is the first version, still a bit rough around the edges, so make do with it for now. In a moment, I'll take you into the Heaven of Joy and Bliss to have a look at it." At this seemingly minor request, Xiaoyu hesitated—simply because the method of entering the Heaven of Joy and Bliss was truly rather... humiliating. In the center of the Heaven of Joy and Bliss, Wei Yuan led Xiaoyu into the Hall of the Three Realms. Pointing to a bodhisattva standing to the left of the central Buddha statue, he smiled. "This is the fruition golden body of Guide Bodhisattva Miaoyue. What do you think? Not bad, is it? "Once your cultivation is sufficient to attain the Dao and take your place, you'll be able to have subordinate arhat seats of your own. When the time comes, I'll have the Fruition Research Institute design whatever arhats you like!" Xiaoyu tilted his head back, gazing at the golden body whose facial features were an eighty percent match to his own. After a long silence, he said faintly, "First tell me... is it male or female?" Wei Yuan laughed heartily and clapped Xiaoyu on the shoulder. "Distinguishing male from female means you're clinging to appearances. I'll just tell you two things: first, this golden body is better-looking than you in person; second, it fights better than your dharma idol." In an instant, Star Lord Shaoyang could no longer hold back and wanted to come out to have it out with Wei Yuan. Alas, the scoundrel Xiaoyu didn't even try to hold him back, so in a fit of rage, Star Lord Shaoyang could only stay angry for a split second.