Fruit

Several months prior, Batu had received Wei Yuan's orders and begun organizing the tribesmen for large-scale training, teaching them how to work in the grasslands and pasturelands. Wei Yuan had already specially optimized these roles so that they required no real skills, let alone intellect. Every position called for nothing more than simple, repetitive, heavy manual labor. The skilled positions were initially handled by cultivators dispatched from Qingming, and later reserved exclusively for second-class Liao nobility. At present, the Three Rivers Liao domain was far from peaceful. The tribes north of the snow-capped mountains were fierce and militant. After Dunyan was captured, some of his descendants and clansmen fled Pastoral City and organized an insurgent force. They roamed about harassing and striking at Qingming's industries, killing many Liao people who worked for Qingming. Regarding these rebellious Liao people, Wei Yuan knew full well that killing them all was out of the question; the more he killed, the more rebels would emerge. One solution was to enlighten the populace and develop their livelihoods, just as Qingming had done. But completely developing the Liao domain at this stage would only nourish a tiger that would return to bite them. After careful deliberation, Wei Yuan decided on a multi-pronged approach. First, Wei Yuan placed all the newly established grasslands and pastures south of the snow mountains. The forage and meat produced by these new workshops cost only a third of the price of traditional nomadic products, with stable quality and enormous output. When the time came, the fierce tribesmen north of the snow mountains would not be able to sell a thing; they would have no choice but to consume it themselves. Unable to sell their goods, they would lack the funds to buy cultivation resources. The cultivation of Liao cultivators north of the snow mountains would stagnate or even regress. At that point, they would either have to leave for other parts of the Liao domain or migrate south to join Batu's tribe. Without cultivators, the northern tribes would be toothless tigers, easily handled at will. At the same time, Wei Yuan instituted a basic relief system, distributing minimum rations to the poorest Liao people to ensure they would not starve to death, though they would never be full either. The common Liao folk were much like the human populace: as long as they were not starving to death, very few would think of rebelling. By the winter of the seventh year of Zhaoning, the grasslands and livestock workshops had already been completed. Wei Yuan purchased enough young and breeding livestock from Great Khan Silver Moon, and the pastures went into operation. With the arrangements in the Liao domain settled, Wei Yuan established several flying boat transit stations on the lands acquired from the Xu family. He deployed an army of one hundred thousand to the southwestern border of the Three Rivers Khan Tent and garrisoned them there. Should the Shaman Clan choose to advance through this route, this garrison could intercept them on the spot. Constructing the floating road still required time, but Wei Yuan was in no hurry. With his northern layout complete, all that remained for Wei Yuan was to wait. Thus, he decided to treat himself a little better and head to the Lu clan ancestral seat to absorb the final immortal remains. This set of remains would save Wei Yuan roughly several millennia of arduous cultivation, and beneath it lay something hidden. From their previous encounter, though Wei Yuan still did not know what that little thing was, he knew it ought to be quite nourishing. Just as Wei Yuan packed his bags and prepared to head north, he suddenly received an urgent summons from Baoyun. Postponing his journey, he came to the castellan's manor in Fengqi City. The moment he stepped through the door, Wei Yuan saw Baoyun sitting upright in the main hall, a faint radiance floating across her face. "What happened? Why summon me so urgently?" Wei Yuan asked. "Come to the Heaven of Joy and Bliss, and then I'll tell you," Baoyun replied, keeping him in suspense. Wei Yuan had no choice but to postpone his journey to the northern frontier once more and prepare to take Baoyun into the Heaven of Joy and Bliss. The Heaven of Joy and Bliss had now become Wei Yuan's Dao arena. There was a shortcut to enter, without needing to cross the void, though this convenient method took a bit of a toll on Wei Yuan. Baoyun curtsied gracefully, and Wei Yuan instantly felt his Dao heart waver. This time he did not hold back. Scooping Baoyun up in his arms, he prepared to properly discipline this disobedient girl. Baoyun, however, reached out a hand to fend off his advances and said, "Wait until we're in the Heaven of Joy and Bliss." Wei Yuan was baffled, but he composed himself and brought Baoyun into the Heaven of Joy and Bliss. The Heaven of Joy and Bliss had changed its appearance again. Owing to the large number of mirage demons, the power of Earth Phase surged, causing a stretch of desert and Gobi to emerge at the realm's edge. Wei Yuan led Baoyun into the small temple of the Pure Land, then used the faith and prayer power accumulated over this period to seal off the inside from the outside, severing worldly karma. Then he said, "All clear now. Whatever you have to say, speak freely." Baoyun said, "First, I am currently undergoing the Scenery Command heavenly tribulation." Wei Yuan was astonished. He hurriedly channeled divine light into his eyes to look, but could not see the slightest sign of tribulation. Wei Yuan turned solemn and said, "Why didn't you tell me earlier? Don't you know you shouldn't undergo a tribulation near me? When did the heavenly tribulation begin, and what kind of tribulation is it?" Baoyun said, "It started three years ago and has continued until now. Don't worry, it's merely a Scenery Command heavenly tribulation. I can handle it." Wei Yuan frowned. "Three years? How could it take so long? Only an Immortal Ascension tribulation would last over a year, right?" Baoyun said softly, "That's not important. There's a second thing. I have something to show you." In an instant, the scenery within the temple shifted as Baoyun unfolded her heart-manifestation world. Her heart-manifestation world was a picturesque immortal heaven of blue waters, with a towering ancient tree standing at its center. Now, the entire world held a semi-illusory, semi-real feel, and within that ancient tree emerged a speck of vital force radiating a warm glow. The vital spark was minute yet extraordinarily intense, like a star burning in the endless void whose light and heat could slowly illuminate the boundless cosmos. The moment this vital spark appeared, it gave Wei Yuan an unmistakable feeling of blood kinship! "Th-this is..." A smile curved at the corners of Baoyun's lips as she said, "I'm not as remarkable as the others. Even after giving it everything I had, I could only manage this one." "Ah?" In an instant, Wei Yuan's mind went blank for a brief moment. The news was so sudden that he could barely process it. Yet he could not understand: this was supposed to be wonderful news, so why was Baoyun being so secretive, insisting on entering the Heaven of Joy and Bliss before telling him? Before he could ask, a blade of grass in Baoyun's heart-manifestation world suddenly shattered, turning into a wisp of demonic qi! This demonic qi was unlike anything Wei Yuan had seen before. It bore a thirty percent resemblance to the Heavenly Demon Jialuo of old, but seventy percent differed. It was not as mercurial as a heavenly demon, but far more ferocious. The moment this wisp of demonic qi appeared, it was instantly drawn to that speck of vital force. Like a shark catching the scent of blood, it swam straight toward it, aiming to devour the vitality. But from within the vital force, a spark shot forth, instantly igniting the demonic qi. The demonic qi flared into a blazing fireball, an agonized shriek ringing out from within, before finally turning to ashes. "What is going on?" Wei Yuan immediately mobilized the power of the Heaven of Joy and Bliss to suppress Baoyun's heart-manifestation world and curb the emergence of demonic qi. Baoyun cast him a sidelong glance and said, "Isn't it because of this little one? The moment he came into being, a demonic tribulation arose. A double demonic tribulation was more than I could endure, so I had no choice but to come to you. Only within the Heaven of Joy and Bliss, where the demonic tribulation is suppressed by Buddhist power, could I show it to you." "Then you could have told me outside first!" Baoyun shook her head. "I could never say it outside. As for why, I don't know either—it was just an intuition." Wei Yuan knew he was currently laden with immense karma, and consequently, everything connected to him carried tremendous karmic weight. It was hardly surprising that Baoyun felt this way. Thereupon, Wei Yuan questioned her in detail, finally discerning Baoyun's current state. What Baoyun encountered was the Outer Demon Great Tribulation, a demonic tribulation unique to her. Once this tribulation arose, it overrode the original Scenery Command heavenly tribulation, taking its place. This tribulation had begun three years ago, arriving without any warning. Yet Baoyun had not told Wei Yuan at the time, choosing instead to face it alone. Back then, Baoyun had been single-mindedly intent on bearing a child for Wei Yuan. Among Wei Yuan's Dao companions, Feng Tingyu and Ji Liuli had dharma bodies that were far too powerful, making conception exceptionally difficult to begin with. Feng Tingyu had a particular problem on top of that: her belly had a mind of its own and was extraordinarily stubborn. As a result, conception was all but impossible for them. As for Zhang Sheng, she was unique; perhaps it would take the combined forces of Heaven and Earth for conception to even be possible. Thus, everyone tacitly understood that Baoyun was the only one with real hope. Yet Baoyun never expected a demonic tribulation to descend so abruptly. Left with no alternative, she had to suppress the tribulation alone while relentlessly ravaging Wei Yuan's Desolate Roar, to the point where she had almost become his Dao enemy. The reason Baoyun had kept it hidden from Wei Yuan was that he was simply too powerful now. Once he learned of it, the karma stirred up would be too colossal, and she might lose the child altogether. All she could do was keep striving and await Heaven's will. Through her unremitting efforts, her endeavor had finally borne fruit recently. When Wei Yuan asked about the timing in detail, he suddenly realized that the moment this vital spark had coalesced was identical to the moment vital force had condensed in the otherworldly realm.