Though Tianyu's grasp of idioms was dubious, his general meaning was sound.
Xue Hai was an old Nether Shaman who had lived for thousands of years, and his innate divine ability included a method for handling karmic debt. The boundless sea of blood within his mindscape world was formed entirely from karmic debt. Any karmic debt that fell upon him would accumulate until a final catastrophic eruption at the very end, at which point Xue Hai would perish along with it, severing that thread of karma.
Put bluntly, Xue Hai was a shaman among the Nether Shamans who specialized in handling karmic debt and cause-and-effect—effectively a means of deceiving the heavens. Xue Hai had never been skilled in warfare throughout his life; his primary source of cultivation resources came from processing sacrificial offerings and slaves on behalf of others, shouldering the karmic debt for them.
"We don't need to feel sorry for him. His business is proxy slaughter," Tianyu continued with another startling phrase.
Proxy slaughter—this was the solution Tianyu had devised.
However, that he had rushed to Qingming to explain the matter in person was because he, too, had sensed the karma here was not so simple. These slaves had all been purchased by Wei Yuan; Wei Yuan knew it, Tianyu knew it, and Xue Hai knew it just as well. Even if they were killed through Xue Hai's hand, there was no guarantee Wei Yuan's Dao heart would remain unaffected.
"You did the right thing; you should have come to me," Wei Yuan nodded. Tianyu being able to consider this layer showed his comprehension of the Great Dao of Cause and Effect had progressed once more, no small feat for someone constantly surrounded by pretty shamans.
Right at this moment, a stirring touched Wei Yuan's heart. A message arrived via the Splendor of the Many Realms: a band of roving bandits had breached Qingming, not only demolishing a border outpost but also killing several soldiers. The bandits were currently trapped on a small hill, fiercely resisting and refusing to surrender; thus, an application had been submitted to use lethal force to annihilate them.
Why bring such a minor matter to me? Wei Yuan was somewhat puzzled. He casually approved it, then continued discussing the proxy slaughter with Tianyu.
At the Qingming border, atop a small hill, a cry laden with fury and despair rang out from the dense woods: "I want to see Wei Yuan!!" The voice echoed through the mountains and forests, reverberating without end.
Young Master Zhou was disheveled and dirt-streaked by now. His outer garment had long been shredded into rags, and his inner magical robe was torn open in several massive gashes, completely ruined. Beside him, the elder who had secretly protected him no longer bore the poise of a consummate Dharma Idol cultivator: his beard and eyebrows were scorched to tatters, and one arm was gone. Less than half of the Imperial Guards remained, every one of them wounded, huddling together and shivering in terror like birds startled by the twang of a bowstring.
Young Master Zhou roared once more, "I want to see Wei Yuan! How dare you attack and murder a high official of the imperial court and slaughter imperial guards! Every last one of your nine lineages will be exterminated!"
In the air stood a row of black-robed cultivators whose vestments differed drastically in style from traditional Great Tang cultivators. These ten-odd cultivators were astonishingly all of Dharma Idol cultivation, their ten-plus Golden Cores shining in harmony. The brilliance of an individual core was exceedingly faint, but over a dozen gathered together produced a dazzling, intense glare.
Only now did Zhou Houli recall a joke he had once heard: if you see one Golden Core, you've seen a dozen; if you see a dozen Golden Cores, you've seen countless Golden Cores.
This saying had always circulated as a joke within the capital's cultivator circles, originally meant to mock Qingming's Golden Core cultivators for being weak and numerous, like weeds. Back then, Zhou Houli had thoroughly agreed, laughing at it more than once.
Yet today, facing a dozen Golden Cores in person, he truly felt just how despair-inducing that piercing glare was.
Where these people were terrifying had nothing to do with their personal cultivation, but rather the flying sword guns in their hands, the double-digit magical gear and defensive equipment on their bodies, the top-tier tactical formations they deployed, and the flying swords they threw around as if they cost nothing, casually bombarding with hundreds at a time.
Zhou Houli's bodyguard, that elder of consummate Dharma Idol realm, had been focused down by the Golden Cores; under the barrage of hundreds of flying swords, he had been gravely wounded in a single clash and lost an arm, without having had the chance to unleash even one of his renowned divine abilities.
In his despair, Zhou Houli summoned the last of his magical power and roared toward the sky, "I want to see Wei Yuan—!"
Yet the cry only traveled a hundred zhang before being blocked by an invisible barrier, unable to carry any farther. Looking at the Golden Cores in the air, Zhou Houli was both enraged and terrified, stammering, "Y-You dare... How dare you..."
That barrier was a formation set up by this group of Golden Cores precisely to prevent Zhou Houli's voice and magical power from leaking out and alerting others.
The lead Golden Core sneered, "What manner of person is our Realm Lord, that he would have time to see an inferior wretch like you? You killed our border garrison's soldiers, then resisted arrest and fled. Under the law, you can be executed on the spot. Die!"
However, a Golden Core beside him frowned slightly and said, "There seems to be more to this matter, and they cannot escape now anyway. I think it's better to report it up the chain, take them into custody first, and escort them to prison."
The lead Golden Core gritted his teeth. "I will report this afterward! But they killed my son, and I must avenge him! Besides, under the law, they deserve to die! Say no more—if there are consequences, I will shoulder them!"
With that, he had already charged forward.
Another Golden Core sighed and said, "Forget it, he's taking responsibility anyway. Besides, handling a critical situation first and delaying the report carries at most a minor reprimand—nothing compared to the vengeance for a slain son."
The Golden Cores nodded, then attacked in unison, hundreds of flying swords whistling downward. Zhou Houli desperately put up his defenses, but his eyes were filled with utter despair.
Yet all the flying swords abruptly froze in midair, completely losing control. The lead Golden Core instantly grew irascible and barked furiously, "Who? Who dares meddle in my business?"
Before the frozen flying swords, a figure appeared. The instant they saw that back, every Golden Core fell silent.
The man merely looked at Zhou Houli and said mildly, "You wished to see me?"
Zhou Houli had not yet recovered from the wild swing between death and salvation. "Y-You are Wei Yuan?"
With his hands behind his back, Wei Yuan stood atop a surge of golden light rippling like water, his bearing peerless. "I am. Speak: what brings you here?"
Zhou Houli examined Wei Yuan closely, gradually matching him to the portrait. Seeing Wei Yuan in person, for some reason, all his fear and panic vanished, replaced instead by grievance and indignation.
Zhou Houli's expression darkened instantly, and he shouted, "Since you are Wei Yuan, why do you not kneel to receive the imperial decree?!"
Wei Yuan looked at him with a smile, wearing an expression of deep pity for the mentally deficient.
Zhou Houli froze. A commander of the Imperial Guard stepped forward, pointed at Wei Yuan, and barked, "Insolence! Kneel at once!"
Wei Yuan's expression did not change. From the sky, a streak of flowing fire descended noiselessly, reducing the Imperial Guard commander to flying ash in an instant! Terrifyingly, the celestial fire had incinerated only his physical body; his clothes and magical gear were completely undamaged, slumping into a heap on the ground.
An Imperial Guard commander, killed just like that. In an instant, every remaining Imperial Guard commander fell as silent as cicadas in winter, their arrogance and hostility vanishing without a trace.
Wei Yuan continued looking at Zhou Houli. Young Master Zhou's lips twitched as he forced an ugly smile. "There is an imperial edict... Wei Yuan, receive..."
Seeing that Wei Yuan still made no move, Zhou Houli had no choice but to say, "The edict proclaims: Military Commissioner of Qingming and Concurrent Military Commissioner of Yizhou Wei Yuan has ever been loyal, selfless, devoted to the realm, defending against alien tribes, and easing the nation's burdens. In recognition of his loyalty and righteousness, he is hereby granted marriage to Princess Wancheng, and ordered to lead elite forces to the capital for the wedding without delay. Respect this!"
After reading it, Zhou Houli said, "Offer your thanks!"
Wei Yuan asked in return, "And who are you?"
Zhou Houli puffed out his chest and declared, "This official is Zhou Houli, Vice Minister of the Court of Imperial Entertainments!"
Wei Yuan chuckled. "So you prepare meals for the palace."
Wei Yuan turned around and said to the dozen-odd Golden Core cultivators, "Let them go. Then, write a report immediately explaining why this matter was concealed, and submit it to your superiors. Until the disciplinary decision is rendered, all of you are relieved of your duties and shall await orders at home."
"Realm Lord..." The lead Golden Core wanted to say more, but Wei Yuan had already vanished.
He glared at Zhou Houli with eyes spitting fire, but without the other Golden Cores cooperating in formation, he was no match for Zhou Houli on his own, and could only depart in bitter resentment.
Zhou Houli stood stunned for a moment before finally realizing that Wei Yuan hadn't accepted the edict. He had dared not to accept the decree? How dared he?!
And he hadn't even had the chance to announce that he was the son of the reigning Empress Dowager's brother!
However, having just escaped death, the utterly terrified Imperial Guard commanders hoisted Zhou Houli up and fled like the wind. Only after putting some distance between them did Zhou Houli's voice echo through the mountains: "Arrogant! Rebellious! Traitorous beyond measure! Once I return to the capital, I will impeach him to high heaven..."
Little did they know that another detachment of cultivators in Qingming had already received orders: a band of roving bandits was on the loose at the border, led by two Dharma Idol cultivators. They were instructed to mobilize quickly and intercept them; if there was any resistance, they were authorized to kill them on the spot.
At the same time, Wei Yuan issued an order to thoroughly investigate all matters that should have been reported but were not, or were concealed, delayed, or omitted. Within the Splendor of the Many Realms, no matter how clever the excuse, cross-referencing multi-dimensional data could unearth roughly ninety percent of such incidents.
The sheer magnitude of the resulting numbers shocked even Wei Yuan, leaving him momentarily in no mood to discuss proxy slaughter.
Among the cases reported, only a small fraction involved embezzlement or corruption. The overwhelming majority stemmed from low-level clerks, petty officials, and assorted temporary hires across the various government offices, who, wielding their trivial bits of authority and skating on the edge of the law, did everything in their power to make life difficult for others.
Chapter 1346