The appearance of Xing Linye and Xing Luyue had already sounded alarm bells for Wei Yuan. Splendor of the Many Realms had delivered a preliminary research report: the material composition of the siblings' dharma bodies was fundamentally different from that of this realm, and their physical forms were composed of a homogeneous substance lacking distinct organs or even clearly defined functional zones. Even the dharma body Dao soldiers Wei Yuan crafted had internal structures far more complex than theirs.
On the surface, it seemed as though Wei Yuan had slain two puppets. Yet both had been suppressed and slain by his own hand, so he knew full well that their divine souls and karmic ties had remained completely intact, none having escaped. Those were two living people—or rather, humanoid beings.
The various foreign races of this realm differed vastly from humanity in outward appearance and internal construction. But if one truly spoke of differences, it was likely these two, who outwardly looked human, that were the least human of all.
A profound sense of crisis welled up within Wei Yuan. He decided to seize this window while the major foreign races were tied down and accelerate the development of the outer world.
However, his outer world had already been exposed, while the investigation into the human traitors remained completely fruitless. This made Wei Yuan's fury increasingly difficult to suppress.
Thus, late one night, Qingming suddenly issued an announcement and dispatched copies to the Great Tang, the Nine Kingdoms, and the Four Great Immortal Sects.
The text of the announcement was exceptionally intricate and obscure, with the original draft even imbued with true intent. Running hundreds of thousands of words in length, the vast majority was devoted to clarifying definitions and eliminating every conceivable ambiguity, ensuring Wei Yuan's meaning was conveyed accurately into everyone's ears without deviation, establishing a karmic link that could not be evaded through any known means.
In short: I will not allow you to pretend you didn't hear it, pretend you didn't understand it, or understand only the bits you wish to understand.
Technicalities aside, the announcement's core message could be boiled down to this: *I am developing an outer world. Whoever reported this to the outer entities, step forward yourself. I can promise to wipe out only nine generations of your kin and spare your sect and clan.*
When this announcement went out, the whole world erupted into an uproar, and politicians across every nation felt particularly uncomfortable.
Their instinct was to hunt for loopholes in the announcement to absolve themselves—yet how could mere human wits breach a firewall hundreds of thousands of words long?
After exhausting every ounce of brainpower to no avail, the politicians, in their frustration, finally remembered: *Wait, I didn't even do it, so why am I feeling guilty?*
Naturally, Wei Yuan had not issued the announcement merely to vent his spleen and leave it at that. With nowhere to unleash his smoldering anger, he simply had to expand the scope of his displaced wrath. And so, Wei Yuan reviewed the progress of the Northern Qi campaign. Finding the pace glaringly inadequate, he hauled the general commanding the front lines back on the spot, ready to unleash a blistering reprimand.
The general leading the Northern Qi campaign at this time was Wei Ying. Having not seen each other for years, she had already reached the perfected Dharma Idol realm, and her mastery of the Water Moon Hall's foundational Dao method, the *Moonlight Myriad Manifestations Taiyin Sutra*, had achieved great completion.
Standing before Wei Yuan, she seemed as though bathed in moonlight, a hazy luster floating all over her. Her appearance had changed once again, bearing a seventy- to eighty-percent resemblance to her past-life self. Her figure had grown more slender and elongated, though her proportions were somewhat exaggerated, her heavy bust looking burdensome enough to make anyone's back ache just watching.
Wei Yuan frowned slightly. He had been poised to scold her, but catching sight of her attire, he blurted out first, "Why are you dressed like that?"
Her outfit was styled entirely after the outer world—crisp and succinct, with a white collared shirt, a black skirt, and a black ribbon tied around her neck. Wei Yuan naturally could tell that the shirt was armor, the skirt was a protective array, and the black ribbon was her frequently used dharma artifact—as was the one wrapped around her thigh.
Outer-world fashion was growing increasingly popular in Qingming, where high-level cultivators embraced either ultra-maximalist or ultra-minimalist aesthetics, eschewing any middle ground. There was nothing amiss with her wearing this casually. Yet in Wei Yuan's eyes, those long, straight legs—with thighs curved so plump and full—carried a distinctly deliberate provocation. Who was she trying to show off for?
Facing Wei Yuan's question, she replied, "Rumors on the street say this is currently the Realm Lord's favorite attire."
Wei Yuan flew into a rage. "Who is smearing my reputation again?!"
"Other than being wise and mighty, Father has no reputation left to ruin."
Wei Yuan was even more vexed. With a cold face, he snapped, "Down to business! Why is the Northern Qi campaign moving so slowly?"
Wei Ying had prepared well in advance, immediately presenting battle reports from over the past year, operational plans, and the strategy for the next phase. Only after reading through them in detail did Wei Yuan realize he had wronged her.
When Wei Yuan initially waged war on Northern Qi, his core objective had not been seizing territory, but purging the Pure Land. His original idea had been to tear down the temples, drive off the monks and devotees, and casually win over the common folk. The war's primary purpose was to deal a blow to Pure Land believers, denying them any chance to harvest faith and incense.
Snatching land could not make the Pure Land ache, nor could seizing people. Only competing for incense and faith struck at the Pure Land's root.
Wei Ying had grasped this intent precisely, which was why she modified the strategy to advance step by step, aggressively promoting the Three Realms Dao path across occupied territories.
The trouble was, in her full-scale campaign to steal people away from the Pure Land, she employed methods worthy of evil cultivators.
For instance, toward commoners who did not yet adhere to any faith, Wei Ying used the grand doctrine of "receive eggs upon joining." She repeatedly told the populace: *As long as you piously worship Buddha and chant sutras, you get free eggs. Your outward piety alone is worth an egg every day.*
*Anyone who doesn't give you eggs is a fraud.*
Toward casual believers, her method was just as simple: double eggs. Check in when entering the temple each day, check out when leaving. Complete a check-in record, and you could take home two eggs and a jin of rice.
Wei Ying told them: *Anyone who doesn't let believers eat their fill is a fraud.*
To deal with devout believers and monks, Wei Ying was even more ruthless. She prepared to distribute wives according to cultivation realm: one for Body Casting, two for Dao Foundation, four for Dharma Idol...
Fortunately, her subordinate generals talked her out of it. After all, no Qingming girl was willing to marry a bald monk from Northern Qi. Wei Ying had initially planned to buy up young women in the countryside and hand out wives to everyone, but that was far too likely to court controversy—and anyone who didn't receive a wife would certainly curse her out.
Though the wife-distribution plan fell through, Wei Ying told the devout followers: *Anyone who cannot ensure your families eat meat every single day is a fraud.*
Beyond that, Wei Ying organized large groups of masters from the Three Realms cult to set up altars and expound the Dharma across the occupied regions. Her gatherings drew on Wei Yuan's past experience in the Desolate Realm: when expounding the Dharma, she literally opened wine jars on a massive scale, preparing one jar per person.
The masters did not deliver dry lectures on scriptural doctrine either; they sang directly from the altar platforms. Fine wine, music, handsome masters, and coordinated outfits—the experience was intensely intoxicating.
After the sermon, people took eggs home as usual. They could also wear the distributed clothes back home and wear them again to the next gathering.
To support all this, Wei Ying's military supply requisition included two massive floating vessels packed with over ten thousand tons of eggs.
After reading through it, even Wei Yuan was filled with admiration. This series of measures was never aimed at winning over long-term converts; it was designed to endlessly inflate the expectations of Pure Land followers, implanting in them a sense of entitlement: *You deserve to enjoy a wonderful life far beyond your own capabilities and what Northern Qi's national wealth can sustain.*
Wei Yuan could only marvel: this wasn't recruiting people for Qingming; this was purely making life miserable for Northern Qi!
Even if Wei Yuan withdrew his troops in the future, faced with a populace brimming with an overwhelming sense of entitlement, even Boundless Bright Radiance would probably curse up a storm.
Wei Yuan set down the strategy, his expression softening pleasantly. "It seems I wronged you earlier. This plan is excellent. Continue executing it. You will remain in charge of the Northern Qi theater."
She smiled faintly. "It is fine. I always knew Father would find fault with whatever I do, so I came fully prepared."
Wei Yuan felt somewhat awkward. "It isn't that I have any prejudice against you—"
Wei Ying said, "I know. What happened in my past life implicated so many people, and Master Zhang was nearly brought to ruin because of it. Since that trouble originated from me, it is only natural Father harbors resentment. It is just that I am somewhat useful now. Rather than slaying me outright for a moment of satisfaction, keeping me around is better. You can have me do work, and whenever you are in a foul mood, you can vent your anger on me at any time. I am quite capable, after all."
"What kind of talk is that? Am I that sort of person? As for your past misdeeds, whatever deserved punishment has already been punished. Possessing memories of your past life in this incarnation is a karmic fate you earned," Wei Yuan said solemnly.
He then recalled something and asked again, "Why did your appearance change?"
She said, "Water Moon Hall's Dao methods inherently possess the ability to alter one's physical appearance and even the characteristics of one's divine sense. So I changed my face back to that of my past life and optimized my figure a little. That way, seeing my face will remind Father of our past grievances, making your displaced anger feel doubly satisfying."
"Utter nonsense!" Wei Yuan felt this explanation was clearly slandering his character. In his view, Wei Ying had reverted to her past appearance simply because she had looked better in her previous life.
Wei Ying's method for conquering Northern Qi was far more effective than Wei Yuan's original plan, so Wei Yuan gave her free rein. Even if the Pure Land decided to abandon this region in the future, it was no problem—a standard of living that Northern Qi and the Pure Land could not afford was considered bottom-tier in Qingming.
During this time, Qingming generals repeatedly petitioned for battle. Watching the Nine Kingdoms clash fiercely on one side and Wei Ying storming cities and seizing territory on the other, their itch for combat was practically growing moss.
Everyone was still young with vast Dao paths ahead of them, and everyone needed karmic luck and opportunity. With so many troops sitting idle, how could they not find someone to fight?
Wei Yuan, however, felt that goods were currently selling well, people could enter freely, and whatever raw materials were needed, the Nine Kingdoms would grow or mine them—so why fight a war? Even if they won, it would merely result in the present situation, and they would have to fund post-war reconstruction on the defeated party. Otherwise, if the vanquished could afford nothing and lived in squalor, they wouldn't be able to contribute karmic luck.
Yes, karmic luck. Wei Yuan now discovered that as more and more people across the world learned of Qingming, more and more wished to live the Qingming lifestyle. These people didn't even need to be fed; they automatically contributed karmic luck, and in truly substantial amounts. Qingming cultivators studying this phenomenon had dubbed it 'remote husbandry.'
At this moment, the Expedition Hall was bustling. Many cultivators loitering there watched curiously as several dozen cultivators in distinctly different attire gathered around a batch of special dharma bodies to study them. These dharma body puppets were entirely unprecedented.
The expedition cultivators were now extraordinarily sensitive to all sorts of garments, patterns, and even colors. They immediately crowded around, firing off questions. Those new dharma bodies not only featured unique styling, but also came with toolkits and an array of specialized equipment.
Upon inquiring, the crowd learned that these new arrivals were all alchemists whose mission in the expedition world was concocting pills.
Getting on an alchemist's good side was second nature to any qualified cultivator. The surrounding cultivators immediately poured on the flattery, but the alchemists looked down on them with noses in the air, having seen their fair share of treasures. Why would they pay any mind to a bunch of bumpkin cultivators from who-knows-where who offered only lip service without a shred of tangible benefit?
Seeing these alchemists equipped with unique attire and special dharma bodies, several cultivators who were close friends hatched an idea. One remarked, "Why don't we exchange for some red markings to paste onto our dharma bodies? That way, the moment people see us, they'll know we belong to the Red Devils!"
"What 'Red Devils'? That sounds dreadful! Better call ourselves Red Apricot."
"I knew you brazen wench wanted to stray over the garden wall!"
In a corner, an ordinary-looking cultivator watched this scene, the corners of his mouth curling upward slightly. Since the introduction of external cultivators, the Expedition Hall had become vibrant—to the point of utter chaos and absurdity.
Once the cultivators discovered they entered purely as divine souls and that the system provided functions to remodel facial features, body shapes, and even garments, they gradually revealed their true colors, each more unhinged and surreal than the last.
This cultivator named 'Originally Ordinary' was none other than Wei Yuan's avatar. Wei Yuan chose such a name, paired it with a seemingly mundane dharma body, and equipped several artifacts that looked utterly unremarkable on the outside yet were completely unique across the entire expedition, all in hopes that cultivators would overlook him in his corner. But if someone possessed an eye for greatness and saw right through him, well, there wasn't much Wei Yuan could do about it.
Looking upon the extraordinarily lively hall, Wei Yuan was naturally pleased. The livelier this place was, the greater the diversity of thought, and the higher the chance that brilliant ideas would emerge. The present clamor and disorder was the true fertile ground.
Wei Yuan didn't just leave everyone to their own devices, either. Instead, he constantly placed carrots at critical junctures, letting the donkeys discern patterns, become self-driven, and find millstones to turn on their own.
For example, the arrival of these alchemists immediately gave cultivators a whiff of opportunity. Consequently, artifact crafters, physicians, talisman masters, and pretty masseuse cultivators sprang up from every corner, preparing to showcase their skills in the outer world.
Wei Yuan now realized that anything he could think of, everyone else could basically think of too; he had no need to fret over such matters. What eluded them was tied to standing and tier—and that was Wei Yuan's domain alone.
As external cultivators grew in number, the growth rate of the outer world steadily accelerated. Wei Yuan discovered that after cultivators' divine souls descended into those dharma body puppets, it was equivalent to endowing them with souls; they were actually autonomously absorbing chaos and converting it into heaven-and-earth origin qi.
At this point, merely a year had passed since Xing Linye's demise, yet multiple varieties of microscopic organisms had already appeared beneath the soil of the outer world. Among them, five—two large and three small—had actually developed rudimentary sapience.
Wei Yuan did not interfere, choosing instead to observe patiently. He knew the origin of the one large and three small microscopic organisms, but had no clue where the other large one had come from, leaving him no choice but to monitor it closely.
Reaching the emergence of microscopic organisms was a path ancient cultivators took hundreds of thousands of years to tread, yet Wei Yuan had traversed it in just a few short years, carried by several thousand self-driven donkeys.
Wei Yuan leaned against the corner wall. Amid his inner contentment, there lingered a touch of emptiness—primarily because he had been leaning there for several days, yet no one had come over to strike up a conversation.
Right in the midst of his loneliness, an exceedingly sweet and adorable little girl, appearing no older than ten, came skipping past Wei Yuan.
Wei Yuan couldn't help stealing a second glance—not for any other reason, but because she looked somewhat familiar to him. Moreover, she carried a wisp of faint crimson resentment that clearly originated from Xing Linye. Wei Yuan's curiosity deepened: what had this little girl done to make Xing Linye hate her so intensely?
Sensing Wei Yuan's gaze, the girl glanced back, was suddenly gripped by sheer terror, launched forward like a shot, and vanished in an instant!
Baffled, Wei Yuan stroked his face. *Did my looks happen to resemble some notorious demon lord?*
Chapter 1412