A Change of Tactics

"No, we need a change of tactics. If this continues, it'll be the end of us sooner or later." Wei Yuan put down the analysis report in his hands and let out a soft sigh. The report was a comprehensive analysis of the recent grand expedition battle. Its final conclusion was that, for now, there was no telling where the resource limits of those otherworldly beings lay. They could directly summon sin-beasts and black-armored giants from the Sea of Chaos to form makeshift legions. Thus, given enough time, their numbers would only swell and their strength would only grow the longer they fought—taking the exact same path of victory through sheer numbers as Wei Yuan. Wei Yuan deeply disdained this practice of merely piling on quantity while disregarding quality. Crude. Another conclusion in the analysis report was that these otherworldly beings appeared to be entities akin to puppets, except far more advanced than any known puppet—so much so that one could hardly tell they were puppets at all. This reminded Wei Yuan of a great sect that had once risen to prominence in the Middle Antiquity era: the Sky Descent Sect. That sect had pushed puppetry to incredible extremes, focusing single-mindedly on cultivating the divine soul to adapt to ever-more-powerful puppets. Later, they went so far as to abandon their physical bodies entirely and inhabit puppets directly. Later generations of disciples had refined the immortal remains of several of the sect's own immortals into puppets. Not satisfied with that, they even went around plundering the immortal remains of other sects. Later, something unknown befell the sect, and it vanished without a trace. Later generations were unanimous in their assessment of the Sky Descent Sect: demonic evil cultivators. Wei Yuan had once thought so as well, but after the fierce battles with Xing Linye, Wusuo, and the others, that conviction began to waver. Traditional paths of cultivation held that the physical body was a vessel to cross the sea. Even eminent monks of the Pure Land who cultivated the path of samsara, and even Bodhisattvas and Arhats who had attained fruition, attached great importance to the physical body. Even if they discarded it after a single cycle of reincarnation, they still had to cultivate the body to a certain realm before they could complete that lifetime's samsara. And that woman's raving words before death had also given Wei Yuan inspiration: if a physical body was not needed at all, and one could exist in the world purely as a divine soul, would they not be freed from caring about life and death in the traditional sense? Yet up to now, every study showed that the physical body's role was immensely important. Ghost cultivators and yin souls were ultimately unpresentable on the grand stage; even if a legendary Ghost Emperor ran into the present Wei Yuan, it might be suppressed on the spot by the Yellow Springs Grotto-Heaven. The many cultivators in the Splendor of the Many Realms—even a genius like Jun Weizhi—lacked physical bodies and existed only as divine intent bodies; arriving in this realm, they could only contend against dharma idols of the lower realm. To face Scenery Command, they needed at least a puppet at the perfected dharma idol stage. Yet a puppet was, in the end, still a puppet. It could not match the exquisite subtlety of a cultivator's dharma vessel, and over time, the divine soul would develop complications. Yet what if puppets were just as exquisite, or even surpassed flesh and blood? Just like the Splendor of the Many Realms—who would dare claim to be wiser than it now? Wei Yuan rubbed his brow, feeling rather weary. He temporarily set the question aside and swept his divine intent across Expedition Hall to observe the cultivators' reactions following the great battle. In a secluded corner, a quiet exchange between a grandfather and grandson caught his attention. "Grandpa! Let's just exchange all our merit and leave this place! Do we really have to keep risking our lives for that old thief?" The old man's expression was grave as he said, "You are not allowed to redeem it; save it all! Although merit cannot be transferred or traded privately right now, one day when I die, this merit can still be left to you. If our luck holds and we can survive a few more battles, the saved merit might be enough for you to redeem an aptitude upgrade. When that time comes, our Wu family can finally boast a high cultivator of Scenery Command!" "I don't want to! Grandpa, you still have a century of lifespan left. I don't want you leaving me so soon! We could find a peaceful, secluded place and live a good life." The old man sighed and gestured to their surroundings. "Look around you. Is this merely Expedition Hall? No, this is the battlefield where heaven and earth are being cleaved open! Setting aside how many years must pass before one can witness the creation of a world, even if we did happen upon it, with our cultivation and background, how could the two of us ever qualify to take part? Now that this Dao destiny is laid out right before us, how could we shrink back? "If nothing else, how would the creation of a world normally be? We would have to venture beyond the heavens with our true bodies, filling the gaps with our very lives! Narrowly escaping death nine times out of ten for nothing more than a glimmer of hope. Now, the Realm Lord has forged a great host of avatars, allowing our true spirits to take refuge inside avatar puppets to fight. After a life-and-death battle, casualties were under twenty percent! What kind of miraculous opportunity is this? What more could you ask for? If this were the past, those surviving probably wouldn't even amount to twenty percent. "Nian'er, I know you cannot bear to part with me, and your grandfather cannot bear to part with you either. But the path of immortal cultivation means defying the heavens. Across two generations, we are the most talented cultivators in our clan, and having consumed the lion's share of our clan's stipends and resources, we must be ready to cast away our lives to fight for this opportunity. As long as you reach Scenery Command, our Wu family can expand from our current single county to half a commandery. The fate of our descendants will be completely transformed, and when that day comes, you will be the founding ancestor with a new branch in the genealogy!" Similar conversations echoed throughout Expedition Hall. The specific words varied, but the core was remarkably identical. By lavishly distributing aptitudes, Wei Yuan had turned every surviving cultivator into a desperate daredevil. In another corner, a pair of cultivators with striking looks yet an oddly faint presence were also whispering among themselves. The woman said in a low voice, "He really is awarding merit! Isn't the cost of winning over people's hearts a bit steep?" The man said solemnly, "That old thief has the bearing of a ruthless hegemon. Normally he's stingy to a fault, so for him to be so generous all of a sudden, he's bound to take back a hundred- or a thousandfold! You're still young and don't understand the hearts of men. Whatever you do, don't let yourself be fooled by him!" The female cultivator said, "If I recall, isn't he younger than both of us? Just who is this 'old thief' you're talking about?" The male cultivator coughed. "He looks old!" The female cultivator was utterly speechless and asked helplessly, "Are you certain you've found traces of the Princess?" The male cultivator gritted his teeth. "Completely certain! Since childhood, I have cultivated a secret art capable of sensing the state of the Princess's divine soul. The Princess has definitely awakened, right here within the Splendor of the Many Realms! It's just that I don't know what state she's currently in." The female cultivator said with some annoyance, "Don't think about it so much. Even the Ancestral Shaman gave up on her—what are you getting so worked up for? Just focus on earning merit. Looking across the entire world, there aren't many places left where you can hold down a good job." "How about we just forgo this merit?" The female cultivator asked in bewilderment, "How could we do that? Why wouldn't we want it? This is the war to reboot heaven and earth, and it will go on for a long time. Whether we can become Heavenly Shamans entirely depends on how hard we work over these few years." The male cultivator sighed. "Taking merit from his hand just feels awkward, like I've become his subordinate." The female cultivator glared at him. "We earned this merit through our own ability! What's there to feel embarrassed about? In the last battle, if I hadn't been quick enough to pull you back, your true spirit would have been wiped out. You nearly died once already—what are you acting all sentimental for?" The male cultivator sighed, still frowning and saying nothing. The female cultivator said, "Alright, alright. The two of you don't even count as exes, so stop dwelling on it. Taking a step back, even if she hadn't been captured and you two ended up together, you'd only have been a cultivation cauldron to her. Whether you'd even be alive today is hard to say. The Princess ending up here practically saved your miserable little life." "I—" The male cultivator sighed heavily and gave a bitter smile. "Her status and tier are too high; I truly couldn't afford to sustain her. In less than thirty years, I'd probably have been sucked dry. Alas!" After his lament, he looked out at the world beyond, unable to hold back, and spat venomously, "Go suck that old thief dry!"