Looking at the auras of Scenery Command and the radiance of status radiating from a full hundred and twenty Nascent Souls, Wei Yuan had an epiphany: forced growth was still growth, and Scenery Command by proxy was still Scenery Command.
Anyone who disagreed was more than welcome to reason it out with a hundred and twenty newly minted Scenery Commands—or challenge them to a duel if they dared.
Next came a battery of tests for these newly forced Scenery Commands, and the data was compiled in short order. Having attained the status of Scenery Command, their dao power had begun transforming into Scenery Command dao power as well. However, aside from their status, their mind-manifested worlds held no divine powers or dao arts whatsoever; they were completely blank slates. Just like the three God Transformations, they were all blank-slate cultivators.
At the very least, the three God Transformations possessed true spirits, which brought some measure of unique utility. This batch of forced Scenery Commands, by contrast, had nothing at all. They were like senior corporate drones of the outer realm; once removed from that high-grade cubicle, they would revert right back to their original forms.
Even as blank slates, their combat strength was a massive leap from before. Testing data revealed that each Nascent Soul cultivator's combat capability had surged between severalfold and tenfold. In their blank-slate state, they already possessed half the combat strength of a perfected dharma idol.
Once outfitted with the basic spirit treasure set newly developed by Qingming, however, a forced Scenery Command's strength doubled immediately. Granted, because their baseline was so low, doubling it only brought them to the level of a normal perfected dharma idol, or a tenth of an ordinary Scenery Command. Yet all of them added together were equivalent to gaining twelve Scenery Commands in one go.
The families at the very bottom of the Seven Clans and Thirteen Prominent Families—such as the former Lu family and the current Xu family—boasted merely a dozen or so Scenery Commands across their entire clan.
Comparing combat prowess was an exceedingly intricate science. Under normal circumstances, twelve true Scenery Commands could slaughter these forced cultivators effortlessly, despite both sides appearing equal on paper. For the most part, forced cultivators striking a Scenery Command amounted to scratching an itch.
Yet in Wei Yuan's eyes, these hundred and twenty cultivators could form arrays, handle labor, and jointly operate a massively powerful immortal artifact; their applications were endless. Moreover, the spirit treasures had only just been developed and had yet to be optimized. Once mass production began later on, their might would rise even further and yield infinite variations.
That was the beauty of blank-slate cultivators: they could perform any job as long as they were given the right equipment.
If one looked beyond magical duels, these cultivators became vastly more useful. For instance, certain pill recipes that previously only Xu Henshui could concoct could now be entrusted to them. Or, if sent to mine nether iron in the Nether Cold Realm, a single one of them could match dozens or hundreds of dharma idols.
Now Qingming's Scenery Commands were divided into four tiers. At the top were geniuses like Baoyun, Feng Tingyu, and Xiaoyu, who held hope of immortal ascension. Below them were ordinary Scenery Commands with no hope of ascension. Next were the three God Transformations, whose combat strength roughly equated to a third to half of a Scenery Command. At the very bottom were the forced cultivators. These four tiers were not a mere classification; each came with corresponding systems of authority, responsibility, and benefits.
Even so, Wei Yuan felt another tier should probably be added above them all—one containing only two people, Zhang Sheng and himself, with the qualification being that they had slain an immortal.
As Wei Yuan swept his divine sense over the multitude of new Scenery Commands, the sight struck him as rather magnificent. With so many new Scenery Commands, would it not be like walking in fine silk by night if he didn't take them out to show them off?
A thought struck Wei Yuan, and an avatar within the Palace of Grand Beginning rose at his command. It retrieved Immortal Lord Zhu Yan's secret art from the Hall of Scriptures, modified it, distributed it among the forced cultivators, and ordered them to master it within a month.
A month later, war erupted once more along the borders of the State of Song. The Qingming army's heavy artillery unleashed a chaotic bombardment, throwing the Song army into utter disarray and inflicting catastrophic losses.
Wei Yuan's avatar, clad in green robes with greying hair, made its appearance. In full view of the two assembled armies, he strode directly into the Song army's ranks, seized a scholarly aide standing beside the commander-in-chief, and leisurely walked back. He moved as though entering an empty field, completely unimpeded.
Returning to the central command platform, Wei Yuan had the scholar bound to a flagpole. By then, he had casually shattered the illusion art cast over the scholar, revealing a charming, delicate visage—it was actually a young female cultivator.
Wei Yuan's voice carried across a hundred li. "Tell Cui Zhengxing to come out and meet me. I give him half a day. If he fails to arrive within the limit, his illegitimate daughter will be turned into curse material."
Over a million Song soldiers pricked up their ears, and those with sufficient cultivation channeled their sight to its limits, eager to see what an immortal's illegitimate daughter looked like.
A calm, authoritative voice resounded in the sky: "Since the Realm Lord has personally arrived, how could I not come to greet you? Yet as someone of your esteemed standing, acting against a junior who has not even reached the dharma idol stage—would not the whole world laugh at you if word got out?"
Wei Yuan smiled faintly. "In a war between two nations, any means necessary may be employed. A friendly duel would naturally be another matter. It is a pity Immortal Lord Cui is unwilling to enter the field; otherwise, I could offer some guidance in your cultivation."
High above, Cui Zhengxing's expression did not change in the slightest, showing his deep restraint and composure. Yet Wei Yuan had uttered those words before a million Song troops. With that single sentence, the Song army's martial morale plummeted by thirty percent. Seeing the shift in morale, Cui Zhengxing realized his misstep. Despite the surging fury in his heart, his demeanor remained placid. "Has the Realm Lord come merely to wage a war of words?"
Wei Yuan picked up a feather fan beside him, fanned it gently a few times in the dead of winter, and said, "I recently trained an army, but I always felt something was lacking. Considering we are at war anyway, I made a special trip here to ask Immortal Lord Cui for some pointers."
At that moment, the array behind Wei Yuan was deactivated, revealing ninety-nine mysterious figures. Every one of them was cloaked in black with cowls obscuring their faces, concealing their features entirely. They emitted no aura whatsoever, looking scarcely like living beings.
Wei Yuan smiled. "This retinue of personal guards wishes to seek some guidance from the Immortal Lord."
Had Wei Yuan's true body been here, Cui Zhengxing would naturally have kept his distance. Had Zhang Sheng been present, he would not have made a move either. But right now, Wei Yuan was only an avatar, and no immortal was concealed nearby. If he showed fear even under these circumstances, he might as well crawl back into his secret realm to cultivate in seclusion.
Cui Zhengxing snorted coldly. "Playing tricks!"
A terrifying torrent of immortal divine sense crashed down, bearing down on the ninety-nine mysterious black-robed figures. The defensive array shattered under the immortal's overbearing might, and the surging pressure of his divine sense struck the black-robed figures like crashing ocean waves!
Cui Zhengxing was a veteran immortal, after all, determined to establish his dominance on the spot. Even if two or three Scenery Commands were hidden among them, he was confident he could suppress them so long as Zhang Sheng was absent.
The moment the divine sense made contact, all the black-robed figures instinctively retaliated with everything they had. Pillars of light shot toward the heavens, ringed with drifting immortal flowers and fluttering spiritual sparrows—the unmistakable light of Scenery Command!
Faint sceneries manifested around every black-robed figure. Though indistinct, anyone with discerning eyes could tell at a glance that these were genuine mind-manifested worlds!
Turbulent waves of shock rose within Cui Zhengxing high above. His astonishment knew no bounds. Ninety-nine Scenery Commands! How could this be possible?
A piercing ache drove through his divine soul, his face drained of color, and his body staggered several steps backward. Struck by the simultaneous counterattack of ninety-nine Scenery Commands, he suffered an immediate setback, caught entirely off guard. Taking advantage of Cui Zhengxing's momentary injury, the black-robed figures raised their hands in unison, each brandishing a spirit treasure of varied design. Moving as one, they unleashed their spirit treasures to bombard Cui Zhengxing.
The instant the spirit treasures left their hands, a dim yellow glow surfaced around them, and they reappeared beside Cui Zhengxing as though teleporting, detonating at the same time!
Cui Zhengxing had time for only a single furious roar before being engulfed in the brilliance of the spirit treasures! All ninety-nine Scenery Commands had self-detonated their spirit treasures simultaneously. The force of the strike was extraordinary; Cui Zhengxing spat a mouthful of golden blood and wheeled around to flee, not daring to linger for even an instant.
Wei Yuan burst into prolonged laughter, his voice carrying a thousand li and shaking the immortal heaven: "Why is the dignified immortal of Song's Cui family fleeing? Surely you cannot be bested by my humble retinue of personal guards! Haha, hahahaha!"
After laughing for a while, Wei Yuan glanced toward the sky and murmured with regret, "Such restraint!"
Even under these circumstances, the Venerable Master refused to make a move, leaving Wei Yuan with no choice. Settling for the next best thing, he pointed toward the central Song army and said, "Elder of the Cui clan, your immortal ancestor has already fled, but you cannot escape. Come forward peacefully and surrender, and I will let your million-strong army return to fight another day. If you run, it is hard to say how many of this million will survive."
The Song army's commander-in-chief was also a Cui clan elder. Gazing at those ninety-nine mind-manifested worlds, her expression turned dreadfully grim. Ninety-nine Scenery Commands striking in unison could wipe out hundreds of thousands of Song soldiers in an instant. Furthermore, with the karmic burden split among ninety-nine people, very little would fall on any single individual.
This Cui elder was a woman of valiant bearing, bearing a thirty-percent resemblance to Cui Wantong. Looking at Wei Yuan, she said in a heavy voice, "A figure of the Realm Lord's stature surely would not deceive me."
"Naturally!" Wei Yuan would never diminish his own dignity before more than a million pairs of eyes.
The Cui elder immediately flew before Wei Yuan, removed her dharma robes and spirit treasures, laid them on the ground, and said, "Cui Fengyi of the Cui clan greets the Realm Lord. I have only two small requests, and I beg the Realm Lord's permission."
"Speak!" Wei Yuan was in high spirits, already drafting the outline of a story titled *Ninety-Nine Scenery Commands Counter-Slaying the Ancient Immortal*. He was naturally easy to negotiate with—and it had nothing to do with Cui Fengyi being pleasing to the eye.
Cui Fengyi pointed toward the young female cultivator bound to the flagpole. "First, I ask the Realm Lord to release my daughter."
Wei Yuan was taken aback, then chuckled with profound amusement. "So that's how it is! My subordinates only discovered she was Cui Zhengxing's illegitimate daughter, but never knew who the mother was. Reuniting mother and daughter is quite an unexpected bonus. However, I cannot grant this request."
Cui Fengyi said, "Surely the Realm Lord would not make things difficult for a young girl?"
Wei Yuan smiled faintly. "Elder Cui overthinks it. I am not keeping her to torment her; I intend to send her to Qingming Academy for further study. Besides, I see that her natural talent is insufficient to cultivate to Scenery Command through conventional paths. Yet my Qingming's path from Nascent Soul to God Transformation leads straight to Scenery Command. With your daughter's aptitude, achieving Scenery Command is practically guaranteed."
Cui Fengyi looked toward the ninety-nine Scenery Commands behind Wei Yuan, deep in thought. "That is indeed a viable path. Since the Realm Lord is kind enough to grant her this opportunity, I entrust my daughter to your care from now on."
Wei Yuan nodded. "And the second matter?"
Cui Fengyi said, "Merely a small question. Just now, every member of the Realm Lord's retinue self-detonated a spirit treasure. The power was... truly formidable."
At this point, she could not help but pause. They had all witnessed the sheer might of spirit treasures self-detonating; it had nearly blown Cui Zhengxing to pieces. Even now, a pool of golden blood, swirling with immortal radiance, rested in Wei Yuan's palm—the very mouthful Cui Zhengxing had coughed up. Wei Yuan had not stowed it away, keeping it in his hand for all the world to see.
Subduing her complex emotions, Cui Fengyi asked, "Where did so many spirit treasures come from? Why does the Realm Lord feel no heartache over losing them?"
Wei Yuan laughed heartily. "A mere hundred spirit treasures, produced specifically to be blown up—what is there to feel heartache over?"
Cui Fengyi fell silent, while the numerous dharma idols and the two hidden Scenery Commands in the Song army were utterly astounded. Spirit treasures were by no means common goods; an experienced Scenery Command would find it difficult to amass even a double-digit number over a lifetime. A hundred spirit treasures amounted to twenty or thirty percent of an illustrious clan's entire foundation, yet Wei Yuan had detonated them all in one go.
Had Qingming grown wealthy to such an extent? At that moment, many in the Song army looked upon Wei Yuan as though looking upon an enlightened master.
Wei Yuan felt an indescribable clarity in his Dao heart, basking in the gaze of over a million pairs of eyes. He looked Cui Fengyi up and down, inwardly praising Cui Zhengxing's taste, and said, "Once we return, I will gift your daughter several sets of spirit treasures—one set for protection, one for offense, and one to aid her cultivation. Once she reaches God Transformation, she will be able to use them. It won't take long, just a decade or so."
Cui Fengyi was thoroughly shocked. The news of Qingming establishing the new God Transformation realm had long since spread throughout the world. Upon hearing of it, high-level cultivators had immediately studied it closely and concluded that God Transformation was a scaled-down version of Scenery Command. Yet even a scaled-down version was undoubtedly Scenery Command.
Her daughter had previously struggled to reach even perfected dharma idol, with Scenery Command completely out of reach. Yet with a casual remark, Wei Yuan had promised her a path, claiming she could become a Scenery Command in just over a decade. Furthermore, he was offering spirit treasures by the set, dozens of pieces at a time—even landlords handing out cabbages were not this generous.
Cui Fengyi instantly grew guarded. What did this fellow want? Could this be... a betrothal gift?
Just then, the immortal heaven suddenly shook. Wei Yuan started, and Cui Fengyi felt the resonance as well; both turned their gaze into the distance at the same time.
It came from the direction of the Palace of Grand Beginning. Six thousand li of tribulation clouds had gathered there—an Immortal Ascension Tribulation!
Then, a mind-manifested world surfaced and ascended toward the immortal heaven. Spanning roughly nine hundred li, it was considered top-tier by the standards of the immortal realm, yet not peerless, and certainly nowhere near dominating an entire generation. Rolling thunder filled the mind-manifested world, churning like a boiling sea.
Wei Yuan was stunned once more. It was True Monarch Xuanyue, ascending to immortality without any warning whatsoever!
Only then did the many gazes across the immortal heaven shift toward it, everyone clearly bewildered and astonished.
How could a mind-manifested world of nine hundred li warrant six thousand li of tribulation clouds? Was this not an overreaction? Just as this question crossed the minds of the immortals, a pillar of lightning a hundred zhang thick erupted from Xuanyue's mind-manifested world, striking straight at the immortal heaven. Meeting thunder with thunder, Xuanyue scattered the tribulation clouds in a single blow!
Such terrifying might caused the immortal heaven to pale and silenced the multitude of immortals in an instant! Even the full-force strike of a powerful true immortal like Li Fugui was merely comparable to this. Yet at this moment, Xuanyue had not even completed his ascension.
The immortals had long heard that Xuanyue was formidable in battle, but none had imagined he was this terrifying. Some immortals had already perceived the truth: Xuanyue had abandoned defense, profundity, and lifespan, pursuing only the raw power of dao arts. Yet before power capable of obliterating an ordinary immortal, nothing else mattered.
Wei Yuan slapped his armrest forcefully and ordered an immediate withdrawal!
The Patriarch's successful immortal ascension was a monumental joyous occasion. Wei Yuan was determined to celebrate it in grand style. If nothing else, all ninety-nine Scenery Commands offering congratulations together was the bare minimum.
Chapter 1470