Throughout the following day, Wei Yuan did not stop to rest. In a single day, he visited seventeen human settlements of various sizes, the largest housing several thousand people, the smallest barely one or two hundred. As long as a village had more than a hundred inhabitants, Wei Yuan made a point of going there in person and asking everyone to spread the word. Many more people were scattered across the vast expanses, but every so often they had to come into human settlements to barter for necessities; when they did, they would learn the news that Wei Yuan was gathering mortals.
He hurried about until late into the night before finally returning.
Over the course of the day, Wei Yuan covered every human village and town of any notable size within three hundred li, notifying roughly forty thousand people.
Yet when Wei Yuan had first arrived in this region, there had been roughly eighty thousand people in the surrounding lands. Repeated raids by Shaman armies had forced many to flee their original towns and villages to escape disaster, hiding deep in the mountains and dense forests.
Every one of them was willing to relocate into the domain. Even though their native villages were places their ancestors had inhabited for generations, without the protection of a boundary stone, those places could no longer be called home.
Mortals moved far more slowly; when dragging families along with all their belongings, covering three hundred li could easily take ten days or more. Thus, Wei Yuan also assembled five hundred cultivators and divided them into several dozen squads tasked specifically with assisting the mortal migration.
Many disapproved of Wei Yuan's decision; even Yun Feifei had tactfully voiced her reservations. In her view, having too many mortals right now would be an outright burden—if nothing else, food alone would pose an enormous problem.
Shaman foodstuffs all contained traces of toxins; humans could eat a little in dire emergencies, but consuming too much was fatal. Beyond stockpiled provisions, although the Wu domain teemed with living creatures and ferocious fish in the waters, none of it was directly edible by humans—even the water was undrinkable.
Consequently, though this world seemed rich in resources, people still starved to death year after year.
Regardless of what these cultivators thought, Wei Yuan remained resolute in bringing every single mortal back to the domain. Even the elderly, the frail, the sick, and the disabled would be taken in; not one would be abandoned. The cultivators simply assumed Wei Yuan harbored an impractical idealism and obeyed in silence.
In truth, they had seen plenty of noble-minded people in the past who placed mortal lives above their own. Yet in the Western Regions, not only did good deeds go unrewarded, but good people often died terrible deaths.
Wei Yuan did not argue with them; so long as they carried out their orders, that was enough. After making his rounds for the day, Wei Yuan had reaped another three wisps of azure qi, which only affirmed to him the value of these mortals.
Having arranged everything, night had fallen deep, with two hours still left before dawn. Wei Yuan returned to the main peak, intending to do some cultivation practice. But just as he stepped into his room, someone knocked on the door. When Wei Yuan opened it, he found Cui Yu paying a visit.
The room was dark, so Wei Yuan manifested an Immortal Sword · False Sun and drove it into the wall, illuminating the chamber with bright light.
Once both were seated, Wei Yuan asked, "Brother Cui, visiting so late at night—you must have important business."
Cui Yu's seasoned face flushed slightly, and he whispered, "Well, your elder brother has a presumptuous request. Um, it's like this: if a battle like today's happens again, could you let me get in a couple of slashes as well?"
"So that's what it is!" Wei Yuan laughed heartily. "For such a trivial matter, Brother Cui, you only need give the word; there was no need to make a special visit. Still, I find myself a bit puzzled—could Brother Cui actually be lacking heavenly merits?"
With Cui Yu's family background, his chances of achieving a dharma idol in the future were quite high. Reasonably speaking, heavenly merits should be only a matter of time. Even if he wanted them right now, it wouldn't be difficult as long as the elders in his clan lent a hand.
Hearing Wei Yuan's question, Cui Yu showed a troubled expression and sighed. "Junior Brother, you might not know this, but I'm not actually as glamorous in the clan as I seem. I have a younger cousin who forged an immortal foundation several years ago. Ever since, the clan has tilted resources heavily toward him. Not long ago, he actually earned heavenly merits, causing quite a stir in the clan. Consequently, the clan elders redirected some cultivation resources that originally belonged to me over to him.
"After all, my foundation is somewhat inferior. I previously participated in a few operations involving dharma idols and landed a few strikes, but I didn't gain a single shred of heavenly merits. Meanwhile, that cousin of mine has always been competitive and aggressive, and the elders of his branch are the type never to yield an inch. In recent years, they have pressed hard at every step, making things quite unsightly."
Hearing this, Wei Yuan understood.
This was a struggle for resources between two branches of the direct lineage, so the clan elders could not overtly show favoritism to either side. At most, they would let Cui Yu look for opportunities to land a few blows during combat; they would never pin down a dharma idol for everyone to strike the way Wei Yuan did.
Cui Yu lowered his voice once more, whispering, "If an opportunity like today arises in the future, please, Junior Brother, apply the method you used on your friends today to me as well."
Only then did Wei Yuan truly understand what Cui Yu was after.
The criteria for judging merits were the same across all major immortal sects: to earn heavenly merits, one had to genuinely damage the foundation of a dharma idol. With Cui Yu's Dao Foundation and current cultivation, even if he managed to strike a dharma idol, he wouldn't gain heavenly merits. Years ago, Wei Yuan had wounded the Northern Liao Snow Eagle with a strike of Counter-Slay, but because he hadn't harmed its foundation, he hadn't reaped a single shred of heavenly merits either.
Yet today's battle had proven that whether black qi or azure qi, once empowered, one could damage a dharma idol and secure heavenly merits. To Wei Yuan, this was practically effortless. While it did consume some karmic luck, Wei Yuan had now found a way to replenish it; flush with abundance, he didn't care about such trivial expenditure in the slightest.
At once, Wei Yuan smiled and said, "A trivial matter! Next time, I guarantee you'll get plenty of heavenly merits, Brother Cui! I only wonder when we'll run into a few more Great Shamans."
Cui Yu was immensely grateful and added, "Could this matter perhaps be..."
Wei Yuan caught on immediately and said, "Rest assured, Brother Cui. I certainly won't speak of it to anyone else, and I can pull it off seamlessly so that no one will be able to tell."
Overjoyed, Cui Yu abruptly stood up and bowed deeply to the floor. "Junior Brother, words cannot express my gratitude! I will hold this debt in my heart and never forget it!"
Within Ten Thousand Li of Rivers and Mountains, another wisp of azure qi suddenly formed.
Wei Yuan was startled and hurried to help him up. "Senior Brother, you do me too much honor! It's merely a small favor—why go to such lengths?"
Cui Yu rose, sat back down, collected his emotions, and sighed. "This matter has actually troubled me for a very long time. I have been taking these brothers and sisters around to gain experience, partly hoping that some among them might grow into their own, but also because I simply didn't want to face those people back home."
Wei Yuan found it somewhat odd. "In a family as vast as the Cui clan, could it really be that there is no room for two geniuses?"
Cui Yu gave a bitter smile. "The pie is only so large; if someone gets a bigger slice, others will get less. Besides, no matter how many pies the Cui family has, the people looking to carve them up will always outnumber them."
By the time Cui Yu took his leave, the sky had begun to pale with dawn.
Wei Yuan had originally assumed someone of Cui Yu's station was born without a care in the world, never imagining he had troubles of his own—and from the sound of it, difficulties no smaller than anyone else's.
The direct lineage of the Cui family had seven branches in total, each branching out with a flourishing populace. Cui Yu's great-grandfather was currently a Cui family elder holding several vital powers. But with the aggressive rise of Cui Yu's cousin, that other branch had grown increasingly overbearing of late, already pushing Cui Yu's great-grandfather to yield substantial interests. Over the past half year, continuous conflicts had broken out between the two branches, bringing them close to an open rupture.
Aristocratic clans that had endured for thousands or even tens of thousands of years had long developed intricate, interlocking systems.
The supreme elders sat high above, judging individuals strictly by cultivation and merits. The middle stratum held actual authority, evaluated not only on merits and cultivation, but also on how well they fostered the next generation and whether worthy successors emerged; thus, this layer was by far the most troublesome. The younger generation was straightforward, ranked solely by innate talent and cultivation.
Originally, although Cui Yu's cousin had an immortal foundation, it was unsuited for combat. Cui Yu's Dao Foundation was an immortal sword, specialized in slaughter; thus, in the eyes of the elders, there was little difference between them. Yet as the cousin continually acquired heavenly merits, the clan's favor gradually tipped toward him.
In truth, this was a clash between two branches of the direct lineage, with Cui Yu and his cousin merely serving as the focal points of the contest. Within the aristocratic clans, strife was not a whit less than anywhere else.
Cui Yu's predicament could not be rushed; having missed today's chance, he would have to wait for the next Great Shaman. Fortunately, Great Shamans among the Shamans were as plentiful as ox hairs; there would always be another opportunity.
Having seen Cui Yu off, there was still some time before sunrise, so Wei Yuan sat cross-legged in stillness and soon entered a state of self-forgetfulness.
When Wei Yuan's divine sense entered his sea of consciousness, the first thing he saw was not the full moon, but a hideous, ferocious Shaman face!
Wei Yuan was struck with immense shock, nearly shaken out of his meditative trance. He swiftly retreated to put distance between them, only to brush past several more Shamans!
What was going on?!
Calming his mind and looking closely, Wei Yuan realized that those Shamans seemed entirely unaware of his presence. Each wore a ferocious visage, yet their expressions were dull and vacant. They trudged forward woodenly, converging from all directions toward the Jade Mountain ahead.
Wei Yuan cast his gaze across the expanse, only to discover that across the boundless earth walked Shamans everywhere, in every conceivable form. Yet all of them seemed to have lost their wits; beckoned by some mysterious power, they moved with stiff, sluggish steps, advancing steadily toward the Jade Mountain at the center of the land.
Tonight, the full moon was exceptionally cold and clear.
Chapter 159