"Shengxin, you old fiend, it's either you or me! Ow—easy, easy! Martial Nephew Sun, you're being too rough!" Perfected Chuhe was currently lying flat on his stomach upon the wooden bed of the thatched hut, bruised, swollen, and covered in wounds.
Across his back were three blade wounds deep enough to reach the bone, slicing more than halfway through several ribs. Sun Yu was tending to his injuries, his hands moving like the wind with methods that were downright brutal.
The perfected cursed Shengxin with one breath and begged Sun Yu to be gentler with the next. Sun Yu agreed repeatedly, but the habits drilled into him over years at the Hall of Xuanming were impossible to break.
For instance, he fished a severed tendon out of the old Daoist's wound, yanked it hard until it stretched out, tied it into a knot with the severed end of another, smeared on an ointment that raised the old Daoist's shrieks by an octave, and finally marked it with a trace of Dao power.
Supposedly, this was standard practice in the Hall of Xuanming: stitch the vital meridians and tendons together, use the ointment to regenerate severed flesh, and leave a Dao power mark to notify the patient that once the tissues healed, there would be some excess flesh there for them to excise themselves.
Still, while the old Daoist looked pitiful, his yells carried plenty of vigor. His torn muscles twitched constantly, and tiny green shoots even sprouted from within them. All his wounds were rapidly knitting closed, and now that Sun Yu had treated them, it looked like he would be up and bouncing around in less than three days.
Everything had simply happened too quickly. By the time Wei Yuan flew out of the Hall of Merits, the battle outside the domain was already over.
After charging out of the domain, Perfected Chuhe had dragged a lurking Great Shaman straight out of the void. But that Great Shaman was Shengxin, whom Wei Yuan had once glimpsed in the Nether Cold Realm.
Only after unveiling his eight immortal swords did Perfected Chuhe discover they were entirely dim and lusterless, their power reduced to a mere twenty or thirty percent. Before he could even wrap his head around this inexplicable shock, Shengxin's shamanic spells rained down upon him relentlessly.
Shengxin was a rare Dao Shaman, a ferocious powerhouse capable of fleeing through Fly Weather. Against an old Daoist whose immortal swords had been crippled, the fight was an absolute rout. In an instant, the old Daoist's face was battered to a pulp, his whole body covered in wounds.
Seeing that things had gone south, the old Daoist broke through the deluge of shamanic arts and turned to flee back into the domain. Just as he was about to cross the boundary, Shengxin suddenly halted. Ignoring the cat and snake near the domain's border, the shaman cast a single glance toward the center, then turned and vanished.
Perfected Chuhe had clutched a brilliant golden pill in his hand, ready to swallow it, but Shengxin's refusal to pursue took him completely by surprise. He put the pill away and, supported by his disciples, returned to the thatched hut.
Wei Yuan had only just arrived at that moment. He immediately called Sun Yu to treat the perfected while placing the entire domain on high alert behind an exterior of calm, preparing for a potential raid by Shengxin.
Yet after remaining on guard for a long time, there was not the slightest movement from the Shamans. Wei Yuan stood near the border of the domain for a while, sensing something exceedingly faint and subtle repeatedly brushing across his body. Had his perception not been so sharp, he would have missed it completely.
Feigning ignorance, Wei Yuan kept watch a bit longer before returning to the domain's center to check on Perfected Chuhe's condition.
Perfected Chuhe's physical body was exceptionally robust. Though he looked as if he had been hacked into pieces, the injuries were mostly flesh wounds. However, the swelling and bruises on his face were inflicted by Shengxin's shamanic power. While not severe, the shamanic power within them was exceedingly stubborn; without grinding it away bit by bit, the bruising would not subside.
As a Dao Shaman, Shengxin's power level and standing were remarkably elevated, roughly on par with Ji Liuli and Bao Yun, and a full rank above the old Daoist Chuhe. Thus, dispersing that shamanic power was no easy feat, and the old man would be stuck sporting two black eyes for at least three or four days.
Naturally, the perfected was cursing up a storm, completely disregarding the dignity befitting a high cultivator of the Dharma Idol realm.
After ranting for a good while, the old Daoist finally came to his senses. The main reason he had taken such a beating was that his eight immortal swords had abruptly stopped working. Experienced and well-traveled, he guessed the truth right away: "Did this place alter the rules of heaven and earth and seal immortal swords?"
"Yes," Wei Yuan replied.
Furious, the old Daoist sputtered, "Why didn't anyone tell me?"
"You only just arrived, so I hadn't had the chance yet. Besides, I figured defense was my responsibility while you were just here to lease a few plots of land. I never expected an elder like you to hate evil so fiercely that you'd charge out right away." Wei Yuan truly hadn't planned on roping the old Daoist onto his war chariot; letting him farm more land and forming a small karmic knot was plenty.
Hearing this, Perfected Chuhe was left speechless.
He had originally hoped to show off in front of Fenhai's grand-disciples and show them just how fierce the farmers and pig-breeders of the Hall of Jianmu could fight. Instead, not only had he run headfirst into a Dao Shaman you wouldn't see once in eight hundred years, but his immortal swords had also been suppressed! Such luck could only be described as an ill-fated year.
Sullen at heart, Perfected Chuhe summoned his two spirit pets back. A cat and a snake instantly appeared beside his bed, gazing with mild curiosity at the old Daoist's black eyes.
The old Daoist flared with anger and moved to punish the two insolent creatures, but upon seeing that the black cat was missing several patches of fur and couldn't even straighten one paw, while the snake was missing an entire patch of scales and was bleeding through its skin, his hand paused.
The old Daoist let out a sigh and said to Wei Yuan, "These two little critters have followed me for many years. They are deeply spiritual, no less so than human cultivators. They can be considered half-disciples to me. Get acquainted with them so you can look out for one another if something happens."
Though the two spirit pets did not look large, both had actually attained the Dharma Idol realm. Wei Yuan stood up, gave a respectful bow, and seeing how well-behaved and cute the black cat looked, wondered if he should shake its paw.
Suddenly, the black cat let out a screech, arching its back as its fur stood completely on end. Staring at Wei Yuan, it backed up two steps, then darted into the old Daoist's sleeve and vanished. The snake quietly slipped into the old Daoist's pocket without a sound.
Neither the old Daoist nor Wei Yuan had anticipated this turn of events. The old Daoist looked at Wei Yuan quizzically and asked, "What were you trying to do to them just now?"
Wei Yuan was just as baffled. He had only wanted to shake the cat's paw—he hadn't even thought about petting it yet! Why had it been frightened like that? Besides, why would two Dharma Idol level spirit beasts fear an early Dao Foundation cultivator like him?
After communicating with the two spirit beasts for a moment, the old Daoist turned back to Wei Yuan with a much sterner expression. "Heiyu can perceive Yin and Yang and discern fortune and misfortune. It saw death aura upon you. It seems something has set its sights on you."
"It isn't the power of eternal silence from the Nether Soil?"
Perfected Chuhe shook his head. "Eternal silence is merely one kind of origin qi of heaven and earth. What Heiyu perceives is karmic luck. I'm afraid calamity will soon befall you, and no small one at that."
Understanding the situation, Wei Yuan said, "Junior understands."
Looking thoughtful, Perfected Chuhe said, "It seems you are prepared. That is good."
As Wei Yuan took his leave, Perfected Chuhe got out of bed, but the movement made him hiss in pain. Cursing Sun Yu under his breath, he pulled out something resembling a carrot and handed it to Wei Yuan. "Plant this in front of your house. It can turn your fortune around."
Wei Yuan froze. There was such a spiritual plant?
Perfected Chuhe scoffed, "Ignorant brat. Fengshui spiritual plants have always been the bread and butter of our Hall of Jianmu! If not for True Monarch Yanshi emerging from the Hall of Heavenly Secrets, our Hall of Jianmu would still be the undisputed master of fengshui."
Wei Yuan was surprised once more. The relationships between the halls of the Palace of Grand Beginning were so intricate, their domains overlapping. Accepting the carrot-like object, he asked respectfully, "What is this spiritual plant called? What makes it special, and what should I keep in mind when planting it?"
"It's called a fortune-turning radish. It absorbs the surrounding yin energy and misfortune to shield you from disaster. Don't expect too much from it, though; it can only ward off minor ailments and petty mishaps, giving your luck just a slight nudge."
Wei Yuan thanked him and said, "Actually, I still have a bit of Nether Soil left. It should be enough to open three more plots."
Perfected Chuhe's eyes lit up. "Hurry and open them! With six plots, won't the speed at which this old Daoist cultivates new celestial plants practically double? This directly concerns my Dao path—there must be no slacking!"
Wei Yuan thought to himself, *There's only one Xu Wenwu. Even if we opened sixty more plots, the only one that mutates would still be that single stalk—the speed won't increase in the slightest.* Naturally, he couldn't say this to the perfected. The elder had not yet recovered from his severe injuries, and it would not do to dampen his spirits.
Taking his leave of the perfected, Wei Yuan returned to his quarters and planted the radish before his window. He had never planted a fortune-turning spiritual plant before, so he was quite curious. However, he didn't harbor high hopes. The main reason was that the hornet's nest he had stirred was simply too massive; forget one radish, even if he gathered every radish in the world that had cultivated into a spirit, it probably couldn't turn his fortune around.
Yet this radish arrived at just the right time. Wei Yuan had already laid out an array around his house but had not yet placed the spiritual items; this radish happened to occupy one position.
Now that he had the radish, Wei Yuan placed spiritual items at the other positions as well, dripped a drop of platinum-hued celestial laurel tree sap onto the array disc resting on the table, and activated the formation.
This, too, was a karmic destiny angling array, and the bait was that drop of celestial tree sap at the center.
Although Wei Yuan did not know Shengxin's name, he could never mistake the aura of his dharmic power. For a Dao Shaman who ought to be active in the Nether Cold Realm to suddenly appear outside the domain meant he was clearly coming for Wei Yuan.
The domain was neither indestructible nor airtight. Instead, it leaked on all four sides; any Great Shaman with real skill could riddle it like a sieve at any moment. The shamaness, for instance, had come and gone as she pleased. Thus, Wei Yuan had prepared multiple contingencies, and this karmic array was merely one of them.
Once activated, the array disc gradually vanished, and all the spiritual items used in the formation disappeared along with it, leaving not the slightest trace. All that remained in place was a simple wooden cabin, completely defenseless to all appearances.
Wei Yuan entered the Hall of Merits once more and resumed browsing the advanced Dao arts he hadn't finished examining earlier in the day, quickly finding what he was looking for.
This Dao art was called Water Blade Storm, and its original template was the most rudimentary Dao art: the Water Blade Art. In the Wu domain, water- and wood-attribute Dao arts enjoyed additional amplification, while metal-attribute arts received a modest boost as well. Having grown accustomed to using the Water Blade Art in the past, Wei Yuan set his sights on this advanced technique.
The advanced Water Blade Storm was graded as Xuan-tier. The Dao arts of the Palace of Grand Beginning were classified into four tiers—Tian, Di, Xuan, and Huang—according to their power and utility. The basic Water Blade Art was unranked, while Water Blade Storm was classified as Xuan-tier as an advanced technique, neither too high nor too low. It could be used by both Dao Foundation and Dharma Idol cultivators, though it was primarily meant for the latter.
However, the author of Water Blade Storm possessed a rather illustrious name: Pei Tinghai.
*So the Immortal Monarch also modified Dao arts in his earlier years to make his fortune,* Wei Yuan mused.
When such advanced Dao arts entered the Hall of Merits, the Palace of Grand Beginning would give a portion of the merit points to the original author whenever someone exchanged for them. Though the amount per redemption was small, its strength lay in being a steady, unending trickle.
This Xuan-tier advanced Dao art was likely a work from Immortal Monarch Tinghai's youth, and he must have collected dividends in merit points for at least a thousand years by now. As long as the original author remained alive, the Palace of Grand Beginning would continue paying out indefinitely; even if the author passed away, their descendants could still collect for another three hundred years. Consequently, ever since this system had been implemented, countless cultivators had racked their brains to improve Dao arts. If one managed to devise a widely circulated art, it was truly a blessing that enriched future generations.
Wei Yuan estimated that even without Immortal Monarch Tinghai ascending to Unity, the number of people exchanging for Water Blade Storm had likely surged dramatically from the moment he achieved Scenery Command True Monarch. Everyone shared similar thoughts: they all hoped to glimpse a secret or two of ascending to immortality from the Immortal Monarch's early works.
In truth, there were five or six other Dao arts similar to it, but among the other authors, only one was a True Monarch; the rest were Dharma Idols, and one had already passed away. After comparing the authors, Wei Yuan ultimately chose to exchange for Water Blade Storm.
With karmic luck currently gracing him, Wei Yuan had a faint premonition that this Dao art might not be as simple as it appeared on the surface—perhaps some secret was hidden within.
As a Xuan-tier art, Water Blade Storm required only two thousand merit points, making it ten percent cheaper than comparable techniques. Wei Yuan figured that perhaps the Immortal Monarch cared about his reputation and felt embarrassed to set the price too high, needing it to be slightly cheaper than the others to show benevolence to the public.
Marveling at the Immortal Monarch's noble character, Wei Yuan confirmed the exchange, and a thin booklet appeared in his hands.
Booklets recording Dao arts were largely the same, consisting of nothing more than a single leaf of jade paper. However, ranked arts were bound with front and back covers into a booklet out of respect.
With the Dao art in hand, Wei Yuan opened the booklet and read it carefully. Water Blade Storm was actually quite concise, running only a few thousand words, written in a pithy and succinct manner. Wei Yuan spent merely half a cup of tea's time reading it from cover to cover—only to realize he hadn't understood it at all.
Wei Yuan recognized every character, and the literal meaning of each sentence was quite plain, yet strung together, they made no sense to him whatsoever.
The bizarre thing was that despite not understanding the book, he could already cast Water Blade Storm. Wei Yuan was left somewhat bewildered.
The sensation was just like when his Theory of Heaven and Earth instructor lectured on the orbits of the great celestial bodies: he knew the answer, but hadn't grasped the working at all.
Fortunately, there was a short note at the very end of the text: *Should anything remain unclear, one may exchange for this humble one's work, Principles of the Water Blade Art.*
In truth, Wei Yuan could already employ Water Blade Storm, but that was merely copying the pattern blindly. On the great path of ascending to immortality, how could one settle for half-baked knowledge?
Without an expression on his face, Wei Yuan sacrificed a handful of Nether Soil and exchanged for *Principles of the Water Blade Art*. This time, the fruit split open and five volumes tumbled out all at once, giving Wei Yuan a very bad feeling.
Chapter 225