Visitors from an Aristocratic Family

In a desolate mountain range, several cultivators stopped what they were doing and looked toward their somewhat agitated Eldest Senior Brother. Eldest Senior Brother was pacing in circles like an ant that had lost its bearings, his face shifting between dark and pale. The youngest cultivator among them could finally bear it no longer and said, "Eldest Senior Brother, just make a decision already." Eldest Senior Brother halted, his face as dark as still water. He said slowly, "Could I have been deceived again?" "It's hardly your first or second time being duped. Your reputation for 'uncanny foresight' has already spread far and wide, so a few more times won't make a difference. Over all these years, only Sky Azure Hall has never tricked you." Eldest Senior Brother let out a long sigh. Looking around at the deserted wilderness teeming with venomous herbs and poisonous insects, he said painedly, "I'm afraid I have truly dragged you all down with me this time..." His fellow disciples all waved their hands. "It doesn't matter, Eldest Senior Brother, as long as you pay our wages for these past few days." Eldest Senior Brother gritted his teeth. "Let's go—to Qingming!" "Wait, there's no mission. How are we supposed to go? Ancestral rules state that we cannot travel for nothing; there must be compensation." Eldest Senior Brother slapped his forehead. "I almost forgot! That's easy to fix!" He turned to the youngest cultivator. "Don't you have an older brother in Sky Azure Hall?" "I do." "Have him issue a bounty quest inviting artifact refiners to Qingming Domain to forge magical artifacts, and tell him to fill in whatever reward he likes. Then you take the quest and have him return the merit points to you in private." The young cultivator fell silent for a moment before saying, "Eldest Senior Brother, the handling fee is very steep." Eldest Senior Brother gritted his teeth once more. "I'll cover it!" A day later, this small band of cultivators finally packed their bags and departed the barren mountain that held nothing at all. *** Meanwhile, within Qingming Domain, the discussion regarding siege cannons had long drifted from its original intent, striding boldly down the path of Dao integration. According to Xu Wenwu's memories, the concept of a siege cannon was rather vague, but its purpose was distinct: it had to pack sufficient power to blast through sturdy fortifications, including city walls. In this realm, whether belonging to humans or foreign races, city walls were reinforced with spells that altered the physical properties of their materials, rendering them no less durable than the "reinforced concrete" Xu Wenwu spoke of. To blast through the Shamans' city walls, the weapon needed immense power—enough to require over a hundred jin of gunpowder. The siege cannon in Xu Wenwu's memory certainly would not do; its projectiles were too small, and its yield fell short. Those present in Qingming from the Palace of Grand Beginning were all peerless geniuses of their generation. Those with immortal foundations and Heaven Foundations possessed formidable primordial spirits and divine senses as swift as lightning, far surpassing mundane cleverness. After some discussion, everyone abstracted the core problem: how to deliver the shells right onto the heads of Shaman cities. Solutions to this problem were abundant. Cui Yu proposed directly refining the shells into magical artifacts and flying them over like flying swords. A powerful cultivator could even direct multiple shells at once, resolving the issue of firepower simultaneously. This suggestion was immediately vetoed by Wei Yuan. For no other reason than that the eldest young master of the Cui family had no idea how expensive artifacts were, or how financially ruinous hiring an artifact refiner could be. In Young Master Cui's eyes, even if such low-grade artifacts fell to the ground, they would hardly be worth bending down to pick up. Even without turning them into artifacts, there were plenty of ways to deliver the shells. Perfected Chuhe suggested planting several elephant-tree demon vines along the domain's edge. This was a demonic creature resembling a spiritual plant that stood ten zhang tall, had multiple vine-arms, and possessed boundless strength. At the appointed time, shells could be tied to its vine-arms, spun up to a certain speed, and hurled, easily launching them over a hundred li away. However, once planted, this demon creature required thirty years to mature, and even a transplanted specimen would take three years before it could be utilized. Thus, this proposal was naturally discarded. The final design chosen was proposed by Ji Liuli. Her plan called for erecting an array within the domain to levitate the shells, after which cultivators would use Dao force to propel them forward in a relay. In theory, as long as the array was long enough and there were enough cultivators, the shells could eventually achieve sufficient speed to easily clear a hundred li. Furthermore, if the array was long enough, the requirements placed on a cultivator's cultivation level would drop drastically; any Dao Foundation cultivator would suffice. One simply needed a large number of people lined up, each providing a push along the way, to accelerate the shells to a blistering speed of a hundred zhang in an instant. This proposal ultimately won everyone's approval. Brainstorming together for two days, they gradually refined the details. Wei Yuan was truly strapped for cash and could only rely on more cultivators and fewer materials. He thus decided to construct an initial array spanning a thousand zhang, manned by three hundred Dao Foundation cultivators working in pairs to propel the shells. Qingming Domain was currently in the midst of rebuilding and lacked everything except cultivators in need of consolidating their Dao Foundations; all they required was a bite to eat. With the carriage for the siege cannon sorted out, the remaining issue was the shells' explosive yield. Relying on Sun Yu alone, gunpowder production could no longer keep pace. After all, several of the raw ingredients had originally been sourced as medicinal herbs, meaning stockpiles were never large. Thus, mining was once again placed before Wei Yuan. Mining did not strictly require experts; possessing a modest understanding of earth veins was enough, as it primarily depended on large numbers of cultivators scanning beneath the ground with their divine senses. An ordinary Dao Foundation cultivator could probe roughly three zhang into the earth veins surrounding a mine shaft, whereas Wei Yuan, drawing upon the power of Qingming, could probe nearly three hundred zhang. Therefore, in theory, several hundred cultivators acting together were roughly equivalent to a single dharma idol expert when it came to prospecting, meaning high-level cultivators were not an absolute necessity. As it happened, prospecting and digging tunnels were also excellent ways to consolidate a Dao Foundation. Yet although Wei Yuan had plenty of newly advanced Dao Foundation cultivators at his disposal, there were far more places where they were needed. The shortage of manpower had become glaringly apparent. Just as he was fretting over this, he suddenly sensed a flying skiff furtively entering the domain. Its spiritual fluctuations were exceedingly faint, and Wei Yuan only detected it after it had already penetrated several dozen li into the domain. Fortunately, the skiff displayed the Cui family insignia in the nick of time, preventing the immortal sword hanging above it from cleaving downward. Wei Yuan promptly appeared before the skiff and guided it to land outside Yong'an City. An elderly man stepped off the vessel, followed by a seemingly endless stream of young people filing out after him. In the end, around a hundred individuals stood before Wei Yuan. Cui Yu arrived in haste at this moment. Seeing the old man, he was visibly startled and bowed in greeting. "Fifth Granduncle, why is it you who has come?" The old man carried an air of dignified composure, unmoved by any worldly winds. He looked Cui Yu up and down, gradually revealing a faint smile. "A great many people from the clan came this time. Though they are an unpromising lot, the blood of the Cui family still flows through their veins, and the journey here was no easy feat. The elders therefore had me escort them over personally, lest we alert other families along the way." By "other families," he naturally meant the Xu family. The old man possessed an unfathomable depth of presence, clearly marking him as an expert of the dharma idol realm—and no ordinary one at that. Cui Yu promptly introduced him. "This is my Fifth Granduncle, Cui Xingjiang. And this is Domain Lord Wei Yuan of Qingming, whom I have spoken of to the family." The old man looked Wei Yuan over and nodded. "A dragon among men indeed. It is Cui Yu's good fortune to work alongside you." Wei Yuan bowed in courtesy. "Brother Cui is also a person of immense talent. To have his assistance is truly my fortune." The old man produced a small box and handed it over, saying, "This is a token of gratitude for this occasion. The Old Matriarch's intent is that so long as three of these individuals manage to forge their Dao Foundations, it will suffice. Should there be more, there will be additional rewards." Wei Yuan took the box and put it away directly without opening it. "I shall certainly do my utmost." The old man nodded, then turned to Cui Yu. "Quite a few pairs of eyes within the clan are fixed on this matter now, and those who truly need to achieve a Dao Foundation have yet to arrive. You have caught the attention of the clan elders; if this task is handled well, it is not impossible for you to take another step forward." Cui Yu said in a heavy voice, "I will surely do my utmost. However, my aptitude is limited, and I do not harbor extravagant hopes for higher positions within the clan." The old man let out a sigh, a look of regret surfacing on his face as he said slowly, "While high cultivation does not equate to everything, the Cui family possesses a vast enterprise and countless eyes watching it. Not even a dharma idol can shoulder its weight—in fact, even a Scenery Command True Monarch can barely support the entire Cui family. If your cultivation is lacking, then even if you sit in that seat, those beneath you will not defer to you." Cui Yu replied, "It has been so for thousands of years. I understand." The old man nodded. Saying no more, he boarded the flying skiff and departed on his own. Watching the skiff recede into the distance, Cui Yu suddenly gave a bitter smile and said to Wei Yuan, "The reasoning holds true, yet in my heart, I still can't help feeling unreconciled!"