Aside from Perfected Chuhe, those present—Zhang Sheng, Ji Liuli, Yu Zhizhuo, and Sun Yu—were all just one step away from forming a dharma idol, each stubbornly staying put and refusing to take that final stride forward. With their naked eyes alone, they could see the microscopic organisms upon the surface.
Though Wei Yuan's cultivation was lacking, his primordial soul's divine sense was powerful enough to rival that of a dharma idol. Once he adjusted his divine sense and swept it across, he likewise detected the microscopic organisms.
Cui Yu was the only exception. Though he stood at the mid Dao Foundation stage and was on the verge of reaching the late stage, his naked eyes could not see the microscopic organisms, nor could his divine sense pick them up. Watching everyone look completely poised and deep in thought, he felt an urge to flee.
In the past, when he led his pack of fair-weather friends in their earnest pursuit of progress back in the Cui family, he had been the sole Heaven Foundation cultivator around. Now, striving to resist the alien race in Qingming, he remained the sole Heaven Foundation cultivator among them.
"How can this be?" everyone asked.
Sun Yu had already pondered the matter for a long time. "From what I have observed," he said, "all the dead microscopic organisms had the outer walls of their bodies ruptured. That is where its wonder lies. This item has no Dao force whatsoever; it exterminates so many microscopic organisms by its intrinsic nature alone. It is truly inconceivable. One wonders how the mortals of that world managed to discover such a thing."
"By guessing?" Ji Liuli suggested.
The cultivators all nodded, considering it very likely. The Native Realm's study of karmic luck techniques was already quite profound—there were even those who had attained immortality through the Dao of karmic luck, and True Monarch Yanshi harbored great ambitions of his own.
According to True Monarch Yanshi, so-called turning one's luck, stripped bare, was nothing more than amplifying the probability of a certain person or matter developing in a particular direction. Turning luck merely altered one or two people; if tens of thousands strove together in that same direction, the odds of success would be far greater than for a single individual.
Sun Yu placed a white tablet on the table and said, "To refine medicine to such a degree is even more miraculous than the high-grade golden pills the Monastery of Creation boasts of."
Perfected Chuhe coughed. "Nephew Sun, mind your words. Those old coots from the Monastery of Creation hate nothing more than hearing ill spoken of them."
"I'm speaking here; they won't know."
Perfected Chuhe replied, "Many mouths bring loose talk; it will reach their ears sooner or later. Besides, if it becomes a habit, there will always come a time when you let a word or two slip unintentionally."
Sun Yu conceded, "Very well, let us return to this immortal medicine. In my view, the people of that world must possess a complete theory and complementary methods of compounding medicine; only then could they, as mortals, refine pills of this dharma idol grade."
"This medicine is of the dharma idol grade?" Perfected Chuhe was astonished.
"It can exterminate Dao Foundation microscopic organisms, and it has lethal efficacy against dharma idol microscopic organisms as well. In sufficient dosage, it can even wipe out certain dharma idol-grade microscopic organisms," Sun Yu said.
By the consensus of the cultivation world, this qualified as a dharma idol-grade spiritual medicine. The grading and nomenclature of pills had also been devised by the Monastery of Creation: those of the dharma idol grade were spirit pills, those of the Scenery Command grade were called treasure pills, and those of Unity were naturally immortal pills.
Following this line of thought, the cultivators could not help but feel stirred. It was merely a pity that Xu Wenwu was completely devoid of learning. Despite having studied physics and chemistry, apart from half-remembered fragments of verse, he had retained nothing useful.
To say nothing of how most of the poetry had already been written by other otherworldly visitors, even if there were verses earlier visitors had missed, what good were a few random lines? If Xu Wenwu were asked to compose a poem on the spot at a literary gathering, his fraud would be exposed immediately.
"Why not just sacrifice Xu Wenwu?" Ji Liuli proposed once more. "It'd be hard to trade him for someone quite as useless, wouldn't it?"
Seeing that everyone seemed rather tempted, Wei Yuan hastily vetoed the idea.
At that moment, Yu Zhizhuo was perusing page by page the information Xu Wenwu had written down. His divine sense was not in the least inferior to that of an ordinary late dharma idol cultivator, surpassing Wei Yuan's present strength by a wide margin.
He flipped through the materials at incredible speed, committing a page to memory with a single glance, and with his primordial soul processing hundreds of thoughts in an instant, he completed his analysis, organization, and categorization.
In the blink of an eye, having finished reviewing all the records, Yu Zhizhuo let out a sigh. "How humbling. The people of that world know nothing of cultivation and possess the power of merely a few thoughts per breath, yet they have considered even the minutest details so thoroughly. Clearly, countless people poured immense effort into this. In my view, if we wish to make any headway, our first step must be to fully adopt the standards of measurement from that world. Only then will we share a common foundation when speaking of these matters."
These words made great sense, but they offered no remedy for Qingming's immediate circumstances.
Wei Yuan tactfully reminded him, "Martial Uncle, the Shamans are still outside..."
Yu Zhizhuo chuckled. "I know, I won't leave you short. I already have an idea. I'll get to work as soon as I return, and you should be able to see it by roughly this evening."
Wei Yuan was overjoyed and quickly said, "Thank you, Martial Uncle!"
Yu Zhizhuo turned to Zhang Sheng and said earnestly, "Junior Brother Zhang, I recently acquired a few fine items and require your helping hand."
Zhang Sheng remained expressionless. "Courtesy demands reciprocity. It is only right."
***
Deep within the northern Wu domain, inside a palace, Shengxin and another Great Shaman sat at the high dais, while a row of Great Shamans stood below.
The atmosphere inside the hall was exceedingly solemn. The Great Shaman seated alongside Shengxin was merely a roiling cloud of crimson mist; nothing could be discerned at its core, save for dense showers of red leaves drifting around the figure.
Looking down from above, Shengxin had long shed his gentle demeanor for one of stern majesty. He spoke slowly, "How many troops have been amassed now? Why haven't you attacked yet?"
One Great Shaman replied, "We have already launched a probing assault, but the domain's defenses exceeded all expectations, and our side suffered heavy losses. We have now gathered a force of a hundred thousand, but it is still not enough. We also require more Great Shamans to take the field."
"A hundred thousand is still not enough? Then what use are you!" Shengxin's voice turned harsh.
The Great Shaman below answered, "We can win the battle, but I fear more than half our forces will be casualties. I believe there is no need to strike at this juncture. If Western Jin takes the opportunity to march out and launch a pincer attack, we will likely find ourselves in dire straits."
Shengxin's expression darkened, seemingly not expecting the other to refuse him so bluntly. At that moment, the Great Shaman beside him spoke slowly, "Lord Shengxin is devoted wholly to cultivation and has little experience in leading armies and waging war. In this matter, it is best to heed the frontline commanders."
Shengxin sneered coldly, "Lord Hongye, the frontline commanders are merely your mouthpieces. Why don't you just tell me to listen to you?"
Hongye sighed. "You and I serve different masters. Why must it be like this?"
A vertical yellow marking gradually lit up between Shengxin's brows as he said, "The spiritual fetus is the paramount priority of the entire Shaman race, yet you consider only the casualties of your own tribe. Very well. Aren't you terrified of your subordinates dying? Then watch closely!"
A yellow beam abruptly shot from between his brows, striking the Great Shaman below! Shock froze upon that Great Shaman's face as his entire body, from head to foot, was swiftly stained with yellow. In the blink of an eye, he turned into a sand sculpture, which then collapsed into a pile of sand right in the hall.
"What are you doing?" Hongye had no time to intervene, both shocked and furious.
The vertical marking between Shengxin's brows faded away. He said calmly, "I want to see the thing that human has hidden. All you need to do is crack open that shell for me. Once I see that item, I will bother you no further. Now, you have two choices: either die on the battlefield, or die by my hand."
Hongye said furiously, "You wish to wage war?"
"Anytime." Shengxin rose and walked straight out of the hall.
Chapter 233