Ever since repelling the Shamans, Wei Yuan would frequently think of the Western Jin's army of more than a hundred thousand stationed right next door.
Whenever he did, irritation welled up within him. Yet he could not simply lead his forces to flatten them—at least not yet.
After seeing off the Cui family, Wei Yuan decided to head to the Hall of Merits to exchange for a few history books to read, hoping to calm his mind.
Life could not consist entirely of popular storybooks. Besides, storybooks were too quick to finish.
Entering the Hall of Merits, Wei Yuan saw that fruits were once again hanging from the laurel tree. Ever since the last offering of a massive quantity of Nether Soil, this subsidiary hall had reaped considerable benefits: its material quality had risen, its absorption of the origin qi of heaven and earth had sped up, and its fruiting cycle had shortened by a full day. Now, an exchange could be made once every two days.
Opening the jade register, Wei Yuan habitually checked his merit points first, only to feel his vision blur.
He rubbed his eyes, bringing the string of purple-glowing digits into sharp focus:
Wei Yuan: 6,200 total heavenly merits; 5,020 remaining.
Wei Yuan wiped his eyes vigorously once more, finally confirming that it was heavenly merits, not ordinary merit points, and six thousand, not sixteen hundred. Even with Wei Yuan's composure, it took him a moment to settle his racing heart.
He pulled out his merit booklet and looked back through past records, confirming that the previous battle alone had awarded him five thousand heavenly merits in one go! That meant Yanxin was equivalent to an immortal foundation among dharma idols, and in the late stage to boot. Compounded across multiple factors, it had yielded Wei Yuan over five thousand heavenly merits at once.
Calculated this way, the heavenly merits that had slipped through his fingers amounted to less than two thousand. At that thought, the regret lingering in Wei Yuan's chest diminished substantially.
At this moment, on the merit registry, Wei Yuan had vaulted straight into the top ten among all Dao Foundations, sitting not far behind the first place, having left both his master and Eldest Senior Sister far behind. The names occupying the top ten were all unfamiliar, none of which Wei Yuan had ever heard before. These individuals had only a name listed; all their dossiers were classified.
The entire top hundred of this ledger was like this, and others likewise could not view Wei Yuan's dossier. However, Wei Yuan was simply too famous—practically transparent—so anyone who saw his name essentially knew everything about him.
At this very moment, Wei Yuan felt that Xiaoyu ought to be by his side.
Even though Xiaoyu had returned home, Wei Yuan had no intention of letting him off that easily. Postponing his exchanges for now, he spread out a sheet of jade paper and wrote a letter to Xiaoyu:
"Junior Brother Xiaoyu:
Recently, I happened to come into a meager amount of merit points and wish to exchange them for a dharma treasure or two. Alas, my knowledge is shallow, so I hope you might offer some guidance..."
Finishing the letter in a single flourish of the brush, Wei Yuan handed it to a cultivator to send off, only then returning to the Hall of Merits to browse the catalog.
He ended up browsing for an entire afternoon.
Qingming was reviving from ruin, lacking everything. Wei Yuan exchanged for a dharma-treasure-grade pill furnace intended for Sun Yu. In addition, he selected a medicine cabinet capable of isolating the origin qi of heaven and earth and locking in spiritual energy, also a dharma treasure. Although dharma treasures were typically reserved for True Persons of the Dharma Idol realm, a Dao Foundation cultivator could barely manage to wield one, and Sun Yu was poised to break through to the Dharma Idol realm at any time, making it an ideal gift.
Although Yu Zhizhuo had arrived late, his role was pivotal. His cultivation path differed from others: it depended primarily on how many heavenly treasures and earthly materials passed through his hands. The higher the grade of materials he used to forge dharma treasures, the more beneficial it was to his progress.
Yet the things capable of catching Yu Zhizhuo's eye were by no means ordinary. Even with five thousand heavenly merits, Wei Yuan still could not afford them.
However, Wei Yuan adapted slightly and exchanged for a chunk of Origin Crystal Iron costing only five hundred heavenly merits. This metal was a high-grade material specifically designated for the thunder tree; placed beneath the tree to undergo day-and-night baptisms of lightning and fire, it would eventually transform over time into Heavenly Tribulation Divine Iron.
Heavenly Tribulation Divine Iron was a Scenery-Command-grade precious material, a single piece costing several thousand heavenly merits. Placing this beneath the thunder tree gave Yu Zhizhuo something to look forward to.
Although Wei Yuan felt Martial Uncle Yu was fabulously wealthy and unlikely to lack such a piece of iron, no one ever turned down Scenery Command materials. Of course, transforming Origin Crystal Iron into Heavenly Tribulation Divine Iron was not an affair of a year or two, even within Qingming.
Perfected Chuhe's requirements were much simpler, and they happened to align with Wei Yuan's own needs. Aside from cultivating rare and wondrous plants of heaven and earth, the Daoist's path required him to stay constantly by the side of spiritual flora. With Wei Yuan possessing an immortal tree, the old Daoist could not be driven away even if one tried.
Still, a gesture of respect had to be made, so Wei Yuan exchanged for a stalk of Netherwater Spirit Ginseng. Like Wood Spirit Ginseng, it belonged to the Five Elements Spirit Ginseng family, except one was a Dharma-Idol-grade spiritual plant, while the other was Dao-Foundation-grade. Thus, Wei Yuan only exchanged for a single stalk.
With Netherwater Spirit Ginseng, Nether Soil, two mutated Celestial Star Nightshades, and the newly acquired Ruby Lantern, Perfected Chuhe would have plenty to keep him busy for a while.
Next, Wei Yuan exchanged for a batch of spiritual materials for laying formations. In the blink of an eye, the five thousand heavenly merits were spent completely clean. Only after finishing the exchanges did Wei Yuan realize he had seemingly picked nothing for himself, his master, or Eldest Senior Sister.
Snapping back to his senses, Wei Yuan inspected the exchanged items once more, discovering that every single one was meant for the domain.
In truth, he had contemplated these items for a long time, originally assuming he would have to exchange for them slowly, one by one. He had never imagined that a single spear thrust of Dusk of the Immortal Path would yield five thousand heavenly merits, allowing him to trade for all of them together.
Wei Yuan still felt a twinge of self-reproach; though he himself needed nothing, it felt improper to have prepared no gifts for his master and Eldest Senior Sister.
His master had slain another Great Shaman, earning abundant heavenly merits, and the feedback from heaven and earth should bring his fourth immortal sword to completion. All that remained was awaiting an opportunity to ascend to the Dharma Idol realm.
Wei Yuan still did not know what Eldest Senior Sister was waiting for. Ever since arriving in Qingming, her Nine-Layer Demon-Suppressing Pagoda seemed to be everywhere. Heavenly merits aside, her ordinary merit points were flowing in like an ocean. Whatever she lacked, as long as it was not a deficiency of her state of mind, she could trade for it.
Speaking of states of mind, drawing on his years of being tempered by her, Wei Yuan concluded that perhaps nothing in this world could cause Eldest Senior Sister's Dao heart to crumble. Even if the world were to end, she would face it with a merry smile.
Having exchanged for too many items to carry in one trip, Wei Yuan had to make several runs before managing to move everything outside the Hall of Merits' grand formation.
Just as he finished moving the goods, his vision blurred, and Perfected Chuhe appeared before him, speaking faintly, "This old Daoist seems to have caught the scent of something extraordinary again."
Wei Yuan handed over the Netherwater Spirit Ginseng, saying, "I exchanged for a spiritual plant to add a bit of spiritual aura to the domain."
"Aiya, why did you do that? Exchanging for this sort of thing is practically useless! You would've been better off saving your heavenly merits to buy yourself a suit of dharma armor. Just look at you—you're dressed in utter rags!" The old Daoist chattered endlessly, yet cradled the Netherwater Spirit Ginseng with both hands, his eyes glowing with delight.
This plant also required Nether Soil, making it immensely beneficial to the old Daoist's cultivation.
"Oh, right. That Ruby Lantern has been planted for you. You can move it over to the immortal tree whenever you want." Having delivered his message, the old Daoist refused to linger for even a moment longer, heading straight toward the herb garden.
Wei Yuan chuckled, shaking his head, before carrying the pill furnace and medicine cabinet over to Sun Yu. Entering the courtyard, Wei Yuan saw an archaic bronze cauldron set before Sun Yu, containing several Shaman souls. Seeing the cauldron resting alongside various other medicinal herbs, Wei Yuan wondered if what was inside also counted as alchemy ingredients.
Wei Yuan had a faint feeling that Sun Yu was no longer the bright, cheerful martial uncle he had known in past years. Or perhaps he had simply never truly understood him.
Upon receiving the gifts from Wei Yuan, Sun Yu was overjoyed. He particularly loved the medicine cabinet, mentioning that fresh materials could be kept inside from now on. This cabinet was no ordinary vessel; it could hold living creatures while guaranteeing that none of their spirituality would be lost.
Things were simpler with Yu Zhizhuo. Wei Yuan placed the Origin Crystal Iron beneath the thunder tree and brought him over to take a look.
To Wei Yuan's surprise, Yu Zhizhuo became exceedingly excited upon seeing it, remarking that Heavenly Tribulation Divine Iron had a unique texture requiring a supreme immortal sword to cut and shave. He showered Wei Yuan with lavish praise for his discerning eye—praise that left Wei Yuan's spine tingling, filled with an ominous premonition of impending disaster.
Having settled his three martial uncles and grand-martial-uncle, Wei Yuan could finally attend to his own matters.
Carrying the momentum of great victory, the azure karmic luck in Wei Yuan's sea of consciousness now numbered over three thousand wisps, along with one hundred advanced wisps and five drops of Great Fortune. His otherworldly fortune remained at eighteen advanced wisps.
Wei Yuan was now thoroughly familiar with the utilization of karmic luck. By his overall assessment, azure qi ranked one tier lower than otherworldly fortune, while Great Fortune was equivalent to advanced otherworldly fortune.
With so much azure qi now, Wei Yuan could no longer be bothered to track whom each wisp originated from, aside from the Great Fortune.
One newly added drop of Great Fortune had come from Cui Changfeng, however, which surprised Wei Yuan quite a bit. It turned out that although the young master bragged incessantly about how wonderful his innate talent was, deep down he still understood what had actually happened.
Expending three wisps of karmic luck in exchange for a drop of Great Fortune would have made Wei Yuan wake up laughing from his dreams a month ago; now, he merely glanced over it, taking mental note.
In the region of the Ten Thousand Li of Rivers and Mountains corresponding to the herb garden, a translucent white vine had already sprouted, bearing several rice-grain-sized fruits, lustrously red like tiny lanterns.
The sprout continuously sent out calls to Wei Yuan, so he walked over and pulled it up.
The Ruby Lantern could accompany an immortal tree, and its own state was quite peculiar. Clinging to an immortal tree, it was a supreme Scenery-Command-grade spiritual plant. Clinging to an ordinary spiritual tree, it was a high-grade Dharma-Idol-level plant. If the tree's grade was deficient, the vine would regress to mid-grade and drain the tree to death.
An immortal tree was no ordinary timber; it naturally possessed all manner of divine wonders. For instance, the immortal laurel branch bestowed on Wei Yuan by Immortal Monarch Tinghai existed between illusion and reality. It could exist within the Dao Foundation of his sea of consciousness, yet could also appear in the real world. This manifestation differed from materialization forged through Dao power; it truly existed in reality.
The Ruby Lantern also possessed this quality of straddling illusion and reality. Holding it, Wei Yuan walked toward the immortal laurel branch.
An immortal branch, not an immortal tree.
The world believed Wei Yuan possessed an immortal tree, but only Wei Yuan knew that he did not.
The immortal laurel branch remained much as it had before, only a circle thicker, its bark marked with a few faint red patterns. It lay lazily in a puddle of white-gold water—until it saw Wei Yuan approaching with the Ruby Lantern in hand.
For the first time in his life, Wei Yuan saw a spiritual plant radiate killing intent.
The immortal laurel branch stood erect, but that did not deter Wei Yuan.
Wei Yuan could already hear the cheers of the Ruby Lantern in his hand. Besides, the disparity in status between the two was immense—a gulf as wide as heaven and earth. Allowing the Ruby Lantern a single bite would hardly matter.
A streak of white-gold sword qi flashed past, carving a deep groove into the ground right before Wei Yuan's feet!
Wei Yuan was shocked. He rubbed his eyes to confirm he was not mistaken: that was indeed sword qi. The sword qi now returned to the immortal laurel branch, circling and dancing about it. The sheer prestige of this sword qi was a notch higher than that of the Immortal Sword Great Sun, on par with Zhang Sheng's fourth immortal sword.
Wei Yuan stared at the immortal laurel branch, and the branch stared right back at him. Man and bough stood locked in a standoff. The white-gold sword qi flew in continuous circles, its meaning self-evident.
Suddenly, a crisp pop rang out. The faint red patterns across the thickened bark abruptly split open, and several slender new twigs sprang forth, dotted with white-gold leaf buds.
Those faint red marks had not been patterns at all, but traces left by the splitting bark. At last, the bark could no longer contain the new shoots, allowing them to burst free.
A bizarre thought suddenly crossed Wei Yuan's mind: Had it eaten so much that it simply couldn't hold back from sprouting any longer?
Chapter 242