What Kind of Great Curse Was That?

Sun Yu could not explain why such a phenomenon had occurred. Wei Yuan immediately inspected the entire new city, but found nothing whatsoever, unable to locate the source of the evil, erupting yin qi. Zhang Sheng and Perfected Chuhe, who arrived shortly afterward, were equally fruitless. Wei Yuan had no choice but to set the matter aside for the moment. He ordered that good care be given to the young women who had miscarried after the fetuses died in their wombs, then moved the surviving young women to another, more heavily guarded camp. He posted guards to watch over them day and night, and even set up a protective array powered by karmic luck. Still uneasy, Wei Yuan attached a strand of karmic luck to each of the three-hundred-plus surviving young women to ensure complete safety. By the time all this was finished, dawn had broken. In the morning light, two Cui family flying boats sailed into the domain and docked at the designated square. Both vessels were laden with supplies, primarily various grades of textiles that required substantial time to produce in bulk, as well as ten thousand jin of aged medicinal herbs of all kinds to serve as payment for training their personnel. For this term, Wei Yuan turned over a total of thirty-three Dao Foundation cultivators, just a bit shy of ten percent of the whole. Although the outcome was not as breathtaking as the first term, only fifteen people had died. The mortality rate had dropped drastically to under five percent. The Cui family representatives who came to receive them had no complaints. After all, the results of the first term were right there to see. When half the people died, the overall success rate had been just over thirty percent, which meant over half among the survivors. Of the twenty-odd who had paid to buy exemption from fatal risks, only a single one had succeeded. Thus, more deaths yielded more Dao Foundations, but the first term's mortality rate had simply been too terrifying. The second term hit the sweet spot. Arriving alongside the two flying boats were over four hundred people, including more than fifty elders between sixty and eighty years old. These were the Cui family elders Cui Luoyu had mentioned previously, who wished to seek longevity extension in Qingming and were willing to pay a handsome price for it. The rest were ordinary Cui family disciples coming for training, four hundred in all. This group counted as the third term. By this third term, Wei Yuan already had an established procedure for cultivating Dao Foundations. Everything could proceed according to past experience. In the original plan, the second term's Cui family disciples were supposed to return aboard these two flying boats. However, during the unloading, a gorgeous young woman from the second term came before Wei Yuan. She explained that she and several others had already sensed the opportunity to establish their Dao Foundations; the time had simply been too short. If they had a little more accumulation and chose the right Dao Foundation, she felt there was still hope of forging one, so they wished to stay for another term. "Choose the right Dao Foundation?" Wei Yuan did not catch on immediately. The young woman bit her lip, lowered her voice, and leaned in toward Wei Yuan's ear. "This time, we're all choosing the Bright Light Sword!" Wei Yuan realized at once. Glancing at the dozens of people standing behind her, he finally remembered. These fellows had all been proud and arrogant, insisting on forging unique Dao Foundations of their own and refusing to adopt a template. After failing once, it seemed they had finally recognized the reality of their lack of talent and were obediently choosing the easiest one to forge: the Bright Light Sword. "Very well. You may stay and train with the third term to try again in a month, but that requires extra payment." "No problem!" the striking young woman agreed readily. Just as he sent her off, another Cui family girl—somewhat green, with delicate features and a voluptuous figure—intercepted Wei Yuan. "Domain Lord, I... we want to stay and join the third term too. But we don't have any spare money left. All we have... is myself, sigh!" The girl lowered her head shyly and stamped her foot, causing her chest to ripple heavily. "You just said 'we'?" Wei Yuan keenly caught the key word. The girl pointed into the distance. A few dozen people were standing there, looking over expectantly. Several of them were even gesturing and cheering the girl on. Her cheeks flushed crimson as she said, "If you like, sh-she, they are fine too, and so are the men." Wei Yuan genuinely did not understand. Seeing that Wei Yuan had not agreed, the girl hurriedly said, "My Lord, as long as you agree, then throughout our studies, whenever you want, wherever you want, all of us are willing!" This time Wei Yuan finally understood. He could not help burying his face in his hand, feeling that these people were utterly absurd. Had he not just suffered through that nightmarish afternoon in Chunhua Hall, Wei Yuan felt he would have blushed himself. Even so, Wei Yuan could not resist glancing at the crowd in the distance. He took in everyone's appearance, and then his resolve to keep things strictly business only hardened. "Are you the only ones who have no money but want to try for another term?" The girl said, "Actually, there are a few more, but some aren't willing to offer themselves, and some aren't worthy of offering themselves." Wei Yuan told the girl to call over everyone who had no money but still wanted to try. Looking at them, he noted that a few truly were in no position to offer themselves. Once everyone had gathered, Wei Yuan said, "If you are willing, you may train for another term free of charge. The condition is that after forging a Dao Foundation, you must work in the domain for five years. If your Dao Foundation is suitable and you are willing to fight, you only need to serve for two years. Well, who wants to stay?" The crowd exchanged glances. Most agreed, but someone asked, "What if we don't succeed?" Wei Yuan said, "If you fail to forge a Dao Foundation, you only need to work in the domain for one year." These terms were extremely generous, and everyone agreed. To be a Cui family disciple and yet unable to afford the tuition for even a single term showed how marginal their status was within the clan; they had never held any bargaining power to begin with. Seeing that everyone agreed, Wei Yuan had Cui Yu bring over a stack of blood contracts and had them sign in blood. That way, if any of them dared to renege in the future, the backlash of the blood contract would make them wish for death. The innocent-looking girl approached Wei Yuan again and whispered, "Could I not sign the contract and just accompany you instead?" Expressionless, Wei Yuan shoved a blood contract document into her hands. At the summit of the main peak, Zhang Sheng looked on with great satisfaction, then turned his gaze elsewhere. After a flurry of bustle and confusion, living quarters were finally arranged for all the Cui family arrivals, and basic living necessities were distributed. Come dinnertime, the elders belonging to the third term's special class, along with dozens of patrons willing to pay extra, were brought to a lecture hall. Wei Yuan personally explained the specialized Dao Foundation template to them. Everyone was deeply impressed by Qingming's efficiency, and their confidence inexplicably swelled. In the center of the lecture hall, Wei Yuan faced the hall full of paying patrons with a smile. An immortal sword burning with faint flames appeared in his hand; the moment it emerged, the entire hall lit up! The patrons' eyes instantly sparkled, yet they felt that such a magnificent Dao Foundation was clearly of boundless might, far beyond what the likes of them could possess. At this moment, Wei Yuan pointed, sending the sword flying around the lecture hall in a circle so that everyone could see it clearly. Then he said, "This is the special Dao Foundation template we have prepared for you: the Great Bright Demon-Subduing Sword!" ... Over the next several days, young and old of the Cui family threw themselves into cultivation. Ever since Wei Yuan's flash of inspiration to enhance the lighting effect of the Bright Light Sword and rename it the Great Bright Demon-Subduing Sword, acceptance of this Dao Foundation had risen noticeably. Nearly everyone was willing to choose this template. This also gave Wei Yuan a sigh of relief. During the first term, there had been no templates, so that was that. In the second term, templates were available, but many had been unwilling to settle. As a result, their success rate had been agonizing to behold, nearly dragging down Wei Yuan's reputation. Now, with the Great Bright Demon-Subduing Sword, the success rate for the third term should rise another step. Once the results of this term came out, Wei Yuan felt he might be able to negotiate terms with the Cui family. Amidst the bustle, a long convoy departed the domain. The wagons carried one hundred thousand jin of grain, meant for setting up porridge stalls in Bianning Commandery to recruit displaced refugees. On the fifth day, cultivators stationed at the western border reported that a large group of humans was approaching. When Wei Yuan flew to the border, he saw Tianyu, who was two days late. At the end of the distant road, billowing dust could already be seen as countless people walked slowly forward. "This time, I have brought three thousand top-grade sacrifices, ten thousand mid-grade, thirty thousand low-grade, and one hundred and twenty thousand unranked, in exchange for all the Shaman civilians in your custody." Having said this all in one breath, Tianyu offered an apologetic look and said, "It couldn't be helped. I don't know what happened lately, but top-grade sacrifices are in exceptionally short supply. Word has it that many top-grade sacrifices were requisitioned by Heavenly Shamans. Who knows what kind of ritual they intend to invoke?" "No problem, we can make the exchange." In truth, even if Tianyu had only brought ten or twenty thousand people, Wei Yuan would have considered the exchange worthwhile. Soon, the massive host arrived nearby. The sacrifices of each grade wore different colored clothing, making them very easy to distinguish. The top-grade sacrifices were all youths around ten years of age, while the mid-grade sacrifices were adults under forty. Low-grade sacrifices generally had poorer constitutions, but still carried some traces of Body Casting. Finally, there were the one hundred and twenty thousand unranked. These people had only recently been captured into the Wu domain and had not yet been fattened up, so they were of every sort, including children who did not even reach one's waist. They still wore their own clothes, unlike the graded sacrifices who wore uniform colors. The top-grade sacrifices had all been born to humans bred in captivity within the Wu domain. The mid-grade sacrifices were partly descendants of the captives and partly the sturdiest among the humans seized from outside. People of these two grades stood expressionless, quietly awaiting orders. Once designated as sacrifices, the Shamans would regularly administer medicine to them. Taken long enough, the drug gradually stripped away all emotions, turning them into walking corpses that knew only how to obey commands. Knowing Tianyu was coming, Wei Yuan had already dispatched men escorting the Shaman captives to depart, heading north out of the domain before turning west. Tianyu immediately ordered five thousand cavalry to receive his clansmen, while arranging for the hundred-plus thousand humans to enter the domain. Standing on high ground beside the road, Wei Yuan watched the crowd file past. He suddenly noticed that among the hundred and twenty thousand unranked people, aside from some children, nearly all were adult men and women, with no elderly among them. Wei Yuan looked toward Tianyu, who said, "I know the elderly are of no use to you, but you wouldn't say it aloud, so I took it upon myself not to bring anyone over fifty." Wei Yuan fell silent for a moment, then said, "There's no need for that next time. I am past my initial stage now; I can shoulder the burden of extra elderly." Tianyu spread his hands. "I certainly hope there won't be a next time." Wei Yuan smiled faintly and said, "If you don't come, there naturally won't be a next time." Tianyu shook his head. "Even if we don't come, you will come over." Wei Yuan paused. It was the truth, leaving him speechless. Right at that moment, countless people stepping into the domain felt the long-lost clear domain of the mortal realm, especially its vibrant vitality, and their eyes filled with hot tears. They had thought there was no hope in this life of ever returning to the human domain, never imagining they would live to see the light of day again. Some grabbed cultivators of the domain to ask questions, and learned that the figure standing on the high ground was the Domain Lord. All at once, countless people fell to their knees, kowtowing repeatedly toward Wei Yuan. In the blink of an eye, the ground was a sea of kneeling figures. Wei Yuan was about to say there was no need, but within Ten Thousand Li of Rivers and Mountains, azure qi suddenly multiplied in vast swathes. He had to abandon the thought of leaving and instead strike a dignified posture to absorb the karmic luck. Still, acting so theatrically felt somewhat embarrassing. After bowing to Wei Yuan, the crowd noticed the tall, burly Tianyu beside him, clearly no ordinary person. Some knew Tianyu had been the one to send them back to the domain; those who did not assumed Tianyu was one of the domain's leaders. Thus, whether they knew or not, after bowing to Wei Yuan, they began kowtowing to Tianyu. Tianyu's face changed drastically. His mouth opened, and he sprayed out a mouthful of fresh blood on the spot! As thousands upon thousands of people kowtowed wave after wave, with every single bow, Tianyu's life force plummeted by a notch, hitting rock bottom in the blink of an eye! Fortunately, Wei Yuan reacted with extreme swiftness. Using Jia Wood Life-Mystic to sustain Tianyu's life, he grabbed him and ran, fleeing dozens of li in an instant to cross into the Wu domain. Had he been just a step slower, Tianyu would likely have perished right there! Having narrowly escaped death, Tianyu was feeble to the extreme and utterly shaken. "What kind of great curse was that just now?!"