A distant, deep tolling of bells sounded across every mountain gate of the Palace of Grand Beginning. The bell tolled seven times in all, resounding so far that even True Persons of the Dharma Idol realm outside could hear it.
This was an ancient bell, an immortal artifact handed down through several thousand years. For it to ring seven times meant the Palace of Grand Beginning faced the peril of total overthrow.
Hearing the chime, Perfected Chuhe rushed to the Hall of Merits and obtained the latest news: Immortal Monarch Tinghai had returned critically wounded and was on the verge of falling!
This news struck like a bolt from the blue, shocking everyone.
The cultivators of the Palace of Grand Beginning gathered together in utter silence; no one uttered a word. In the end, it was Zhang Sheng who spoke: "For now, wait for further news. Nobody panic. The enemy might take advantage of the chaos to attack, so let us set up our defenses first. Do not worry—the sky will not fall. Even if something truly happens to the Immortal Monarch, the Palace Master is still here. Besides, the View Master of Haotian View and the Hall Master of the Hall of Heavenly Secrets both have hopes of ascending to immortality in the near future, and Patriarch Xuanyue will also reach the pinnacle of cultivation in a century. For now, everyone attend to your own duties. Disperse for now."
Wei Yuan felt a wave of unease. If he had not established Qingming and come into conflict with the Xu clan back then, Immortal Monarch Tinghai would not have fought a decisive battle against Xu Wangu. The bell ringing seven times likely meant the Immortal Monarch would pass away within ten years.
Wei Yuan suddenly recalled the illusion he had witnessed in the grotto-heaven fragment, where Xu Wangu held up an infant and laughed aloud: "An innate Thousand-Autumn Sword Body indeed!"
Could that be the reason?
Wei Yuan walked over to the Hall of Merits. A long queue had formed outside its doors. Aside from cultivators of the Palace of Grand Beginning, the line included many who were not disciples of the palace yet possessed merit points. Right now, everyone shared a single thought: to spend their merit points immediately and convert them into personal strength.
Wei Yuan stepped into the Hall of Merits. Inside, it was very quiet. The page for recent news on the jade register was completely blank, devoid of any updates. For such a monumental event to occur without a single piece of news posted was profoundly abnormal in itself.
Wei Yuan also noticed that the Palace of Grand Beginning's exchange price for Nether Soil had risen once again. This time, he held nothing back. Taking out a chest, he packed a thousand jin of Nether Soil inside and sacrificed it directly on the offering table.
As the thousand jin of Nether Soil vanished, the price of Nether Soil on the exchange register plummeted instantly, dropping to less than a tenth of its original value. Moreover, trading Nether Soil for supplies was temporarily closed, though exchanging supplies for Nether Soil remained unrestricted.
Wei Yuan's mood eased slightly at last. It seemed that for the short term, the Palace of Grand Beginning should not lack Nether Soil.
Just then, a formidable divine sense swept across the entire core region. Ji Liuli had returned. Wei Yuan hurried back to the main peak; Eldest Senior Sister would surely have the latest news.
Once the members of the Palace of Grand Beginning had all gathered, Ji Liuli said, "According to the news I received from the Patriarch, Palace Master Pei had already secured victory in his battle against Xu Wangu. But Xu Wangu pulled off a sleight of hand to defy the heavens, being reborn through fire into the form of a youth. That should have been his weakest moment, but someone intervened from the shadows, pushing Xu Wangu's state straight to its peak. The Palace Master's cultivation was already inferior to Xu Wangu's, and having battled for months, he had little immortal power left and had no choice but to retreat.
"Yet during his withdrawal, he was ambushed and nearly perished. If not for a mishap occurring with Xu Wangu's sword-body reincarnation, the Palace Master might not have made it back at all."
"Who ambushed him?" Perfected Chuhe asked.
Ji Liuli shook her head. "The Patriarch didn't say."
Wei Yuan asked, "Can such a reincarnation and rebirth really come without restrictions?"
Ji Liuli said, "There are bound to be severe limitations, unless he underwent liberation by weapon to re-enter samsara, and then received awakening in this lifetime to cultivate anew. The Great Treasure Radiance Pure Land specializes in this. But however flawed Xu Wangu's method may be, this is not a battle we can take part in."
Zhang Sheng mused, "After this battle, the Xu family will likely make their move, but they won't go too far. No one wants to see an Immortal Monarch capable of infinite reincarnations, and the other prominent clans will not allow the Xu family to dominate unopposed. If nothing else, the Lu clan of Ganzhou and the Li clan of Zhao might act to keep them in check."
Ji Liuli said, "I came back this time to let everyone know that the Patriarch will soon depart for the northern mountain gate. The Hall of Heavenly Secrets is short-handed, so I must return. Sometime later, I will head north as well, intending to find an opportunity in battle to advance to the Dharma Idol realm."
Zhang Sheng said, "Your Exquisite True Meaning has only scratched the surface. You won't continue polishing it? If you want to refine it thoroughly, staying here would be better. Besides, there is fighting to be done here as well."
Ji Liuli shook her head and said, "Born into an era of great contention, how could everything possibly be polished to absolute perfection? If I advance to the Dharma Idol realm, even late-stage cultivators with weaker foundations will have to give me a wide berth. At a time like this, that will be very useful to the palace. In moments of crisis, people like us ought to take the battlefield; there is no longer time for painstaking, slow grinding."
Old Daoist Chuhe looked somewhat awkward and coughed a few times.
"All right! I'm leaving!" Ji Liuli hugged Zhang Sheng and Wei Yuan each, though while hugging Wei Yuan, she casually pinched his backside.
The northern frontier was fraught with peril. Geniuses of every caliber could fall there, and Ji Liuli was currently only at the Dao Foundation realm.
After this parting, who knew when they would meet again. Perhaps never.
"I'll see you off," Feng Tingyu suddenly spoke up.
"All right."
The two left the main peak and flew northeast, touching down at the edge of the territory. Ji Liuli asked, "Is there something you wanted to say to me?"
Feng Tingyu said, "I heard you have a title: Eldest Senior Sister Twenty-Five Feet? My innate bone and karmic luck combined are three feet less than yours, but my karmic luck isn't very good—only eight feet. People from your Hall of Heavenly Secrets must all have high karmic luck, right?"
Ji Liuli remained impassive. "What are you trying to say?"
Feng Tingyu began doing chest expansions again and said, "What I want to say is, once you leave, don't bother coming back. This place isn't suited for a flat ironing board with a frail build."
"Well, well! Trying to steal my man, are you?" Ji Liuli loosened up her body, cracking her knuckles with sharp pops as she strode toward Feng Tingyu. "You entered a session after me, so you probably don't know the origin of my moniker very well. No matter—I'll let you find out right now!"
At the territory's edge, the earth suddenly trembled, and a small peak slowly collapsed.
A giant crater now marked the ground. At the bottom of the crater, Ji Liuli pinched Feng Tingyu's slightly baby-faced cheeks with both hands, pulling and kneading them into all sorts of shapes.
Tugging at her cheeks, Ji Liuli chuckled softly. "Surprised? My karmic luck is actually even worse—only seven feet!"
After pinning Feng Tingyu down and ravaging her for a while, Ji Liuli uncovered a little secret of hers. Feng Tingyu's figure looked magnificent, but in truth, because her physical body was extraordinarily tough, her muscles were heavily developed; once the underlying muscle was deducted, the rest was only so-so.
And so, Ji Liuli laughed heartily three times, her mind thoroughly unburdened, and strode off in high spirits.
***
The royal palace of Western Jin.
Several matters had already been deliberated before the sky began to brighten.
A general stated, "Prince Ying needs to drill and equip at least fifty thousand new troops in the north, requiring five million taels of immortal silver. However, only eight hundred thousand taels of military funds have been received so far, leaving a shortfall of four million two hundred thousand. Without these new troops, I fear the current front lines can hardly be held."
An old minister remarked, "The state treasury is truly empty of silver. Where are we to raise those four million taels of immortal silver?"
The King of Jin, who had been reading through documents the entire time, now spoke: "Why has the silver collected from the seven western commanderies of Ningzhou decreased yet again? The year's end is nearly upon us, yet the tax silver collected so far is only one million two hundred thousand taels. Last year, if I recall correctly, it was two million taels, was it not?"
Another civil official petitioned, "The seven western commanderies of Ningzhou suffered disasters only last year and are still recuperating this year. They truly cannot hand over any more silver. Moreover, disaster relief funds for certain regions have not even been disbursed this year, leaving the common folk struggling to survive."
The King of Jin frowned slightly. "How is it that I heard many places in Ningzhou had bumper harvests this year?"
Chen Dao stepped forward from the ranks and memorialized, "Multiple commanderies in western Ningzhou indeed enjoyed bumper harvests, reaping thirty percent more than in previous years. However, the bountiful yields were all on private fields owned by the prominent clans. The public lands suffered from neglected waterworks and were mostly plagued by poor harvests."
The King of Jin said, "Organizing and training new troops is imperative. If the state treasury has no silver, then everyone shall chip in together. I shall also withdraw some immortal silver from the inner treasury. Gentlemen, contribute some silver!"
The officials exchanged glances before pledging donations one after another. Some gave one thousand taels, others five hundred taels. In the end, gnashing their teeth, the entire assembly of civil and military officials pledged a mere one hundred thousand taels.
The King of Jin silently noted several of them in his mind and did not dwell on the matter. Even though the general was hopping with anxiety, the high officials remained as calm and unflappable as ever, unmoved by any wind.
At this moment, the Right Prime Minister stepped forward and petitioned, "Holy King, poor annual revenue and an empty state treasury are failures of the Ministry of Revenue. This subject believes Xu Gong may serve as Minister of Revenue and enter the Hall of Political Affairs."
Only after a pause did the King of Jin say, "Approved."
The former Minister of Revenue merely stared at his own toes, showing no sign of objection.
***
Come nightfall, Jingang Zen Temple.
The King of Jin and the green-eyed woman sat facing each other, each cultivating with closed eyes. The green-eyed woman suddenly said, "Your mind is not calm."
The King of Jin snapped his eyes open and said, "Prince Ying keeps demanding troops, but raising a new army costs immortal silver, and the treasury doesn't have a single tael left. In the seven western commanderies of Ningzhou, aside from the one commandery where the Xu family's ancestral home is situated—which pays no taxes as per custom—the true annual revenue of the other six commanderies is ten million taels! Yet they gave me a meager one million two hundred thousand! I didn't even get twenty percent! If this continues, do they intend to give me less than ten percent next year?!"
He simply stood up, threw a forceful punch into the air, and roared, "I asked the court officials to donate silver, and across the entire court, they only scraped together a hundred thousand taels! Do they take me for a beggar?! That Lu Jie—his family owns four hundred thousand mu of land that can be accounted for alone, and the entirety of Songjiang Prefecture belongs to his family, yet he donated a measly two thousand!
"And today, the Xu family even came to force my hand, demanding the position of Minister of Revenue! They want to take charge of my purse strings! Out of the nine seats in the Hall of Political Affairs right now, the Xu family has three and the Lu clan has four—only two are my men! Just who is the lord of this realm?! How could I possibly keep my mind calm?!"
The green-eyed woman said, "Xu Wangu returned victorious, so it is only expected that the Xu family wants to expand."
The King of Jin's tone shifted abruptly. "Did that old ghost truly reincarnate?! Can I use this method?"
The green-eyed woman replied, "He did indeed reincarnate successfully, but this method carries immense hidden perils and is intolerable to Heaven and Earth. Otherwise, wouldn't every immortal under heaven achieve immortality? How could a half-baked figure like him get his turn?"
"Even with hidden perils, if I could return to the body of a youth, I would be willing!"
The green-eyed woman smiled faintly. "Xu Wangu's method severely damages hidden virtue and requires a vast number of blood descendants. If you dare to do that, how could Lu Changhe let you off? No need to be impatient. We have a better way now."
The King of Jin touched his slightly sagging skin and sighed, "It had better be quick; I can hardly wait."
"As soon as we find that child of karmic destiny, we can begin immediately."
"Aren't there many children of karmic destiny? How hard could it be to find one? To look no further, isn't Wei Yuan one?"
"No, taking his karmic luck would bring harm rather than benefit. What we seek is karmic luck that does not belong to this world. It is hidden extremely deep and will only reveal itself under the right catalyst. Therefore, we must be patient."
Chapter 336