The upheaval within the sect brought unprecedented pressure upon Wei Yuan. He had to elevate his domain's strength as quickly as possible.
Wei Yuan took stock once more of the assets currently in his hands.
The population of Qingming had already reached three hundred thousand, more than half of whom were in the prime of their youth and could be conscripted for war. Over the past few months, the Xu family youths had begun to display their innate talent as descendants of an Immortal Monarch; in less than three months, the vast majority had stepped through the threshold of the Six Books of Body Casting, and several hundred of the swiftest cultivators had already advanced.
Shaman City was still being cleared. The Shamans had left behind a massive amount of supplies, much of which could be put to immediate use. The only trouble was that the city's living environment was suited to Shamans: the residential districts were waterlogged everywhere, and even inside the houses, water was ubiquitous. Those had no choice but to be torn down and rebuilt from scratch.
Within the entire domain, there were now over fifteen hundred cultivators in the Dao Foundation realm, and another hundred could be added each month. This was Wei Yuan's greatest reliance. The only downside was that their aptitude was lackluster; most of them would remain stalled at the mid Dao Foundation stage for the rest of their lives.
Over the past several months, Wei Yuan had given the Weaponsmith Workshop his full backing, which had finally yielded twenty thousand fully equipped troops. If he merely ensured each person had a firearm, however, there were enough for sixty thousand. And if each gun were allocated just a single bullet, that number could reach a hundred thousand.
At this critical juncture, Wei Yuan prioritized the foundation casting of the Cui family's third cohort above all else.
He spared no karmic luck, adding two wisps to each elder while granting one to the ordinary descendants. He even had Xu Wenwu come over to train alongside the elders, eating and lodging under the same roof.
Although the elders had their grumbles about the living conditions in the domain—having only a single room to themselves instead of an entire courtyard—they felt at peace upon seeing that the other Cui youths were packed eight to a room.
Perfected Chuhe, Sun Yu, Yu Zhizhuo, and the others took turns lecturing them, explaining the principles of the Dao Foundation in meticulous detail. Surprisingly, though Zhang Sheng gave only a single lesson, he left a deep impression on the Cui youths. If anyone dared cause trouble, sword qi was the only language this teacher spoke. Furthermore, his manner of speaking resonated deeply with the youth, possessing an effortless flair they could never quite emulate.
For a time, mimicking Zhang Sheng's way of speaking became a trend among the young people. Yet none of them possessed his aura, so it inevitably sounded comical and awkward when they tried.
For instance, the line: "Go home and tell your clan elders to come argue with me. Those who have only just entered the Dharma Idol realm needn't bother—beating them wouldn't be a fair fight." No matter how they delivered it, it invariably sounded like a joke.
Under such meticulous nurturing, the members of the third cohort cultivated for merely half a month before beginning their foundation casting, and the results were exceptionally remarkable. Out of fifty elders, eleven successfully formed a Dao Foundation—every single one the Great Bright Demon-Subduing Sword—successfully extending their lifespans. Among the remaining youths, over fifty formed Dao Foundations. Of the eighty transfers from the second cohort, thirteen ultimately succeeded, ten of whom signed indentured blood contracts with Wei Yuan.
The overall success rate approached nearly twenty percent. This rate was close to that of a fourth-tier sect like the Red Tide Sect! Yet these were people who originally had no hope of casting a Dao Foundation and could never have passed the Immortal Sect Unified Examination.
Sure enough, just a day after the third cohort was sent off, word arrived from the Cui family: the Old Matron of the Cui family wished to meet Wei Yuan.
Wei Yuan boarded a flying vessel immediately, rushing to the Cui family alongside Cui Yu. The custom-built flying vessel was extraordinarily fast, traveling two hundred thousand li south in a single day to reach Anxi Commandery on Zhao's southern border, where this branch of the Cui family resided.
Anxi Commandery was the ancestral seat of this Cui branch. By custom, it paid no taxes in silver to Zhao, making it exceedingly prosperous; even among ordinary folk, well-dressed people were common.
The commandery seat teemed with bustling crowds. The thoroughfares were paved entirely in blue bricks and flanked by drainage ditches. Three- and four-story buildings lined both sides of the roads. The shopkeepers were not destitute and downtrodden like those in the Jin capital, but had ruddy complexions; quite a few were plump and robust, clearly eating very well.
The Cui family was divided into three branches, collectively known as the Three Cuis, all of which were prominent clans. Unlike the Three Lis, the Three Cuis originated from a single ancestral trunk. Over time, through the shifting fortunes of the world, they had dispersed to various lands and established their respective foundations, much like the three mountain gates of the Palace of Grand Beginning.
The most illustrious of the Three Cuis was the Song Cui of Qinghe; the monarch of Song was himself the Cui family head. However, Song was the only one among the Nine Kingdoms that did not border alien races, so for many years it had striven to acquire an exclave. Yet on this matter, all other kingdoms were united in their stance: an absolute refusal. Consequently, over the past thousand years, countless wars had been waged over this very ambition.
The branch to which Cui Yu belonged was located in the southern part of Zhao, its influence spanning the two states of Ji and Zhao. The Immortal Monarch of this branch had fallen a century ago, and no one from the younger generation had yet stepped up to replace him. However, because the Cui family shared common roots and bloodlines, and the other two Cui branches still had Immortal Monarchs who would step in to shield them if necessary, the Ji-Zhao Cui clan had developed as usual over the past century, methodically nurturing successive generations without suffering any disruption.
After entering the city, Wei Yuan and Cui Yu were led to the grand Cui residence. Although referred to as an ancestral estate, its interior was vast enough to gallop horses across, actually taking up half the commandery seat.
After passing through the main gates, they traveled a full four li before reaching Phoenix Perch Hall, where the Old Ancestor was to receive them.
Stepping down from the carriage, Cui Yu remarked, "It seems the Old Ancestor values you greatly. Phoenix Perch Hall is only used to receive important guests."
Wei Yuan looked up at the hall, which stood a full ten zhang tall, before strolling inside with Cui Yu. A maidservant led the two through the main hall to a quiet, elegant courtyard in the rear, where they sat. A moment later, a lady with crane-white hair and a youthful countenance entered and took the seat of honor.
Disregarding her snow-white hair, her features appeared no older than middle-aged. Upon sitting down, she cast a glance at Wei Yuan. In an instant, Wei Yuan felt as if he were seen through from inside out, and he was abruptly shaken.
The Old Matron of the Cui family's cultivation was likely not inferior to Patriarch Xuanyue's!
After looking him over, the Old Matron withdrew her gaze, which seemed capable of piercing through all things, and said, "A dragon and phoenix among men, just as expected. Splendid, splendid indeed. Over this period, you have cultivated over a hundred Dao Foundations for our Cui family, and this latest cohort has shown especially remarkable results. It is only that Great Bright Demon-Subduing Sword of yours which is somewhat peculiar..."
Wei Yuan hurriedly replied, "This junior believes that having a Dao Foundation is always better than having none, which is why I devoted myself to researching and creating the Great Bright Demon-Subduing Sword. Forgive my frankness, but were it not for this sword, many of them would likely never have succeeded in casting a Dao Foundation at all."
The Old Matron offered a faint smile. "In the past, all we ever thought about was how to elevate the grade of a Dao Foundation. That sword of yours, on the other hand, opens up an entirely new path."
Wei Yuan blushed slightly. Embarrassed as he might be, he still intended to continue down this road, and he even had a new idea in mind. This new approach ought to have a fairly high chance of success, and he could try it out with the next cohort.
In Wei Yuan's view, there was still plenty of room to push down the lower boundary of Mortal Tier Dao Foundations.
Without a Dao Foundation, one lacked sufficient dao power: countless established dao methods remained unusable, many tasks could not be performed, and one would be reduced to shoveling slag from furnaces.
The Old Matron said, "Still, the essence of the mortal way lies in gathering numbers. With so many Dao Foundations suddenly added to our family, many difficult matters have suddenly become far easier to handle. Though quite a few among them are idlers, the majority are willing to do some work. With them around, some of our family's old stewards can no longer rest on their laurels and flaunt their seniority; they have to be diligent. That came as an unexpected delight."
Wei Yuan let out a breath of relief. It seemed the Old Matron had no intention of blaming him for hoodwinking them with watered-down Dao Foundations, which only bolstered his confidence to keep pressing forward along this path.
"Summoning you here this time was firstly to see you, and secondly for the sake of the Xu family."
Wei Yuan's heart tightened; he knew the main event had arrived.
The Old Matron said slowly, "The Xu family is bound to bring you trouble. What our Cui family can do to help is limited; we can only prevent the Xu family from bullying the weak too egregiously. As for the rest, it rests entirely in your own hands. If you can make the Xu family back down in the face of difficulties, that would naturally be best."
The Old Matron gave a soft cough. Two elderly servants entered the room, carrying a small tree barely a foot tall between them. The little tree bore crimson leaves shaped into five claws, rustling and stirring even without wind.
Even with cultivation in the Dharma Idol realm, the two elderly servants had to exert their full strength to seal it and keep its aura from leaking out.
"I know you are fond of spirit plants. This Five-Clawed Dragon Blood Wood is an immortal plant as well. Born nourished by dragon blood, it is an object of karmic luck."
Wei Yuan held his tongue. Immortal plants were far too precious; he did not believe his contributions to the Cui family warranted receiving one.
The Old Matron said, "This Dragon Blood Wood is not a gift, but a loan for a period of three months. Once you return, plant it within your domain, and it will elevate your karmic luck, turning misfortune into good fortune. Furthermore, if the Dragon Blood Wood manages to bear fruit within these three months and drops seeds, a new Dragon Blood Wood will grow, and the elevated karmic luck will become permanent. If it fails to bear fruit, then the increased karmic luck will dissipate once the tree is returned."
Wei Yuan was overjoyed and quickly rose to express his gratitude.
Leaving Phoenix Perch Hall, Wei Yuan did not linger for a single moment. Declining the invitation to stay and tour the area for a few days, he boarded the flying vessel with Cui Yu directly and set off on their return journey that very night.
Aboard the flying vessel, Wei Yuan mulled over the Old Matron's words repeatedly. He knew an attack from the Xu family was inevitable; it was only that a True Monarch would likely not take the field personally. Even so, he had to guard against the possibility of one lurking in the shadows to strike a clandestine blow, or imparting Dharmic powers to someone else to unleash a strike on their behalf.
In short, unless he struck the Xu family hard enough to make them feel genuine pain, they would not back down. That was Wei Yuan's understanding of "backing down in the face of difficulties."
Inside the cabin, Wei Yuan had been cradling the Five-Clawed Dragon Blood Wood in both hands. Since only Cui Yu was around, he flicked his hands, and the Dragon Blood Wood was transferred into Ten Thousand Li of Rivers and Mountains.
As expected of an immortal object possessing spiritual intelligence, the moment it entered Ten Thousand Li of Rivers and Mountains, the Dragon Blood Wood completely reined in its biting aura. It found a spot on its own to take root, staying well clear of the three immortal plants and far away from Maiden Yin-Yang.
Wei Yuan transmitted a thought to each of the three immortal plants. He was confident that under their "patient persuasion," the Dragon Blood Wood would obediently bear fruit and drop its seeds. Otherwise, it would be failing to appreciate kindness.
Chapter 337