His dharma idol was complete, but Wei Yuan was in rather dire shape.
At this moment, he was thoroughly charred inside and out. The flesh across the surface of his body had burned entirely to charcoal, leaving only a skeleton of dark gold that gleamed with metallic and glazed luster. Outside his skeletal frame remained merely a thin membrane encasing his internal organs.
A shaft of light suddenly fell from the heavens, and boundless origin qi of heaven and earth poured down like a collapsing celestial vault, bathing Wei Yuan. His internal organs, once scorched and blackened in pieces, now saw their charred crusts crack apart to reveal fresh, tender flesh and tissue growing within.
The origin qi of heaven and earth manifested physically into the world, drifting down as scattering lotus blossoms, while heavenly maidens appeared and played celestial music. Wherever the beams of celestial light shone, grass sprouted and flowers bloomed. Behind Wei Yuan, a great tree grew taller and taller; it resembled a bodhi tree, yet differed from one.
The blackened crust covering Wei Yuan crumbled to the ground, and his flesh began to regenerate.
Within the Ten Thousand Li of Rivers and Mountains, True Fire of the Sun still blazed everywhere, but the earth began to shake. Ground slowly rose in certain areas, turning into mountain ranges. Under the scorch of the True Fire, fissures appeared across the Sea-Calming Pearl before it suddenly spouted a water dragon. In the blink of an eye, it turned into a lake, which continued to expand unceasingly. As the Sea-Calming Pearl gradually sank, it drew the surrounding land downward with it.
In an instant, though the lake's surface area had not expanded by much, its depth had already exceeded a hundred zhang. Furthermore, the Sea-Calming Pearl continued to release seawater as though it would never run dry.
A sudden thunderclap erupted across the firmament, unleashing a torrential downpour. The rain fell fierce and swift, but the moment it struck the raging celestial flames, it transformed into billowing mist, rising upward into wisps of thin clouds.
Jade Mountain had grown to a height of a hundred zhang, and the Gate of the Many Realms within it stood ten zhang tall, extraordinarily magnificent. The treasure tree atop Jade Mountain grew in the wind and rain, reaching several zhang in the blink of an eye, standing tall like an open canopy.
The mortals felt as if a thin veil had been lifted from their consciousness, leaving them remarkably clear and perceptive. Yet immediately afterward, something seemed to cover them once again, a sensation that vanished in an instant.
To them, although the world before their eyes was barren and perilous, it was the land where they would thrive and survive for generations to come. Here were heaven and earth, immortals and gods, mountains and waters, fertile soil and spirit fields—what more could they ask for?
Ah, and this domain offered endless work to be done; they never had to worry that their lives lacked meaning.
And so, groups of people emerged from the shelter beside Jade Mountain, dispersing into the new world to begin new lives.
Meanwhile, in Wei Yuan's perception, the entire world was now a living, breathing realm.
Many celestial flames still burned unextinguished throughout the Ten Thousand Li of Rivers and Mountains, and Wei Yuan also needed to wait for the flesh on his body to finish regrowing. Tempered by celestial fire, his regenerated flesh had risen to a whole new level; upon close inspection, every inch of his new flesh faintly shimmered with a precious glow, enveloped in misty immortal qi.
Wei Yuan did not idle while waiting to recover; he was already pondering whom he should write to in order to share his joy.
However, his phrasing required careful consideration. After all, taking a year and a half to cultivate a dharma idol was merely decent. There was no need to let everyone know—only those fellows who had swaggered in front of him back in the day brandishing their Dao Foundations needed to be informed. Oh, and those in his class who had earned better marks than him should know as well. Right, he could not leave out Li Zhi either...
As for the rest, there was no need to deliberately tell them. Wei Yuan felt that if too many people learned the speed at which he had attained his dharma idol, it might easily disturb their Dao hearts.
According to the past customs of the Palace of Grand Beginning, whenever a cultivator attained a rare dharma idol, a Dharma Assembly would be held. Friends and fellow disciples from within and outside the palace would be invited, and the cultivator who attained the dharma idol would mount an altar to lecture on the Dharma, sharing their understanding and insights regarding the Great Dao of heaven and earth.
However, warfare had been pressing in recent years, and the northern mountain gate was in critical peril. Cultivators of the Palace of Grand Beginning fell continuously; several months ago, even a True Monarch had perished. Consequently, no one brought up holding a Dharma Assembly anymore. Thinking of this, Wei Yuan felt a slight twinge of regret.
Now that his dharma idol was complete, Wei Yuan felt his combat prowess was passable. Thus, after paying formal respects to his sect seniors, it would be time to bring a few old scores and grudges out into the open.
For instance, the Shamans, the Xu family, the surrounding officials who had now become obedient, the Peacock Buddha Mother, Zhao Fusheng... and so forth.
Wei Yuan suddenly recalled that there was also a female Great Shaman among the Shamans; they had engaged in a fierce battle back then, and that score needed settling as well. It seemed Tianyu was quite close to her. Wei Yuan figured that when he had free time, he should get people to pray to Tianyu and ask for intelligence on that woman.
Amid these thoughts, Wei Yuan's physical body finally finished regrowing. His eyes formed completely, and his vision was restored alongside them. Looking down at his body, Wei Yuan was suddenly reminded of Zhao Fusheng, sneering inwardly: *If I flaunted this thing of mine, wouldn't Zhao Fusheng have to cover his face, turn around, and slink away in shame?*
Yet Wei Yuan quickly dismissed the bizarre notion. Why would he ever want to flash it at him?
Gathering his thoughts, Wei Yuan rose tall. By now, the several lightning rods around him had long melted into lumps of iron, and the ground was a glistening sheet of crystal, burned into a solid mass. The three Thunder Crystal Wood trees, however, remained entirely unscathed; when heavenly thunder struck, the instantaneous temperature was hardly lower than True Fire of the Great Sun.
Using his magic power to conceal his body, Wei Yuan returned to his dwelling, changed into fresh clothes, and looked at himself in the mirror.
At this moment, Wei Yuan's eyes and nose remained exceptionally handsome; he was simply devoid of eyebrows and hair. Lacking hair was one thing, but having no eyebrows was truly rather odd.
So Wei Yuan summoned Feng Tingyu and asked her to paint a pair of eyebrows for him.
Feng Tingyu naturally agreed with delight. A moment later, Wei Yuan looked at two caterpillar-like eyebrows that were not symmetrical in the slightest, deeply realizing that asking someone from the Hall of the Bright King to do this had been a mistake. Yet Feng Tingyu's small face was clearly exquisite; when it came to looks, she did not lose to anyone.
Wei Yuan examined Feng Tingyu's eyebrows closely. The more he looked, the prettier he found them—countless times better than the two on his own face. Suppressing his irritation, Wei Yuan asked, "How do you paint yours? Just copy them onto me."
Feng Tingyu raised an eyebrow. "They're natural. I never paint them."
Wei Yuan sent her straight off the main peak, then summoned Xu Yi. This time he finally found the right person; the sword-shaped eyebrows painted on were fairly decent, only slightly inferior to his originals.
After tidying up, everything in Qingming was now on the right track. With Wei Yuan having attained the dharma idol, leaving at this point would not affect Qingming much, aside from having no one to manipulate Ephemeral Multitude and Jia Wood Life-Mystic.
Wei Yuan gave instructions regarding daily affairs, then set off for the northern mountain gate of the Palace of Grand Beginning, where both his master and ancestral master were currently stationed.
Wei Yuan's magic power was now as vast as a sea, roughly equivalent to seventy or eighty ordinary dharma idol cultivators—though this referred to the middle and late stages. Early-stage dharma idol cultivators were in the same realm as Wei Yuan, but Wei Yuan felt there was simply no need to compare.
With such magic power, he no longer needed a flying boat; Wei Yuan could fly all the way to the northern mountain gate. By now, Hanyang Pass had been abandoned, and there were no major strategic passes along the way. Without further hesitation, Wei Yuan shot into the sky and flew swiftly toward the north.
Several days later, Wei Yuan arrived at the northern mountain gate and stepped into the small courtyard where Zhang Sheng lived in solitude.
Zhang Sheng was still seated by the window, engrossed in a book in her hands. Her Dao power had yet to recover, so she did not notice Wei Yuan entering. Wei Yuan did not disturb her, merely watching her quietly as the afternoon sunlight flowed peacefully, drifting slowly off her body and her book. The sparse patterns of light and shadow finally settled, illuminating her almost translucent fingertips.
Suddenly sensing something, Zhang Sheng looked up blankly and saw Wei Yuan.
Though her Dao Foundation was destroyed, her composure and mental resolve had recovered. Glancing at Wei Yuan's glossy bald head, a faint smile surfaced at the corner of her lips. Setting down her book, she said, "Why have you come?"
Yet she abruptly noticed that Wei Yuan's demeanor was entirely different from the past. Looking closely, she was visibly moved. "You have attained the dharma idol?"
Wei Yuan said, "Your disciple has attained the dharma idol, Smoke and Fire of the Mortal World, and has not brought shame upon our sect."
Zhang Sheng was equally gratified. Looking Wei Yuan up and down, she spoke softly and warmly, "Back when I first met you, you were only so small. Who would have thought that in the blink of an eye, you would walk ahead of your master on the immortal path?"
Having said this, her face suddenly flushed slightly, and she hastily looked out the window; she could not let Wei Yuan see her like this.
Recalling the past, she had originally descended the mountain to seek the dragon, only to end up stranded in Yongzhou. What followed was three years of childhood schooling and ten years of guidance. The prime years of her life had thus been spent entirely on this fellow for thirteen whole years.
Yet back then, how could she have foreseen today? Only at the moment when the Karma Great Curse descended did she glimpse a sliver of her true heart, which led to that strike of her sword to journey to the underworld together.
As she was lost in memories of the past, Wei Yuan approached from behind and said, "Back then, you said that having great love in one's heart means loving heaven and earth, and loving the mortal world.
"Look, my Dao Foundation is the Ten Thousand Li of Rivers and Mountains, which counts as half of heaven and earth, and my dharma idol is the Smoke and Fire of the Mortal World. It turns out everything truly was ordained by heaven."
Zhang Sheng's face instantly burned like fire! When she said those words back then, how could she possibly have meant it like that?!
Chapter 410