Had it not been for Wei Yuan's batch of pills, the effect of Xu Henshui's demonstration would have been nothing short of perfection.
Afterward, however, Wei Yuan gave Xu Henshui a recording of the footage. In that recording, the final part had been clipped off, concluding right at the moment Xu Henshui held up the gold-veined spirit pill for everyone to see.
Watching the recording, Xu Henshui's eyes nearly welled with tears.
That night, Maiden Yin-Yang waited the whole night, but Xu Henshui never came. It was said that the lamps in Xu Henshui's room burned bright until dawn, and a genius alchemist of his generation spent the entire night grinning foolishly at a stone.
Naturally, the rumors did not originate from the Monastery of Creation disciples guarding the door—they couldn't see what was happening inside at all. The real source of the rumor was Perfected Chuhe, and the old daoist had heard it from a sable.
Having attained modest success in the alchemical dao, Wei Yuan quietly departed Qingming and traveled to Zhenshan Domain to seek out Li Zhi.
Zhenshan Domain was already quite formidable in scale, garrisoning forty thousand elite troops and sixty thousand militiamen. Construction of a city had already begun at the center of the domain, and Wei Yuan met Li Zhi in the temporary Domain Lord's estate.
"...That's how everything unfolded. Now the one-year deadline is almost up, and I really can't think of any way to convince the Bao family. That's why I came to see you, to see if you could help me scheme a bit." Wei Yuan wore a troubled look.
Having heard him out, Li Zhi turned grave as well and asked, "When you campaigned west against the Wu domain, Senior Bao Manshan only said he was satisfied before leaving? Did he say anything else?"
Wei Yuan shook his head. "No."
With a solemn expression, Li Zhi said, "In that case, your concerns are justified. Senior Bao Manshan must have set another test to see if you are sharp enough—a key trait for navigating future internal strife among aristocratic families.
"The Bao family has twelve Grand Elders. When deciding on matters, only the Chief Elder counts as two votes, while every other elder counts as one. If I'm not mistaken, his single sentence meant that he would take your side, and at most, those belonging to his faction would side with you. But that is clearly not enough."
"Then what should I do?"
Li Zhi pondered for a moment before saying, "Don't panic. First let's take inventory of the cards in our hand. Well, start by telling me what you're best at, where your greatest strengths lie."
Wei Yuan thought about it and said, "I'm skilled at expanding territory, waging war on the battlefield, governing domains to pacify the populace, toppling dynas—er!"
Wei Yuan had spoken too fast, but fortunately his reflexes were quick enough to swallow back what shouldn't have been said. He then continued:
"Those were broad capabilities. If we're talking purely about track records, you could put it this way: I've never lost a battle, and I've never lost a brawl. When fighting those of the same realm, their numbers can be ignored. Crossing one realm and winning is standard duty; crossing two realms is expected. If it's a life-or-death struggle with all methods unleashed, crossing three realms is something I probably wouldn't lose.
"That's about it. I really don't have many other strengths." Wei Yuan spoke with a face full of sorrow.
Li Zhi badly wanted to slash out with his sword to see if he could pierce the thick hide on that fellow's face. Right now, he deeply questioned his own judgment of character—how in the world had he ended up becoming friends with this guy?
Wei Yuan was also fretful. None of these skills seemed suitable to show off before the Bao family, and his newly acquired alchemy was hardly presentable.
Qingming was simply too far from the Bao family, practically at opposite ends of the human domain. Wei Yuan couldn't exactly march an army over to the Bao family to prove his military prowess. Besides, fighting wars was pretty easy and hardly seemed worth bragging about—it was nothing more than leading troops to charge forward, charge back, and win after a few passes.
As for claiming to be invincible among dharma idols, ever since encountering Shangguan Qianmo, Wei Yuan had learned the backlash such words could bring, so naturally he wouldn't dare boast like that to the Bao family. What was more, if he sparred with the Bao family's expert dharma idol cultivators, he could neither deploy Maiden Yin-Yang nor summon Longying. Wei Yuan felt he might not necessarily win.
Furthermore, the purpose of this trip was to convince the Grand Elders, not to wage feuds or flaunt martial might. Slapping the Bao family in the face would only make matters worse.
This time, Li Zhi pondered for a long while before speaking: "How about this? I'll make a trip to the Bao family on your behalf first to see if I can add a few chips to your side, or at the very least test the waters with the elders. But I must first return to my sect to invite a venerable mentor, and then make a trip back to Southern Qi to ask an elder of my clan to step forward. Though it will take some time, having two respected elders accompany me will give our words far more weight."
Wei Yuan was taken aback. He hadn't expected Li Zhi to go to such great lengths.
Li Zhi said solemnly, "Brother, this is by no means a trivial matter! If I had the chance to cultivate the Floating World Dragon Diagram, let alone picking five candidates first, even if Southern Qi were only offered three spots, the King of Qi wouldn't hesitate for a second before packing me off without question. I can only rely on my sect and clan connections to see if I can win over an elder or two for you."
Wei Yuan truly hadn't realized this matter would be so troublesome, and for a moment he didn't know what to say.
Li Zhi smiled and said, "Think of this as me serving as your envoy. During this time, help me watch over Zhenshan so the Mountain Folk don't raid my home base."
"No problem," Wei Yuan agreed without hesitation. This was something he excelled at, and during their last encounter, Wei Yuan had felt the Mountain Folk were quite easy to deal with—fighting them didn't even require using his brain.
"Good. In a moment, I'll share part of my Domain Lord authority with you. Time is of the essence, so I will set off tonight."
After briefing him on several precautions, Li Zhi added, "Also, my Li family's weight alone definitely won't be enough. It would be best if Xiaoyu could persuade elders of the Xiao family to step forward. As for Cui Yu... forget it. His status in his clan is limited, so I doubt he could invite clan elders with sufficient stature."
"Would elders from the Palace of Grand Beginning not work?" Wei Yuan felt that even setting aside others, his own Patriarch Xuanyue could certainly step forward.
Li Zhi shook his head. "Sister Bao is already a disciple of the Palace of Grand Beginning, so elders from the palace won't help. You must prove how much network and resources you command outside the Palace of Grand Beginning."
Wei Yuan felt a throbbing headache, never having expected things to be this complicated.
Right at that moment, a soft and melodious voice suddenly rang out: "How difficult could such a matter be? So long as Almsgiver joins my Pure Land, this humble monk can guarantee that the Bao family will never make things difficult for Miss Bao in the future, and she may do whatever her heart desires. Of course, if Miss Bao joins the Pure Land as well, it would be the best of both worlds."
Wei Yuan sprang to his feet in an instant, Longying already poised to strike.
A monk clad in an azure robe stepped into the study, the guards outside having noticed nothing at all. The monk's eyes were a curious amber, and between his brows sat the mark of a plume feather. It was none other than Monk Peacock.
Both startled and incensed, Li Zhi leapt to his feet, hand already clamped around his sword hilt. Even though this monk was clearly a dharma idol cultivator, Li Zhi possessed karmic luck, the supreme techniques of the Four Sages Academy, and several dharma idol attendants nearby, so naturally he felt no fear.
Even without his attendants, relying solely on himself, Li Zhi could fight an ordinary dharma idol.
At this stage, Wei Yuan had already reached the Spirit Nurturing Realm of the Dharma Idol stage, so he could see that the monk was actually in the Myriad Transformations Realm; he only didn't know how long it would be before the monk could form a mindscape world.
Wei Yuan pressed a hand on Li Zhi's arm, signaling him to stay calm. This monk was not someone an ordinary Dao Foundation cultivator could contend with; he was undoubtedly a one-in-ten-thousand genius capable of sweeping through peers of the same realm.
Wei Yuan wanted to probe the monk's intentions first, so he said, "The Grandmaster wishes for me to join the Pure Land? What benefits would there be?"
The monk said, "Almsgiver shares a karmic affinity with our Pure Land and possesses immense fortune—that is the greatest benefit. If Almsgiver enters our Pure Land, you may inherit the Great Joy King Buddha dharma idol. When the young lady of the Bao family enters our Pure Land as well, her fortune being slightly less than Almsgiver Wei's, she may inherit the Akshobhya dharma idol, or she may become part of the Great Joy King Buddha dharma idol. It will all depend on Almsgiver's choice."
Wei Yuan started. "Become part of the Great Joy King Buddha dharma idol? Would she still be herself then?"
"Naturally, she would still be herself."
Wei Yuan fell silent, then said, "What does the Great Joy King Buddha dharma idol look like? May I view it?"
"The dharma idol already exists in the eyes and hearts of millions upon millions. Why not?"
A beam of light projected from between Monk Peacock's brows, and a Buddha idol manifested before the two of them.
The Buddha idol Li Zhi saw sat leaning against a mountain peak with a majestic countenance. Behind it stretched mountains, rivers, and earth, a treasured sword in hand, while countless women prostrated before the Buddha couch, their faces all vaguely familiar.
What Wei Yuan saw, however, was a Buddha idol with five faces and eight arms. The five faces bore the expressions of joy, anger, sorrow, yearning, and fear. Six of the eight arms held different ritual implements: five of them were a pestle, an alms bowl, a vase, a whip, and a sword, which was conventional enough. But the sixth took the shape of Canbao, fitted with an ammunition magazine, looking thoroughly out of place among the ritual implements.
The Buddha idol's remaining two arms embraced a naked woman, who twined around the idol's body in an alluring, seductive posture.
The problem was that all five faces of the Buddha idol were Wei Yuan's, and the woman was Bao Yun!
The monk said at this moment, "Buddha resides within the heart. What both almsgivers see is the Buddha within your own hearts."
Li Zhi's expression sharpened, and he lapsed into deep thought, his face gradually turning grave.
Wei Yuan was also pondering, but he kept feeling something was not quite right.
Just then, the shadow within the moon seemed to stir, and a sudden spark of inspiration flashed in Wei Yuan's heart. He immediately sneered, "If there were a Buddha in my heart, could it possibly look like this? Monk, if you think you can fool me with such parlor tricks, you're falling well short!"
Monk Peacock's elegant brows furrowed slightly, unable to fathom where things had gone wrong.
Naturally, Wei Yuan wouldn't tell him that if there truly were a Great Joy King Buddha in his heart, there would probably be more than one clinging to it...
Chapter 427