Bao Yun dragged two unconscious guards out of the airship, hid them behind nearby cargo crates, and turned to the stunned Wei Yuan. "What are you standing there for? Move faster! Any later and the elders will discover us."
Wei Yuan had no choice but to brace himself and clamber into the vessel after her. The airship rose into the sky, soared clear out of the Bao family ancestral land, and began to accelerate.
Bao Yun poured all her strength into driving the formation array, pushing the airship faster and faster. Watching the Bao family ancestral land recede into the distance, Wei Yuan finally realized that this young miss was genuinely eloping!
Wei Yuan took over the array and channeled his Dao power into it. With his vast reserves, the airship shot forward as if kicked by an immortal, vanishing into the distance in the blink of an eye.
Back in the Bao family ancestral land, several young disciples had been watching the airship fly off, only for it to abruptly vanish, giving them quite a fright.
At their center, a youth with jade-like features shook his head and sighed. "It's for the best that she left."
Beside him, another young man lamented, "Ninth Brother, who knows when we'll see Little Sister again. Hmph, that barbarian really got lucky."
The youth addressed as Ninth Brother chuckled. "Watch your tongue. Even if all of you teamed up, you wouldn't be a match for that barbarian."
"Don't we still have you, Ninth Brother?"
The young man with translucent, jade-white skin replied, "Even I might not be his match. Among those at the Dharma Idol stage, perhaps only Clan Uncle Baoshu could overpower him."
Another girl, clearly not yet grown, asked, "Wouldn't it be good for Sister Yun to marry the Young Island Master? Why are you so opposed to it, Ninth Brother?"
"That's an arrangement, the will of those old men up top. And what is an arrangement? It means doing whatever you're told, whether you like it or not. That barbarian from the northwest might have an awfully punchable face, but Little Sister likes him, and that's enough," Bao Jiu said lazily.
By then, the airship was long out of sight, and the young disciples dispersed.
Aboard the airship, Wei Yuan extended his divine sense to its limit. Seeing no commotion behind them in the Bao family ancestral land and detecting no hidden pursuers in the skies, he breathed a small sigh of relief and asked, "Why run off on a whim like this? Where are your things?"
Bao Yun raised her left hand and jiggled the bangles on her wrist. Every single one was a spatial storage treasure, and even the lowest-grade among them surpassed the one Wei Yuan had just exchanged for.
Wei Yuan glanced back toward the Bao family ancestral land. He hadn't even had the chance to say goodbye to Bao Manshan, which felt rather strange.
Knowing what he was thinking, Bao Yun said, "Since we're running, if we don't run fast, wouldn't that be disrespecting my great-grandfathers?"
Wei Yuan understood immediately. For the Bao family ancestral land to be this peaceful, even if the grand elders hadn't noticed, the Immortal Ancestor certainly knew. Everyone was simply feigning ignorance, so naturally, they had to escape quickly before someone oblivious actually gave chase.
With Wei Yuan at the helm, Bao Yun leaned in and asked, "There's still one more question."
Wei Yuan felt both helpless and terrified. This young ancestor's questions were practically bottomless abysses of death; answer well and you were doomed for eternity, answer poorly and you were doomed just the same.
Bao Yun asked, "Your master has always appeared as a man. How did your feelings come about? Do you actually like men?"
Wei Yuan's vision nearly went black. A fatal question, as expected.
"To be honest, for a time I was truly terrified. I didn't understand why I... had those feelings. But then the Karma Great Curse struck..."
Wei Yuan briefly recounted his survival in the polar lands and his flight across ten thousand li, highlighting only the narrowest escapes from death—such as being possessed by the old ghost and nearly having his body stolen. Had Zhang Sheng not struck with a bolt of Yang Thunder, he would now be nothing more than a vessel for that ancient ghost, and naturally unable to stand before Bao Yun today.
Naturally, he also gave vivid details of his pulverized internal organs, his missing heart, and his eroded eyes.
Sure enough, Bao Yun's fists tightened unconsciously as she listened. When she heard how Wei Yuan had awakened blind and felt no heartbeat in his chest, her breath hitched completely.
"...Later, that Scenery Command cultivator from Northern Liao chased me for over a million li, but failed to catch up, allowing me to flee back to the Northern Mountain Gate." Having described the gruesome injuries of that time, Wei Yuan decisively brought the tale to a close.
Bao Yun sighed softly. "So you suffered so much. Very well, since you told the truth this time, I'll give you a small reward."
She looked at Wei Yuan, leaning in closer and closer. Her lips—plump, lustrous, looking soft enough to burst at a touch—pouted slightly as she drew near.
Wei Yuan could already feel the warmth radiating from her lips and held his breath instinctively!
Then, Bao Yun suddenly gave him a forceful shove, nearly knocking him over, before slipping back to her original spot and looking at him with a beaming smile.
Wei Yuan ground his teeth, took a deep breath to settle his mind, and focused on piloting the vessel.
The solitary flying boat crossed countless mountains and rivers, finally returning to Qingming.
The moment Wei Yuan set foot on Qingming's soil, spiritual vitality surged within Ten Thousand Li of Rivers and Mountains once more. Hundreds of wandering souls passed through the Gate of Rebirth, transforming into new mortals.
Wei Yuan first gave Bao Yun a tour of Qingming, then caught up with old acquaintances from the Palace of Grand Beginning. Seeing Bao Yun return, everyone was naturally overjoyed, though a slight shadow fell over Feng Tingyu's young face.
At this time, Yu Zhizhuo and Sun Yu were making their final preparations for the Dharma Idol stage, waiting only for Wei Yuan's return to concentrate the effects of Jia Wood Life-Mystic and Ephemeral Multitude before entering seclusion.
Wei Yuan activated Ephemeral Multitude several times for each of them, allowing them to touch upon the Dharma Idol realm in advance. That very night, Yu Zhizhuo and Sun Yu entered seclusion. Wei Yuan placed the blessing of Jia Wood Life-Mystic over their secluded quarters and had Xu Wenwu move nearby.
Afterward, Wei Yuan headed to the northwest. Near the edge of the domain, he selected a site with complex terrain that concentrated several geomantic nodes to build a new city. Its city lord would be Bao Yun.
Wei Yuan gathered all the refugees who had arrived in Qingming over the past month and placed them in the new city, numbering around eighteen to nineteen thousand. Next, he selected a batch of upper- and middle-grade sacrifices, roughly four to five thousand. Finally, he chose several thousand captives from the Xu family private army, bringing the total to thirty thousand. Wei Yuan then reassigned three thousand elite soldiers to serve as the city garrison.
The new city was named Ding'an City. Located over four hundred li from the center of Qingming, it sat just a step away from the boundary of the domain.
Once the foundation of the new city was established, Wei Yuan announced that Bao Yun was the city lord, and that the city might belong to the Bao family in the future. Within Ding'an City, Bao Yun held authority equal to Wei Yuan's.
The moment the decree was issued, Wei Yuan instantly saw hundreds of streams of cyan karmic luck coalesce onto Bao Yun! The sheer speed at which these new citizens fell to their knees and kowtowed far exceeded his imagination.
Back then, Wei Yuan had risked life and limb, fighting through who knew how many fierce battles before he began reaping karmic luck, and those first batches hadn't even been as much as Bao Yun was getting now. Why? Could it really just be because she was pretty?
There was deliberate thought behind the citizens Wei Yuan had chosen. The refugees newly arrived in Qingming had not yet seen Wei Yuan and were only just beginning to enjoy a good life; they generated karmic luck most easily. As long as Bao Yun provided them a peaceful living, human karmic luck would naturally follow.
The sacrifices were the same.
The concept of aristocratic clans was bred into the very bones of the Xu family's private soldiers. Bao Yun was a direct-line prodigy of the Bao family, and this city was effectively her personal estate. Wouldn't joining this city be tantamount to joining the Bao family? The Bao family was vastly mightier than the Xu family. In the future, they could swagger arrogantly before their former comrades, and not even imperial troops would dare block their way. Consequently, this group bowed the fastest and contributed the most karmic luck.
Although Ding'an City started with only thirty-some thousand people, Wei Yuan estimated it would soon yield a thousand streams of cyan karmic luck. Once the Shamans attacked and Bao Yun led the defense of the city, it might even reach two thousand. With more residents gradually brought in later, the human karmic luck produced should slowly mend her damaged Dao Foundation.
Chapter 435