Feng Chutang chatted with Zhang Sheng for a while longer. Only after confirming that Zhang Sheng's invincible heart truly did not rest upon Wei Yuan did he finally appear relieved.
Zhang Sheng also admitted that she was still nurturing an invincible heart, which stoked Feng Chutang's curiosity even further. After all, her original four immortal swords had already been utterly terrifying; what path could possibly be more formidable than that?
Zhang Sheng did not say much, merely stating that he would naturally know once she completed her Dao Foundation. Feng Chutang did not press further.
Zhang Sheng then said to Wei Yuan, "Your Martial Uncle Feng has studied the strengths of various schools and read deeply in history. When handling affairs, he has never had any lower limit to speak of, which suits Qingming's current situation very well. If you encounter any problems, seek your martial uncle's counsel often."
"This disciple understands." Seeing Zhang Sheng making a show of shooing him out, Wei Yuan tactfully took his leave.
The lodging Wei Yuan arranged for Feng Chutang was also a private courtyard on the main peak. Though not large, it was quiet and secluded, offering an open view over the entire eastern half of the domain—a rather splendid vista.
Upon entering the courtyard, Feng Chutang suddenly remarked, "Your teacher is about to be entangled in karmic debt. You should keep a closer eye on her."
Wei Yuan was startled. Karmic debt was arguably one of the things immortal cultivators feared most. Invisible and formless, it was impossible to guard against; sometimes its origins were not even clear, and resolving it was exceptionally difficult. This was also one of the reasons Wei Yuan had accepted the Red Lotus Bodhi back then, even while knowing the karma behind the Arhat true blood was extraordinary.
The Red Lotus Bodhi could dissolve karmic debt. With it, Wei Yuan had a free hand in many matters. Otherwise, if nothing else, the karmic debt generated by the sheer number of people he had killed would have been more than enough to give him serious grief.
Yet ever since coming to Qingming, Zhang Sheng spent every day either reading or cultivating, barely setting foot outside. Where could any karmic debt come from?
Seeing Wei Yuan's bewilderment, Feng Chutang said, "She is about to be entangled in a massive karmic debt. Though it hasn't fallen upon her just yet, the omens are already unmistakable. Incurring so much karmic debt would be catastrophic—it might even sever her Dao path all over again. So you must figure out what she's doing.
"Given your relationship with her and your vantage point, you cannot see her karmic causes and conditions clearly. When I arrived, I saw that Qingming's karmic luck was swaying in the storm, the situation dire and perilous in the extreme. Without extraordinary measures, breaking out of this impasse will likely be impossible. So if you wish to do anything that offends heaven and earth, go right ahead with a free hand, and it is best that you do it yourself. If there's anything you truly cannot bring yourself to do, you can leave it to me. Your martial uncle has read deeply in the histories and has his own ways to dissolve karmic debt and sin."
Wei Yuan promptly asked what method that was. The Red Lotus Bodhi had its limits, after all; the more methods he had to dissolve karmic debt, the better.
Feng Chutang pondered for a moment, then said, "This method is difficult for others to use, but you clearly possess your own means of resolving karmic debt, so perhaps you can draw some inspiration from it. This is my dharma idol: Chenxu."
Above Feng Chutang's head appeared an expanse of ruins. Amid the broken walls and collapsed masonry coiled a colossal shadow dragon, deep in slumber. Throughout the ruins, faint black qi drifted, breathed in and out unconsciously by the shadow dragon.
Feng Chutang said, "That shadow dragon in the middle is my dharma idol. I use it to breathe karmic debt in and out, temporarily storing it so it does not flare up. When facing enemies in the future, I can mix the karmic debt into my Dao techniques and strike them with it, or, after obtaining an important object bound to the opponent by karma, use a karmic luck formation to tether the karmic debt to their karmic luck.
"I only recently devised this formation, adapted from True Monarch Yanshi's Fortune Transfer Grand Array. I will pass it on to you now."
Wei Yuan was astonished as well. He had never imagined someone could turn their own karmic debt into a weapon. Even if only a tiny fraction could be transferred away, it was still formidable and terrifying. The sheer vileness of this trick was in no way inferior to his own Dusk of the Immortal Path.
By comparison, Zhang Sheng's Azure Silk Rain shaving down Dao Foundations and Fenhai's Heavenly Fire destroying dharma idols seemed remarkably gentle and humane, truly worthy of being called merciful.
Finally, Feng Chutang said, "No matter how you look at it, we share the bond of teacher and student. Do whatever you must without hesitation; I will naturally stand by your side."
Taking his leave of Feng Chutang, Wei Yuan returned to his own residence, where someone announced that Cai Shizhi had come to see him.
Wei Yuan held considerable respect for this scholar, so he hurriedly invited him into the main hall and served tea and refreshments.
Cai Shizhi said, "Though Qingming Academy was established only recently, we have already discovered many promising scholarly prospects. There are currently two hundred pupils enrolled in the academy."
This was wonderful news, and Wei Yuan hurriedly voiced his gratitude. Qingming Academy taught everything from the classics, histories, philosophers, and anthologies to statecraft and military affairs; those who graduated would naturally become pillars of the domain.
Cai Shizhi continued, "Five primary schools have already opened, with over three thousand pupils undergoing basic instruction. My disciples are few, and we truly cannot accommodate any more. However, once the academy students study for another year, they will be qualified to run new schools. By then, we need not worry about a lack of teachers for basic schooling."
"A great merit indeed, Master Cai!"
Stroking his beard, Cai Shizhi said, "Qingming was founded not long ago, and with foreign enemies at our gates, your policy of mobilizing all and sundry into an army is an unavoidable necessity. Yet it is evident that you have plenty of soldiers but few commanders. Since I am here in Qingming, I cannot shirk my duty in this matter. A dozen or so of my students have read the art of war thoroughly. Though they have seen little real combat and might be suspected of merely fighting wars on paper, they are quite capable of leading auxiliary detachments."
Wei Yuan was overjoyed. This was truly charcoal in the snow.
Qingming had expanded too rapidly, leaving mid-level officers in dire scarcity. Of the sixteen young masters and ladies Cui Yu had brought along back then, only ten remained today, every one of them turned into a general commanding at least ten thousand troops. Naturally, not all of them were suited for leading armies in battle, but Wei Yuan simply had no one else to turn to.
Leading an army involved far too many tedious chores; most promising cultivators from the Palace of Grand Beginning were unwilling to bother with such duties. Someone like Cui Yu was an anomaly. Yet had this not been Wei Yuan's Qingming, Cui Yu would likely have turned on his heel and walked away as well.
Take Yu Zhizhuo, Sun Yu, Xu Henshui, and even Feng Tingyu: so long as they fought a few battles to accumulate experience, their raw talent would easily make them renowned generals of their generation. Yet not one of them was willing to command troops.
Now that Cai Shizhi was willing to recommend his students for military service, it was timely help when it was needed most.
Cai Shizhi handed Wei Yuan a list. Beneath each student's name were comments written in his own hand, laying out each disciple's strengths, potential, and character traits—both good and bad—with absolute clarity.
Finally, Cai Shizhi said solemnly, "Driving out the alien races is a ten-thousand-year enterprise for our human race; it is where righteousness lies! In moments of peril, I will naturally lend a hand. Holding off an ordinary Nether Shaman until the otherworldly monsters arrive should be well within my power. Were it not for this shattered land, I would in truth be no match for a Nether Shaman."
When Cai Shizhi took his leave, Wei Yuan let out a sigh, deeply moved.
Finding a rare moment of leisure, Wei Yuan sat by the window and watched the blood-red setting sun outside. The evening clouds filling the sky spread toward the west, only to be blocked by the emerald qi of heaven and earth, forming a sharp divide between red and green—a wondrous spectacle indeed.
Just then, the Smoke and Fire of the Mortal World stirred, alerting Wei Yuan that a new result had been produced. Glancing at it, Wei Yuan saw it was the organization and fielding plan he had commissioned earlier for raising an army from the common populace.
These commoners would form corps of thirty thousand. For every thousand men, one Dao Foundation officer would be appointed; for every hundred, one peak Body Casting officer. Each soldier was equipped with a breastplate and simple arm and leg armor, along with a fire gun and five rounds of ammunition. Their melee weapon was the bayonet fixed to the fire gun.
This plan was essentially what Wei Yuan had envisioned. Yet as he studied it, he noticed one critical link was still missing. Rising, he flew toward Xu Henshui's Pill Dao Temple.
Yu Zhizhuo was in the temple as well. On the table between the two men lay several peculiar medicinal herbs, the soul yingluo among them. A small bird with long golden tail feathers hopped across the table, pecking at the herbs from time to time.
Yu Zhizhuo was writing furiously, recording the physical properties discerned by the little bird. Once the physical properties were understood, the medicinal properties could be largely deduced. Wei Yuan had not expected the two to collaborate in such a fashion, yet their efficiency was unmistakably high.
Seeing Wei Yuan arrive, Xu Henshui came forward to greet him, while Yu Zhizhuo continued his battle with the rare herbs. He had always been this way, extraordinarily obsessed with materials, smithing, and physical properties, often saying that probing deeply into material nature could make the Great Dao manifest.
Wei Yuan said, "I would like to ask Martial Uncle Xu to refine a type of pill."
"What are the specifications?"
"Once consumed, it must allow commoners to unleash their full potential—granting them boundless strength, making them forget pain, and leaving them devoid of fear. In addition, it must keep them tireless, able to go days and nights without sleep or rest while remaining full of vigor. Lastly, like military ration pills, it must be mass-producible and affordable for commoners."
Xu Henshui gave Wei Yuan a meaningful look and said, "There is an ancient formula known as the Fenwei Pill that happens to meet the requirements you just described. Back then, the Fenwei Pill was reserved specifically for vanguard stormtroops who breached enemy lines first; later on, it was often distributed to the entire army during battles to the death. However, its medicinal potency is savage: a mortal taking it once will suffer severe damage to their vitality; taking it three times through fierce combat guarantees death. Do you still want it?"
Wei Yuan gritted his teeth. "I do!"
Yu Zhizhuo suddenly looked up and glanced at Wei Yuan, but said nothing, returning to his study of the physical properties.
Xu Henshui immediately drew up a list and handed it to Wei Yuan, saying, "Gather all the medicinal herbs listed here. With my sect siblings and me refining them with all our might, we can produce ten thousand pills a day."
Wei Yuan glanced over the list and said, "They will be delivered in one shichen."
Upon the Red Lotus Bodhi, the coiling black qi thickened by several degrees.
Chapter 490