Reincarnation

Fei Yutong accepted Wei Yuan's decision in calm resignation, and True Monarch Xuanyue nodded in agreement. With that, the matter was settled. Qingming, Weaponsmith Workshop. Dawn had yet to break, but the workshop was brightly lit throughout. Ren Suxing was down on one knee before a steel cylinder, manipulating four flying swords at once to carve and scrape into its core, gradually hollowing out the nascent shape of a cannon bore. This was a newly designed city defense cannon. The machining requirements for the barrel were extraordinarily demanding—beyond the capabilities of ordinary Dao Foundation cultivators. Only someone like Ren Suxing, who was in the late Dao Foundation stage and nearing perfection, could manage it. Two young cultivators walked over. Seeing no one else around, one whispered, "Senior Brother Ren, something terrible has happened!" "Hold on a moment." Ren Suxing continued shaving the metal a while longer, working until the inner bore met the exact specifications. Only then did he stop to rest, asking calmly, "What is it?" Lowering their voices, the two young disciples from Sky Azure Hall said, "We heard that Junior Sister Fei from Water Moon Hall did something, and Martial Uncle Wei had her locked up. Word is she’s going to be executed in a few days!" "Junior Sister Fei? Fei Yutong?" Ren Suxing paused in surprise. "Yes! Senior Brother Ren, do you know anything? Could you help us ask around? What on earth could she have done that warrants execution?" Ren Suxing fell silent for a few moments before replying, "If this was your Martial Uncle Wei Yuan's decision, he must have already reported it to the Patriarch. Where would I find an avenue to pry into it?" The two young disciples grew frantic. "Senior Brother Ren, back when you first arrived, even Martial Uncle Wei gave you some face! If even you give up on her, Junior Sister Fei is truly finished!" Sky Azure Hall and Water Moon Hall were virtually one entity. Owing to their cultivation methods, however, Sky Azure Hall had more male disciples, while Water Moon Hall had more female disciples. Over the years, numerous romances and dual cultivation partnerships had blossomed between the two halls. Ever since entering Water Moon Hall, Fei Yutong had shone brilliantly. Bright, radiant, and exceptionally talented, she possessed striking beauty and had long been the dream of countless male peers. Hearing that she had fallen into such dire trouble, these young disciples had naturally lost their composure. Seeing them like this, Ren Suxing's face darkened, and he snapped, "Do the two of you think your cultivation is so high? Can you handle eight tasks simultaneously? If you can't, get back to whatever you're supposed to be doing! Martial Uncle Wei achieved the Dharma Manifestation realm before he was even eighteen. What about you two? Already in your twenties, aren't you?" The two young disciples still refused to let it go. "We can't just stand by and watch our junior sister suffer! At the very least, don't we have the right to know the truth?" "Get out!" Ren Suxing roared, driving them away. He then returned to machining the cannon barrel. Yet as he cut, his movements gradually slowed. In truth, back when Fei Yutong was just coming into her own, Ren Suxing's heart had stirred deeply for her. But he knew well that with her extraordinary talent, she belonged to an entirely different world from his. He could only bury those feelings deep in his heart, never daring to let anyone know. And many years before that, his heart had stirred once before—back when that person was still called Zhang Sheng. Yet back then, her brilliance had been like the midday sun traversing the sky. Her entire focus had been set on contending with Ji Liuli and Feng Chutang for the summit of the peaks; she had never once noticed an ordinary fellow disciple tucked away in the corner. Though they had both belonged to Sky Azure Hall, he never even knew if Zhang Sheng had known his name. In the blink of an eye, twenty years had passed. Now, even her disciple, Wei Yuan, streaked across the night sky like a comet. In just three short years, Wei Yuan had brought Qingming to the point where it could withstand sieges from Shaman armies millions strong. Whether in military genius or personal cultivation, Wei Yuan had naturally compelled Ren Suxing to change how he addressed him, shifting from "Junior Brother" to "Martial Uncle." The cultivation world revered mastery above all, and the Palace of Grand Beginning was no exception. However, within the palace, aside from master-disciple lineages with distinct inheritances like Fenhai, Zhang Sheng, and Wei Yuan, disciples within the same hall often determined seniority among themselves individually. Wei Yuan had reached the Dharma Manifestation realm so early that, according to standard practice, many had to change their address from "Junior Brother" to "Martial Uncle." Still, if one had always been close to Wei Yuan, sticking to the old form of address did not matter and was not considered a slight. Furthermore, out of respect for one's teachers, if one was close to Zhang Sheng, their relationship with Wei Yuan would be framed through Zhang Sheng. Take Sun Yu, for example: even if he had not yet reached Dharma Manifestation, Wei Yuan would still have to call him Martial Uncle. For a long time after Wei Yuan achieved Dharma Manifestation, Ren Suxing had actively avoided the question of how to address him. Lately, however, he had gradually stopped caring. Ren Suxing raised his flying swords once more, banishing stray thoughts to focus on his work. Whenever there was no battle, he worked in the Weaponsmith Workshop; when war broke out, he went to the front lines; and at night, he entered the Fireworks of the Mortal Realm to continue working. Cui Yu had now illuminated a path forward for all the Palace of Grand Beginning disciples: working in the Fireworks of the Mortal Realm at night was effectively training one's nascent spirit. So long as one could manage sixteen tasks at the same time, the chances of achieving Dharma Manifestation were remarkably high. Because of this, every disciple in the Palace of Grand Beginning had been striving relentlessly of late, sleeping whenever they had free time to reach that benchmark as soon as possible. For Ren Suxing, the path ahead was clear; all that remained was hard work. He could already handle eight tasks simultaneously with ease, meaning Dharma Manifestation was no longer far off. As for that junior sister, she had never belonged to the same world as him anyway. There had been no intersection between them before, and there would be none in the future. *** In the innermost core of Qingming, where the divine temple had once stood, Wei Yuan brought Fei Yutong. He manifested the Fireworks of the Mortal Realm, causing a black-and-white Yin-Yang Great Array to rise beneath their feet. Fei Yutong walked to the array core and sat down cross-legged. Cui Yu, Zhang Sheng, Bao Yun, Feng Tingyu, Xu Henshui, and others stood nearby, and Perfected Person Lanhua was also present. Checking the hour, Wei Yuan said to Fei Yutong, "There is still a little time. I will ask you one last time: are you certain you will not use a Seven Stars Reincarnation Vessel? Refined from immortal materials, it would at least guarantee you a Heaven Foundation." Fei Yutong sighed softly and shook her head. "No need. Let fate take its course." Wei Yuan pressed her no further. He pointed a finger, and the Yin-Yang Great Array began to rotate slowly. A faint silhouette rose from the crown of Fei Yutong's head, flashing once before vanishing. The body sitting at the center of the array was left completely devoid of life. With a heavy sigh, Perfected Person Lanhua lifted Fei Yutong's remains, turned, and walked away. The Palace of Grand Beginning cultivators felt an indescribable chill of desolation and departed one by one. *** Ningzhou, Qianqiu City. Within a mysterious grand hall enveloped in darkness, an elder lay prostrate on the floor, reporting, "Qingming is already at the end of its strength. I have sealed the borders of the State of Jin, forbidding even a single refugee from crossing the pass. On the State of Zhao's side, very few refugees remain in the surrounding regions, so Qingming will soon have no more refugees to recruit. "Meanwhile, the Shamans have reinforced their troops again, pressing a portion of their commoners into the army, maintaining two million combat-ready warriors. After three or four more battles like this, Qingming will inevitably crumble. When that time comes, the five-hundred-thousand-strong army I have assembled at Hanyang Pass can deploy in full force to seize Qingming in one fell swoop." High upon the seat deep within the hall, the towering figure remained silent for a long time. The prostrate elder continued, "The trade route with the Shamans has been surveyed, and a path viable for cargo wagons has been found. However, the Land of Rain demands sacrificial offerings, stating that without them, there is no need to establish trade." The figure on the high seat finally spoke: "Tell Hongye that he will not get a single sacrifice. Tell him to stop dreaming!" The elder was taken aback. "Immortal Ancestor, this..." He did not understand. In recent years, the Xu family had operated the sacrifice trade both openly and covertly; why suddenly stop now? Most sacrifices came from refugees. Left to themselves, refugees rarely survived more than two years. Since they were going to die either way, selling them to the Shamans in exchange for valuable goods was far better. The figure on the high seat replied slowly, "Times have changed. In the past, my lifespan was near its end, and the family lacked a successor—none of the younger generation possessed the potential to ascend to immortality. Thus, I had no choice but to resort to any means necessary, gathering as much wealth and foundation for the family as possible so it would not collapse the moment I perished. "Now that I have no worries regarding my lifespan, I must naturally make long-term plans. Giving away a few sacrifices sporadically matters little, but supplying them continuously over time? Wouldn't that be cultivating a formidable enemy for myself out of thin air?" "The Immortal Ancestor's instruction is wise." "Do nothing for now. Simply keep watch on the situation in Qingming." After the elder took his leave, a beam of light shone down from the ceiling of the hall, illuminating one of the hands of the figure on the throne. It was a handsome hand, brimming with the vitality of youth. Yet under the illumination of the light, faint wisps of black qi could be seen curling around the ring finger. Looking at this black qi, the youthful face darkened with utter malice. *** In Qingming, Wei Yuan inspected the Gate of the Many Realms once more, yet still found no sign of Fei Yutong's soul. This was within expectations, however. Cultivators blessed with immense karmic luck and powerful soul-bodies like True Monarch Huangyun and Fei Yutong could not be tracked by Wei Yuan's Gate of the Many Realms once they embarked on reincarnation. Wei Yuan instinctively sensed that this was because the Gate of the Many Realms was not yet of a high enough tier; it could only guide weaker souls to reincarnate. Powerful true spirits like Fei Yutong had their own destinations within heaven and earth, which he was currently powerless to influence. This outcome was not surprising. In any case, with Fei Yutong's reincarnation, the matter of the traitor was brought to an end. A day later, Wei Yuan suddenly noticed an anomaly in New City. Among the more than twenty thousand pregnant young women in New City, the fetuses within more than half of them abruptly lost all signs of life, while the vitality of the fetuses within the remaining five thousand grew noticeably stronger! A similar situation had occurred once before, ultimately resulting in the birth of Xu Shiba. Sun Yu hurried over with his disciples and began examining the young women. After a busy half-day, Sun Yu walked over to Wei Yuan and said, "It is somewhat similar to last time. Although the vitality of their fetuses has strengthened, it has also become unstable. They will need treatment to prevent miscarriages." Wei Yuan ordered all the young women whose fetuses still possessed life to be gathered together, then bestowed a strand of azure qi upon each of them. Once augmented by karmic luck, their conditions stabilized considerably. Just as Wei Yuan felt a wave of relief and was about to leave, an anomaly struck over a thousand of the young women—the life force of the fetuses in their bellies vanished at rapid speed! Yet the belly of one particular young woman swelled high, her fetus's vitality surging with tremendous power, appearing ready for delivery at any moment. Sun Yu immediately ordered the young woman to be placed in isolation, assigning attendants to watch her around the clock in anticipation of the extraordinary child's birth. The remaining four thousand young women showed no further peculiarities, quietly resting and convalescing. Leaving New City, Wei Yuan hurried toward the Medicine Garden. Several national grandmasters had been waiting for days; having helped him hold the ground in the previous battle, he could no longer delay and had to play a few games of Go with them. Evidently, Xuanjizi and Canglongshi were the ones who had contributed those two slender strands of purple karmic luck. If Wei Yuan wanted to obtain more karmic luck, he would have to deepen his impression on them. Yet what Wei Yuan could not understand was why the Seventh Elder had never contributed even a single bit of karmic luck.