A month had passed since the final battle with the Land of Rain. Only now had the colossal amount of supplies left behind by the Shamans been mostly cleared and hauled back to Qingming.
As soon as the situation stabilized, hundreds of rogue cultivators began arriving in Qingming each day, most of them at the Body Casting stage.
These rogue cultivators had heard that Qingming could help those with no hope of advancement break through to Dao Foundation, so they came to try their luck. With more and more cultivators arriving, in the blink of an eye, those seeking a breakthrough numbered well over a thousand.
Many of them did not come alone. Some were fathers bringing their children, some were domineering wives dragging timid, subservient husbands, and others were Dao Foundation patriarchs with one foot in the grave dragging along the sole junior of their clan whose aptitude was even halfway passable.
They congregated in Zhike Town, wracking their brains for any possible way to win a sliver of opportunity. Some offered ancestral treasure maps, others offered ancestral cultivation arts, and one person even offered up a golden pardon medallion dating back to the Great Li era.
Naturally, kneeling on the ground for days on end was an inevitable sight.
As the gathering crowds swelled, word soon reached Wei Yuan.
Wei Yuan observed them quietly from the shadows, then sent men to handle the matter. By now, Qingming had established standard operating procedures for handling novel, unprecedented affairs. The very first step was always registration and cataloging. And with each subsequent round of registration, the items requiring entry grew ever more numerous and meticulous.
After registration, the forms were fed into the Smoke and Fire of the Mortal World for statistical analysis, which was ultimately compiled into one or several reports. Once the personnel in charge reviewed the reports, they gained a clear, comprehensive picture of the situation.
A day later, the report was placed on Wei Yuan's desk.
This time, more than thirteen hundred people were seeking to advance to Dao Foundation. The vast majority were rogue cultivators with neither wealth nor connections. Otherwise, anyone with the slightest ability could have attached themselves to the Cui family and easily secured a spot to come to Qingming.
After reviewing the dossiers of this cohort, Wei Yuan had a general grasp of things. Qingming was due to begin a new term of Dao Foundation training anyway, so they might as well all be trained together.
Naturally, an opportunity to attain the Dao could not be handed out for free. After careful deliberation, Wei Yuan laid down the basic principles, had them refined through the Smoke and Fire of the Mortal World, and finalized the framework. The entire process took half an hour from start to finish.
***
In Zhike Town, wherever Qingming personnel appeared, cultivators could be seen kneeling indefinitely.
Some cultivators simply dropped to their knees right in the middle of the main avenue. With people taking the lead, many others assumed this was a good way to catch the attention of Qingming's higher-ups, so the kneeling ranks grew larger and larger.
The town was home not only to cultivators, but also to a far greater number of displaced refugees, as well as passing merchant caravans.
At that moment, a crowd of cultivators kneeling in the middle of the town's main thoroughfare blocked the path of a merchant caravan. The caravan's dozen or so large freight wagons plugged the road so tightly that not even water could trickle through. The refugees squeezed into every available gap, and gradually, the entire town was brought to an absolute standstill.
Many of the caravan's guards hailed from rogue cultivator backgrounds, which made them look down on these rogue cultivators all the more now that they held steady posts. The rogue cultivators, for their part, were fierce and belligerent, and found the guards equally obnoxious. The two sides were like parched hay waiting for a spark; a single ember ignited them, and in the blink of an eye, a brawl erupted, claiming several lives.
There were also rogue cultivators in foul moods who vented their wrath on the refugees at whim. A single Dao art cast downward left several refugees dead on the spot.
With nowhere to seek justice, the refugees could only wail and cry out to heaven, raising an uproar. Conflicts like this broke out across the town, plunging the entire place into chaos.
Finally, a chilling, razor-sharp pressure swept over the town. A stern, commanding voice rang out from midair: "All of you, cease immediately! Violators will be executed! Refugees, move to the sides and clear the thoroughfare! Caravan wagons have right of way! Those of you kneeling on the road, are you deaf? Clear the path! Men, seize anyone still sprawled on the ground and throw them into the dungeon to sober up!"
The rogue cultivators kneeling in the middle of the avenue scattered in an instant. They had only wanted to attract attention, not end up behind bars in Qingming.
The figure in the air was none other than a dharma idol cultivator. Strikingly young and exceedingly handsome, he nevertheless radiated an overwhelming majesty and an aura drenched in killing intent. The man who had arrived to deal with the mess was Cui Yu. Having witnessed countless grand spectacles, he restored order in short order with just a few swift commands.
When Wei Yuan first began establishing several Zhike towns along the border, he had already gained considerable expertise in urban planning. The roads were exceptionally wide, allowing three freight wagons to travel abreast—a remarkably forward-thinking design. Thus, as soon as the stalled freight wagons passed, traffic immediately returned to normal.
Yet no sooner had the wagons moved on than those rogue cultivators rushed back into the middle of the road to kneel once more.
Cui Yu was not angered. He projected his voice loudly: "There is a drill ground two li south of the town. Anyone wishing to obtain an opportunity for Foundation Casting must proceed to the drill ground to hear the requirements. You have fifteen minutes. Latecomers will not be entertained!"
Now none of the rogue cultivators could afford to keep kneeling. With a great rustle, they bolted toward the drill ground, flying and running in a frantic rush.
A short while later, the drill ground was packed to the brim with rogue cultivators, likely numbering three to four thousand. With the rogue cultivators gathered in one place, the town's administrative cultivators breathed a collective sigh of relief.
Rogue cultivators had always lacked discipline, making them by far the most unruly group among cultivators. From the moment they began trickling into town, theft, robbery, brawls, and assaults had never ceased, claiming several lives every single day. Even the homes of several administrative officials had been burglarized, some more than once.
Yet these rogue cultivators were narrow-minded and ignorant, having no idea how terrifying the karmic luck and geomancy arts of Qingming's Palace of Grand Beginning cultivators truly were. Most who had stolen from a disciple of the Palace of Grand Beginning suffered an unbroken string of bizarre bad luck over the subsequent days, only to be singled out by the constables for some absurd reason and tossed into jail. Very few genuine fish managed to slip through the net.
When the time was up, Cui Yu descended onto the high platform of the drill ground and spoke: "Military Commissioner of Dingxi, Lord Wei Yuan, recognizes that fellow Daoists do not have an easy path in cultivation. Out of great compassion, he is willing to grant everyone an opportunity to mend their Dao path. However, since all of you are practitioners, you naturally know that cultivating immortality goes against the heavens. An opportunity to mend one's Dao path is exceedingly precious, and naturally cannot be given away for nothing. Everyone here now has two options. The first is to pay in immortal silver!"
At these words, many rogue cultivators felt a great wave of relief. If all it took was money, that was manageable. What they feared most were those who did not ask for money, but instead imposed all manner of bizarre conditions.
Yet Cui Yu continued: "To obtain the opportunity to comprehend the Dao in Qingming, one must first pay five hundred taels of immortal silver upfront, non-refundable regardless of success or failure! If you successfully cast your foundation, you must pay an additional one thousand five hundred taels of immortal silver! Once the immortal silver is paid in full, all karmic ties are severed, and you are free to leave Qingming."
This figure far exceeded the rogue cultivators' expectations. Many had never held more than a few taels or a few dozen taels of immortal silver in their entire lives. Who could have imagined that merely attempting to comprehend the Dao would cost five hundred taels, with another one thousand five hundred taels due upon success? A clamor broke out on the spot.
In the crowd, someone skilled at fanning the flames and always eager to stir up trouble craned his neck and shouted, "Have you lost your minds over money?! Nobody agree to this! I say Qingming is just running a scam! When the time comes, not a single person will achieve Dao Foundation, and we'll have handed them five hundred taels of immortal silver for nothing! Even if someone succeeds, that's just their own karmic fortune—it might not have anything to do with Qingming at all—"
Before the troublemakers could finish shouting, a Liuren Heavenly Soldier suddenly materialized behind each of them, seizing them and hoisting them into midair.
Cui Yu said coldly, "Our Domain Lord has slain more alien races than the immortal silver you've seen in your entire miserable lives! Would the Domain Lord covet your meager scraps? When my lord borrows money, the minimum loan is five million taels!"
The rogue cultivators listened, utterly dumbfounded. That was a sum beyond their wildest imagination, yet such great figures simply borrowed it back and forth as if it were pocket change?
Cui Yu added, "You few seized this opportunity to incite unrest and disrupt order. Your crimes cannot be pardoned. By law, you are sentenced to death!"
The Liuren Heavenly Soldiers thrust their long sabers forward, executing the instigators on the spot, then hung their corpses from wooden poles erected along the edge of the drill ground.
At this, the rogue cultivators fell dead silent. This was the cultivation world, where the strong preyed on the weak. A bunch of Body Casting and Dao Foundation rogue cultivators who offended a dharma idol cultivator from an immortal palace would have nowhere to seek redress even in death.
Having dealt with the troublemakers, Cui Yu continued: "Those who cannot produce immortal silver are not without an option. You may sign a contract. If you fail to achieve Dao Foundation, you need only serve in Qingming for fifteen years to regain your freedom. During your term of service, you may be granted one or several additional opportunities to cast your Dao Foundation, depending entirely on your performance."
Instantly, many of the rogue cultivators fell quiet, calculating the pros and cons.
Cui Yu went on: "If you successfully cast your Dao Foundation, you must sign a blood contract to serve Qingming for thirty years. During these thirty years, you will receive half the salary and cultivation resources of a regular cultivator."
Someone in the crowd murmured, "Attaining a Dao Foundation extends your lifespan by fifty years. Giving thirty years of your life to work for someone leaves twenty years to enjoy freedom and leisure. That's quite a bargain!"
Another chimed in, "Serving a major power isn't like licking blood off a blade out in the martial world. Not only is there no danger, but room and board are covered! You might even settle down, and decades later your clan will take root here."
Many nodded in agreement upon hearing this. A few habitual troublemakers wanted to chime in with objections, but they had barely uttered a few words before the cultivators in front seized them by the collars and rained slaps across their faces, knocking out several teeth.
These burly cultivators were packed with dense muscle that gleamed with oil—clearly individuals possessing immense talent for body refinement.
At that moment, several elderly men and women scrambled forward and dropped to their knees, wailing and beating their chests. They cried that they had no money and did not want to sell their lives, asking why the wealthy lords of Qingming couldn't show some charity and give their children a chance.
Cui Yu sneered again. Coming from top-tier aristocratic clans, how could he lack methods for dealing with scoundrels and beggars?
Without Cui Yu saying a single word, dozens of burly men charged out from the crowd, surrounded the elders, beat them half to death, and dragged them away. When their family members rushed forward, they were knocked unconscious and dragged away just the same. The drill ground fell quiet once more.
Only then did Cui Yu speak in a measured tone: "Mending your Dao path is a monumental matter; you must make up your own minds. Our Domain Lord was able to gain a firm foothold in the Western Regions—what kind of fierce powerhouse do you think he is? Did he come here to do charity for you? These are the terms. Take it or get lost!"
Put that way, the rogue cultivators dared not hesitate any longer. Someone immediately stepped forward to sign the contract, only to discover that it was inscribed on array-patterned jade paper that required a drop of blood to activate.
The dozens of rogue cultivators in the front row took one look at the contract and immediately felt dizzy.
The contract was covered in dense, microscopic text. Turning a dozen pages yielded no end in sight; there were at least a thousand clauses. Worse still, the text was written in archaic language—obscure, awkward, and excessively ornate. Many rogue cultivators encountered several unfamiliar characters in every single line. Forget rogue cultivators; even mid-ranking students from a proper academy would likely struggle to comprehend it.
One impatient cultivator scrolled down dozens of pages in one breath, only reaching the end after passing clause fourteen hundred.
When had these rogue cultivators ever witnessed such a display? When someone tried to inquire about the details, the clerk on duty simply put on a sour face and snapped, "What are you asking for? If you understand it, do you think you can change it? Stand aside! Sign if you want, or don't. Don't interrupt me reading my storybook."
Having no other choice, the rogue cultivators ultimately braced themselves, dripped their blood, and signed, binding themselves to Qingming's war chariot from that moment on.
This contract was naturally the handiwork of the Smoke and Fire of the Mortal World. Forget fourteen hundred clauses; even another fourteen hundred would have been trivial to draft. Moreover, the crouching dragons and fledgling phoenixes had been particularly insidious this time, penning certain critical terms in minuscule script wedged between two massive clauses, so that without careful inspection, one would easily mistake them for an array pattern.
The rogue cultivators already struggled to read it. Even if there were a few stubborn mules among them, after reading through seven or eight hundred clauses, their eyes would blur, causing them to breeze right past these hair-thin, crucial terms.
In the end, out of over a thousand rogue cultivators, only thirty-odd paid the cash upfront. Every single one of the rest signed the contract.
And so, Qingming gained over a thousand Body Casting cultivators to work like beasts of burden. Before long, two hundred Dao Foundation cultivators would emerge from their ranks to continue working like beasts of burden.
Chapter 574