Wei Yuan did not head to the workshop right away. Still worried about Xu Wenwu, he pulled him aside and cautioned him, "You have just cast your Dao Foundation and officially stepped onto the immortal path. The karma you carry has deepened, so you can no longer speak recklessly and act rashly like you did back in the outer world.
"This heavenly tribulation of yours was triggered by your careless words, and it was exceptionally fierce—that was heaven and earth punishing you. If you hadn't survived that punishment, you would be dead! So from now on, you must watch your words and mind your actions. Otherwise, if another tribulation strikes, no one will be able to save you.
"In the cultivation world, karmic luck and geomancy are taken very seriously; you need to make up for lost lessons on this. Look at me: because I understand these ways thoroughly, nothing happens to me no matter what I say—"
Before Wei Yuan could finish speaking, a tribulation cloud suddenly manifested above his head, and five bolts of heavenly lightning struck down one after another! Before Wei Yuan could even react, he was blasted until he was charred on the outside and tender on the inside, the odds and ends on his person clattering to the ground in a scattered mess.
The onlookers only saw a blur before their eyes, and a few more storybooks from Wei Yuan's private collection were gone.
Wei Yuan stared blankly at the sky, while Xu Wenwu stared dumbfoundedly at the blackened Wei Yuan. Now Xu Wenwu finally understood: in this world, whoever bragged got struck by lightning.
Xu Wenwu couldn't help feeling secretly grateful. Fortunately, there was no internet in this world; otherwise, more than half the population would probably be wiped out.
Wei Yuan had taken this heavenly lightning completely out of nowhere, without the slightest warning. Fortunately, while the lightning had made a tremendous commotion, its thunder shaking the realm for a hundred li, its actual power was rather underwhelming—roughly on par with the lightning tribulation when a Dharma Idol ascends to Scenery Command. It had only scorched a layer of his skin.
Wei Yuan's body wriggled slightly, completely renewed in an instant, and he grabbed some clothes to put on. His current annoyance was that his robes and storage magical treasures were of modest grade; they were ruined whenever a lightning tribulation struck. In just the past few days, he had already ruined two sets.
Putting on a nonchalant face, Wei Yuan said to Xu Wenwu, "Ponder what I just said carefully. Later, I'll give you a primer on geomancy for you to read first."
With that, Wei Yuan rose into the air and flew off toward the brocade workshop.
***
At that moment, deep within the Nether Cold Realm, Sheng Xin was holding onto a beautiful shamaness—who possessed the shape of an octopus and was considered a peerless beauty in the eyes of the Shamans—and saying earnestly, "...I swear, my feelings for you are absolute sincerity itself! If I am lying, let me be struck by five consecutive tribulation lightning bolts!"
The octopus said coldly, "I don't care whether you're sincere or not. The main thing is that you're too ugly, and poor to boot!"
She swept away haughtily, leaving Sheng Xin behind to nurse his broken heart in sorrow.
***
Qingming's brocade workshop was established in a secluded valley, immediately adjacent to the Weaponsmith Workshop. Security here was tight, guarded in person by Yu Zhizhuo's fellow disciples.
From the outside, the workshop was a square building thirty feet high and several hundred feet on each side, its walls supported by reinforcement formations. Qingming lacked aged giant spirit lumber, so this was the only viable approach.
Wei Yuan stepped into the workshop and saw a wide corridor leading straight to the center of the formation. Inside was laid out a Grand Formation of the Four Images and Eight Trigrams. Two looms stood at each formation position, and surprisingly, at the center of the formation eye sat a truck carriage.
Yu Zhizhuo opened the carriage door, revealing four seats of power within, each occupied by a cultivator. Currently undistracted, they were channeling their dharmic power into the formation.
Yu Zhizhuo explained, "I installed a Four Images Spirit Rail Formation onto this vehicle, manned by four Dao Foundation cultivators. It can power all the looms in the workshop and let them run at full capacity. A shift of four Dao Foundation cultivators can maintain the formation's operation for three days."
Wei Yuan asked, "Why set the power formation on a vehicle?"
Yu Zhizhuo replied, "According to materials from the outer world, places where goods are manufactured are called 'workshops'—literally 'cart-compartments.' Going by the name, a cart-compartment naturally must have a cart inside! So I designed this vehicle-mounted formation, and sure enough, its utility is endless.
"See, it can store a certain amount of dharmic power on its own, and it can move at any time. Park it at a formation position, and it provides power. I plan to refine it properly so that the formations across the entire Weaponsmith Workshop can be powered by it, making things far more flexible. The mortals over in the outer world are truly clever!"
Wei Yuan was also full of admiration, and then continued his tour.
All the looms in the workshop were powered uniformly by the formation. By now, the raw materials were prepared, and the artisans were all in position, waiting only for the command to begin.
Wei Yuan nodded, and Yu Zhizhuo gave the order. The four cultivators seated in the center of the formation steadily channeled Dao power into it. The array patterns on the truck lit up one after another, extending across the workshop floor and reaching toward the looms at each formation position. Slowly, loom after loom began to turn.
Moments later, the formation reached peak operation and began running steadily. These looms had all been recalibrated, running much faster than what Wei Yuan had seen last time. Bolt after bolt of brocade grew at a pace visible to the naked eye, while the artisans running back and forth to reload materials were exceptionally busy.
The artisans were mainly responsible for restocking raw materials into the looms and taking the finished brocade.
Wei Yuan watched until the first complete bolt of brocade emerged from a loom, then calculated the time: it had taken about an hour.
Calculated this way, the sixteen looms in this workshop could produce nearly four hundred bolts of brocade a day. In Ningzhou, that would take four hundred artisans five or six days. Ningzhou's largest brocade workshop claimed to have two thousand weavers, but artisans always had this or that matter arise, so their daily production was only about equivalent to this single workshop.
The entire staffing for this workshop was six Dao Foundation cultivators and twenty artisans. There were no special requirements for the Dao Foundation cultivators—as long as they possessed dharmic power, they would do.
It was said that because the price of silk in Ningzhou had skyrocketed, the brocade merchants were brewing a price hike, hoping to raise the price of brocade to six taels per bolt. At that price, the brocade produced by this workshop in a single day could sell for twenty-three hundred taels of immortal silver!
As for costs, aside from the silk, it was nothing more than maintenance for the machinery, buildings, and personnel, while the Dao Foundation cultivators were there to consolidate their cultivation. Thus, apart from the silk, the rest was basically negligible; the entire workshop consumed only a few taels of immortal silver a day.
Just as Wei Yuan was calculating how much immortal silver could flow into the coffers, several sharp cracking bangs rang out. Three looms broke down in succession, and one even caught fire directly. By the time everyone scrambled to put out the blaze, the brocade that was nearly finished was ruined as well.
Wei Yuan understood then: this was what normal workshop operations were really like; his earlier calculation had merely been the ideal number.
Yu Zhizhuo, however, did not feel the least bit embarrassed. Cultivators from the Hall of Heavenly Craft had long grown accustomed to such mishaps. When forging magical treasures, explosions were a frequent occurrence, often blowing the very roof off the hall; a little machine catching fire was nothing.
Yu Zhizhuo then explained the design concept of the workshops to Wei Yuan. His idea was to make every workshop completely identical. That way, the structural frameworks of the workshop buildings and the materials needed for array layouts would all be identical. They could stock up in advance and supply everything uniformly. Once the artisans became proficient, the speed of constructing new workshops would dramatically increase.
Furthermore, now that Qingming's reinforced concrete technology had matured, constructing large buildings no longer required century-old spirit wood, and construction costs had dropped significantly.
Yu Zhizhuo then asked how many workshops he planned to build in the initial phase.
Wei Yuan made an estimate. Under ideal conditions, a single workshop produced 140,000 bolts of brocade a year. If they built fifty workshops in the initial phase, that would yield seven million bolts annually. The entirety of Ningzhou's eight commanderies produced only around ten million bolts a year.
Crucially, the cost of machine-woven brocade was merely the price of raw silk with a slight markup, not exceeding one tael of immortal silver per bolt. Therefore, this volume was enough to crush the brocade industry across most of the eight commanderies.
Wei Yuan said, "Let's build a hundred first!"
"A hundred?" Even Yu Zhizhuo couldn't believe his ears. That number was ten times what he had anticipated.
"A hundred," Wei Yuan repeated.
Since he was going to flip the table, he might as well flip it thoroughly. Not only did Wei Yuan intend to sweep through the silk and brocade industries of Ningzhou's eight commanderies and the State of Zhao, but he also had his sights set on their cotton cloth industry. That commodity, which everyone needed, was the real prize.
Chapter 579: In a Foul Mood
In a corner of Qingming, the roar of artillery echoed continuously.
This was an expanse of barren hills where the realm had not yet expanded, so it had been designated as a firing range specifically for testing various cannons, firearms, and magical treasures.
At this moment, nearly all the cultivators from the Palace of Grand Beginning had gathered at the range. Even Zhang Sheng had rushed back from the Nether Cold Realm, wanting to see what on earth this unprecedented Toad-style Tianqi Tank was.
Out on the firing range, the Toad-style tank was maneuvering back and forth, continuously releasing deafening roars of extraordinary momentum. It fired as it moved, blasting pulverized rock into the air around a target a li away—leaving the target completely unscathed.
After firing over a dozen consecutive rounds, Xu Wenwu had his eyes shut tight, his face pale, drenched in sweat. His Dao power depleted, the Toad-style tank dispersed into thin air. Wei Yuan hurriedly gave him a Qi Replenishing Pill, and only after a while did he catch his breath.
Opening his eyes, Xu Wenwu said excitedly, "This feeling is incredible! It's like there are two of me—one sitting right here, and the other turned into a tank. It's just a bit overwhelming to manage—"
"Not only overwhelming to manage, but your aim is a bit questionable too," Wei Yuan muttered inwardly.
Next came the evaluation by the cultivators of the Palace of Grand Beginning. Although Xu Wenwu's Toad-style tank was an unprecedented Dao Foundation, when Wei Yuan had first cast his Dao Foundation, he had been directly recognized by the Hall of Myriad Manifestations and appraised as Unrivaled Under Heaven. Xu Wenwu's bizarre Dao Foundation, on the other hand, required careful evaluation.
After everyone pondered for a long time, Yu Zhizhuo was the first to speak: "A Dao Foundation that can't fly is indeed quite rare."
Xu Wenwu's heart went cold by half; that was clearly not a compliment.
Zhang Sheng added, "The accuracy of your cannon fire is rather mystical. Manifest the interior of that... tank of yours so we can have a look."
After flustered fumbling under the guidance of the cultivators, Xu Wenwu finally managed to peel back the outer armor of the tank, revealing the interior.
There sat the toad crouched on the seat, one eye glued to the gunsight and the other peering through the observation slit, both hands gripping control levers. Whenever it was time to fire, a shell would automatically generate inside the turret and load into the breech, whereupon the toad would stomp hard on a pedal to blast out a shot.
Such an intricate procedure left all the cultivators speechless.
Finally, Wei Yuan couldn't resist saying, "Uh, Wenwu, this is your Dao Foundation, not a real tank. You really don't need to make it so complicated. For example, the observation slit and gunsight are completely unnecessary; you could just look straight down the gun barrel—that's farther forward anyway."
The cultivators' thoughts opened up, and one after another chimed in. The general consensus was that the tank didn't need anything inside at all—it could just be made solid, leaving only a spot for the toad. The exterior didn't need to be so complex either; tracks, road wheels, and the like could all be discarded, and even the turret wasn't necessary.
Since the main function of this Dao Foundation was to fire cannons, turning it into a single gun barrel would suffice. The toad could simply be tied onto the barrel, which would even allow it to fly.
Xu Wenwu rebutted every suggestion, stubbornly refusing to accept any of them.
The toad's eyes were likewise filled with fury, vehemently rejecting the prospect of hanging from a cannon barrel. Its reaction was intensely agitated, its round eyes looking ready to spit fire.
Wei Yuan sighed, thinking to himself that since Xu Wenwu wouldn't need to charge into battle anyway, he might as well play with it however he liked. Besides, the power of this tank cannon was indeed formidable: a single shot was equivalent to the full-strength blow of an Earth Tier Dao Foundation cultivator. The thing had two gun barrels, doubling its destructive force.
For Xu Wenwu to fire over a dozen shots right after establishing his Dao Foundation indicated that this Dao technique was remarkably economical with Dao power. Regardless, the Dao Foundation came with its own offensive Dao technique, and both its power and quality were first-rate. Wei Yuan felt it should at least qualify for a Heaven Foundation, and most likely an immortal foundation. However, being junior in seniority and lacking experience, he held his tongue.
Finally, Feng Chutang said, "This toad has already developed its own spirituality. On that point alone, it could qualify as an immortal foundation. Furthermore, this... tank, though convoluted to operate and full of redundant additions, presents genuine novelty in defense, admirably combining offense and defense in one. Regrettably, while claiming to be amphibious, it can only operate on water, not underwater..."
Xu Wenwu mumbled, "Underwater is called a submarine!"
His smile unchanged, Feng Chutang continued, "Whether a tank or a sub... marine, this Dao Foundation was originally well worthy of being classed as an immortal foundation. However, for its spirituality to hide inside a shell is somewhat lacking in dignity. Therefore, it shall be demoted by one rank and appraised as a Heaven Foundation. What say you all?"
Wei Yuan strongly disagreed; this was blatant suppression of its grade.
Suddenly, a wisp of sword qi rose above Zhang Sheng's head, and she snapped, "Feng! Chu! Tang! So you were the bastard who reviewed my Azure Silk Rain back then! No wonder I could never find out who it was! We were both Dao Foundations at the time—what right did you have to evaluate my Dao Foundation?! You must have gone behind True Monarch Feng Yuan's back and secretly used his authority to do your dirty work!"
Feng Chutang's expression changed, and he hurriedly said, "That's all ancient history; why bring it up now? Besides, if Azure Silk Rain hadn't been ranked as a Heaven Foundation, you wouldn't have been able to recultivate it!"
Zhang Sheng sneered repeatedly. "I will certainly report this clearly to the Grandmaster and have a thorough talk with your True Monarch Feng Yuan!"
Feng Chutang's expression shifted several times, and he whispered, "Considering how much effort I put into helping your disciple, can't we let this minor matter drop? I incurred a great deal of bad karma for no reason, and it will take me at least ten years to cleanse it."
Zhang Sheng was having none of it: "Save the sob story! Stay in Qingming properly, and within a year your karma will be dissolved. If you want it gone faster, take up an official post like Bao'er and gather some human karmic luck; in a few months, your karma will be completely gone."
Feng Chutang gave a wry smile. "Human karmic luck is not something just anyone can touch. Your disciple and little Bao'er were born children of karmic destiny, so using it poses no danger to them. But I was born with deficient karmic luck—how would I dare touch such a thing?"
Wei Yuan's mind stirred, and the lunar shadow spat out a wisp of otherworldly fortune, indicating that it was a loan.
Wei Yuan manifested that otherworldly fortune in his palm. Feng Chutang instantly turned like a starving ghost catching the scent of meat, unable to tear his eyes away.
"Th-this is chaotic heavenly fortune! Such a thing truly exists in this world? This suits me perfectly—"
Halfway through, Feng Chutang swallowed his words, then turned to Zhang Sheng and said solemnly, "Name your price!"
Wei Yuan was left exasperated on the side. The thing was his; why was Feng asking Zhang Sheng to name a price?
Zhang Sheng pondered for a moment, then said, "Steal True Monarch Feng Yuan's authority one more time: demote Azure Silk Rain to Mortal Tier, and then strip away its property of shaving away Dao Foundations."
Feng Chutang struggled visibly: "This is outright falsification... there is no precedent for this."
From the side, Wei Yuan asked, "Can the divine ability of Azure Silk Rain to shave away Dao Foundations be learned?"
Back then, he had coveted that divine ability immensely, studying it for a long time without making any headway. He had privately molded hundreds of Azure Silk Rain swords, yet not a single one possessed the ability to shave away Dao Foundations.
Feng Chutang said, "That is the innate Dao rhyme of that sword; it cannot be imitated."
In the end, after a few token struggles, Feng Chutang agreed. Though it violated his principles, those who studied history were mostly pliable, and carrying it out wasn't particularly difficult.
After all the haggling over Azure Silk Rain, Xu Wenwu's Dao Foundation was ultimately appraised as a Heaven Foundation. If Xu Wenwu solved the problem of flight in the future or increased the cannon's power, it could be upgraded to an immortal foundation.
Next, Xu Wenwu needed to consolidate his Dao Foundation, so Wei Yuan arranged for him to go to the herb garden. There, he could spend time beside the precious medicinal herbs blessed with qi, cultivating his mind and body and comprehending the ways of growth in heaven and earth.
Having settled matters here, Wei Yuan and Zhang Sheng headed together to the Nether Realm to continue digging away at Shu Li's foundation.
In the Nether Cold Realm, over the recent period, the excavation had advanced another two zhang. As soon as Zhang Sheng arrived, Han Li and Long Wushuang stepped forward to greet her. Zhang Sheng manifested three immortal swords, and the two took their places on her left and right, forming a sword array in the blink of an eye.
Zhang Sheng manifested three Nether Cold immortal swords and hurled them with a flick of her hand. All three struck the nether iron wall ahead, embedding themselves about half an inch deep.
Zhang Sheng's strike was truly extraordinary: without refinement through incantations or scorching by true fire, the swords pierced directly into the nether iron ore wall. Even if Wei Yuan or Longying had attacked, they could have achieved no better.
At this moment, Zhang Sheng's cultivation was far below that of Wei Yuan or Longying. That she could achieve such an effect was not only because she understood the physical properties of nether iron inside and out, but also because her three swords had already absorbed a wisp of the Nether Cold Realm's own aura, making the nether iron far softer and more brittle before them.
Han Li and Long Wushuang attacked simultaneously as well, each attaching a wisp of Dao power to one of the swords. A circle of light appeared in the center of the three immortal swords, shining brighter and brighter, driving the three swords to rotate slowly in unison. With every full turn, they penetrated deeper, cutting into the wall bit by bit.
Judging by their progress, they were hardly slower than Longying's side.
However, watching how seamlessly the three cooperated, Wei Yuan suddenly felt an indefinable awkwardness. Seeing how practiced Long Wushuang and Han Li were, it was clear this was far from the first time the three had worked together.
During the cutting process, imperceptible wisps of cold qi were drawn into the immortal swords from time to time, granting a slight enhancement to the swords' innate essence.
Possessing keen perception, Wei Yuan noticed this and understood that Zhang Sheng was using this method to elevate the fundamental essence of her Dao Foundation immortal swords. Seeing that the Earth Tier sword Guiji still had room for enhancement and held hope of reaching Heaven Tier, Wei Yuan said nothing.
Nor could he say anything—he could hardly tell Zhang Sheng to stay away from the two creations of his own mindscape world just because he found the sight grating, could he?
Bored, Wei Yuan wandered around nearby. The space was actually very cramped: the dragon guards led by Longying occupied one mining face, Zhang Sheng's trio took another, and a group of Dao Foundation cultivators was either hauling ore or meditating.
In a corner sat a handsome youth, eyes lowered in meditation. A sweep of Wei Yuan's divine sense revealed his background: he was a cultivator who had just cast his Dao Foundation in the Smoke and Fire of the Mortal World. The youngest among all the Dao Foundations, his talent was naturally astonishing. While still in the Foundation Solidification stage, he had already come to the Nether Cold Realm to cultivate.
Wei Yuan circled around and found that there was literally no place for him to lend a hand, leaving him somewhat at a loss. Furthermore, the space was so tight that Wei Yuan was only getting in the way.
Helpless, Wei Yuan could only leave. Yet as he departed, looking at the focused, undistracted demeanor of Zhang Sheng and the other two, he couldn't shake the feeling that something wasn't quite right.
Leaving the Nether Cold Realm, Wei Yuan headed straight for Hanyang Pass. He was in a foul mood today and planned to vent his frustration on the Xu family.
However, Hanyang Pass was completely quiet, its gates shut tight, with scarcely any defenders on the battlements. Wei Yuan had stationed a total of eight thousand elite troops on this hilltop position and had fired only three cannon shots at the very beginning. Since then, no matter how much he provoked them, the Xu family showed no reaction whatsoever, refusing to give Wei Yuan any pretext.
Thinking of how Han Li and Long Wushuang were striving so vigorously in their cultivation, Wei Yuan suddenly felt a sense of urgency. However, his Dharma Idol, Smoke and Fire of the Mortal World, already held the embryonic form of a mindscape world. Cultivation was no longer a matter of sitting in meditation, but of continuously perfecting this world and elevating its spirituality. The mindscape world could draw origin qi from heaven and earth on its own and convert it into Dao power; rushing was of no use.
If Wei Yuan wanted to accelerate his cultivation speed, the most direct method was to increase the number of mortals within the mindscape world; an indirect method was to have cultivators work—no, cultivate—inside the Smoke and Fire of the Mortal World. Each Dao Foundation cultivator was equivalent to several dozen mortals, while a Dharma Idol was equivalent to nearly a thousand mortals.
At this time, the souls of the mortals who had died in the final battle were only just beginning to reincarnate one after another, steadily elevating the spirituality of Smoke and Fire of the Mortal World. Yet Wei Yuan discovered that breaking through in the Spirit Nurturing realm still required an opportune turning point.
And while that turning point was not far off, as to where it would come from, he currently had no clue whatsoever.
Chapter 578