In the blink of an eye, the golden autumn season arrived once more in the north. As grass grew tall and eagles soared, the northern Liao Clan began their annual massive southward push. Their military might bore down so heavily upon the northern kingdoms that they could scarcely breathe, and borders receded drastically.
The Palace of Grand Beginning's northern mountain gate now occupied an extraordinarily exposed position, almost turned into an isolated island, with only a tiny strip of land bordering the various kingdoms.
Yet compared to a year ago, the situation at the northern mountain gate, though precarious, was not in dire peril. The defensive lines contracted slowly; with every stretch of territory yielded, they inflicted tremendous casualties on the Liao Clan. Their defense possessed such resilience that even the opposing Liao Clan commanders grew hesitant.
By now, several thousand Dao Base cultivators had been added to the Dao soldiers of the northern mountain gate, substantially reinforcing the front line's defenses.
Even though these Dao Base cultivators drawn from the Dao soldiers had cultivated template Dao Bases, on the battlefield they always managed to find suitable positions and slew enemies without hesitation. A group of them had even cultivated the seemingly most useless Bright Light Dao Base; yet by utilizing its function to slightly raise temperatures, they either smelted weapons or improved conditions in the encampments and trenches, effectively enhancing the combat capability of the surrounding troops.
Beacon fires blazed across the land. The northern mountain gate of the Palace of Grand Beginning held off nearly half of the Liao Clan's grand army entirely on its own, stubbornly refusing to collapse as the surrounding nations had anticipated.
Over the course of several months, Qingming conducted two successive cohorts of Dao Base training. Wei Yuan invested a total of twenty-seven thousand wisps of human karmic luck, adding over five hundred Dao Base cultivators for the Cui family, the Bao family, and the Li family of Southern Qi. He also trained four thousand unaffiliated cultivators, recruiting over a hundred Dao Base cultivators from their ranks.
From Qingming itself, fifteen thousand cultivators at peak Body Casting took part in the training, yielding twelve hundred new Dao Base cultivators. Due to Wei Yuan's deliberate guidance during these two cycles, over four hundred cultivators cultivated Perfected Chuhe's three major Dao Bases of Water, Wood, and Earth; five hundred cultivated Yu Zhizhuo's Metal and Fire template Dao Base; and the remaining two hundred chose combat Dao Bases or customized their own.
Sun Yu's clinic now had an abundance of disciples, so he raised the admissions bar for disciples and apprentices, taking in only a dozen or so across the two cohorts.
Xu Henshui remained as aloof and proud as ever. Almost no one chose the template he offered, resulting in only three disciples selecting it. However, Xu Henshui soon discovered that even if Dao Base disciples had mediocre talent, having them in numbers was advantageous: burning charcoal, hauling goods, and guarding the premises all required hands. He was consumed with regret, but it was already too late to change.
After these two training cycles, Qingming's Dao Base cultivators finally surpassed eight thousand. Over a thousand were combat cultivators, while the rest were template cultivators. Looking purely at numbers without considering quality, Qingming could already catch a glimpse of the Palace of Grand Beginning's main mountain from behind.
Though Wei Yuan felt the sting of the karmic luck he had spent, watching over a thousand newly minted Dao Base cultivators take their places filled him with deep gratification, giving him the distinct feeling of an old father watching his children grow up.
Naturally, the million taels of immortal silver earned from training Dao Base cultivators for the various aristocratic families was merely icing on the cake. Wei Yuan did not care much about such pocket change; after all, conquering Red Sand Oasis had yielded five million taels in plunder, so he genuinely looked down upon this hard-earned training fee.
Over these past few months, Wei Yuan had ordered another batch of mulberry saplings from the Hall of Jianmu, enough to plant a million mu, and distributed them across the commanderies. With a vast amount of mulberry acreage set to produce next year, raw silk prices dipped slightly.
Yet the moment silk prices dropped in the producing regions, major merchant caravans increased their purchases, shipping all of it to Qingming—after all, the purchase price Wei Yuan offered remained unchanged.
At this point, Qingming steadily produced five hundred thousand bolts of brocade per month, of which two hundred thousand were shipped to the human domain and three hundred thousand were sold to the Shamans.
Following the subjugation of the Leize tribe, the Xu family's trade routes to the west were sealed once more. None of their brocade could be exported, leaving only domestic sales. Ultimately, the brocade price within the pass stabilized at seven taels. The raw silk cost three taels per bolt, and adding two taels for artisan wages and various incidental expenses, each family's profit on a bolt of brocade fell below half a tael.
The situation stabilized accordingly. The entire silk-weaving industry remained in a state where one neither starved nor ate one's fill—which was precisely the outcome Wei Yuan hoped to achieve at this stage. Now, various factions and small-to-medium sects had begun aggressively cultivating mulberry saplings. Wei Yuan was waiting for even more fields to be converted into mulberry groves; only then would the time be ripe to launch his next move.
In the heart of golden autumn, the weather shifted between chills and warmth.
Inside the grand mansion of the Yao family, the family head sat in the main hall, flipping through account ledgers while wiping away sweat incessantly.
Seven or eight clan elders sat in the chamber as well, every one of them solemn. After an entire two hours, the Yao family head finally finished reading all the ledgers. Wiping his sweat once more, he said, "Every month, at least a hundred-odd thousand bolts of brocade flow from Qingming to the various commanderies, and what they sell to the Shamans can only be more. In other words, Qingming might currently produce three hundred thousand bolts a month."
One clan elder gasped in shock. "How could there be so much? Our family's monthly output is only ninety thousand bolts right now. Could Qingming have halted supplies to the Shamans to sell exclusively into the interior?"
The Yao family head replied coldly, "Would you pass up a price of fifteen taels to sell for five? That Wei Yuan is hardly a boy who scatters wealth for charity; why would he fancy doing business at a loss?"
Hearing this, the clan elder fell silent.
The Yao family head pondered for a long while, the flesh on his face quivering. Suddenly, he slapped the armrest with force and declared, "It is decided! We will liquidate all our brocade firms and trade them for mulberry fields!"
The elders were all shocked and voiced their objections one after another. The Yao family had painstakingly built up an operation of this scale; liquidating now would mean losing at least a hundred-odd thousand taels of immortal silver.
The Yao family head said in a deep voice, "This matter is no longer open for discussion! Judging by the scale of Wei Yuan's silk purchases, Qingming's brocade production will only increase in the future. Keeping the brocade shops won't earn us any money. Better to sell them all off while they can still fetch a decent price and turn the proceeds into mulberry groves and grain fields. That is the true millennial foundation of our family!"
The clan elders exchanged glances and said no more. In recent years, the family head had seized opportunities to expand the family severalfold, leaving their old rivals far behind. He held immense prestige within the household; frankly speaking, these elders were little better than figureheads, capable of offering nothing more than suggestions.
Lost in thought, the family head suddenly spoke again: "I hear that young girl Tang from the third branch has blossomed into a graceful beauty—a peerless national treasure? Send for her so I can have a look."
Just as the servants were about to pass the word, the family head added, "Summon all the young women in the clan of good looks who aren't yet betrothed. Oh, and even if they're already betrothed, so long as they haven't wed, bring them along as well!"
A moment later, a dozen or so young maidens stood in the main hall, each with bright eyes and fair teeth, possessing striking beauty.
The Yao family head rose from his seat and circled around the girls several times, inspecting them meticulously. In the end, he picked out the three most stunning, plus one with the highest cultivation talent. Only then was he satisfied.
"Not bad, exactly enough to make a Four Seasons of Fortune! The four of you will make a trip to Qingming on my behalf. First pay your respects to Great Perfected Chuhe, and then ask him to introduce you to Lord Wei Yuan. Once you meet his lordship, you needn't come back. Whoever manages to stay by his lordship's side, I will lavishly reward her branch!"
At this point, one elder hesitated and said, "Family Head, the second young master of the Wang family proposed to Shuitang a few days ago, and I had already agreed."
The family head's expression darkened. "What does the Wang family amount to? How could being a wife to a Wang scion compare to serving as a bedchamber maid for Lord Wei? Go and call off the betrothal. I doubt their family would dare fight Lord Wei for a woman."
Just then, another elder said, "I hear... that Lord Wei has a nickname, 'Three Thrusts,' and seems to suffer from a secret ailment. Sending girls over might not be entirely appropriate."
The family head snapped impatiently, "What do you know! Three thrusts are still thrusts; it's not like he has none at all! The Great Dao is constant—if each round is fast, the frequency must be high, which is perfect for bestowing rain and dew equally upon all!"
The clan elders dared not utter a sound, nor could they refute him. Ever since the Yao family flourished, the family head often bedded ten women a night and possessed considerable insight into the Great Dao of Yin and Yang. They understood clearly in their hearts that the Yao family was going to throw its lot entirely in with Qingming.
Meanwhile, in Qingming, Wei Yuan had before him his first major harvest since the subjugation of Leize.
Recorded on the jade paper was detailed intelligence regarding Shu Li's realm in the Nether Cold Realm. The report confirmed that Shu Li had suffered severe trauma not long ago for reasons unknown. Currently, only three incarnations guarded the realm, their strength equivalent to pinnacle Blood Shamans. Compared to his peak of nine incarnations, Shu Li's power had plumbed rock bottom.
The report also noted that Shu Li had deployed all his legions, tightly surrounding a Nether Iron Mountain that suppressed a node in the realm, standing at full battle readiness. An incarnation guarded this location at all times.
Furthermore, the intelligence detailed the strength and signature curses of the three incarnations, meticulously recorded the quantity and power of the exotic beasts in the legions, and even included a defensive deployment map outside Nether Iron Mountain.
This intelligence had come from the hands of the Leize tribe's Nether Shamans. The Leize tribe and Shu Li both belonged to the Land of Rain, and the Nether Shamans were well acquainted with one another. There were also Leize Shaman Scholars operating within Shu Li's realm.
Wei Yuan had told Lei Dong that he wanted intelligence on Shu Li's realm. After waiting several months, just as he was nearly out of patience, he unexpectedly received this detailed report.
Lei Dong specifically explained that obtaining intelligence from the Nether Cold Realm required dispatching Shaman Scholars inside to pass messages, and after gathering the intel, they had to exit the Nether Cold Realm; going in and coming out took considerable time, which was why it took several months.
At this moment, all of Zhang Sheng's immortal swords suitable for the Nether Cold Realm had been refined to Earth Rank. His strength had greatly increased, and his tunneling speed was vastly accelerated; he was on the verge of breaking through to the outside world. Receiving this intelligence at this exact juncture meant that Shu Li was in the light while Wei Yuan was in the dark.
Chapter 630