Wei Yuan was still savoring the feeling of that sword strike landing squarely on the bizarre Scenery Command figure. It was a pity that Feng Tingyu's black mist had cut off all spiritual sense at the time, and he had never anticipated the creature's dharma body would be so tough, rivaling a typical spirit treasure.
Had he known earlier, he would have aimed for the legs rather than the waist. That way, he could have cleaved off a lower leg as a souvenir.
The best target would have been the neck, of course, but Feng Tingyu's dharma aspect had blocked his perception. Fearing he might miss, Wei Yuan had chosen to cut him in half at the waist, never expecting he would fail to sever the body.
Now Wei Yuan could only sigh helplessly at his newly gained tally of over a thousand heavenly merits.
"I picked up a treasure, retrieved from that strange fellow just now," Feng Tingyu said, handing Wei Yuan an object wrapped in oiled paper.
Suspecting nothing, Wei Yuan took it casually, only to find the paper greasy and slick, coating his hand in grime.
He wiped his palm against his coat hem and unfolded the oiled paper. Inside lay a perfectly round egg, radiating an uncanny aura and a stench so foul it made him want to retch.
A faint, ominous premonition stirred in Wei Yuan's heart. "Where did this come from?"
"When I struck him, it popped out. Then I found a sheet of paper on him and just used it to wrap it up."
Wei Yuan suddenly recalled what the demon blade Qiyue had said earlier, and an uneasy feeling flared. He looked at Feng Tingyu's fair, translucent hands—spotless and immaculate—while his own were smudged with greasy, yellowish-brown slime.
Gritting his teeth, Wei Yuan first stowed the egg of questionable origin into his storage treasure, then noticed that there appeared to be writing on the oiled paper.
Suppressing his disgust, he coated his hands in Dao power and smoothed the sheet out. A design diagram was drawn across the paper, accompanied by dense annotations. In bold characters at the top of the diagram were three words: "Creation Pool."
Wei Yuan swept it with his spiritual sense and suddenly realized the foul grease on the paper was an indispensable material for constructing a Creation Pool. Keeping his composure, he wiped his hands thoroughly on his coat hem, stripped off the outer robe, stowed it into his storage pouch, and put on a fresh one.
Only after doing all this could Wei Yuan no longer resist asking Feng Tingyu, "How did your hands not get dirty?"
"My hands found the thing very repulsive, so I supported it with Dao power the entire time and never let it touch them," Feng Tingyu replied. "Oh, and my hands say they don't want to shake hands with you for seven days."
Wei Yuan was speechless. He pressed further, "Did this thing get sliced off or fall out?"
"Isn't it the same either way? It seemed to be growing on his body, and then I lopped it off with my blade. But my blade didn't seem too happy about it either."
Wei Yuan finally gave up all hope.
In an exceedingly foul mood, he turned his gaze toward the two surviving black-clad leaders. Wei Yuan had a system when it came to killing: those with high cultivation but weak treasures were generally executed, while those with low cultivation but formidable treasures were spared for questioning.
As for the rest, those with high cultivation and great treasures were judged on his mood; those with low cultivation and poor treasures were swatted dead in passing, hardly remembered.
By now, the masks of the two leaders had naturally been stripped away, exposing their true faces. Their customary treasures and personal collections were laid out on the ground beside them for appraisal.
One of them looked somewhat familiar to Wei Yuan. Searching his memory, he recalled seeing the man at the King of Wei's evening banquet, where he had stood as a fierce, formidable general under the King of Wei's command.
Were these assassins sent by the King of Wei? Yet Wei Yuan doubted the King of Wei possessed the resources for such an ambitious strike.
"Who are you people?"
The general glared at Wei Yuan with a vicious sneer. "Daring to meddle in the grand designs of the Left Prime Minister and the Crown Prince—you are a dead man!"
Wei Yuan laughed. "So you turned to the Crown Prince as well. It seems the King of Wei is truly finished. And which eye of yours saw me meddling in their affairs?"
"I saw it with my own eyes just now!" the general barked.
"Oh, saw it with your own eyes? Then gouge out both of them."
Two soldiers acted instantly. The general let out a bloodcurdling scream as his eyes were reduced to two bloody sockets.
Wei Yuan asked again, "Which eye of yours saw me meddling in the affairs of the Left Prime Minister and the Crown Prince?"
Trembling all over, the general unleashed a torrent of curses, refusing to beg for mercy.
Wei Yuan said, "Martial Uncle Sun, cripple his dharma aspect, but keep him alive."
Sun Yu made no sound. The Cauldron-Bearing Poison Scorpion manifested, spitting a cloud of toxic mist laced with alchemical fire straight onto the general, riddling his dharma aspect with countless holes. The general passed out from the agony, only to wake a moment later. He felt as though the entire world had changed; his spiritual sense was completely gone.
Shocked and enraged, he choked out, "Y-You... you vicious monster!"
Wei Yuan replied calmly, "Opposing me brings this end. Your master might escape unscathed, but dogs like you will not only die, you will die miserably. I will spare your life. Be sure to report everything that happened here to your master in full detail. Leave nothing out."
Seeing Wei Yuan glance his way, the other leader offered a bitter smile before speaking: "I am the younger brother of the Left Prime Minister. If Lord Wei can show mercy, I will do everything in my power to speak well of you before my elder brother and the Crown Prince once I return."
"Speak well of me?" Wei Yuan said coolly. "What good is speaking well? The Great Jin is beset by troubles within and threats without. The Crown Prince holds the throne firmly in his grasp, yet instead of thinking about how to resist foreign enemies, he wastes his days concocting these useless schemes.
"I will spare your life as well. Carry a message for me: I have sent both the King of Chu and Consort Yuan back to the capital. If anyone has the guts, go ahead and lay a finger on either of them. Furthermore, tell the Crown Prince to deliver the seal of the Qingyang Military Commissioner of Great Tang at once. If he refuses to confer the title, I will turn to the State of Zhao to grant it."
The Left Prime Minister's brother fell silent for a moment, then said, "I will deliver the message."
"Word for word. Do not alter a single character."
"...This openly challenges the sovereign's authority," the brother said. "The Crown Prince cannot possibly agree."
Wei Yuan chuckled. "That is why you still need experience. He will certainly agree."
The man fell silent.
Wei Yuan pointed at the ground strewn with corpses. "Three thousand elites... Wouldn't they have been better used fighting Northern Liao? Squandered here against me, they couldn't even make a splash. Even if another thirty thousand come, the result will be the same. Do you agree?"
Whether he believed it or not, the man had to nod.
Satisfied, Wei Yuan ordered the blinded general with the crippled dharma aspect stripped bare and tied to a tree.
As for the Left Prime Minister's brother, Sun Yu blew a puff of poisonous smoke over him, ensuring he would fall gravely ill upon his return and remain unable to channel magic power for three years. Only then did Wei Yuan release him.
By this time, another force arrived from the rear—over two hundred Imperial Guards. Beholding the field blanketed in black-clad corpses, they were scared out of their wits. Wei Yuan ordered them to change back into their standard uniforms and escort Consort Yuan on her journey back to the capital.
The ambushers targeting Consort Yuan had been deployed by the Crown Prince, whereas the sudden appearance of the strange Scenery Command cultivator was tied to the Arhat's world. Wei Yuan was uncertain whether the two sides had established a formal connection, but reasoned they most likely had; otherwise, they could hardly have coordinated so seamlessly.
Even so, that bizarre figure had taken a strike from the Void-Extinguishing Dagger. His mindscape world was shattered by at least ten percent. With such grievous injuries, there was no telling how long it would take to recover; his cultivation might even drop.
No matter how formidable an organization might be, cultivators at the Scenery Command Great Perfection were hardly commonplace. Wei Yuan estimated they would not be able to dispatch a second one anytime soon.
With the convoy reorganized, Wei Yuan's troops withdrew. The guns and artillery were unloaded, and the Imperial Guards took charge.
The convoy set out once more, heading east. Consort Yuan leaned out of the carriage window and waved to Wei Yuan.
Wei Yuan nodded slightly in farewell.
The carriages gradually faded into the distance.
Qingming's forces had finished clearing the battlefield. The Smoke and Fire of the Mortal World tallied the results: a total of three thousand black-clad deathsworn slain, one hundred Dao Foundation cultivators, and four Dharma Aspects. The seized spoils amounted to nine hundred thousand taels of immortal silver.
Wei Yuan sighed. These expendable deathsworn truly had little to offer. With so many men, the belongings on all of them combined could not even reach a million taels. But on second thought, it made sense; anyone who possessed wealth would never sell their lives for such dirty work.
The army set off, returning to Qingming.
The young King of Chu also accompanied Consort Yuan back to the capital. Bearing the karmic ties of an Arhat, he would not die easily, nor could he be manipulated with ease.
As they drew near Qingming, the cultivators' expressions shifted simultaneously as they sensed the unmistakable aura of a heavenly tribulation.
This tribulation felt both distant and near, as though it were inside Qingming, yet at the same time outside it.
Wei Yuan soared into the air and flew toward Qingming, the other cultivators following in swift succession. This heavenly tribulation was extraordinary, carrying an exceptionally bizarre aura.
Just before crossing into Qingming, Wei Yuan remembered something and hastily pulled out a silk scarf to tie over his face before flying inside to search for the source of the tribulation. Yet after circling Qingming several times, he could not determine where the heavenly tribulation was!
The cultivators of the Palace of Grand Beginning experienced the same confusion, finding nothing.
Wei Yuan then reviewed the cultivators within Qingming who might be undergoing tribulation, only to discover that Bao Yun was nowhere to be found. Cultivators from the Palace of Grand Beginning had always come and gone as they pleased, and no one knew where she had gone.
The aura of heavenly tribulation lingered for nearly half a day before finally dispersing.
A typical heavenly tribulation lasted about the time it took an incense stick to burn, concluding after several lightning strikes.
Wei Yuan's own tribulations had been far more intricate—frequent, ferocious, and specifically tailored to counter him. Practically none of his advance preparations had ever proven useful. Some were blessed by heaven and earth, while others were singled out for hardship; Wei Yuan clearly fell into the latter category.
Zhang Sheng's tribulation, on the other hand, was an extreme of a different kind—more than five hundred continuous tiers of heavenly tribulation. Toward the end, facing over three hundred Mortal Tier flying swords had left her thoroughly exasperated, treating it purely as a crucible to temper her Dao heart.
Yet this tribulation in Qingming had dragged on for an unusually long time without any noticeable rise or fall. It was connected to this world, yet detached from it, thoroughly uncanny. No one could tell what kind of tribulation it was. Wei Yuan rushed to the Hall of Merits to search through the texts, but found no answers.
By dusk, a soft, ethereal voice suddenly sounded in Wei Yuan's ear: "Come see me in Ding'an City."
Wei Yuan was surprised and delighted. It was Bao Yun's voice!
Taking to the air at once, he reached Ding'an City moments later and stepped into Bao Yun's residence.
In the newly constructed Ding'an City, Bao Yun's castellan estate was several times larger than before. A five-story main pavilion had been erected, flanked by a rear garden and several side courtyards. The main pavilion was lavish and elegant, with vermilion pillars supporting lotus-shaped bracket sets, a glazed-tile roof, and meticulously swept eaves.
The garden was arranged with equal care. Blue bricks and white tiles enclosed the rear garden, where lush gardenias peeked over the wall, April peach blossoms swayed in the breeze, mist coiled around immortal trees, and scattered patches of moss dotted the rockeries. Bamboo blinds made of Xiangfei bamboo hung inside, behind which lay pebble paths bordered by half-man-high asparagus ferns, winding toward a side courtyard. Inside that courtyard, covered corridors twisted and turned, and bronze incense burners shaped like wind chimes hung beneath the eaves, trailing faint wisps of smoke that nourished the spiritual sense. Several spirit lanterns held embedded fluorite that cast a hazy blue glow as one walked past, almost as though alive.
Bao Yun was unlike the other cultivators of the Palace of Grand Beginning. Born into the Bao family, she had been accustomed to luxury from childhood. Forcing her to live frugally in a cramped, crude room would only harm her Dao heart.
Nor were the cultivators of the Palace of Grand Beginning the sort to endure hardship just for the sake of it; most simply found such comforts troublesome and unnecessary. When they did not have to lift a finger, they naturally preferred to live as comfortably as possible.
Xu Henshui, for instance, had arranged his own courtyard to rival the Jade Pool of the Immortals. He had originally planned to plant nine more immortal orchids, but upon realizing Wei Yuan was running short, he shoved them all over to Wei Yuan at once, his ambitions plain for all to see.
Chuhe was another example. The materials in his small courtyard had been swapped out repeatedly. The buildings looked simple and rustic, exuding the serene charm of a mountain retreat, yet many of the stones in the walls were precious, rare minerals unearthed from deep underground.
Sitting in that room alone doubled one's cultivation speed and boosted karmic luck by fifty percent.
The old Daoist also loved hot pot. Fortunately, the guinea pigs bred at an astonishing rate. Even with the old Daoist and his three adoptive fathers eating as much as they could, the numbers only multiplied, threatening to overrun the place.
The old Daoist fared well enough, his figure unchanged thanks to his profound cultivation. Xu Wenwu, however, had grown noticeably rounder, adding meat to his dharma body at the rate of a jin per day.
Seeing the examples of Xu Henshui and Chuhe, Wei Yuan had taken note. Coupled with the lack of lodging for Consort Yuan upon her arrival, he had launched large-scale construction, raising a new immortal city beneath the main peak.
When construction first began, the cultivators had all called it unnecessary busywork. Yet once the city was finished, every one of them quietly moved in. Even Sun Yu, Xu Henshui, and Chuhe, who already had their own dwellings, claimed a residence in the immortal city without turning it down.
Thus, when rebuilding Ding'an City, Wei Yuan had deliberately modeled Bao Yun's residence on the scenes he had witnessed at the Bao family estate.
Now, however, this vast manor was deathly still. The moment Wei Yuan stepped through the front gate, darkness seemed to descend. What had been late dusk outside turned abruptly into early night.
Inside and outside the courtyard were two entirely different worlds.
Every room was lit, burning brightly throughout the estate, yet a tomb-like silence reigned. There was not a whisper of human presence, not even the sound of wind or the rustle of leaves. It was impossible to tell who had lit the lamps in the rooms.
Frowning slightly, Wei Yuan extended his spiritual sense to survey the surroundings, but found nothing amiss. The only abnormality was a strand of heavenly tribulation aura permeating the courtyard, one that made any living creature instinctively tremble.
Wei Yuan walked toward the main pavilion, where the tribulation aura was thickest. The moment he stepped through the front doors, the lamplight in the rooms shifted abruptly into a deep, vivid red!
This red was neither fiery nor bright, but thick, slimy, and dark, seeming to drip from the ceiling and seep from the walls as if composed of countless squirming particles, every patch of crimson staring intently at Wei Yuan.
Ignoring the surrounding red, he hurried up the stairs, ascending floor by floor. The higher he climbed, the deeper the red grew, and the more violently it squirmed.
Reaching the top floor and stepping into Bao Yun's bedchamber, Wei Yuan saw a woman clad in a bright red bridal gown sitting quietly by the bed. A veil concealed her face, but her figure appeared to be Bao Yun's.
Wei Yuan's heart tightened. He tried to mobilize his domain power, only to discover the entire residence was blanketed by a bizarre force. The power of the Peerless Dao Domain could not be drawn upon, and when he attempted to manifest the Smoke and Fire of the Mortal World, it too was blocked by this uncanny power from beyond the heavens.
His heart sank. Had something happened to Bao Yun?
Just then, the woman on the bed spoke. "The hour grows late. It is time to rest."
It was Bao Yun's voice, but it was flat, mechanical, and devoid of emotion, oozing a chilling detachment from within that did not belong to a living soul.
Wei Yuan's expression darkened, and he stepped forward to tear off the veil.
Yet before he could move, an icy will suddenly manifested, flooding the entire chamber. An extreme chill seeped into his flesh, instantly coating the surface of his body in a layer of frost that made every step an ordeal.
Wei Yuan exerted his full strength. The Dao power within him roared to life like a blazing furnace, instantly banishing the freezing cold. Taking a great stride forward, he whipped off the woman's bridal veil!
Beneath it was Bao Yun's face.
Only now, her delicate features were deathly pale, her eyes filled with despair and panic.
She said to Wei Yuan, "Husband, please undress. Let us retire early."
Her voice remained mechanical and cold, like that of an inanimate corpse.
Yet the movements of her lips told a completely different story. From her silent lip movements, Wei Yuan read the words:
"I am already dead. Run!"
A surge of hot blood rushed straight to Wei Yuan's head!
Chapter 675