After inspecting the Smoke and Fire of the Mortal World and taking another look at Qingming, Wei Yuan had the lingering feeling that he had overlooked something. Following his inclination, he possessed a dharma idol warrior and stepped into the Medicine Garden.
Entering the garden, Wei Yuan discovered that it had expanded yet again, gaining at least three to four thousand mu. Old Daoist Chuhe's pace of enlarging the Medicine Garden closely trailed Qingming's expansion. If not for the more than two hundred assistants the old daoist had just acquired, Wei Yuan would have genuinely doubted whether he could manage it all.
The spiritual energy in the newly cleared area was quite ordinary, barely scraping the edge of being spiritual land, and just barely at that. Perfected Chuhe had built several large shelters here, and was currently directing cultivators to drive cattle and horses into them.
The cattle and horses all looked exceptionally fine. The horses were warhorses, but Wei Yuan could not tell what breed the cattle were. He walked over to Old Daoist Chuhe and asked, "Where did these oxen come from?"
Stroking his beard, Perfected Chuhe said, "Those bluish-green ones have the bloodline of the Azure-Backed Divine Ox, though it's run a bit thin. The dark red ones over there are descendants of the Doushuai Vermilion Ox. These are the last of the spirit beasts; any further lineage will produce top-grade ordinary beasts. But ordinary beasts are precisely what I'm after.
"Once we have plenty of breeding bulls, we can breed them on a large scale and hand them over to mortals to raise. In less than five years, Qingming will be teeming with herds of cattle and horses, and everyone will have meat to eat."
Spiritual oxen were one thing, but warhorses were strategic military resources. Perfected Chuhe had bought these spiritual oxen and horses from merchant caravans, meticulously selecting each breed to propagate them himself. Once fine warhorses were bred in large numbers, they could even be sold outside. Such steeds were in even greater demand than suits of armor.
Just as he was explaining, a warhorse neighed nearby. A black steed reared onto its hind legs, snorting spirals of azure whirlwinds from its nostrils.
Paying no more heed to Wei Yuan, Old Daoist Chuhe dashed forward in a flash, snatched the reins from a cultivator's hands, and personally calmed the horse. Then he turned around in fury. "What happened?! Why did you provoke it?"
The cultivator protested indignantly, "This horse is stupid and stubborn! I kindly tried to teach it the ways of survival, but it insisted on arguing with me, claiming I was wrong. Your disciple ended up getting into an argument with it. Who knew that after failing to out-talk me within three sentences, it would try to raise its hooves!"
With a sweep of his wide sleeve, Old Daoist Chuhe sent the cultivator tumbling into a somersault. He roared, "You dared argue with it?! Did I teach you the Beast Control Heavenly Heart just so you could pick fights? These cattle and horses are far more precious than you useless trash! If you don't attend to them properly, how do you expect to consolidate your Dao Foundation? How do you expect to take another step forward?"
The more the old daoist spoke, the angrier he grew. Unleashing his Dao power, he whipped the man head and face in a merciless thrashing.
Only when the cultivator repeatedly cried out admissions of fault did Old Daoist Chuhe's anger subside slightly. Then he barked harshly, "Go over there and apologize!"
Reluctantly, the cultivator approached the rare-breed spiritual horse and mumbled an apology. To his dismay, the horse let out a long neigh and jerked its head to the side.
In his guise as the dharma idol warrior, Wei Yuan asked an onlooker cultivator nearby, "What did the horse say?"
The surrounding cultivators had all cultivated the Beast Control Heavenly Heart. One immediately answered, "It says it couldn't hear."
The cultivator had no choice but to say "I'm sorry" much louder. But the spiritual horse chimed in again: "You think a simple sorry settles it?"
A flare of nameless fury surged within the cultivator. "What more do you want?!"
The spiritual horse reared up and neighed long and loud: "Look at him, everyone! What kind of attitude is that?"
Perfected Chuhe's face turned livid, and he looked ready to take matters into his own hands again. Forced to swallow his pride under the circumstances, the cultivator humbled himself and apologized meekly to the horse. Only then did the horse settle down and say, "Wouldn't it have been simpler if you'd acted like this from the start? Now tell me: when you were arguing with me just now, what were you really thinking in that head of yours?"
What was he thinking? It even wanted him to explain his inner thoughts?! The cultivator finally snapped and yelled, "To hell with this! I quit!"
"Hmm? You quit?" Wei Yuan caught the key phrase. Killing intent instantly flared from the avatar, its gaze turning ice-cold.
At that moment, the spiritual horse lifted a hoof, pointing at the cultivator. "Humph, see? He's not even pretending anymore! From the very first glance I took of you, I knew you were no good..."
The cultivator roared, "You're no good horse either!"
"Scumbag!"
"Worthless nag!"
Wei Yuan stepped between the cultivator and the spiritual horse, cutting off their bickering. The horse had originally intended to kick Wei Yuan, but the moment it sensed his aura, all its bristling hairs instantly smoothed down.
Wei Yuan looked at the cultivator and asked calmly, "You just said you quit? If you quit, where do you plan to go?"
The cultivator sized Wei Yuan up and retorted, "And who are you? Where I go is none of your business! I'm a Dao Foundation cultivator now. If I find some small place out there to settle in, who wouldn't have to address me as a Dao Foundation Patriarch? Why should I stay here and take crap from a bunch of cows and horses?"
Furiously incensed, the spiritual horse stamped a hoof down toward him.
Fortunately, the surrounding cultivators had also cultivated the Beast Control Heavenly Heart. They quickly held the horse back, some feeding it beans and others brushing its coat, finally managing to soothe it.
Wei Yuan said indifferently, "Your Dao Foundation was given by Qingming. You may leave if you wish, but leave your Dao Foundation behind."
The cultivator was stubborn and reckless. Stiffening his neck, he shouted, "I cultivated this Dao Foundation myself! What the hell does it have to do with Qingming now?! Besides, what kind of thing are you to poke your nose into my business? Did I toil through blood and sweat to forge a Dao Foundation just to bow my head and suffer humiliation from others? Is there no law under heaven anymore?"
Wei Yuan frowned slightly. Not bothering to waste another word, he sealed the man's sea of consciousness with a strand of Dao power and commanded, "Cripple his Dao Foundation and expel him from Qingming."
Another cultivator of the Beast Control Heavenly Heart suddenly stepped forward and shouted, "Why won't you let him speak?"
Wei Yuan asked coldly, "Do you wish to leave as well?"
The cultivator felt some fear, yet he summoned his courage and called out loudly, "I don't want to leave! But I want to defend his right to speak! Which law states that a person isn't even allowed to speak?"
Wei Yuan said, "I made myself quite clear just now."
The cultivator remained blocking Wei Yuan's path, saying obstinately, "No matter what he did, you cannot forbid him from speaking!"
"Out of the way!" Wei Yuan had lost his patience.
Biting his lower lip, the cultivator spread his arms wide and refused to budge.
Wei Yuan finally looked at him squarely and said, "He violated his blood oath. My refraining from activating the curse oath is already utmost leniency. Knowing this full well, you still quibble on his behalf. Just how much silver did the State of Zhao pay you to risk your life like this?"
"The State of Zhao?" The cultivator looked somewhat bewildered.
"Take him away and interrogate him thoroughly." At Wei Yuan's command, several cultivators on duty rushed forward and hauled this cultivator off as well.
By now, Wei Yuan's good mood had completely evaporated. He asked Perfected Chuhe, "Have there been many cultivators like this recently?"
Perfected Chuhe sighed. "I hadn't heard of any before. Perhaps too many attained the Dao Foundation in this batch, so the good and bad are mixed together."
Wei Yuan's divine sense swept across the entire Medicine Garden. The bustling, noisy area fell abruptly silent. Many of the spiritual oxen and horses that had been restless fell as quiet as cicadas in winter; some even had their legs give way and collapsed straight onto their haunches.
Amid the silence, the smile on Perfected Chuhe's face gradually faded.
Wei Yuan finally said, "Martial Uncle, you have always been generous and kind-hearted, spending more time with spirit beasts than with people. But no matter how cunning a spirit beast might be, it cannot compare to the fickleness of the human heart. Life in Qingming may have improved a little now, but our situation is actually as precarious as a stack of eggs.
"I cannot be fair to everyone, nor can I satisfy every person. Right now, I must concentrate all resources to make us as strong as possible and win every battle we can win. Only then, when a formidable enemy comes knocking one day, will we not regret failing to strive hard enough."
Wei Yuan sighed and continued, "I know you wanted to plead for those two, Martial Uncle, but they truly broke the rules. It is best not to say words that shouldn't be spoken. Otherwise, from now on everyone will think they can do whatever they want just by hiding in the Medicine Garden behind your back."
Chuhe parted his lips, then gave a bitter smile. "It's my fault for being too soft-eared and used to playing the indiscriminate nice guy."
"It is no matter. These cattle and horses are very precious, which is wonderful. Have the guinea pigs grown this numerous already? Doesn't that mean by the end of the year, there will be one for every person? Wait... in that shelter over there..."
At the mention of this, the old daoist instantly perked up. "That shelter is full of Brother Snake's descendants and kin! Come, let me take you to have a look!"
Wei Yuan followed Chuhe into the shelter. Opening the door and glancing inside, he immediately felt his scalp tingle with numbness.
Inside the enclosure were several kinds of terrain and multiple microclimates. Everywhere squirmed a dense tangle of snakes, large and small. Some were entwined with one another, winding into an enormous ball of serpents.
Wei Yuan's expression grew a little strange. "Are these for eating too?"
Chuhe hurriedly replied, "They're all kin and relations of Brother Snake—how could we eat them? I keep them here for three reasons: first, they shed skins every year, which are top-grade medicinal ingredients. Second, they yield copious amounts of venom and venomous sand, which are also worth a fortune. Third, those that haven't hatched don't count as part of the snake clan, and those without vitality don't count either. So there are still plenty of eggs we can eat on ordinary days! These eggs are exceptionally nourishing, and they taste wonderfully fragrant when stir-fried!"
Wei Yuan nodded. Sure enough, Chuhe had his own unique ingenuity when it came to planning spiritual pet and spiritual medicine enterprises.
Even so, Wei Yuan had some doubts. He could not understand why the old daoist had suddenly brought back so many spirit beasts for breeding. Previously, Chuhe had merely raised a few guinea pigs solely for his own and his adoptive fathers' hot pot meals.
Chuhe explained that ever since the celestial dog's head was set down in Qingming, the spiritual vitality of all Qingming had surged dramatically in favor of spirit beasts. As long as these beasts were raised over time and granted a bit of karmic luck, they might even advance in rank in the future. With every rank a spirit beast advanced, its value increased tenfold or more.
This was an angle Wei Yuan had indeed overlooked, but fortunately Perfected Chuhe had caught on.
Wei Yuan went on to inspect the spiritual herbs. Just as he was about to depart, that spiritual horse suddenly broke free from the cultivators and dashed up to Wei Yuan, declaring, "I want to be your mount!"
Wei Yuan was stunned, and Old Daoist Chuhe wore an equally astonished expression. The spiritual horse's voice and tone were exceedingly bizarre, yet it was undoubtedly speaking human tongue.
Seeing that Wei Yuan did not respond and several cultivators were about to pull it away, the spiritual horse panicked and shouted, "Don't listen to that scumbag's nonsense! I'm a good horse, and no one has ever ridden me!"
Wei Yuan and Chuhe exchanged glances.
Lowering his voice, Wei Yuan whispered, "Martial Uncle, could this... be a newly adopted father of yours?"
Old Daoist Chuhe declared with utter certainty, "How could that be! It's still a bit short of the dharma idol realm—at most an adoptive brother!"
"Oh..." Wei Yuan nodded and said to the spiritual horse, "Qingming has countless cultivators. Why seek me out in particular?"
The spiritual horse sighed. "Originally, I had my eye on the Domain Lord. His reputation isn't great, but at least his position is high! Yet after waiting for days, he never showed up. And among the rest, I didn't see anyone decent—until I met you.
"Truth be told, you're merely average-looking, have ordinary bone structure, and your Dao path is severed. Other than that, you don't really have any shortcomings, and you're better than those Dao Foundation fellows. I can't wait any longer, so it can only be you."
The avatar Wei Yuan was currently using was a dharma idol warrior that had only newly entered the dharma idol realm. What the spiritual horse said was not wrong in the least, but no matter how he listened to it, it grated on his ears.
With Wei Yuan's present strength, an ordinary spiritual horse was merely a burden. However, he was not in his true body right now, but rather a dharma idol warrior; pairing with a spiritual horse at the pinnacle of the Dao Foundation realm was passable enough. Furthermore, while this horse's cultivation was ordinary, its spirituality was startlingly high, making it quite the rare breed.
Thus Wei Yuan nodded and said, "Fine. From now on, you shall be my mount."
The spiritual horse let out a long neigh, filled with joy.
Wei Yuan took his leave of Chuhe. As one man and one horse departed the Medicine Garden, Wei Yuan asked, "Can you fly?"
"For short distances, yes. For long journeys, it's a bit strenuous."
Wei Yuan nodded, mounted the horse, and galloped off in the direction of Ding'an City. With a light leap, the spiritual horse cleared ten zhang at a bound, sailing straight over any obstacles. It moved as swift as lightning, far faster than this dharma idol warrior could fly on its own.
Midway through the run, the spiritual horse suddenly said, "We have a deal, then! From now on, I will only let you ride me, and never let anyone else touch me! And you can't be fickle either, falling in love with every horse you see."
Wei Yuan had never liked letting others use his dedicated mount anyway, so he agreed on the spot.
"If you really do take a fancy to some other good-looking horse in the future, you're not allowed to..." The spiritual horse paused, seemed to sigh, and changed its tune: "Forget it, it's better if you just don't let me know. When that time comes, as long as you stop coming to look for me, I'll naturally understand that it's time to leave..."
Wei Yuan found its words rather bizarre, but he did not dwell on them. Having other matters to attend to, he spurred the horse on, heading straight for the high mountains outside Ding'an City.
Chapter 723