In the illusory realm, danger had lurked only in the first half, ending the moment Xuanlu made her appearance. After that came taking stock of the harvest.
Wei Yuan produced a sheet of paper and said, "This is the greatest gain."
Zhang Sheng took it and glanced over it. Seeing the words "Periodic Table of Elements" written at the top, she said, "Didn't Xu Wenwu mention this before as well? Hmm, yours is basically entirely incomplete."
Wei Yuan's table was far more than merely incomplete—it held only hydrogen, oxygen, carbon, magnesium, iron, aluminum, gold, and silver, and he could not even guarantee the order was correct. As far as tables went, the one Xu Wenwu had produced contained rather more.
The only catch was that Xu Wenwu's table had included steel alongside iron.
Wei Yuan explained, "While reading books in the illusory realm this time, I unexpectedly found that although much of their knowledge was fragmented, it could corroborate itself. Take this periodic table of elements: its precise arrangement isn't actually very important. That is the heavenly dao of their world, not necessarily the Great Dao of ours.
"What truly matters is the methodology of differentiating materials by their infinitesimal physical structures. We cultivators enjoy a great advantage over mortals: a dharma idol is enough to see microscopic organisms—the so-called bacteria. Reaching Scenery Command allows one to discern microscopic structures with divine sense. An immortal can even alter matter directly at the level of minute structures; the legendary turning of stone into gold is precisely this.
"With the concept behind drafting this table, we will eventually fill it out sooner or later. And once it is complete, it will inevitably bring massive leaps in all kinds of materials. In truth, that is what I mean: the greatest harvest was seeing that world and truly living in it as an ordinary person. Through that, I learned what a world where even mortals can live in prosperity ought to look like, saving us countless decades of blind exploration."
A smile finally surfaced on Zhang Sheng's face. "You are already thinking about problems from the perspective of an entire world."
Wei Yuan paused in surprise. "Ah, is it really that grand?"
"Qingming is already gradually becoming different from the rest of the mortal world. Once it completely transforms into the world you desire, you will know just how grand it is."
Praise had fallen out of the blue, leaving Wei Yuan feeling rather bashful. But Zhang Sheng was not done; she stared intently at Wei Yuan, studying him closely.
Under her gaze, Wei Yuan grew somewhat uneasy. He carefully reviewed his recent actions in his mind. It felt as though everything that ought to be concealed had been concealed, and there seemed to be nothing else left to hide, so why wasn't his master finished?
Zhang Sheng suddenly said, "Strange. From your account, driving the wraith's soul out of its host body was practically equivalent to plundering most of its surviving origin soul. Given that wraith's stature, cultivation, and accumulations, you ought to have undergone some sort of change. I can see the divine glow about you is already different. Have you felt nothing yourself?"
Wei Yuan startled. He probed the Smoke and Fire of the Mortal World closely, but before he could make sense of it, his expression changed abruptly. "There's a heavenly tribulation inside the Smoke and Fire of the Mortal World!"
The two immediately entered the Smoke and Fire of the Mortal World by their respective means. Wei Yuan pinpointed the tribulation's location at once. It was not in just one place, but two!
One tribulation was in the east and one in the west: one was by the seashore of the great island where Central City stood, while the other was on a desolate island hundreds of li away.
Standing by the seashore was Jun Weizhi, who had prepared nothing at all, simply waiting there for the tribulation lightning to strike. On the island, however, Han Li had laid down an intricate array, prepared seven or eight magic treasures, and hung a row of pouches across his body filled with assorted medicinal pills. Beneath his robes, he even wore three layers of immortal armor, effectively arming himself like an iron turtle.
Just as Wei Yuan moved to go over and get a closer look, someone grabbed him. Turning around, he saw that the one holding him back was not Zhang Sheng, but Maiden Yin-Yang. Zhang Sheng was already nowhere to be seen.
Maiden Yin-Yang said, "If you ever find someone so thoroughly irritating that you want him to perish, it won't be too late to watch up close then. You can see just as well standing right here."
Wei Yuan was thoroughly astonished. "You can speak?"
Maiden Yin-Yang rolled her eyes at him. "I always could."
A bad premonition suddenly welled up within Wei Yuan. He asked, "Then how much do you remember?"
"If even they can undergo tribulations, I remember everything since my birth crystal clear."
Since her birth... Wei Yuan immediately felt blood rush to his face, surging hotter and hotter.
At this moment, Maiden Yin-Yang wore a long dress with a base of platinum, accented with scarlet and ice blue. She looked ethereal and translucent. But as Wei Yuan looked over, the dress suddenly vanished.
Wei Yuan was startled. He hurriedly focused his gaze—sure enough, his eyes had played tricks on him, and the clothes were still there. Just as he breathed a sigh of relief, he watched the garments slip off one by one, pooling at her feet. This breathtaking sight seemed hauntingly familiar.
Wei Yuan blinked rapidly. As expected, his eyes were playing tricks... but this time, the garments gradually melted into her body, becoming part of her form, which amounted to vanishing once again.
"Th-this..."
"Clothing is merely an outward appearance. In truth, it is all part of my body, formed with a single thought. You are the Creation Immortal Venerable, after all; if your Dao heart is this unsteady, how will you guide this world onto the proper path and achieve a grotto-heaven in the future?"
This scolding came out of nowhere yet sounded quite reasonable. Feeling ashamed, Wei Yuan quickly and humbly admitted his fault. That was one of his virtues: whenever he was genuinely in the wrong, he accepted it humbly and made earnest efforts to improve.
Seeing his attitude, Maiden Yin-Yang's expression softened considerably. Extending an arm, her wide sleeve fluttering in the wind, she said, "I crafted this fabric based on the aura of immortal flora. It feels very comfortable to wear. Why don't you try feeling it?"
Wei Yuan also thought her outfit today was exceptionally lovely, so he reached out and touched the sleeve. But the sensation where his hand rested was completely different from the light, airy drape he had imagined; it was silky smooth and remarkably supple, like...
Although the sleeve looked like a sleeve, if one did not rely on sight and judged solely by touch, it was not clothing at all, but certain parts of the body that lay far beyond where Wei Yuan's hand ought to have reached.
Wei Yuan's newly regained equilibrium in his Dao heart instantly went wobbling again.
Maiden Yin-Yang drew back her sleeve and vanished on the spot, a faint chuckle seemingly echoing in the air.
Wei Yuan finally understood: what he had seen was not her outfit of the day, but her skin of the day.
He hurriedly composed himself and turned back to watch the tribulations.
By now, the tribulation lightning had descended with tremendous momentum, dazzling lightning cascading down like a waterfall.
Even among dharma idol tribulations, this lightning would rank near the very top. Yet watching it left Wei Yuan with a distinctly sour taste in his mouth: Wasn't this just ordinary lightning? Why didn't it carry fire, water, or a trace of vitality and death qi? If tribulations were only lightning, why had he needed to suffer so terribly back then? As for lightning rods, their production capacity was virtually limitless!
Several curved rings of light orbited Jun Weizhi, spinning at high speed around him and sweeping across the surrounding space, completing multiple revolutions in every single instant. Countless starlights materialized around him; each time a tribulation bolt struck, a cluster of starlights soared into the air, intercepting it midway until both were extinguished together.
This manner of facing the tribulation was as magnificent as could be, effortless and poetic. In poise and elegance, if it didn't outclass Wei Yuan by a hundred and eight thousand li, it certainly beat him by seven or eight hundred.
On the distant island, a great array had risen. Han Li weathered the tribulation while taking inventory of his supplies, thoroughly composed and unhurried. Judging from the size of the tribulation cloud, he would likely still have half of his magic treasures and pills left when it was all over.
The more Wei Yuan watched, the more annoyed he felt. He was sorely tempted to summon some heavenly thunder to spice things up for the two of them. But just then, a thought struck him: What tribulation were these two actually undergoing?
Looking closer at Jun Weizhi and Han Li, both had faint anomalous phenomena appearing above their heads. Wei Yuan realized with a jolt: they were undergoing the dharma idol tribulation—they had already reached the Dharma Idol realm!
How had these two suddenly attained dharma idols? Had the shackles of heaven and earth been broken? Wei Yuan urgently inspected the Smoke and Fire of the Mortal World, only to discover that at some point, primal chaos qi had covered more than half of it, and a spark of spiritual flame had ignited at its core. At this moment, the entire world was like a newborn babe that had gained a heartbeat.
Wisps of primal chaos qi constantly emerged from the void and settled onto the Smoke and Fire of the Mortal World. Examining it closely, Wei Yuan discovered that this primal chaos qi was not derived from refining the corpses of the Liao Clan; rather, it was drawn from the innate breathing and respiring of the Smoke and Fire of the Mortal World itself.
In other words, the Smoke and Fire of the Mortal World was now a world that could breathe, capable of naturally taking in and expelling the origin qi of heaven and earth. Without any intervention, it could cultivate on its own, slowly and steadily.
Chapter 766