Middle-Class Immortal

The divide between immortal and mortal was no mere figure of speech; it was written plainly in their years. If calculated by an immortal's full lifespan, Old Mistress Bao had barely reached middle age. Even if she was past her prime bloom, she certainly retained her charm and grace. Yet most immortals of aristocratic houses had consumed pills that burned away lifespan to break through cultivation bottlenecks, so very few could truly live past twenty thousand years. Strictly speaking, though Old Mistress Bao was over eight thousand years older than the current Palace Master of the Palace of Grand Beginning, under ideal circumstances they might have kept each other company for ten thousand years—a fine romance in its own right. Only, one look at the old mistress's appearance showed that she had little life remaining. It was impossible to tell whether she had suffered grave wounds in her youth or taken some potent medicine to force her cultivation higher. Immortals cared about their dignity above all else, and there was an unwritten convention regarding their appearance: first, their visage had to keep their Dao heart clear and untroubled; second, it was meant to reflect their remaining lifespan as closely as possible. An appearance like Old Mistress Bao's suggested that her remaining days were few. Yet Yanshi was not Xuanyue. After asking a single question, he held his tongue, merely accompanying the old mistress as she stepped into Qingming, walking and looking about as they toured the domain. Near the Medicine Garden, the old mistress suddenly stopped, her gaze falling upon the immortal chicken. The immortal chicken let out a flurry of clucks, its feathers instantly bristling as it assumed a combat stance. The old mistress gave a strange look and said, "It is bizarre enough that an immortal chicken is kept here. But walking beside you, it seems hostile to both of us. Why is that? Does it not recognize you as the Palace Master of the Palace of Grand Beginning?" Yanshi hesitated, weighing his words before answering, "The immortal chicken does not have deep ties with the Palace of Grand Beginning. Strictly speaking, it is Wei Yuan's friend, and it has made itself at home here. That is roughly the gist of it." "How peculiar." The old mistress withdrew her gaze, and the immortal chicken's bristling feathers gradually smoothed down. Having completed the tour, the old mistress was quiet for a long while before speaking: "Everything I have seen and heard along the way has truly shaken this old woman. To think that while I was in secluded recuperation all these years, such a talent emerged in the mortal realm! "A full twenty thousand Dao Foundations! It dazzles my old eyes. No wonder the Nine Kingdoms consider someone a famed general if they trade one for two against the shamans, yet Wei Yuan consistently achieves ratios of one to five, one to eight, or even one to ten. "Surveying the past three thousand years, the Martial Ancestor reigns supreme in tyrannical might. But when it comes to transforming heaven and earth, we will likely have to look to Wei Yuan from now on." Yanshi had not anticipated such towering praise for Wei Yuan. He wanted to chime in with a few compliments, but for a moment, he could not find words to match her acclaim. The old mistress continued, "Yun-girl was disobedient and basically eloped from home, as we all know. But she is also an incomparable, peerless genius of this generation of our Bao family—and that is no boast of mine. How could such a prodigy be handed over to your Palace of Grand Beginning for nothing?" Yanshi nodded. In the past, there had always been established precedents for aristocratic scions studying at the Palace of Grand Beginning. The finest seeds of immortality were bound to return home to inherit immortal status and anchor their clans. Only when a clan's immortal ancestor was in the prime of life, or when another seed of immortality was present, could one choose to remain at the palace. Rebels like the Fifth Azure Void Immortal Lord, Bao Kongqing, were exceptionally rare. Yanshi naturally understood these conventions. He said at once, "I have no intention of breaking the old rules. Bao Yun is merely tempering herself here. Once she achieves the dharma idol stage, she would normally complete her apprenticeship. If she wishes to return and take charge of the Bao family in the future, I certainly will not stop her." This was the tacit understanding and balance forged between the aristocratic families and the Palace of Grand Beginning over thousands of years. Yanshi was not short-sighted; he would not rupture precedents upheld for generations for transient, selfish gains. In the three thousand-odd years since the palace's founding, as many as eight disciples had returned home after completing their studies and ascended to immortal status. As long as those immortals presided over their clans, their families had remained the palace's staunchest allies. On the contrary, during the years Bao Kongqing served as Palace Master, the relationship between the Bao family and the Palace of Grand Beginning had deteriorated to near-total enmity. At the time, the Bao family's immortal had almost sided with their foes. Thus, Yanshi was exceedingly cautious, leaving the choice to Bao Yun. The Bao family was now showing signs of rising above the rest; the glorious spectacle of three generations of immortals coexisting in the world seemed just around the corner. Even the Xiao family lagged slightly behind. Yet the old mistress said, "It is not entirely impossible for Yun-girl to stay at the Palace of Grand Beginning. After all, though my great-great-great-grandson is a bit foolish, unable to tell friend from foe, easily incited, and takes after his mother in looks... he still has plenty of immortal lifespan left. He can probably live another millennium or two, so he does not need Yun-girl to succeed him. But..." What was the story behind taking after his mother? Yanshi was utterly baffled. Yet in all matters, the word 'but' was what one feared most. He could only listen attentively. "...Back then, I said Wei Yuan was Bao Yun's husband, and you agreed at the time. That bracelet of mine barely qualifies as a priceless treasure, something a middle-class immortal like you would probably have to save for half a lifetime to afford. Using it as Yun-girl's dowry is no embarrassment..." "Hold on, Old Mistress. Please explain clearly first: what do you mean by 'middle-class immortal'?" "Someone who is better off than those below but falls short of those above, not as penny-pinching as Xu Wangu and Lu Changhe, possessing some spare wealth but not much, still having to budget carefully, and liable to be knocked back to square one if any major upheaval hits. That is a middle-class immortal. Lately, quite a few marvelous storybooks have taken 'the woes of the middle-class immortal' as their theme. Quite refreshing," the old mistress said with a beaming smile. Although Yanshi had been considered fabulously wealthy back when he was in the Scenery Command realm, Scenery Command and immortality were worlds apart. Standing before Old Mistress Bao and being branded a 'middle-class immortal', he could not muster an ounce of indignation. "This matter..." Yanshi trailed off in thought. Old Mistress Bao said with a smile, "What, you wouldn't take a seed of immortality given to you? If you want to go back on your word, that's fine—only six families heard it at the time, not many at all. But my bracelet has to be returned, doesn't it? If Wei Yuan cannot return it, you, as Palace Master, are duty-bound to settle the debt." The face of Ji Liuli flashed through Yanshi's mind. He could only sigh inwardly, then nodded and said, "What are you saying, Old Mistress? Naturally, my word stands." "Then it is settled. With this agreed upon, my heart is at ease. I shall return to rest quietly and strive to live until the day of Yun-girl's wedding." With that, the old mistress stepped into Immortal Heaven. Yanshi could not shake the feeling that something was amiss. Thinking carefully, he realized that after touring all of Qingming, the old mistress had not met with Bao Yun at all. Moreover, Yanshi felt something else was off. A subtle unnaturalness and eeriness hung over the entirety of Qingming. But under the suppression of the Peerless Dao Domain, Yanshi's divine sense was hampered; attempting to sweep across all of Qingming was an exhausting task. On the surface, everything in Qingming appeared normal, and Yanshi could find nothing out of place. By this time, the flames of war on the front line had gradually subsided. The shamans' offensive had slowed, showing signs of retreat. Ever since Wei Yuan was exiled, the Smoke and Fire of the Mortal World had been sealed, and the Yellow Springs Grotto-Heaven, left masterless, had ceased all activity, releasing the intercepted Heavenly Dao back to the world. As long as Wei Yuan did not return, the Yellow Springs Grotto-Heaven would naturally wither and die within a few decades. This was not an irreversible loss; another grotto-heaven of a different affinity could be cultivated to replace it later. Another major consequence was that the cultivators of Qingming could no longer enter the Smoke and Fire of the Mortal World through dreams. Fortunately, Wei Yuan had constructed numerous formations in advance, establishing nodes in the city lord manors of major cities, immortal cities, elixir halls, the Weaponsmith Workshop, infirmaries, and the Medicine Garden. Through these nodes, the power of the Smoke and Fire of the Mortal World could still be channeled, keeping Qingming running with reasonable normalcy. Every city was urgently expanding its city lord manor, converting them into administrative hubs. Without the Smoke and Fire of the Mortal World to assist, the existing bureaucracy could never handle such a mountain of affairs. After the chaos of the initial few days, Qingming miraculously regained its stability and order. Everyone performed their respective duties, keeping the wheel of Qingming rolling forward. Immortal Monarch Yanshi hovered in the air for a long time, but found nothing and could divine nothing clear, leaving him no choice but to depart in exasperation. The moment his figure vanished, the immortal chicken in the Medicine Garden suddenly opened its eyes. Glancing left and right to make sure no one was watching, it lifted a wing to reveal a figure hidden beneath—none other than Northern Liao's Little State Preceptor! The immortal chicken shoved the Little State Preceptor with its wing, saying urgently, "Hurry up and get lost! Don't ever come looking for me again; I'm done with you! If you hadn't put in so much effort a few days ago, I wouldn't have agreed to see you at all! If Wei Yuan comes back and finds out I met with you, he'll misunderstand again!" The Little State Preceptor wore a resentful expression: "He was the one who stole you away! It's only been a few days—how did your attitude change so completely? In what way am I inferior to him?" The immortal chicken snapped, "Don't you know what you did? Scumbag!" "Wait, how am I a scumbag? Besides, what does whether I'm a scumbag have to do with anything? Aren't you a rooster?" "What of being a rooster? Does that mean I can't call you out? Scumbag!" Moments later, the Little State Preceptor fled in heartbreak, never figuring out where he had fallen short. The immortal chicken naturally would not explain that chatting with Old Daoist Chuhe every day could make it eat two extra bowls of rice. Meanwhile, the Little State Preceptor only knew how to send good-morning and good-night greetings and deliver meals at set hours; whenever the chicken felt moody, he hadn't the faintest idea how to coax it. ... Within the Smoke and Fire of the Mortal World, Wei Yuan closed the history volume he had just finished reading, turning to look thoughtfully at the now-empty library hall. Standing by the window, he cast what seemed an offhand glance outside. Beyond the celestial vault, all was quiet; those terrifying gazes had vanished. Tucking the history book under his arm, he walked toward the bookshelves. The vast hall was now deserted. All several hundred Wei Yuans had vanished, leaving books scattered across the floor. An upheaval had evidently occurred here, causing the Wei Yuans to disappear in an instant; many books lay where they had dropped, still open. This Wei Yuan walked past shelf after shelf, arriving before he knew it at the final row. Beyond this row lay the hall doors, which stood open. Through them, a long, shadowy corridor stretched into the distance, with galleries flanking either side leading to other halls whose nature remained unknown. This Wei Yuan casually strolled toward the doors. Just as he stepped past the shelves, he caught sight of a young maiden hurrying out from a side gallery. Arriving at the main corridor, she turned her head just in time to meet his gaze. The maiden's features were plain, utterly ordinary. Wei Yuan merely gave her a casual glance, then turned around, placed the volume in his hand back onto the shelf, drew another, and walked back to his usual spot by the window without looking back. The maiden stood quietly for a moment before turning and walking away down the main corridor. Several times after that, whenever Wei Yuan approached the hall doors, he would catch sight of her figure.