Wei Yuan had previously only heard that after the Founding Patriarch mastered his Dao arts, he had journeyed west alone and set down the first boundary stone in lands overrun by alien races—the origin of Hanging Azure of the Empty Valley, one of the Palace of Grand Beginning's mountain gates. Since then, he had never heard of boundary stones again.
For boundary stones to be listed as a major category of their own, they were clearly of paramount importance. This piqued Wei Yuan's curiosity, so he tapped it open to browse. Beneath the main category were several subcategories: Standard Boundary Stones, Advanced, Top-Grade, and Variant.
Under the Boundary Stones subcategory, the entries were numerous and detailed. The core of a boundary stone was refined from Nether-Void Stone, possessing the power to transform heaven and earth. As for what domain it would transform into, that depended entirely on the cultivator who nurtured it. Once a boundary stone was planted, the destiny and fortune of heaven and earth within a certain radius would transform accordingly, generally shifting toward the human realm's clear domain.
The primary method by which the human race expanded its territory was through boundary stones.
After planting a boundary stone, a cultivator needed to constantly nurture it with the origin qi of heaven and earth and all manner of natural treasures. Once nurtured to a certain degree, the boundary stone could advance. Generally speaking, a basic boundary stone could transform the land of a single town. After a hundred years of nurturing, it would become mid-grade, capable of covering an entire county. After a thousand years, it became high-grade, encompassing an entire commandery. Only within the range covered by a boundary stone could humans freely multiply, thrive, clear wasteland, and cultivate fields.
There were well over a hundred entries under the standard boundary stones catalog. Wei Yuan examined them carefully one by one.
Boundary Stone 377: Nurtured for seventeen years, qualified, no special traits.
Boundary Stone 491: Nurtured for five years, qualified, no special traits.
Boundary Stone 1302: Nurtured for forty-eight years, qualified, possesses a faint trace of Hou Tu's power.
Boundary Stone 2033: Unnurtured, qualified.
...
Every boundary stone had a number and was virtually unique. The great immortal sects, major sects, and the Great Tang shared intelligence with one another, and monumental matters like boundary stones were chief among what was shared. These boundary stones had been nurtured for as little as a few years or as long as several decades; some had never been nurtured at all and were presumably newly crafted.
As for the boundary stones that had only been nurtured for a short while yet ended up back in the exchange catalog, Wei Yuan understood after reading a few more descriptions. Their owners had set out to expand territory, only for the alien races to overwhelm them and destroy their settlements, forcing the boundary stones to be uprooted and retrieved. Many cultivators had died in battle when their settlements fell; the boundary stones were then recovered and brought back by others, eventually finding their way through various hands into the Palace of Grand Beginning.
Behind the numerous boundary stones nurtured for under a century lay destroyed settlements, mountains of corpses, and seas of blood.
Amid his sigh, Wei Yuan checked the price of a new boundary stone: one hundred thousand merit points.
Wei Yuan silently closed the profile.
After collecting himself, Wei Yuan clicked open a boundary stone nurtured for seven years, only to discover with surprise that its price was ninety-one thousand merit points. Why was a nurtured boundary stone cheaper instead?
Wei Yuan set down the jade tablet and went to consult a deacon Daoist in the hall.
The Daoist sized Wei Yuan up and said, "A new boundary stone is like a piece of raw jade. Once nurtured, it bears the imprint of its master's Dao power. If a subsequent owner's Dao power doesn't align with the previous owner's, they must spend extra effort wearing away the existing imprint and start nurturing it from scratch. Even if the two successive masters share similar Dao power affinities, purity becomes increasingly crucial in the later stages. The purer the boundary stone and the deeper the nurturing, the more miraculous properties it displays. That is why second-hand boundary stones nurtured only for a short time are actually less expensive than brand-new ones."
"I see," Wei Yuan said in realization, then continued to ask humbly, "Then why are some boundary stones that have been nurtured for seventy or eighty years priced far higher than new ones?"
"After a hundred years of nurturing, once the heat and timing are sufficient, the boundary stone will advance, and its domain will expand tenfold. Compared to the benefits of advancement, purity doesn't matter as much."
Wei Yuan nodded. He hadn't expected expanding territory to be so complex, involving so much specialized knowledge.
The Daoist could not help but remark, "Junior Brother, forgive this old Daoist for speaking out of turn. If a Dao Foundation cultivator wishes to expand territory, they must cultivate to at least the Spirit Nourishing stage. This is no child's play, and the ferocity of the alien races is no mere rumor—it truly costs lives. Where do you think all those second-hand boundary stones in the catalog came from? More than half arrived masterless!"
Having started, the Daoist said with earnest gravity, "Junior Brother, expanding territory isn't playing house. A boundary stone is merely one part of it, far from the whole picture. If you want to expand territory, you need kin or elders to hold down the fort and keep the situation in check, right? You need elite personal guards to serve as the backbone of your army, right? You have to procure provisions, funds, and Dharma artifacts, right? In the first ten years, you have to provide clothing, food, shelter, and transport for the mortals, right? All of these cost merit points! Going by past precedent, if you want to pioneer new lands, the boundary stone accounts for half the cost, and these logistical matters account for the other half. You're still young—where would you get so many merit points? For now, it's best to focus on your cultivation and strive to improve. Of course, if you hail from the Seven Surnames and Thirteen Clans, just pretend this old Daoist never spoke."
The Daoist practically had the words 'aiming too high' written across his face, yet his heartfelt concern was genuine. Wei Yuan thanked him sincerely and said, "I come from humble origins. I was only looking at these to broaden my horizons and gain some knowledge."
The Daoist nodded. "So that's how it is. If there's anything else you don't understand, feel free to ask me. And let this old Daoist add one more thing: most of those who successfully expand territory don't use standard boundary stones."
Wei Yuan caught the Daoist's hint. Returning to the desk, he began reviewing the other three subcategories of boundary stones.
The entries for advanced boundary stones were far fewer, numbering only a dozen or so.
Life-Mystic Stone: Possesses the power of life-mystic vitality. Within its domain, the growth of all living things accelerates, aiding in healing wounds.
Life-Protecting Stone: Possesses the power to stabilize the soul. Those who suffer fatal injuries within the domain can temporarily preserve their lives, though they must be treated within two hours.
However, Wei Yuan could only view two or three entries; the rest required heavenly merits to redeem. As for the top-grade catalog that followed, he couldn't open it at all. Only under the variant category was there one more item Wei Yuan could view:
Infant Fire Stone: The domain is suffused with fire-element power and imbued with nascent vitality, capable of generating an Infant Fire Pool suitable for refining special Dharma artifacts. However, the domain is unsuitable for mortal survival.
Whether advanced or variant, their prices far exceeded standard boundary stones, starting at five hundred thousand merit points at minimum.
After reading about the boundary stones, Wei Yuan finally realized that expanding territory was still far out of his reach. Yet it made sense for boundary stones to be so expensive—how could treasures capable of transforming heaven and earth ever come cheap?
Leaving the Hall of Merits, Wei Yuan made a circuit of the Mission Hall. He could accept far more missions now, but those for the early Dao Foundation stage were very simple and offered low rewards, mostly one or two hundred merit points and rarely breaking a thousand—nothing compared to the battlefield. Wei Yuan browsed the missions for a while without finding anything suitable. Thus, he handed over the items he wanted sent back to his hometown to the deacon in the Mission Hall, paying fifty merit points as remuneration. The deacon would find a suitable cultivator to handle the delivery.
Having visited both grand halls, Wei Yuan went to the Hall of Myriad Manifestations, wanting to see where his Dao Foundation ranked in the river of stars. Ten Thousand Li of Rivers and Mountains was unprecedented, and Wei Yuan estimated that it was unquestionably an immortal foundation—one could tell simply from the reactions of True Monarch Xuanyue and several Perfected Persons in the grand hall. Beyond that, if the spark of life nurtured within the jade mountain could sprout and grow into a Seven Marvels Treasure Tree, Wei Yuan felt his Dao Foundation should be no worse than Bao Yun's. After all, they would both have a tree, and Wei Yuan had a stretch of land on top of that.
Chapter 94