In the room, Wei Yuan was sitting upright and facing the three deities without a trace of fear.

To his right sat Bao Yun. The Seven Wonders Exquisite Treasure Tree was perched atop her head as usual, but this time, it had undergone a slight change. It had a total of seven branches, but only one of them was appearing at a time. The branches kept alternating in an eternal cycle.

Although Bao Yun hadn’t said a word, Wei Yuan still caught onto her meaning. She was saying: See? This is the

"One Wonder Treasure Tree of Reincarnation"[1].

Zhang Sheng was seated at the center and holding the Sect Rules of the Palace of Absolute Beginning, poring through every sentence carefully. One does not commit a purge without good reason. Just in case, he decided to refresh his memories about the sect’s rules.

To his left sat Ji Liuli. A little idol in red was standing on the table next to her. Gorgeous and lifelike, it was a little over a chi tall and looked a little too exquisite to be an idol. But how could there be an idol in this room?

Upon closer inspection, he realized that the “idol” was, in fact, Gong Yufeng. She was wearing a look of shock and terror on her face right now. Suppressed by the devil-sealing pagoda, she could not even move a muscle.

Ji Liuli herself was holding a piece of jade paper and poring through it carefully. From time to time, she would let out an exclamation of praise. Wei Yuan quickly recognized the jade paper. It was none other than the cultivation method of the Seven Star Body of Reincarnation.

The more she read, the more Ji Liuli looked impressed. “The seniors of the Swelling Water God Palace are truly impressive!” she said. “They’re even more creative than I am! This is an excellent cultivation method. No wonder it was so well-preserved!”

Outwardly, Zhang Sheng looked unperturbed. In reality, he was also checking out the Seven Star Body of Reincarnation with a portion of his perception. A couple more compliments from Ji Liuli later, Wei Yuan saw a thin line of perception slipping into the jade paper. Of course, it belonged to Bao Yun.

Wei Yuan immediately thought to himself then: You’re still so young. Why are you reading such inappropriate material?

Zhang Sheng’s reading speed was much faster than Wei Yuan’s. After going through everything in just the blink of an eye, he said thoughtfully, “The author has come up with quite the ingenious idea to resolve the rejection between a body and a soul. If executed well, it could definitely serve as a viable contingency plan. Alas, the quality of the refined body seems difficult to control. It would probably take many tries before a body that is up to standard can be refined.”

Ji Liuli remarked, “That’s because the people of the Swelling Water God Palace lack vision. The power of incense prayer contains too many impurities. Naturally, a body created from it would be subpar. However, this issue can be resolved if the power of incense prayer is replaced with fortune. The quality of the reincarnated body would increase by two tiers at the minimum. Provided that there is enough fortune, the Dao Foundation they establish would be Earth-tier as well.”

Bao Yun chimed in her own opinion. “The seven spirit objects are quite important as well. The method didn’t really clarify this, but I have a feeling that combining specific spirit objects in a certain order may allow one to refine a body with a specific innate talent. If immortal-grade materials were used, then it is not impossible for the reincarnated body to cultivate an immortal foundation.”

The longer Wei Yuan listened, the more he felt confused. If he didn’t know better, he would think that the trio were discussing a proper cultivation method.

A short while later, Wei Yuan could not stop himself from asking, “Even if the reincarnated body possesses limitless potential, what is the point if they become the creator’s puppet in the end?”

Ji Liuli replied uncaringly, “That’s because a soul-binding array is added to the method. Just remove it, and it won’t be a problem anymore.”

Is it really that simple? I thought it was mandatory for someone to become a puppet. When Wei Yuan mulled over Ji Liuli’s comment, he discovered that she was probably right. Not only that, it was quite easy to remove the soul-binding array.

Wei Yuan felt puzzled then. He had gone through the Seven Star Body of Reincarnation multiple times himself. How had he not realized that not becoming a puppet was a possibility?

A quick discussion later, the trio unanimously decided to revise the cultivation method and submit it to the Palace. It should earn them a fair amount of merits.

With that done, Zhang Sheng’s gaze finally rested on Wei Yuan.

Here it comes! Wei Yuan tensed up as he mentally went through his defense once more. He reckoned that Zhang Sheng’s first question was about the origin of the one hundred immortal swords. This would allow him to bring up the first attack—especially the fact that a Great Warlock was involved—and pin the blame firmly on the Shamans. In short, the enemy was too strong, and an idea occurred to him at a critical moment. It wasn’t him, it was the circumstances who drove him to do it!

As a diligent student of history, Wei Yuan dared to say that he had grasped one of the finest abilities displayed by many historical figures, the art of shifting blame. While there was no denying that the deed had been done, there was plenty to be said about why it had to be done. In summary, blame the others, blame the circumstances, blame the environment, the point being that it wasn’t what he intended to do, but rather something he had no choice to do. For example, I did it because the water was too cold, because my scalp was itchy, and so on.

But to his surprise, Zhang Sheng’s first question was, “Was it intentional or not?”

Wei Yuan’s mouth hung open, and the argument he had prepared flew right out of the window. It was only then he recalled that his teacher was a diligent student of history as well.

He had no choice but to say, “It was intentional.”

Misdirection or shirking responsibility was fine, but lying to his teacher was unacceptable. This was his bottom line.

Zhang Sheng asked his second question, “There are countless Dao Foundations under the heavens. Why immortal swords?”

“Because it is the most common Dao Foundation in existence, and because it has the highest chance of being sealed away by the Shamans. I do not think that my plan would have succeeded if it was any other Dao Foundation. At the time, I had already used up the trump card from the Immortal Lord, and I did not know how long it was going to take for reinforcements from the Palace to show up. I was also terrified of the Shamans’ blood curse. As formidable as the world-modifying curse is, it can’t take a life. Moreover, every curse they spend on modifying heaven and earth is one less blood curse we need to endure.”

Ji Liuli couldn’t help but feel slightly moved by his reply.

Bao Yun lifted her eyelids slightly, glanced at Wei Yuan, and lowered them again.

Zhang Sheng’s third question wasn’t a question. “Show me your Dao Foundation.”

Wei Yuan wordlessly did as he was told. Of course, he manifested the parts close to his jade hill.

The very first thing Zhang Sheng saw was the pale, flawless full moon in the sky. His complexion immediately improved tremendously. The highest form of the Supreme Yin Lunar Essence Myriad Manifestations Chapter was, of course, a full moon. Wei Yuan’s moon wasn’t just enormous, it was also white and luminous like jade, and overflowing with the energy of Supreme Yin. It could practically serve as a model for those practicing this cultivation method.

This full moon alone was enough to dismiss any allegations that Wei Yuan might have become lax in his cultivation.

Unbeknownst to Zhang Sheng, the side of the moon facing toward Wei Yuan was pitch black. The shadows were so thick that they almost seemed tangible. As Zhang Sheng, Ji Liuli, and Bao Yun were sitting opposite Wei Yuan, and the shadow in the moon had all shifted to Wei Yuan’s side, not a single one of them noticed anything amiss.

Zhang Sheng lowered his gaze after he was done checking out the moon, eyes narrowing. Ji Liuli was looking back and forth between the tiny green shoots sprouting on the summit of the jade hill and Bao Yun as well. 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

The surroundings of the jade hill were a lot more interesting. On one side of the hill sat a hundred immortal swords. Nothing else needed to be said about them. Not far away from the pile was a haphazard pile of several hundred cauldrons, and not far away from that was a small hill of a hundred bells or so. This wasn’t all. Sitting next to a pile of stones were a dozen or so three-level pagodas.

The pagodas were crudely crafted and lacking any sense of proportion or aesthetic appeal. In fact, they wouldn’t even be called pagodas if they were one floor less. They would simply be two-storey buildings.

Glancing back and forth between the Devil Suppressing Nine Level Pagoda and the pile of three-level pagodas on the ground, Zhang Sheng said thoughtfully, “These pagodas....”

“I recently had an epiphany and decided to put it to the test. These pagodas are the results.”

It was technically true. The pagodas all contained the essence of a pagoda, just as the bells all contained the intent of a bell. This part was impossible to fake. Even if a pagoda was forcefully molded into a sword, it would still be a pagoda, not a sword. However, the Fake Sun contained the true intent of fire, and the stone cauldron possessed the Dao of golden light. In comparison, the bells and the pagodas only contained Dao essences, not abilities.

It was at this moment Ji Liuli smirked and said, “You wanna learn my Devil Suppressing Nine Level Pagoda? You should’ve said it sooner!”

She walked over to the jade hill and picked up one of the small pagodas on the ground. Then, she returned to her chair and toyed with it, saying, “I’ll be playing with your pagoda for a bit. I’ll give it back to you once I’ve figured it out[2].”

Wei Yuan tried to stop her, but it was far too late. He was only manifesting his Dao Foundation, not materializing it. In other words, it was just an image. Yet, not only had Ji Liuli somehow walked into his Dao Foundation, she had even walked away with something! Now, there was one less three-level pagoda in his sea of consciousness!

“That’s enough. You can put away your Dao Foundation now,” Zhang Sheng ordered.

Wei Yuan did not hesitate to obey the order. He was afraid that Ji Liuli would not be able to control herself and swipe other things if he was a tad too slow. He knew all too well how fast his Senior Sister’s hands were[3].

His master then shot Ji Liuli a suspicious look. “Are you really just taking it to study?”

“Really!” Ji Liuli’s eyes were pure and sincere.

“Are you sure?”

“Absolutely!”

“For your sake, I hope so.”

After Zhang Sheng was done warning Ji Liuli, he turned back to Wei Yuan and said, “As per the Palace’s custom, you are officially the ruler of this realm as Qingming has acknowledged you as its master. In other words, you are the sole decider of everything that takes place in this realm. We may be your seniors, but we can only offer you advice. Whether you heed it or not is entirely up to you.”

Wei Yuan hurriedly replied, “I have no desire to make my decisions independently, Master. I’m fine with leaving everything to your discretion!”

Ji Liuli chuckled. “All right, you can stop being modest now! Your master is fine when it comes to fighting and killing, but asking him to govern an entire region would be asking too much of him—not because he lacks the ability, but because he lacks the patience. Here’s what we’ll do. I see that you’ve already recruited some people. I want you to gather everyone you deem important and special and bring them before us. Let’s discuss together what our next steps will be.”

“Er, are you sure about that?” Wei Yuan asked for clarification.

“Of course! I need to see them with my own eyes.”

Moments later, Xu Wan’er, Yun Feifei and Xu Wenwu arrived at a clearing at the foot of the central peak. When the trio passed through an invisible barrier, the scenery before their eyes changed all of a sudden. The next moment, they came face to face with the four disciples of the Palace of Absolute Beginning.

The second Xu Wenwu laid his eyes on Bao Yun and Ji Liuli, his mouth instantly widened into an O-shape. While stiffening all over, he thought to himself: How is it possible for such beautiful women to exist? I... I knew I followed the right lord!

Wei Yuan gave him a push and ordered, “Take a seat over there, will you?”

At the same time, he made sure to place not one, but multiple gags on Xu Wenwu’s mouth. Zhang Sheng and Ji Liuli were not as mild-tempered as he was. The guy was liable to kill himself if he was allowed to speak freely.

Dazed and befuddled, Xu Wenwu stumbled over to his seat and sat down. He didn’t dare to look up for fear of seeing Bao Yun and Ji Liuli again.

Wei Yuan briefly explained the current war situation and his plans to establish new settlements and round up the surrounding civilians. Before his death, Xu Guanwen had revealed that his collusion with the Shamans and his plan to hand over the hundreds of thousands of populace living in the commandery to them. Wei Yuan was also sure that the Shamans had already finished the necessary preparations to transport these people. Thus, evacuating the civilians and preventing them from falling into the hands of the Shamans was among their highest priorities right now.

After he was done explaining everything, Wei Yuan asked hopefully, “Has the Palace issued any provisions or supplies?”

Xiao Yu and Bao Yun had come hastily and alone. Naturally, they hadn’t brought anything with them. That was why the question was directed at Ji Liuli and Zhang Sheng.

His Big Senior Sister shrugged and said, “Don’t look at me. I’m only here to fight.”

Wei Yuan wasn’t counting on her in the first place. After all, she was broke just like him. Ji Liuli was one of his creditors, and he owed her a whopping one million in debt. She was wealthy right until the point Wei Yuan had used up all of her immortal silver.

Zhang Sheng began, “The founder gave me one hundred thousand immortal silver worth of supplies—”

Xiao Yu was taken aback when he heard this. The famous True Lord Xuan Yue only gave Zhang Sheng one hundred thousand immortal silver? Is this an expansion or a tour?

Of course, he was only ranting inside his head. It was not his place to criticize the Skyblue Hall’s private business after all.

Xiao Yu himself did not realize that his attitude toward the Skyblue Hall had improved significantly after he had witnessed Zhang Sheng’s fourth immortal sword.

Wei Yuan was going to let out a sigh of relief when Zhang Sheng continued, “—but I thought they were kinda useless, so I exchanged it all for mystic swords.”

Did you seriously bring only mystic swords, shifu? Wei Yuan didn’t even have the energy to complain anymore.

Yun Feifei and Xu Wan’er were exchanging disbelieving glances with each other as well. That said, it was hardly their place to criticize the high cultivators of the Palace of Absolute Beginning. All they needed to do was to keep quiet and nod. This was especially true after Ji Liuli had given both of them a taste of her... methods. Suffice to say, they never, never wanted to experience it again.

It seemed like Zhang Sheng was being flippant, but neither Bao Yun, Ji Liuli, nor Xiao Yu thought that there was a problem at all. Why would they need all these provisions when they were already here? At most, they needed a few bottles of medicine and a good place to cultivate. Wei Yuan’s Qingming had begun to take shape and boasted more spirit energy than many domains that had been cultivated for over a century. It was definitely enough to satisfy their needs.

As for the mortals’ supplies, that was even less of a concern. What use was an ordinary mortal in battle? There were hundreds of thousands of them in this commandery, yet all of them combined still wouldn’t stand a chance against an Avatar Trueman, let alone a True Lord.

By comparison, Zhang Sheng’s mystic swords were far more practical.

Upon hearing this, Xu Wenwu felt compelled to say something. Before he came to this world, he was a seasoned military enthusiast. Though his so-called “seasoned” status didn’t mean he knew much, only that he had been reading about it for a long time, he did know a thing or two besides the Art of War.

1. In the raw it’s pretty obvious because they use the same characters for “eternal cycle” and “reincarnation”, but I guess I have to clarify it here. Also, the cycle of reincarnation is eternal, so I hope that’s enough for some readers to make the connection without having to read this TL note. ☜

2. ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) ☜

3. ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) Please refer to chapter 60. ☜