Chapter 292

In the Merit Hall of the Tai Chu Palace, an old Daoist with long eyebrows hanging to his chest and a deathly aura drooping his eyes slightly, his spiritual sense plunged into the jade seat beneath the hall, busy dealing with the vast sea of merit affairs.

Most merit confirmations, records, and distributions were handled automatically by the Merit Hall, but major inflows and outflows, as well as parts exceeding Heavenly Merits, were handled by specialized True Persons, either for post-verification or pre-review. If the True Persons could not decide, there were True Lords on rotation.

Another old Daoist walked over with his hands behind his back, also with a deathly aura and little lifespan left.

He walked up to the long-eyebrowed Daoist and said: "I'm here to replace you, Senior Brother. Have there been any strange events this month?"

The long-eyebrowed Daoist withdrew his spiritual sense and sighed: "The war in the north has become more intense, and both merits and Heavenly Merits have increased quite a bit, and exchanges are also much more frequent than usual. It's just that many fellow disciples and juniors have fallen, which is sigh-inducing. However, there was a strange event just now: Wei Yuan, a disciple of the Tianqing Hall, used 3,000 Heavenly Merits to request permission to teach the Six Books of Body Forging."

The newly arrived old Daoist was shocked: "3,000 Heavenly Merits!? Where did he get so many Heavenly Merits, and how could a single permission be worth 3,000 Heavenly Merits? Even 30 would be too much!"

"The number of people he requested is a bit high."

"How many could there be? It couldn't be 3,000, right? One quota for one Heavenly Merit? That's too outrageous."

The long-eyebrowed old Daoist took a deep breath and said: "He wants 100,000."

The rotating Daoist almost stumbled: "How many?!"

The long-eyebrowed old Daoist slowly stood up and said: "I also find it strange. Body Forging?"

The rotating Daoist said: "Don't you and I know how high the requirements for the Six Books of Body Forging are? Ten thousand mortals sounds like a lot, but I fear you couldn't even pick out a few dozen suitable for cultivating the Six Books of Body Forging. It would be different if those hundred thousand people were all descendants of immortals."

The long-eyebrowed old Daoist laughed: "Maybe there really are descendants of Immortal Lords."

The rotating Daoist did not laugh and said: "3,000 Heavenly Merits is no small matter. Perhaps Wei Yuan is young and ignorant, but the Tianqing Hall is not a master that would suffer a loss, and they are as poor as can be right now. I think it's best to report this to Fenhai Zhenjun Xuanyue; otherwise, if the Fenhai Zhenjun doesn't recognize this matter in the future and gets anxious with you, you'll have big trouble."

The long-eyebrowed old Daoist said: "Indeed, it should be so."

He hurried away, and the rotating old Daoist sat in his seat, his spiritual sense sinking into the jade seat, and began to handle merit affairs.

Most of the True Persons rotating in the Merit Hall were advanced in age, with their lifespans coming to an end, and were no longer suitable for going out to fight. Although their combat power had declined, their vision and experience remained, and handling merit affairs was more than enough. One rotation lasted a month, and the number of True Persons on duty varied depending on the volume of affairs.

This rotating True Person took one look at the changes in merits and Heavenly Merits from the previous month and gasped, blurting out: "Why have so many fallen..."

In the Tianqing Hall, Fenhai Zhenjun Xuanyue sat in the main hall, his aura visibly unstable. At this moment, there was only one True Person on each side in the hall, making the vast hall appear very desolate.

The long-eyebrowed Daoist stood in the hall and spoke of Wei Yuan's Heavenly Merit exchange.

Fenhai Zhenjun Xuanyue pondered for a moment before saying: "This child has his own ideas. Since he exchanged it this way, then let it be according to him. It's not appropriate for us elders to interfere."

The long-eyebrowed Daoist had originally come to report, and since the Fenhai Zhenjun approved, he said no more and took his leave. As he walked out the door, he suddenly felt the aura of Fenhai Zhenjun Xuanyue in the hall fluctuating, and his heart grew heavier.

In the Tianqing Hall, Fenhai Zhenjun Xuanyue coughed lightly and said: "If Master Fenhai returns, tell him to take a trip to the Western Regions and see if there is anything that needs looking after there."

A True Person of the Tianqing Hall beside the seat said: "Junior Brother Master Fenhai just went deep into the Liao territory and I fear he won't be able to get away for a while. By the way, the Cui family is about to have a flying boat heading to Qingming, and it is said that they have loaded many disciples who originally had no hope of establishing a foundation. We have some young disciples in both halls who are lacking in experience, so why not let them hitch a ride and go over? Training in the Northern Frontier is training, and training in the Western Regions is also training."

Another True Person of the Shuiyue Hall said: "The war in the north is tight, yet we are deploying disciples to the Western Regions; will this not invite criticism?"

The True Person of the Tianqing Hall snorted heavily and said: "Our two halls have also suffered many losses; who can say anything? At worst, I will go to the front line to rotate for a period of time in exchange for the opportunity for disciples to go to the Western Regions!"

The True Person of the Shuiyue Hall sighed and found it hard to say anything more.

At this time, Fenhai Zhenjun Xuanyue suddenly said: "You are all at a critical period of cultivation; stay in the halls and continue to comprehend. Perhaps the chances of breaking through in the future will increase by half a percent. As for the front line, I will go myself."

Both True Persons were shocked and hurriedly said: "You haven't recovered from your injuries and you just returned; how can you go to the front line again?"

Fenhai Zhenjun Xuanyue said: "The Liao tribe is about to reach the northern mountain gate; I cannot sit by and watch. Besides, we old fellows should strive to create more space for the juniors to grow. How many disciples are planning to go to the Western Regions this time?"

The True Person of the Tianqing Hall said: "There are six in total from both halls."

The True Person of the Shuiyue Hall was immediately displeased: "What do you mean by 'six in total from both halls'? It's clearly five from the Tianqing Hall and one from the Shuiyue Hall! We also have disciples who need training; add three more!"

Fenhai Zhenjun Xuanyue laughed and said: "Let them all go, let them all go! However, the Western Regions are quite dangerous; just look at the Heavenly Merits of that child Wei Yuan—in just a few months, he is already number one in Dao Foundation. This time when they go, prepare more magic treasures and elixirs; don't be stingy."

The True Person of the Tianqing Hall looked at his toes and said without any fluctuation in tone: "Hitching a ride on the Cui family's boat isn't cheap either. The halls are currently strapped for cash, and there won't be much left after buying the tickets. So there are no magic treasures, but we can prepare two elixirs, though they won't be very good."

The True Person of the Shuiyue Hall snorted and said: "If you have no money, don't hold onto the path and refuse to let go; can't you have a little self-awareness? Tell me how to buy the tickets, and I will issue an extra bottle of mid-grade healing elixirs for the disciples of your hall."

"High-grade!" the True Person of the Shuiyue Hall said coldly: "Only mid-grade, do you want it or not?"

"I want it!"

On the main peak of the Qingming Realm, Wei Yuan faced the morning sun, holding the Scarlet Night Sword of Execution, and was observing the sword. A moment later, two scarlet sword auras erupted from his eyes; his sword observation today was successful.

Just as he put away the Scarlet Night Sword of Execution, Wei Yuan's mind suddenly stirred, perceiving a medium-sized flying boat approaching the realm, and then several cultivators left the boat and flew toward the realm at high speed. They signaled the Cui family's signal, and cultivators from the realm rose into the air to guide the flying boat into the realm, landing in the designated area.

The flying boat descended slowly, and Wei Yuan and Cui Yu were already waiting at the landing field.

This flying boat was much larger than the last one, a full fifty zhang long, with a dark green color scheme; it was the Cui family's main flying boat, which could be converted into a warship when necessary.

The flying boat stopped steadily, the cabin door opened, and hundreds of people came down one after another!

A young man in green robes carrying a sword walked over first, first bowing to Wei Yuan, and said: "Cui Cui Luoyu of the Cui family, under orders to bring 370 disciples of the clan to Qingming for cultivation."

He then bowed to Cui Yu beside him and said: "I am under orders from the clan elders to stay here to assist my cousin, and by the way, supervise the disciples of the clan so they don't act recklessly and ruin the Cui family's reputation."

Cui Yu said: "Why did so many come this time? Besides, this isn't a big deal; why would you need to make this trip?"

!.

Cui Cui Luoyu was older than Cui Yu and was already twenty-seven years old this year, already in the late stage of Dao Foundation and nearing perfection.

He could rank in the top five among the previous generation of Cui family disciples and was also a proud son of heaven. Now that his cultivation was sufficient and he was a legitimate son of the third branch with high status, he was just at the time to take on heavy responsibilities in the clan; why would he run to Qingming and stay for a period of time?

In the eyes of giant entities like the Cui family, the Qingming of the Western Regions was just a barbaric land, and the population of any county was far greater than that of Qingming. Sending Cui Cui Luoyu over was practically equivalent to exile.

Cui Yu originally came to save Wei Yuan, but once he came, he got on a pirate ship and could never get off. He couldn't compete with that Immortal Foundation cousin in the clan, so he felt somewhat disheartened about clan affairs, and coupled with the consecutive great battles since the founding of Qingming, there was simply no room to catch his breath, which was why he stayed until today.

Cui Cui Luoyu said to Wei Yuan: "Let's talk a step away."

The three walked a bit further, and Cui Cui Luoyu said: "Apart from taking care of and supervising the younger generation of the clan, I actually have another matter on this trip. This matter has nothing to do with the elders, but is a private request from some elders in the clan. They want to ask the Realm Lord: if one does not experience life and death, and all kinds of resources and precious medicines are sufficient, what are the chances of establishing a Dao Foundation?"

Wei Yuan asked: "Is the foundation damaged?"

"Undamaged."

"Are there requirements for the Dao Foundation?"

"As long as a Dao Foundation can be established, there are no special requirements. Of course, if the rank of the Dao Foundation can be raised by one or two levels, like Cui Cui Zhangfeng, that would be even better."

Wei Yuan frowned and said: "This matter is something to be encountered but not sought."

"Understood, so as long as a Dao Foundation can be established, it will suffice. If there are surprises, there will be heavy rewards."

Wei Yuan immediately took note of the words "heavy rewards."

Cui Cui Luoyu looked at Wei Yuan with burning eyes and asked: "So under these circumstances, what are the chances of achieving a Dao Foundation?"

How high the chances were depended on how heavy the reward was... Of course, Wei Yuan could only think this in his heart and couldn't really say it.

Just as he was pondering and thinking about how to answer, he suddenly perceived a familiar aura of cultivation methods—wasn't this the Ganqing Qianqing Zhengfa Yu Shi Jing and the Taiyin Yuehua Wanxiang Pian?

Wei Yuan looked toward the source of the aura and saw more than a dozen Tai Chu Palace disciples coming down from the flying boat. It was just that they stood in one place, far away from the Cui family members, while some of the Cui family's playboys were still pointing and whispering, and the relationship between the two sides was clearly quite disharmonious.

Wei Yuan was puzzled; why did the fellow disciples of the Tianqing Hall and Shuiyue Hall come too? Could it be that there were some in the two halls who couldn't establish a Dao Foundation?

"What is going on?"

"Some small misunderstandings." Cui Cui Luoyu was also helpless and didn't know how to say it for a moment. After weighing his words, he said: "These disciples of the Tianqing Hall and Shuiyue Hall wanted to hitch a ride on our boat to come to Qingming for training, but the two True Persons didn't bring enough money, so they only bought the tickets and didn't buy food.

I originally thought that a little food didn't matter and wanted to treat them on the way. Who knew that the disciples of your hall had special integrity, saying that they would rather go hungry than eat food given in contempt. As a result, some playboys in the clan didn't speak very politely, and some quarrels arose."

The flying boat journey took several days, and Wei Yuan hurriedly said: "Then eat first!"

Cui Cui Luoyu said: "Don't worry about those people from the Cui family; they just ate."

Wei Yuan was stunned; it was morning, and it was still a while before lunch, so it wasn't mealtime, so how could they have already eaten?

Cui Cui Luoyu said expressionlessly: "Ever since they quarreled, those guys have been eating eight meals a day."

Wei Yuan was stunned, then admired them; these guys knew how to quarrel.

(End of chapter)