Chapter 692: Take Your Dog

Wei Yuan's aircraft, refined by Senior Sister, had gained another ten percent in speed; now, even ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivators of the Mid-Stage could not catch up.

At this time, the internal situation in Western Jin had changed: the territories controlled by the Jin Prince and the Xu family had lifted all restrictions on Wei Yuan, allowing free passage for all flying-boat trade caravans.

Now, the only concern for Wei Yuan was the north; the Lu family occupied the northwestern corner of Jin, and Wei Yuan had no reason to travel there under normal circumstances.

In one day's journey, Wei Yuan arrived at the Northern Shanmen.

The Northern Shanmen was already deep winter, stretching endlessly in a silver-white coat.

Within the mountain gate's boundaries, the cold was not extreme, but beyond them, icy winds howled, piercing to the bone—only those who had completed the Muscle and Tendon Realm could survive such temperatures. During the coldest month of winter, only those who had reached the Blood Melting Realm could venture out.

Despite such freezing conditions, the Beiliao tribes and their horses moved freely, so their assaults showed no sign of abating.

Wei Yuan entered the Northern Shanmen, reported his arrival, and waited for the Tinghai Xianjun's summons. Earlier, in a fierce battle, Immortal Moon True Person had suffered severe injuries and returned to the main mountain to recuperate, while also overseeing the construction of the Sky Blue Hall.

This time, Wei Yuan waited three days before receiving the Tinghai Xianjun's summons.

Immortal Tinghai still resided atop the small peak. The summit was now bitterly cold; even Wei Yuan felt a chill, and climbing up had left his body slightly numb.

This cold was highly abnormal—ordinary Dao Foundation cultivators would freeze to death after taking a few steps, and even Manifestation Forms could not endure it. Only a Manifestation Form as formidable as Wei Yuan's, with profound, boundless, and inexhaustible Dao power, could dwell on this peak.

The entire summit was shrouded in a great array, and within the array, the cold was extreme—steel itself would become brittle at this temperature.

Immortal Tinghai still sat on the cliff's edge, fishing. Wei Yuan approached and stood silently behind him.

At this distance, Wei Yuan could see tiny particles continuously emerging from Immortal Tinghai's body, most of which were drawn back, but occasionally one or two vanished.

Immortal Tinghai set down his fishing rod, rose slowly, and sat beside Wei Yuan at the stone table. "Only this Northern Sea Cold Prison Array can slow the collapse of my immortal body. The array consumes immense energy; I cling to life only because I still possess one final strike."

"The Beiliao Lesser National Master knows this, so he never approaches, only sending his dogs to harass. It seems I cannot take his life before I collapse—I can only take his dogs' lives."

After settling, the Tinghai Xianjun asked: "Why have you come?"

Wei Yuan said: "Xu Xu Wangu sent me to deliver a message: he is willing to grant you one request."

Immortal Tinghai laughed bitterly. "This Xu Xu Wangu—after swapping his immortal body, has he also swapped his brain?"

Wei Yuan asked: "More cunning?"

"He's become stupid!"

Wei Yuan did not understand, so he listened silently.

"I hear you are unparalleled in mortal chess. Come, play a game with me."

Wei Yuan nodded, then mentally pondered how to lose—how to lose utterly, with heart-rending sincerity.

As he thought, Immortal Tinghai casually waved his hand, and before them appeared a glowing square grid, composed of nineteen lines vertically, horizontally, and in depth.

"This is the chessboard used by immortals. A piece is dead when all directions—up, down, front, back, left, right—are blocked. Try a game."

Looking at this three-dimensional board, Wei Yuan's mind became a tangled mess.

The mortal world fell silent, then erupted—but even with nearly a million mortals now watching, none could comprehend the vast complexity of this chess game.

Wei Yuan could only follow step by step as Immortal Tinghai played, and naturally lost catastrophically; even before the opening phase ended, Wei Yuan's pieces had no liberties left.

After the game ended, Immortal Tinghai dismissed the board and smiled: "This is among the simplest chessboards used by immortals. Supposedly, there are even grand boards of 361 lines in each dimension—the Heavenly Whole Scheme—beyond even my ability to play."

Wei Yuan thought inwardly: So this is how immortals pass their time. Clearly, their lifespans are still insufficient.

Immortal Tinghai seemed to sense Wei Yuan's thoughts and chuckled: "You little rascal, you dare to mock even me! I played this game with you to show you that when immortals make a move, they don't just consider ten thousand miles of land—they survey a thousand years past and future. Every stone is entangled in countless threads."

"Precisely because the variables are too many, even immortals cannot fully perceive all changes. Many times, meticulously planned strategies end up falling exactly into someone else's calculations."

Wei Yuan's head spun—he could barely comprehend Immortal Tinghai's computational power, yet he was only at the beginner level of immortals; how terrifying must the ancient elder immortals be?

Immortal Tinghai said: "Now you should understand that the grudges between immortals are never as simple as they appear. I truly did not anticipate the ambush—eight out of ten of my downfall stems from that single strike."

"Yet your Qingming has grown to this level in just a few years, already influencing the moves of immortals—you've won. Overall, I still hold a slight advantage."

"Do immortals always scheme against each other?"

Immortal Tinghai smiled. "Not all. Take our Founder—he was simple and direct. When he could not find a place to establish the Tai Chu Palace, he decided to cut down a Tian Wu and seize land from the Wu clan."

"But when he arrived, he found not one, but three Tianwus. Still, he fought through their assault, slew the first Tian Wu, returned, and established the Tai Chu Palace. For centuries, the Wu clan dared not invade."

Immortal Tinghai sipped tea, then added: "If we set aside my feud with Xu Xu Wangu, what would you most desire if you could make a request?"

"Nothing too extreme, right?" Wei Yuan asked.

"Of course not! No need to ask him to kill himself."

Wei Yuan had already considered this on the journey. "Disciple desires free trade."

Immortal Tinghai was stunned, then asked: "What is free trade? Explain in detail."

"Within the Xu family's controlled territories, no checkpoints or taxes should be imposed between prefectures—or, at minimum, no checkpoints or taxes on Qingming trade caravans. No artificial restrictions on the outflow of goods, nor on the inflow of Qingming goods. All trade must follow market prices, with no government interference."

Immortal Tinghai pondered deeply, then said: "You have such confidence in Qingming's products?"

"Armor, firearms, elixirs, mechanized brocades—I have absolute confidence. Without artificial interference, within three years, only Qingming's products will remain on the market."

Immortal Tinghai said: "Beyond Qingming, you intend to make every region produce only raw materials, then force them to buy your finished goods?"

Wei Yuan was startled—how perceptive the Tinghai Xianjun was; one sentence revealed his final strategy.

"The merchant guilds, and the families behind them, will never sit idly while you cut off their wealth."

Wei Yuan said: "I understand. That is why I now command numerous armies and horses—precisely to guard against this."

Immortal Tinghai nodded. "Then why do you amass so much immortal silver?"

Wei Yuan replied: "Having read history and observed the world, I've realized that the most basic human beings are useless. Often, more people are merely a burden. So some cleverly eliminate the surplus—through natural disasters, war, plague, and more."

"I once learned of a world beyond this one, where mortals without great power live well. I am unworthy, but I wish to protect mortals in my own realm, giving them meaningful lives. I wish to guide more mortals onto the Dao path—even if only to Foundation Establishment or Blood Melting is enough."

"All this immortal silver will ultimately be used for this purpose."

Immortal Tinghai smiled. "In the Middle Antiquity, a great Buddhist master vowed: 'If hell is not emptied, I shall not attain Buddhahood.' You already bear the shadow of such a great Buddhist vow."

Immortal Tinghai's words were meant as praise, yet Wei Yuan felt a chill run through him—as if something in the void was beckoning. A string of lustrous pearl-like orbs seemed suspended in the air, one engraved with the characters "Wu Yuan."

Wei Yuan swiftly cleared the illusion. "Disciple never thought so far—only that mortals suffer too much, and I wish to change a little. How is your immortal body? Did the Kunyuan Longevity Pill I offered last time help?"

Immortal Tinghai shook his head. "My immortal foundation is shattered; longevity elixirs have little effect."

A quiet sorrow welled in Wei Yuan's heart. "Who attacked you that day? When I ascend to immortality, I will avenge you!"

Immortal Tinghai laughed heartily. "The origins of this matter are long. Lately, I've reflected deeply—perhaps the karmic roots lie even before my ascension. Back then, I was young and arrogant, careless in my planning, and someone seized the flaw. This calamity was inevitable."

"The one who attacked me was an ancient yin corpse. Who controlled it—I cannot trace. This matter is far from you. Focus on your own path. This chess game hasn't even reached the opening phase; even if I perish, as long as you live, the game continues."

The more detached Immortal Tinghai became, the deeper Wei Yuan's sorrow grew—but he buried it deep within his heart, locked in the darkest shadows.

Finally, Immortal Tinghai said: "Tell Xu Xu Wangu you want free trade. There will surely be setbacks—you know how to handle them."

After speaking for a while, Immortal Tinghai showed signs of exhaustion. He waved his hand, and Wei Yuan took his leave, descending the peak.

Afterwards, Wei Yuan visited each of the ancestral halls. Though Immortal Moon was not at the Northern Shanmen, Wei Yuan's status now far surpassed that of an ordinary True Person; failing to pay respects to the ancestral masters would be impolite.

His final stop was the Celestial Mechanism Hall.

True Person Zhenjun Yan Shi stood at the cliff's edge, gazing at the distant sea of clouds. When Wei Yuan arrived, he seemed to have anticipated it, called Wei Yuan over, and pointed into the distance: "What do you see?"

Wei Yuan stared for a long time. "A cloud."

True Person Zhenjun Yan Shi laughed. "Others, when I ask this, either pretend to see something, or force meaning onto the clouds—like 'observing the sea of clouds is like observing mortal lives.' You're refreshingly honest!"

Wei Yuan's face flushed—he couldn't tell if it was praise or mockery.

True Person Zhenjun Yan Shi returned to the hall, seated Wei Yuan beside the table, and poured two cups of clear tea.

True Person Zhenjun Yan Shi's tea was famed throughout the Tai Chu Palace. Immortal Moon had acquired it several times but never drank it—instead, he resold it.

On the table sat two teacups: one whole, placed before Wei Yuan; the other, chipped, before Zhenjun Yan Shi himself.

Zhenjun Yan Shi poured the tea himself—Wei Yuan's cup was full; his own, due to the chip, held only two-thirds.

Wei Yuan hurried to swap cups, but Zhenjun Yan Shi stopped him. "These cups belong to whom they belong—they cannot be exchanged. I actually have a new cup right there."

Wei Yuan followed Zhenjun Yan Shi's gaze to a small kiln in the hall's corner, where a teacup was being fired. Though still a raw clay form, its exquisite craftsmanship was already evident.

True Person Zhenjun Yan Shi's expression grew complex. He sighed softly. "This cup is beautiful—but it will never be used."

The words carried hidden meaning, but the hint was too faint—Wei Yuan did not understand.

Immortal Moon had once remarked: When listening to True Person Zhenjun Yan Shi, don't strain your mind. If you understand, you understand. If you don't, it's because Zhenjun Yan Shi didn't explain clearly.

True Person Zhenjun Yan Shi seemed disinterested and offered no further explanation. He simply escorted Wei Yuan out of the hall. Wei Yuan had already delayed too long—he departed the Northern Shanmen and returned to Qingming.

As Wei Yuan ascended into the sky, the Beiliao launched a massive assault—battle raged on the ground, in the air, and beyond the heavens. Wei Yuan turned back, his enhanced vision revealing that every frontline held peril but no collapse.

Then the earth trembled, the heavens darkened, and a hundred-mile-long crack split open across the sky! Wind, fire, thunder, and lightning surged from the breach. Countless indescribable entities poured forth from the void!

This was a heavenly tribulation—unlike any Wei Yuan had ever seen.

Immediately, a terrifying beast's roar echoed through heaven and earth. A vast shadow descended upon the Northern Shanmen, seeking to halt the tribulation.

At that moment, a brilliant radiance erupted from the Northern Shanmen, winding through the sky, reaching a thousand li in an instant!

The beast's roar turned to a wail. A colossal immortal dog, hundreds of zhang long, fell from beyond the heavens into the mortal world, its blood staining the earth yellow.

On this day, True Person Zhenjun Yan Shi successfully crossed the Four Burning Heavenly Unthinking Annihilation Destiny Tribulation and ascended to immortality.

Immortal Tinghai unleashed his final strike—and took the Beiliao Lesser National Master's dog's life.

After this battle, the Beiliao Lesser National Master clutched his dead dog and wept for three days and nights, his grief so profound it echoed for ten thousand li. With the dog's death, his own power diminished by two-thirds.

ps: I originally planned to thank a patron, but seeing the chapter title, I'm unsure who to thank.

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(End of Chapter)