Chapter 743: Preparation: World Fragment

Upon returning to the Northern Mountain Gate, Xiang Little Wei Yuan went to visit Tinghai Xianjun Zhenjun Yan Shi. The meeting place was still the same small courtyard, unchanged for ten thousand years; after paying his respects, Xiang Little Wei Yuan recounted in full the details of his meeting with the Silver Moon Khan and everything that had been discussed.

Tinghai Xianjun Zhenjun Yan Shi sat holding his teacup, motionless; after a moment, he stirred as if waking from a dream and asked, "What did you just say?"

Xiang Little Wei Yuan was startled, so he repeated it again.

This time, Tinghai Xianjun Zhenjun Yan Shi truly listened and said: "I just forcibly destroyed a small world belonging to the Left Left Xianwang; he launched a furious attack on me, and I suffered a minor setback, so I couldn't spare any attention for this side."

Xiang Little Wei Yuan was shocked and asked: "You took a minor setback?"

Tinghai Xianjun Zhenjun Yan Shi sighed: "A spell struck one of my celestial realms, destroying hundreds of li of land and turning all life there to ashes! The opponent had no moral compass—he attacked while I was distracted. But I've memorized that spell, and I've marked the caster. He will suffer bad fortune for a hundred years before I'm satisfied!"

"This battle also reveals how long my people in the celestial realms have been complacent—they grew lax even at such a time. No wonder they suffered defeat. I must thoroughly reprimand them…"

Tinghai Xianjun Zhenjun Yan Shi's self-reflection lasted a full quarter-hour, yielding over a dozen lessons and identifying eight areas needing improvement; further, by analogy, he spotted several latent hazards…

Xiang Little Wei Yuan stood silently until Tinghai Xianjun Zhenjun Yan Shi finished, then cautiously asked: "That's all?"

"That's all."

"So you destroyed one of their Jingying small worlds, and they retaliated with a spell that destroyed hundreds of li of land?"

"Precisely."

Xiang Little Wei Yuan didn't know what to say. Tinghai Xianjun Zhenjun Yan Shi didn't mention a single advantage he'd gained, yet he endlessly detailed his minor setback, listing countless reflections and analyses. This kind of personality…

Xiang Little Wei Yuan thought it was quite good, and resolved to learn from it.

Tinghai Xianjun Zhenjun Yan Shi finally finished venting, then asked: "What was it you said earlier?"

Xiang Little Wei Yuan had no choice but to recount the meeting with the Silver Moon Khan once more. Then Tinghai Xianjun Zhenjun Yan Shi gave no opinion, asking: "What do you plan to do?"

Xiang Little Wei Yuan said: "Disciple believes we should first pretend to comply, clarify the true relationship between the Left Left Xianwang and him, and uncover the reason for their enmity. Then we must determine how many mortal enemies he still has in the Northern Liao. When necessary, we should incite them to conflict—first and foremost, we must eliminate the Silver Moon Khan. If the Ancestor deems it wise, we might even negotiate peace with the Left Left Xianwang, allowing him to retain his strength so he can return and fight the Silver Moon Khan."

Tinghai Xianjun Zhenjun Yan Shi asked: "The Silver Moon Khan has not yet ascended to Immortality, yet from your tone, you already regard him as your greatest enemy. Why?"

Xiang Little Wei Yuan hesitated, then said: "Disciple's information is hearsay. Qingtong said the Silver Moon Khan vowed to make the lives of the Liao people on earth as good as those in the Immortal Realm. I felt then that this man is my greatest adversary in life—if an opportunity arises, we must eliminate him before he grows stronger."

"If the Left Left Xianwang truly holds a mortal grudge against him, we must not weaken him too much—we should let him return to fight the Silver Moon Khan. Any anger you have, vent it on the Small State Minister."

Tinghai Xianjun Zhenjun Yan Shi glared at Xiang Little Wei Yuan: "If I only strike the Small State Minister, won't people say I pick only the softest persimmons to squeeze?"

Xiang Little Wei Yuan grinned shamelessly: "Soft persimmons taste better!"

Tinghai Xianjun Zhenjun Yan Shi finally nodded: "It seems you're beginning to awaken. You're naturally wary of opponents who also accumulate human fortune. Though you cannot see it, you must already sense the vast Liao people's fortune on the Silver Moon Khan."

In the presence of an Immortal, Xiang Little Wei Yuan dared not boast; he answered honestly: "Disciple felt nothing at all. I merely thought the Silver Moon Khan had extraordinary insight and judged people with uncanny accuracy. That made me uneasy."

Tinghai Xianjun Zhenjun Yan Shi looked at Xiang Little Wei Yuan and said coolly: "He does judge people well! Among all heroes under heaven, only you and he. We Immortals are all mediocre, petty men."

"You know about this?" Xiang Little Wei Yuan was stunned.

"You carry my Immortal treasure, and he insulted me too. Now that the treasure has returned to me, I naturally know everything." Tinghai Xianjun Zhenjun Yan Shi glared at Xiang Little Wei Yuan again before continuing:

"The Silver Moon Khan stands just beyond the Immortal Gate—he must have seen the immense human fortune on you, which is why he seeks an alliance. Whether you form an alliance or not, both have advantages—it depends on how you act. At this point, strategy is merely auxiliary. Everything still hinges on you."

Xiang Little Wei Yuan's heart steadied slightly, then he asked: "Ancestor, do you know Qingtong's origins? Why does she assist Prince Jin in his cultivation?"

Tinghai Xianjun Zhenjun Yan Shi frowned slightly, a rare expression; after a moment of silent calculation, he said: "Her origins are strange—even I cannot fully discern them. She may come from the ancient sect Immortal Dream Cloud Heaven, a sect that appeared suddenly and vanished mysteriously; its disciples act in bizarre ways, their intentions impossible to fathom. Or she may be a secret cultivator from the Fallen Buddha Lands… hmm, that sect…"

As he spoke, Tinghai Xianjun Zhenjun Yan Shi himself frowned into silence; after a moment's thought, he added: "It doesn't matter. You carry the great fortune of the human Dao—these reclusive sects cannot harm you. At most, they'll try to guide you into doing certain things. So far, Qingtong shows no ill intent toward you; no need to worry yet."

"Return to your post and accumulate more fortune. Something major will soon require your involvement."

Xiang Little Wei Yuan's heart tightened; he hurriedly asked: "What kind of major matter?"

"Following your advice, I carefully examined the Small State Minister's resources and identified another deep-blue world. But he holds few such worlds, and guards each tightly. We must make him misjudge—only then can I strike while he's distracted."

"Your task is to disguise your human world as one of my celestial realms. When the enemy surrounds it, I will suddenly hurl my true celestial realm and launch a full surprise attack—I'm certain we'll gain something!"

Xiang Little Wei Yuan was stunned. Was he being asked to serve as bait? Tinghai Xianjun Zhenjun Yan Shi's celestial realms all glowed golden-red; one appearance would draw a swarm of golden realms and their small worlds to attack.

Human world—barely a white small world, barely upgraded to pale green after swallowing the Star Pivot Stone—what merit did it have to draw a golden realm's assault?

Xiang Little Wei Yuan feared that even if he caught the fish, if Tinghai Xianjun Zhenjun Yan Shi was even a moment slow, he'd be swallowed whole.

Tinghai Xianjun Zhenjun Yan Shi sensed his worry and reassured him: "No need to fear—it's not certain anything will happen."

Xiang Little Wei Yuan heard this and grew even more worried.

Tinghai Xianjun Zhenjun Yan Shi said: "Your current accumulation is still insufficient—you're not yet ready to act. Return first and gather more fortune. Then digest the world fragment within your mind-realm. That should be enough."

"But I see your entrance to the world fragment is constructed with great skill—yet your offensive methods are crude. I will teach you the Heavenly Mechanism Transforms Fortune Art, specifically for attacking within the mind-realm. Once you master it, you may proceed to digest the world fragment."

Then Tinghai Xianjun Zhenjun Yan Shi chanted a true incantation; countless Dao talismans flooded into Xiang Little Wei Yuan's spiritual sense. This transmission of the art lasted seven full days.

The Heavenly Mechanism Transforms Fortune Art allows fortune to be infused into Dao soldiers, puppets, and celestial realm beings—those blessed with fortune gain greatly enhanced power. Xiang Little Wei Yuan held vast quantities of human Dao's green qi, making him ideally suited for offensive use.

Normally, Xiang Little Wei Yuan could infuse fortune himself, sustaining it for long periods; the Heavenly Mechanism Transforms Fortune Art, however, could ignite fortune, greatly increasing its consumption—but also its potency. With this art's blessing, his power could double instantly, far surpassing his previous strength.

His fortune had already been heavily depleted in his battle with Silver Blade; now, with this new technique, he immediately felt his green qi was even more insufficient. Some tasks he'd planned would need to be moved up urgently.

After leaving Tinghai Xianjun Zhenjun Yan Shi, Xiang Little Wei Yuan returned to Zhencheng, as usual inspected the defenses, then returned to his quarters to carefully inventory his fortune.

He now had zero purple fortune, and only thirty thousand green fortune remaining. This amount could barely sustain three major battles. As for celestial fortune, after the last chaotic disturbance of the Yin-Yang Array, he didn't know how much he owed—or when he could repay it.

What he could plan now was only green human fortune. Xiang Little Wei Yuan examined its sources and found the three northern Zhenchengs had contributed twelve thousand green fortune. The three Zhenchengs' reserve Dao soldiers totaled three hundred thousand; their contribution of twelve thousand fortune was already remarkable.

Among reserve Dao soldiers not yet at Golden Body completion, only about sixty percent could contribute fortune. The left and right Zhenchengs, which he had only recently taken over, contributed little. The seventh Zhencheng had already yielded all it could—no further potential remained.

Qingming's population now stood at seven million. As it rapidly expanded, power struggles, exploitation, lax governance, and corruption had inevitably emerged. Fortune acquisition now lagged far behind its founding days.

Though Qingming had systems like military merit, cultivation pathways, and hereditary honors, they couldn't change the fact that most people lacked talent and vision.

These people saw no future, yet they loved comparing themselves—not in courage or diligence, but in petty, vulgar ways: if working side-by-side in a field, they refused to do even one more task than another. If they succeeded in slacking off, they felt as if they'd eaten honey.

Qingming was entering its seventh year, yet this year, many fields saw yields drop instead of rise—completely illogical. In truth, as Qingming's spiritual nourishment deepened, its earth qi increased yearly, and spiritual energy grew ever richer.

Many top-tier farmlands from Qingming's founding had become spiritual fields; many who once lacked Dao foundation potential now had a chance to break through to the Template Dao Foundation.

If nothing else changed, yields per mu should have increased by thirty percent—how could they possibly decline?

Xiang Little Wei Yuan had never noticed such subtle details before; the drop was only a few catties per mu. Elsewhere, such fluctuations would be normal. But in Qingming, a drop of a few catties meant a loss of dozens of catties per mu—thirty percent of total yield!

His first thought was theft; his second thought was some underground problem.

He sent a message through his avatar to Master Master Chuhe. Master Master Chuhe had always overseen the spiritual fields—if earth qi had issues, he would surely notice.

Moments later, Master Master Chuhe replied: No theft occurred; earth qi is normal. The yield drop is simply because too many people are slacking off.

(End of Chapter)