The reclaimed land came with no attached Mountain Protection Array or Spirit Veins. After the Lu Clan’s fall, Cangwu City remained a place of strife.
While Wei Mingyi indeed held absolute control over it, she was far from an invincible state and would be throwing herself into danger.
Following the Sect Leader and the others, she swiftly ransacked the Lu Clan’s assets before promptly sneaking back to the Chongyuan Sect, adopting an air of complete non-involvement.
The storehouses weren’t easy to locate or unlock, but Feng Cangcang revealed herself at a critical moment. Intimately familiar with the Lu Clan’s storehouses, she wished Su Xuanjing and the others could pack up even the topsoil and take it away. During this process, the Sect Leader only asked Feng Cangcang, as a matter of courtesy, where she planned to go. Feng Cangcang, in turn, naturally followed along, returning with them to the Chongyuan Sect.
“Are there any medical texts among those Daoist manuals?” Wei Mingyi’s primary concern was precisely this. Her Shizun’s body was afflicted by “Wither and Flourish,” which needed an antidote. The longer this dragged on, the more dire the situation became.
“I’ll look through them carefully.” Hua Xiaozhu understood Wei Mingyi’s concern and nodded in reply.
Only then did Wei Mingyi relax slightly. If there was one, excellent. If not—
Then they’d fight their way up the hierarchy, layer by layer. She refused to believe otherwise! An antidote had to exist somewhere in this world.
Wei Mingyi had little interest in the distribution of resources. The Sect Leader would handle it properly anyway.
While being carried back by the Sect Leader, she focused on the attributes displayed on the main panel.
【Achievement Points: 1,100 (Lu Clan, Cangwu City)
Talent Points: 13
Assets: Chongyuan Sect (Spirit Vein · Yellow; Meridian Opening Pool · Yellow; Upgradeable), Cangwu City】
The reclaimed land had no “Upgradeable” label, nor any gifts or bonuses—just its most original state. Studying the panel, Wei Mingyi speculated that the System actually wanted her to expand into the Wild Domain rather than slaughter and fight fellow cultivators within the Pure Domain.
The Lu and Wang Clan affair had blown up so massively that the Feng Clan and the Heavenly Dao Alliance couldn’t possibly ignore it.
These clans could simply change their surnames. It wasn’t impossible to “merge into new clans” to create a fresh 4th-Rate Clan to govern Cangwu City.
Wei Mingyi tapped open Cangwu City’s map. She stopped all hubs, crossed out mineral and herb resources, and watched it repeatedly until she was certain Cangwu City held nothing worth the Heavenly Dao Alliance’s attention. Only then did she contently close the System.
The power to control everything was rather intoxicating, but once Wei Mingyi landed and was buffeted by the mountain wind, she sobered up.
Her cultivation was simply too low.
The news that the Lu and Wang Clans had mutually assured their destruction, with their clansmen practically wiped out, inevitably reached the ears of the Feng Clan and the Heavenly Dao Alliance cultivators. The Heavenly Dao Alliance arrived incredibly swiftly. However, by the time they reached Lu Clan’s Daoist grounds, the place was long since a complete wreck. Su Xuanjing and the others hadn’t taken absolutely everything, deliberately leaving behind some less important items. How could the small clans and sects, long oppressed by the Lu Clan, resist the temptation to scavenge? By the time the Heaven Alliance Stewards arrived, people were still fighting over scraps near the ruins.
The Wang Clan’s Langya City fared much better than Cangwu City. Apart from the near-total loss of life, the buildings suffered no damage whatsoever. The Heavenly Dao Alliance didn’t suspect the Chongyuan Sect. After all, the conflict between the Wang and Lu Clans was witnessed by all. More than investigating some unimportant “truth,” they had come primarily to survey the resources here and see if other clans could merge and move in. But the results disappointed the Heavenly Dao Alliance Daoists. All hubs within Cangwu City were destroyed, the Spiritual Energy completely drained. All that remained was residual, fragmentary spiritual energy, which would fully dissipate within three years.
“It is possible that surviving members of the Wang Clan fled with the Lu Clan’s treasures.” The Heaven Alliance Steward seriously noted this down. “Cangwu City has become dead land. No value in managing it. Wang Clan’s Langya City remains intact. Merge minor clans to form a New Wang Clan to govern Langya City.” The Feng Clan Daoists raised no objections to the Heavenly Dao Alliance’s decision, though considerable displeasure still simmered in their hearts. Two clans’ internal strife had ultimately only weakened the Feng Clan’s own power. They’d have to find ways to recruit new forces from elsewhere.
Cangwu City had become dead land, useless as a Spirit Vein hub. The few clans and sects leasing Spirit Veins there had abruptly lost their cultivation foundation. How could they sit still? They all frantically began planning to migrate elsewhere. Meanwhile, the Zheng Clan extended an olive branch to these small clans before the new Wang Clan could even be established.
Apart from these slightly more capable groups, some other clans were also moving out. They had once lived under the Lu Clan’s rule in Cangwu City. Although constantly exploited, the Lu Clan, like a great mountain, had also provided them a degree of security. Now designated dead land by the Heavenly Dao Alliance, this place would lose order in the future; the Heavenly Dao Alliance would no longer intervene or govern here. After careful consideration, those clans still chose to relocate.
Over the next period, Wei Mingyi didn’t leave the sect, receiving all reports from the Assistant Master or Sect Leader Li. The current situation: Cangwu City had become dead land. Anyone with even a bit of ambition had moved away. Those remaining had simply given up entirely—if they could cultivate, they would; if they couldn’t… well, so be it.
“This outcome isn’t bad either,” Wei Mingyi muttered. She looked down at Wu Chongyun, who sat there silent with lowered eyes. Knowing she was unwilling to speak, Wei Mingyi still asked, “What does Shizun think?”
After a pause, she added: “It’s just that the Lu Clan… they’re a bit disappointing. A clan with Golden Core cultivators, yet they didn’t recognize that medical texts are the truly valuable things?”
The Sect Leader had already inventoried the resources. The external medicines required for Senior Sister Mo Xuanxiao’s Foundation Establishment were now fully gathered, just waiting for the right moment. The Sect Leader and Assistant Master estimated that, aided by the Meridian Opening Pool, thirty Qi Meridians was the limit. Calculating the time, it was probably close. In addition to herbs, there was a vast amount of Pill Jades. There was no fear of starving in the short term. But the texts looted from the Lu Clan held nothing useful. The strongest among them was merely Yellow Tier. In the words of their Ancestor, they were fit only for toilet paper.
Wei Mingyi, having found nothing related to Wither and Flourish, felt somewhat disheartened.
But Wu Chongyun suddenly let out a soft “Hmm.”
Slowly, she raised her hand, seemingly intending to brush away the pear blossoms fallen on her leg.
Seeing her movement, Wei Mingyi guessed what she wanted and proactively reached out to sweep the fallen petals away for her. Her fingers brushed against a jade pendant, and a light, crisp clinking sound rang out by her ear. Wei Mingyi paused for a moment, her hand suddenly resting still against Wu Chongyun’s leg.
Wu Chongyun gazed at Wei Mingyi. Those still, silent eyes swiveled, as if ripples had spread across a pool of water.
She seemed slightly puzzled.
After a brief silence, Wu Chongyun grasped the White Jade Horsetail Whisk hanging from her wheelchair. In truth, this was her artifact, a zither named “Follow the Heart’s Desire.” But now, she lacked the strength to return the artifact to its original form. Holding the whisk’s jade handle, its other end swept across Wei Mingyi’s face. It stopped at Wei Mingyi’s chin. Her blank, empty mind held no thoughts, but her hand instinctively tilted upward, lifting Wei Mingyi’s head.
Wei Mingyi was half-kneeling before Wu Chongyun.
The whisk brushing against her skin was ticklish.
Meeting Wu Chongyun’s gaze, she asked obediently, “Shizun, what is it?”
Wu Chongyun didn’t speak. She just shifted the whisk in small movements, grazing from chin to the corner of her lips.
Only a moment later did Wu Chongyun lower the whisk.
She didn’t look at Wei Mingyi again, simply closing her eyes to rest as she pleased.
Wei Mingyi: “…”
Was it just her imagination? Moments ago, Shizun seemed to be having a bit of a sadistic episode.
