The land was in her hands; all interpretation rights belonged to her.
But Wei Mingyi felt she was being perfectly fair. The Heavenly Dao Alliance offered heaven-tier goods, and the Three Sects did the same—where exactly were these people losing out?
Liu Yuqi of the Pure Clean Sect was unhappy with the price but powerless to change it. She could only glare furiously at Wei Mingyi, struggling to suppress her anger.
“We’ll need a few days to discuss,” Ren Piaoping said after a pause, her tone gentle. Her demeanor was placid and mild, not sharp and aggressive like Liu Yuqi.
Wei Mingyi said, “As you wish.” She was in no hurry anyway. Their current cultivation resources were already sufficient, and the treasures needed for Shizun had been gathered. There was nothing further to trade from the Three Sects.
Over the next few days, the Three Sects’ Daoists didn’t show their faces. Who knew if they were still thinking of buying land? But someone from the aristocratic clans came—a familiar face: He Yaoluo, the He Clan Daoist now stationed in Imaginary Village. When Wei Mingyi received her, she was by no means warm, but neither did she show the rejection and hatred she held toward the clans.
He Yaoluo’s visit was also at the Heavenly Dao Alliance’s bidding, though it carried her own intentions as well. A mysterious power like Chongyuan Sect that didn’t reject the clans was worth befriending. After exchanging a few pleasantries, He Yaoluo finally circled to the main topic with feigned nonchalance and asked, “Do the Three Sects’ Daoists also come to buy land?”
Wei Mingyi’s eyes flashed, and she smiled. “The Three Sects’ Perfected Ones worry for their disciples, fearing they’ll have no foothold in the Wild Domain. They’re also preparing to buy land. But we haven’t agreed on the price.”
Meeting Wei Mingyi’s smiling gaze, He Yaoluo felt a chill in her heart for some reason. The words on the tip of her tongue were swallowed back. After hesitating a moment, she continued as she’d originally planned: “Does Fellow Daoist still have land? The Heavenly Dao Alliance intends to purchase all of it.” She phrased it delicately; the alliance’s instruction had been to draw in Chongyuan Sect, offer benefits, and let the alliance control all Pure Land in the Wild Domain.
Hearing the word “all,” Wei Mingyi understood exactly what the alliance was scheming. They wanted to “cooperate” with Chongyuan Sect and monopolize the Wild Domain, didn’t they? If every unlocked plot of land fell into the alliance’s hands, wouldn’t that simply cement their rule over the Nine Provinces even further? No matter what, Wei Mingyi couldn’t agree. She asked blandly, “How much more does the alliance need?”
He Yaoluo didn’t sense any enthusiasm from Wei Mingyi on the matter. She sighed inwardly, then said, “As much as possible.” She paused, then explained, “The effort against the Wild Domain’s encroachment here on the Lifeless Land is led by the alliance. When Merit Points are earned, the alliance handles the distribution. What Fellow Daoist provides is indeed excellent, but if no one on top controls it, it could easily erode cultivators’ fighting spirit. If cultivators just stay inside their base camps and refuse to go out and kill wicked wraiths, that does the Nine Provinces no good either.”
Wei Mingyi knew such people existed, but it wasn’t really about whether the alliance held control. She looked steadily at He Yaoluo and smiled. “If they have no fighting spirit, why stay in the Wild Domain’s base camps instead of returning to the Pure Domain?” The Pure Domain had well-developed structures everywhere; those who didn’t seek immortality could at least seek comfort. And the Pure Land in the Wild Domain, though it had spirit veins, was only yellow-tier, mixed with the Breath of Chaos—never pure. It was just a foothold camp, nothing more.
He Yaoluo was momentarily at a loss for words.
Wei Mingyi continued, “If Fellow Daoist wants to introduce aristocratic clan Daoists to buy land, I won’t refuse. But if Fellow Daoist wants Chongyuan Sect to deal only with the clans, I can tell you plainly: Chongyuan Sect cannot do that.” Seeing He Yaoluo lost in thought, she added with feigned indifference, “Is the Tianwu He Clan a third-rate clan under Spirit Mountain? Now, besides the He Clan, are members of the Prosperous Clan also moving into Imaginary Village?”
He Yaoluo’s expression shifted.
Because several Perfected Ones of the alliance had jointly given the instruction, the Prosperous Clan above the He family wouldn’t openly seize things—but their desire to control Imaginary Village couldn’t be hidden. On top of that, there were the He Clan Daoists. She came from the direct line, but she’d never been valued much within the clan, not considered particularly talented—otherwise she wouldn’t have been sent to guard the Lifeless Land. After she acquired Imaginary Village, the clan’s people came. The elders explicitly demanded she transfer control.
But the one who had made the contract with Chongyuan Sect was her.
She didn’t know what method Chongyuan Sect had used, but the Mountain Protection Array opened and closed with a mere thought, requiring no tablet talisman to control the formation. Because no one knew how it worked, Imaginary Village couldn’t be transferred.
The clan was displeased, but powerless.
While the stone in her heart settled, a trace of unwillingness lingered—why should she give it up? Yet she couldn’t expel the He Clan and Prosperous Clan members, so she could only maintain her usual calm and deal with them insincerely.
Seeing He Yaoluo’s expression worsen, Wei Mingyi’s smile deepened. All of this was gossip she’d heard from Lang Fengya. The aristocratic clans were indeed complicated. Up and down, even within a single clan, there was constant scheming and rigid hierarchy. “Fellow Daoist He must remember: it was with you, and you alone, that I made this transaction,” she said. If a base could be transferred so easily, what of the oath’s binding power? Would it just keep passing along with it? Sales—only with her. As for cultivator-world “scalpers,” they didn’t exist in land deals.
He Yaoluo’s feelings were tangled. After a long while, she asked, “What if I die an unfortunate death?”
Wei Mingyi: “…” She hadn’t thought of that before, and neither had the other party; the contract they’d drafted had no such clause. She tapped her Cheat Item and got an answer. After a Daoist’s death, the Mountain Protection Array and spirit vein would go dormant, awaiting her reclamation, recycling, and reuse. Very well, very Cheat. Wei Mingyi said, “Masterless, barren land.”
He Yaoluo’s eyes flickered. She accused calmly, “Fellow Daoist didn’t mention this before.”
“And you didn’t ask,” Wei Mingyi blinked. It was only her second time selling land in the Wild Domain—was it so unusual to not be perfect? She added, “Isn’t this actually good news for you?”
He Yaoluo said, “How so?”
Wei Mingyi smiled at her, not hiding her intent to stir the pot. “Fellow Daoist, why not be a little bolder? When the He Clan scions overstep, learn to say ‘no.’ Right now, you are a treasure. Shouldn’t the He Clan be treating you like one?”
He Yaoluo didn’t answer, only gazed deeply at Wei Mingyi, then took her leave.
Wei Mingyi raised an eyebrow.
Among the aristocratic clans, there would always be some who wanted to break the old rules. Some just wanted to climb higher; others sought to shake off all shackles. Which kind was He Yaoluo?
Like the Three Sects’ Daoists, He Yaoluo hadn’t concealed her movements. She hadn’t reached an agreement with Wei Mingyi, but neither would she broadcast that fact—she simply reported back to the alliance’s Perfected Ones. When this news reached the Three Sects, the Daoists who had been quibbling over the price could no longer sit still. The alliance made no public statement, but the Three Sects knew what those Perfected Ones were thinking.
If Chongyuan Sect truly struck a deal with the alliance, the Three Sects would become even more hemmed in on the Lifeless Land, and the master-disciple lineage’s living space would shrink further.
But what truly forced the Three Sects’ Daoists to make up their minds was another earth-shaking event in the Nine Provinces, one unfolding right on the Lifeless Land: inside a Pure Land, an intelligent wicked wraith had appeared! Had it not begun moving and eroding nearby Daoists, no one would have noticed it was no longer human.
The Heavenly Alliance stewards checked the individual’s records and found it was likely that it had already transformed during the last Evil Tide outbreak. This sent an icy chill through people’s hearts. Was there only this one on the Lifeless Land? After thousands of years of struggle against the Wild Domain, the consensus among Nine Provinces’ Daoists was that wicked wraiths were mindless creatures; when a Daoist was eroded, their thinking became chaotic as well. But now, the emergence of this wraith shattered that understanding.
The last Evil Tide hadn’t followed past patterns. So, in the depths of the Wild Domain, beyond their sight, had unpredictable transformations already begun?
The four Ministers guarding the Lifeless Land appeared simultaneously at the wraith’s last known location. That place had been turned into polluted barren soil—fortunately within the Pure Domain, and a very small area, which could be erased by available means.
“Inform the Nine Provinces,” Wu Weiye said, frowning.
When a wicked wraith gained intelligence, it would no longer blindly charge. Defending the Lifeless Land would become even more difficult. Harder to deal with was one thing, but what was more terrifying: if they could retain their own awareness, would some people willingly embrace Chaos, becoming one of the wicked wraiths themselves?
Inside Yangchun Terrace, Wei Mingyi had also heard the news.
“Wicked wraiths have leveled up,” Wei Mingyi sat cross-legged across from Wu Chongyun, resting her chin in her hand as she sighed. Then, she suddenly recalled the Wild Domain’s urban legends Lang Fengya had mentioned and asked, “Shizun, are those rumors true? For example, that a branch of ancient people lives deep in the Wild Domain, and after years of development, they actually have the power to control wicked wraiths?”
Wu Chongyun said lazily, “Not something you should be thinking about.” To continuously spawn wicked wraiths, there must exist a force at the Grotto-Heaven level—or perhaps even beyond. In the earliest records, there were accounts of expeditions into the Wild Domain, but not a single person returned. The “spirit of enterprise” had gradually receded. Later generations had only one task: to defend the Lifeless Land as best they could and slowly push forward. That approach had borne fruit—advancing and retreating, but on the whole, the Pure Domain expanded.
“Then what should I be thinking about?” Wei Mingyi knew she wasn’t at that level; when the sky fell, the tall ones would hold it up. She lowered her hand onto Wu Chongyun’s leg, leaned forward slightly, and said with a grin, “Shizun?”
Wu Chongyun looked down, studying Wei Mingyi’s hand for a moment. She didn’t brush it away, only closed her eyes and said lightly, “Cultivation.”
“I am cultivating,” Wei Mingyi replied with an “Oh,” and grew bolder. Originally sitting cross-legged, as she leaned forward, she shifted to a more comfortable kneeling-seated posture, both hands braced on Wu Chongyun’s legs, using a bit of strength to support herself.
Wu Chongyun soon opened her eyes, staring fixedly at Wei Mingyi.
Wei Mingyi asked, “What does condensing a Dan Seed require?” She only knew that each person’s cultivated Dao was different, and the medicinal ingredients needed for the Dan Seed varied as well. For instance, the Sect Leader—it surely related to the sword. As for Shizun, who cultivated the Dao of the Zither, her external medicines would all be things aligned with musical tones, right? She cultivated the Law Dao, which wasn’t as clearly defined as sword or zither.
Wu Chongyun said, “Get up.”
Wei Mingyi pretended not to hear.
Wu Chongyun: “…” She pressed her lips together, then said, “What suits you are ingredients of yin, yang, and the five elements.”
Wei Mingyi’s eyes lit up, and she let out an “Mm,” not expecting that Shizun had indeed already planned her path.
