Chapter 54 Part 2

This was a superior technique of the Spirit Mountain Wu Clan, named “Heavenly Wind Blowing Sea Manual.”

“Nascent Soul… Stage 2?” Guo Yuanhui clutched his chest and violently coughed up blood, his face full of terror. Nearby, Guo Yuanying had fared no better. She stared at Wu Chongyun in shock and suspicion, the roar in her ears unceasing. “You… who are you?” Nascent Soul Stage 2, with power so deep and robust far beyond the norm—this person’s foundation was perfectly complete, not something an ordinary clan could produce.

The chaotic state of the Three Cities… had all their conjectures been wrong? A hand had reached here long ago? But what was so special about the Three Cities to draw the attention of such high-level powers?

Wu Chongyun lifted her eyes but did not stop playing.

She said flatly, “Wu Jianchan.”

Those three words struck the Guo family Daoists’ hearts like a thunderbolt.

They had seldom interacted with the Four Great Clans, but they had heard the name “Wu Jianchan” and knew what it represented.

The Four Paragons of Spirit Mountain… innately perfect, a future Grotto-Heaven of Spirit Mountain.

And for someone from Spirit Mountain to appear in the Cloud Realm—what did that signify? Had they unknowingly been swept into the struggles of the Four Great Clans?

Alarm bells screamed in the Guo Daoists’ hearts. They no longer cared about seizing people and urgently transmitted to their clan. As for themselves, their will to fight was gone; they wanted to escape into the Gourd Realm.

But the flames on the spider web spread, and all around, Spiritual Energy quaked chaotically. Escape into the Gourd Realm was impossible!

Their hearts both sank. There was no getting away.

In Xingyang City.

Hearing the name “Wu Jianchan” spoken aloud, a nameless fire blazed in Wei Mingyi’s chest. She clenched her fist and struck at the empty air. Gnashing her teeth, she said, “Since you’ve come, don’t think of leaving!”

Lin Prefecture, Guo Clan—she would remember this!

Clearly, Shizun already had nothing to do with Spirit Mountain, yet these people forced her to invoke that name, again and again, making her relive those agonizing old matters.

Langya City.

The Guo Clan had sent three Golden Cores there to capture people, but against Su Xuanjing, Qi Wugua, and the others, they couldn’t succeed. They were barely holding on when a warning from their Nascent Soul Perfected One echoed in their Heart Sound, and their resolve instantly crumbled. On the other side, those attempting to attack Cangwu City couldn’t even enter. Hearing their Nascent Soul’s terror-stricken voice, an icy chill shot straight up their spines to the crown of their heads; they dared not linger outside Cangwu City a moment longer. As for their clansmen’s fate… they could barely save themselves. By telling them this, the Nascent Soul Perfected One intended for them to carry the news back to Lin Prefecture.

This defensive battle could be called a complete victory.

The Guo family had come with nine people; three Golden Core Daoists escaped. Of the remaining six, one Nascent Soul who had pushed his own clansman forward as a shield to seize a way out had died, along with one Golden Core whose mouth had run too loosely. The rest were temporarily held in Xingyang City’s Black Prison.

“What do we do with these people?” Wei Mingyi asked. If they were going to break the aristocratic clans’ old rules, they would inevitably have many enemy families. And they couldn’t just slaughter every last person in those families. Some had merely followed their clan’s orders, unable to see the mire beneath their feet. The aristocratic clans treated prisoners cruelly, dissecting them and selling the useful parts to the Heavenly Dao Alliance with clear price tags—eagerly snapped up. But such a thing, Wei Mingyi could never do. Even the thought made her sick.

Su Xuanjing frowned; she hadn’t figured it out either. Honestly, the best place for these people was the Wild Domain, to kill wicked wraiths—but they couldn’t send them there. “They’re all cultivators. Keeping them locked up forever would waste all their power.”

Wei Mingyi nodded.

Prisoners needed labor reform.

But the trouble was, the Three Cities were too poor; there was no “labor” that required these people to do.

At that thought, a spark lit in Wei Mingyi, and she started rummaging through the Building Shop again.

When in doubt, ask the Cheat Item—what if a useful building appeared? Some things only showed up when needed.

Poking here and there, she actually found a usable building.

It was called the “Heavenly Purification Wheel,” costing only a hundred Achievement Points, with no limit and a permanent price. Though called a building, it was actually a purification artifact that required external force to operate. The aura it produced could purify land polluted by wicked wraiths. But before Wei Mingyi could feel happy, she saw the note below: “Can only be placed in the Pure Domain.”

Wei Mingyi: “?”

She asked nervously, “Is there any land in the Pure Domain polluted by wicked wraiths?”

Su Xuanjing didn’t know; she turned to Wu Chongyun.

Wu Chongyun said, “Not before.” The Lifeless Land was an absolutely critical existence in the Nine Provinces; it had kept the wicked wraiths and pollution bottled up in the Wild Domain, allowing the Pure Domain peace and comfort.

Wei Mingyi blinked.

Disaster. The Purification Wheel’s appearance in the Shop meant wicked wraith pollution would enter the Pure Domain.

It just wasn’t clear who the culprit dragging that pollution in would be.

According to her speculation, the building had been unlocked by the Guo Clan Daoists, so the problem most likely rested with Lin Prefecture.

But since the entire cultivation world was wickedly sick, the suspect list couldn’t be finished in a century.

“I have an item, the Heavenly Purification Wheel, usable only in the Pure Domain.” Wei Mingyi pondered a moment, then directly revealed her discovery. Everyone already knew of the many mysteries around her and wouldn’t press for the source.

“Is the sky over the Pure Domain about to fall?” Meng Bujue suddenly looked up, her eyes filled with terror.

“It won’t be that bad,” Su Xuanjing said. She had cultivated the “Guizang Scripture” and, after counting on her fingers for a moment, finally, under everyone’s expectant gazes, spoke: “Couldn’t calculate it.”

Wei Mingyi: “…”

Su Xuanjing added, “Since a means to eliminate it has appeared, it can still be saved.” She paused. “If the problem lies with the Guo Clan, then we really must prepare to attack Lin Prefecture.”

Now that wicked wraiths were involved, it was even more necessary to interrogate the Guo Clan Daoists.

In the Black Prison, Guo Yuanying sat cross-legged. Though now a prisoner, she showed none of the weakness of fawning or pleading—unlike some among the Golden Cores, who had little backbone and were already thinking of defecting to the Three Cities, as precedents were everywhere.

“Fellow Daoist, how do you intend to dispose of me? Will you take my Nascent Soul Dharma Body?” Guo Yuanying asked the moment she saw Su Xuanjing and Wei Mingyi. Without waiting for an answer, she added, “If I excise my own Nascent Soul, its potency will be greater than if you forcibly extract it. I can voluntarily give up my Nascent Soul Dharma Body, but on one condition: the talent among my clansmen is mediocre—”

Before Guo Yuanying could finish, Wei Mingyi raised an eyebrow and said, “Who wants your Nascent Soul?” The aristocratic clans liked cannibalism, but they weren’t so cruel. Looking at the visibly astonished Guo Yuanying, she clasped her hands behind her back and asked, “Has the Lin Prefecture Guo Clan colluded with wicked wraiths?”

Guo Yuanying, originally relatively composed, instantly changed color at these words. Anger mixed with fury in her eyes. “We cultivators take eliminating wicked wraiths as our own duty. How could our Guo Clan collude with them?”

“Really? I don’t believe it,” Wei Mingyi scoffed.

Provoked, Guo Yuanying wanted to erupt—but remembering her circumstances, her expression sank again. Her gaze shifted to Su Xuanjing. With a person in charge right there, why let a junior speak nonsense?

“If Fellow Daoist truly thinks so, then sign this ‘Purification Envoy’ agreement,” Su Xuanjing said, taking out a roster Wei Mingyi had given her, her tone mild.

This roster was one component of the Heavenly Purification Wheel. Once a Daoist signed their Name Seal and formed a contract, they would have to provide two hours of motive power to the Wheel every day. Additionally, no matter where the Daoist was, once they actively channeled their magical power, it would all be drawn into the Wheel. This arrangement wasn’t exactly fair—because once signed, they lost their freedom. Even when under attack, they couldn’t fight back. Thus, Wei Mingyi and the others couldn’t serve as motive power themselves.

“And if I refuse?” Guo Yuanying would not trust her enemies.

Unfazed by her sharpness, Wei Mingyi said, “Perfected One Guo, this isn’t a negotiation. This is a notification.”

Unprovoked invasion, indefinite sentence.

Just as the Guo Clan Daoists “voluntarily” signed their Name Seals, a System notification drifted across Wei Mingyi’s vision.

Lin Prefecture Guo Clan: Reputation – Hatred. Achievement Points +200, Talent Points +2.

This time it didn’t mention Chongyuan Sect? But on second thought—Chongyuan Sect now controlled the Three Cities. Hating the Three Cities equaled hostility toward Chongyuan Sect.

It seemed the Guo Clan had already brought word back.

Lin Prefecture, Qilin Mountain.

When the conscription had been blocked before, the Guo Clan Daoists were furious. But now, with three of the clan’s pivotal Nascent Souls all present, their faces showed only terror and unease. Their goal was a second-rate clan; when dealing with the Lei Clan Daoists, they sought some semblance of equal dialogue. But when it came to the Four Great Clans backed by Grotto-Heaven cultivators, they didn’t dare entertain a single rebellious thought, let alone thoughts of revenge. They didn’t even dare speak that name aloud. Hatred existed, yes, but it could only be buried deep.

They were a clan of the Cloud Realm, yes—but if they offended Spirit Mountain, could they hope to survive under the Cloud Realm’s shelter? Impossible. The best course was to play deaf and dumb.

Not only could they not mention the Zither Paragon’s presence in the Three Cities, they couldn’t let outside families know the Guo Clan had lost a Nascent Soul. They could only pretend those Daoists were away. Fortunately, all matters concerning the Qilin Platform had been entrusted to their own people.

“Don’t touch that place any further,” the Guo Clan Head said. He couldn’t fathom the reasons either. Some things he could scheme for, but a game between Grotto-Heavens—even as a Nascent Soul Stage 3 cultivator, he couldn’t meddle. The distance to Grotto-Heaven seemed only a line, but the vast majority could never cross that boundary in their entire lives.

“But we don’t have enough people. The estimated numbers were wrong, and the attrition rate far exceeds the initial calculations.” The cultivators herded into the Gourd Realm had already started work, but the situation was grim. The Guo Clan Elder’s brow was deeply furrowed. They had followed the blueprints exactly, giving all the specified protections, yet some Daoists kept stepping wrong and being sucked dry to husks. After a moment’s hesitation, he said, “Could it be that we need Golden Cores?”

“There’s no turning back now. All of the clan’s resources have been poured into this. It can only succeed, not fail!” the Guo Clan Head ground his teeth. Even if he gained resources, he had no hope of reaching Grotto-Heaven himself—but what if the next generation could? True, the talented descendants were taken away, but those with slightly lesser talent—if they could make the Combination Art permanent and truly merge many into one, there was still some hope. But before that, the Guo Clan had to become a Prosperous Clan in order to obtain the full cultivation resources.

Without entering Grotto-Heaven, without obtaining the Dao Fruit, all was but illusion!