Chapter 61 Part 1

The further one went in cultivation, the more resources were required. The Heavenly Dao Alliance controlled the vast majority of the Nine Provinces’ resources, directly cutting off the path to the Grotto‑Heaven for ordinary people. Why would they then need to plunder Good Deed merit? Take that “Ninth-Grade Divine Sand” for instance. If one wanted to advance further, one had to use this substance for cultivation even at the Nascent Soul stage. Otherwise, even if sitting on a Heaven-tier Spiritual Vein, one couldn’t gather the immense Spiritual Energy needed to advance. Moreover, the Ninth-Grade Divine Sand in the Heavenly Dao Alliance was distributed in fixed quotas. Below the Four Great Clans, cultivation resources were allocated according to rank and contribution. One could, of course, exchange Good Deed merit for it, but the available amount was even smaller.

The reason Wu Chongyun possessed Ninth-Grade Divine Sand for her cultivation was because she came from Spirit Mountain. She didn’t need to follow any rules set by the Heavenly Dao Alliance.

“In short, Good Deed merit is actually a good thing. Can we start collecting it in advance? The Heavenly Dao Alliance doesn’t seem to care anyway,” Wei Mingyi said with a thoughtful “hmm.” “What exactly is the origin of Taiyi? Why is Taiyi everywhere? Cultivating for ten thousand years, using treasures left by predecessors, cultivating methods passed down by predecessors—could it be that cultivators have always been regressing?”

Su Xuanjing looked at Wei Mingyi several times. No wonder she was said to be the “Variable.” These were things they had never considered before.

“Shizun?” Wei Mingyi touched her chin, leaning towards Wu Chongyun. She knew that the Sect Leader and the others weren’t reliable. For broad knowledge, she still had to rely on her Shizun, who never spoke unless asked.

“The craftsmanship of the Shifang Celestial Palace has always been advancing, and the power of cultivation methods and combat techniques has also been improving,” Wu Chongyun argued. Seeing Wei Mingyi’s interest still undiminished, she continued, “Heaven and Earth made the Dao manifest, and Taiyi obtained it. Taiyi is the person closest to the ‘Dao.’ Cultivation methods change in a thousand ways, but the ‘Dao’ within them can be said to be eternal and unchanging. Different people cultivating the same method will comprehend different things from it. Thus, using the scriptures of predecessors is not equivalent to completely retracing their path. Dao transmissions have commentaries and sub-commentaries, which can better aid in understanding Dao manuals. It’s also possible…”

“To stray further from the Dao,” Wei Mingyi interjected, thinking of the Pure Clean Sect. The Ink of World Purification had become profoundly heretical in their hands.

Wu Chongyun nodded.

“Let’s return to the main topic,” Su Xuanjing said. “To expand or not to expand? And how to expand?”

Hua Xiaozhu glanced at Su Xuanjing. “Senior Sister, why don’t you cast a divination?”

Su Xuanjing: “…” After a few moments of silence, she said calmly, “The conditions for casting the divination aren’t met.”

Wu Chongyun lowered her eyes and said indifferently, “The Wild Domain Restriction Decree is being enforced. The storm has not yet ceased.”

Wei Mingyi concluded, “So we must set sail.” After a pause, she added, “That Good Deed merit is truly tempting. Waiting until the Grotto‑Heaven stage to gather it might be too late. What if we, like the Heavenly Dao Alliance, also trade using Good Deed merit?”

“If we do that, the clans might very well target us and make a move,” Su Xuanjing poured cold water on the idea. One had to know, among all the various rumors swirling in the Wild Domain, the most prevalent was that there was a Grotto‑Heaven behind Yangchun Terrace. Wouldn’t that just imply that Yangchun Terrace was capable of using Good Deed merit?

“Ah—” Wei Mingyi tilted her head back, leaning increasingly close to Wu Chongyun, almost pressing her entire weight onto her arm.

Wu Chongyun flicked her whisk, slightly nudging Wei Mingyi, but couldn’t push her away. Her own desire to straighten Wei Mingyi up wasn’t very strong either. After failing to push her away, she subtly shifted slightly closer to Wei Mingyi. She said, “More likely, they’ll just watch coldly.”

“Why?” Hua Xiaozhu asked.

Wu Chongyun said, “The Heavenly Dao Alliance doesn’t act, not because they’re unwilling, but because they have no way to act. Obtaining the Good Deed key requires manifesting to collect Divine Sand. If a person reveals themselves, with the clans’ power, they are capable of suppressing that person.” It was the unknown that felt truly terrifying. “Moreover, they aren’t yet certain whether Chongyuan Sect even knows the secret of Good Deed merit. After all, trading with Good Deeds in the Wild Domain is a very common matter.”

Wei Mingyi said, “In short, we can try it. To conceal our intentions, we’ll use a dual system of Good Deed merit and Pill Jade.”

Hearing her speak like this, Su Xuanjing knew she’d already made her decision. They could advise against it, but there wasn’t much point. She asked again, “How do we differentiate the Daoists we recruit?” A person’s character was hard to see at first glance. She couldn’t just sit here and divine the future of everyone who entered the sect.

“Don’t place them at Yangchun Terrace. Don’t connect them directly to the main body of Chongyuan Sect,” Wei Mingyi said. Yangchun Terrace would remain better as a “control center.” She would unlock another plot of land and raise its Spiritual Vein a bit. “As for recruiting disciples, how about testing their hearts?”

In the Building Mall, there were “Heart-Questioning Steps,” a building specifically for testing a Daoist’s heart. The starting price was five thousand Achievement Points, but the subsequent upgrades still followed the rules: five hundred points to raise it to Profound-tier, another thousand to Earth-tier, and then two thousand more to Heaven-tier. Given Wei Mingyi’s current base “Achievement Points,” she could wave her hand grandly and say, “a mere few thousand.”

“Heart-Questioning” was very common among various sects. It relied on all sorts of illusory realm changes to see how a Daoist would react to situations. Some of the larger sects, during their open recruitment, might set up Heart-Questioning Steps to find disciples whose ideals aligned with their own. Chongyuan Sect… had been too poor in the past. There was simply nothing like that in the mountain.

Su Xuanjing considered, “That could work.”

“The Thousand Autumns Enterprise outside Yangchun Terrace was originally selling elixir pills to the public. If we recruit people, how do we differentiate them?” Hua Xiaozhu furrowed her brows and added, “We can’t just use Good Deed merit to exchange for elixir pills, right?” Originally, in the Chongyuan Sect, only she and Mo Xuanxiao could make elixirs. Fortunately, the disciples of Hidden Moon Sect had joined in. Though they couldn’t match the two of them, for some simple medicinal pills, with the Revival Furnace’s assistance, anyone with hands could refine them. In Wei Mingyi’s words, it was an “assembly line.”

But the Wild Domain was special. Daoists had a large demand for simple pills like “Miasma‑Breaking Elixir,” “Mind-Clearing Elixir,” and “Heart-Cleansing Pill.” Just doing business, what they sold was their own affair; outsiders couldn’t control it. But if it were rewards for sect members, it couldn’t be handled so sloppily.

“High-Grade Cinnabar,” Su Xuanjing said slowly. The Spiritual Vein in the Chongyuan Sect was Earth-tier and had already begun producing “High-Grade Cinnabar.” This type of cinnabar was a cultivation resource that Foundation Establishment, Golden Core, and even Nascent Soul cultivators could use. It wasn’t as good as Ninth-Grade Divine Sand, but this was the choice of ordinary cultivators. “Dao scriptures, artifacts.” Not just the Chongyuan Sect’s own collection, but also what they’d seized from the three cities and the Guo Clan, what the land buyers had given, and what the Spirit Heart Sect had refined. They might look down on Profound-tier and Yellow-tier Dao manuals, but for those with ordinary aptitude who didn’t seek higher realms, getting started with such cultivation methods was faster.

“Aren’t the artifacts over there all from the Heavenly Dao Alliance?” Hua Xiaozhu asked again.

“Does the Nine Provinces forbid reselling?” Wei Mingyi said. Before they had their own artifact-refining talent, what was wrong with a little “reselling”? Using a few of the Heavenly Dao Alliance’s artifacts was the Alliance’s good fortune; she hadn’t even charged them an endorsement fee.

Although the decision to recruit in the Wild Domain was made, the specific regulations still needed to be worked out slowly. For instance, what items could be exchanged, and how many merit points for each? Unlike selling land, which Wei Mingyi could alter at any time, this required a set of rules to be sustainable in the long run. Neither Wei Mingyi nor Wu Chongyun were much for managing affairs, so these matters could only fall on the shoulders of the Sect Leader and the Assistant Master.

By December, Wei Mingyi emerged from her meditative seclusion.

She unlocked a plot of land in the Wild Domain called “Great Marsh.” This place had no special bonuses for herb or mineral growth; it was entirely ordinary, and the Spiritual Vein wasn’t attuned to any specific element. Wei Mingyi didn’t mind this. She spent five thousand Achievement Points to upgrade the Spiritual Vein to Profound-tier, then another five thousand to purchase Heart-Questioning Steps and place them outside the mountain gate. Whatever the starting price of items from the Building Mall, they were always Yellow-tier initially. Fortunately, subsequent upgrade costs were temporarily constant and hadn’t changed. Seeing she still had a surplus of Achievement Points, Wei Mingyi directly maxed out the Heart-Questioning Steps. She was left with ten thousand one hundred Achievement Points, which she saved for now.

Although the people recruited for Chongyuan Great Marsh wouldn’t interact with the main sect, they couldn’t just be allowed in casually.

Those who couldn’t pass the Heart-Questioning Steps would simply have to be rejected.

As this was a residence for their own use, the Wicked Wraiths inside still had to be dealt with personally. All members of the Chongyuan Sect normally cultivated in the Pure Domain. Now that the opportunity arose, they were eager and quickly cleared out the Wicked Wraiths. Looking at this scene, Wei Mingyi thought to herself that in the future, selling land could also include a Wicked Wraith-clearing service, though the price would need to be raised slightly.

This new territory needed someone to manage it. Initially, Xie Xianqing was chosen.

But her hidden injuries had only partially recovered. When she came out of the Zheng Family, as she herself had said, her Dao path was essentially over.

Coming to the Wild Domain occasionally was fine, but staying permanently would be detrimental, because even within a residence that had a Spiritual Vein, the energy in the Wild Domain wasn’t pure enough, and she was better off staying at the main sect of Chongyuan.

Just as they were indecisive about who should be stationed at Chongyuan Great Marsh, Feng Cangcang successfully crossed that threshold and advanced to become a Golden Core Daoist.

Upon learning of Chongyuan Great Marsh, Feng Cangcang volunteered, willing to go there and take charge.

Yangchun Terrace, Public Pavilion.

Wei Mingyi wanted to use the advertising space, so she cleared away all the small ads left by other Daoists.

First, she put up a map of the Wild Domain, marking out residences like Yangchun Terrace, Fire Element Dwelling, and Imaginary Village. Though this was actually something everyone already knew, looking at it on a map was more intuitive and clear.

These residences weren’t too far from the Lifeless Land and were still within the shallow zones of the Wild Domain. In the past, Daoists had left many residences in the Wild Domain, but when the Evil Tide came, it could wash away the vast majority. Although Daoists encouraged themselves, their morale had still fallen a tiny bit, thinking they were doing useless work. However, now, seeing a clear map, it was as if they’d been reinjected with a surge of spirit, and they felt alive again.

Never mind, for now, whether they could enter or not— for the first time in thousands of years, there was truly a foothold in the Wild Domain.

“Chongyuan Great Marsh is recruiting? No restrictions on origin, no restrictions on cultivation level? Anyone who considers themselves upright can come?” Someone read out the text below.

“Chongyuan Great Marsh? Hm? Is that just the Chongyuan Sect?”

“Recruiting at a time like this… quite delicate.”

“Looks like there’s no need to pay Pill Jade to register.”

…

The Daoists outside Yangchun Terrace couldn’t help but start discussing.

It was said that it was good to lean against a big tree for shade. Some rogue cultivators had chosen freedom and independence on their own; others… could either not stand the behavior of those sects, or simply no one wanted them.

A mysterious Chongyuan Sect that could establish itself in the Wild Domain—if an opportunity to join was placed before them, and they didn’t even need to pay Pill Jade—those who wanted a backer, how could their hearts not waver? Let alone some rogue cultivators, even Daoists from aristocratic families were somewhat moved. If the clans could suppress the Chongyuan Sect, then they would continue to trust the clans. But in reality, Chongyuan Sect first withstood the test of the Evil Tide, then seized the title of Paragon in the Heavenly Dao Debate… Admittedly, there were many things that still required the clans and the Heavenly Dao Alliance, but one had to say, in the face of Chongyuan Sect, the clans still felt a sense of utter defeat and desolation.