“The Wild Domain consists of wastelands within the Nine Provinces that are unfit for human habitation, teeming with Wicked Wraiths everywhere. Ten thousand years ago, the Ancient Sages comprehended the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth, finding a path to survival amidst the primal chaos. Yet even after developing to this day, the ‘Pure Domains’ under human control only encompass half of the Nine Provinces.” Fearing that Wei Mingyi was unclear about the Wild Domain, Su Xuanjing took the initiative to explain.
“To this very day, cultivators are still opening up Pure Lands. Whether it’s master-disciple lineages within sects or bloodline inheritances from aristocratic families, all have operations within the Wild Domain. Compared to the Pure Domains, where scheming and infighting are everywhere, the Wild Domain is like a pristine land. Because as long as you hunt Wicked Wraiths and purify the soil, you will earn Merit Points. Everyone possesses a ‘Heavenly Merit Ledger’, and in due time they can go to the Heavenly Dao Alliance to exchange their Merit Points for desired items. Of course, once you are linked with the Heavenly Dao Alliance, everything you obtain—be it techniques or magical artifacts—will be under the Alliance’s control.”
“So it’s not necessarily a dead end?” Wei Mingyi blinked. If the Wild Domain had been a battleground since ancient times, perhaps they could still find relics left behind by cultivators from the ancient era?
Su Xuanjing shook her head and said, “Cultivators today are no longer like the Ancient Sages born from primal chaos ten thousand years ago. The Wild Domain is unsuitable for cultivators to dwell in for long. That Primordial Chaos Qi will gradually erode the body and mind of a cultivator. Without the power and bases of the great families, ordinary people cannot survive in the Wild Domain.” It was far too dangerous—so dangerous that even aristocratic families considered it a dead end and were willing to grant a token amount of fairness that cost them nothing.
Wei Mingyi sighed upon hearing this. Although entering the Wild Domain would allow her to escape the Lu Clan’s entanglements, whether she could survive was another matter altogether. So for everything, they could only rely on the Sect Leader! She did possess a golden finger to assist her cultivation, but the acquisition of Achievement Points was closely tied to her own strength. It was a vicious cycle now. Without Achievement Points, she couldn’t level up; without power, she couldn’t make a name for herself.
“We can still find ways to sell the refined pills, but the spirit herbs for subsequent pill refining—” Hua Xiaozhu started to speak, her brows tightly furrowed. The Alchemical Cauldron Pavilion under the Heavenly Dao Alliance had always controlled the sale of spirit herbs and pills. Private buying and selling of pills happened frequently, but things like herbs were much harder to obtain. The few families and sects capable of cultivating spirit herbs were all registered with Cangwu City. Apart from private use, they could only trade with the Alchemical Cauldron Pavilion—all of it tightly controlled.
“Can’t we cultivate them ourselves?” Although she knew this was a somewhat foolish question, Wei Mingyi still asked.
Hua Xiaozhu turned her gaze to stare at her, sighed, and then gently explained, “Ordinary soil cannot grow spirit herbs. The soil requires nurturing and care, and more importantly, the nourishment of a Spirit Vein. The spirit vein we rented in the past could hardly improve the soil’s quality. Although we now have a True Vein, it will take several years before it can nourish the water and earth.”
Wei Mingyi asked again, “What about those grown naturally in nature?”
“Almost all naturally blessed lands have been staked out by the Heavenly Dao Alliance. To put on a show, the Heavenly Dao Alliance opens them up periodically, allowing cultivators to enter mountains and seas to collect herbs. But everything obtained must be registered,” Su Xuanjing said.
Cultivator advancement requires not only internal refinement but also supplementary external medicines. Whenever breaking through to a major realm, one must seek the corresponding medicinal materials. The Heavenly Dao Alliance controls these external medicines, guessing a cultivator’s Dao cultivation and practiced techniques from what they gather, weaving a fine-meshed net that traps all cultivators. Of course, occasionally prodigies with natural talent who refuse to be controlled by the great families emerge, existing like enigmas—such as her Shizun, Yue Wuque. But such individuals are the minority, not the urgent concern for them right now.
“Does the Assistant Master mean that with suitable Spirit Fields, we could plant them?” Wei Mingyi suddenly asked again.
Hua Xiaozhu nodded and said, “Yes.” She had also collected the corresponding seeds in the past. The alchemy scriptures her master and disciple duo practiced were not just about pill refining techniques but also included the planting and care of spirit flora, along with corresponding techniques to accelerate growth. As long as the field problem was solved, pill refining would no longer be difficult.
“Can the Yellow Tier suffice?” Wei Mingyi asked. She only had two hundred Achievement Points, enough to upgrade two patches of soil at most—and she didn’t even know how large an area the effect would cover. If one hundred Achievement Points only upgraded one square meter, that would be truly pathetic. As she pondered this, Wei Mingyi flipped through the explanation, finally relaxing when she saw the notes at the end. The soil upgrade wasn’t calculated by a fixed area but by designation. The plus sign appeared after the names of the Five Peaks; clicking to upgrade the Second Peak meant the upgrade area was as vast as the Second Peak itself.
This rule suggested there might be loopholes to exploit in the future.
Having studied it thoroughly, Wei Mingyi coolly spent half her Achievement Points to upgrade the soil of the Second Peak. She didn’t explain much, simply saying to Hua Xiaozhu, “Chongyuan Sect has five great peaks. Assistant Master, why not go see if the soil on the Second Peak is suitable?”
A look of surprise flickered in Hua Xiaozhu’s eyes.
Su Xuanjing responded gently, “Alright.” If Wei Mingyi didn’t say much, they absolutely wouldn’t pry further.
Wei Mingyi was completely clueless about farming; these matters could only be left to the professionals. After finishing the discussion, she stretched lazily and pushed Wu Chongyun back.
Though the future was uncertain, the sky hadn’t fallen yet, had it? They’d talk about it when everything was truly ruined.
Wei Mingyi was relaxed, while Wu Chongyun’s demeanor was one of perceptive indifference.
She ignored everyone, and upon returning to her room, she simply sat stiffly to one side, wheelchair and all.
For the moment, Wei Mingyi had no time to fuss over her dear Shizun. She stared at the two Talent Points on her panel, wanting to assign them to herself. But when it came time to act, she hesitated, even starting to regret the Talent Point she had wasted earlier! Did she absolutely have to spend them just out of twitchy fingers? Talent Points were so incredibly rare—shouldn’t she save them up? She was only at the Meridian Opening stage, practically in kindergarten, and she was already thinking of cheating?
Accumulating Talent Points was even harder than saving up gacha pulls. Wei Mingyi exerted great effort to suppress the urge to use them and began meditating and cultivating honestly.
The next few days were very peaceful at Chongyuan Sect.
The Lu Clan had been thwarted. Given their overbearing and tyrannical nature, one would expect them to retaliate against Chongyuan Sect twofold. Yet, up to now, there had been no movement, indicating that they truly were tied up by some significant matter.
As for what matter, the people of Chongyuan Sect had no time to investigate for the moment.
The Sect Leader was busy cultivating, pushing to break through to the Golden Core 3rd Layer as quickly as possible.
The Senior Disciple Sister, Meng Bujue, was also cultivating something called the ‘Great Dream—Who Awakens First.’
Meanwhile, Assistant Master Hua Xiaozhu, upon discovering that the soil on the Second Peak contained spiritual energy suitable for planting spirit flora, had taken Mo Xuanxiao to tend the fields.
For Wei Mingyi, boredom was secondary.
Her mood wasn’t particularly high. Over this period, her intuition told her that the spiritual energy she absorbed was neither too much nor too little, and the third Qi meridian showed no sign of opening.
Could it be that she truly had no talent whatsoever? Did she absolutely have to use her Talent Points?
Just as she began to question her life, a creaking wheelchair sound was heard. Her silent, reticent beauty of a Shizun quietly appeared outside her room, glanced at her once, and then drifted away, calm as a cloud.
Wei Mingyi: “?”
What did that mean? Was she going to transmit teachings and enlighten her? Without even tapping her three times on the head?
Wei Mingyi was rather baffled, but she still set aside the trace of lament and resentment in her heart and chased after the wheelchair.
The room was bright with clean windows, bronze vases held floral arrangements, and incense coiled from a duck-shaped burner.
Sitting in the wheelchair, Wu Chongyun had her back to Wei Mingyi, presenting only the back of her head.
Seeing Wu Chongyun’s white hair scattered by the gentle breeze, Wei Mingyi instinctively wanted to gather it with her hands, but she restrained herself when Wu Chongyun’s voice sounded.
Wu Chongyun said only one word: “Book.”
Wei Mingyi’s gaze shifted, landing on the small table.
On it lay a thin booklet, not very thick.
Wei Mingyi picked it up and found it was a strange script she didn’t recognize. A single glance was enough to make her blood boil, and staring for too long left her dizzy.
“If it’s this dizzying, is it 3D text?” Wei Mingyi muttered inwardly. She pinched the bridge of her nose and flipped another page. This time, she half-recognized some common characters. Steadying herself, a flash of insight struck her. She asked, “Is this Dao Script?”
Wu Chongyun responded with a faint sound of acknowledgment and then left Wei Mingyi behind, heading into the inner room.
Wei Mingyi watched Wu Chongyun’s retreating back in astonishment. Last time she hadn’t gotten a response, she thought the matter had been forgotten.
She never expected her Shizun had actually kept it in mind.
She wasn’t as cold and distant as she appeared on the surface.
Wei Mingyi didn’t return to her own room, instead sitting down behind the small table. If any questions arose, it would be convenient to ask. The thin booklet, which seemed easily flipped through to the end, actually held far more content than expected. Wei Mingyi read until dusk, only then dazedly realizing something: this was the cultivation world, and her ‘common sense’ might not be as useful here.
The contents of the book were extremely detailed, and Wei Mingyi wasn’t entirely empty-headed. After a whole day of reading, she hadn’t found a single point requiring Wu Chongyun’s clarification.
Dusk settled.
The lanterns hanging under the eaves lit up automatically.
Though cultivators could see in the dark, Wei Mingyi still lit a candle.
The night grew thicker, but Wei Mingyi’s thoughts were growing increasingly chaotic.
When she heard noise coming from within, she quickly closed the booklet and stepped into the inner room.
No one was in the wheelchair.
Wei Mingyi’s gaze circled the room before she finally spotted Wu Chongyun, eyes closed, leaning against the daybed.
The cascade of white hair was loose, her lotus crown discarded carelessly on the floor—the source of the earlier noise from its impact.
“Shizun?” Wei Mingyi called softly.
Wu Chongyun lifted an eyelid. She didn’t look at Wei Mingyi, but didn’t shoo her away either.
Blinking, Wei Mingyi slowly approached the daybed. She walked all the way to its side and sat down, Wu Chongyun still making no sound.
Wei Mingyi asked again, “Do your legs hurt?” “Wither and Flourish” had entangled her Nascent Soul with death Qi. Wei Mingyi had no idea where it might cause pain and could only guess based on Wu Chongyun’s habitual wheelchair use and the way her legs were now crossed and drawn up slightly.
Wu Chongyun still didn’t speak, merely giving Wei Mingyi a cold, sharp glance.
A few breaths later, she lifted her foot and rested it on Wei Mingyi’s leg.
A clear, bell-like sound rang by her ear. Wei Mingyi shuddered, her body suddenly stiffening.
Her expression became slightly unnatural, a blush rising in her ears. She glanced down and saw that Wu Chongyun’s ankle was wrapped in a red cord chain adorned with tiny silver bells.
