Qingming could expend the blue water in the pond to dramatically increase the strength of all humans within its domain. The duration depended on the will of the realm lord and the amount of nurturing energy available. This was “Life is a Flash”.

A mortal could instantly become a blood-tempering stage cultivator under the effects of Life is a Flash; on par with the regular elite border troops of Great Tang and far surpassing the troops the late Liao Jingwu had relied on to rise to power. Those who had mastered the Body-tempering stage would enter the Dao Foundation stage, and those in the Dao Foundation stage would advance by at least one minor stage. The improvement was negligible only when one was at the Avatar stage or higher.

When Life is a Flash appeared, Wei Yuan was stunned for a good few seconds before he finally regained his senses.

Jia Wood Nurtures Life, Life is a Flash. Qingming was clearly born for an age of strife. He could only imagine what state of mind the immortal who created the realm stone was in all those years ago.

Before he had a chance to ponder this further, Wei Yuan sensed a group of people approaching the realm from the southeast continuously.

Wei Yuan immediately summoned Yun Feifei. Together, they headed to the southeastern part of the realm. Soon, a group of people appeared in the distance, walking along a half-abandoned road. Judging from how quickly they were moving, it was clear that they were all cultivators.

In the distance, a burly man and a sultry married young woman stepped out of the group and walked up to Wei Yuan and Yun Feifei. They said, “We are the cultivators from the nearby region. We happened to meet Immortal Yun in Willow Ash Town and heard that an upper immortal from an immortal sect had set up a realm stone in hopes of rebuilding the human realm! We are deeply impressed and have come specifically to join you. We humbly ask that you do not turn us away, upper immortal!”

Overjoyed, Wei Yuan quickly returned the greeting before inquiring about the group.

The burly man was Wu Yang, and the sultry young woman beside him was his wife. They had both reached the late stage of the Dao Foundation stage. Unfortunately, Wei Yuan could only see a blurry mass when he checked them with the Qi Viewing spell. He knew then that neither of them had any hope of manifesting an Avatar.

This was expected, though. Outside the immortal sects, very few Dao Foundation stage cultivators could become Avatars. The few who could were usually bottom-tier Avatars as well. They were qualified to found their own sect. In remote regions, they might even be qualified to establish a fourth-tier sect like White Maple Academy.

Although the husband and wife could not become Avatars, their cultivation and combat power were still significant. They had brought over three hundred cultivators with them as well. It consisted of a dozen or so Dao Foundation-stage cultivators, dozens of full Body-tempering stage cultivators, and hundreds of bone-tempering stage cultivators.

According to them, more cultivators were rushing over after hearing the news as well. They should be showing up over the day. They were slow because their cultivation were weak, and the slowest could arrive as late as two days later.

These hundreds of cultivators were a godsend. Naturally, Wei Yuan did everything he could to win their loyalty. Seeing how respectful Yun Feifei was acting toward Wei Yuan, Wu Yang realized that the rumors regarding his military exploits were likely true. Thus, he abandoned any thoughts of testing him.

The people of the western regions were known for their intrepid, competitive spirit. They valued strength above all else. When Wu Yang and Yun Feifei first met, they had tested their skills against one another. He had been defeated without a shadow of a doubt. If Wei Yuan didn’t possess the strength to subdue Yun Feifei, there was no way she would obey him without question.

Wei Yuan noticed that the cultivators all looked fatigued and worn out. The weaker ones were even dressed in rags. He knew then that they were on the brink of despair.

Cultivators weren’t mortals. In the human realm, they could not have fallen this far no matter how downtrodden they were. But here in the Shaman realm, all accomplished cultivators were high quality sacrifices. That was why many cultivators paradoxically led worse lives than mortals in this region.

Wei Yuan immediately said, “You’ve all traveled a long way. Feel free to have a hearty meal and a good rest after we’ve returned to the realm. Someone will make the necessary arrangements once you’ve recovered.”

Wordlessly, Wei Yuan manifested the Great Realm. They were outside the realm right now, but the Dao Foundation instantly transformed the surrounding area into the Pure Realm of Humanity. The cultivators instantly felt their spirits lifting, and a continuous stream of spirit qi surging into their bodies. Their previously depleted Dao energy began to regenerate, and their injuries ceased to worsen. Even if the Shamans were to show up right now, they would possess the strength to give them a run for their money!

Wu Yang and his wife exchanged a glance with each other, both unable to hide their astonishment. They had lived in the Shattered Realm for a long time, and not once had they ever witnessed such divine prowess! The power to reshape heaven and earth themselves—were they not seeing it with their own two eyes, they wouldn’t have believed it was real for the life of them.

The sultry young woman was decisive. She immediately dropped to her knees and declared, “It would appear that this young woman and her husband have found their bright lord. We pray that you will take us under your wing, great king. We husband and wife are willing to serve as your humble servants, ready to go through fire and water for you!”

Wu Yang came to his senses and knelt down as well. Following their lead, all other cultivators dropped to their knees while chanting, “My king!”

Wei Yuan was taken aback. He felt like they had skipped a few steps here. After mulling over the situation seriously, he decided that it wasn’t time yet and quickly pulled the husband and wife to their feet. The two cultivators were just putting on a show of compliance, so they rose back to their feet and followed Wei Yuan back to the realm.

Thankfully, the realm wasn’t far away. Once inside they were past the border, Wei Yuan discreetly restricted the Great Realm. Keeping it active while sustaining over three hundred cultivators was no joke.

Once again, the cultivators were overcome by the distinct difference between the Shaman realm and the realm of Qingming. Many looked up at the azure sky overhead and suddenly found themselves in tears. The skies of the Shaman realm were always gloomy. Even on sunny days, the sun seemed veiled by a thin gauze.

In the Shaman realm, the sunlight was stiflingly hot despite not being particularly intense. A thick, damp mist hung everywhere as though the water would never dry up. Those who lived in the Shattered Realm had long grown accustomed to wearing clothes made of oil-treated hemp. Although they were quite uncomfortable, they didn’t absorb water.

But now, they were standing in a world bathed in brilliant sunlight, bright and day. For a moment, they could believe that they had entered an immortal realm.

Wei Yuan declared in a clear voice, “This is the realm of Qingming. From now on, you may all settle and live here. However, the Shamans will certainly not tolerate our presence. Their massive armies are already bearing down on us, and whether or not we can defend this place will depend on your efforts!”

“Those damn Shamans again? I’ll kill them!”

“Everyone dies someday. I would rather die fighting and pass away with a clear conscience!”

The cultivators were filled with indignation, their voices rising in a clamor.

Wu Yang turned to address his fellow cultivators. “Brothers and sisters, we’ve all had more than enough of those dark, damp days where we were constantly in danger of being captured by the Shamans, have we not? Today, we’ve finally arrived at this human paradise, and our great king is even gracious enough to accept us. If we don’t give our all now, when will we? If we repel the Shamans and survive, then we will become loyal subjects who uplifted our great king to his rightful position, right?”

Wu Yang then turned around and bowed to Wei Yuan. “This subject will give his life for the cause. Eternity be with you, my king!”

Once more, the cultivators dropped to their knees and chanted, “Eternity be with you, my king!”

Wei Yuan was aghast. He wasn’t expecting the charade to happen a second time. They were in the realm right now, and both Zhang Sheng and Big Senior Sister were watching! Do they have a death wish? He already told them that the time wasn’t right yet[1]....

“What are you doing? Get up, get up!” They were inside the realm, and Wei Yuan desperately wanted this to stop. So, he manifested the Great Realm again, applied its effects to everyone, and lifted all of them to their feet.

All three hundred or so cultivators including Wu Yang and his wife were lifted to their feet against their will. Shocked and in disbelief, they finally realized exactly how powerful Wei Yuan was!

Before this, the cultivators were somewhat driven by opportunism and herd mentality. But now that they had gotten a glimpse of Wei Yuan’s true power, they were decidedly cowed. Even the most troublesome troublemakers had become docile at this moment.

Suddenly, a wisp of blue qi appeared inside Wei Yuan’s Dao Foundation. It stood side by side with the previous five wisps.

Caught off guard, Wei Yuan finally confirmed that the blue qi was tied to the group of cultivators in front of him. However, he could not be sure if it came from a specific person, or all of them. Also, what was the mechanism behind its appearance?

Thinking back to his actions carefully, he discovered that the blue qi had appeared after he manifested the Great Realm and lifted every cultivator to their feet at once, cowing them completely. 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

Did this mean that willing submission and acceptance was the key behind obtaining a blue qi?

Wei Yuan ordered Yun Feifei to lead the rest of the cultivators to eat and rest. He himself took Wu Yang and his wife to the central peak to meet with the other members of the Palace of Absolute Beginning. On the way, he solemnly instructed them to address him as “Master”, and only temporarily. No other titles were permitted, and certainly not the “great king”.

After meeting with the cultivators of the Palace of Absolute Beginning, both Wu Yang and his wife broke out in cold sweat when no one was watching.

Previously, they believed that they would be second to none within the realm because they were late-stage Dao Foundation stage cultivators who had brought several hundred fellow cultivators to pledge their allegiance. At most, their status would be slightly lower than that of Yun Feifei, who was clearly the great king’s consort. However, they never imagined that so many people from the Palace of Absolute Beginning would show up; all of them boasting an aura as deep as the ocean. Perhaps one of them was even a legendary immortal foundation cultivator!

Time was running short, and the Shamans’ armies were bearing down on them. This group of cultivators had also been cowed into submission. Thus, Wei Yuan did not bother playing nice and directly assigned two hundred cultivators under Cui Yu’s command, leaving Wu Yang and his wife with less than half their original numbers.

On a related note, the Dao Foundation stage cultivators got a lot more leeway. Wei Yuan allowed them to choose who they wished to join. Moments later, the large majority of them decided to join Cui Yu, and three others went to Yun Feifei. Only one remained with Wu Yang and his wife, and that was only because they were old acquaintances. It was a classic example of the saying, “A fine bird chooses a tree to nest in[2].”

Wu Yang looked a little green when all was said and done, of course. That said, he knew his place. He knew he couldn’t compete against Yun Feifei, much less Cui Yu. The fact he still had a force of his own, dwindled as it was, was already an excellent outcome.

After dividing the troops, Wei Yuan started redistributing the equipment. He divided the forces in the realm into three groups. The first group consisted of Cui Yu, the scions, and their bodyguards. They were well-equipped, possessing not only mystic artifacts of at least middle-grade quality, but also a large supply of talismans and other life-saving measures. The second group comprised the western region cultivators who had joined him at the very beginning including Yun Feifei. They had fought several battles at this point and possessed at least a basic set of equipment.

The last and biggest group comprised the people Yun Feifei had recently recruited from Willow Ash Town. They were originally people who were struggling to survive in Willow Ash Town. Thus, they possessed at most one or two mystic artifacts. The large majority of them did not have armor.

As Wu Yang had said earlier, more cultivators showed up after Wu Yang’s group had eaten a full meal and begun to rest. The smallest group numbered several people, while the biggest group numbered over a hundred. The bigger groups were usually led by a Dao Foundation cultivator, whereas the smaller ones were all Body-tempering stage cultivators. There was even a group of thirty who were all in the initial stages of the flesh-tempering stage. They were barely better than the peasants of Flying Sand Village after three months of training.

Regardless of the quality, Wei Yuan welcomed all newcomers. He wasn’t in a position where he could choose at the moment. Wei Yuan split the newcomers into two groups: One group went to Cui Yu, and the other two Xiao Yu.

The young swordsman was extremely reluctant to accept the responsibility, but after he did, he immediately made arrangements and conducted training with full dedication.

A full day and night later, over two thousand cultivators had entered the realm. A good number of them were people who had been living separately in the wilderness until they heard the news and rushed over.

Out of all the cultivators, less than a hundred of them were full Body-tempering stage cultivators. Similarly, only a hundred people or so were in the lowest stage of Body-tempering stage, flesh-tempering. Everyone else was either in the bloody-tempering stage or the bone-tempering stage. This was the current state of the cultivation world;. The vast majority of cultivators were stuck in a limbo after taking their first steps on the path.

Over two thousand cultivators had joined Qingming in a single day. Naturally, there wasn’t nearly enough equipment to outfit everyone.

The situation was urgent, so Wei Yuan could not be bothered to find the perfect solution. He simply ordered the men to strip off the Shamans’ armor and weapons and distribute them to the cultivators. Yes, it was bad fengshui, but the realm had a functioning fengshui array. It couldn’t be poor no matter what.

There were still problems. The weapons were one thing, but it was nigh impossible for a human to wear a Shaman’s battle armor. Thus, Wei Yuan ordered the armor to be broken down into different pieces. The broken armor pieces would be used to cover the chest and the back. If there was an armor piece that was shaped like a head, then a cultivator would wear it over their head like a helmet. Lastly, they would bind a few armor pieces to their arms and legs. With that, a cultivator was technically outfitted for battle.

Wei Yuan gathered all of the young masters and ladies and ordered them to inspect the new arrivals’ equipment. Their job was to check if the equipment was secure enough. No one was allowed to remove their equipment tonight. Those who had the energy were sent away to dig trenches, and those who were injured or too weak were ordered to rest as much as possible.

Meanwhile, Ji Liuli and Zhang Sheng were creating large quantities of gunpowder. They had also forged two new spears for Wei Yuan. Having learned their lesson, they made sure to build the shaft—the barrel to be exact—slightly thicker than normal. They did not need another Tianyu breaking the spear shaft and rendering the weapon unusable.

The night passed busily. Early the next day, the Shamans finally arrived outside the border.

The situation was very different from their first clash against the Shamans. Wei Yuan first retracted Qingming’s domain by twenty li. Then, he set up defenses twenty li behind the new border. If the Shamans wished to engage them in a decisive battle, they would have to do so deep within the realm. Twenty li was a distance not even the fastest venom lizard riders at full charge could cross without first being fully weakened by the domain.

Wei Yuan and his companions stood on high ground and looked toward the horizon. Tens of li away, the thick green clouds of the Shamans were spreading in every direction and diluting this part of the domain.

On a related note, Xu Wenwu had been released from his personal prison. He was standing next to Wei Yuan and staring down at what looked like an endless expanse of enemy forces, legs shaking like leaves.

Wei Yuan asked him, “How do you think we should fight this battle?”

Knowing that this was a matter of life and death, Xu Wenwu did not dare to conserve his knowledge. He racked his brain, drawing on years of movie-watching experience, and prepared to say something.

1. He’s not opposed to it. ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) ☜

2. Proper translation: a talented person chooses a patron of integrity. You-get-me translation: Of course I’m gonna join the company that pays me more and offers more benefits, duh! ☜