According to what he had learned in class, the criteria for an immortal artifact to acknowledge a master was more or less the same: fortune, cultivation level, bloodline ties, karma, and compatibility with one’s cultivation methods. Wei Yuan was aware that he probably didn’t meet a single one of these criteria except for fortune. Considering Qingming’s level of existence, he did not think that an Avatar Trueman could control it, and even a True Lord was only good enough to make an attempt. No, the only existence with a solid chance of success was an Immortal Lord.

After activating Qingming, Wei Yuan finally understood how difficult it was to obtain its approval. However, the discovery only made him scorn Yun Xihe even more.

The guy probably did not realize that he needed the immortal artifact’s approval to become its master from the start until the end. That was why he had toiled diligently as a physical deity for over fifty years until his primordial spirit was ultimately dissolved by the power of incense prayers.

Even if he managed to erode the Immortal Lord’s divine thought, Yun Xihe would never be able to convince Qingming to accept him as its master. Besides that, the entire reason the immortal had left behind a divine thought was to teach them the activation array and allow Qingming to seek out their fated one. This did not happen only because an accident happened during his demise, and the divine thought inherited the pain and madness he felt during his last moments instead, transforming what was an inheritance process into a death trap. By wiping out the divine thought, Yun Xihe was cutting off any chance someone might inherit the realm stone using the activation array.

The fact that Qingming had rejected him did not disappoint Wei Yuan. He wasn’t planning to become its master to begin with. He was just a minor, newly ascended Dao Foundation after all. What right did he have to own an immortal treasure like this? Not him, not Zhang Sheng, not even Trueman Fen Hai would be qualified to do so.

Qingming was probably the item Palace Lord Pei had been looking for. As long as he had this, Yun Feifei’s survival would no longer concern him. He could just leave her to live or die on her own terms.

Wei Yuan gently grabbed the realm stone and gave it a pull. He wanted to pull it out of the earth it was embedded in. But to his surprise, the surrounding earthly veins and spirit qi immediately reacted to the action. After a careful examination, he discovered that Qingming had become one with the earth since heavens-know-when. In other words, it had already taken root in this realm!

After some careful deliberation, Wei Yuan reckoned it was because Qingming had made contact with the ground for too long. Over the course of tens of thousands of years, it had slowly but surely taken root in this earth.

This discovery also answered many of his questions. For example, he wondered why the seventy to eighty thousand people living in the settlements surrounding Swelling Water God Palace looked surprisingly well off even though the tens of thousands of people living in Willow Ash Town were clearly tormented by the environment. To be exact, they were only a bit weaker than they would have been in the human realm. It was because Qingming had already been rooted in the earth. Even in its unactivated state, it already possessed the power to transform the environment and made it hospitable—albeit just barely—for humans.

When the Shamans’ army was passing through the area, they had destroyed all realm stones that weren’t removed in time as a matter of course. Naturally, this region should have been filled with humid winds and deadly miasma. Initially, Wei Yuan thought that the fragments of the grotto-heaven were leaking clear qi and creating a barely hospitable environment for the nearby settlements. But now, he realized he was mistaken. It was Qingming.

Hesitation gripped Wei Yuan. Should he remove Qingming or not? 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

If he removed Qingming now, then the surrounding environment would start deteriorating rapidly. The tens of thousands of mortals living near Swelling Water God Palace would all perish in just a year or so. Willow Ash Town would be next on the chopping block. At least half of the impoverished residents living in the northern district would perish unless another realm stone took Qingming’s place. However, expanding the human border was a matter of critical importance. They were placed slowly and methodically to mitigate the risks as much as possible. Heavens only knew how long it would take for another realm stone to encompass this area.

Migration was completely out of the question. Hanyang Pass and this region were several thousand li apart. It was utterly unrealistic to expect anyone to make the journey on foot.

But if he chose not to remove Qingming, the geography was terribly disadvantageous for the humans to say the least. It was extremely close to the Shaman realm, and five thousand li away from Hanyang Pass. Unless the Xu Clan—the nearest human force within the vicinity—gave it their all, there was little chance the Shamans could be held at bay. In the end, Qingming would still be removed. It was simply a matter of who; him or the Shamans.

Wei Yuan hadn’t expected to encounter such a dilemma. As he hesitated, his hand was unconsciously stroked Qingming. Just then, the continent within his sea of consciousness suddenly started shaking without warning. Qingming was beginning to tremble as well!

At the center of the Great Realm, the jade hill slowly grew translucent and took on the shape of Qingming. At the same time, Qingming was emitting signals of joy as a dot of light slowly bloomed from its core.

Is it... recognizing me as its master?

Wei Yuan was shocked to say the least. Didn’t the stone reject him without hesitation just a moment ago? Why had it changed its mind all of a sudden?

Wei Yuan hurriedly removed his hand and interrupted the acknowledgement process. There was no way he could accept such an immortal artifact. Whatever dilemma he was facing now, it was nothing compared to the real trouble that would come after it recognized him as its master.

Qingming was already planted, and Wei Yuan had activated the realm stone. If he allowed the acknowledgment process to go through, then it would truly become one with the region. With Wei Yuan’s current reservoir of Dao energy, there was zero chance he would be able to remove it then. Moreover, the acknowledgement process took place only because Qingming had resonated with his Dao Foundation. In other words, Qingming recognized the Great Realm, not him. If the acknowledgement process went through, he could leave any time he wanted, but he would have to leave the Great Realm behind.

Wei Yuan wasn’t sure if it was possible for him to somehow leave the Great Realm behind and escape on his own. The answer was probably no. Even if it wasn’t, his shifu would certainly purge him after the fact.

Wei Yuan was a man of great self-awareness. He knew very well it was the Great Realm that was precious, not him. If his Dao Foundation couldn’t leave, how could he?

Luckily, breaking physical contact was enough to interrupt the acknowledgement process. After letting out a sigh of relief, Wei Yuan walked circles around Qingming while trying to come up with a solution. Unfortunately, he couldn’t think of anything immediately. Ideally, he would remove Qingming while the Xu Clan relocated the mortals. However, Wei Yuan did not possess the power or the influence to negotiate such a massive undertaking. Someone from upstairs would have to step in on his behalf.

Not only that, recent events had made it clear to him that the Xu Clan had no intention of relocating the mortals in the Shattered Realm. Otherwise, they would have had plenty of time to do so over the past two years.

Meanwhile in the dilapidated house, the woman-in-red was still trying hard to persuade Xu Wan’er into erasing the Ghost-trapping Array. However, nothing worked. No matter what said, Xu Wan’er simply replied, “Let’s wait until Senior Brother comes back, okay?”

In the end, the woman-in-red lost her cool and yelled, “Are you seriously throwing away our relationship just because he groped you a little?!”

Xu Wan’er instantly turned as red as an apple, stuttering. Even so, her determination did not waver one bit. “O-of course not... anyway, l-let’s just wait until Senior Brother comes back, okay?”

Suddenly, Little Junior Brother spoke up, “Big Sis Wan, we’ve known each other for many years, haven’t we? Can you please save me? I’m about to die!”

In the end, Xu Wan’er could not bear to let a longtime acquaintance die. So, she went over to him and told him to lie down. Then, she started treating the wound on his abdomen.

Big Senior Brother hadn’t held back at all when he attacked Little Junior Brother. He had crushed every internal organ in his stomach to bits with his Dao energy. Despite injecting as much Dao energy into Little Junior Brother’s body as possible, Xu Wan’er was just barely able to keep him alive.

It was at this moment Big Senior Brother also spoke up, “I watched you grow up, Wan’er. Can you save me as well?”

Xu Wan’er turned around and saw Big Senior Brother looking at her. Only his eyes were visible above the ground; the rest of him was buried in the soil. Remembering how the man had always kept her company since childhood, she gave in to her emotions and went over to inspect his injuries. It was then she discovered that his Dao Foundation was cracked in several parts. In fact, it was very close to shattering completely.

Xu Wan’er was both taken aback and amazed. Her Big Senior Brother had reached the spirit-nurturing stage long ago and boasted a profound cultivation. He was also quite skilled in combat. In fact, he had been her idol when they were still children. Later, her Big Senior Brother fell in love with Yun Feifei, and she was secretly heartbroken for several days. Strangely, she had recovered after heading out to clear her head one time.

In any case, the Senior Brother from Palace of Absolute Beginning had only swung his cauldron twice to crack Big Senior Brother’s Dao Foundation like an egg. As expected, he was truly a sight to behold!

With two patients needing immediate treatment, Xu Wan’er was kept busy as a matter of course. At the side, the woman-in-red was ashen with anger.

It was at this moment a sudden flash came from the jade pendant Yun Feifei was carrying. Then, a few lines of text appeared. It was the Swelling Water God Palace’s emergency-use communication pendant and similar to Xu Wan’er’s pendant in terms of function. There were only four people left in the Swelling Water God Palace right now, and three of them were here. Thus, the only one who could be contacting her was her Third Junior Sister. However, the jade pendant had a limited range, and her Third Junior Sister should have escaped to Hanyang Pass—five thousand li from here—long ago. So, how did this message go through?

The woman-in-red couldn’t move, however. No matter how anxious she felt, she could do nothing but watch as the jade pendant flashed again and again.

It was at this moment a light chuckle came from the entrance. “You are hiding here, Junior Sister Yun!”

A young woman stepped through the door. She was charming and beautiful, her beauty only slightly marred by a figure that was a tad too plump, and a pair of eyebrows that looked a bit vulgar for some reason. She was holding an array disc with a communication jade pendant resting at the center.

The woman-in-red’s heart sank. The jade pendant did not need an array disc to function at all. In other words, the array disc was used to track down its receiver!

The newcomer’s eyes lit up when she entered the room. She said smilingly, “Everyone’s here? Hah, what a sight this is! Is this why you went through all that trouble to send me away?”

Big Senior Brother immediately cried out, “You’ve arrived just in time, Third Junior Sister! Yun Feifei is a traitor of the sect, and Xu Wan’er is colluding with the enemy! Apprehend them now!”

But Third Junior Sister did not move. She simply watched him and swept her perception across his sea of consciousness. Big Senior Brother did not possess even an ounce of resistance at the moment because his Dao Foundation was cracked. The sweep immediately elicited a bloodcurdling scream from him.

A scornful laugh escaped Third Junior Sister’s lips as she quietly remarked, “To think that such a day would befall you, Big Senior Brother! Not only did you fail to obtain the object of your desire, your Dao Foundation is tethering on the brink of collapse. Forgive this junior sister from saying this, but your indecisiveness is easily your biggest flaw, Big Senior Brother. You’ve already flipped Senior Sister Feifei’s skirt, so how is it possible that you haven’t gone all the way through? You do realize that you’ll never get another chance, right?”

The more he listened, the more he felt that something was terribly wrong. “Third Junior Sister, you....”

Third Junior Sister’s expression turned cruel. “Remember how I was madly in love with you all those years ago? It was one thing that you don’t appreciate my feelings, but you humiliated me as well. And now you want me to save you? Why don’t you ask your dear Junior Sister Feifei to save you? Oh, that’s right, the one Senior Sister Feifei is fond of is Little Junior Brother, not an old, unattractive, and underprivileged man like you!”

If eyes could shoot fire, Third Junior Sister would be burning alive right now. Alas, Big Senior Brother was immobilized and could only hurl abuses at her.

Third Junior Sister wasn’t panicked in the slightest. She looked at the woman-in-red next and said, “It’s very kind of all of you to gather in one place and save my young master the time and effort to seek you out one by one. My young master knows a way to put a soul into a physical body, so don’t you worry, Senior Sister. Your good looks won’t go to waste. Oh, if only the old ghost is still alive. I would have loved to torture him for a couple decades at least!”

The woman-in-red said darkly, “So you’re the one who betrayed the sect! That young master of yours must be standing outside the door right now, isn’t he?”

Third Junior Sister replied smilingly, “A fine bird chooses the tree it nests in, and you’ve all heard of my young master’s name. He is none other than Young Master Xu, the Jade-faced Immortal Sword, Xu Jingfeng!”

A cough came from outside, and a young swordsman stepped into the room. Smiling, he began, “I am the Jade-faced—”

His fingers happened to caress his blood-stained bandages, and he suddenly realized that his title didn’t quite fit his current condition. He could not help but hate the man who hurt him—Lee Zhi—even more than he already was.

In the past, there was nothing Xu Jingfeng loved more than introducing himself before his inferiors. This time, though, he skipped past it and went straight to the point, “I am glad that you’ve decided to gather in one place and save this young master the trouble of traveling. The Master claimed that I am favored by fortune, and whatever I set my mind to would naturally come true. It is certainly no lie!”