Over the next day, Wei Yuan worked non-stop and visited seventeen human settlements of varying sizes—some with thousands of inhabitants, and others with only a hundred or two. Every time he ran into a village with more than a hundred people, he made sure to visit it and requested the residents spread the word. Most people were living separately across the vast western regions, but they had to visit human settlements eventually and periodically to exchange for necessities. That was when they would learn of Wei Yuan’s recruitment of mortals.

It wasn’t until late at night that Wei Yuan finally returned to the realm. This day, Wei Yuan had covered every human village and town of any size within a three-hundred-li radius and gotten the word out to roughly forty thousand people.

When Wei Yuan had first arrived in this area, approximately eighty thousand people had been living in the vicinity. Unfortunately, the repeated incursions by the Shamans had driven many of them to flee their original settlements and seek refuge in the dense forests of the mountains.

Everyone was willing to relocate into the realm, even if it meant abandoning the village they had lived in for generations. After all, a home without the protection of a realm stone was no home at all.

Mortals relocated much more slowly than cultivators. It was quite normal for a family—especially if they were carrying baggage—to spend weeks on the road just to cover a distance of three hundred li. To solve this issue, Wei Yuan had purposely gathered five hundred cultivators and divided them into dozens of squads. Their main task was to help the mortals relocate.

To be honest, many people were skeptical of his decision. Even Yun Feifei had tactfully voiced her concerns about the matter. In her view, having too many mortals at this sensitive time was a pure detriment. To say nothing of other issues, the matter of food alone was a serious problem.

All Shaman food were more or less toxic to humans. Assuming there was absolutely no other option, a human could eat a small amount out of necessity. But too much, and they would simply die. Readily available food aside, the Shaman realm was teeming with living creatures, and the waters were overflowing with countless ferocious fishes on the surface. In truth, none of them were suitable for human consumption. Not even the water was drinkable.

Consequently, humans still starved to death year after year even though the region appeared as if it was overflowing with resources.

Whatever the cultivators might think, Wei Yuan still insisted on bringing every single mortal back to the realm, taking in even the elderly, the weak, the sick, and the disabled. Not a single person was left behind.

Though the human cultivators carried out his orders with silence, they all believed that Wei Yuan had gotten a case of idealism. It wasn’t like they hadn’t encountered many noble-hearted individuals who placed the welfare of ordinary mortals above their own. Unfortunately, here in the western regions, good deeds not only went unrewarded, they often led to tragic ends as well.

Wei Yuan did not argue with them. He only needed them to carry out his orders. By the end of the day, Wei Yuan collected another three wisps of blue qi and knew then that mortals were, in fact, not worthless.

By the time he had finished making all the arrangements, night had fallen deep, and there were only two hours left before dawn. Wei Yuan returned to the central peak to prepare for his evening studies. But no sooner had he entered his room, someone knocked on the door. Wei Yuan opened it to find that it was Cui Yu paying him a visit.

There were no lamps in the room yet, so Wei Yuan materialized a False Sun and planted it in the wall, bathing the entire room in light.

When they had both taken their seats, Wei Yuan finally asked, “It is quite late in the night, Brother Cui. You must have something important to discuss with me.”

Cui Yu’s face flushed slightly as he whispered, “I er, have a presumptuous request to make. If there’s ever another battle like the one today, do you mind letting me swing a sword or two as well?”

“I see!” Wei Yuan let out a laugh before answering, “For such a minor matter, a simple word from you would have sufficed, Brother Cui! There was no need for you to come all the way to inform me in person. I am a bit puzzled, though. How is it that you are short on Heaven Merit?”

Given Cui Yu’s family background, his chances of becoming an Avatar were quite high. Logically speaking, it was only a matter of time before he accrued some Heaven Merits. In fact, he could do so now just by asking for help from his clan elders.

Hearing Wei Yuan’s question, Cui Yu’s face became clouded with distress. He sighed, “You are not aware of this, Junior Brother, but my standing within the can isn’t as enviable as it seems. I have a cousin who attained an immortal foundation a few years ago, and since then, the clan has been favoring him with resources. Not long ago, he actually obtained some Heaven Merits and caused quite a stir within the clan. As a result, the clan elders diverted some of the cultivation resources originally intended for me to him.”

“My foundation is a tad inferior. I’ve participated in several operations where Avatars were involved and even managed to land a few blows. Alas, I haven’t gained a single point of Heaven Merit. My younger cousin, on the other hand, has always been competitive and ambitious. The elders of his household are equally unyielding. In recent years, they’ve been pressing the issue step by step, and things have already become quite unsightly.”

Upon hearing this, Wei Yuan understood. This was a struggle for resources between two households of the clan’s main branch, so the elders could not openly favor one side over the other. Therefore, at most, they would allow Cui Yu to find his opportunities to land a few blows during battle. They would certainly not, as Wei Yuan had done, hold down an Avatar so that everyone else could strike it.

Cui Yu then lowered his voice even more and said, “If an opportunity like today’s arises in the future, I ask that you use the same method you’ve employed on my friends on me as well.”

Only then did Wei Yuan realize that this was what Cui Yu had been after all along.

The criteria for evaluating merit were the same across all immortal sects. To earn Heaven Merit, one must inflict actual damage to an Avatar’s foundation. Given Cui Yu’s Dao Foundation and current cultivation level, he would not receive any Heaven Merit even if he managed to land a strike. For example, Wei Yuan had struck a significant blow against the Sky Snow Hawk Hulehachi with Reversal back in the day. However, as the attack hadn’t damaged the Avatar’s foundation, he hadn’t earned a single point of Heaven Merit.

That said, today’s battle had proven that both black qi and blue qi, once imbued, could damage an Avatar and yield Heaven Merits. For Wei Yuan, this was nothing more than a trivial matter. Although this would definitely deplete some of his fortune reserves, he had now found a way to replenish it. Considering the vast fortune that was currently resting in his Dao Foundation, such minor losses couldn’t deter him at all.

With a smile, Wei Yuan replied, “No problem. I guarantee you’ll get your fill of Heaven Merits next time! I just wonder when we’ll have a run-in with the Great Warlocks.”

Cui Yu was deeply grateful. He added, “Also, do you think—”

Wei Yuan did not wait for him to finish. “Worry not, Brother Cui. I won’t tell anyone about our arrangement, and I promise that the setup will be flawless. No one will notice a thing.”

Cui Yu was overjoyed. He suddenly stood up and bowed deeply, saying, “Junior Brother, one does not say thanks over great favors! I will remember this forever and repay it someday!”

At the same time, a wisp of green qi appeared inside the Great Realm.

Startled, Wei Yuan hurriedly pulled him to his feet, “You’re too kind, Senior Brother! It is just a small favor; why make such a big deal of it?”

Cui Yu allowed Wei Yuan to pull himself up before returning to his seat. After he took a moment to compose himself, he sighed. “Truth be told, this matter has been troubling me for a very long time. The reason I’ve been traveling far and wide with my brothers and sisters is partly in hope that some of them would rise to greatness, and partly because I don’t want to face those people back home.”

Wei Yuan looked puzzled. “The Cui Clan is massive. Surely it can accommodate two geniuses?”

Cui Yu gave him a wry smile. “The biscuit[1] is only so big. If someone takes a share, then others will have less to gain. Besides, no matter how many biscuits the Cui Clan produces, it can never meet the demand of everyone.”

By the time Cui Yu left, the sky was already beginning to lighten.

Wei Yuan had always assumed that someone like Cui Yu, born into such privilege, would have no worries in life. He never expected that his Senior Brother would have his own troubles—and from the sound of it, they were no less troublesome than anyone else’s.

The main branch of the Cui Clan consisted of seven households, each with its own extensive offshoots and numerous descendants. Cui Yu’s great grandfather was currently the family patriarch and held several positions of real power. However, with the rapid rise of Cu Yu’s younger cousin, that household had become increasingly aggressive as of late. Already, they were pressuring Cui Yu’s great grandfather to relinquish some of his substantive interests. Over the past six months, the two households had been tearing at each other’s throats non-stop. Already, they were on the verge of a full-blown confrontation.

Rich and powerful aristocratic families, with lineages stretching back thousands or even tens of thousands of years, had long since developed a complex and interlocking system of traditions.

The high cultivators and senior elders sat high above, lording over others simply using their cultivation and achievements. The middle echelon held the real power and so were rated not just on their cultivation and achievements, but also their ability to nurture the next generation, and availability of a capable heir. It was also why this echelon was the most complicated. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

For the younger generation, things were much simpler. They were ranked solely by their talent and cultivation.

Cui Yu’s younger cousin, though an immortal foundation cultivator, possessed a Dao Foundation that wasn’t suited for combat. On the other hand, Cui Yu’s Dao Foundation was an Immortal Sword, which made him perfect for combat. Consequently, the two were roughly equal in the eyes of their elders.

However, this had changed after his younger cousin continually accrued Heaven Merits. The clan’s favor was slowly but surely shifting in his direction.

This was, in essence, a rivalry between the two households of the main lineage. This was just one that was being played out through the lens of Cui Yu and his cousin. Within the clan, there were numerous other strifes that were no less intense or common than it.

Cui Yu’s matter was one that couldn’t be rushed. He had missed today’s opportunity, so he could only wait for the next Great Warlock to show up. Fortunately, Great Warlocks were a dime a dozen among the Shamans. A chance would present itself eventually.

After seeing Cui Yu off, there was still some time left before dawn. Wei Yuan sat cross-legged in meditation and soon lost all sense of self and the outside world.

The first thing Wei Yuan saw upon entering his sea of consciousness was not the full moon, but the hideous face of a Shaman!

To say he was shocked would be an understatement. He had nearly jolted awake from his meditative state there and then. He quickly put some distance between himself and the Shaman—only to brush past several more Shamans in the process!

What on earth was going on?!

When Wei Yuan stared, he finally noticed that the Great Realm was crawling with Shamans of all shapes and sizes. However, they all seemed to be mindless. As if summoned by some mysterious force, they were all moving toward the jade hill—the center of the Great Realm—with stiff, slow steps.

The moon looked exceptionally cool and clear tonight.

1. In Chinese they don’t say pie, they say biscuit. ☜