Chapter 259 : The Arrangement
Chapter 259: The Arrangement
Within Tianwang City.
As the absolute directive from the Sacred Land of Lingxu was issued, the local powers naturally chose to carry it out. As for how they carried it out, that was entirely up to them.
Although the local powers knew how terrifying those Immortal Masters were, so what? In their eyes, this so-called cultivation was nothing more than a lie.
Those Immortal Masters were no different from them. It was probably just another trick to fool people.
Which of the great families here did not have a few immortal cultivators among them? Otherwise, how could they have become the local nobility and gentry?
As the saying went, when one person attains the Dao, even his chickens and dogs ascend to Heaven. If everyone could cultivate immortality, how would they be able to display their own superiority?
In their eyes, the cultivators of the Sacred Land of Lingxu—and the person standing above them all—were indeed powerful.
But could he really take care of the entire Northern Spirit Domain? Who would care about some remote place like Tianwang City?
They had nothing to fear.
They were indeed carrying out the Sacred Land of Lingxu's orders. They taught the cultivation methods, and they taught people to read and write.
But the peasants simply could not learn.
The only ones to blame were those mud-legged commoners for being ignorant and stupid.
That was how they saw it. They were not afraid in the slightest.
“Beat them! Beat them harder!”
“The higher-ups ordered you to learn this. Why can't you learn it? You useless trash!”
A group of household servants wielding clubs continuously beat the farmers dressed in coarse hemp clothing while cursing them without pause.
“This is a blessing bestowed upon you by the Immortal Masters!”
“You'll become immortals after learning it! Why can't you cultivate successfully? You're disobeying the Immortal Masters' decree!”
The servants continued beating them mercilessly.
Meanwhile, outside another estate, several wealthy masters dressed in luxurious silk robes coldly watched the scene unfold.
They had long since devised a way to deal with such matters.
To these local gentry, the orders of the Sacred Land of Lingxu were no different from imperial edicts. The methods of dealing with them never really changed.
They could even use the decree as an excuse to collect a few extra benefits.
“Everyone cultivates immortality? What a joke.”
“What can anyone possibly learn from this?”
One wealthy master looked at the cultivation manual distributed by the Sacred Land of Lingxu before casually throwing it onto the ground with an exasperated expression.
When he had first received the manual, he had been excited.
But no matter how he cultivated, he simply could not cultivate anything from it.
Of course, some people had succeeded.
Most of them were those mud-legged commoners.
The mere thought that those people, who had once struggled merely to survive in the fields, might now rise above them after cultivating this method filled the wealthy masters with rage.
They became even more determined to prevent others from mastering it, and their methods grew increasingly ruthless.
To that end, the local gentry united together and decided to first ruin the reputations of those who had successfully cultivated.
“Master, someone from Li Village has cultivated successfully again.”
“What should we do?”
At that moment, one of the household servants came to report.
“The same as always. Don't you already know?”
“Send them silver.”
“Send them women.”
“Let them enjoy themselves.”
“As long as they're willing, they'll become masters just like us from now on.”
Hearing the report, visible anger flashed through the eyes of the wealthy masters, but they still calmly issued their orders.
“This can't continue forever.”
“If more people keep succeeding, are we supposed to keep giving them things? That's a terrible bargain.”
One rather thin master finally voiced his concerns.
“You still don't understand?”
“This so-called ‘everyone cultivates immortality’ is nothing but nonsense.”
“So what if they cultivate successfully?”
“They'll become masters just like us.”
“Once those cultivators experience our pleasures and the feeling of standing above everyone else...”
“What do you think they'll do?”
“The Sacred Land of Lingxu is full of fools.”
“They're handing power to these mud-legged peasants.”
“In the end, all they'll produce is another group of lofty Immortal Masters.”
“Everything remains the same.”
“The only ones who'll truly suffer are those who fail to cultivate.”
Several of the masters saw the current situation with remarkable clarity.
So what if the Great Dao of cultivation allowed people to become immortals?
If I became an immortal, the very first thing I would do would be to stop everyone else from becoming one.
Why should they become my equals?
Thus, in the eyes of these wealthy masters, as long as those successful cultivators were given enough benefits and allowed to experience the pleasures of superiority, they would naturally become one of them.
By then, the very people opposing universal cultivation would be those who had already succeeded.
“Everyone cultivating immortality sounds nice...”
“But it's also a terrible thing.”
“Those immortal sects are fools.”
“They're already standing above everyone else. They can have whatever they want.”
“So why are they making enemies of us?”
“Why would they give those mud-legged peasants such an opportunity?”
The wealthy masters spoke as though they had seen through the laws governing the world itself, treating the decree with utter disdain.
After receiving their orders, the household servants carried silver along with several beautiful maidservants and concubines to visit the person who had successfully cultivated.
Looking at the silver and the women, the servant was filled with envy.
He also wished to cultivate this Great Dao of cultivation.
As long as he succeeded, he too could obtain all these things—
women, wealth, the admiration of others, and the feeling of standing above the world.
The mere thought of it made the servant excited.
“Immortal Master Zhang, these are gifts from my master to congratulate you on ascending the immortal path.”
The servant knocked gently on Zhang Yuande's door.
Looking around at the dilapidated thatched cottage, although it was kept remarkably clean, its poverty remained impossible to conceal.
Yet the person inside had successfully stepped onto the immortal path and now walked a higher and more magnificent road.
The servant felt nothing but envy.
Inside the cottage, Zhang Yuande naturally heard the voice outside.
After stepping into the Qi Refinement Realm, Zhang Yuande understood very clearly what kind of path he cultivated.
Clarifying the heart.
Understanding principles.
Recognizing the world...
The reason he had cultivated so quickly was simple.
He had long since seen through this world that turned people into ghosts.
He understood even more clearly what those wealthy masters were doing.
“So you want me to become someone just like you?”
“Do you really think everyone is like you?”
Anger flashed through Zhang Yuande's eyes.
Nevertheless, he suppressed it.
He knew that now was not yet the time to confront them.
“The one who created this path of cultivation...”
“What kind of existence are you?”
“My knowledge has allowed me to understand so much, yet I still only glimpse a leopard through a bamboo tube.”
Zhang Yuande muttered softly before waving his hand to invite those outside in.
Piles of silver.
Beautiful, delicate women.
Lust.
Wealth.
Power.
The strength of cultivation.
Everything was laid plainly before Zhang Yuande.
Had he obtained these things in the past, he might very well have fallen completely and become no different from those wealthy masters.
After all, back then, he had studied only for riches and beautiful women.
But later, he gradually came to understand—
it was all a lie.
At the very least, those truly willing to pass on literacy, principles, and understanding would never teach students to devote themselves solely to wealth and beautiful women.
It was obvious that someone seeking personal gain had tampered with those teachings and books.
Precisely because he had seen through all of this, he had immediately succeeded after reading the cultivation method.
Looking at the temptations before him—enough to make anyone fall—Zhang Yuande became even more convinced that his understanding had been correct.
The more one learned, the more one could still gradually fall into corruption.
“The contamination brought about by another person's consciousness.”
Looking at the wealth and power before him, all the things that satisfied human desires were within easy reach.
It almost seemed as though this was the true meaning of cultivating immortality.
However, after shattering illusion and stepping onto the path of cultivation, Zhang Yuande gradually came to understand.
These things were nothing more than another form of delusion—
power, desire, and all the constructs woven by others—
the influence of another person's consciousness.
After all, this was precisely what gave those wealthy masters their strength.
This was also what they spread to others.
But those thoughts still belonged to the wealthy masters.
The path of cultivation, however, was the process of discerning one's True Self.
Only by bypassing the influence of those foreign consciousnesses could one discover one's genuine self.
“I'll accept these gifts.”
“In a few days, I'll pay all of the masters a visit.”
Zhang Yuande nodded gently with a smile in his eyes.
The servant was unsurprised.
The previous successful cultivators had all done exactly the same thing.
They accepted the gifts and promised to visit the masters a few days later.
“Then I'll take my leave.”
The servant nodded and departed.
Inwardly, however, he cursed them.
“They're just a bunch of mud-legged peasants.”
“They've barely cultivated a little and already think they're somebody.”
“If this were before, if you so much as looked at me the wrong way, I'd have beaten you into minced meat.”
Though that was what he thought, the servant naturally dared not show it.
Watching the servant leave, Zhang Yuande looked toward the delicate maidservants and concubines inside the room before taking out the cultivation manual.
“Ladies...”
“Would you like to cultivate?”
Zhang Yuande asked as he looked at them.
The maidservants and concubines froze in confusion, staring blankly at him.
None of them understood what he meant.
Still, one of them pointed at herself and asked,
“You're going to teach us to cultivate immortality?”
“But we're women.”
“We can't even read.”
“A woman's virtue lies in her lack of talent.”
The maidservants and concubines spoke one after another.
“Of course.”
“But this is not cultivating immortality.”
“It is cultivation.”
“The person who created this method merely wished for all living beings to shatter illusion.”
“And women are the ones trapped deepest within it.”
“Needlework.”
“Virtue.”
“Accomplishments.”
“Living only to please others...”
“Do you truly wish to continue living like that?”
Zhang Yuande slowly raised his eyes and swept his gaze across all the women present.
Hearing his words, the women all froze, their eyes filled with indescribable emotions.
“I want to cultivate...”
As the first woman nodded, the others quickly followed.
As for Zhang Yuande, seeing that he was about to gain several more fellow cultivators and comrades, he wholeheartedly began teaching them.
“I imagine the others are doing the same.”
Zhang Yuande remembered that several others had comprehended the cultivation method before he did.
At that time, when he had seen them accept the wealthy masters' goodwill, he had looked down upon them greatly.
Now, however, he finally understood.
Compared to men, women bore even heavier shackles.
For them, shattering illusion was far more difficult.
At the very least, among everyone Zhang Yuande had seen succeed, there had not been a single woman.
But now things were different.
Very soon,
there would be a group of female cultivators.
Inside the luxurious manor.
“They accepted?”
“Yes, Master.”
“They've already accepted everything.”
The servant returned and reported truthfully.
The man seated above merely waved his hand, dismissing him before leisurely lifting a teacup.
“So what if they cultivate immortality?”
“They still can't escape this.”
“Power.”
“Wealth.”
“Desire.”
“They're all so easy to manipulate.”
“But why can't I cultivate it?”
Setting down his teacup, the man frowned deeply, his face filled with dissatisfaction.
——
Within the Sacred Land of Lingxu, after Li Tianwei had spread the cultivation method, he naturally knew what would happen next.
Through his connection with the Spiritual Energy, Li Tianwei could sense everything occurring throughout the Northern Spirit Domain.
Some places progressed smoothly.
Others obeyed outwardly while resisting inwardly.
Everything fell within Li Tianwei's perception.
In his eyes, all of it followed the law of the unity of opposites.
In places where everything progressed smoothly, the positive side was that the cultivation method spread rapidly.
The negative side, however, was that very few people truly succeeded.
This was because they viewed the cultivation method as an act of benevolence bestowed by those above them.
They believed they should feel gratitude.
That gratitude itself became yet another obstacle to comprehending the Great Dao of cultivation.
Meanwhile, in places where people obeyed outwardly but resisted inwardly, the stronger that resistance became, the more people actually succeeded.
Those who came into contact with the cultivation method gradually came to understand their own True Selves and perceive the surrounding illusions with increasing clarity.
“Under the contamination of another person's consciousness, discovering one's True Self can only be accomplished step by step.”
Li Tianwei quietly sensed every corner of the Northern Spirit Domain.
Now that the Sun–Moon Banner existed, it continuously illuminated the entire Northern Spirit Domain.
Within the Book of Life and Death of the Underworld, the vast majority of the Northern Spirit Domain's inhabitants had already been recorded.
Even if accidents occurred, Li Tianwei would protect their souls and grant them another chance at life.
It was simply that reincarnation had yet to be constructed.
That would have to wait until later.
“It should be about time.”
“I imagine they're about to make their move.”
Li Tianwei gently calculated with his fingers before raising his head toward the distant horizon.
Throughout the Northern Spirit Domain, the influence of the Sacred Land of Lingxu had already reached every single corner.
One could say that every place in the entire Northern Spirit Domain was now teaching the cultivation method.
As for those who could not read, they were brought into the cities and settled there.
Every single person was required to study.
As for everything else, within the cultivation world, it was merely a matter of whether people were willing to act.
Food posed no difficulty for cultivators.
A few simple spells could ensure favorable weather, while removing weeds and pests was even easier.
Since the Sacred Land of Lingxu governed everything, it had already organized dedicated teams to handle such affairs.
Every cultivator who had undergone the cleansing of the Scripture of Supreme Virtue and Radiant Purity competed eagerly for such work.
The cultivation world possessed solutions for every problem.
The only question was whether they were willing to implement them.
For a powerful Spirit Transformation cultivator, constructing an enormous city required only a few days.
Ordinarily, however, none of them would waste their time doing such things.
Now, they had no choice.
With Li Tianwei looming above them, they had no option but to obey.
That was because every cultivator above the Spirit Transformation Realm had already seen a certain possibility within the cultivation method.
From the massive Spiritual Energy upheaval earlier, together with the appearance of the cultivation method, they could completely conclude that Li Tianwei had already gained total control over all the Spiritual Energy within the Northern Spirit Domain.
If that were the case, then no change occurring anywhere within the Northern Spirit Domain could escape his perception.
Having reached this point, what else could they possibly do?
The disciples and elders of the Sacred Land of Lingxu were still relatively fortunate.
As for the other major sects and factions, they were utterly doomed.
Moreover, although those Spirit Transformation cultivators understood this, they did not dare speak of it openly.
They could only hint at it in secret.