Chapter 436: No-Win Question

Bao Yun dragged two unconscious guards out of the flying vessel, hid them behind a cargo container, and then said to Wei Yuan, who was standing there dumbfounded, “What are you standing there for? Hurry up—if we’re any later, the elders will discover us.”

Wei Yuan had no choice but to steel himself and follow her into the flying vessel. The vessel then took off, flying out of the Bao Clan’s ancestral land before beginning to accelerate.

Bao Yun channeled the vessel’s array at full force, causing its speed to increase gradually. As he watched the Bao Clan’s ancestral land gradually recede behind them, Wei Yuan finally realized that the young miss was truly trying to escape!

So, Wei Yuan took over control of the array and channeled his Dao energy into it. With how immense his Dao energy currently was, the flying vessel instantly shot forward as if kicked by an immortal, vanishing into the distance in the blink of an eye.

Back at the Bao Clan’s ancestral land, several young disciples had been watching the flying vessel recede into the distance when it suddenly vanished, startling them.

A young man with a countenance as fair as jade stood at the center of the group. He shook his head and sighed, saying, “It’s for the best that she’s gone.”

A young man beside him sighed[1]. “I wonder when we’ll see Little Sister, again, Ninth Brother. Hmph, that barbarian really got off easy.”

The young man called Ninth Brother chuckled wryly. “Be careful what you say. All of you combined wouldn’t stand a chance against that barbarian.”

“But we’ve got you, don’t we?”

The young man, whose skin was as translucent and lustrous as jade[2], replied, “I might not be his match either. Among those who had attained their Avatars, perhaps only Uncle Bao Shu could outmatch him.”

A young girl, clearly a minor, asked, “Isn’t it a good thing for Sister Yun to marry the Young Island Lord? Why are you so against it, Ninth Brother?”

“Because it’s an arrangement; it’s what those old men up there want. What is an arrangement? It is something people inform you about and expect you to follow through with it whether you like it or not. The barbarian from the northwest might deserve a good beating, but Little Sister likes him, and that’s enough,” he said in a lazy voice.

By then, the flying vessel had long since vanished from sight. Thus, the group of youngsters went their separate ways.

Inside the flying vessel, Wei Yuan unleashed his perception to its full capacity just in case someone—anyone—decided to pursue them. Seeing no movement from the Bao Clan’s ancestral land or anyone invisibly tracking them in the sky, he finally allowed himself a small sigh of relief before asking, “You couldn’t have given me a bit more warning? And where’s your luggage?”

Bao Yun glanced toward the Bao Clan’s ancestral land. He hadn’t even had time to say goodbye to Bao Manshan, and the whole situation felt rather odd to him.

Bao YU knew what he was thinking and said, “We’ve already made a run for it—if we don’t hurry, wouldn’t that be a slap in the face to my great-grandfathers?”

Wei Yuan immediately understood. The Bao Clan’s ancestral land was conspicuously silent. Even if the great elders hadn’t noticed, the immortal ancestor must already be aware of the situation. They were just pretending that they didn’t know. That was why they needed to hurry; to avoid any foolish souls actually coming after them.

As Wei Yuan steered the vessel, Bao Yun leaned in and said, “I have one more question.”

Wei Yuan felt both helpless and terrified. Every single question the little ancestor had shot at him so far were one deadly abyss after another—answer correctly, and he was doomed. Answer incorrectly, and he was definitely doomed.

Bao Yun began, “Your master has always presented himself as a man, so how on earth did your bond develop? Are you attracted to men as well?”

Wei Yuan nearly blacked out—sure enough, it was yet another no-win question.

“To be honest with you, there was a time where I felt terrified about my sexuality. I could not figure out why I had those thoughts. Then, the Great Karmic Curse descended....”

Wei Yuan briefly recounted his ordeal of surviving in the polar wilderness and fleeing across 10,000 li. He specifically focused on the moments when he’d narrowly escaped death, such as when the ancient ghost possessed him and nearly succeeded in taking over his body. Had it not been for Zhang Sheng bolt of yang lightning, he would now be nothing more than the shell of that ten-thousand-year-old ghost. Naturally, he wouldn’t have been able to come see Bao Yun.

Of course, he also described in detail how his internal organs had been completely destroyed, his heart was gone, and his eyes had been corroded away.

Sure enough, as Bao Yun listened, she unconsciously clenched her fists. When she heard Wei Yuan had awakened blind and hadn’t been able to feel his own heart, her breath caught in her throat.

“... Later, the World Ruler from Northern Liao pursued me for over a million li, but she ultimately couldn’t catch up. I was able to escape back to the northern mountain gate.” Having recounted the severity of his injuries back then, Wei Yuan decisively brought the story to a close.

Bao Yun let out a soft sigh and sighed. “I didn’t know you’ve suffered so much. All right, since you’ve told the truth this time, I’ll give you a little reward.”

She looked at Wei Yuan, slowly leaning closer and closer. Her full, lustrous lips—which seemed as though they might break at the slightest touch—puckered slightly as she drew near.

She was so close that Wei Yuan could feel the heat radiating from her lips. He instinctively held his breath!

Suddenly, Bao Yun shoved Wei Yuan hard, nearly knocking him over. She then returned to her original spot and looked at him with a smile.

Wei Yuan clenched his teeth and took a deep breath to calm himself. He then focused on piloting the flying vessel.

The flying vessel crossed thousands of mountains and rivers. Finally, it returned to the Realm of Qingming.

The moment they set foot on the soil of Qingming, the spirituality throughout the Great Realm boiled once more, and hundreds of wandering souls entered the All-Gate of Reincarnation, transforming into new mortals.

Wei Yuan first took Bao Yun on a tour around the Realm of Qingming, then went to meet and catch up with her old friends from the Palace of Absolute Beginning. Everyone was overjoyed to see Bao Yun return as a matter of course—except Feng Tingyu, whose little face was clouded over slightly.

At the moment, Yu Zhizhuo and Sun Yu were both making their final preparations to enter the Avatar-stage. They were only waiting for Wei Yuan to return so he could concentrate Jia Wood Nurtures Life and Life is a Flash on them.

Before they began, Wei Yuan activated Life is a Flash several times so that both men could get a preview of their Avatars beforehand. That very night, both Yu Zhizhuo and Sun Yu entered secluded cultivations. Wei Yuan, for his part, concentrated Jia Wood Nurtures Life at their seclusion site and arranged for Xu Wenwu to stay at their place temporarily.

With that done, Wei Yuan traveled to the northwest, where he selected a location at the edge of the domain. It was a place with complex terrain but concentrated feng shui nodes. It was where a new city would be built with Bao Yun as its ruler.

Wei Yuan gathered all the refugees who had arrived in the Realm of Qingming within the past month and settled them in the new city. This group numbered approximately 18,000 to 19,000 people. Next, Wei Yuan selected a group of average to superior human sacrifices, numbering about 4,000 to 5,000. Finally, he chose several thousand more from among the imprisoned Xu Clan troops, bringing the total to 30,000. He then assigned 3,000 elite troops to serve as the city’s garrison.

The new city was named Ding’an [3] City. It was located a good 400 li from the center of the Realm of Qingming and just a stone’s throw away from the edge of the domain.

Once the new city’s administrative framework was in place, Wei Yuan announced Bao Yun as the city lord, stating that the city might one day belong to the Bao Clan. Within Ding’an City, Bao Yun’s authority was equal to Wei Yuan’s.

The moment this decree was issued, Wei Yuan instantly saw hundreds of wisps of blue fortune converging upon Bao Yun! The speed with which these new citizens prostrated themselves before her had far exceeded his expectations.

Back in the day, Wei Yuan had risked life and limb to fight countless major battles before he finally began to reap any fortune at all. Even his first few batches of fortune combined didn’t measure up to what Bao Yun had obtained just now. What gives? Is beauty truly everything?

In fact, Wei Yuan had not chosen this city’s residents without careful thought. The refugees who had just arrived in the Realm of Qingming hadn’t even met Wei Yuan yet and were only just beginning to build a better life. They were the most likely to generate fortune. As long as Bao Yun ensured they could live and work in peace, she would naturally gain human fortune.

The same principle applied to the group of human sacrifices.

As for the Xu Clan’s private troops, the supremacy of the noble clans and distinguished families had long been ingrained into their bones. Since Bao Yun was a prodigy of the Bao Clan’s main line, and this city counted as her private property, wouldn’t joining the city be tantamount to joining the Bao Clan? The Bao Clan was far more powerful than the Xu Clan. In the future, they could walk with their heads held high if they ran into their former colleagues, and not even the official troops would dare to block their path. Consequently, this group was the first to pledge their allegiance to Bao Yun and contributed the most fortune.

Although Ding’an City currently had a population of only slightly over 30,000, Wei Yuan estimated it would soon accumulate 1,000 wisps of blue fortune. Once Bao Yun led them to successfully repel a Shaman invasion, the number might even reach 2,000 wisps. As the city’s population gradually grew in the future, the resulting human fortune should slowly repair her damaged Dao Foundation.

1. I love subtle shit like this. The above paragraph praises one guy as handsome and the next paragraph, nothing. Nothing is said and yet everything is said. ( ?° ?? ?°) ☜

2. Who is this guy lol? Now the author is just rubbing it in. XD ☜

3. Meaning peaceful. ☜