Longzang

Chapter 1189 My Chance?
In Qingming Dingxi City, the square in front of the city lord's mansion was packed with people. Bao Yun was presiding over the renaming ceremony, officially changing Dingxi City to Qingwu City.

Accompanying the renaming ceremony was a massive project: to build a high platform behind the city lord's mansion, surrounded by numerous palaces. The central area, spanning several miles, would be filled with fertile soil, and in the center of this soil, only a small tree, barely a foot tall, would be planted, with just a few new buds sprouting from its branches.

A ten-mile-long high platform was built, and a series of palaces were constructed. This place was named Phoenix Perch Palace.

By Qingming's current standards, this is a massive undertaking. In the Nine Kingdoms, it would require the entire nation's resources to build, placing it on par with projects like Zhangtai and the Grand Canal.

A year ago, when Bao Yun proposed the project plan, everyone around her was shocked, and there were many voices of opposition, including a large portion of the city's million residents. Bao Yun suppressed all opposition and launched the project on her own. As originally agreed, Dingxi City was a gift from Wei Yuan to Bao Yun as a betrothal present; therefore, Bao Yun always held the highest authority in city affairs, and even Wei Yuan had to respect her decisions.

Residents who moved to Dingxi City and registered their household there were essentially joining the Bao family and becoming its subjects. In the first ten years or so, this was a huge incentive to attract displaced people to settle there.

After Bao Yun launched the project, she discovered during the planning stage that it would be difficult for Dingxi City to build the ten-mile-long elevated platform on its own, which led to many objections. Surely, this project wouldn't burden the entire city with decades of debt? Bao Yun had her own solution: she wrote a letter to the Bao family.

The Bao family was originally like a calm spring pond, isolated from the world. But with the arrival of Bao Yun's letter, their idyllic peace was completely shattered.

The letter contained only one thing: a loan; and the amount was astonishing: one hundred million taels of silver!
As for the reason for borrowing money, Bao Yun didn't even bother to make it up; it was just a few words: "Large-scale construction, building pavilions and towers."

The arrival of this letter kept the elders of the Bao family awake for several nights, discussing it back and forth. Even the wealthy and powerful Bao family was shocked by the amount involved.

However, the patriarch has been in seclusion for the past few years and no one is allowed to disturb him. It is said that there is a mysterious second ancestor, but he is rarely seen and no one knows where this immortal is.

When the Immortal Ancestor does not respond, such mundane matters are usually decided by the elders themselves. How can we disturb the Immortal Ancestor's cultivation over a trivial matter of money?
That's the logic, but the elders were in a dilemma. It was indeed a matter of money, and it was indeed a mundane affair, but with the amount exceeding one hundred million, it seemed to have transcended mere mundane affairs.

After discussing the matter for several days, the elders decided that the money had to be lent. If the wealthy Bao family couldn't even come up with one hundred million taels of silver, wouldn't they be a laughingstock?
However, the amount of money was simply too large, far exceeding the elders' authority. Moreover, given the current situation, none of the elders wanted to offend Bao Yun. Bao Yun was one of the Twelve Celestial Ministers, practically the next Celestial Ancestor of the Bao family. The elders were all shrewd; they knew better than to take sides beforehand.
As the elders were discussing their troubles, someone said, "Back then, Yun girl got a city in exchange, and you all said it was just a run-down mountain village. Weren't you right?"

The elders erupted into chaos, arguing and bickering, while also reminiscing about the past. The two newly appointed elders, not yet a hundred years old, were particularly moved.

The elders all knew perfectly well that these two were among the best of the younger generation, and that they had actually had feelings for Bao Yun back then.

Years ago, Bao Yun eloped with Wei Yuan. When she mentioned it to her clan, Wei Yuan gave her a city.

Back then, the entire Bao family was full of ridicule, thinking that what good city could there be in such a remote and harsh place? They thought Wei Yuan was just trying to appease a beggar by using this place to marry Bao Yun. Besides, in the Northwest, what they called a city was probably just a run-down town, or even a large mountain village. These words were spoken by the two youngest elders present.

Because of Bao Yun, many members of the Bao family began to notice Qing Ming's news. However, after learning the truth, many of Bao Yun's supporters and suitors were quite indignant. After all, Qing Ming was just a barren piece of land at that time; Wei Yuan and the others had simply claimed a piece of wasteland and deceived Bao Yun.

What's the meaning of giving her a piece of wasteland? Does he expect Bao Yun to pay for the city herself? Bao Yun was just a young girl then, how much private money could she possibly have? So everyone thought that Wei Yuan was actually after the Bao family's wealth.

Afterwards, Bao Yun repeatedly asked the family for money, which further confirmed everyone's suspicions. In fact, Bao Yun had always used the support resources under her own name, which were available to all the core genius disciples of the Bao family, and had not asked for more. It was just that Bao Manshan would always secretly slip her a little extra, which was equivalent to several times what Bao Yun asked for.

Everyone thought that Wei Yuan was greedy and wanted to gain both money and people, so they were all indignant and cursed him.

As a result, during that period, Wei Yuan was notorious and infamous both inside and outside the Bao family.

In the blink of an eye, decades have passed since then.

Most of Bao Yun's suitors from back then have settled down and started families. A few have formed Dharma associations, and three or five of them have gone quite far within those associations, with two even becoming elders. Occasionally, these three or five men would dream in the dead of night, wondering if they had been a little braver back then, would they have had any chance of winning her heart?
Of course, they could only dream about it. Qingming was no longer what it used to be, and Wei Yuan's slaying of immortals had become a sensation throughout the world. Everyone had long since given up the desire to compare themselves with Wei Yuan.

After several days of agonizing deliberation, Bao Manshan, overruling all objections, finally decided that the money should still be borrowed. His reasoning was sound: Bao Yun was building the Bao family's city; how could they not contribute to building their own?
The elders, intimidated by Bao Manshan's persuasiveness, reluctantly agreed, but were still uneasy. So they sent Bao Manshan and Bao Shu with the immortal silver to Qingming to see where Bao Yun planned to spend the money.

So, while Bao Yun held her renaming ceremony, Bao Manshan and Bao Shu sat in a nearby restaurant, watching Bao Yun preside over the ceremony. However, both of their expressions were rather strange. Bao Shu had already cultivated his Mind World and become a newly promoted Imperial Landscape Master. His pupils revealed a jade tree of crystal, and he saw countless wisps of green energy rising from the plaza, all converging towards Bao Yun. But after only a few breaths, his eyes stung, and he almost burst into tears.

As he wiped his eyes with a white cloth, he said, "A couple of days ago, at least 30-40% of the people in this city were against the large-scale construction of this Phoenix Perch Terrace. Today, Yun'er came out and said a few words to them, how come they all forgot their original intentions?"

Bao Manshan pointed to the square and sighed, "If you were in this crowd, you wouldn't have any original intention either."

The square was packed with people, who excitedly stood on tiptoe and craned their necks to look at the stage, afraid of missing a single thing.

Bao Yun's magnificent robes trailed on the ground, adorned with shimmering pearls and jade. Her hair was styled with golden hairpins, tucked into jade ornaments, her lips were painted with pearls, and her wrists were as white as frost. She possessed an innate grace and elegance.

It's so beautiful.

She walked to one side of the platform, waved to the crowd below, and said, "Friends from the east of the city, how are you?"

A thunderous cheer erupted in response! Countless colorful paper ribbons flew into the sky, and cultivators continuously launched Daoist techniques into the air, exploding them into dazzling fireworks.

Bao Yun then asked, "Is everyone willing to build the Phoenix Perch Terrace?"

"Yes!!!" This shout was like an earthquake!
Bao Yun finally smiled, and her smile caused a burst of screams from the audience. Many people were so excited that they fainted on the spot.

Baoshu covered his face with his hands, sighing repeatedly, "The world is going to the dogs! People's hearts are no longer what they used to be! How can they show their faces in public like this? This, this is outrageous!"

Bao Manshan, wearing a peculiar monocle, clicked his tongue and exclaimed, "Amazing! Incredible! How come I never thought of that?"

Baoshu, puzzled, said, "Isn't this shameful enough? How is it so great?"

Bao Manshan handed over the lens and said, "You'll know as soon as you look. There's not much immortal power left in here. Our ancestor is in seclusion and there's no way to replenish it. I can only let you look at it for three breaths."

Baoshu put on his glasses and looked at the square again. This time, he saw large swaths of mist rising from people and converging on Baoyun from all directions.

Above Bao Yun's head, a precious tree appeared, constantly absorbing the clouds and mist. Its light became increasingly crystalline and warm, and a faint, colorful fairy light emerged from the depths of its milky white light!
Bao Shu was taken aback, his voice trembling slightly: "How can there be so much luck?! Does everyone here have luck?"

Bao Manshan reached out and snatched the mirror back, then said, "Now you understand? Yun'er's method of harvesting fortune is extremely clever! The fortune she gained in this ceremony is more than you could ever get in your entire life! Look, her Dharma form has absorbed so much fortune that it has nowhere to put it, and it's already about to transform!"

Bao Shu recalled the images he had just witnessed, his face gradually turning to shock. He said, "When human fortune reaches its peak, it produces celestial light? She, she..."

Bao Manshan, whose insight far surpassed that of Bao Shu, said, "This is essentially a disguised path to becoming the King of Men. I never imagined that this city could be so large, with such a large population, each possessing their own destiny. Only in this way could her path be fulfilled. However, she summoned us here not just to watch the spectacle. Such a grand ceremony of destiny is full of variables; it might even attract extraterrestrial demons."

Baoshu suddenly realized: "So we also need to protect the Dharma!"

Bao Manshan rolled his eyes at him and said, "You just realized that? So be careful not to let anything interrupt Yun'er's process of absorbing luck."

Baoshu became serious and looked around. He had a strange feeling that a demon should appear at this moment.

However, it does not.

(End of this chapter)