Longzang

Chapter 576 New Contract
A month has passed since the final battle with the Rain Kingdom. Only now has the massive amount of supplies abandoned by the Witch Clan been largely cleared and transported back to Qingming.

The situation had just stabilized when hundreds of rogue cultivators arrived in Qingming every day, most of whom were Body Forging cultivators.

These rogue cultivators had heard that Qingming could help those with no hope of advancement advance to the Foundation Establishment stage, so they came to try their luck. As more and more cultivators arrived, the number of people wanting to advance quickly exceeded a thousand.

Many cultivators did not come alone; some were fathers with their children, others were domineering wives dragging along their submissive husbands. There were even dying Dao Foundation Ancestors who brought their only descendant with passable talent.

They gathered in Zhike Town, trying every possible way to secure a chance. Some offered ancestral treasure maps, others ancestral martial arts techniques, and some even gave away their imperial pardons from the Dali era.

Naturally, various forms of kneeling without rising are indispensable.

As more and more people gathered, they soon alerted Wei Yuan.

After Wei Yuan secretly reviewed the matter, he sent someone to handle it. Qingming now has established procedures for handling unprecedented matters, the first step being registration and record-keeping. And with each registration, the number and detail of items required to be registered increase.

After registration, the data is entered into the database, statistically analyzed, and finally compiled into one or more reports. Once the personnel in charge have reviewed the reports, they will have a general understanding of the situation.

A day later, the report was placed on Wei Yuan's desk.

There are over 1,300 people who want to advance to the Foundation Establishment stage this time. The vast majority of them are independent cultivators with little money and connections. Otherwise, if they had even a little skill, as long as they could get affiliated with the Cui family, obtaining a spot in Qingming wouldn't be too difficult.

After reviewing the information on this group of people, Wei Yuan had a general idea of ​​what to expect. Recently, Qingming was about to start a new round of Dao Foundation Training, so he decided to train them together.

However, the opportunity to achieve enlightenment is not something to be given away for free. After careful consideration, Wei Yuan set the basic principles, which were then perfected through human experience and finally took shape. The whole process took half an hour.

In the town of Zhike, wherever Qingming people are present, there are cultivators kneeling for a long time.

Some cultivators knelt directly on the central street. With one person taking the lead, many cultivators felt this was a good way to attract the attention of the Qingming higher-ups, so more and more people knelt down.

The town wasn't just inhabited by monks; it was also home to many refugees and passing caravans.

At that moment, a group of cultivators knelt on the main street in the center of the town, immediately blocking the way of a caravan. The caravan's dozen or so large trucks completely blocked the road, and then the refugees squeezed in wherever they could, gradually making the entire town completely blocked.

Many of the caravan guards were former rogue cultivators, and as such, they held these rogue cultivators in high regard. The rogue cultivators, on the other hand, were fond of fighting and also disliked the guards. The two sides were like dry straw, ready to ignite at the slightest spark, and soon a fight broke out, resulting in several deaths.

Some rogue cultivators, in a bad mood, would take their anger out on the homeless, killing several with a single spell. The homeless had nowhere to turn for justice, so they could only wail and scream, creating chaos. Such conflicts erupted throughout the town, plunging it into utter disarray.

Finally, a chilling pressure enveloped the entire town, and a majestic voice boomed from the air: "Everyone, stop immediately! Anyone who disobeys will be executed! Refugees, move to the sides and clear the road. Caravans and wagons have priority. Those of you kneeling on the road, are you deaf? Make way! Guards, arrest those who are still refusing to get up and take them to the dungeon to sober them up!"

The rogue cultivators kneeling in the middle of the road immediately scattered. They just wanted to attract attention, not to go to Qingming to go to jail.

The figure in the air was none other than a Dharma Aspect cultivator. Young in age and with exceptionally handsome features, he possessed an imposing presence and exuded a palpable aura of killing intent. It was Cui Yu who arrived to handle the chaos. Having witnessed countless grand occasions, he quickly restored order with a few commands.

When Wei Yuan began establishing several small towns for travelers on the border, he already had considerable experience in urban planning. The roads were very wide, allowing three trucks to travel side by side, demonstrating a remarkably advanced design. Therefore, once the trucks that had blocked the roads had passed, traffic immediately resumed.

But as soon as the truck passed, the unlicensed repairmen ran to the middle of the road and knelt down.

Cui Yu was not annoyed and said loudly, "There is a training ground two miles south of the town. Anyone who wants to get the opportunity to form a foundation must go to the training ground to hear the requirements. There is only a quarter of an hour. If you miss it, you will not be waited for!"

Now the rogue cultivators could no longer kneel; they scattered and ran towards the training ground.

A moment later, the training ground was packed with independent cultivators, probably three or four thousand in number. The gathering of these independent cultivators immediately relieved the cultivators in charge of managing the town.

Unaffiliated cultivators have always been unrestrained and can be considered the most unruly group of cultivators.

From the moment they began arriving in the town, theft, robbery, fighting, and rape never stopped, resulting in several deaths every day. Even the homes of several town officials were burgled, some more than once.

However, the rogue cultivators were too ignorant to understand the power of the Qi and Feng Shui techniques employed by the cultivators of the Azure Netherworld Primordial Palace. Most of those who stole from the Primordial Palace cultivators suffered various misfortunes in the following days, and were then inexplicably spotted by the authorities and imprisoned. Very few actually escaped.

When the time came, Cui Yu landed on the high platform of the training ground and said, "Lord Wei Yuan, the military governor of Dingxi, out of compassion for all of you who have not cultivated yourselves to the end, is willing to give you a chance to continue your path. However, since you are all cultivators, you naturally know that cultivating immortality is going against the will of Heaven, and the opportunity to continue your path is extremely precious, so it is impossible to give it away for free."

Now everyone has two choices: First, pay the celestial silver!

Upon hearing this, many independent cultivators felt much more at ease. If all they wanted was money, that would be fine; they were most afraid of those who didn't want money but had all sorts of strange demands. But Cui Yu continued, "To obtain the opportunity to comprehend the Dao in Qingming, you must first pay five hundred taels of immortal silver, which will not be refunded regardless of success or failure! If you successfully forge your foundation, then you will need to pay another one thousand five hundred taels of immortal silver! Once the immortal silver is paid in full, the karma will be cleared, and you will be free to leave Qingming."

This figure far exceeded the expectations of the independent cultivators. Many of them had only handled a few or a few dozen taels of immortal silver. They never expected that it would cost five hundred taels just to comprehend the Dao, and another 1,500 taels would be required after success. Immediately, there was a great uproar.

Among the crowd, someone who was always eager to stir up trouble and feared things wouldn't escalate much shouted at the top of his lungs, "Are you all crazy for money?! We absolutely cannot agree to this! I think Qingming is a fraud. Not a single one of them will even be able to establish a Dao Foundation, and we'll be giving them five hundred taels of immortal silver for nothing! Even if someone succeeds, it's because of their own good fortune, and it might not have anything to do with Qingming at all..."

Before these people could finish shouting, a Liuren Heavenly Soldier suddenly appeared behind them and lifted them into the air.

Cui Yu coldly replied, "Our Realm Lord has killed more alien races than you've ever seen immortal silver in your entire lives! Would the Realm Lord covet your measly scraps? When it comes to lending money, the minimum is five million taels!"

The rogue cultivators were dumbfounded. This was a number they never dared to imagine, yet these important figures were just casually borrowing from each other.

Cui Yu then said, "You lot are taking this opportunity to cause trouble and disrupt order. Your crimes are unforgivable and you should be executed according to the law!"

Several Heavenly Soldiers of the Six Rens brandished their long swords and killed the troublemaking rogue cultivators. They then hung the corpses on the wooden poles erected along the edge of the training ground.

The rogue cultivators fell silent. After all, this was the dog-eat-dog world of cultivation. A group of rogue cultivators who had just reached the Foundation Establishment stage had offended the Dharma Image of the Immortal Palace. They would have no recourse even if they died.

After dealing with a few troublemakers, Cui Yu continued, "Those who can't produce immortal silver aren't without options. You can sign a contract. If you fail to establish your Dao foundation, you only need to serve in Qingming for fifteen years to regain your freedom. During your service, there may be one or more opportunities to re-establish your Dao foundation. Whether you get one or more depends on your performance."

In an instant, many independent cultivators fell silent and began to weigh the pros and cons.

Cui Yu continued, "To forge the foundation of your Dao, you need to sign a blood pact and serve Qingming for thirty years. During these thirty years, you will receive half the salary and provisions of a normal cultivator."

Someone in the crowd said, "Once you reach the Dao Foundation stage, you'll have fifty years of lifespan extended. You'll work for others for thirty years, and then you can enjoy twenty more years of carefree life. That's pretty good!"

Another person said, "Serving a powerful force is different from living a life of constant danger in the martial world. Not only is there no danger, but you're also provided with food and lodging! You might even be able to settle down here and your family could take root here in a few decades."

Many people nodded in agreement. A few troublemakers tried to say something, but after only a few words, they were grabbed by the cultivators in front and slapped hard across the face, knocking out several of their teeth.

These cultivators were all muscular and glistening with oil, clearly possessing exceptional talent for body refinement.

At this moment, several elderly men and women rushed forward, knelt on the ground, and cried and wailed, saying that they had no money and did not want to risk their lives. They said that Qingming and the other men were so rich, so why couldn't they show some kindness and give their children a chance?
Cui Yu sneered again. People from top families like theirs, what kind of people don't have ways to deal with hooligans?

Cui Yu remained silent. Immediately, dozens of burly men rushed out from the crowd, surrounded them, and brutally beat them half to death before dragging them away. Their family members rushed up and were similarly knocked unconscious and dragged away, and the training ground became quiet again.

Only then did Cui Yu slowly say, "Such a big matter as continuing the path of cultivation requires you to have your own opinions. Our Realm Lord is such a formidable person to be able to gain a foothold in the Western Regions. Did he come here to do good deeds for you? With these conditions, do it if you want, or get out if you don't!"

Upon hearing this, the rogue cultivators dared not hesitate any longer, and some immediately stepped forward to sign the contract. They discovered that the contract was actually written on jade paper engraved with array patterns, and needed to be activated by dripping blood.

The dozens of independent cultivators in the front row felt dizzy and lightheaded the moment they saw the contract.

The contract was densely packed; even after flipping through more than a dozen pages, the end was still not reached. There were at least a thousand clauses. Moreover, the clauses were written in ancient Chinese, obscure and difficult to understand, so archaic that many independent cultivators would find several unfamiliar characters in every sentence. This contract was so difficult that even a student of average ranking in the academy would probably not be able to understand it, let alone independent cultivators.

Some impatient rogue cultivators scrolled down dozens of pages in one go, only reaching the end after reading more than 1,400 clauses.

The rogue cultivators had never seen such a scene before. Those who wanted to ask questions were met with a sour face from the official, who scolded them: "What are you asking? Even if you find out, will you be able to change it? Go stand aside, sign it or not, don't delay me from reading my storybook."

The independent cultivators had no choice but to grit their teeth and sign the papers in blood, thus binding themselves to Qingming's chariot.

This contract is undoubtedly a masterpiece of human craftsmanship; it could easily contain 1,400 articles, let alone another 1,400. Moreover, the Crouching Dragon and the Phoenix Chick have been exceptionally cunning this time, writing some key clauses in extremely small print, sandwiched between two larger clauses, so that if you don't look closely, you might mistake them for a magic array.

The independent cultivators already find it difficult to read, and even if there are a few stubborn mules, after seeing seven or eight hundred articles, they are easily overwhelmed and will ignore these crucial, minute details.

In the end, only about thirty of the thousands of independent cultivators paid the fee; the rest all signed contracts.

Thus, Qingming gained over a thousand Body Forging cultivators to serve as its servants. Before long, two hundred Foundation Establishment cultivators would emerge from among them, continuing to serve as its servants.

(End of this chapter)