Longzang

Chapter 1080 Official Rank One

Wei Yuan glanced at the official document in his hand again, reconfirming the figures. According to the latest statistics, the total population of Qingming and the Ji Kingdom had reached 105.2 million.

During these five years, new appointments were made by the Great Tang, and Yizhou was newly established in this area, with Wei Yuan serving as its governor. In the Great Tang's official system, he held the rank of first grade.

The Great Tang also had a master who, with a single imperial decree, bound Wei Yuan to the fate of the Great Tang. However, Wei Yuan was always preoccupied with the livelihoods of tens of millions of people and hadn't paid attention to these matters, nor did he care about being bound to anyone.

This is not the past. The social order has collapsed, and the Martial Ancestor's plans are in jeopardy. Various forces, whether openly or covertly, are working together to shake up the current system.

The Great Tang is like a towering ancient tree, swaying in the gale, the swaying becoming more and more violent, and its collapse is inevitable. All parties are planning how to maximize their gains after the building falls.

Under these circumstances, if the esteemed master of the Tang family doesn't interfere with Wei Yuan's busy schedule of caring for ordinary people's basic needs, then so be it. But if he dares to interfere, Wei Yuan wouldn't mind reconsidering whether kings and generals are born with a special destiny.

Wei Yuan put down the official document in his hand and glanced at the time again. Unbeknownst to him, it was already the beginning of spring in the tenth year of Hongjing, and Emperor Tang was still alive.

Wei Yuan got up and went out of the house. He scanned the entire Yizhou region with his divine sense and saw that everything was thriving. There were factories everywhere, machines were roaring, and everyone was picky about what they ate. There were also many people who would pick up their bowls to eat meat, and then put down their chopsticks to curse.

Seeing this, Wei Yuan felt satisfied, as if he had finally done something meaningful.

Even those who curse their mothers at least have the energy to curse after they've eaten their fill.

Wei Yuan walked outside to Zhang Sheng's residence and knocked on the door. Before he could even lower his hand, the door opened by itself, and a finger appeared, beckoning to him.

With an expression of resignation to his fate, Wei Yuan entered the house and closed the door.

……

When Wei Yuan went outside, he felt that the air was exceptionally fresh and the sky was blue.

Pain and happiness.

Wei Yuan rubbed his lower back, knowing that provoking sword cultivators would end badly, but not provoking them was not an option either.

There's just one thing they both tacitly agree never to mention.

Ten years have passed in Hongjing. The reminders Wei Yuan set up have been activated one by one, and some things should come to a conclusion. So, with a thought, Wei Yuan arrived at the Yellow Springs Cave.

The Heavenly Demon was engrossed in his work, registering new souls while repeatedly re-enacting the names of all those with naturally awakened souls, his skill was remarkable.

Wei Yuan suddenly recognized a man being beaten in the corner. Upon closer inspection, he realized that the man bore an uncanny resemblance to Su Wuwang. Had Su Wuwang been reincarnated and ended up in the Yellow Springs Cave Heaven?

However, thinking about it, it is indeed possible. Now that the Yellow Springs Cave Heaven is gradually becoming complete, its pulling force is becoming stronger and stronger. As long as there are new souls within a certain area around Wei Yuan, they may be drawn in.

Wei Yuan didn't pay much attention to Su Wuwang. After all, he was just a stop on his path of cultivation, a stop he fought alongside two other people. There was no need to remember him.

Emperor Yuan was destined to wage countless battles throughout his life; Yu Jing is unworthy to leave his name behind.

Seeing that the Heavenly Demon was also busy, and that more than ten whips were flying around the hall, constantly lashing the errant souls under the control of the Heavenly Demon's magic, Wei Yuan said, "Stop for a moment and let them all leave."

The Heavenly Demon was somewhat surprised. He pointed his finger, and there was no longer a single soul in the Yama Palace.

Wei Yuan gave Tianmo a deep look and said, "We've known each other for quite a while, but I haven't asked your name yet."

"Galo, what's wrong?" The Heavenly Demon inexplicably felt something was off about his nose.

“Galo…” Wei Yuan repeated the name several times, memorizing the meaning behind it, and then said, “You can go back now. It would be even better if you could find me two successors, but it doesn’t matter if you can’t.”

Galo raised her head and stared intently at Wei Yuan, saying, "If I can't find my own kind, will you let me go?" Wei Yuan replied, "Yes, you have been busy for so many years and have helped me a lot. Actually, I'm already very embarrassed, but I really had no choice recently and couldn't do without you, so I forced you to stay for so long."

Galo said firmly, "Without me, the power of your counterattack would be reduced by one level."

Wei Yuan smiled and said, "I can eliminate those who are disobedient without relying on rebellion. Besides, the true power of rebellion is not cheating, but the straight path of the Great Dao."

Galo's face darkened, and she sighed softly, saying, "Can't you be a decent human being?"

Wei Yuan had heard these words more than once, but hearing them again this time was quite unexpected. So Wei Yuan cautiously asked, "Did I do something wrong?"

Galo's pent-up emotions, accumulated over many years, suddenly erupted like a volcano. She slammed her fist on the table and roared, "All these years, I've done everything you asked me to do. You put me in the Underworld Palace, and I've always been diligent and conscientious, without making a single mistake! And now you're telling me I'm useless and I can leave?! You scumbag!"

Wei Yuan was stunned. It took him a while to react before he asked, "You...don't want to leave?"

"If you want me to leave, just say so. Don't ask like that! How did you get so sure I wanted to leave? Did you even ask me?"

Wei Yuan was overwhelmed by the series of questions. After regaining his composure, he asked again, "What about your clan? Do you have... relatives?"

"We, the Heavenly Demons, are a unified whole, yet each individual is independent. We are born in a place called the Abyss, born from heaven and earth. After birth, we are given our own missions, and then we go to the mission locations to carry them out. After completing one mission, there will be another, and so on. Therefore, I have no family, nor any ties."

Wei Yuan had never had such an in-depth conversation with the Heavenly Demon before. He had asked before, but the Heavenly Demon refused to answer, and Wei Yuan had no way to do so.

The Heavenly Demon has a unique form, existing between the real and the illusory. It lacks vital organs such as the sea of ​​consciousness, and its entire body is a unified whole, with every point being identical, making it impossible to detect.

Only now has Wei Yuan learned a little about the secrets of the Heavenly Demons. It seems that there are still countless secrets waiting for him to discover in this vast world.

Leaving the Yellow Springs Grotto, Wei Yuan looked up at the sky. Several purple spots still remained in the sky, surrounded by frames and buildings with a distinctly otherworldly style, and large flying vehicles regularly shuttled back and forth between heaven and earth.

The two largest of these purple spots are training grounds for new recruits, used to hone their skills. The smaller spots have been designated as nature reserves and research areas, open to the public for visiting and studying extraterrestrial creatures.

Now that Wei Yuan's rule over the realm has temporarily come to an end, he has turned his attention back to the world and conceived the idea of ​​exploring beyond the heavens. Unfortunately, the outer heavens are fraught with dangers, and without ascending to immortality, it is difficult to roam freely.

Wei Yuan examined his cultivation level again. At this moment, a total of 90 million units of human fortune floated quietly in his sea of ​​consciousness. Of these, 50 million were gradually contributed by Qingming and Yizhou over the years, and another 40 million were the human fortune distributed by the Zhao Kingdom.

After Wei Yuan weathered the crisis, he voluntarily changed the profit sharing to half and half, and also repaid the fortune he borrowed from Zhao Li Xianren. In the end, he gained 40 million fortune over the five years.

Qingming and Yizhou have only 100 million people, yet their population growth already exceeds half of the entire Zhao state. Zhao is a prosperous and peaceful nation, with a stable population of around 10 billion. The fact that Qingming is almost catching up in terms of population growth is a result of Wei Yuan's assistance in designing a welfare system for Zhao, supported by substantial trade.

If the welfare system of Zhao collapses, the fortune of its people will immediately be surpassed by Qingming Yizhou. If this is the case for Zhao, then in terms of fortune, among the nine states, apart from Southern Qi, the other states are not so good.

Aside from the human fortune, all six major grotto-heavens are still developing steadily, only Xie Yang remains stagnant. On the day of the great battle with the mountain people, Wei Yuan repeatedly used Xie Yang's true intent, causing the life force of the Heavenly Pillar to show signs of activity. After several years of dormancy, it was finally resealed.

Of all the grotto-heavens, the Yellow Springs Grotto-heaven underwent the most significant changes. As more and more of the mountain people's reincarnated souls were reborn, an extremely complex rune was lit up on the Gate of All Realms. This rune represented the mountain people.

Including the mountain people's runes, five runes have been lit on the Gate of All Realms. One each belongs to the Witch Clan, the Liao Clan, and the Human Clan, and there's also a strange symbol whose meaning Wei Yuan still can't figure out. These runes are like lighthouses, guiding their respective groups home in the vast universe.

The bustling world was even more lively, and there were even more secrets. Many people were carefully avoiding the gaze of the Creator Immortal.

Before Wei Yuan could thoroughly explore the prosperity of the various realms, he received a message from the direction of Qingming: King Zhao was about to break through to the Imperial Realm and would be holding an advancement ceremony, and had specially invited Wei Yuan to attend.

Upon receiving the invitation, Wei Yuan hesitated. Was the King of Zhao inviting him to sit and observe a ceremony because he sought a breakthrough, or perhaps a liberation?

(End of this chapter)