Longzang

Chapter 1095 A Move of the Times
After a struggle with Cangwu, Wei Yuan returned to the main camp, still unwilling to give up. He prepared to continue studying the method of fishing with luck, hoping to find another weakness in Cangwu's defenses.

The longer Wei Yuan dealt with Cangwu, the more questions arose about the process of killing Liu Miao that day.

Wei Yuan is now able to sense the difference in strength between immortals of the same level as Cangwu and Liumiao. Liumiao is clearly stronger, but it is almost impossible for Wei Yuan to lock onto Cangwu. So how did he lock onto Liumiao that day?
Even Wei Yuan can't do that now, so it seems unbelievable that his earth-shattering spear strike that day, which hit its mark without any deliberate targeting, was so powerful. There must be another mastermind behind it all, who immobilized Liu Miao there.

At the time, Wei Yuan only thought the technique was simply unbelievable, and he couldn't tell that Liu Miao had been hit by a hidden attack. But recently, as Wei Yuan has accumulated over 100 million in luck, he has gradually begun to understand the hidden attack on Liu Miao, and he has figured out how those karmic resentments were formed, how they resonated and stimulated each other, and how they ultimately triggered a powerful effect far exceeding the original.

In the hidden scheme, resentment and karma play a negative role, disrupting the operation of the Six Wonders Immortal Power through resonance with the Heavenly Dao.

Liu Miao frantically tried to escape by channeling its immortal power, but each attempt was interrupted. The backlash from the immortal power prevented it from even performing the most basic teleportation, and it ultimately suffered a blow from the combined power of a hundred million people.

As his understanding deepened, Wei Yuan vaguely saw an enormous and intricate machine in the world, with each part tightly interlocked and operating in an incredibly complex way. In the end, it transformed a tiny bit of karmic resentment into a huge shackle, binding Liu Miao to death.

Wei Yuan, in his primordial spirit form, gazed thoughtfully at the enormous machine that had appeared between heaven and earth.

This mastermind behind the scenes used methods completely different from what Wei Yuan had learned before. Both historical records and military strategies taught him a very simple truth: the more factors involved in a complex scheme, the easier it is to fail.

However, this powerful being's scheme was incredibly complex, manipulating the mysterious and elusive forces of fate with ease. Precisely because it was so complex and precise, if one could not see the whole scheme and only look at a part, one would feel completely lost and have no idea what this person was trying to do.

Every immortal possesses extraordinary abilities and deadly techniques for self-preservation. Even if there is a significant difference in strength between the two sides, such as when Liu Miao faces Yan Shi, if Yan Shi is slightly careless, he may be severely injured by Liu Miao's trump card of mutual destruction, and that would be the time for other immortals to take advantage of the situation.

Just like when Tinghai Xianjun challenged Xu Wangu to a duel, he was slightly injured after a long battle. However, on his way back, he was ambushed by the enemy, seriously injured, and died several years later.

Liu Miao also had his own killing moves and hidden tricks, but they were all used against immortals. He never expected to fall into this trap and be killed by Wei Yuan, who was not an immortal, in one blow. Moreover, he was killed cleanly, without even having time to use his backup plan.

Wei Yuan gazed up at the enormous machine that was still slowly turning in the void, becoming more and more fascinated as he looked at it. The mysteries of destiny in the world were gradually revealed.

Such a massive and ingenious layout has one problem: it is difficult to move.

Wei Yuan suddenly understood why Zhang Sheng's calamity would occur in the State of Ji, and why he, who was collecting human resources in the State of Zhao, had to travel thousands of miles to the State of Ji to face the calamity.

The Kingdom of Ji is the eye of the storm, where countless powerful figures have laid out their plans and made their moves. The threads of cause and effect are intricately intertwined, so much so that even if a human king were to be reborn or a martial ancestor were to be reincarnated, they would not be able to unravel the current causal relationships. And then this person took advantage of this opportunity to set up this scheme, the target of which was none other than Liu Miao.

Moreover, the brilliance of this situation lies in the fact that if Liu Miao does not appear in the designated position, the entire arrangement will not be triggered. As a result, Wei Yuan directly slays the celestial being from beyond the heavens, and the being urgently summons Liu Miao to block the calamity, but happens to send Liu Miao to the designated position, thus triggering the arrangement. Even the celestial being from beyond the heavens does not have time to react, and Liu Miao has already perished.

At this moment, the grand plan was revealed before Wei Yuan's eyes, captivating him completely. When he came to his senses, several months had passed, and it was already early spring of the twelfth year of Hongjing.

The layout was simply too vast and magnificent; Wei Yuan felt he had grasped less than one ten-thousandth of it. Even so, his understanding of Qi, destiny, and feng shui had greatly improved, and even his mathematics had seen a slight advancement. It should be noted that Wei Yuan's mathematical abilities had already reached a bottleneck, making further progress extremely difficult; the fact that he could still improve only meant that Wei Yuan had become smarter.

After a moment of sudden realization, Wei Yuan immediately discovered the problems with his previous plan to lure Cangwu. When he first laid out the bait, Wei Yuan thought his plan was foolproof, but now it seemed full of loopholes.

So Wei Yuan pondered deeply and made new plans. In the blink of an eye, another month passed, and spring turned into summer.

Unbeknownst to Wei Yuan, after returning home and reflecting deeply on his mistakes, Cang Wu laid another large bait, determined to lure Wei Yuan out and severely injure him.

As a result, Wei Yuan suddenly went crazy and stayed at home for almost half a year, which made Cangwu furious but helpless, watching the big bait pass by.

The bait Cangwu used was a celestial fortune. Although it was only the most ordinary kind of fortune, it was still priceless, equivalent to half a gourd of celestial weapons. For a chosen one like Wei Yuan, the allure of celestial fortune was almost irresistible. Moreover, the fortune-fishing technique Cangwu used was taught by the Venerable Lord. Logically speaking, Wei Yuan should have had no chance of noticing anything unusual.

As the immortal's fortune gradually dissipated, Cangwu's heart bled, but he couldn't understand why Wei Yuan wouldn't take the bait.

Wei Yuan did not notice anything unusual at all. He was so engrossed in studying the secrets of heaven that several months passed before he suddenly had an epiphany.

After gaining some insight, Wei Yuan went to the Qi Luck Fishing Formation located in Yizhou City to re-examine the formation diagram.

The array diagram itself wasn't of a very high grade, only equivalent to the peak of the Imperial Realm. However, relying on his wealth, Wei Yuan set up thirty-six arrays in one go. With the thirty-six arrays stacked together and under Ji Liuli's supervision, they barely achieved the effect of an Immortal Array.

The current Yizhou Fortune Fishing Array consists of thirty-six halls arranged in a celestial grid, each containing a fortune formation.

Then, placed within the Qi Luck Fishing Array were several Imperial Treasures, the aura of several Immortal Plants, and the soul of a mountain dweller named Yu Jing. Wei Yuan instinctively felt that adding a Heavenly Demon might enhance the effect, but unfortunately, he only had one Heavenly Demon at hand, and it was hardworking and dutiful, bearing a familiar and beautiful face, so he was reluctant to use it.

Wei Yuan paced back and forth between the great formations, constantly pondering the essence of destiny and the key to the entire celestial situation.

At this moment, neither the Venerable Lord's grand vision nor the meticulous planning of the powerful celestial being hidden behind the scenes could match Wei Yuan's abilities. Even Cang Wu's true strength far surpassed Wei Yuan's. Lost in thought, Wei Yuan suddenly realized something. The Venerable Lord's overwhelming power, the King Buddha's innate talent, and the powerful celestial being's mysterious concealment—all were results of them maximizing their advantages. What about himself?
Wei Yuan was pondering what he possessed that others did not. Once this thought crossed his mind, the answer became obvious.

Wei Yuan instantly felt a sense of clarity, finally seeing through the path ahead. This path was Wei Yuan's own unique way.

Wei Yuan has already written down the general outline of this path in the Three Realms Wish-Fulfilling Scripture, which can be said to have opened up a direction in the chaos. All that needs to be done next is to refine and detail it.

Wei Yuan relied on billions of ordinary people—billions of ordinary people who were well-fed, clothed, and enlightened, as well as the increasing number of Body Forging cultivators, Dao Foundation templates, and future Golden Core Dharma Forms emerging from these ordinary people. From the perspective of the evolutionary theory of the outer world, the Azure Netherworld race had gradually separated from the main human race and begun to develop towards a higher level.

With this in mind, Wei Yuan knew how to fish for Cangwu. He had previously focused on improving the quality of his bait, trying every means to increase its grade, which was also the most common method of fishing for luck in the cultivation world.

But now Wei Yuan thought, why not focus on the quantity of bait? Instead of casting a few strands of Imperial View Perfection Luck, why not just throw in tens of millions of people's Luck?

If there is enough bait, the fish will have nowhere to escape. At that point, the fish will be able to get bait as soon as they open their mouths, and even breathing will be a mistake.

This can no longer be called fishing.

In the outer world, no number of anglers can compare to a single trawler.

Having figured out the path ahead, Wei Yuan no longer saw Cangwu as a problem. He decided to stop messing around with Cangwu and instead focus on solving the livelihood issues of Qingming and Yizhou, thereby continuously accumulating good fortune.

Once the people's fortunes have accumulated to a certain extent, and the magnificent momentum has been established, nothing in the world can stop it!

This is an open strategy: first ensure one's own invincibility, then wait for the enemy to become vulnerable.

Wei Yuan re-examined the people's livelihood. At this time, Qingming had developed to a considerable extent, with buildings erected in villages and towns everywhere. The surplus cement and steel were being used to build bridges and pave roads on a large scale, preparing to create a network of roads running vertically and horizontally.

However, in Yizhou, most ordinary people still live in shacks. Local cement and steel production capacity has just started to catch up, and construction is needed everywhere, which is still far from enough. Several new large factories are under construction.

The current bottleneck in building factories isn't anything else, but rather the number of template foundations. The Academy of Sciences has conducted extensive research comparing the energy supply systems of the outer worlds and has concluded that spiritual energy is a far superior energy source to electricity. In other words, template foundations are much more efficient than power plants; to build power plants, you must first cultivate templates.

Therefore, if a place wants to develop factories, the first thing to build is a central power station, and each power station is equipped with Taiyin Foundation Monks according to local energy needs.

In addition to the cultivator system, Wei Yuan also prioritized the construction of Yizhou Academy in his plan.

After several years of construction, Yizhou is now dotted with academies, ensuring that every five-year-old child can attend. They first study basic literacy for a year, and at age six, their innate talent and physical aptitude are tested. Those who can achieve physical aptitude transfer to the Immortal Academy for further study, while those who cannot continue their studies within the academy system, receiving systematic instruction in knowledge.

Qingming's teaching materials are now changing slightly every year and significantly every three years. With the blessings of the flourishing of all realms, achievements in all disciplines are exploding, and the knowledge taught is increasing rapidly. The primary academy for general education has changed from a one-year program to a three-year program, the intermediate academy is also three years, and then the advanced academy is three years.

The primary and secondary schools are completely free for the first nine years, and a symbolic fee is charged for the next six years, with Qingming subsidizing 90% of the expenses.

After graduating from the Advanced Academy and undergoing nine years of systematic study, one is capable of handling most job positions. During these years of general education, Wei Yuan unexpectedly discovered that the amount of fortune people could contribute after becoming literate significantly increased. Many middle-aged people whose bodies were no longer strong enough to undergo physical transformation were able to contribute new fortune after learning enlightenment.

Having discovered this, Wei Yuan naturally increased his investment in education. The Academy of Sciences then began to reclassify Qingming's knowledge disciplines according to the scientific system of the outer world, and formulated corresponding learning stages, with relevant experts compiling textbooks from beginner to advanced levels.

From the very beginning of this project, Wei Yuan sensed a subtle tremor within the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth. Although no fortune was gained at that time, Wei Yuan already knew that this was a momentous event that could change the future for thousands of generations to come.

However, despite the various subsidies offered by Qingming Academy, some students gradually found it difficult to continue their studies for various reasons. In particular, after graduating from the junior academy, since tuition was no longer free, some chose not to continue their education.

Wei Yuan was initially at a loss regarding this issue, as Qingming was developing rapidly and needed money in all aspects, making it difficult to afford free education at this time. However, inspired by the popularity of the Dharma Aspect Loan and Dao Foundation Loan, Wei Yuan decided to issue student loans.

The student loan interest rate was set at half that of the Faxiang Loan and Daoji Loan, while strict educational requirements were set for official positions at all levels to incentivize ordinary people to study as much as possible. This measure was remarkably effective, with a large number of applicants after the student loan program was launched. Behind each application was someone who was able to continue their studies, and each person who completed their studies often nurtured the next person to pursue their education.

A great Confucian scholar once wrote to Wei Yuan, vehemently criticizing the harm of unruly people studying and advocating that one should cultivate virtue first, then study books. That is, first teach the virtuous conduct of sages, and then impart knowledge of various subjects.

Wei Yuan ignored it.

At the same time, in response to the fact that the people of Yizhou did not have enough wealth to afford housing costs, Wei Yuan finally introduced a measure that would influence an era: mortgage loans.

(End of this chapter)