Longzang

Chapter 123 Support
On the vast river and mountains, stones had already been piled up beside Jade Mountain, but Wei Yuan hadn't yet decided whether to sculpt a tripod, a bell, or something else. If given the chance, Wei Yuan felt he should go to the Hall of Ten Thousand Images again to find inspiration, and also see if that old Taoist sweeper was still there.

By the time they returned to Lan Shen Palace, it was already dawn. Wei Yuan dismounted, withdrawing only three strands of his Qi, leaving one strand inside the warhorse. The horse's height decreased from fifteen feet to one zhang, and although its aura was somewhat weak, it did not collapse or die.

Xu Wenwu was the first to rush over, shouting, "Big Brother is mighty!!"

He wasn't seen during the battle, but he was the first to run out to greet us upon our triumphant return. It seems that Xu Wenwu wasn't entirely incompetent after all.

Wei Yuan patted his shoulder, then pointed to the warhorse behind him and said, "Ride it and run for an hour."

Xu Wenwu was taken aback: "Where are you running to?"

"Anywhere is fine, even running in circles is fine. Just run for a full hour."

Xu Wenwu dared not disobey and mounted his horse. Although the great battle was over, how could he dare to go too far? If he encountered a straggling member of the Wu tribe, he would kill him without even needing a second move. So Xu Wenwu rode his horse in circles around the main hall.

The surviving human cultivators were gathered in the open space next to the main hall. Only thirty or forty of them were still able to sit, while the rest were lying on the ground, receiving treatment from Yun Feifei and Xu Wan'er.

Upon seeing Wei Yuan approach, all the cultivators' eyes lit up with fervor. Those who could still move struggled to their feet, while those who couldn't stand sat up.

Wei Yuan looked them over one by one, and including those who were seriously injured and dying, there were only 197 people left. Before the battle, there were 670 people.

Seeing this scene, Wei Yuan felt no joy. Every inch of this land was fought for with the blood and lives of countless human cultivators. This was only because Jia Mu Sheng Xuan constantly replenished their life force; if it had been any other boundary stone, none of these people would have survived.

At this moment, the Azure Netherworld Domain had expanded to ten miles, and the area around the main hall was nearly a pure mortal realm. With the blessing of the Life-Generating Power, the healing speed of all cultivators' injuries increased exponentially, and those poisoned or cursed were also recovering. In the domain of an ordinary boundary stone, probably only half of those cursed or poisoned would have survived.

Although the casualties were heavy, all the surviving cultivators had a light in their eyes.

Wei Yuan walked up to the most seriously injured people, placed his hand on their wounds, and tiny specks of tender green light appeared around his hand. The power of the Wood element of the realm had already condensed on this person. His vitality instantly surged several times over, and the speed of wound healing increased more than tenfold. His originally life-threatening injuries began to heal at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Once his injuries stabilized and his life was no longer in danger, Wei Yuan moved on to the next person. In the blink of an eye, five people who should have been fatally wounded were pulled back from the brink of death—it was practically a miracle!
The crowd looked at Wei Yuan with intense gazes, and Wei Yuan felt he should say something. There were many examples in history books that could be used as a reference, but Wei Yuan felt that at this moment, all such references and allusions were too empty to express his feelings.

He thought for a moment and said, "Before this battle, everyone probably thought we were doomed to lose. But we held our ground and won!"

The cultivators swung their fists and roared furiously, their hearts filled with wildness at this moment!
Wei Yuan raised his voice, waving his arms forcefully, and roared, "The Wuyu Clan will not give up. But we will defend this place, we will win! We will win every battle and wipe out every bastard who crosses the line!!"

The cultivators roared again!
Wei Yuan leaped onto a large rock, pointed his spear to the sky, and shouted, "In the future, we will mobilize a large army and invade the Witch Domain..."

Amidst the thunderous roars of the cultivators, a high-pitched voice suddenly rang out: "...Rob money and rob women!"

The arena suddenly fell silent, all the cultivators utterly bewildered. Robbing money was understandable, but why rob the women of the Wuyu clan?
Seeing Xu Wenwu, who was supposed to be walking the horses but had somehow returned, Wei Yuan's face turned green. He had finally managed to get some playing time and his morale was high, but this guy's sudden remark had completely ruined the atmosphere.

Seeing the surroundings quiet down, Xu Wenwu realized he had said the wrong thing, though he didn't know exactly what he had done wrong. However, quick-witted as ever, he dismounted, raised his arms, and shouted, "Human King Immortal Lord, are you born with a special destiny? From now on, we'll follow our elder brother, through fire and water, even unto death!"

What's going on here? Wei Yuan was both amused and exasperated, and sealed Xu Wenwu's mouth with streams of energy. But Xu Wenwu opened his mouth and swallowed the energy, his cultivation improving slightly.

Before Wei Yuan could react, the man had already knelt down and shouted, "Long live the Emperor!"

The cultivators all knelt down and cried out in unison, "May our King live forever!"

Xu Wenwu looked up at the cultivators around him and instinctively felt that something was wrong. He wondered if he had said something wrong again.
In ancient times, the human king was the same as the immortal ruler, and the immortal ruler was the same as the human king. After ascending to immortality, their lifespan was far more than ten thousand years. Therefore, shouting "Long live the human king!" to the human king was tantamount to cursing him to die young.

The Great Tang is now the undisputed ruler of all under Heaven. Although nine kingdoms have divided the land and the Tang dynasty is now in vain, its legitimacy and authority remain. One may wish to establish oneself independently, but only as a king, and must honor Emperor Tang as the undisputed ruler of all under Heaven. Xu Wenwu's address of "Your Majesty" was, in fact, a ploy to exterminate Wei Yuan's entire clan, and to incite a united front of heroes from across the land.

Seeing the cultivators kneeling in worship, even Yun Feifei and Xu Wan'er were kneeling, Wei Yuan was caught completely off guard. Why was this rebellion starting?
Now is not the time... Wei Yuan calmed down.

His ability to slay two Dharma Aspects in succession ultimately stemmed from the intervention of the Immortal Lord from afar. Without the power of the Immortal Lord, the Taichu Palace wouldn't even need the patriarch's intervention to quell the rebellion; any one of the senior disciples, like Zhang Sheng, would suffice.

After carefully considering the pros and cons, Wei Yuan suddenly realized, "Why am I even thinking about this so seriously?!"

"Everyone, get up! Get up! What are you doing? I am just a lowly disciple of the Taichu Palace, and I always will be." Wei Yuan pulled people up one by one, but no one would get up no matter what.

The two most powerful and prestigious surviving cultivators exchanged a glance and said in unison, "Our lord has established a boundary stone and reopened this place. He is now the master of this land. This is a rule passed down for hundreds of thousands of years by our human race. It will not prevent our lord from continuing to be a disciple of the Primordial Palace. We only wish to follow our lord and protect our clan and blood relatives. No matter what your identity is, you will be our master from now on."

Wei Yuan looked to his left, then to his right. One of these two men was recruited by Yun Feifei from the surrounding towns, and the other was Xu Jingfeng's bodyguard leader. They were originally unrelated, but judging from their tacit understanding at the moment, he knew that they must have been secretly plotting something.

The bloody battle had just ended, and all the cultivators who participated had come with the intention of dying, resulting in the loss of nearly 70% of them. Everyone present could honestly say that they were ready to die. Wei Yuan could not take their wishes lightly.

Wei Yuan sighed inwardly and said, "Everyone, get up. I will stay here and guard this place; I won't leave. If you are willing to risk your lives with me, then let's work together to create a place for people to thrive!"

Upon hearing this, the two cultivators bowed again, vowing to follow their lord to the death!

The cultivators roared, "We swear to follow our lord to the death!"

Caught off guard, Wei Yuan was once again put on the spot. He declined several times, finally managing to change his title from "Lord" to "Master," which was barely in line with tradition.

When the cultivators stood up, Wei Yuan was already exhausted, feeling that he hadn't been this tired even when he killed the Dharma Image.

At this moment, the sky brightened, and sunlight suddenly poured down, illuminating the surrounding ten miles in a vibrant and vivid light, making every blade of grass and every tree brimming with vitality. The mountains were verdant, the grass lush and green, and even the broken walls and ruins appeared exceptionally beautiful in the sunlight. Ten miles away lay a dark, damp, and murky green world. Compared to the outside world, this small, brightly lit world was like a paradise on earth.

At this moment, everything is in ruins and there isn't even a house with a roof, yet it is a place of hope for countless people.

(End of this chapter)