Longzang

Chapter 132 Joint Trial
Inside the room, Wei Yuan sat upright, facing the three great deities, showing no fear whatsoever.

On the right is Bao Yun, and above her head is still the exquisite treasure tree. However, the treasure tree has changed this time. It has a total of seven branches, and only one branch appears each time. After a moment, it is replaced by another branch, and after a moment, it is replaced again, and so on in a cycle.

Bao Yun didn't say a word, but Wei Yuan understood what she meant. This was a wondrous reincarnation tree; she wanted to show it to him.

Zhang Sheng sat in the middle, holding a copy of the Taichu Palace's ancestral rules, which he was reading carefully. Even purging the sect required a justifiable cause; to be on the safe side, he needed to review the rules again.

To the left was Ji Liuli, and on the table beside her stood a small figure in red, about a foot tall, with an exquisitely beautiful and lifelike appearance, so delicate it didn't seem like a sculpture. But where did this sculpture come from?
Upon closer inspection, one could recognize her as Gong Yufeng, her face filled with terror. Beneath the Demon-Suppressing Tower, she, a mere soul, was completely unable to move.

Ji Liuli held a piece of jade paper in his hand, reading it carefully and occasionally exclaiming in admiration. Wei Yuan also recognized this piece of jade paper; it was something he had just acquired, and it contained the method for refining the Seven Star Reincarnation Body.

Ji Liuli admired it more and more as he read on, saying, "The seniors of Lan Shen Palace are amazing! They've got even more tricks up their sleeves than I do! This cultivation technique is excellent; no wonder it's been collected so well!"

Zhang Sheng remained calm, but he also sent a wisp of his divine sense into the jade paper to study the Seven Stars Reincarnation. After hearing Ji Liuli's praise, Wei Yuan saw another thin wisp of divine sense probe into the jade paper; without a doubt, it was Bao Yun.

Wei Yuan thought to himself, "Why are you looking at these indecent things at such a young age?"
Zhang Sheng read much faster than Wei Yuan, finishing the entire book in the blink of an eye. He pondered, "Using this method to solve the problem of the soul's rejection of the possessed body is truly ingenious. If used well, this could be a fallback plan. However, the quality of the resulting body seems difficult to control; I'm afraid many bodies would need to be refined before one is satisfactory."

Ji Liuli said, "The people in Lan Shen Palace have poor vision. Their incense and prayer power contain too many impurities, so the quality of their refining is naturally not very good. If we replace the incense and prayer power with luck, then there will be no problem. The reincarnation's rank can be raised by at least two levels. As long as there is enough luck, the foundation level will be the starting point in the future."

Bao Yun also said, "The seven spiritual items are also crucial, though this text doesn't explain them clearly. But I think that if you fuse specific spiritual items and find the correct fusion order, you might be able to cultivate a particular talent. If you fuse them with immortal materials, then it's even possible for your reincarnated body to reach the immortal level."

Wei Yuan found it increasingly strange that these three were discussing something so seriously, as if the Seven Star Reincarnation technique was some kind of legitimate cultivation method.

After listening for a while, Wei Yuan couldn't help but say, "No matter how strong the reincarnated body is, once it's been refined, won't it just become the puppet of the refiner?"

Ji Liuli casually said, "That's because there's an extra soul-binding formation. Just remove it."

Is it really that simple? He had always thought that becoming a puppet was necessary. But now, after Ji Liuli's reminder, and thinking about it carefully, it seemed to make sense, and removing the Soul-Binding Array was also quite simple.

Wei Yuan felt that he had read the Seven Star Reincarnation several times, but when he read it, why did he never think about the possibility of not becoming a puppet?

After discussing it for a while, the three of them unanimously decided to revise the cultivation technique before submitting it to the palace, which should earn them considerable merit.

After discussing the Seven Stars Reincarnations, Zhang Sheng's gaze finally fell on Wei Yuan.

It's coming! Wei Yuan's heart tightened, and he quickly went over the words he had already prepared in his mind. He guessed that Zhang Sheng would definitely ask about the hundred immortal swords, so Wei Yuan could start from the first attack by the Great Witch, and then attribute this to the Witch Clan. In short, the enemy was too strong, and he was just acting on a whim.

Wei Yuan was well-versed in history and understood the essence of how historical figures shirked responsibility. The deed was done, that much was undeniable, but why they did it was a matter of much debate. In short, they shifted the blame to others, to objective circumstances, to the environment—it wasn't their choice, they were simply powerless to do it. For example, the water was too cold, their scalp itched, and so on.

Unexpectedly, Zhang Sheng's first words were: "Was this intentional or unintentional?"

Wei Yuan was speechless; his prepared remarks vanished completely. He then remembered that his teacher was also a history student.

Wei Yuan could only reply, "It was intentional."

Misleading or making excuses is acceptable, but lying to the teacher is unacceptable; this is Wei Yuan's bottom line.

Zhang Sheng then asked, "There are so many cultivation foundations in the world, why choose the Immortal Sword?"

"Immortal Swords are the most numerous and the easiest to deceive the Altering Heaven and Earth. I'm afraid I wouldn't be able to deceive other Dao Foundations. By then, the backup plan given by the Immortal Lord had been used up, and I didn't know when the reinforcements from the palace would arrive. I was also afraid of the blood curse of the Witch Clan. Altering Heaven and Earth won't kill anyone. Every Altering Heaven and Earth that is created will reduce the number of blood curses."

Upon hearing this, Ji Liuli was slightly moved.

Bao Yun slightly raised her eyelids, glanced at Wei Yuan, and then lowered them again.

Zhang Sheng's third sentence was: "Show me the essence of your Dao, so that I may have a look."

Wei Yuan silently manifested his Dao foundation, which was naturally a small part of the area around Jade Mountain.

Zhang Sheng's expression immediately improved upon seeing the flawless full moon in the sky. The highest level of Taiyin manifestation in cultivating the Taiyin Moon Essence Myriad Manifestations Technique is naturally the full moon. Wei Yuan's moon was not only enormous, but also as white as jade, its Taiyin power as rich as water; it could practically serve as a template for cultivating this technique.

Just for this full moon, the charge of not being diligent in cultivation can be dropped.

Zhang Sheng was unaware that the shadow cast by the full moon on Wei Yuan's side had become so thick it was almost tangible. Wei Yuan sat on one side, while Zhang Sheng, Ji Liuli, and Bao Yun sat on the other, all looking at the back of the full moon. The shadow of the moon had completely fallen on Wei Yuan's side, but the three of them were completely oblivious.

After gazing at the full moon, Zhang Sheng looked down and his expression froze. Ji Liuli was also looking at the tiny green sprout emerging from the top of Jade Mountain, then glanced at Bao Yun.

There's much more to see around Jade Mountain. On one side, there are hundreds of immortal swords—everyone knows that. Not far from the pile of swords, hundreds of cauldrons are haphazardly piled together. On the other side, there are over a hundred bells. These are all fine, but next to a pile of stones, there are also more than a dozen three-story pagodas on the ground.

This tower is crudely sculpted and lacks any sense of proportion. If it had one less floor, it wouldn't be a tower anymore; it would just be a two-story building.

Zhang Sheng looked at the Demon-Suppressing Nine-Story Pagoda above his head, then at the three-story pagoda on the ground, and asked thoughtfully, "These pagodas of yours..." "I recently had some enlightenment, so I tried it out and cast a few small pagodas."

Wei Yuan's words weren't entirely wrong. A tower possesses its own unique charm, and a bell its own inherent meaning; this cannot be faked. Even if you mold a stone tower into a sword, it's still a tower, not a sword. However, the Immortal Sword Pseudo-Sun contains the true essence of blazing fire, and the stone cauldron contains the Dao of Golden Light. In comparison, the bell and tower only possess simple Daoist charm, without any additional mystical elements.

At this moment, Ji Liuli laughed and said, "Want to learn my Nine-Layer Demon-Suppressing Pagoda? That's easy!"

She got up and went to the edge of Jade Mountain, picked up a small pagoda from the ground, returned to her seat and played with it in her hands, saying, "I'll study this pagoda first, and return it to you when I figure it out."

Wei Yuan tried to stop him, but it was too late!
Originally, he manifested the Dao Foundation merely as an image for everyone to see, not to truly bring the Dao Foundation into reality. Who knew that Ji Liuli would actually come to pick it up, and actually take it away! Now, one of the three towers in Wei Yuan's sea of ​​consciousness is missing.

"That's enough, put away the Dao Foundation," Zhang Sheng said.

Wei Yuan immediately withdrew his Dao Foundation, fearing that if he was any slower, Ji Liuli would snatch something away again. He knew all too well how quick his senior sister was.

Zhang Sheng then asked Ji Liuli, "Are you really just going to take it for research?"

“Really!” Ji Liuli’s eyes were clear.

"Not doing anything else?"

"will not!"

"That would be best." After warning Ji Liuli, Zhang Sheng said to Wei Yuan, "According to palace custom, since Qingming has already recognized you as its master, then you are the master of this world, and you can make all decisions yourself. Although we are your teachers, we can only offer suggestions. Whether you listen or not is up to you."

Wei Yuan hurriedly replied, "This disciple has no intention of being independent; everything is up to Master to decide."

Ji Liuli laughed and said, "Alright, stop being modest! Your master is good at fighting and killing, but it would be too much to ask him to manage a whole area. It's not that he doesn't have the ability, but he doesn't have the patience. How about this, I see you've already recruited some people here. Call over the important and special ones, and we'll discuss what to do next."

"Do we really need to call them?" Wei Yuan asked to confirm.

"Yes, I need to see them."

A moment later, Xu Wan'er, Yun Feifei, and Xu Wenwu arrived at an open space at the foot of the main peak. The three passed through an invisible barrier, and the scenery before them suddenly changed, revealing the four members of the Taichu Palace.

When Xu Wenwu saw Bao Yun and Ji Liuli, his mouth gaped open in an "O" shape, his whole body stiffened, and all he could think was, "How can there be such beauties? I, I really did choose the right leader!"

Wei Yuan nudged him and said, "Go sit down." Then, he used force to seal his mouth shut. Zhang Sheng and Ji Liuli didn't have tempers as good as Wei Yuan's; if Xu Wenwu spoke carelessly, he could easily die.

Xu Wenwu walked to his seat in a daze and sat down, not daring to look up for fear of seeing Bao Yun and Ji Liuli again.

Wei Yuan briefly explained the current situation and the plan to establish a new town and gather the surrounding residents. Before his death, Xu Guanwen revealed that he was colluding with the Wu tribe and planned to hand over hundreds of thousands of people from an entire prefecture to them. Therefore, Wei Yuan believed that the Wu tribe was already prepared to transport people, so the relocation of the surrounding mortals was an urgent matter to prevent them from falling into the hands of the Wu tribe.

After explaining the situation, Wei Yuan asked hopefully, "Has the palace distributed any money, food, or supplies?"

Xiao Yu and Bao Yun both came alone, and in their haste, they naturally brought nothing with them, so Wei Yuan asked Ji Liuli and Zhang Sheng. Ji Liuli spread his hands and said, "Don't look at me, I'm only responsible for fighting."

Wei Yuan didn't expect anything from Ji Liuli, knowing she was broke too. After all, one million of his debts were in this senior sister's name. She used to be wealthy, but Wei Yuan had squandered it all.

Zhang Sheng said, "The Patriarch gave us supplies worth 100,000 taels of silver..."

Xiao Yu was somewhat surprised. The renowned True Lord Xuan Yue only gave him 100,000 Immortal Silver? Was he here to explore new frontiers or for a picnic?
However, he only thought these words to himself, after all, it was a matter within the Heavenly Azure Palace. Xiao Yu himself hadn't realized that ever since he saw Zhang Sheng's fourth, nearly completed, immortal sword, his attitude towards the Heavenly Azure Palace had improved considerably.

Wei Yuan had just breathed a sigh of relief when Zhang Sheng continued, "...but I felt that some of them were useless, so I replaced them with magic swords before coming here."

So Master, you only brought the magic sword? Wei Yuan was speechless.

Yun Feifei and Xu Wan'er exchanged bewildered glances, both finding it unbelievable. But since the person opposite them was a high-ranking cultivator from the Taichu Palace, everything he did was justified, so how could they dare to interrupt? Besides, the two of them had just experienced Ji Liuli's methods firsthand, which were indescribable, and they certainly didn't want to experience it a second time.

Bao Yun, Ji Liuli, and Xiao Yu didn't think there was any major problem. They figured it was enough that they were there; why would they need so many supplies? At most, they'd need a few bottles of medicine, and if they were feeling particular, a place to cultivate. Wei Yuan's Azure Netherworld was already taking shape, its spiritual energy more abundant than many realms that had been cultivated for centuries—more than enough.

As for the supplies of mortals, they were not even on their radar. What use are mortals in war? This entire prefecture has hundreds of thousands of mortals; let alone True Lords, they wouldn't be enough for any random Dharma Aspect Realm cultivator to kill.

In comparison, it would be more beneficial for Zhang Sheng to have more magic swords.

Upon hearing this, Xu Wenwu felt he had to say something. He was originally a seasoned military enthusiast, although his so-called seasonedness didn't mean he knew a lot, but rather that he had been reading about it for a long time. However, apart from "The Art of War," he still knew a few other things.

(End of this chapter)