Longzang

Chapter 164 The Arrival of Mortals
The Azure Sky welcomed its first batch of mortals.

The first wave of arrivals wasn't large, but gradually more than three thousand people arrived, all of whom had previously lived in nearby villages. Wei Yuan had already designated a clearing near a small lake in the southeast of the territory as the first city for mortals to inhabit.

This place is about 110 miles from Qingming, currently on the edge of the boundary, but once the tens of thousands of witch corpses have been transformed, the boundary can be pushed forward another 20 miles. There are large areas of open land by the lake, which were once cultivated, but were all abandoned after the great war. Now that they are being cultivated again, at least there is less manpower to start clearing the land.

Everyone was exhausted from the journey, but upon entering the realm, they were all invigorated, and many of their long-standing ailments vanished. When they reached the small lake and saw the vast, flat land, many of them were so moved that they cried.

Wei Yuan received another wisp of green energy.

Among the so-called mortals, there are actually many body-tempering cultivators who are reluctant to leave their families and do not venture out into the world. Moreover, in human settlements, if a family has multiple body-tempering cultivators, it will be much more advantageous in matters of neighborhood disputes or conflicts over land and water. If they cultivate to the point of blood fusion, they are more than capable of becoming a village tyrant.

Wei Yuan had already designated an area for them to build the city, and boundary markers had been erected around it. He had also specially assigned dozens of cultivators to maintain order and help them build their houses.

The people of the Western Regions lived in extremely harsh conditions; tens of thousands of people lived in makeshift shelters in Quliu Town. Therefore, these people did not have high requirements for their living conditions; they only needed a place to shelter from the rain.

Wei Yuan still has a considerable amount of building materials, all salvaged from the Wu Clan's military camp. On the day of the Wu Clan's crushing defeat, only a small portion of the camp was repaired, and a large quantity of materials were discarded, naturally benefiting Wei Yuan.

When these people arrived at the site of the city, Wei Yuan spent half a day inspecting it and personally overseeing every matter. The first day's accommodations were makeshift, consisting of tents and shacks; proper dwellings would take some time to develop.

The population within the territory suddenly doubled, leading to a shortage of food and water as well.

The small lake had only been covered by the boundary for a few days, and the water was still a deep green, with only a slight fading in color. Wei Yuan scanned it with his divine sense and knew that the lake water was not yet drinkable; it would probably take about a month for it to completely transform.

However, Wei Yuan had already had a stone reservoir built here, and the rainwater from the past two days had filled it to about half full. Rainwater in the realm is drinkable, so from now on, every household can collect their own rainwater, which will solve their immediate problems.

Regarding housing, Wei Yuan consulted the information written by Xu Wenwu and decided to build a four-story wooden building for the relocated mortals. There were countless giant trees in the realm, each capable of being felled to form pillars over ten zhang long, making the construction of a four-story wooden building no problem at all.

Only after he had seen everything did Wei Yuan return to the main peak and carefully read the Xu family's intelligence report.

After obtaining intelligence about the caravan, Wei Yuan gained a completely new understanding of the intelligence network of the Lying Flat Inn. So, on his second visit, he simply paid a hundred taels of silver to buy all the intelligence on the Xu family, which led to the booklet in Wei Yuan's possession. The booklet lists dozens of people in the Xu family, from their personality traits and daily hobbies to their private quirks.

Holding this intelligence, Wei Yuan felt as if he were reading a storybook.

After reading the intelligence report a moment later, Wei Yuan had a clear understanding of the situation. He had originally planned to first gather the mortals from other areas before making his move on Quliu Town. However, since the Xu family had already broken off relations, Wei Yuan decided to bring the plan forward. Quliu Town housed nearly 100,000 mortals, which was something he absolutely could not afford to abandon.

Wei Yuan descended the main peak and saw a streak of blue lightning flashing through the forest in the distance, so he called out. A moment later, Xu Wenwu arrived on horseback, jumped off, and panted, "I've finished my walk for today."

The azure warhorse standing before Wei Yuan was now ten feet tall, with snow-white hooves and a flowing mane, looking extremely majestic. Two days ago, when this horse was given to Xu Wenwu, it was only eight feet tall. Now, after consuming a wisp of azure fortune in just two days, it had transformed from an ordinary horse into a beginner-level spirit steed.

In comparison, the other warhorse that used celestial fortune has only consumed less than half of its fortune, and is still considered a fine steed among ordinary horses. It is estimated that it will take five days to consume the full amount of its fortune.

The mortal horse, empowered by celestial fortune, has become even more ferocious and violent after its transformation. Wei Yuan's own blood-red warhorse is now a mid-grade spirit steed, no less powerful than the black horse once owned by the young lord of the Liao tribe. If it encounters an ordinary Liao horse, Wei Yuan doesn't even need to lift a finger; it can kill the Liao horse on its own.

The azure energy is easier to absorb, and after transformation, it results in a stronger and gentler body, with better endurance for long journeys. Both types of fortune have their advantages, but the fortune from beyond the heavens is clearly superior. However, the fortune from beyond the heavens is rare, while the azure energy already has a stable source. Seeing the azure horse, Wei Yuan knew that Xu Wenwu hadn't been slacking off, so he said, "I brought you some things."

Xu Wenwu's eyes lit up when he saw the several brand-new storybooks. The storybooks from his previous world were all written by mortals, and being limited by their mortal bodies, they naturally lacked the creativity of those written by cultivators.

Wei Yuan asked again, "Do you want to cultivate?"

"Yes, of course I want to!" Xu Wenwu replied without hesitation, then asked nervously, "Do I really have talent?"

During this time, Xu Wenwu finally realized that his talent wasn't much, and his comprehension was directly inherited from the previous world—better left unsaid. Previously, Xu Wenwu always thought the ancients were stupid, unable to even write a proper eight-legged essay. But after seeing the Taichu Palace's written test questions, he realized that in this world, he'd probably struggle even to pass the lowest level of the imperial examinations.

Wei Yuan encouraged him, "We'll find out later when Senior Sister tests your innate talent and fortune."

Xu Wenwu nodded, then picked up the storybook and jogged away.

After finishing all the trivial matters, night fell in the blink of an eye. The mortals who had arrived had settled down, and from the main peak, one could see that there were already some bonfires burning by the lake.

The initial count is complete. There are 3,200 mortals who arrived today, including several dozen elderly people over fifty, and the rest are young adults and children. In the Western Regions, it is extremely rare for a mortal to live past forty.

Among these people, there are about a thousand who have undergone body tempering training, and more than two hundred of them have completed the Muscle and Muscle Realm.

In the blink of an eye, these two hundred-plus people could instantly reach the Great Perfection of Body Tempering, which is the level of the Nine Armies of the Great Tang. The thousand-plus people who had undergone body tempering were elite border troops, while the rest of the ordinary people were at the level of regular border troops.

With the arrival of the three thousand mortals, Wei Yuan clearly felt an increase in the rain in the Azure Sky, and the rate at which the pool water accumulated almost doubled. Correspondingly, his Dao Foundation's vast landscape also improved, and the speed at which it absorbed the spiritual energy of heaven and earth accelerated.

More than ten days had passed since Qingming recognized him as its master. As Qingming's condition improved, Wei Yuan gradually gained a clearer understanding of his own cultivation under its blessing.

The spiritual energy required for the vast land and rivers is too immense. If Wei Yuan had stayed in the Taichu Palace and meditated in seclusion without taking any pills, he could have completed the early stage of the Dao Foundation in about fifty years and planted the root of the Dharma Aspect.

The spiritual energy of heaven and earth here in Qingming is far inferior to that of the Taichu Palace. If the vast land remains unchanged, then the time required for accumulation would be three hundred years. In other words, if Wei Yuan cultivates honestly and does nothing, he could probably reach the mid-stage of the Dao Foundation before he dies of old age.

However, Qingming has recognized the vast expanse of the Myriad Rivers and Mountains as its master, and its manifestation range has now expanded to three thousand feet. It is constantly and slowly absorbing and releasing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, and its cultivation efficiency is even approaching that of someone meditating in seclusion at the Primordial Palace. If Wei Yuan does nothing now, he can enter the mid-stage of the Dao Foundation in just fifty years, and in his lifetime, he might even be able to touch the edge of the Dharma Aspect.

However, after countless members of the Wu clan entered Jade Mountain on their own, Wei Yuan's cultivation level inexplicably advanced, saving him three years of hard work.

With the arrival of the three thousand mortals, before they had done anything, Wei Yuan's cultivation speed increased again. The vast land absorbed more spiritual energy, saving him another year of arduous cultivation. He only needed forty-six years to solidify his foundation and achieve perfection.

If three thousand ordinary people can save a year of arduous cultivation, what about thirty thousand, or three hundred thousand?
Just as Wei Yuan was inspecting his Dao Foundation, he suddenly sensed a renewed vitality within the realm, and at the same time, the spiritual energy absorbed by the vast land and rivers also increased slightly. Although this extra amount of spiritual energy was insignificant, amounting to only a dozen days' worth of cultivation time saved, it was lively, vibrant, and full of life, making it difficult for Wei Yuan to ignore it.

(End of this chapter)