Longzang

Chapter 170 Inscription for Yong'an
Xu Jingfeng had already delivered the antidote for the sacrifices. Wei Yuan and the others worked for half the night and finally managed to awaken all the sacrifices.

Then Wei Yuan set up a camp on the clearing at the edge of the forest, first locking all the offerings inside to observe whether there would be any abnormalities, and then sent a large number of cultivators to guard it.

After the sacrificial offerings gradually awoke, they all remained expressionless, doing whatever they were told without crying or making a fuss.

Xu Jingfeng had mentioned this situation long ago. In order to prevent the sacrificial offerings from causing trouble or even escaping, all the sacrificial offerings were treated with arrays, Taoist techniques and medicines. The treatment method came from the Wuyu Clan. After the treatment, the sacrificial offerings would lose most of their emotions.

Once a person loses their emotions, they gradually stop thinking. In addition, the drugs themselves also have the effect of damaging the mind. Over time, the offerings will become confused and delirious.

The Wu tribe only cares about the Dao Foundation and the Primordial Spirit as offerings; as long as these two things are intact, it doesn't matter if they are stupid or not.

After all the offerings awoke, most of them sat quietly in a daze, while a few high-ranking priests secretly observed their surroundings. They did so very discreetly, but Wei Yuan's divine sense was so powerful that he naturally discovered their underhanded actions.

It seems these people still retain some of their sanity, but they probably don't know that their every move in the Azure Netherworld is under Wei Yuan's watchful eye. Therefore, Wei Yuan decides to first see what they are planning to do.

After waking the sacrificial offerings, Wei Yuan ordered people to bring food and water, and set up more than a dozen large tents to temporarily settle everyone. A moment later, Sun Yu rushed over and began to check on the condition of each person.

Ideally, the sacrificial offerings would regain their senses, even if only partially. Most of them have cultivated their powers, and their physical abilities far exceed those of ordinary people. As long as they don't completely lose their minds, they can handle many tasks.

The arrival of these offerings immediately brought 100,000 taels of silver back to the Xu family. However, no one had any objections to this, since everyone had witnessed the power of the Witch Clan's blood curse. Spending some taels of silver to buy back these offerings was better than letting them become a blood curse falling on their own heads.

In the following days, Xu Jingfeng displayed unexpected efficiency, discovering three sacrificial offering transfer camps of the Wu tribe in one go.

After obtaining the camp locations, Wei Yuan didn't stop for a moment. First, Bao Yun went out to scout out the strengths and weaknesses of each camp. Then, Wei Yuan split his forces into three groups: he and Bao Yun in one group, Ji Liuli in another group, and Feng Tingyu and Cui Yu in another group. The three groups set off at the same time and swept through all the camps in one go, taking back more than 800 sacrificial offerings.

To reward Xu Jingfeng for his efficiency, Wei Yuan, in the name of the Wu Clan, made another deal with him, purchasing a large quantity of grain, minerals, and various seeds, thousands of suits of armor, a thousand high-quality bows, and 100,000 arrows, ultimately bringing 50,000 taels of silver back to the Xu family.

Over the next ten days or so, tens of thousands more mortals arrived in the realm, bringing the total number of mortals in the Azure Netherworld to over thirty thousand. Wei Yuan had accumulated more than seventy strands of Azure Qi, and had even gained another strand of advanced Azure Qi. This strand of Azure Qi actually came from Xu Jingfeng, which gave Wei Yuan an unexpected realization of his loyalty.

The human settlement by the small lake was already quite large, and the dozens of four-story wooden buildings that had been built were clearly a drop in the bucket. Even if Wei Yuan divided the original houses into three parts, making each household only two zhang square, each wooden building could only accommodate about two hundred people. All the wooden buildings together could only accommodate five or six thousand people, and the rest of the people could only live in temporary sheds for the time being.

The arrival of tens of thousands of ordinary people instantly kept Xiaoyu, Cui Yu, and a group of young masters and ladies from aristocratic families extremely busy. They were at least people who had studied military strategy, and they also knew a lot about management and control from their family elders.

They worked day and night to count and register the population, including monks and people with special skills. They grouped the monks into separate groups and then recruited young men and assigned them to different jobs.

When there are too many people, conflicts are bound to break out, and some people will take the opportunity to cause trouble.

Wei Yuan knew that in chaotic times, harsh measures were necessary. He arrested and killed more than a dozen people who intended to cause trouble without any hesitation. Then, cultivators patrolled the city day and night, which finally deterred this group of wild people.

Among those killed were several who, despite having a valid point, insisted on making a huge fuss, and Wei Yuan also beheaded them. After these men lost their heads, everyone realized that Wei Yuan was not someone who could be easily deceived.

After strict control, the tens of thousands of people finally began to have some order. Originally, they were supposed to officially become citizens of the territory after the registration was completed in two days.

However, there were still some unruly people who originally wanted to come here to try their luck and see if they could make a name for themselves. But when they saw that there were many powerful cultivators in the realm, they knew that there was no hope for their future. So they wanted to go back to the happy days of robbing and plundering everywhere.

These people would have been fine if they had just left quietly, but they insisted on making one last fortune before they left. So, one night, under cover of darkness, they attacked and killed the guards, stole a batch of military equipment and magical artifacts, and tried to escape.

However, the Shattered Realm is a lawless place, but Qingming is not. Wei Yuan had become alert when they attacked the first guard, and Zhang Sheng then took action, capturing all seven or eight people in one fell swoop.

Wei Yuan didn't waste any time and killed all eight people in front of everyone, including the three Dao Foundation Establishment cultivators, one of whom was in the late stage of Dao Foundation Establishment.

Seven days later, the registration of mortals was finally completed, and the final list filled two large boxes. Two backup copies were also made, all recorded on jade paper. As more mortals arrived, the total number of registered mortals exceeded 40,000.

The completion of the registration also means that the settlements by the small lake have been brought under control and transformed into a city, although most of them still look like shantytowns.

This is the first mortal city in the Azure Netherworld, and if nothing unexpected happens, it will also be the mortal city closest to the core area in the future.

Now that a city was established, it naturally needed to be named. Wei Yuan searched through all his knowledge and experiences since arriving in the Western Regions, and finally decided to name the city Yong'an.

Once the name was decided, Wei Yuan ordered someone to bring paper and pen, spread them on the table, and then calmly and steadily wrote down the two large characters "Yong'an".

As Wei Yuan pressed the last stroke, images flashed before his eyes of the shantytowns in the northern district of Quliu Town, the human sacrifices who had been beheaded in the battle, and the corpses that had fallen by the roadside at some unknown time. A flame suddenly ignited in his heart!
The brush in his hand was as heavy as a mountain and as light as a feather; when he lifted it, it seemed as if the entire mountain peak moved with him. The ink on the two large characters suddenly blurred for a moment, then slowly became clear. These two characters were majestic and magnificent, conveying a sense of the vastness of heaven and earth.

These are the two best characters Wei Yuan ever wrote in his life. Compared with some famous calligraphers of his time, they are only slightly inferior in skill, but far superior in spirit and artistic conception.

Wei Yuan stared intently at the two large characters, then suddenly smiled and tore them to shreds. He casually crumpled the scrap paper into a ball and threw it into the wastebasket. Then he spread out another sheet of paper and wrote several pieces of calligraphy on the theme of "Yong'an," each with its own flaws, and the flaws varied. The quality of these pieces of calligraphy was not even as good as Xu Zhiyuan's.

Wei Yuan then wrote a message and went to Zhang Sheng's residence.

Zhang Sheng was standing in front of the table, holding a strangely shaped component in his hand, examining it closely. Seeing Wei Yuan arrive, Zhang Sheng asked, "What is it now?"

Wei Yuan then said, "Now all mortals have been registered and the city is complete. This city will become the central hub of Qingming in the future. After much deliberation, I have decided to name it Yong'an. However, when I tried to write the city name, it was never quite satisfactory. So I thought I would ask you, Master, to write it."

Zhang Sheng smiled and said, "So that's what it is. Bring me your calligraphy, let me see if it has deteriorated."

Wei Yuan presented the calligraphy pieces, and Zhang Sheng opened them one by one, offering casual comments that all hit the nail on the head.

After looking at just a few pieces of calligraphy, Zhang Sheng glared at Wei Yuan and said, "These pieces of your calligraphy are either lacking in structure, too extreme, or just showing off your skills. Each one has a different flaw, which is truly remarkable! Lord Wei, are you telling me that your true level is not like this?"

Wei Yuan stood there obediently and said, "I'm afraid the teacher will really think I haven't been working hard."

Zhang Sheng snorted and said, "There's no need for that. You've got quite a few tricks up your sleeve these days."

Zhang Sheng pushed the parts and minerals on the table aside, casually spread out a piece of paper, picked up a brush, dipped it in ink, but did not immediately put pen to paper. Instead, he seemed to be deep in thought and said, "Judging from your calligraphy just now, your calligraphy should have reached the point where you can integrate meaning into the characters. In terms of skill, you are no less than your teacher. Why don't you write some yourself?"

Wei Yuan said, "This disciple believes that since this is the first city, you should be the one to name it."

Zhang Sheng no longer declined. Calm and composed, as he was about to put pen to paper, the past ten years suddenly flashed through his mind. He realized that he had been with this disciple all these years, watching him grow step by step, building a foundation in this dangerous place, and constructing a city from scratch.

Although the city currently has only tens of thousands of penniless poor people, no one knows what the future holds.

Zhang Shengping was calm and his mind was clear. He picked up his brush and wrote the two characters "Yong'an".

These two characters are upright and peaceful, understated yet refined, smooth and rounded, without a trace of sharpness.

If Wei Yuan hadn't seen it with his own eyes, he would hardly have believed that Zhang Sheng had written those two characters. Could a peerless swordsman who could comprehend four swords of slaughter also write such utterly devoid of any worldly savagery?

Zhang Sheng was extremely satisfied with his two characters. He looked at them repeatedly for a long time before sighing and saying, "Inner sage, outer king—I wonder when I'll be able to write such characters again. Take them!"

Wei Yuan reminded him, "Master, it hasn't been signed yet."

Zhang Sheng gave an "oh" and wrote the two characters "Zhang Sheng" next to him. These two characters subtly revealed unparalleled sword intent, ultimately revealing a bit of his true nature.

Having received Zhang Sheng's calligraphy, Wei Yuan went to find someone to frame it. Then came the task of determining the various important positions within the city; for the first city lord, Wei Yuan chose Xiao Yu.

Xiao Yu was shocked and couldn't understand why Wei Yuan would choose her over so many other women in the palace. But Wei Yuan clearly didn't want to hear her excuses, and disappeared after saying that.

It took Xiao Yu a while to come to his senses. He knew the importance of Yong'an; it could be said that this city would become the capital of the entire realm. But was Wei Yuan choosing the wrong person to manage a large city of tens of thousands of mortals?

Xiaoyu mentally unleashed a torrent of harsh words at Wei Yuan, cursing him as she abandoned the idea of ​​packing her bags and decided to stay a little longer.

Now that the Witch Clan has suffered repeated blows and has begun to withdraw from the Shattered Domain, Qingming has begun to establish a firm foothold. Xiaoyu felt that his mission to come to their rescue was complete. There were still many things to do in the family, and the cultivation environment in Qingming was definitely not as good as that of the family or the Taichu Palace. Putting everything else aside, the sealed immortal sword alone made him not want to stay even a day longer.

Xiao Yu had planned to say goodbye to Wei Yuan in a few days, but unexpectedly, this guy suddenly decided to become a city lord.

Thinking that everything in Qingming was in ruins and needed to be rebuilt, Xiaoyu thought it over and over again, and finally softened her heart and decided to put her own affairs aside for another ten days or half a month, and leave after the new city was in some shape.

(End of this chapter)