Longzang

Chapter 206 How about tonight?

Wei Yuan did not disturb Xu Wenwu's work any further, but only reminded him not to forget to walk the horse and plant the herbs before leaving the stone house.

Since the death of the Crimson Demon Horse, Wei Yuan has not yet considered getting a new mount, while the Green Steed is growing stronger every day.

When Wei Yuan arrived at the herb garden, he saw that the area where the two Tianxing Longkui plants were planted was now completely different.

The Heavenly Star Dragon Sunflower with its white-gold veins has now grown to the height of a hand and has sprouted two more leaves. The concentration of life force and spiritual energy in the herb garden is the highest in Qingming, and with the added power of the Wood element, the Heavenly Star Dragon Sunflower grows twenty times faster than in the natural environment, making its growth exceptionally pleasing.

However, the plot of land where another *Solanum nigrum* plant had not yet sprouted was shrouded in black mist, giving one a vague sense of unease upon approaching it. This *Solanum nigrum* plant was growing very slowly and had not yet sprouted.

Wei Yuan had long sensed that this Heavenly Star Dragon Sunflower contained the power of annihilation. Inspired by Sun Yu, he decided to sprinkle some Netherworld Soil to test it out. Wei Yuan held a small handful of Netherworld Soil, about an ounce, and sprinkled it on the ground. As the Netherworld Soil materialized, the surrounding temperature immediately dropped, as if it were in late autumn.

However, Wei Yuan could sense that the Heavenly Star Dragon Sunflower underground, which had not yet successfully conceived, had begun to absorb the power of eternal silence, and its growth rate was slowly increasing.

Now it was just a matter of waiting. Originally, this Heavenly Star Dragon Sunflower was meant to consume celestial fortune, but Wei Yuan had recently exhausted it all and didn't know how to replenish it. Looking at the full moon in the sky, Wei Yuan sometimes couldn't help but think, "Should I take out the Jade Toad Gazing at the Moon Painting again and practice it?"
On the side of the herb garden closest to the main peak, a dozen or so Wood Spirit Ginseng plants were growing well, with a faint, lingering green aura that was refreshing to the senses. Each of these Wood Spirit Ginseng plants was worth several hundred taels of immortal silver, and after being planted for a while, their value had increased by about ten taels. However, since these Wood Spirit Ginseng plants could continuously contribute to Wei Yuan's cultivation, Wei Yuan had no immediate thought of exchanging them for money.

The Wood Spirit Ginseng was full of vitality, but it clashed with the Netherworld Soil. Wei Yuan estimated that he would die if he sprinkled it with Netherworld Soil, so he didn't experiment recklessly. It was better to leave the task of testing medicinal herbs to Sun Yu.

After surveying the area for a week, Wei Yuan flew out of the area from the northwest. After flying for dozens of miles, a large military camp of the Wu tribe appeared before him.

After the Wu tribe army withdrew, they did not completely withdraw. Instead, they built a camp a hundred miles outside the border, seemingly preparing for a long-term garrison. At this moment, dozens of miles away, Wei Yuan saw a dark green pillar of energy soaring straight up, connecting the earth and the sky.

That was the aura of the Wu tribe's army. Wei Yuan was now very skilled at observing auras, and he could tell from a distance that there were at least forty or fifty thousand people in the camp. It seemed that they had sent reinforcements after their last defeat.

In just one day, the Wu tribe's camp had been built to a considerable scale, with the walls already reaching a height of ten feet and continuing to be raised. This large camp appeared capable of accommodating hundreds of thousands of troops and was constantly expanding and strengthening; it did not resemble a temporary camp but rather a permanent military fortress.

Beyond the main camp, a convoy of hundreds of wagons could be seen slowly approaching, each fully loaded. A small river flowed through the camp, and cargo ships would occasionally sail into the camp from time to time.

It seems the Wu tribe has invested heavily in this camp, continuously sending building materials and supplies. Is this the pace of building a city?
However, given the current strength of the Azure Nether Army, they can still put up a fight within the realm, but they are absolutely no match for it outside the realm.

However, just because there's no way to deal with it now doesn't mean there won't be in the future. As long as Wei Yuan is given some time, there are plenty of ways to deal with this camp.

Given the current distance between the camp and the boundary, the chief of the Witch Clan is clearly unaware of Qingming's true abilities and still treats it as an ordinary boundary stone.

Normally, it takes a hundred years for a boundary stone to extend a territory by a hundred miles, but for Qingming, a few years is enough. If there are a large number of witch corpses available for conversion, it can even be shortened to a year.

A year later, once the boundary is covered, no matter how powerful a witch clan city is, it won't last long.

Therefore, seeing the Wu Clan continuously transporting materials from the rear to build camps and cities, Wei Yuan thought it best to let them start building, the larger the scale the better. By having the Wu Clan focus most of their energy and resources on city construction, the pressure on the realm would be much less.

Even if the Wu tribe were to build a magnificent city, Wei Yuan would have other means besides territorial coverage. For example, Xu Wenwu's writings mentioned cannons more than once, though the cannons Xu Wenwu described seemed rather delicate.

With the establishment of the weapon forging workshop, the quality of the newly produced steel pipes has been greatly improved, enabling them to withstand greater gunpowder power. Therefore, the latest batch of muskets has been redesigned. The powder charge for ordinary mortals is one jin (approximately 500 grams), enough to injure a witch clan captain. The powder charge for the Blood Fusion Mirror is two jin (approximately 600 grams), and the bullets are already the size of a fist.

The most powerful guns are used by cultivators at the Bone Forging Realm, who possess strength infinitely close to the Dao Foundation stage in the face of countless beings. These guns are loaded with three jin of gunpowder, and the bullets are the size of large apples. By the standards of Xu Wenwu's world, this would be considered an 88-caliber pistol.

Wei Yuan needs to first equip himself with all the weapons he needs after unlocking the "Instantaneous Life" ability, and then consider weapons for daily combat. However, looking at the distant Wu Clan camp, Wei Yuan feels that siege cannons should also be put on the agenda.

Back on the main peak, Wei Yuan stood before the map, and after careful consideration, decided to build another fortified city opposite the Wu Clan camp. This city, along with the original three cities in the northwest and southwest, formed an arc-shaped defensive line, and its interior was still mainly composed of underground fortifications.

If the Witch Clan attacks again, they will have to bypass this city, significantly lengthening their marching route. Needless to say, the longer they travel within the realm, the greater their military strength will be depleted. If Wei Yuan deploys his forces at the center of the realm and the Witch Clan fails to capture it, there are still three fortified cities along their retreat route. Leaving without incurring losses will be impossible.

After selecting the location, Wei Yuan was about to inform Cui Yu to organize manpower for city building and immigration when Yun Feifei came in excitedly and said, "One of my craftsmen has improved the bullets, and I think the effect is very good. Do you want to go and take a look?"

Wei Yuan was naturally interested, so he followed Yun Feifei to the weapon forging workshop.

At this moment, several wooden humanoid targets were erected on the open ground outside the weapon forging workshop. The texture and hardness of the targets were similar to those of human cultivators at the Bone Forging Realm, and comparable to those of elite witch warriors.

Yun Feifei brought up a somewhat shy young man. Wei Yuan scanned him with his divine sense and knew that he had mediocre talent and shallow cultivation, currently only at the Blood Fusion Realm. However, his Qi Observation Technique showed that he faintly emitted a thin white aura, suggesting that he also possessed some luck.

Wei Yuan possessed extraordinary luck and was exceptionally sensitive to it, so he wouldn't be mistaken. He was now even more curious and asked the lucky young man, "Do you have any new ideas about bullets? Have you made them yet? Fire a couple of shots and let's see."

"Reporting to the Realm Lord, the physical prototype has been made."

The boy brought over two trays. One tray held a round sphere sealed with wax, inside which were several small iron balls linked together by thin chains. The other tray held a cylindrical bullet, flat at one end and pointed at the other, which was quite similar to the bullet Xu Wenwu had described. Wei Yuan was surprised, but outwardly remained calm, saying, "Fire two shots and see."

The boy took several steel pipe guns that were already loaded with gunpowder, loaded two of each type of bullet, and then began to set up the wooden targets.

After two loud bangs, countless deep marks appeared on the two wooden targets ten feet away, and one of the chains was even deeply embedded in the target!
Wei Yuan, a seasoned veteran of many battles, was immediately moved. This type of bullet had a kill radius of five feet at a distance of ten zhang (approximately 33 meters). For cultivators, aiming was unnecessary; they could simply use their divine sense to fire a shot in the general direction. A mere glancing blow from the chain ball would leave a deep, long gash in the wound; even a captain would be unable to withstand such an attack and would find it difficult to continue fighting.

These bullets are practically melee weapons. In underground tunnels, there's no way to avoid them; a single shot can clear an entire passage.

Wei Yuan remained calm and continued to examine the second scenario.

This time, the wooden target was covered in the heavy armor of the shamans, and a slightly tilted heavy shield was set up. When the elite shamans crouched down to defend against crossbow bolts, they would tilt the shield to raise it.

The boy set up two wooden targets, then loaded two guns and handed them to Yun Feifei. The new guns had a much larger propellant charge, and without the blessing of the "Instantaneous Sentient Beings," the boy's cultivation level was insufficient to use them; Yun Feifei had to do it for him.

Yun Feifei stood in front of the target, her figure graceful and her gun-holding posture very attractive, clearly indicating that she had practiced specially.

Gunshots rang out as round iron bullets slammed into the heavy shield, denting it. The bullets then flew upwards, grazing over the wooden target, leaving the target unharmed.

These are the iron bullets we use now; they're no match for the heavy shields of the sorcerers.

In reality, the firearms produced in this realm are less powerful than the armor-piercing heavy arrows of the Northern Liao, and far inferior to magical weapons. It's normal that they can't penetrate heavy shields. Wei Yuan's thinking was that since everyone has a firearm, and in the future there might even be many firearms, if one shot doesn't penetrate, just fire a few more. Even if they can't penetrate the shield, the shockwave will still injure the opponent.

Exchanging ordinary people for elite, heavily armored sorcerers, even at a ratio of fifty to one, is a huge profit.

Yun Feifei switched to her second gun and fired a shot. A large hole suddenly appeared in the center of the heavy shield, and then the heavy armor of the wooden target was also pierced, leaving a large hole in the abdomen of the target.

Wei Yuan jumped to his feet; the power of that shot far exceeded his expectations!

"Fire another shot and see."

Yun Feifei ordered her men to reset the wooden target and heavy shield, and then fired another shot. This time, the heavy shield was still pierced, but the heavy armor was only torn open with a small hole, and the bullet became lodged in it.

This time, Wei Yuan saw it clearly. The warhead was exquisitely crafted, with a soft metal cap at the front and a hard wall at the back. Inside was a thin steel core engraved with a subtle magic array, containing a bit of Dao power that could continue to propel the steel core forward.

When it struck the tilted shield, the soft cap deformed and automatically rotated, essentially aiming directly at the shield. Then, the steel core inside pierced through the heavy shield in one fell swoop. Even after breaking the shield, some residual force could still kill the shield-bearer.

Such a simple change can have such a noticeable effect? ​​It's simply unbelievable!
Although this warhead costs dozens of times more than an ordinary iron ball, it is entirely worthwhile.

Seeing the boy standing timidly to the side, his eyes full of expectation, Wei Yuan's heart stirred. He immediately bestowed upon him one hundred taels of immortal silver, several pills to aid cultivation, and promised that the boy could choose a body-forging technique that suited him.

The young man's path to immortality, which had been severed, was thus restored.

The boy was overjoyed and immediately bowed down! Wei Yuan gained another wisp of advanced azure energy.

The surrounding craftsmen were immediately filled with envy, jealousy, and hatred, and Wei Yuan gained a few more strands of ordinary green energy.

After rewarding the young man, Wei Yuan then asked Yun Feifei, "You also contributed. What do you want?"

Wei Yuan was prepared to use up all the Merit Hall's exchange points. Whether Yun Feifei wanted pills, cultivation techniques, or magical artifacts, he would try his best to satisfy her. After all, Yun Feifei had risked her life and made great contributions to the realm during this time. Wei Yuan hadn't repaid her yet, so this was a good opportunity to give her everything.

Yun Feifei asked, "Can I have anything I want?"

Wei Yuan nodded: "As long as it's not a secret Daoist technique of the Taichu Palace, it's fine."

Yun Feifei then said, "I was seriously injured in the last battle. I would like to trouble the Realm Master to help me heal."

Wei Yuan scanned her with his divine sense and found that she was perfectly fine all over; there was no injury whatsoever. With the healing pills he had obtained from the Hall of Merit and the power of the Wood-Born Profound Essence, even the most severe injuries could be healed.

Yun Feifei bit her lower lip, her eyes bright, and said, "The hidden injuries haven't healed, and the wounds are severe. We really can't delay any longer! How about tonight?"

Within Wei Yuan's sea of ​​consciousness, a drop of azure fortune appeared. It both existed and did not exist; whether it truly existed was entirely up to Wei Yuan's whim.

(End of this chapter)