Longzang

Chapter 225 Cows and Horses
With the first harvest of millet, the mountain weighing on the border region felt a bit lighter.

Cultivators undergoing body forging need to consume far more food than ordinary people. Without spiritual food to supplement their diet, their food intake can be five or six times that of an average person. If they don't eat their fill, not only will their body forging efforts be ineffective, but they will also lack the strength to even walk normally.

Therefore, before every major battle, Wei Yuan would urgently distribute a batch of rations to ensure that those going to fight were well-fed. After the battle, thanks to the blessings of all living beings, everyone's strength was almost completely exhausted, so another batch of rations had to be distributed, otherwise some people would truly starve to death.

These two meals, one before and one after, add up to three days' worth of food for an average person, and that's with Wei Yuan sticking to the bare minimum.

After consuming 100,000 catties of millet and rice, cultivators can reduce their food intake by 300,000 catties, and their body tempering will also improve.

At this moment, Wei Yuan finally understood the meaning of "food is the first necessity of the people".

Across the vast landscape, the corresponding spiritual field, after gushing forth spiritual energy for a full hour, gradually ceased to emit any more. As the mature sorghum was harvested, the field no longer produced any spiritual energy.

As for seed selection and replanting, with the people from Jianmu Hall there, Wei Yuan didn't need to worry about it; all four of the True Person's disciples were free labor. After settling everything, Wei Yuan handed over the two Nether Wheat seeds given to him by Xiao Nian to True Person Chu He, asking the True Person to find a way to cultivate them. Then he went to the medicine garden to arrange the Netherworld Spirit Field.

After flying to the herb garden, Wei Yuan selected a location and entered his sea of ​​consciousness to prepare to mix the Netherworld Soil. As soon as he entered his sea of ​​consciousness, Wei Yuan saw three figures standing on the small mountain-like mound of Netherworld Soil.

The man in the center was exceptionally tall and strong, a full head taller than Wei Yuan, wielding a sword and shield, exuding a powerful aura. The two men on either side were a head shorter, barely reaching the shoulder of the man in the center, and were also noticeably thinner, but in reality, they were still burly men by ordinary standards, roughly the same height as Wei Yuan.

When did three more people appear in my Dao Foundation?

The three figures stood still, motionless, and Wei Yuan could not only sense them with his divine sense, but also clearly feel that they were also part of the vast land.

Wei Yuan walked up to the three figures. They were clearly all human, their appearances were somewhat blurry, their armor was unrecognizable, and none of them had faces.

The one in the center, wielding a sword and shield, bore a slight resemblance to Song Chao in Wei Yuan's perception, though only by a third. He had no face, no spirituality, and was merely a humanoid Dao Foundation. However, this humanoid Dao Foundation possessed several of the sword and shield's inherent abilities, which Wei Yuan assessed to be at least Heaven-rank.

The two sides appear to be soldiers, and their Dao foundations are flat, endless longswords for cutting horses, all of which are common Earth-rank Dao foundations.

Although Wei Yuan didn't notice how the three figures appeared, everything that happened in his sea of ​​consciousness was recorded in his primordial spirit. Wei Yuan recalled the past and saw the three figures emerge one after another from the black pool of Jade Mountain, then walk out of Jade Mountain and stand before the Netherworld.

Wei Yuan had a guess: could these three be vengeful spirits that were absorbed by the Black Pool and then transformed?

Wei Yuan thought about it more and more and it seemed very likely. The person holding the sword and shield bore a resemblance to Song Chao, and their Dao foundation characteristics were also largely the same—that was the evidence.

Sword and shield Dao foundations are extremely rare; Wei Yuan only saw one like it for the first time on Song Chao. The two soldiers beside him were also common Western Jin soldiers, but only two out of hundreds of vengeful spirits were ultimately transformed. Perhaps for this reason, both eventually became Dao foundations.

Since these three could be regarded as humanoid Dao foundations, Wei Yuan tried to control them, and they actually could move!

Wei Yuan was shocked, then ran to the girl's yin-yang and tried to control her as well, but the girl remained as still as the ground.

However, after comparing them, Wei Yuan understood that it wasn't that the girl couldn't move, but rather that his own Dao power was too low to push her at all. If Song Chao was a large boulder and the two soldiers were like small stones, then the girl was the mountain itself.

Within the realm, Wei Yuan stood in the herb garden. Suddenly, he pointed, and a burly man wielding a sword and shield gradually appeared before him. The man was clad in armor and carried a sword and shield; without close inspection, one would hardly notice that the armor, sword, and shield were actually part of his body.

The humanoid Dao Foundation was indeed a Dao Foundation; as such, it could be manifested, and the consumption of Dao power was acceptable. Wei Yuan's heart stirred, and he issued his first command:
Turn over the soil.

The burly man with the sword and shield squatted on the ground and began digging.

However, the long sword was not very convenient for digging, and the huge sword shield was even more cumbersome. Wei Yuan watched for a while and began to think about whether he should make him a shovel or a hoe. The Wei family came from a farming background, and Wei Yuan had been influenced by farming since childhood, so once this idea came to him, he couldn't help but let it spread.

Now that we have hoes, we'll need sickles, pitchforks, and other tools too, but plows are best for tilling the land. Speaking of plows, we'll need oxen. Where do we get oxen?

Wei Yuan then remembered that there were two soldiers in Daoji.

Just as Wei Yuan was pondering this, a thought struck him. He saw Xu Wenwu carrying a water jug, humming a little tune as he walked over, occasionally jumping three or four feet high. Upon seeing Wei Yuan, Xu Wenwu beamed and quickly ran over, saying, "My lord, I've advanced!"

Before Wei Yuan could react, Xu Wenwu rolled up his sleeves, revealing his arm, and eagerly showed it off: "Look, I've already achieved the Great Perfection of Blood Fusion!"

Xu Wenwu took the knife and forcefully slashed his arm. His arm looked delicate and smooth, but it was actually as tough as old cowhide. The heavy cut only left a small wound, about the size of a little finger.

Thick, black blood slowly seeped from the wound.

"See, I told you it was the Great Perfection of Blood Fusion, the color of the blood has even changed."

"Not bad." Wei Yuan offered a few words of encouragement, then asked, "Has Senior Sister tested your aptitude?"

Xu Wenwu's face fell, and he said, "She only glanced at me, then said she was busy and kicked me out."

Wei Yuan knew that Ji Liuli had clearly seen that Xu Wenwu's aptitude was lacking, but she just didn't say it outright. However, Ji Liuli's definition of "lacking aptitude" was different from the normal standard. The senior sister believed that anyone below the Heavenly Rank was trash and had no need to cultivate.

“She’s been really busy lately, it’s alright, we’ll talk about it when she’s free. I’ll find you a foundation-building technique that suits you first, you can start practicing it.” Wei Yuan reassured him for a few words, and then Xu Wenwu went to water the Heavenly Star Dragon Sunflower that hadn’t sprouted yet.

As he watered it, he muttered to himself, describing to the Heavenly Star Dragon Sunflower the wonderful future of following Grandpa Xu, urging it to sprout and grow quickly so that after becoming a spirit, it could roam the world with Grandpa Xu and conquer all within the universe. Of course, Grandpa Xu had his principles: no male spirits.

Wei Yuan suddenly had a feeling that the Heavenly Star Dragon Sunflower was slow to sprout and was becoming increasingly gloomy, perhaps because of the incantation that Xu Wenwu chanted every day.

Wei Yuan secretly added the newly acquired extraterrestrial fortune to the Heavenly Star Dragon Sunflower, then arranged three plots of Netherworld Soil medicinal fields, and after informing the True Man of the Hoeing Fields, he went to the Hall of Merit.

The laurel tree inside the Hall of Merit was now bare; all the fruit had been used. Wei Yuan checked the records and saw that the last person to exchange for it was Feng Tingyu, who had exchanged for a large bag of dried spirit fruit. This dried fruit could replenish spiritual energy during battle and also aid in cultivation, so it was almost selling for the price of spirit pills.

But Wei Yuan had some doubts. It seemed that Feng Tingyu was exchanging dried fruit not for cultivation, but just because she wanted to eat it.

It didn't matter that there was no fruit. Wei Yuan had a handful of Netherworld Soil in his hand, which he sprinkled on the altar on the right, offering up the power of eternal silence within it. As a result, another fruit appeared on the osmanthus tree.

Wei Yuan entered the Hall of Merit system, jumped directly to the Daoist Arts section, selected advanced Daoist arts, and began to examine them in detail.

At this moment, Wei Yuan urgently needs to improve his combat power, and the composition of a cultivator's combat power consists of only a few things: Dao foundation, magic weapon, physical body, Dao techniques, spirit pet, friends, as well as relatives and elders of the sect.

Wei Yuan actually felt that he relied mainly on himself to navigate the world, but for some reason, others always thought he was Teacher Fei.

With a great calamity looming, Wei Yuan urgently needs to improve his combat strength. Cultivation cannot be rushed, but there's no need to worry. Once the realm is filled with immortal trees, Wei Yuan's cultivation will be unstoppable. Currently, among all aspects of combat strength, the easiest to improve is his Dao techniques.

The Daoist arts are extremely complex. Within the Taichu Palace alone, there are three Heavenly Paths related to Daoist arts. Wei Yuan had previously learned ordinary Daoist arts. Although they underwent some changes in Wei Yuan's hands due to the different nature of Daoist power, the changes were limited and did not fundamentally alter the nature of the art.

Now, Wei Yuan is facing not only Dharma Aspect Grand Shamans, but also geniuses with a Dao Foundation like witches and Sacred Hearts. These standard template Dao techniques are no longer sufficient. However, over thousands of years, countless cultivators have researched numerous advanced Dao techniques. Although many are derived from the standard templates, their power has increased dramatically, making them completely incomparable to the originals.

These advanced techniques all require merit points to exchange for, and the cultivation conditions vary, being much stricter than the standard templates.

Wei Yuan wanted to find a powerful advanced Dao technique that could fully consume his Dao power.

As Wei Yuan was examining the area, he suddenly sensed a surge of immense Dao power rising into the sky within the realm, brimming with vitality and boundless sword intent! Then, the voice of the True Man of the Hoeing Seed resounded throughout the heavens and earth: "What kind of villain are you spying from beyond the realm? With such cultivation, why are you hiding like this? Come, come, let this old Daoist use his eight immortal swords to test your skills and see what you're capable of!"

As he spoke, the sword intent burst out of the boundary, and Wei Yuan had no time to stop it.

(End of this chapter)