Longzang

Chapter 243 Take your filthy hands off!

After defeating the Wu tribe, Wei Yuan would often think of the hundreds of thousands of troops that the Western Jin Dynasty had stationed beside him.

At times like this, he would feel frustrated, but he couldn't just send his army to wipe them out, at least not now.

After seeing off the Cui family, Wei Yuan planned to go to the Hall of Merit to exchange for some history books to read and calm himself down.

Life can't consist of just stories, and even stories eventually become tiresome.

Upon entering the Hall of Merit, Wei Yuan saw that the osmanthus tree was laden with fruit again. Since the last sacrifice of a large amount of Netherworld Soil in exchange, this Hall of Merit had also benefited considerably. Its quality had improved, its absorption of the spiritual energy of heaven and earth had accelerated, and the fruit-bearing cycle had been shortened by one day, now allowing for an exchange every two days.

Wei Yuan opened the jade book and, as was his habit, first looked at his merits, then felt his eyes were a little blurry.

He rubbed his eyes to make the string of numbers flashing purple light clear:
Wei Yuan's total Heavenly Merit is 6,200, of which 5,200 remain.

Wei Yuan rubbed his eyes again, finally confirming that it was a Heavenly Merit, not a Military Merit, and that it was six thousand instead of one thousand six hundred. Even with Wei Yuan's composure, he needed some time to calm down.

He took out his merit book, checked past records, and confirmed that he had received five thousand Heavenly Merits in one battle! In other words, Yan Xin was equivalent to the Immortal Foundation in the Dharma Aspect, and his cultivation was still in the late stage. After several accumulations, he gave Wei Yuan more than five thousand Heavenly Merits in one go.

Based on this calculation, the amount of Heavenly Merit that flew away was probably less than two thousand. Thinking of this, Wei Yuan's regret lessened considerably.

At this moment, Wei Yuan had already jumped into the top ten of all Dao Foundations on the merit list, and was almost on par with the first place, leaving his master and senior sister far behind. The top ten Dao Foundations were all unfamiliar names; Wei Yuan had never even heard of them. Each person on the list had only one name, and all their information was kept secret.

The same applies to the top 100 on this list; no one else can see Wei Yuan's information either. It's just that Wei Yuan is too famous, essentially transparent; knowing his name is enough to know almost everything about him.

At this moment, Wei Yuan felt that Xiao Yu should be nearby.

Although Xiaoyu had returned home, Wei Yuan did not intend to let the matter rest. So, instead of immediately exchanging the jade paper, he first spread out the jade paper and wrote a letter to Xiaoyu:

Junior Brother Xiaoyu:
I recently gained a few merits and wish to exchange them for one or two magical treasures. However, my knowledge is limited, and I hope my junior brother can offer me some guidance..."

He finished the letter in one stroke, handed it to a cultivator to mail, and then returned to the Hall of Merit to continue looking at the list.

It turned out that it took an entire afternoon to see.

Qingming was in dire need of reconstruction and lacked everything. Wei Yuan exchanged for a magic treasure-level alchemy furnace, which was for Sun Yu. In addition, there was a medicine cabinet that could isolate the spiritual energy of heaven and earth and lock spiritual power, also a magic treasure. Although magic treasures were exclusively used by Dharma Aspect Realm cultivators, those with a Dao Foundation Realm could barely control them, and Sun Yu could break through to the Dharma Aspect Realm at any time, so giving him a magic treasure at this time was appropriate.

Although Yu Zhizhuo arrived late, his role was crucial. His cultivation method differed from others, mainly because he had access to a vast amount of rare and precious materials. The higher the quality of the materials used to forge magical artifacts, the more beneficial it was to him.

However, anything that catches Yu Zhizhuo's eye is no ordinary item, and even with five thousand Heavenly Merits, Wei Yuan still cannot afford it.

However, Wei Yuan made a slight adjustment and exchanged for a piece of Yuan Crystal Iron that only required 500 days of cultivation. This iron was a high-grade material designated by Lei Mu. Placed under Lei Mu day and night to receive the baptism of thunder and fire, it would eventually transform into Thunder Tribulation Divine Iron.

Thunder Tribulation Divine Iron is a top-tier treasure material, costing thousands of Heavenly Merits for a single piece. With this placed beneath the Thunderwood, Yu Zhizhuo had a reason to consider it.

Although Wei Yuan felt that Uncle Yu was wealthy and wouldn't lack such a piece of iron, no one would complain about having too many Imperial Treasures. Of course, transforming Yuan Crystal Iron into Thunder Tribulation Divine Iron wouldn't be a matter of just one or two years, even in the Azure Netherworld.

The requirements of the True Man of the Rice Seedlings are much easier to meet, and they happen to overlap with Wei Yuan's. Besides cultivating rare and precious plants, a True Man must always be by the side of spiritual plants. Now, Wei Yuan has a celestial tree in his possession, and the old Daoist can't get rid of it no matter what.

However, a token of appreciation was still necessary, so Wei Yuan exchanged for a Netherwater Spirit Ginseng. It and the Wood Spirit Ginseng both belonged to the Five Elements Spirit Ginseng category, but one was a Dharma Aspect level spiritual plant, while the other was a Dao Foundation level one. Therefore, Wei Yuan only managed to exchange for one.

With the Netherworld Ginseng, the Underworld Soil, two mutated Heavenly Star Dragon Sunflowers, and the newly acquired Red Jade Lantern, there's enough to keep Master Chuhe busy for a while.

Next, Wei Yuan exchanged for another batch of spiritual materials for setting up formations, and in the blink of an eye, his five thousand Heavenly Merit Points were completely used up. Only after he finished exchanging them did Wei Yuan realize that he hadn't chosen anything for himself, his teacher, or his senior sister.

After regaining his senses, Wei Yuan examined the exchanged items again and discovered that they were all used in the realm.

He had actually been thinking about these things for a long time. He originally thought he would have to exchange them one by one slowly, but he didn't expect that he would get 5,000 Heavenly Merits from the Immortal Path at Dusk, so he could exchange them all at once.

In fact, Wei Yuan still felt somewhat guilty. He felt that although he didn't need anything, it was wrong of him not to prepare gifts for his teacher and senior sister.

The teacher has slain another great witch, gaining considerable merit. Furthermore, the feedback from heaven and earth should allow the fourth immortal sword to reach perfection. The next step is to wait for the right opportunity to advance to the Dharma form.

Wei Yuan still didn't know what his senior sister was waiting for, but since arriving in Qingming, the Nine-Layer Demon-Suppressing Pagoda had been practically everywhere. Heavenly merits were plentiful, not to mention the sheer amount of merit points she'd accumulated. Whatever she lacked, as long as it wasn't a deficiency in her mental state, she could obtain it.

Speaking of mental state, Wei Yuan concluded from his years of experience that there was probably nothing in this world that could cause Senior Sister's Dao heart to collapse. Even if the world ended, Senior Sister could still face it with a smile.

There were too many items to exchange, and Wei Yuan couldn't carry them all at once. He had to make two more trips before he could finally move everything outside the formation of the Hall of Merit. Just as he finished moving the items, Wei Yuan's vision blurred, and Master Chuhe appeared in front of him, saying in a low voice, "This old Taoist seems to have smelled something extraordinary again."

Wei Yuan handed over the Netherwater Spirit Ginseng and said, "I've exchanged for a spiritual plant to add some spiritual energy to the realm."

"Oh dear, what are you doing? Exchanging for this stuff is actually useless. You might as well save the Heavenly Merit to buy yourself a magic armor. Look at you, you're practically wearing rags!" The old Taoist muttered, but he held the Netherwater Spirit Ginseng in his hands, his eyes shining.

This plant also requires the use of necromantic soil, which is of great benefit to the old Taoist's cultivation.

"Oh, by the way, I've planted that Red Jade Lantern for you. You can move it to the Immortal Tree now." After giving these instructions, the old Taoist priest didn't linger and headed straight for the herb garden.

Wei Yuan chuckled and shook his head, then delivered the alchemy furnace and medicine cabinet to Sun Yu. Upon entering the courtyard, Wei Yuan noticed an ancient bronze cauldron in front of Sun Yu, containing several souls of the Wu Clan. Seeing the cauldron placed alongside other medicinal herbs, could it also contain elixirs?

Wei Yuan had a vague feeling that Sun Yu was no longer the sunny and cheerful martial uncle he knew back then. But perhaps, he simply didn't understand him at all.

Sun Yu was overjoyed to receive the gifts from Wei Yuan. He especially liked the medicine cabinet, saying that he could put any fresh ingredients in it from now on. This medicine cabinet was no ordinary cabinet; it could hold living things and ensure that their spiritual essence was preserved.

It was simpler for Yu Zhizhuo. Wei Yuan placed the Yuan Crystal Iron under the Thunderwood and took Yu Zhizhuo to take a look.

To Wei Yuan's surprise, Yu Zhizhuo was very excited when he saw it. He said that the Thunder Tribulation Divine Iron was made of a special material and could only be cut by a top-grade immortal sword. He praised Wei Yuan for his good choice of items, which made Wei Yuan feel uneasy and had a premonition of impending disaster.

Having dealt with his three senior uncles and grand-uncles, Wei Yuan was finally able to attend to his own affairs.

Riding on the momentum of his great victory, Wei Yuan now possesses over three thousand strands of azure fortune in his sea of ​​consciousness, with one hundred advancing to the next level and five drops of great fortune. His extraterrestrial fortune is still at the eighteenth level.

Wei Yuan is now very familiar with the use of Qi Luck. Based on his comprehensive judgment, the Azure Qi is one level lower than the Qi Luck from beyond the heavens. The Great Luck is comparable to the advanced Qi Luck from beyond the heavens.

At this moment, there was too much green energy, and apart from the Great Luck, Wei Yuan was too lazy to care who the luck came from.

However, the fact that this newfound fortune came from Cui Changfeng surprised Wei Yuan. It turned out that although this young master kept boasting about how great his talent was, deep down he actually knew what was really going on.

Three streams of fortune were sent out, and one drop of great fortune was retrieved. If this had happened a month ago, Wei Yuan might have woken up laughing from his dream, but now he just glanced at it casually to indicate that he understood.

The area corresponding to the medicinal garden in the vast landscape has sprouted a small, translucent white vine, with several tiny, rice-grain-sized fruits hanging on it, their red color glistening like miniature lanterns.

The vine kept calling out to Wei Yuan, so Wei Yuan went over and pulled it up.

The Crimson Jade Lantern can accompany a celestial tree, and its own state is quite special. If it hangs on a celestial tree, it is a top-grade spiritual plant of the Imperial View level. If it hangs on an ordinary spiritual tree, it is a high-grade spiritual plant of the Dharma Aspect level. If the spiritual tree's grade is not high enough, it will degenerate to a mid-grade and will even kill the spiritual tree by absorbing its energy.

Immortal trees are no ordinary trees; they possess various wondrous qualities. For example, the laurel branch that the Immortal Lord of the Listening Sea gave to Wei Yuan is itself both real and illusory, existing in a state between the two. It can exist both within the Dao Foundation of the Sea of ​​Consciousness and in reality. This appearance is different from a manifestation simulated by Dao power; it truly exists in the present world.

The red jade lantern also had the characteristic of being both real and illusory, so Wei Yuan plucked it and walked towards the laurel branch.

It is a branch of a celestial tree, not a tree of a celestial tree.

Everyone thought Wei Yuan had a magical tree, but only Wei Yuan knew that he did not.

The laurel branch was much the same as before, except it was a bit thicker and had a few light red lines on its bark. It lay lazily in the platinum-colored puddle until it saw Wei Yuan walking towards it carrying a red jade lantern.

For the first time in his life, Wei Yuan saw the spiritual plant emanating a murderous aura.

The laurel branch stood up, but this did not stop Wei Yuan.

Wei Yuan could already hear the cheers from the red jade lantern in his hand. Moreover, the difference in their status was enormous, like heaven and earth, so letting the red jade lantern take a bite was nothing at all.

A streak of platinum-gold sword energy flashed, carving a deep sword mark on the ground in front of Wei Yuan's feet!

Wei Yuan was shocked. He rubbed his eyes to confirm that he hadn't misread it; it was indeed a sword aura. At that moment, the sword aura returned to the laurel branch, swirling around it. The level of this sword aura was even higher than the Great Sun Immortal Sword, and comparable to Zhang Sheng's fourth immortal sword.

Wei Yuan stared at the laurel branch, and the laurel branch stared back at him; the two faced off in this confrontation. White-gold sword energy swirled around them, its meaning self-evident.

Suddenly, with a soft snap, the pale red veins on the thickened laurel branch cracked open, and several slender new branches sprouted out, covered with platinum leaf buds.

Those pale red marks weren't actually patterns, but rather traces left by cracks in the bark of the fairy branch. Now, the bark could no longer hold back the new buds, allowing them to spring out.

Wei Yuan suddenly had a very strange thought: Was it because it ate too much and finally couldn't hold back anymore and started to sprout?
(End of this chapter)