Longzang

Chapter 292 Win-win
The stability of the vast land allowed Wei Yuan's Dao power to double, a boost similar to that of other Dao Foundation cultivators, without any significant difference.

Wei Yuan's Dao power was originally equivalent to more than ten times that of an ordinary early-stage Immortal Foundation cultivator, but now it is equivalent to more than ten times that of an ordinary mid-stage Immortal Foundation cultivator, with basically no improvement.

In terms of total Dao power, Wei Yuan has surpassed Zhang Sheng and Ji Liuli, and is about the same as Chuhe Zhenren's snake or cat, and has more than the old Daoist.

Although his Dao power was great, it was not refined and pure enough; it was thick but not firm, with a weak foundation. This was a typical example of what the teachers criticized in cultivation classes, meaning that with equal Dao power, he was neither strong in attack nor solid in defense, and would suffer a great loss in combat.

Looking back now, Wei Yuan deeply agreed. Under the same Dao power, he was indeed no match for many Dharma Aspect cultivators, such as the swordsman Xu Shiqi in plain clothes.

With the blessing of the Dharma Aspect, even ordinary Dao power will spontaneously generate many wonderful uses. Therefore, generally speaking, under the same Dao power and the same Dao foundation, the Dharma Aspect True Person can crush the Dao Foundation cultivator.

Wei Yuan has used many flashy and elaborate methods in the past, but he lacks a decisive, killing blow unless he brings out the Immortal Tree. Oh, and now he has the Dao Foundation Yin-Yang, the Crimson Night Immortal-Slaying Sword, and the Eternal Sword...

As for defense, Wei Yuan's defenses are indeed thick but not strong. However, if an attack that can kill a cultivator in three hits lands on Wei Yuan, it certainly won't kill him in thirty hits.

Wei Yuan's physical body was incredibly strong, so many enemies would turn their attacks to his Dao Foundation, since even True Immortals of the Dharma Aspect realm had no shortage of methods to attack Dao Foundations. But once they made their move, they would find that Wei Yuan's Dao Foundation was simply impossible to attack.

In addition, there is the Eternal Sword Technique, a mere fraction of which is enough to form the foundation of a powerful clan. After exchanging blows with the swordsman in plain clothes, Wei Yuan knew this was no exaggeration.

The swordsman Xu Shiqi, clad in plain clothes, possessed a body that had been dead for some time, yet it was worth seven thousand Heavenly Merits, breaking the upper limit of the Taichu Palace's Heavenly Merit template. Most terrifying of all was the sword strike he unleashed with a turn, a strike capable of cleaving through mountains and rivers for thousands of miles. This was an extremely powerful and absolute sword strike; even if his master, the Burning Sea Immortal, or the Rock Heart Great Witch were present, it would likely still be a matter of a single strike.

At this moment, Wei Yuan suddenly remembered that Xu Shiqi had not passed on the true meaning of this sword strike!

What this guy said that day was that there were some more sword moves to come. "Some" should normally be interpreted as at least three moves, right? But he only gave us two.

Wei Yuan's impression of Xu Shiqi immediately plummeted. This guy looked honest and kind, how could he be so cunning!
"Just say it was two moves, why all the secrecy? I went down there to save the world, not for swordsmanship..." Wei Yuan mentally ranted. If Xu Shiqi's life hadn't been so pitiful, he would have started cursing, the really filthy kind.

Wei Yuan complained as he examined the sword manual.

The first move, "The Beginning of a Thousand Autumns," is the one where a swordsman in plain clothes draws his sword into a circle, encompassing all things, and then slashes them with a single strike. This move embodies the principles of heaven and earth. Once mastered, it can capture anything hostile to the user, regardless of whether it's a celestial sword or a Taoist technique, allowing the user to capture and slash it with a single strike.

The final move, "Eternal End," involves placing the sword on the ground and flicking it with a finger, producing the sounds of a morning bell and evening drum. This sword technique can intimidate the primordial spirit and dissolve Dao power. At that time, the swordsman in plain clothes only used half a move, flicking the sword with his finger, and hundreds of flying swords instantly fell to the ground.

The sound of the sword can awe the primordial spirit, and when reversed, it can enlighten the mind and bring sudden enlightenment, allowing one to experience the desolation of all worldly prosperity ultimately turning into nothingness, thus approaching the Dao.

The final sword strike was so deceptively bouncy that Wei Yuan suspected it could cause the enemy to renounce worldly life and enter a life of monastic seclusion.

Both moves were extraordinary, but without that earth-shattering sword strike, they were like soulless swords. If Wei Yuan hadn't seen it, it wouldn't have mattered, but with the giant sword at his head, the impression was so profound that it was directly imprinted on his primordial spirit.

When Wei Yuan first obtained the Sword Manual, he stared at this move, even fantasizing about one day achieving immortality and refining thousands of miles of rivers and mountains into a sword. Such a sword strike would almost be akin to creating the world.

The greater the hope, the greater the disappointment. Not only did Xu Shiqi not give it to them, but it was also missing from the secret manual given by Yue Zhongying.

Xu Shiqi went even further. Not only did he lack this move, but he also lacked the "One Stroke Opens the Heavens" technique that could unseal the Immortal Sword, and he lacked the "Remnant of the Former Dynasty" technique, which was full of the flavor of everyday life and clearly showed a return to simplicity. This "Remnant of the Former Dynasty" technique was most suitable for use in front of Xiao Yu, so that he could know what it meant for the vulgar to be elegant, and for elegance to be inferior to vulgarity.

Having obtained three techniques was better than nothing, but if they were to meet again on their journey through life, he would have to question his trust in Xu Shiqi. Wei Yuan suppressed his dissatisfaction for the time being; there was something more important to do. So he returned to his room, spread out some letter paper, and wrote:
Junior Brother Xiaoyu:
I recently made some progress and casually mastered a sword technique, which is quite remarkable. I wish to share it with my junior brother..."

Wei Yuan had originally intended to remind Xiao Yu to pay attention to the merit list, but then he thought that he had just written a letter to her not long ago, and it would seem a bit deliberate to bring it up now, so he gave up the idea. However, he figured that his dominance at the top of the merit list must have already spread throughout the palace, and Xiao Yu would find out sooner or later.

The next ten days or so passed quickly.

After the Ten Thousand Miles of Rivers and Mountains advanced, Qingming also sensed it, and the expansion speed of the domain increased by 20%, expanding by twelve miles every ten days. The growth rate of many spiritual plants within the domain also increased slightly. However, Wei Yuan still controlled the growth of the domain, since there was plenty of open land now, and he was in no hurry to expand. He wanted to wait until Wucheng was rebuilt, and then expand the domain in one fell swoop, making it a large-scale expansion.

Just as Yuan Qingyan was anxiously waiting for the boundary to run out of food, the millet in the second batch of 4,500 mu of spirit fields also ripened.

They harvested 800,000 catties of sorghum in one go, which was originally enough for the cultivators in the realm. However, after 47,000 young men and women joined, the spiritual rice became insufficient.

These past few days, the old Taoist priest has been working tirelessly, day and night, scouting for fertile soil and setting up arrays to add another 10,000 mu of spiritual fields to the existing ones. In addition, he found some spiritual land on the edge of the boundary and opened up several new spiritual fields, totaling more than 2,000 mu.

Originally, the land used for growing millet and rice had limited spiritual energy, and Wei Yuan initially estimated that at most 12,000 mu of spiritual land could be cultivated. However, after the Ten Thousand Miles of Rivers and Mountains advanced, Qingming's speed of absorbing and expelling the spiritual energy of heaven and earth increased, and the spiritual energy within the realm also increased, so this spiritual land also expanded, and in the end, an additional 3,000 mu were cultivated.

Seeing how diligent the old Taoist priest was, Wei Yuan felt somewhat guilty, so when the time was almost up, he gave the old priest some more Netherworld Soil and told him to cultivate twenty plots of Netherworld Field and plant many strange and unusual spiritual plants in them.

With the enhancement of the Jia Wood's life-giving power within the realm, the herb garden naturally benefits the most. Currently, the spiritual plants in the herb garden grow five times faster than those outside, reaching the level of an ordinary herb garden in the Primordial Palace. If further enhanced with Jia Wood's life-giving power, the growth rate can reach twenty times, approaching the level of a top-grade herb garden in the Primordial Palace.

Those young men and women would not be idle. With the intention of speeding up their body-forging process, Wei Yuan sent them all to the north of the city to reclaim wasteland. This batch was to reclaim 100,000 mu of wasteland, averaging two mu per person, which was not much, just enough to eat.

The original 100,000 mu of farmland has been cultivated, and new shoots are sprouting everywhere. It will be ready for harvest in less than fifty days. With the addition of the newly cultivated 100,000 mu, the region is now rich in food. However, this abundance is based on the standard for ordinary people. If one wants to cultivate body tempering, the food consumption will be several times higher than normal.

Once this batch of grain is harvested, Wei Yuan plans to increase the daily ration for each person to five jin. Although this is still less than the full-speed body-forging standard of ten jin, it is already comparable to that of the regular army of the Great Tang. Ten jin is the standard for elite border troops, which Wei Yuan has always kept in mind.

In the midst of a busy schedule, time flies by exceptionally fast.

On this day, the Hall of Merit was disturbed, as a batch of books and six secret manuals were sent over. All of these were jade books, and they looked to be of exceptional quality.

The books all concern the principles of cause and effect and must be exchanged for Heavenly Merit. Wei Yuan, however, paid the price of three thousand Heavenly Merit to obtain permission from the Primordial Palace to teach the six fundamental body-forging methods in the Azure Nether Realm.

Although the Six Basic Laws are not some closely guarded secret, and it's not a big deal to teach them privately, Wei Yuan doesn't just intend to teach one or two people, but rather tens of thousands, even hundreds of thousands. This requires permission; otherwise, the Taichu Palace will definitely clean house and take back the cultivation method.

This permit has a limit of 100,000 people.

Interestingly, both Wei Yuan and the old Taoist priest in charge of reviewing the permits felt they had made a profit.

P.S.: For the double reward event, I'll lend you your monthly passes first, and try to pay them back by the end of the month.

(End of this chapter)