Longzang

Chapter 318 Hunting
Beams of light appeared continuously, connecting with Wei Yuan. Xu Wuji circled around Wei Yuan, occasionally launching a surprise attack with his sword.

The Dharma Warrior kept flashing, cutting off beams of light one by one. However, there was still a slight delay between his disappearance and reappearance, which allowed Xu Wuji to spot the flaw.

Moreover, although the warrior possessed a Dharma form, he remained motionless, like a statue. Wei Yuan only used it to block Xu Wuji's advance, while he seized the opportunity to recover his Dao power, and had no power to fight back.

The group of big shots had sharp eyes. After their initial shock, they could now see that although the warrior had the cultivation of a Dharma Aspect, he was completely devoid of life force. It was likely that the remains of a Dharma Aspect cultivator had fallen into Wei Yuan's hands and been refined into a magical artifact using secret methods.

The Taichu Palace has the shortest history among the immortal sects, but it has the most paths of cultivation. Many of these paths even contradict each other, and the palace itself is both righteous and evil. It is not surprising that it uses similar methods.

The warrior in Wei Yuan's hands is equivalent to an immobile Dharma Aspect cultivator. Its Dharma body is inherently sturdy and has been refined, making it impossible for ordinary Dao Foundation cultivators to destroy.

Xu Wuji tentatively slashed with his sword, leaving only a shallow wound. The cut resembled gold or jade, the material unknown, but it was definitely not flesh or blood.

However, even with Wei Yuan's current Dao power, it was extremely difficult for him to wield such a magical treasure, and he was inevitably not flexible enough.

Xu Wuji was recruited by Lü Wenbai specifically to deal with the experts of this autumn hunt, and for this reason, his promotion to the Dharma Aspect stage was postponed for a year.

With his keen eyesight, he naturally noticed this as well. After several attempts to probe, just as the Dharma Warrior flashed to intercept him, Xu Wuji suddenly materialized, his figure appearing and sweeping past the warrior, intending to launch a surprise attack on Wei Yuan.

However, just as he brushed past the samurai, the samurai, who had been like a statue, suddenly swung his hand and slapped Xu Wuji squarely across the face!
This palm strike was a blow from a Dharma Aspect cultivator. Xu Wuji was not Wei Yuan. After taking the blow to his face, he immediately felt dizzy, saw stars, had blood spurting from his nose, and his front teeth flying out.

Through his blurred vision, Xu Wuji saw Wei Yuan appear before him, raising a long spear with a celestial sword attached high. He hurriedly said, "Wait! My uncle is..."

Before he could finish speaking, Wei Yuan had already slashed down with his sword, and the man's head flew off.

Xu Wuji's head rolled to the front of the Dharma Warrior. He was still alive when he saw the warrior stretch out his large hand and give him the middle finger.

What does this gesture mean? ...With these questions lingering in his mind, Xu Wuji breathed his last.

The bigwigs on the stage were all very intelligent. Although they didn't understand the specific meaning of this gesture that originated from the outer world, they all guessed that it probably wasn't very good, and might even be quite vulgar.

After making the hand gesture, the samurai resumed his standing posture with his sword drawn, indicating that he was merely a statue and would not move.

Wei Yuan raised his hand and the Dharma Warrior vanished into thin air; he had already retrieved him.

Only then did Wei Yuan have time to look at Lü Wenbai, the military governor of Yunxiang, on the platform, and said, "Lord Lü doesn't like following the rules, which is just as I don't like them either, so this makes things easier."

Lu Wenbai's face was extremely ugly; he merely snorted and remained silent.

King Wei was clearly unwilling to accept this, and turned to look at the high platform beside him, which was King Cheng's area. Standing next to King Cheng was a short, stocky man who, just by standing there, seemed like a towering mountain.

The man ignored the gaze directed at him by the King of Wei, offering no response whatsoever. The King of Wei grew anxious and looked at King Cheng, calling out, "Uncle."

King Cheng raised his cup and drank slowly, as if he hadn't heard anything.

King Wei, being somewhat shrewd, realized something was amiss and quieted down.

At this moment, the Prince of Jin only saw two people. One was an old coachman leaning back in his seat, smoking a pipe near the parked carriages, the smoke flickering. The other was a woman in red, quietly reading a book under an ancient tree on the opposite mountaintop.

Prince Jin withdrew his gaze and asked, "Minister Wei, does the spear thrust you just delivered against the Immovable King's golden body have a name?"

One shot? Many officials were confused. That wasn't just one shot; it was clearly hundreds. Prince Jin's cultivation was quite high; how could he have misread it? Only those who knew the inside story of Prince Wei's banquet could discern the joking tone in Prince Jin's words.

Wei Yuan's mind raced, and he said solemnly, "My spear strike was called: Thousands of Pear Blossoms Bloom."

The Prince of Jin laughed heartily and said, "My dear minister, you defeated the enemy with just one spear thrust!"

The King of Jin laughed, and the high platform was filled with laughter. Instantly, the emperor and his ministers were all happy and harmonious.

However, at the edge of the high platform, where the area for third-rank civil officials was furthest away, several senior officials were whispering among themselves.

"Hmph, you call that a shot? You're incredibly shameless!"

"Hehe, if he knew the saying 'When the wind blows, stars fall like rain,' he could probably keep playing around for an hour!"

"These barbarians are crude and uncultured; they probably don't know that there's a spear in the world called 'The Endless River Rolls On.' If you get your hands on this spear, you can keep poking people all night long..."

Everyone laughed.

Wei Yuan's ears twitched slightly. He memorized these two moves, thinking he might be able to use them in the future.

Although Wei Yuan didn't see anything, he guessed from the Prince of Jin's somewhat abrupt reaction that an important person had probably come to visit.

At this moment, several attendants from the Prince of Wei's residence and the military governor's entourage entered the martial arts arena, intending to collect the bodies of Shan Kai and Xu Wuji. Wei Yuan swept his spear across, forcing them back, and looked at the Prince of Wei from afar, saying, "A word spoken before the King is law!" The Prince of Wei was taken aback, then anger surged within him, and he said in a deep voice, "Lord Wei, don't go too far!"

Wei Yuan added, "I never speak lightly before the King."

Liu Quangong's slightly shrill voice rang out: "What are you all standing there for? Drag the body away and take it to the mastiff camp!"

The eunuchs, as if waking from a dream, immediately came forward and dragged away the bodies of Shan Kai and Xu Wuji.

Wei Yuan said, "Feeding the dogs is too much trouble, just throw them into the mass grave."

Liu Quanggong immediately said, "Throw these two corpses into a mass grave, and have people guard them. No one is allowed to bury them!"

After this battle, no one dared to challenge Wei Yuan again. Everyone noticed a subtle change in the Prince of Jin's attitude, and with Wei Yuan possessing a Dharma Aspect-level puppet, anyone who came would only be throwing their life away; further challenges were pointless.

Dharma-image puppets are extremely rare, and their prices are sky-high. On the entire platform, only the Crown Prince possesses such a puppet, which he uses for self-defense. Purely in terms of value, a Dharma-image puppet is much more expensive than a real Dharma-image cultivator, since puppets are obedient, while living people always have their own thoughts.

If someone had such a puppet, why would they need to risk their life for someone else?
After Wei Yuan left the arena, the martial arts competition returned to normal, and everyone continued placing bets, reigniting the lively atmosphere.

Only the occasional glances from King Wei and Lü Wenbai were filled with hatred. Wei Yuan, wielding both the Immortal Sword and the Dharma Puppet, remained calm and collected, only unleashing them one by one at the very end, causing King Wei and Lü Wenbai to lose two of their generals out of thin air. If they had known beforehand, they would never have sent anyone to their deaths.

It's too late to say anything now; all he can do is curse Wei Yuan in his heart.

As the sun set and the martial arts exercise concluded, Wei Yuan led his men to the post station. Along the way, officials avoided Wei Yuan, not one of them coming up to greet him, as if he were a plague.

Wei Yuan didn't mind. He returned to his residence, and after closing the door, he calmed down and continued to observe the sword.

Tomorrow's hunt is the main event of the autumn hunt; the martial arts exercise is merely an appetizer. The rewards for the hunt are generous, including not only gold and silver magical artifacts and rare treasures, but also official positions, titles, and even fiefdoms. Although not many, they are enough to help a poor scholar rise above his station.

These are not the main points of this autumn hunt. The real highlight is that the victor will receive a share of the Western Jin Dynasty's national fortune. With the help of this fortune, he will surely flourish and achieve great things!

Zhao Tong, having been paid to do the job, had already explained the key points to Wei Yuan clearly. Wei Yuan had also made up his mind that he could not dominate the hunt tomorrow as he had today; he would have to keep a low profile, remain inactive, and strive to be at the bottom.

To share in the nation's fortunes, to use this to aid one's career and spiritual practice, to soar to great heights, to stand with the nation from then on, to overcome difficulties together, to turn the tide and save the collapsing edifice—that is the business of the Crown Prince, the Prince of Wei, and even the future Prince of Fu, or the royal princes like the Prince of Ying and the Prince of Cheng. In short, it is not Wei Yuan's business.

Wei Yuan possessed extraordinary fortune from beyond the heavens, and was also blessed with the fortune of many people within his territory, so he didn't care about a little more or less of the Western Jin Dynasty's national fortune.

Tomorrow's hunt will be best if everything goes smoothly, but if there are any who are truly unreasonable, Wei Yuan will not tolerate it.

The night is deep, but people are not at peace.

The vast autumn hunting grounds were already filled with countless camps of varying sizes. Each camp contained only a few large tents, serving merely as shelter from the wind and rain. Several heavily armored warriors, fully armed, patrolled the camps.

A corner of the tent was quietly lifted a crack, revealing a gray eye. It watched as two heavily armored warriors walked away, then turned around and quickly woke up the sleeping people in the tent one by one.

The tent was crammed with about a hundred people. After being woken up, they all sat up and silently began practicing their internal energy. There were men and women among them, dressed in civilian clothes, all with gray eyes and four fingers, and they were all from the Han Hai Liao tribe.

A young boy, quick-witted and agile, moved silently like a cheetah, waving everyone awake. He then went to observe the movements outside the tent, and when the heavily armored warriors returned, he waved his hand behind him, and all the Liao people lay down on the spot.

A heavily armored warrior lifted the tent flap, scanned the inside of the tent, found nothing unusual, lowered the flap, and continued his patrol.

After he walked away, the Liao people inside the tent resumed their meditation. Finally, a strong, burly man gagged and vomited a dark red pill. The young man immediately picked it up and put it away. Then, one after another, the Liao people vomited pills, their auras slowly rising, and the young man collected all the pills.

The boy took off his old leather jacket, tore open the lining, and found a topographical map drawn inside the jacket, with many markings on it.

He summoned several strong Liao people and said in a low voice, "I've memorized the terrain of this area. They'll let us out of camp an hour before dawn to roam freely. We'll then split into two groups, each led by a different leader, to search the surrounding area and find as many weapons and food as possible. This place is close to the edge of the hunting grounds and has the only river nearby, so it's highly likely that the humans have set up camp here."

"The soldiers will all be protecting their king, so there shouldn't be many people left in the camp. We can sneak in, kill the guards, and maybe steal some horses. Then we can disperse and escape north..."

The young man made his arrangements in a low voice and with great speed, like a born hunter. All the Liao people around him listened quietly, without questioning his status.

As the boy finished speaking, he forcefully clenched his fist and declared in a voice of authority beyond his years: "I am the reincarnation of the Silver Moon Khan, and now the Khan has awakened! We will surely return to the North, where we will find a vast and boundless world to soar in! When our warhorses are at their fattest, I will lead you back here and repay all the suffering we have endured to the wicked human race!"

Before dawn, the sound of horns echoed through the mountains, and squads of heavily armored warriors had already withdrawn from their camps, retreating along predetermined routes. In the scattered camps, countless Liao people rushed out of their tents, scattering in all directions to search for hidden weapons, armor, and food.

Amid the chaos, some Liao people seemed to have a clear goal, sometimes scattering and sometimes gathering, moving closer to their intended objective.

When it gets light, many princes and ministers of the Western Jin Dynasty will enter the venue to begin the autumn hunt.

During the Western Jin Dynasty, the hunts were not for wild animals, but for foreign tribes.

(End of this chapter)