Longzang

Chapter 331 Refining the Nation's Fate
The rapid fall of a great shaman terrified all the great shamans, who then held nothing back.

A burst of blood mist erupted from the body of a high shaman, instantly engulfing the True Man of the Farming Field, burning him until he screamed in agony. The snake and the high shaman clashed, both sustaining injuries, and the high shaman used the opportunity to escape.

The cat moved with lightning speed, dodging its opponent's full-force attack, and retaliated with two claws, dragging the great shaman back to his original spot.

Wei Yuan drove away the water and suddenly returned. The water immediately sensed danger and wanted to turn back to fight, but Wei Yuan had already returned to the realm, and his flying speed increased dramatically.

Driven by his fighting instincts, Wei Yuan ignored the rapidly declining aura of the Chuhe Zhenren and instead pounced on the great shaman who was locked in combat with the cat.

The great sorcerer was already at a disadvantage; its massive size and relatively slow, agile movements made it terrified at the sight of Wei Yuan's attack. But just as it was about to flee, four more immortal swords rained down from its surroundings. Zhang Sheng and Wei Yuan, without prior agreement, both chose to kill the weakest first.

This great shaman was covered from head to toe in a thick, insect-like carapace, possessing immense vitality and extremely strong defense. Even with Zhang Sheng's four sword strikes combined, he only managed to sever half of its life force.

Even with all its might, the cat could only barely scratch open the shell with its two claws.

Wei Yuan took out the Scarlet Night Immortal-Slaying Sword, and the slender sword suddenly felt as heavy as ten thousand pounds in his hand! Wei Yuan held the sword upside down and plunged it into the void in front of him, as if he were plunging down a mountain.

The great shaman felt an overwhelming sense of alarm, as if his heart was about to explode. He desperately wanted to escape, but as Wei Yuan's immortal sword fell, the great shaman's body grew heavier and heavier, and in the blink of an eye, it felt as if he were carrying a boulder weighing hundreds of thousands of kilograms.

The Crimson Night Immortal-Slaying Sword was finally inserted upright into the void. Wei Yuan flicked his finger on the sword and used the Eternal End for the first time.

An invisible sword intent enveloped the Great Witch, instantly covering his entire body with fine cracks. Moreover, not only was his surface covered in cracks, but his internal body was also riddled with them, leaving him in a complete mess!
Wei Yuan severely injured the Great Witch with only a rudimentary version of the "Eternal End" technique. Then, with the Immaculate Pure Land in hand, he unleashed a spear that pierced through the Great Witch, creating a large hole in its body.

Seeing that the Great Shaman was on the verge of death, Wei Yuan grabbed him and threw him forcefully at the Cui family members.

As a result, the great shaman suddenly sprang to his feet halfway through the journey, changing direction slightly, and crashed directly into the midst of the Cui family members. The group of spoiled brats were so frightened that they scattered like chickens and dogs, running away in panic, completely forgetting their magic.

However, the Great Witch was already on the verge of death after being repeatedly afflicted with severe injuries, and the power of the Eternal End was beyond imagination. He perished before even landing.

Wei Yuan, disregarding his frustration at failing to sell the Heavenly Craftsmanship, flew at full speed towards the rear of Wucheng. He then ordered 10,000 elite troops on each side to maneuver around the rear of Wucheng and block the Wu tribe's retreat.

Wei Yuan flew above the rendezvous point, holding the Immaculate Pure Land and confronting the three Great Shamans. Although Wei Yuan was facing three opponents, he was not afraid at all. Even if he did not leave the boundary, the three Great Shamans would not dare to enter.

With the Great Witch gone, the city was now leaderless, so the orbital cannons began bombarding again, now loaded with gunpowder-filled cannonballs.

Explosions continued throughout the city of Wu, with bricks, wood, and the corpses of the Wu people flying everywhere, resembling the end of the world.

This round of bombardment focused on the city walls. All the small steel cannons were controlled by cultivators, with precise aim, targeting areas with the most people. The bombardment left the Wu tribe members on the city walls unable to raise their heads, resulting in a scene of death and destruction.

Amidst the fierce bombardment, three elite human forces, each numbering ten thousand, began to approach the city walls. The sorcerers on the walls were scattered and decimated, and little arrow rained down upon them.

In the blink of an eye, the boundary troops closed to within ten feet. They first used gunpowder to bombard the Wu tribe members who dared to show their heads on the city wall, wiping out the archers. Then, many warriors leaped up and jumped directly onto the city wall, which was several feet high!
Now that Wucheng is also within the boundary, the siege warriors can bless all living beings in an instant, causing their strength to surge and making them resemble gods and demons.

Among the warriors who ascended the city were a large number of Dao Foundation cultivators, and with the blessing of the beings of a fleeting moment, even those who only cultivated the Immortal Sword Pseudo-Sun could still slaughter the Wu Clan who were only at the Body Forging stage.

At this time, the Wu tribe had no high-ranking shaman to oversee them. As the True Man of the Hoeing Seed flew to the city wall, the imposing aura of the True Man of the Dharma Image spread unchecked, and the Wu tribe's morale finally collapsed, causing them to scatter and flee. Many Wu tribe members rushed towards the west gate, while the physically strong Wu tribe members simply jumped off the city wall and fled into the wilderness.

Soon, the three attacking armies occupied the corresponding city gates and began to wipe out the witch tribes inside the city.

Meanwhile, the Wu tribe's retreat route out of the city through the west gate had been blocked by 20,000 elite troops personally led by Wei Yuan.

The bloody battle raged from noon until dusk, finally ending with a large number of witches fleeing into the wilderness.

In this battle, the Wu tribe suffered more than 60,000 casualties, more than half of whom died from artillery fire, while less than half actually died from swords and magic.

In addition, 110,000 members of the Wu tribe were captured, mostly civilians. Unfortunately, over 100,000 Wu tribe members still escaped into the wilderness. Wei Yuan only pursued them to the edge of the boundary before ceasing the pursuit. Beyond the boundary lay the Wu Domain, where the "Instantaneous Beings" technique could no longer be used. With this shift in power, the human race became the weaker party, making further pursuit extremely dangerous.

Seeing that the situation was hopeless, the three great shamans had already retreated.

Wei Yuan returned to Wucheng and ordered his troops to wipe out the remaining enemy forces in the city, while he himself went to the city's great altar.

After several months of construction, the city's grand altar had reached a considerable size, measuring a hundred zhang in circumference and fifty zhang in height. A magnificent temple had also been built directly north of the altar. At this time, the battle within the temple was still ongoing, and it housed many shamans and their personal bodyguards.

At this moment, almost all the disciples of the Azure Sky Palace were fighting in the temple. They led hundreds of Foundation Establishment cultivators, fighting and fighting in each room, suppressing the remaining enemies at the rear of the temple and killing them all.

In terms of combat prowess, the disciples of the Azure Palace are quite formidable and naturally fond of fighting. Attacking the temple was an extremely dangerous battle; after it was over, almost every disciple of the Azure Palace was injured, with one even losing an arm to witchcraft.

Limbs destroyed by witchcraft are truly destroyed; even if they are reborn using Taoist magic, they will have to start cultivating all over again.

Only sporadic fighting remained in the city, while Wei Yuan stood in the center of the altar. Before him was a massive magic array, its runes cast from metal. In the center of the array was a hole, inside which was embedded a fleshy body resembling a lizard's tail, still writhing and struggling to escape.

A huge cat, as big as a small mountain, descended from the sky and expressed its opinion: braised.

The snake then appeared, insisting on being sliced, dipped in sauce, and eaten raw, with a perfectly valid reason: good ingredients should be enjoyed their original flavor. The True Man of the Farming Landed, suggesting half be eaten raw and half braised, as always lacking in opinion.

This piece of flesh was left behind by the Water Great Shaman, and it was about half a zhang thick. It was unknown how many more were inside the altar. The Water Great Shaman's physical body was like a giant snake. When it saw Wei Yuan, it desperately pulled out more than ten zhang, but it was too late to escape. So it ruthlessly cut off the remaining part and ran away.

Wei Yuan summoned several cultivators who used giant hooks to pull out the flesh piece by piece; it was actually five zhang long!

When it comes to those skilled at handling the bodies of great shamans, the old Taoist Chuhe and Sun Yu of Xuanming Palace are the best. Wei Yuan handed this body over to Chuhe, grabbed the copper ring cast from the array pattern on the ground, exhaled, and with a strong pull, lifted the ten-thousand-pound array core, revealing the entrance leading downwards.

The altar is the most sacred place for the witch clan, and ordinary witches are not allowed to set foot there. Only great witches and a very small number of witches of noble blood can enter the altar.

Wei Yuan entered the entrance and descended the stairs. This was the first time he had obtained a large altar in its entirety.

The altar was hollow inside, with multiple wall lamps illuminated by magical power on its four walls, making the interior brightly lit. Vertical array patterns adorned the altar walls and the floor. This cage-like three-dimensional array structure was unique to the Wu tribe; the human race had long attempted to imitate it but had failed, only managing to construct some rudimentary three-dimensional arrays.

Multiple grooves were carved into the ground, guiding the blood into a central blood pool. In the center of the blood pool grew a blood lotus, which had already sprouted several leaves.

Inside the altar, rows of sacrificial tables are set up along the walls. These tables can automatically draw blood from the blood pool, continuously transforming and dispersing it into the heavens and earth. Then, the heavens and earth return the power of the sacrifice, which is stored in the altar's magic array.

Wei Yuan flicked his finger and launched water blade balls, destroying the altar. The entire altar emitted a buzzing sound and finally stopped operating.

As soon as the altar stopped, countless human bones floated to the surface of the blood pool, the surging blood vapor so thick it seemed almost tangible. A massive amount of resentment also emerged, gradually dissipating into the heavens and earth.

After finishing with the sacrificial altar, Wei Yuan invited the True Man of the Hoeing Field to inquire about the nature of the blood lotus in the pond.

The moment the True Man of the Farming Seeds saw the Blood Lotus, he was captivated and couldn't tear himself away.

He walked around the blood pool once and said, "This should be the Moro Blood Lotus. It grows in the most evil and wicked places, in places that breed killing intent, yet it can absorb and release the purest primordial energy of heaven and earth. Look!"

Master Chuhe reached out and slapped the bloody water in the pool, instantly creating ripples. As the water rippled, a fierce aura spewed out, which was absorbed by the blood lotus leaves. Then, wisps of Yuan energy overflowed from the lotus leaves.

"In the past, when we obtained Blood Lotus, we often placed it in inauspicious and dangerous places. After hundreds of years, these places would slowly transform into blessed and precious lands. In addition, the Great Treasure Flower Pure Land has a Merit Lotus Pond where this kind of Blood Lotus can also be planted, which can accumulate blessings and change one's fortune. This Mara Blood Lotus is a rare treasure for changing one's fortune!"

"Why would the Witch Clan plant it?" Wei Yuan asked. The effects of the Blood Lotus seemed to be only beneficial to humans.

"The Witch Clan uses human sacrifices to the heavens, and the resulting resentment is immense. Over time, the high priests who preside over the sacrifices will be burdened with karma, encountering additional dangers when advancing in their trials. The Blood Lotus can transform resentment and blood energy into the primordial energy of heaven and earth, making it an essential item for the Witch Clan's grand altar. Hehe, this is a top-grade spiritual plant; after being cultivated for over five hundred years, it has a chance to advance to the celestial plant level. I'll collect it later and transplant it to Qingming. I think the plot of land between Sun Yu's courtyard and the morgue is quite good, with enough resentment. However, it requires a small amount of Netherworld Soil, so my nephew should keep a close eye on finding it."

"Then I'll have to trouble you, Master."

After the altar was destroyed, the witch clan in the city was immediately weakened by one level, and the cleanup operation went very smoothly. At this moment, Ren Suxing rushed over. When he saw Wei Yuan, he hesitated for a moment, but still bowed and said, "We have discovered a camp where sacrificial offerings are being held. Please, Realm Lord, go and deal with it."

Although Ren Suxing's bow was still stiff and forced, it was a far cry from when he first arrived. So Wei Yuan followed him to a camp in the northwest corner of the city. The camp was walled with stone and contained tens of thousands of people!
These people were all very young, but tall and strong, and looked like brothers and sisters from the same parents, with very similar appearances.

Wei Yuan could tell at a glance that these people were sacrifices cultivated by the Wu Clan themselves. This batch was of extremely high quality, with each of them possessing the strength to achieve the Great Perfection of Blood Fusion. Their overall strength was a level higher than the youths Wei Yuan had acquired from the Cave Heaven.

When Wei Yuan entered the courtyard, all the priests turned to look at him, their faces calm. They seemed unaware of fear or apprehension, and showed no curiosity, simply remaining silent.

"Uncle-Master Sun, can these people be saved?" Wei Yuan asked.

Sun Yu pulled up a tall boy, checked his whole body, then took out a piece of paper and made him put it in his mouth. After a moment, he took it out.

Sun Yu looked at the color on the note and said, "It's pretty much what I thought. They look tall, but they're actually all under ten years old, which is when their vitality and soul power are at their peak. This batch is a top-quality sacrifice, so the witch clan fed them good medicine. Their souls and minds are not damaged. They can recover their emotions after a period of rest."

"Can you fight?" Wei Yuan asked.

“They can’t fight now. They have no emotions, they don’t know fear, they don’t even have instincts. Going to the battlefield would result in huge losses, it’s not worth it. But they can work.”

"That's good." Wei Yuan nodded.

Wucheng was built to accommodate 600,000 civilians. If a large city has already taken shape, it will take several days to clear out the remaining enemies and take stock of supplies. Whether to keep or destroy this city needs to be carefully weighed.

Wei Yuan left his troops behind to handle the aftermath, while he himself returned to the territory first.

Just as he flew out of Wucheng, Wei Yuan’s sea of ​​consciousness suddenly trembled, and a burst of pure energy gushed out from the vast land and rivers, merging into the dark red sky!

A fine drizzle then began to fall from the sky, and life stirred on the earth, with many green shoots emerging, shoots that had no counterpart in this realm. As the drizzle continued to fall, the color of the sky also faded slightly, changing from dark red to pale red.

Occupying the Wu tribe, a population of 300,000, and destroying the core altar was a great victory even in the context of the entire Western Jin Dynasty, thus allowing part of the nation's fortune to be refined.

After refining the national fortune, Wei Yuan felt that the speed at which the vast land absorbed and released primordial energy had accelerated. Originally, the progress was four levels per year, but after obtaining the national fortune, it became five levels, and now it is five and a half levels. If the spiritual energy contributed by various spiritual plants when they mature is also taken into account, Wei Yuan now only needs ten years to complete the mid-stage of the Dao Foundation.

(End of this chapter)