Longzang

Chapter 356 Repaying the Emperor's Kindness
A beam of crimson light shot out from the Heavenly Eye and landed silently on Zhang Sheng.

The sword light, the immortal sword, and even the person wielding the sword were all crumbling inch by inch.

Within and beyond the realm, above and below the heavens, countless eyes watched as Zhang Sheng's body disintegrated and turned into ashes. Then, a white lotus bloomed at his feet, allowing his body to return to reality and be reborn between heaven and earth.

In a deep and mysterious space, a roar filled with extreme anger and regret suddenly resounded: "Impure World White Lotus!"

This matter had a great karmic connection with him, and it was also the time when the Great Curse was in effect and the secrets of heaven were being revealed. Therefore, Xu Wangu, who was disguised as a young immortal, instantly figured out the origin of the Impure Earth White Lotus.

He never imagined that the treasure he had been dreaming of was actually right beside him, and he couldn't accept that it had just slipped through his fingers!

For a fleeting moment, he wanted to rush out of this space and erase everyone and everything related to it from the world to vent his anger. However, the moment he left, the Great Curse of Karma would descend.

He has done so much to get to where he is today that he can no longer bear even the slightest additional consequences.

Only then did he vaguely realize that the so-called unfulfilled desires in the world might all be the result of his own past actions.

Even after his rebirth, Zhang Sheng was not free from the crisis. The crimson beam of light from the Heavenly Eye still struck him, instantly turning him into nothingness once more.

Wei Yuan was in a great hurry, but the remaining flames on his body were causing his consciousness and vision to blur. He suddenly set ablaze everything in the vast land and rivers that could burn, and soared into the sky!
The shadow in the moon had been dormant under the influence of some force until it was awakened at this moment.

Suddenly, a bird's head appeared in the full moon, opened its mouth and inhaled, instantly swallowing all the fortune of the vast land!
A gigantic three-eyed bird head faintly appeared above Wei Yuan's head, its three eyes shooting out three completely different beams of light, cutting three rifts in the blood-red sky.

In an instant, Wei Yuan instinctively knew that the cracks were where life lay, but the three cracks felt completely different, as if they led to different worlds.

At this moment, he had no time or energy to think. He grabbed Zhang Sheng and, following his instincts, threw himself into one of the cracks, disappearing from there.

The Heavenly Eye suddenly lost its target, blinked, and showed confusion in its pupils.

At this moment, the heavens and earth trembled, and the normal sky came from all directions, pressing down on the blood-red firmament. The Heavenly Eye, having lost its target, could not resist the immense power of heaven and earth, and after flickering a few times, it finally disappeared.

At that moment, Yu Zhizhuo sat in the blast furnace, using the furnace fire to fight against the blue flames. As the blue flames suddenly disappeared, the furnace fire instantly burned him, causing him to scream and burst out of the furnace.

Sun Yu lay on the ground, large chunks of his body abruptly missing, a horrifying sight. With his only remaining functional hand, he grabbed a handful of medicinal powder, then reopened the crystallized wounds and sprinkled the powder on them.

Feng Tingyu wielded her long sword, continuously slicing away thin layers of skin and flesh from her arms and thighs. Azure flames burned on the flesh, turning to ash as soon as they hit the ground. But no matter how she sliced, the azure flames would burn away the flesh and blood, only to reignite in the same spot. Yet her muscles writhed and grew at an astonishing rate, so the wounds could only slowly widen.

But as he was whittling, the flames suddenly went out. Feng Tingyu froze for a moment, then burst into tears.

……

dark.

This was the first feeling Wei Yuan rediscovered.

Besides the darkness, the surroundings were completely unfamiliar. Wei Yuan felt an icy chill in one hand and one foot, as if he were immersed in ice water, so cold that he could hardly bear it. Only parts of his body were warm, but many other parts of his body were completely numb, as if they didn't exist.

This feeling was unprecedented. Wei Yuan had already mastered body forging and had perfect control over his entire body, making it a unified whole. How could there be any part that he couldn't sense?
Wei Yuan tried to move, but his body was unexpectedly stiff and heavy, filled with a deathly silence, with only a spark of life in the innermost part.

Wei Yuan reached for his left chest, but it was empty; there was nothing there. His hand seemed to be out of his control, and he couldn't find the right spot twice. Finally, on the third try, he felt he was in the right place, but he still couldn't feel anything: his chest was completely empty, there was nothing there at all!

Where is my heart?

Wei Yuan tried to get up to take a look, but as soon as he moved, he realized that everything was still dark. He slowly raised his hand and touched his face, and then he felt a strip of cloth covering his eyes.

Wei Yuan's hand twitched, but he ultimately didn't remove the strip of cloth. He knew that even if he did, it wouldn't make a difference; he couldn't sense his eyes anymore.

It's not a big deal if he doesn't have a heart; the dead don't need hearts. Wei Yuan comforted himself.

At that moment, a series of light footsteps faded into the distance, and then someone opened the door. The instant the door opened, a gust of cold wind swept in, causing Wei Yuan to shiver.

Footsteps approached the bedside, and a pleasant, cool voice asked, "Are you awake?"

"Where am I? Am I... dead?" Wei Yuan was startled when he uttered the question. His voice was hoarse and indistinct, completely unlike his usual tone.

“We are a secluded little village, and no outsiders have come here for many, many years. The village elders used to say that we were some kind of remnant clan, but the elder who knew the most about us passed away last winter, and no one remembers where we came from anymore. As for you, you are probably not dead yet, but you are close to it.”

How did I get here?

“A few days ago, there was a celestial tragedy, and blood was falling from the sky. Suddenly, you fell down. Oh, you've been unconscious for three days.”

Am I the only one who fell?

"only you."

Wei Yuan's heart skipped a beat. Where was the teacher?
What's wrong with my eyes?

The woman hesitated for a moment and said, "You...you're blind."

Wei Yuan had already anticipated this, and asked again, "Are my left hand and left leg still there?" "Yes, they are, but they are badly injured. Actually, the villagers all said you wouldn't survive, and there was no need to waste firewood and food. But I felt that although you were a bit crippled, you were still breathing, so I tried to save you. Anyway, if I couldn't save you, everything on you would be mine. But I really didn't expect you to wake up."

He was still alive... Wei Yuan slowly sensed the sea of ​​knowledge, and after a tearing pain, he finally appeared on the vast land of Wanli River and Mountain.

At this moment, the earth was deathly silent, and in the distance, there were several huge rift valleys that almost divided the entire continent into several sections.

The jade mountain was dull and lifeless. Although it wasn't cracked, its texture had deteriorated so severely that its interior was completely invisible. The small branches and leaves on the top of the jade mountain were curled up and covered with burn marks, but fortunately, there was still a glimmer of hope.

Only a section of the Red Lotus Bodhi tree trunk remains, the broken end covered in scorch marks. The Laurel Immortal Tree and the Ice Glass Divine Tree have retreated underground, entering a dormant state; it is unknown whether they still have any hope of survival.

Apart from the immortal plants, all the spiritual plants reflected from the Azure Netherworld were reduced to charcoal.

The young girl, Yin Yang, stood silently, completely unharmed. The two Dharma Aspect warriors and numerous Dao Foundation cultivators were also still there, but they had lost their spirituality and had been turned into stone statues.

Furthermore, the Dao Foundation was very spacious, and Wei Yuan threw out all the Dao Foundations he had previously made, which turned into a torrent that attacked the Heavenly Eye.

A full moon still hangs high in the sky, but the shadow within it has vanished.

The three giant swords still remaining in the Dao Foundation were a pleasant surprise. Unfortunately, the giant swords were only for inheritance, and Wei Yuan couldn't use the sword intent contained within them. Even if he could use them, with his current remnant body, he would probably be crushed by a mere wisp of sword energy.

Wei Yuan scanned his surroundings with his remaining spiritual sense and obtained a vague impression.

This is a stone house with a wooden and thatched roof, through which cold winds occasionally seep in. A hearth in the corner is the only source of warmth inside.

Standing beside the bed was a woman, tall and slender, only slightly shorter than Wei Yuan. She had some traces of body tempering, but no Dao power; Wei Yuan couldn't sense any Dao foundation in her either, so she probably hadn't cultivated much.

She brought in a bundle of straw, covered Wei Yuan with it, and then weighed it down with several pieces of wood. This did indeed warm Wei Yuan up a bit.

Only a few embers remained in the hearth, and some dry firewood was piled in the corner. But the fire was almost out, and the room was bitterly cold; the woman didn't add any more firewood. It seemed firewood was expensive and scarce here, and they had to use it sparingly.

A clay pot hung above the hearth, simmering soup inside. The woman ladled a bowl of soup into a wooden bowl and said to Wei Yuan, "There's medicine in here. The village elder said it'll be good for your injury."

Wei Yuan used his only remaining conscious hand to prop himself up, but his arm was too weak, and he fell back down.

The woman supported him, but she was also weak and almost fell over by Wei Yuan. So she put down the medicine bowl and used both hands to help Wei Yuan up.

The bowl contained something that resembled a combination of vegetable soup, medicine, and millet porridge; it was astringent and bitter, and contained a few pieces that tasted like boiled cork. At the woman's request, Wei Yuan chewed them all up and swallowed them.

After drinking the bowl of medicinal soup, Wei Yuan knew that it had little medicinal effect. The main purpose of the hot soup was to warm his stomach and fill his belly.

This place is quite barren and desolate, with scarce spiritual energy. How could there be any potent elixirs here? It is certainly not comparable to the Taichu Palace, nor can it compare to Qingming, which has the Hall of Merit.

After drinking the hot soup, Wei Yuan felt better and said earnestly, "I dare not thank you for your great kindness! If I can get through this ordeal, I will repay you in the future, as long as it is within my power!"

Unexpectedly, the woman said, "How can repaying kindness have a future? The village elders said that no outsiders have come for a long time. Although you are disabled, you look quite strong and should still be able to father children. So as long as you leave four children in the village, two boys and two girls, you can leave. We don't care for any other way of repaying kindness!"

Wei Yuan was taken aback and said, "This... how can we keep the child?"

"Just stay! You can ask me, or you can ask any of the other old ladies in the village. You can only leave after you've given birth to four. The village elders said that in three to five days, once you've regained some strength, you can start working again. Don't even think about slacking off until you've paid off your debts!"

"This... could we try another way? I'm a cultivator. If I recover some of my strength, I can do a lot for the village!" Wei Yuan said earnestly.

"That won't do! The village elder said that a painted cake won't fill your stomach. You're not a bad person, are you? We saved you, and now you're just planning to run away?" the woman asked suspiciously.

Wei Yuan was speechless.

"If you don't want to repay our kindness, fine, we'll strip you naked and throw you out of the village tomorrow. We can't use our precious food to feed an ungrateful wretch. Think about it!"

Even after the woman left, Wei Yuan felt his head was still buzzing.

Such a request isn't unreasonable, and the other party's request was quite clear. Logically speaking, repaying a debt of gratitude should be done in a way that the other party is willing to accept, not by doing whatever one wants. Otherwise, what kind of repayment is that? It's just self-comfort.

Wei Yuan's last shred of conscience prevented him from doing such a thing.

The problem is, even if Wei Yuan is willing, judging from the woman's words, apart from her, the rest of the villagers are all old women!

What if the older women can't have children, and she's the only one who can give birth? Wouldn't she have to stay here for four years? And if it doesn't happen to be two boys and two girls, she'll have to stay even longer!
Although his divine sense couldn't discern her appearance, the woman was at least quite attractive, though her life had been difficult, and her movements lacked grace and beauty. If it were just her, and if the only purpose was to produce offspring, then perhaps Wei Yuan could accept it.

But what I fear most is that the older women won't give up that chance to contribute to the village's heritage and will also plan to have a few children!

The more Wei Yuan thought about it, the more likely it seemed. He was currently immobilized and blind, likely lacking the strength to resist. And given his current physical condition, escaping the village would most likely mean certain death.

Wei Yuan huddled in bed, feeling increasingly cold. The bowl of hot soup actually contained very little; after feeling better for a while, he was even hungrier. However, Wei Yuan felt ungrateful and was too embarrassed to ask for another bowl.

Having narrowly escaped death, it should have been a happy occasion, but when Wei Yuan thought of the old aunties in the village, he felt that the world hadn't been kind to him at all.

(End of this chapter)