Longzang

Chapter 360 Paying off debts, not sleeping
Wei Yuan searched the corpse of the dead Dharma-type monster for a long time without finding anything. Its body was as dry as withered wood, and its armor had weathered over the long years, becoming as brittle as porcelain. As for the weapon in its hand, it seemed to be a long sword, but the blade had been worn away, and only the hilt remained in its hand.

The only thing of value is its skeleton, which feels smooth and cold to the touch, suggesting that its nature has changed due to long-term exposure to yin energy.

Besides that, its most essential element seems to be that yin energy.

Wei Yuan found the woman, and the two returned to the place where they had discovered it. There was a small natural platform there, with a stone chair on it. According to the woman, the monster had been sitting in this chair until they broke in.

The woman found only a stone slab with inscriptions, and nothing else noteworthy. It was past noon, and Wei Yuan sensed a surge of yin energy deep underground, along with a faint aura of terror, so he led the woman out of the temple.

Over the past few days, Wei Yuan had intentionally tested this, and discovered that after noon, the undead monsters would experience a surge in strength, their speed would double, and they could leave the temple and walk through the forest. Some powerful undead monsters would even develop a magical shield, requiring Wei Yuan to empty half a magazine to kill them.

At this point, Wei Yuan had very few flying swords left, and feeling there was no need to take any more risks, he carried the corpse of the Dharma-type monster back to the village with the woman.

Upon returning to the village, Wei Yuan, whose spirituality had greatly increased due to his Dao Foundation, suddenly sensed a faint fluctuation about a mile away, subtly altering the rules of heaven and earth in this area. This feeling was somewhat like that of a boundary stone, but not entirely the same, as it did not transform the area as thoroughly as a boundary stone.

Back at his lodgings, Wei Yuan continued working to replenish the flying swords. Meanwhile, the Dao Foundation Warrior who had gained sentience quickly learned the techniques for crafting flying swords and began manufacturing them across the vast land.

He was only slightly slower than Wei Yuan in making flying swords. Then Wei Yuan discovered that his understanding of the properties of matter was exactly the same as Wei Yuan's, so the quality of the flying swords he made was exactly the same.

And it never tires or gets bored, it just keeps making flying swords over and over again, it seems like it could do it forever.

Dao power is Dao power; one part cannot become two.

However, Wei Yuan's Dao power has a limit, and replenishing it takes time. Creating these launchable flying swords is essentially storing up unused Dao power, allowing him to unleash it all at once when needed. This enables Wei Yuan to unleash firepower far exceeding his normal strength instantly, which is why he now places great importance on it.

But with this enlightened Dao Foundation warrior, Wei Yuan suddenly realized that he no longer needed to do anything himself. The Dao power recovery speed was limited, and a single Dao Foundation puppet sword-making session could consume it all.

Then Wei Yuan discovered that on nights when he didn't have to assemble his flying sword, he actually felt a little empty? Thinking about the contents of Xu Wenwu's information, Wei Yuan felt even more guilty. Would his idleness diminish his blessings?
While Wei Yuan was in a daze, the woman returned and said, "The village elder wants to see you."

Wei Yuan was taken aback. There really was a village elder?
After experiencing events such as the Paper Wedding Dress, the Netherworld, and the Pure Land of Arhat's True Blood, Wei Yuan is now somewhat paranoid. He initially suspected that the village did not actually exist and was merely a figment of a woman's imagination.

Now that the village elder wants to see him, Wei Yuan naturally wants to learn more about this mysterious village. The fact that the Shadow of the Moon specifically opened a passage here suggests that it might hold a tremendous secret.

The woman led Wei Yuan by the hand, walking a full mile along the mountain path, up and down, until they finally arrived at a courtyard with three rooms. Several other houses surrounded the courtyard, all of which were now lit up.

Wei Yuan entered the main room and sensed an old woman sitting in the main seat, flanked by two elderly men. A painting hung on the wall of the main hall, but Wei Yuan couldn't discern its subject.

"Please sit down," the old woman said in a gentle voice.

After Wei Yuan sat down, the old woman said, "It has been many years since we have seen any outsiders. So long that it has been from the time I can remember until now, as I am about to be buried."

Wei Yuan bowed and said, "I will never forget your life-saving grace. May I ask, sir, where is this place?"

"Our ancestors said that in a very, very far place to the south, there is a kingdom of our human race. If you come from there, then we are to your north. I don't know exactly how far away."

What race lives around here?

"To the east are the Liao people, and to the west are the Wu people. But they are far away from us, and this place is deep in the mountains with nothing, so they won't come here."

After a while, Wei Yuan learned about the history of the village.

Two dynasties prior to the Great Tang, there was a short-lived dynasty called the Haotian Dynasty. The Haotian Dynasty existed for only seven hundred years, which is considered a very short-lived dynasty in human history.

At that time, the Haotian Dynasty was in its final years, and the emperor appointed a mysterious Qi cultivator as the Grand Celestial Master. The Grand Celestial Master calculated many key points of destiny in the human world, so the emperor secretly dispatched multiple teams to suppress these key points in order to save the dynasty from its impending demise.

However, many of these strategic nodes require venturing deep into the territories of alien races, so these teams are given missions that are certain to result in certain death.

The ancestors of this village were one of these groups. They endured hardships and traveled for more than thirty years to reach the far north, where they finally arrived at the auspicious point mentioned by the Grand Celestial Master and discovered the temple hidden deep in the mountains.

The entire group was very young when they set off; the two Dharma Masters were not even forty years old at the time. But by the time they crossed the foreign lands and arrived at their destination, they all looked weathered and worn.

They settled here and multiplied. Their descendants are to protect these auspicious nodes generation after generation; this is the mission of this village.

Leaving the human realm causes human cultivators to age rapidly, reducing their lifespan to only 20-30% of the normal lifespan. Furthermore, because they are venturing deep into a foreign realm, they dare not use boundary stones, and can only bring some boundary stone fragments to make the environment slightly less harsh.

More than seven thousand years have passed since the fall of the Haotian Dynasty.

Wei Yuan then asked, "What exactly is inside these nodes of destiny? And what use is it for you to live here?"

The old woman said, "I don't know anything about it. My grandfather once guessed that this might be where the earth's veins converge. As for what use living here is, I know even less. I only know that our ancestors' task was to settle down here, establish themselves, and multiply. There must be living people in these mountains. As for the specific reasons, perhaps only the Grand Celestial Master of that time would know." Wei Yuan's heart stirred, and he had some guesses.

When studying the theory of destiny, the teachers mentioned that some people are born according to the will of Heaven. To put it bluntly, they are born under the influence of some kind of grand destiny of Heaven and Earth. The bloodline of such people often has special functions, one of which is to suppress feng shui, forcibly reverse the fate of the nation, delay the occurrence of certain disasters, or nurture some strange things that do not belong to this world.

According to the old woman, the ancestors of this village must have been people with special bloodlines who were sent here to guard the key points of destiny in order to reverse the fate of the nation.

However, during the intensive teaching sessions at Taichu Palace, many ancient secrets were revealed, which is why Wei Yuan's group of disciples possessed knowledge and insights far exceeding those of their predecessors.

Based on the undead monsters that appeared in the temple, Wei Yuan had another guess: they might be sacrificing their own bloodline generation after generation in an attempt to give birth to something.

According to the teachers in class, this kind of method is similar to the blood sacrifice of the witch clan. No matter how nice the explanation is, it will basically not produce anything good, and the person who orchestrated this matter will not be a good person either.

The Primordial Palace has a clear definition of good and bad.

What is considered "good" is beneficial to the survival and prosperity of the human race, and to its growth and development. This is considered "greatly good." There is also what is considered "lesserly good," which is helpful to the path of the Primordial Palace. What is considered "bad" is the opposite.

At this point, Wei Yuan naturally wouldn't reveal the truth or ask any questions. Such matters only require slow observation, and various clues will naturally emerge.

After talking for a while, the old woman was clearly tired. She said, "Young master, I see that you have extraordinary luck and outstanding skills. You should have the opportunity to return to the ancestral land of the human race in the future. After you leave descendants in this village, I still have a few treasures passed down from my ancestors. At that time, I will give you a few useful items to help you return to the human realm."

"Thank you, senior."

The old woman said, "There is one more thing. When you return to the human realm, could you please speak to the current Emperor Haotian and ask him to pardon our clan's duties, or send someone else? Our clan is already on the verge of extinction. Even if you leave behind any descendants, they will be wiped out within a hundred years. And there must be people living in these mountains."

Wei Yuan said, "The current emperor is the Great Tang. The Haotian Dynasty perished seven thousand years ago."

"Oh, then asking Emperor Tang for a pardon is the same. As long as it is an order from the common ruler of the human race, it is all the same."

Wei Yuan smiled wryly and said, "The Great Tang Dynasty has a vast territory, and the emperor is high above. How could I possibly meet him so easily?"

The old woman calmly said, "It's alright. We've done our best and left the rest to fate. We've lived here for thousands of years and have long since given up the idea of ​​returning to the human realm alive. It's just that I'm old and suddenly don't want my descendants to end up like us, dying in this desolate snow mountain. If it weren't for the legends that the village elders have to memorize, I would have thought that the so-called human realm was just this one village."

"If you have time, senior, you can write down the whole story so I can present it to Emperor Tang when I get back."

The old woman smiled kindly and said, "Young master, you're testing me. Alright, there's still plenty of time. I'll go back and think about it. I haven't written anything for so many years, I've almost forgotten everything."

The village has passed down its traditions orally from generation to generation, teaching people to read and write, but not recording any important events in writing. Now, only a few dozen people remain in the village, most of them very old.

Finally, the old woman handed Wei Yuan a pale blue luminous pearl, saying, "This pearl was brought to us by our ancestors and has been nurtured in our bodies for over a hundred years. It contains pure yang energy, and carrying it will help you resist the cold of the northern polar regions. It will make it easier for you to descend into the temple."

Wei Yuan took the bead and scanned it with his divine sense. He was immediately burned by the blood energy contained within it, as if he had touched a branding iron, and he immediately withdrew his gaze. The blood energy contained in this bead was probably equivalent to the lifetime cultivation of a Dharma Aspect cultivator.

"Senior, this is too precious."

The old woman smiled and said, "If you leave behind descendants, the whole village will belong to them in a dozen or so years. Consider this bead as an advance payment to you."

"Then I'll accept it." Wei Yuan accepted the pearl, then left with the woman and returned to their residence.

It was late at night, and the air was bitterly cold, but inside the house, a bonfire blazed, making it warm as spring.

The two lay down again, but Wei Yuan refused to sleep, and the hand that was on the woman began to move.

"Go to sleep!" The woman pushed him away, but touched a place she shouldn't have, burned him, and immediately pulled back in fright.

She turned her head, about to scold him, but Wei Yuan was lying right behind her. As she turned her head, their lips met.

Suddenly, flames erupted from the pond, threatening to set the entire house ablaze!

After a very long time, their lips finally parted.

Wei Yuan's deep voice rang out: "We're paying off our debts tonight, no sleep!"

P.S.: I'll have to keep you guys waiting for another day.

(End of this chapter)