Longzang

Chapter 368 Hunting Time
After hiding in the cave, Wei Yuan finally had time to assess his surroundings.

The cave wasn't large, only a few feet deep. Wei Yuan casually conjured a rock to seal the entrance. This rock had a concealing function, and Wei Yuan breathed a sigh of relief.

When that will descended, it carried a message: any powerful being walking in the night will attract the hostility of this world and be mercilessly destroyed. This message appeared directly within the primordial spirit, requiring no words, and could be interpreted by any intelligent race.

The Liao tribe's great shaman had already experienced the intensity of the so-called hostility between heaven and earth last night, and even the Grand Master Yujing had a very difficult time resisting it. Wei Yuan did not want to experience it again, nor could he afford to.

Hiding in the cave, finally able to catch his breath, Wei Yuan suddenly felt indescribably tired and almost fainted on the spot.

After a full day of continuous escape, Wei Yuan was constantly on edge, feeling utterly exhausted.

However, now was not the time to sleep. His mind raced as he devised a plan to escape. The hidden mines that concealed the small flying swords could only be used once, and their power was too weak to cause serious injury to a centurion; they certainly couldn't harm the powerful Liao tribe that was currently pursuing him closely.

The woman suddenly said, "When the first rays of sunlight shine tomorrow, the creatures wandering in the snow-capped mountains will be tired, but they will not have returned to their nests yet. That will be your only chance to escape. Your cultivation level is not high, so it will not pay much attention to you, but those Liao tribes chasing you will definitely be on its radar. So if they dare to chase you, they will be doomed. You will have half an hour to escape."

Wei Yuan ignored the woman and continued to set up an array on the ground, trying to remove the blood energy mark on his body.

After the formation was set up, Wei Yuan had just placed a few spiritual objects down when the woman picked up one and placed it in another position, saying, "This place seems cold and yin, but it actually harbors a deadly fire within. If you place this extremely yang object here, the yang energy will be excessive. It must be placed in a yin position to achieve balance."

Wei Yuan suddenly understood. Following the woman's instructions, he adjusted the formation, and sure enough, the formation was completed, with its effectiveness increased by at least 30%.

Just as Wei Yuan was about to use the next two days to properly thank the woman, his body suddenly froze and he remained motionless.

At this moment, a powerful divine sense suddenly appeared in Wei Yuan's body, and then Wei Yuan was in another space. This was a tall and deep hall, filled with an ancient and decaying aura.

A man sat on a high seat at the far end of the hall, dressed in ancient robes from a previous dynasty. He was scrutinizing Wei Yuan with great interest and said, "I never expected to have to wait so long to see you. But it's all worth it. Your body is rare in the world and is fit to be used by me. It's not in vain that I've lived these thousands of years in seclusion."

Wei Yuan could now see everything inside the hall again, and realized that his primordial spirit had actually been pulled into some strange space, and the injuries to his physical body were not reflected in his primordial spirit. This hall was somewhat similar to the Netherworld, but its area was limited to just this one hall.

"Who are you?" Wei Yuan asked.

"You've been carrying the Yuan Blood Pearl I left behind for so long, why do you still ask who I am? Heh, I should thank you for your caution, sealing me inside your body and preventing me from contacting undead beings. Otherwise, I would have had to expend a lot more blood energy to pull you in. This blood energy can be used to improve the cultivation of this physical body in the future, so every little bit saved counts."

Wei Yuan was shocked and said, "You are the ancestor of the remnant clan!"

The man laughed heartily, then rose and walked down the high platform step by step. The cool sunlight falling from the palace roof illuminated his face, and Wei Yuan could then see his features clearly.

He looked to be middle-aged, with a short beard, and could have been described as having a handsome and refined appearance. However, excitement and greed had distorted his face, making him appear cold and crazed.

He slowed his pace as much as possible, taking his time to reach Wei Yuan's side, and said, "Back then, Emperor Hui appointed Zi Ping as the Grand Celestial Master to select auspicious sites and seal the qi, in order to pacify the world. But he was incompetent throughout his life and could not see that Zi Ping harbored evil intentions. He exhausted the national treasury to select extraordinary people to seal qi in various parts of the world, instead of using the money to train elite troops and recruit talented people. It is truly laughable. It is no wonder that Haotian died."

At that time, I was just a deputy general in the Imperial Guard. Suddenly, I was blessed with good fortune and realized that the time had come. So I took the initiative to come to this far north place that no one else wanted to come to.

Hmph, that Ziping only knows one side of the story of destiny, not the other. He only knows that this place in the north is one of the nodes of the earth's veins, but he doesn't know that this place is actually the location of a dragon's lair. I am a descendant of a true dragon, and after being blessed with destiny and awakening my past life, I naturally sensed the call of this place from the darkness.

Ziping assumed I was just another member of his clan with ordinary spiritual bloodlines, and told us that once we arrived here, we would activate the array he had given us. Heh, once we activate this array, we will become one with it and the earth, turning into a living seal, never to be separated again. You should have already seen that array in the ancestral hall.”

Wei Yuan had already discerned the insidious nature of the formation, but he hadn't expected it to have such a profound origin. However, Wei Yuan didn't see any element within the formation that could resolve karmic debt. Over thousands of years, the resentment and karmic burden accumulated by the entire clan had become terrifyingly powerful. There was more than one such formation; now, thinking back, the original instigator, Celestial Master Zi Ping, must have long since died without descendants.

The man continued, “But I am a descendant of the true dragon! This formation is naturally no match for me. As soon as I arrived here, I discovered that the dragon's lair was deep underground. However, there were too many dangers along the way, and with my cultivation level at the time, I simply could not break through all the dangers to reach the dragon's lair. So I devised a plan and modified the formation, allowing my descendants to explore it generation after generation. As for me, I hid all my blood essence and primordial spirit in this Yuan Blood Pearl, using the power of the formation to isolate myself from the secrets of heaven, which allowed me to break through my lifespan limit and survive to this day.”

Wei Yuan, who had been listening silently the whole time, finally said, "You haven't said anything, have you?"

The man flew into a rage and said, "A mere Foundation Establishment cultivator, who hasn't even awakened his hunting instincts yet, is he in such a hurry to die? Then I'll grant your wish!"

Wei Yuan said, "Wait! Even if you are a descendant of the true dragon, haven't you found a suitable body in these thousands of years? Since you understand the art of possession and reincarnation, don't you know that after lying dormant for so long, your soul will slowly dissipate and become weaker and weaker? Even if you successfully possess someone, you won't be able to break through your original limits?"

The man was taken aback, and subconsciously said, "Is that so?"

Wei Yuan was also taken aback: "This is common sense, you really don't know that?"

That person remained silent.

Wei Yuan was stunned for a moment before he reacted. The Tai Chu Palace's centralized instruction involved the entire palace's resources teaching its students. Each instructor was a genius in their respective field, and many secrets from ancient times had become common knowledge there. Previously, the cultivation world relied on master-disciple transmission; a disciple learned as much as the teacher knew, which was incomparable to centralized instruction. The man, seemingly feeling humiliated, continued, "This place is a dragon's lair, naturally attracting other true dragon bloodlines. I waited here, and here you are! Once I seize your body and absorb your primordial spirit, even if your foundation is damaged, it will be restored to its original state, and you might even advance further!"
"Once I devour you, refine you into my dragon guard, and claim your true dragon treasure, I can go hunt down other bloodlines. Hahahaha, the path to immortality is right before my eyes!"

"Wait a minute!" Wei Yuan called out, then asked, "What is a True Dragon Treasure?"

The man had indeed been silent for a long time, so he stopped and explained, "Every true dragon bloodline is born with its own fortune and a true dragon treasure. This treasure may seem like an ordinary object to others, but to us true dragon bloodlines, we can see its extraordinary nature and infinite uses."

Wei Yuan's heart skipped a beat, and he said, "The old woman in the village gave me a bone. Could it be your true dragon treasure?"

“That’s right. That bone is actually the bone of a true dragon, and there is still a trace of life within it. You are also a descendant of a true dragon, so you can naturally see it.”

Wei Yuan honestly replied, "I really didn't see it."

The man was taken aback again, and for a moment he didn't know what to say.

Wei Yuan added, "I also do not possess any True Dragon Treasures."

"That's impossible! Every bloodline will have a true dragon artifact by their side. Even if it's not something they were born with, they will naturally acquire it later in life."

Wei Yuan said, "You've been hiding inside my body for a day now. Have you discovered the true dragon treasure?"

The man was taken aback and said, "I really don't. Do you have any magical artifacts on you?"

"Yes, there are, but they are all celestial plants. Celestial plants shouldn't be true dragon treasures, right?"

"Of course not. Our ancestors were true dragons, not blue dragons."

Wei Yuan suddenly asked, "So, you haven't seen any other bloodlines before?"

"……No."

"That's obvious. I'm not a true dragon bloodline; you've got it wrong. Here's the deal: you release me, and we can cooperate from now on. Once we return to the human realm, we'll search for bloodlines together. After we find them, the physical body and the True Dragon Treasure are yours, and everything else is mine. Then you'll have to do one more thing for me, and the difficulty of that task will be linked to the value of the True Dragon Treasure. How about that?"

The man began to ponder.

Wei Yuan wasn't in a hurry and waited patiently. Once they were out of this strange space, he had plenty of ways to reseal the Yuan Blood Pearl, preventing this old fellow from the previous dynasty from ever leaving. After returning to the human realm, he would gather the materials, set up a Soul Refining Array, and easily refine this old ghost.

If the old ghost doesn't believe it, Wei Yuan can make a solemn oath of heavenly thunder, and he won't doubt it. Once back at the Tai Chu Palace, Wei Yuan will face the tribulation himself, and the thunderous tribulation corresponding to the oath will easily dissolve the palace-guarding formation. Therefore, in recent times, more and more disciples of immortal sects have made solemn oaths, and these oaths have become increasingly unreliable.

Wei Yuan was certain that this old ghost was unaware of current trends.

This old ghost from thousands of years ago is stupid and unaware of his own ignorance. How can he compare to the students taught by the Taichu Palace, the number one immortal sect in the world?

The man suddenly let out a sinister laugh and said, "You almost fooled me. You haven't even awakened your hunting instincts, so naturally you don't know my identity or the True Dragon Treasure. I also don't know where you hid the True Dragon Treasure, but I'll find out after I obtain your physical body! Haha, that woman outside is also a peerless beauty. I'll have a taste of her later!"

The scenery changed again, instantly transforming into a landscape between the sea and sky. The man soared into the air, transforming into a floating Kun whale. He opened his mouth wide and swallowed Wei Yuan's primordial spirit, then closed his eyes and slowly refined it.

But its belly grew larger and larger, as if something extremely heavy was constantly sinking inside! Suddenly, the giant whale let out a mournful cry, its belly split open, and Wei Yuan fell out.

Although the Kun whale has the ability to devour the sky and the sea, swallowing Wei Yuan's primordial spirit in one gulp is equivalent to swallowing an entire continent. The vast landscape was only partially revealed when its belly was already torn apart.

The Kun whale transformed back into that person, and instead of being angry, it was delighted, saying repeatedly, "Excellent! Excellent! This foundation is unparalleled in the world! It is fitting that I, your ancestor, soar to the heavens! Watch as I annihilate your primordial spirit!"

Before Wei Yuan could react, the man had already transformed into a bolt of dark lightning, rushing into Wei Yuan's sea of ​​consciousness and appearing on the vast land of Wanli.

The girl, Yin Yang, suddenly opened her eyes and stared at the person!

The man was instantly terrified, exclaiming in shock, "You've already completed a hunt?! You're treacherous, young man!"

He let out a scream, and the Yellow Spring Cauldron in Wei Yuan's arms suddenly shone brightly. Countless Yin spirits rushed into the vast land and rivers, surrounding and protecting the man. These descendant Yin spirits had all been refined into Yin soldiers, each one powerless, their faces filled with endless pain.

(End of this chapter)