Longzang

Chapter 373 Gradually Returning South

As he flew across the land, Wei Yuan suddenly sensed something deep within the earth. The feeling was very peculiar, like a call from his very blood.

He looked down and seemed to vaguely see a colossal creature hidden deep underground. It might be hundreds of miles away, or even thousands of miles away!
However, this feeling was fleeting, and Wei Yuan knew that the opportunity had not yet arrived, and he was still very weak. Only after improving his cultivation level would he have the chance to come back and explore in the future.

As the true dragon bloodline surfaced, Wei Yuan felt the whole world was becoming increasingly bizarre.

But for now, it's best to leave this place first and return when you have the ability later. Wei Yuan increased the input of his Dao power, but soon found that the increase in speed was limited, and the oncoming gale was becoming more and more violent. At this time, every increase in speed required a lot more Dao power.

Wei Yuan slowed down slightly to conserve his Dao energy, when suddenly several figures shot into the air from the snow-capped mountains below! If Wei Yuan hadn't reacted quickly enough and turned in time, he would have been intercepted by them!
Wei Yuan's mind raced, and after circling around, he continued flying rapidly southwest. By now, the figures were clearly visible; they were all high-level cultivators of the Liao clan.

At this moment, the two sides were only a thousand feet apart. Wei Yuan did not immediately accelerate to full speed, but instead took out two manifested wings and installed them on both sides of the frame. With these two wings, the frame suddenly became lighter and rose more than a hundred feet. Wei Yuan quickly reduced the Dao force that was maintaining the flight and levitation, and only then did he maintain his balance.

In the outer world, everyone understands the basic principles of flight, and Xu Wenwu has written them down. However, this world is full of flying magical artifacts, and cultivators can fly on their own for short distances, so the cultivators of Taichu Palace originally had little interest in it.

Now, Wei Yuan was carrying Zhang Sheng, who had already become a mortal, and several Dharma Aspects were chasing after them. Every bit of Dao power had to be conserved. Therefore, at this moment, he finally remembered that there was such a thing as wings. After installing them, they indeed saved a lot of Dao power to maintain levitation.

Then came the fierce wind ahead.

In Taoist magic, there is a technique called Wind-Repelling Technique, which generally involves forming a circular shield to deflect the gale to both sides. Wei Yuan had also learned this Taoist technique; his advanced Wind-Repelling Incantation could render the gale virtually invisible. However, its principle is actually to use Taoist power to break through the gale and distribute it to both sides, so it consumes a considerable amount of Taoist power.

At this moment, Wei Yuan suddenly remembered the articles by Hai Xianjun explaining the Water Blade Technique. Thinking back, wouldn't the article on optimizing the shape of the water blade be just right for this?

Wei Yuan immediately used his Dao power to construct a massive water blade, enveloping himself and Zhang Sheng within it, leaving only the two spray nozzles exposed. This strange combination caused a sharp decrease in Dao power consumption. Wei Yuan immediately felt much more relaxed, so he maintained his original speed, keeping the distance between himself and the Dharma images behind him, just outside the range of their Dao techniques and magical artifacts.

The group of Dharma Images pursued relentlessly, and in the blink of an eye, half an hour had passed. Wei Yuan's speed was not slow at all, while the Dharma Images' hearts were racing and their blood was boiling; they were already starting to feel the strain.

As they chased, they discussed the matter briefly. Suddenly, one of the Dharma Aspects burst into flames of his essence blood, increasing his speed dramatically. He circled around to Wei Yuan's front, preparing to intercept him.

Startled, Wei Yuan instantly accelerated, a cloud of blood rising from his body! He streaked across the sky like a meteor, keeping pace with the Dharma Image burning with essence blood, and the two of them left the other Dharma Images far behind in the blink of an eye.

The Dharma Image gritted its teeth and persisted. It refused to believe that a mere Foundation Establishment cultivator could outdo it in terms of magical power and blood essence.
The blood energy emanating from Wei Yuan was so thick it looked like he was about to explode and die; he appeared ready to pass out at any moment. But he swayed unsteadily, refusing to die.

Seeing Wei Yuan's miserable state, the Dharma Image, though suffering greatly himself, still struggled to persevere. Another short while passed, and Wei Yuan still hadn't collapsed, but he could no longer bear it.

Fa Xiang stopped burning his essence blood and was about to utter a few harsh words when he suddenly saw Wei Yuan also stop and appear in front of him instantly! At the same time, a dragon guard appeared on each of his left and right sides.

Wei Yuan opened his mouth and blew out a wisp of cold air. The chilling aura of the immortal tree instantly stiffened the Dharma Image's magical power. Then, the three of them attacked with their swords in a chaotic manner, and the Dharma Image perished on the spot. Wei Yuan then grabbed the Dharma Image's waist pouch and turned to leave.

When the Dharma Masters arrived, they only saw the Dharma Master's corpse, its blood staining the sky, plummeting to the ground.

Everyone gasped in shock, and this time they dared not be alone again, chasing after the pursuer relentlessly.

In fact, Wei Yuan had just released a little of his remaining blood energy to show the Dharma image. The Dragon Eagle's blood energy was so vast that even a trace of it made Wei Yuan feel as if he was about to explode and die.

Seeing that the Dharma images were pursuing him relentlessly, Wei Yuan remained calm and took out two more cylinders, which he then placed on the seat frame.

Then, all four spray nozzles fired simultaneously, and Wei Yuan's speed increased to eight hundred miles per second. He quickly disappeared into the distance, leaving the several Dharma Aspects far behind. A moment later, he vanished from their perception range.

After flying several hundred miles, Wei Yuan stopped the two additional jets, reducing the speed to 500 miles per hour. This speed was close to the limit of the Dharma Aspects, and even the Dragon Eagle couldn't maintain it for long; the Dharma Aspects could no longer catch up.

However, after adding wings and using the water blade shape, Wei Yuan's Dao power consumption was reduced by half. At this speed, his Dao power only decreased slowly, allowing him to fly for a long time.

Zhang Sheng's consciousness remained intact, and he instructed Wei Yuan to add several small magic arrays to make the machine even more seamless.

After flying for another hour, Wei Yuan activated his concealment ability, suddenly changed direction, and flew straight west towards the Witch Domain.

Half an hour later, the Liao woman adorned with silver ornaments descended from the sky, appearing where Wei Yuan had turned. Complex patterns appeared in her eyes; after observing for a moment, she looked westward and sneered, "Trying to escape to the Witch Domain? No matter where you flee, you're doomed!"

She suddenly accelerated, streaking across the sky like a meteor as she chased after him westward. Not long after she left, a figure with a lizard head, several meters tall, appeared, exuding murderous intent, and immediately pursued her in the direction she had gone. The border between the Witch Domain and the Liao Domain was filled with magnificent scenery.

The green aura of the Wu region and the yellow aura of the Liao region intertwine yet remain clearly distinct. Villages can occasionally be seen below, each inhabiting the heart of its respective territory.

In some places, the green and yellow auras are indistinguishable, all blending together. However, the vegetation and life within these mixed regions are all distorted, including many extremely terrifying ferocious beasts. Fights between these beasts are a constant occurrence, a scene of madness and bloodshed.

Wei Yuan flew very low, only a few dozen feet above the ground. Every now and then, ferocious beasts would suddenly take flight, ready to pounce. However, Wei Yuan was too fast, and these beasts all missed their target, only able to watch him disappear into the distance.

In this border region, there are also cities. Most of them are not large, but they are heavily fortified with high walls and strong defenses. Each city is surrounded by pure Wu Domain or Liao Domain, which only begins to weaken several hundred miles away.

Looking at the scene below, Zhang Sheng said, "Whether it's the Wu tribe, the Liao tribe, or even the Guiche, Li, and mountain people you haven't seen yet, as their populations grow, they gradually change the surrounding environment. These cities are actually like our boundary stones."

Wei Yuan asked, "Why do we humans have to use boundary stones? Why doesn't living in groups have the same effect?"

Zhang Sheng said, "I pondered this question for a long time back then and consulted many teachers, but none of them could explain it clearly. They could only say that this is how the world is."

"It would be much better if we didn't need boundary stones," Wei Yuan sighed.

The key to human expansion lies in the Boundary Stones. The number of Boundary Stones determines the size of the territory, but the population growth rate far exceeds the expansion rate. Therefore, every so often, a portion of the human population is lost. Famines and wars largely stem from this.

Hearing Wei Yuan's words, Zhang Sheng said, "Our human race is situated in a land of constant warfare. Without boundary stones, expanding too quickly might lead to a united attack from other races, and then we would be close to extinction. The balance we need to strike is extremely delicate, and even a sage would find it difficult to achieve the perfect balance. Moreover, people's hearts are different; everyone wants to expand as much as possible, and who would be willing to expand their territory less? Therefore, using boundary stones to maintain this balance is a good thing."

Wei Yuan pondered, his thoughts growing ever deeper.

The two bypassed the city of the Witch Clan and began to venture deeper into the Witch Domain. Then Wei Yuan turned southeast, flying in a winding trajectory as he headed towards the Human Domain.

There was a persistent, lingering sense of danger behind him; it seemed the Liao people hadn't given up their pursuit. Therefore, Wei Yuan activated stealth throughout, maintaining a stable speed of 500 li per quarter. Although his flight path was complex, he could still close the distance to the human realm by one or two thousand li each hour.

Without the second fruit given to him by Bao Yun, Wei Yuan certainly wouldn't have been able to escape so easily. Even if Wei Yuan used all his power, this fruit would only leave a negligible trace in the world. Even a highly skilled cultivator with innate tracking abilities would have to stop and search carefully every now and then to track down Wei Yuan's whereabouts.

Without that Yin-Yang Reversal Pendant, Wei Yuan and Zhang Sheng would have either died first, and the final result would have been that neither of them would have survived.

Therefore, without the life-saving items sent by Bao Yun and the Bao family, the master and disciple would have long since turned to dust. Moreover, because their cultivation levels were too low, they wouldn't even qualify as dust in history.

Zhang Sheng, as one of the most talented disciples of the Tianqing Palace in this generation, was among the top in the entire palace. Yet, he didn't possess any life-saving items and had to rely on the Bao family for a gift. Moreover, if Wei Yuan hadn't been shameless enough to accept it, Zhang Sheng, given his personality, would definitely not have taken the jade pendant.

Thinking of this, Wei Yuan couldn't help but ask, "How exactly did our Azure Palace manage to be so poor?"

Zhang Sheng said irritably, "Don't you know how you did it?"

Wei Yuan replied, "That's not the real reason. Most of the resources I consume are borrowed from outside or newly earned over the past ten years. So before me, the palace was already very poor! Look at you, you don't even have a decent magic weapon."

"This all started with your master, Master Burning Sea..."

Wei Yuan, now with a different perspective, was no longer easily fooled and immediately said, "Grandmaster, how could you have such an ability?"

The Burning Sea Immortal is merely a Dharma form, and his Dharma form doesn't consume much resources; it certainly wouldn't go so far as to bankrupt the entire Azure Sky Palace.

"Oh, then it all started with your Ancestor Xuan Yue..."

As they traveled further south, the pursuers finally failed to catch up. The two discussed palace secrets along the way, and night fell in the blink of an eye. Wei Yuan found a natural cave, hid himself well, and then carefully arranged the interior before taking out a strip of cloth and blindfolding himself…

"It's getting late, let's get some rest!" Wei Yuan's voice was full of anticipation.

(End of this chapter)