Longzang

Chapter 376 Peaceful years
Two disciples led Wei Yuan to the cave dwelling assigned to him. The cave dwelling was not large, but all the necessary supplies had been provided. The front half of the cave dwelling was a courtyard, while the back half, nestled in the rock wall, contained a cultivation room connected to the spiritual vein.

Wei Yuan first checked his Heavenly Merit Points and found that they had indeed increased by 20,000, 10,000 of which were a gift from Changmei. This increase in Heavenly Merit Points was within Wei Yuan's expectations and he was not surprised.

Although he couldn't update his Heavenly Merit in real time while in the North, Wei Yuan had a general idea of ​​how much Heavenly Merit he could gain, with a difference of no more than a thousand. However, judging from the final Heavenly Merit, Long Ying was stronger than he had imagined, and gained more Heavenly Merit than expected.

Having gained so much merit over the past few days, Wei Yuan originally intended to pay off part of his debts first. However, he felt it would be best to consult Ancestor Xuan Yue first, and let him decide after he emerged from seclusion.

After bathing and changing his clothes, Wei Yuan left the cave to visit Zhang Sheng.

Zhang Sheng's residence was not far away. At this moment, he was reading by the window in his study, calm and focused, his profile so beautiful and smooth that it seemed to be glowing slightly.

Wei Yuan entered the study and had already walked to Zhang Sheng's side, but after being glared at by her, he had no choice but to obediently take two steps back and sit in the guest seat.

Zhang Sheng put down the book in his hand and said, "How many times have I told you? You must not overstep the bounds of propriety after returning to the mountain gate. The True Lord holds power and has the ability to monitor the heavens and earth within the mountain gate. Normally, things might be a little more relaxed, but now it's wartime. The True Lord won't care about so much and will definitely inspect every corner of the mountain gate to prevent the enemy from infiltrating and causing chaos. Right now, you and I might be in the sight of some True Lord. Of course, they should know their place and not eavesdrop on our conversation."

Wei Yuan said, "Even a True Lord can't see everything, can he? Besides, we just returned from a bloody battle in the north, why are you watching us?"

Zhang Sheng said, "Nonsense! It's precisely people like us who need to be closely monitored. We'll only relax our surveillance after a while, once we're certain there are no hidden traps left by the alien race on our bodies."

Such examples are not uncommon in historical records. Those who returned from the enemy, whether they were undercover agents or captured and released, always experienced many twists and turns upon their return, and there was no shortage of suspicion and distrust.

Although Zhang Sheng and Wei Yuan's past experiences were not problematic, no one knew whether they were secretly plotted against by the enemy. Even the True Lord had made mistakes before.

Although Wei Yuan was bold and decisive in his actions, there were some things he simply could not do in front of several True Lords.

He could only sit up and say, "Master Danming said that there is a problem with your Daoist heart."

Zhang Sheng glared at him and said, "It has less than 10% to do with you, so don't overthink it. To put it simply, I used the Immortal Sword to cultivate an invincible heart. But after the battle with the Heavenly Witch from afar, the Immortal Sword shattered, and the sword formation was destroyed. But the real key point is that I discovered that even if I follow the current path to the end, I still can't defeat the Heavenly Witch. That's what made me waver and decide to rethink my path forward."

Wei Yuan remained silent for a moment, then said, "That Heavenly Witch, wouldn't she be ranked among the top in this era?"

“Not bad.” Zhang Sheng nodded.

Among humans, there are probably no more than three immortals who could rival a celestial sorcerer capable of unleashing the Great Curse of Cause and Effect. Does Zhang Sheng's belief that he might not be able to defeat him in the future affect his Dao heart?

But that's Zhang Sheng for you; no matter where she stands, she always looks to something higher.

Master was preparing to redefine the path of cultivation, and Wei Yuan had no good suggestions. However, this path was destined to be difficult. Zhang Sheng already possessed three immortal swords capable of overwhelming many talented immortal foundation cultivators; with the emergence of his fourth, he reached the pinnacle. Looking across generations, only Ji Liuli and Feng Chutang could rival him. If Wei Yuan remained within the vast land, and Zhang Sheng's sword formation was completed, he would undoubtedly become the number one immortal foundation cultivator of the Taichu Palace.

Now, how difficult it is to take another step forward from this foundation!

At this moment, Zhang Sheng was bathed in sunlight, possessing a simple yet exquisite beauty that was second to none. His hands, in particular, were captivating, whether he was holding a book or casually resting on the armrest.

Wei Yuan quietly moved his chair and silently approached Zhang Sheng.

Zhang Sheng looked up, his imposing presence commanding respect, forcing Wei Yuan to halt his approach and stare intently at her hand.

Suddenly, the hand stretched out its five fingers and lifted slightly.

Wei Yuan finally understood her meaning, and was both surprised and delighted. He was nervous and reached out his hand, but then hesitated and asked, "Is it okay? Won't the True Lords find out?"

“Once the True Lord takes control of the mountain gate, the divine consciousness becomes equivalent to the mountain gate's spirit, possessing its own sentience. It won't report every little thing to the True Lord. It won't care about such trivial matters.”

Wei Yuan then grew bolder and took her hand.

The sunlight outside the window was warm and the breeze was gentle. The soft light flowed over the two people sitting hand in hand, like a luminous stream, thus creating a slowly unfolding picture.

After an unknown amount of time, the wind blew through the flowering trees outside the window, and a few petals flew in and landed on me, breaking the silence.

Wei Yuan suddenly realized he had lost track of time; an hour had passed without him noticing. Meanwhile, Zhang Sheng's book remained stuck on that one page.

Zhang Sheng suddenly smiled slightly and said, "It's not bad to be able to waste a period of time like this."

Wei Yuan suddenly had a thought and exclaimed inwardly, "It seems like a True Monarch's divine sense just passed by. Could they... already know?" Zhang Sheng said calmly, "It doesn't matter. They'll find out sooner or later."

Wei Yuan's somewhat uneasy heart suddenly calmed down.

Zhang Sheng said, "The sect master will be out of seclusion for a few more days. If you have nothing to do, you can participate in the defense of the northern mountain gate, make some contributions to the sect, and purify your cultivation while you're at it."

"I will."

As evening fell, Wei Yuan flew to a camp at the front lines and handed his identity token to a Taoist priest in the camp. This Taoist priest was clad in heavy armor, had a long sword at his waist, and several scars on his face, making him look particularly fierce and ferocious.

He examined the identity token and palace documents that Wei Yuan had handed over, scrutinized Wei Yuan from head to toe, and said, "Are you Wei Yuan, the one who established Qingming in the west and wiped out hundreds of thousands of Wu tribe members and Xu family private troops?"

"Exactly."

The Taoist laughed heartily, his voice booming like a bell. He slapped Wei Yuan hard on the shoulder and said, "I am Xuan Tongzi, the Taoist in charge of war! Putting aside everything else, what I admire most are those who have killed the most alien races! Wait, you, your cultivation level..."

Xuan Tong looked more closely and saw that Wei Yuan was not hiding anything. His Dao power was rising with spiritual energy, like patches of light mist, and there were also faint signs of various immortal scenes. It was obvious that he had achieved great success in spirituality and Dao power, and was only one step away from becoming a Dharma body.

Xuan Tong looked at Wei Yuan's identity jade tablet again, almost unable to believe his eyes. Even if Wei Yuan spent two or three years to achieve the Dharma Aspect, he was still not even twenty years old at that time. A Dharma Aspect True Person who was not even twenty years old was truly astonishing.

Xuan Tong quickly understood: "Junior Brother wants to consolidate his cultivation and also share the burden for the palace. In that case, you can choose any of these positions and hold them for seven days."

The Taoist priest led Wei Yuan to a huge defense map and pointed to several key locations on it.

Wei Yuan then asked, "What is the current state of the battle?"

The Taoist then opened another map, which was much larger, covering the entire northern mountain gate and parts of the borders of various countries. It marked the current battle lines and the distribution of troops at key nodes.

"This time, the Liao tribe has been continuously reinforcing its troops, mobilizing a total of several dozen tribes and millions of cavalry. Nearly two million of them are surrounding our northern mountain gate. The strategy of the True Lords is to defend our fortifications and keep bleeding the Liao people dry. Every day we fight below, while the True Lords fight in the heavens. It's a matter of who can outlast whom."

On the map, the yellow area representing the Liao people has been extending southward from both flanks. The northern gate of the Taichu Palace now resembles a mushroom, with only a thin strip connecting it to other human nations.

Wei Yuan's current camp is located at the handle of the umbrella; if it is breached, the Liao tribe will be one step closer to encircling the area. Seeing this map, Wei Yuan realized the perilous situation at the northern mountain gate. Once the Liao tribe breaks through the handle and converges from the east and west, they will completely surround the northern mountain gate.

The northern mountain gate originally covered an area of ​​six thousand li, but now the outer perimeter of more than a thousand li has fallen into the hands of the Liao people.

Wei Yuan has also led a large army to fight. From the map, it can be seen that the True Lords of Taichu Palace gradually gave up the frontier lands in exchange for killing more Liao people.

However, after the Liao people occupied the land, they would send large armies to garrison it. The land affected by their military might would become dehydrated and turn into lifeless, useless yellow earth. Even if there was water, it would be difficult to grow anything on this kind of soil, and it would need to be repeatedly fertilized year after year to become fertile again.

Therefore, both sides have a clear strategy: Taichu Palace will destroy people, and Northern Liao will destroy land. It's just a matter of who can't hold out first.

"Who are the strongest members of the Liao people in this region?"

Xuan Tong said, "The main force is Commander Cang Lei, who has twenty commanders of thousands under his command. His troops include 30,000 elite iron cavalry, 100,000 light cavalry, and 100,000 infantry. Our defensive forces are distributed in more than a dozen military camps, totaling 50,000."

Looking at the map, Wei Yuan finally said, "I can only stay here for seven days, and then I have to return to the Western Regions. During these seven days, my main objective is to kill the enemy."

"Junior brother, don't take any risks. Hold the position first, and then we can talk about other things," Xuan Tong reminded him.

Although Xuan Tong was a Dharma Aspect, Wei Yuan was only one step away from becoming a Dharma Aspect as well. Therefore, he did not treat Wei Yuan as a junior, but rather as an equal.

Wei Yuan said, "Take me to the warehouse first. As long as you give me enough military supplies, the rest is just a matter of counting military merits."

An hour later, Wei Yuan, leading fifty elite Dao soldiers and riding four large carts, arrived at the fortified camp at the forefront before nightfall. After handing over command to the garrison commander, Wei Yuan assumed command.

Afterwards, Wei Yuan surveyed the terrain, took stock of the military strength, distributed the military supplies he had brought, assembled weapons, and prepared to bleed the Liao people dry.

At this turbulent time, Wei Yuan is nearing completion of his cultivation and it is time to report back to the palace. Even if it only lasts a few days, as long as it can have some slight impact on the battle situation, it will be good.

(End of this chapter)