Longzang

Chapter 389, Section 388: On Reason
Wei Yuan felt that he had grasped the true meaning of the phrase "keeping a low profile" over the past month, as he had not provoked anyone or gone out to fight for a whole month.

Before Wei Yuan stretched an endless expanse of grain fields. The rice seedlings had already grown to about a foot tall, and the harvest season would be in less than a month. At this time, the rice seedlings in the fields were still somewhat sparse and of varying heights, with an estimated yield of about two hundred catties of grain per mu.

This entire 100,000-mu (approximately 6,667 hectares) of farmland was newly cultivated. Wei Yuan scanned it with his divine sense and could perceive that the toxins in the soil were being absorbed by the seedlings little by little and then slowly transformed. It was estimated that the yield would increase by 10% in the next harvest season, and when the Jiamu Shengxuan (甲木生玄) recovered, it could increase by another 10%.

The yield of top-grade farmland in the human realm is about 400 catties. Qingming has only been established for nearly a year, and the best farmland already yields more than 300 catties. Given time, as the world further transforms, reaching the standard of top-grade farmland should not be a problem.

Wei Yuan not only grows his own grain, but also buys large quantities of grain from the surrounding areas, which has already driven up grain prices throughout the Western Regions.

Not far from Wei Yuan's line of sight, there was a patch of grayish-black rotten soil. However, the rotten soil had stopped expanding, and the poison was slowly being eliminated.

The thought that the grain harvest season was less than a month away filled Wei Yuan with joy, and he thought to himself, "Store up plenty of grain, and weigh it later..."

Wei Yuan suddenly realized something and quickly banished the thought from his mind.

At this moment, Yu Zhizhu flew over and tossed a box to Wei Yuan from afar before turning and leaving. Wei Yuan caught the box and asked, "Uncle-Master, why are you in such a hurry?"

Yu Zhizhuo's voice faded into the distance: "I just discovered a top-grade mineral vein in the west. It might contain spiritual creatures, so I have to go and capture it. Your gun is in the box; it's already been modified."

Before he finished speaking, I knew that the unworthy man had already gone far away.

Wei Yuan opened the box and saw a five-foot-long short spear inside, its entire body white as jade and covered with gold openwork patterns. At first glance, Wei Yuan could hardly recognize it as his own Immaculate Reincarnation Spear.

The Immaculate Reincarnation Weapon had been reforged by Yu Zhizhuo, with alterations to its structure and formation. It could now insert into Wei Yuan's flying sword magazine, firing flying swords in rapid succession, and a grip had been added to the rear for easier aiming and holding when firing. The muzzle still retained a slot for attaching the Crimson Night Immortal-Slaying Sword.

Picking up the Immaculate Reincarnation weapon, Wei Yuan went to the shooting range to test it out. This gun was now equivalent to a top-grade magic weapon, far more powerful than the gun Wei Yuan had haphazardly crafted himself. Its range, rate of fire, and power were all completely superior. Each flying sword shot carried the full force of a Foundation Establishment strike.

However, times have changed. After Wei Yuan returned to Qingming, the vast land and rivers revived, and his daily Dao power naturally recovered dozens of times more than before. The number of awakened Dao Foundation warriors also increased to ten. Thanks to their tireless work day and night, the flying swords in the Dao Foundation are now piled up like mountains, numbering in the tens of thousands. Looking at the mountain of flying swords, Wei Yuan felt for the first time that the barrels of the Immaculate Reincarnation guns were a bit insufficient.

At this moment, Wei Yuan thought of Xu Wenwu's toad. Looking back now, it seems that the guy was farsighted. The weapons he had were either powerful or heavy, unlike Wei Yuan's half-baked weapon, which was too weak to even mention firepower.

After putting away the Immaculate Reincarnation, Wei Yuan took out a map and began planning the new grain fields.

The Azure Sky now covers an area of ​​300 li, so Wei Yuan has planned two phases of new farmland, each covering 500,000 mu. Once these two phases are completed, the realm will have 2 million mu of farmland, producing 400 million jin of grain each season. Wei Yuan is already considering whether to introduce the system of measurement from the outer world, otherwise the current numbers are simply too large, making accounting difficult.

Just as Wei Yuan was striving to accumulate grain, someone suddenly reported: "Lord of the Realm, Li Zhi, the military governor of Zhenshan in Zhao State, has sent an urgent report! He was ambushed and defeated, and is surrounded by the mountain people on Mount Emei. He requests that the Lord of the Realm send troops to rescue him!"

"What?" Wei Yuan was startled. He reached out and snatched the urgent report, unfolding it to read it carefully.

The letter requesting aid included a map showing the location of Mount Emei, the surrounding mountain settlements, and the approximate distribution of troops. It also included a claim about Li Zhi's Taoist powers to verify its authenticity.

The letter stated that Li Zhi led his army in a major battle against the mountain people, but was ambushed and now only has 5,000 followers left, while the mountain people surrounding him number over 100,000.

Wei Yuan calculated the distance and location, and only Qingming was closest to Li Zhi. Because Li Zhi was too ambitious, he advanced nearly 10,000 li in one go. Now, the other border garrisons of Zhao were all stationed further away than Qingming. Moreover, the procedures for mobilizing border troops were complicated. By the time a sufficient number of troops could be mobilized, Li Zhi would have been destroyed long ago.

Wei Yuan immediately ordered the mobilization of troops, with the entire Longxiang and Longyi armies mobilized, along with 10,000 regular troops.

Just as they were waiting for the army to assemble, someone suddenly rushed to report: "Lord, a monk said he wanted to confront you, but we told him you were busy. He then forced his way in, and we really couldn't stop him..."

Wei Yuan looked directly into the distance, where a point of Buddhist light was rapidly approaching, with more than a dozen cultivators chasing after it, but they couldn't catch up no matter what they did.

Within the Buddha's light was a young monk, exceptionally handsome, dressed in a moon-white robe with flowing sleeves, appearing as if walking on water, his elegance unparalleled. Wei Yuan frowned slightly; at this moment, he was focused on saving lives, how could he have time to pay attention to this inexplicable young monk? Last time, this young monk had suddenly come to his door to argue, his reasoning nonsensical, which Wei Yuan considered utter nonsense.

Wei Yuan remembered that he hadn't held back at all last time and had beaten the little monk black and blue. Why was this guy here again? Had he mastered some powerful magic, or was he secretly following his sect elders?

Seeing that the young monk's cultivation was only at the peak of the Dao Foundation stage, Wei Yuan felt that his victory was unfair and did not intend to get entangled with him.

In the blink of an eye, the young monk stood in front of Wei Yuan, put his palms together and said, "This humble monk is Honglian, benefactor Wei, we meet again."

Wei Yuan said impatiently, "Speak quickly if you have something to say!"

The young monk sighed and said, "I had just learned some more principles and intended to have a good talk with you, benefactor. But you have been acting perversely lately, and your actions are beyond the reach of ordinary Buddhist teachings. You need a wake-up call to make you realize your mistake and return to the right path."

Instead of being angry, Wei Yuan laughed and said, "Tell me, how have I acted perversely?"

"Master Wei has repeatedly waged war, creating boundless bloodshed. For example, the great battle with the Xu family the other day resulted in tens of thousands of innocent souls being lost out of thin air."

Wei Yuan narrowed his eyes and said coldly, "Little monk, watch your words! In the last great battle, countless loyal and brave men of Qingming died. Their reputation cannot be tarnished by your lies! If you insist on speaking your mind, then let me tell you frankly, I have killed people from your Great Baohua Pure Land before. One of the Ming Kings of this generation was sent to be reincarnated by me! Do you also want to die?"

The young monk remained expressionless and said, "It seems that you are not receptive to Buddhist teachings. Oh well, my martial arts skills have improved somewhat anyway."

He first clasped his hands in prayer, then slowly opened them. A glimmer of blood appeared between his snow-white hands, which instantly transformed into a small lake rippling with blood. He was covered in a layer of blood, as if he were wearing a scarlet robe.

Wei Yuan first glanced at the brass clasp on the blood-red kasaya. This clasp was clearly no ordinary object; it actually brought Wei Yuan noticeable pressure. It was at least a high-grade magic treasure, something that ordinary Dharma Aspect cultivators could not possess.

Wei Yuan looked up again, gazing at the sky.

Beyond the heavens, a majestic will seemed somewhat surprised, saying, "Such keen perception seems to be an innate supernatural ability."

This young monk was indeed well-prepared, carrying a top-grade protective magic treasure and undoubtedly possessing a inherited Dharma body, certainly no less powerful than Shan Kai's Golden Body of the Bright King. With elders protecting him outside the heavens, he's practically a top-tier disciple of a celestial sect. It's just unknown whether he possesses other magic treasures, similar to the Immortal Lord aura Wei Yuan carried when he went to the Western Regions.

Judging from the way the little monk made his entrance, Wei Yuan assumed he had it.

Seeing that the little monk Honglian had already taken a fighting stance, Wei Yuan no longer held back. He picked up the Wugou Reincarnation Gun, inserted a flying sword magazine with a click, and then, with a roar, a long stream of fire shot out from the muzzle, and twenty flying swords instantly slammed into the little monk Honglian!

When a magazine was emptied, the little monk's blood-red robe was torn to shimmering pieces, only the copper buttons still gleaming. But Wei Yuan instantly replaced the magazine, and the gunfire continued unabated, as if it had never stopped.

Countless flying swords rained down on the young monk like a storm, instantly shattering the light from the copper clasp and tearing his moon-white robes. A golden body had just appeared, but before it could be clearly seen, it was already destroyed by the countless flying swords.

Wei Yuan finally stopped, blew away the smoke rising from the gun barrel, and then looked at the little monk who was covered in flying swords and lying on the ground, unable to get up. The little monk had said that his martial arts had improved a little, but Wei Yuan hadn't seen his fists or feet, nor had he grasped the Buddhist teachings, and hadn't even seen the golden body clearly. A flurry of flying swords had already subdued the monk.

Wei Yuan had a vague feeling that it was necessary to reassess the power of the Immaculate Rebirth after the magazine was changed.

Wei Yuan picked up the ragged, bruised and swollen little monk and threw him outside the boundary.

This time, Wei Yuan didn't even bother to say a word. He just snorted and flew away to join the army.

(End of this chapter)