Longzang

Chapter 499 The Pinnacle of Daoist Discussion
The Qingming region, having survived the catastrophe, was scarred and covered in white silk.

The city that needs the most cleanup is Yong'an City. This core city of Qingming originally housed over 100,000 people, but under Hongye's curse, tens of thousands were killed, and tens of thousands more were crippled. Less than half of the residents escaped unharmed.

There were originally several thousand children in the city, but because they were captivated by the beauty of the falling autumn leaves, they recklessly reached out to touch them, and as a result, they all died tragically.

In addition, nearly ten thousand people died sporadically under the red leaves throughout the entire realm. In total, more than sixty thousand people died from the red leaves' witchcraft, and another forty thousand were crippled.

Wei Yuan rushed to Yong'an City immediately after the battle and dispatched all his Dao Foundation warriors to assist in the rescue. Several squares in the city were filled with the wounded, and Sun Yu and more than twenty apprentices with innate life-giving water Dao Foundation were doing their best to treat them. Xu Henshui also led his fellow disciples from the Creation Temple to help.

Cai Shizhi and all his disciples were busy treating the wounded. Scholars often studied medical books as well, and many great Confucian scholars were also famous doctors.

Upon seeing Wei Yuan, Cai Shizhi approached, his face showing signs of exhaustion. He said, "My four disciples died from witchcraft. They were still young, and I didn't feel comfortable letting them go to the battlefield, so I kept them in the city to teach. I never expected that this would actually harm them."

Wei Yuan said, "This was the work of the Wu Clan, Mr. Cai, there's no need to blame yourself. The Wu Clan is utterly depraved, resorting to such heinous magic. Rest assured, I will definitely seek justice!"

Cai Shizhi nodded and said wearily, "More than a dozen students have died in the academy. They were all promising students. Sigh! You go ahead and do your work. I still have to go and save people."

Wei Yuan arrived at Sun Yu's office, where Sun Yu was moving around, examining each patient. His medical skills were superb; he made a diagnosis with just a glance at the wound: "Amputation, amputation, amputation, wait to die, wait to die, amputation..."

Occasionally, Sun Yu would also step in to save people, such as a man whose legs had been severed at the knees and who had lost too much blood. Sun Yu unleashed two bursts of his inner energy, instantly charring the severed leg wounds and sealing them. After a few days, the charred flesh would fall off on its own, and the wounds would be considered healed.

Upon seeing Wei Yuan arrive, Sun Yu used his magic to suppress his voice and asked, "These people will all be a burden in the future. There are too many of them. Should we save fewer?"

In reality, most ordinary people would die instantly if they lost a limb. Only those with profound medical skills like Sun Yu could survive. Even if they did survive, they would be seen as a burden, and indeed, a hindrance.

Wei Yuan said, "Give them the treatment that ordinary people should receive, and save as many as possible."

"Okay." Sun Yu continued the treatment.

The so-called treatment for mortals consisted of simple Taoist techniques and common medicine. In fact, the Taoist arts of cultivators used on mortals were no less effective than miraculous elixirs. With Sun Yu's intervention, most of those present would have survived.

In Wei Yuan's view, whether they are a burden or not is a matter for the future. If they are not rescued now, what is the point of these people coming to Qingming, and what is the point of those who bravely sacrificed their lives on the front line?

Including those who died in the rear, Qingming's casualties in this battle have exceeded 200,000. The Wu Clan suffered even greater losses, with at least tens of thousands of seriously wounded warriors who returned succumbing to their wounds.

The witch race has a far more severe caste system than the human race. The vast majority are slaves and outcasts, with only a very small number of witches belonging to a noble race. At the top are the witches, followed by the nobles. Slaves and outcasts die and no one cares.

When commoners are wounded on the battlefield, they are left to fend for themselves after being carried back, their fate entirely dependent on their own vitality. Therefore, when shamans of lower races reach adulthood, they often choose the power of lizards, crocodiles, or even certain shamanic insects, precisely for their formidable vitality and regenerative abilities.

Wei Yuan estimated that the final number of Wu Clan casualties would be around 400,000. The difference was that the vast majority of those who died on Qingming's side were civilians, with only 20,000 being well-trained warriors. In contrast, the Wu Clan's casualties were mostly well-trained warriors, including tens of thousands of battle-hardened elites.

The first major battle between the two sides resulted in a total of over 600,000 deaths, a truly devastating event.

Wei Yuan suddenly spotted a familiar figure in the city. The person was dressed as a scholar, wearing a bamboo hat, and their mouth and nose were covered by a silk scarf. Wei Yuan flashed and appeared beside her, saying, "Teacher, what brings you here?"

This person was none other than Zhang Sheng in disguise. She said, "I want to wander around the battlefield and find the answer to one question. This is the last question; after I find the answer, I will begin the foundation-building process."

"Have you found the answer?" Zhang Sheng nodded and said, "Almost, now it's just the final verification. Oh, by the way, I heard that a girl named Su Xuejing came to the Sword Palace last time. She's quite the braggart... Oh, and she has a very deep understanding of swordsmanship. If we have the chance to meet again, bring her to see me. We can discuss the Dao with her and I might learn something from her."

Wei Yuan said, "There's another one in the Sword Palace named Shangguan Qianmo, who also cultivates one of the seven palace-guarding immortal swords, 'Flowers Blooming on the Road.' Should we invite him over as well?"

"Shangguan Qianmo? Never heard of him. The seven so-called immortal swords of the Sword Palace are outdated, flashy but impractical, nothing to see, and of no help to me."

At that moment, a cold snort came from the air, saying, "What arrogance! How dare you say that our Seven Swords of the Palace are nothing to see? If you don't explain this to me clearly, you won't let this matter rest today!"

Wei Yuan looked up and saw Shangguan Qianmo standing in mid-air, coldly looking down at the two of them, her expression naturally extremely unpleasant. Sword cultivators are not known for their good temper, so how could they tolerate being pointed at and talked about to their faces?
Wei Yuan felt a deep headache. He had already discovered Shangguan Qianmo and was thinking of bringing him over to discuss swordsmanship with his teacher, so that Zhang Sheng could have some inspiration. However, he did not expect that Zhang Sheng would look down on the Seven Swords of the Sword Palace. This was tantamount to a slap in the face, which was intolerable.

Although Wei Yuan also felt that the Seven Swords of the Sword Palace he had witnessed were not very impressive, the Sword Palace had a great reputation, so Wei Yuan always believed that it was the cultivators who were incompetent, not the swords themselves.

Zhang Sheng looked up and asked, "May I ask which senior from the Sword Palace is standing before me?"

"Senior...am I that old?" Shangguan Qianmo's expression turned even more unpleasant.

Zhang Sheng said calmly, "There is no order of precedence in learning; those who have attained the highest level are my teachers. Since your current cultivation level is higher than mine, it is only right that I address you as a senior."

Wei Yuan stood to the side, wanting nothing more than to facepalm.

It must be said that, aside from her weak legs, Shangguan Qianmo is quite beautiful, and the angrier she gets, the more beautiful she becomes. However, when it comes to arguing, her and Zhang Sheng's levels of skill are reversed.

Thinking of this, Wei Yuan couldn't help but feel secretly relieved that Su Xuejing wasn't there... No, Shangguan Qianmo is here, so why wouldn't he be?
Wei Yuan was startled, and then heard a gentle voice in the air say, "Sword Palace Su Xuejing greets Mr. Zhang Sheng. I am delighted to hear that you wish to discuss swordsmanship with me. Since we are destined to meet, how about we find a quiet place to discuss the way of the sword? If this can be of any help to you, I will be overjoyed."

Wei Yuan felt a sudden darkness before his eyes and sighed inwardly, his only hope being that Su Xuejing hadn't heard the complete sentence.

Based on Wei Yuan's understanding of Zhang Sheng, purely in terms of swordsmanship, he is definitely superior to Shangguan Qianmo, but he has no confidence against Su Xuejing. To be precise, he has no chance of winning at all.

Wei Yuan immediately said, "The great battle has just ended, and both my teacher and I have many things to do. How about we reschedule?"

At this moment, Zhang Sheng had just rebuilt her Dao Heart, and Wei Yuan did not want her to confront Su Xuejing so soon. Zhang Sheng needed to cultivate an invincible heart, so she had to be extremely careful when facing other top cultivators, especially a peerless genius like Su Xuejing.

To everyone's surprise, Zhang Sheng said, "That would be perfect. It would be a good opportunity to observe the immortal swords beyond the Seven Swords."

When Zhang Sheng spoke, Wei Yuan could only sigh and led everyone to the main peak, inviting them into his cultivation room.

Shangguan Qianmo entered first, her face dark the entire time. This girl was clearly someone who couldn't hide her feelings; her likes and dislikes were written all over her face. Zhang Sheng followed, while Su Xuejing and Wei Yuan lagged behind.

Su Xuejing suddenly said softly, "I've been in this industry for many years, and this is the first time I've heard someone say I'm good at bragging, haha!"

Only Wei Yuan could hear his voice. Su Xuejing patted Wei Yuan on the shoulder and stepped into the cultivation room.

(End of this chapter)