Longzang

Chapter 517 Where People's Hearts Belong
As Huang Yun Zhenjun's figure gradually faded, she suddenly stopped speaking and smiled, saying, "The time has come; it is time to return."

She transformed into a wisp of blue light, flew northwest, and finally landed in the mountains a hundred miles behind the former Ding'an City.

An indescribable source of wood slowly rose, and tender greenery instantly covered the mountains within a hundred miles. The mountains stretched endlessly, with a small mountain in the center growing segment by segment, eventually rising three hundred feet high. A small tree grew on the summit, its branches swaying in the wind.

Around this newly formed mountain peak, countless trees grew and towered, transforming into dense forests in the blink of an eye. The trees on the mountaintop, in the valleys, and along the streams were all different. The vitality and spiritual energy of this forest were no less than that of the northern gate of the Taichu Palace, only slightly inferior to the main mountain.

A massive influx of Wood Essence continuously poured into Qingming, causing its already nearly depleted nourishment to rapidly rise, surpassing its previous peak in the blink of an eye, and it has not stopped yet.

The limit of the Azure Netherworld's range has been rapidly expanding from the original thousand miles to fifteen hundred miles in the blink of an eye! As long as the nurturing continues, the speed of the realm's expansion will increase significantly.

The power of Jia wood generating Xuan has been greatly enhanced, transforming from a characteristic to a divine power. Its name has also automatically manifested as Jianmu Shengxuan, in accordance with the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth. Now, in the core of Qingming's medicinal garden, the growth rate of spiritual herbs is forty times that of the outside world, comparable to the top-grade medicinal garden of Taichu Palace.

As the life's essence of True Lord Huangyun gradually merged into Azure Nether, the Azure Nether Immortal Stone's status rose slightly, becoming even more closely aligned with the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth. The immortal seated within Azure Nether seemed to have gained a touch more spirituality, his eyes half-open.

Its wondrous and unparalleled Dao Domain resonated with the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth, and underwent further changes, becoming even more profound and unpredictable. This time, it was automatically named: The Unparalleled Dao Domain of Heaven and Earth.

As Qingming was enhanced in all aspects, the main peak also expanded accordingly, becoming taller and thicker, until the summit became more than 300 zhang in circumference, making it appear much more spacious.

In the middle of the vast ocean of mortal life, a piece of land suddenly rose up. The land was flat, and a sapling grew there all by itself. The moment it appeared, mortal life trembled, the spirituality of all the spiritual plants increased slightly, and the progress of the mortal life's cultivation of the spirit realm instantly advanced by half, now only the last ten percent remained.

Despite all these changes, Wei Yuan couldn't be happy at all.

He had only met Huang Yunzhenjun a few times, and could not be said to know him well. But sometimes, the depth of understanding does not depend on how many times you meet.

Huang Yun Zhenjun's visit was only partly for Bao Yun; the majority of his purpose was to further strengthen the foundation of Tai Chu Palace in the Western Regions.

The True Lords of Taichu Palace had long been watching Wei Yuan, and had witnessed his actions after establishing Qingming. Therefore, when True Lord Huangyun knew that his demise was inevitable, he rushed to Qingming, using his own body to add another weight to the situation.

The kindness shown to him by his seniors often made Wei Yuan's eyes sting, as if sand had entered them.

When the gushing of the Wood's essence ceased, True Lord Huangyun had completely passed away, vanishing into the world. The gates of reincarnation in all realms remained silent, suggesting that Huangyun's true spirit had gone elsewhere.

The monk Qiuyue put his palms together, chanted Buddhist mantras, and said, "The great deeds of True Lord Huangyun are truly a model for us! Alas, I only study the Nineteen Paths of Horizontal and Vertical Strategies every day, which is already a low level. Compared with True Lord Huangyun, I am ashamed and have no face to see anyone."

True Lord Xuan Yue advised, "There is also the true meaning of the Great Dao within the Nineteen Paths of Horizontal and Vertical. Studying it thoroughly will help your cultivation. Master Qiu Yue, there is no need to be so hard on yourself."

The other True Lords remained silent, their hearts filled with desolation.

At this moment, the iron curtain of the sky gradually opened, the will of the Ancestral Witch faded, and he could faintly sense the gaze of the monster from beyond the sky.

All the Imperial Realm experts concealed their auras. Wei Boyang sighed, shook his head, and disappeared. The two Imperial Realm elders from the Cui family pulled Cui Yu aside for a few words before also vanishing.

Finally, Chen Zhou and Monk Qiuyue came to Wei Yuan and pointed to the two cultivators following them, saying, "These two are Xuanjizi and Canglongshi, both of whom are famous masters in the world, far superior to the two of us."

Wei Yuan quickly bowed. Xuanji Zi and Canglong Shi were renowned throughout the land, their chess skills were nearly perfect, and their cultivation was exceptionally high. The arrival of these five Imperial Realm experts had startled the Wu Clan, which was the main reason for their retreat.

These two are true masters, belonging to the entire Grand Tang level. As for Chenzhou and Qiuyue Monk, they can only be considered masters of the Wu Kingdom, and there is a difference in their skill levels.

Canglong Shi stroked his beard and said, "The great battle has just ended, and young friend Wei must have many things to attend to. How about this, we find a place with a ley line, build a hut, and wait until young friend Wei is done with his work before we discuss the art of chess again, what do you say?"

Wei Yuan was naturally delighted, so he said, "Wherever you seniors fancy, please go ahead."

Canglong Shi said, "It's good to hear you say that, young friend. We plan to select a plot of land next to the herb garden and then wait for your arrival."

These masters seemed to possess special abilities, paying little attention to the gazes of the extraterrestrial monsters, and able to move freely in the Azure Sky after concealing their auras.

Xuan Yue Zhenjun and the other Zhenjuns could not stay for long; they would either go to the outer heavens or leave the Shattered Domain.

After handling the affairs of True Monarch Huangyun, Wei Yuan focused on dealing with the post-war cleanup. In the Third Great War, the Witch Clan once again left behind 400,000 corpses, while Qingming suffered 190,000 casualties, half of whom died under Hongye's Starry Sky Collapse attack.

The generals were already quite adept at handling the aftermath. They moved the bodies, identified the victims, registered them, and then transported the bodies to Mount Eleven for burial.

There were simply too many corpses at Yinglingshan to bury them all at once, so they were piled up in ice pits and buried slowly.

The corpses of the Wu tribe were transported to the storage area as before, where they were allowed to slowly dissipate their essence and be transformed into human domain energy before being burned and buried as ashes.

Having finally finished dealing with everything, Wei Yuan flew to the place where True Lord Huangyun had passed away. Gazing at the newly formed mountain peak and the new trees atop it, he watched quietly, and unknowingly, a drop of scalding water fell from its summit. According to the palace's historical records, the True Lords of Taichu Palace throughout history had diverse personalities; many were petty and vindictive, but when faced with life and death, they were all magnanimous and insightful, calmly accepting both defeat in battle and passing away peacefully. True Lord Huangyun was no exception.

Just then, Su Xuejing appeared beside Wei Yuan. She took a flask of wine and downed most of it in one gulp. Then she shook the flask and handed the rest to Wei Yuan, saying, "It seems there's not much left."

Wei Yuan tilted his head back and drank it all in one gulp, then tossed the wine jug into the forest below.

Su Xuejing let out a long sigh and then left.

At the mountain peak, beside a small tree, Bao Yun, exhausted from crying, lay down on a rock and fell into a deep sleep. Wei Yuan quietly appeared behind her, took off his outer robe, and gently covered Bao Yun with it.

Bao Yun was exhausted and had fallen asleep long ago, but when she suddenly opened her eyes, she saw that she was surrounded by a vast sea.

The sea was smooth as a mirror, without wind or waves, and a thick fog lingered in the distance. She looked around and realized that she was on a deserted island. There was nothing on the island except for a large tree. The tree was two zhang tall, with only three or four branches extending from the top, each with one or two leaves.

This tree looks just like the Heavenly Jianmu, the Dharma Image of True Lord Huangyun, only it's just a sapling at this moment. But there is definitely the aura of Huangyun on this tree.

Bao Yun leaned against the tree, and tears began to flow again without her realizing it.

At this moment, a thunderous sound suddenly rang out in the distant sky, causing Bao Yun to instinctively tremble, and even her Dao Foundation trembled slightly.

Bao Yun hurriedly got up and looked into the distance. She saw tribulation clouds appearing in the sky and a bolt of lightning falling from the sky. However, the sea was shrouded in mist, so it was impossible to see who was undergoing the tribulation.

Bao Yun suddenly realized: "Is this the human world? Have I come in?"

But even after entering, it seemed to be of no use. There was no one to be seen, and all around was the vast sea. On the island, there was only a towering Jianmu tree carrying the aura of Huangyun Zhenjun.

Bao Yun arrived at the beach and reached out to touch the seawater. Suddenly, something shot towards her finger like lightning! Fortunately, the little thing flashed with silver light, which alerted Bao Yun, and she immediately withdrew her hand.

In the water was a silver fish the size of an ant, yet it moved with the speed of an arrow, its movements shimmering with a cold light, and it looked extremely ferocious. Bao Yun's heart skipped a beat, knowing that crossing the sea was probably impossible; who knew what other ferocious creatures might lurk in the ocean.

She tried to take off, but her body was too heavy, and she barely managed to lift three feet off the ground before falling back down.

It seems I'm going to be stuck on this island?
Bao Yun circled around but found nothing. So she returned to the tree, sat down, leaned against it, and slowly closed her eyes.

When she opened her eyes again, she saw that she was wearing Wei Yuan's outer robe. Only then did she feel the soreness all over her body. During the battle, she had taken two fatal blows from Hongye. Not only were all the protective magic treasures on her body wiped out, but she also had countless hidden injuries on her body.

A martial artist with the Enlightened Foundation landed on the mountain peak and said, "Your new residence is ready. Shall I take you there to see it?"

Bao Yun nodded and flew away with the Dao Foundation Warrior.

Wei Yuan prepared two residences for Bao Yun. One was on the main peak, and the other was a small courtyard built on the edge of a forest that had been cultivated by True Monarch Huang Yun after the original Ding'an City. The courtyard was hastily built, with blue tiles and white walls, and a simple layout. However, a lotus flower swayed in a pond at the winding path, creating a uniquely elegant environment.

Bao Yun entered the courtyard and saw several boxes on the table in the main hall, all bearing the Bao family's mark. Upon opening them, she found they contained protective magical artifacts, clearly gifts from Bao Manshan and the Seventh Elder.

Bao Yun entered the study, where the view was breathtaking. Looking out the window, she saw newly formed mountain peaks. The mountains were shrouded in a hazy halo of sunlight, their outlines blurred. A gentle breeze carried the fragrance of the mountains, the subtle scent of wood. She sighed softly, feeling weary, and fell into a deep sleep at her desk.

Amidst the everyday hustle and bustle of life, Zhang Sheng stood with his hands behind his back, gazing at the distant sea.

The 371st Heavenly Tribulation was brewing in the sky, but Zhang Sheng didn't care at all. Now that the Immortal Sword Society had formed its own sword formation and was automatically protecting its master, she could overcome the tribulation even if she fell asleep.

The ordinary girl who led the way when he first entered the world of mortals reappeared beside Zhang Sheng. Following Zhang Sheng's gaze, there was a lonely island in the sea, and newly grown saplings on the island.

Zhang Sheng suddenly said, "Senior Huang Yun is merely taking the first step; one day, this too will be our destiny."

"It sounds like people from your sect all meet terrible ends?"

"A terrible death? Oh, actually, that's pretty much it." Zhang Sheng chuckled, then said, "Below the True Lord level, quite a few die of old age. But it's different for those above the True Lord level. When their time is up and their chances of breaking through are extremely low, what do they do? Are they just sitting in the mountain gate waiting to die of old age?"
At this point, the obvious course of action is to descend the mountain with a sword, either to take down the invading tribes or to settle scores with one's enemies. If one is fortunate enough to survive, one can simply return to the mountain gate at the last moment to pass away peacefully.

The ordinary-looking girl said, "They sound like a bunch of lunatics."

Zhang Sheng said, "The reason why my Taichu Palace has become the leader of the immortal sects in just a few thousand years is because of the continuous influx of geniuses. Everyone may have come for cultivation at first, but what keeps them in the end is not the path to immortality, but the ideal."

"These crazy people you mentioned found like-minded people here, so they never left."

(End of this chapter)