Longzang

Chapter 567 Looking Ahead
In the chilling realm, Zhang Sheng held a longsword that gleamed with a ghostly blue light, slowly tracing its blade with his finger. This sword was extremely yin and cold, and carried a trace of annihilation essence; its grade was considered high-grade even among earth-rank swords.

During this time, Zhang Sheng spent several hours in the Netherworld almost every day, sometimes meditating to comprehend the universe, and sometimes helping to mine Nether Iron and Nether Crystal. His temperament became increasingly profound and unfathomable.

"What a fine sword!" Zhang Sheng exclaimed in praise.

Zhang Sheng turned around and saw Long Wushuang staring intently at the sword in his hand. Han Li stood a little distance away, also looking at the sword in Zhang Sheng's hand. The two were watching intently, almost deliberately.

Zhang Sheng, knowing their backgrounds, became curious and asked, "Tell me, what makes them so good?"

Long Wushuang spoke first: "This sword is extremely yin and cold, destined to vanish into nothingness, the end of all things."

Zhang Sheng was somewhat surprised. It was already difficult enough to say that something would vanish into nothingness, but he never expected that it would also say that something would be the end of all things.

This is the sword's hidden true meaning, which will only be revealed if it advances to the Immortal Rank in the future. The fact that Long Wushuang could see through this shows his extraordinary insight.

Zhang Sheng then looked at Han Li. Han Li was no ordinary person, as he had always been able to outmaneuver Long Wushuang and maintain his position as the sect leader. However, Long Wushuang had already seen through the true meaning of this sword's future; he wondered what insights Han Li might have.

Han Li pondered for a moment and said, "This sword has already developed a spirit, and its future may hold infinite possibilities. It doesn't necessarily have to follow the predetermined path. If it is nurtured with the Qi of destiny, it may be possible for a sword spirit to be born."

Zhang Sheng was greatly surprised and began to re-examine the immortal sword.

This sword is named Guiji. Zhang Sheng had sensed its extraordinary nature when he advanced through the Netherworld, but Han Li's words revealed its true potential. If it could develop a sword spirit, it would rank among the top immortal swords. Of Zhang Sheng's four immortal swords...
Zhang Sheng nodded slightly and said calmly, "Your insight is good."

Han Li and Long Wushuang bowed to each other and then went about their business. Long Wushuang couldn't help but steal another glance, while Han Li never turned around.

Just then, Wei Yuan appeared like a ghost. As soon as he appeared, he looked around suspiciously and even sniffed hard, but naturally he couldn't smell anything.

Zhang Sheng raised his eyebrows and asked, "What are you looking for?"

Wei Yuan frowned and said, "I have a bad feeling, like something is targeting me. But it's very subtle, and I don't know where it's coming from. I want to see if a spies from the Witch Clan have come in, or if that guy Shu Li is secretly using some kind of secret technique to harm me again."

Zhang Sheng said, "I don't feel anything. If there really is a secret technique being developed, it shouldn't be aimed at me."

Although Zhang Qi's luck was not as great as Wei Yuan's, her clear sword heart was nearly flawless, and her perception of evil intentions and hostility was in no way inferior to Wei Yuan's. At her level, almost no one could sneak up on her.

The two exchanged a glance and instantly understood the problem. Hostility or malice might simply mean something detrimental to Wei Yuan could happen. In short, it wouldn't affect Zhang Sheng, only Wei Yuan.

Both of them, after figuring this out, were still completely baffled. If it were a scheme by the Witch Clan, there would be no reason for them to target only Wei Yuan; they would definitely try to wipe out everyone who entered the Netherworld. But if it wasn't the Witch Clan, then everyone below Mount Ming, except for Zhang Sheng, was part of Wei Yuan's Dharma form, and there couldn't possibly be any traitors or anything like that.

Surely one's own Dharma form wouldn't turn against oneself?

Wei Yuan initially found the idea somewhat amusing, but upon closer reflection, the laughter gradually faded. It's true, among hundreds of thousands of mortals, there are at least eight thousand, if not ten thousand, born with a rebellious nature. Just recently, someone even proclaimed, "The Immortal Venerable is dead, the Immortal Toad shall rise!"

Zhang Sheng suddenly said, "Could it be a demon, or a monster from outer space?"

Wei Yuan pondered for a moment and said, "It's quite possible. If one of those extraterrestrial monsters that I saw last time were to pass by, there would indeed be a reaction."

The extraterrestrial monster Wei Yuan had once encountered was so large it seemed to encompass the heavens and the earth; a single claw strike appeared to be larger than the entire kingdom of Shuli. If it were passing by, Zhang Sheng, who had never seen it before, would naturally sense it.

The extraterrestrial monsters appeared as phantoms, overlapping with the Netherworld, yet seemingly without any interaction. However, their passage did indeed affect the Netherworld, leaving behind tearing scars.

Wei Yuan didn't want to dwell on such trivial matters, so he asked Zhang Sheng, "Has your cultivation progressed?"

“Quite good progress, this sword has advanced.” Zhang Sheng manifested Guiji and displayed it in front of Wei Yuan.

Wei Yuan glanced at it and casually said, "It's alright."

Zhang Sheng raised an eyebrow, feeling an urge to slay the traitor with a single sword stroke. This kid was good in every way, except sometimes his mouth was just too outrageous.

"What do you mean by 'make do'?" Zhang Sheng pressed.

As expected, both Han Li and Long Wushuang showed slight fluctuations in their Dao power, clearly indicating that they were secretly listening.

Wei Yuan didn't find anything unusual about these two. In the mortal world, at least half of the people have their own thoughts now. Han Li and Long Wushuang were among the first to be named, so they were no longer just spiritual beings. Their reactions were no different from those of a real cultivator.

Seeing Zhang Sheng ask this, Wei Yuan thought he was being tested, so he said, "You have over five hundred immortal swords. No matter how powerful one is, it won't make a decisive difference. Don't spend too much effort on one sword. It's more practical to advance several more. Even if it advances to the immortal rank, it still can't withstand a formation of sixty-four human-rank swords. Teacher, you are now following the noble path of overwhelming others with strength. Who can withstand a bunch of immortal swords thrown at you? It doesn't really matter if you have one more or one less good sword. So it's better to focus your energy on improving your Dao power to fully unleash the power of your Dao foundation."

"It's like two armies at war. Whether the enemy has three thousand or five thousand elite troops, I have a million-strong army. I can just overwhelm them. What's the point of tactics?"

Zhang Sheng had originally planned to devote more effort to the Guiji Dao, but upon hearing this, she fell into deep thought again. Wei Yuan was reminding her not to forget the path she was currently on.

Wei Yuan did not leave immediately, but instead sat in meditation with Zhang Sheng. While Zhang Sheng cultivated his Daoist power, Wei Yuan handled worldly affairs.

At this moment, the Jade Mountain Black Pool began to boil. The souls that Wei Yuan had refined from 800,000 witch clan members had finally been transformed, and a spiritual being was about to be born.

However, the souls of the 200,000 elite troops and the 30,000-strong Swamp Crocodile Legion were all collected by the Ancestral Witch. Later, Wei Yuan kept the young girl's Yin Yang under tight control, preventing her from showing her face and competing with the Ancestral Witch. It was fine if she succeeded in taking it once, but if she took too much, Wei Yuan was afraid that the Ancestral Witch would be so angry that she would regain her senses.

However, all 800,000 members of the Wu Clan who were refined by the karmic fire were taken away by Wei Yuan's Gate of All Realms.

The water in the pool became increasingly turbulent, and something slowly emerged from the water.

At first, Wei Yuan couldn't figure out what this strange-looking thing was. His heart tightened, thinking that the first witch clan had finally appeared in the human world. But as more and more of the monster emerged from the water, it gradually became clear that it was a huge, ferocious beast head, and Wei Yuan breathed a sigh of relief.

Otherwise, if witches or other alien races were to appear in the world of the mind, this place would probably no longer be considered a place of human life.

Zhang Sheng also noticed Wei Yuan's unusual behavior and looked over inquiringly. Wei Yuan shook his head, indicating that it was nothing to worry about, and continued to wait for the giant beast to emerge from the pool.

It slowly crawled out of the pool, revealing a body like a giant python behind its enormous beast head. The part of its body above water grew longer and longer, and then two hind claws emerged.

It was like a mass of shadows, with only two points of eerie light flashing in its eyes; it was a shadow dragon!
It has three toes on each of its four claws, so it should still be a dragon. At this time, its strength is at the perfect stage of Dharma form.

Although this shadow dragon only has three toes and is merely a dragon-headed dragon, it is still a true dragon and cannot be inferior to Yu Jing. The reason it is at the level of perfect Dharma form is probably because it was held back by Wei Yuan. The upper limit of the Mind Form World is the level of perfect Dharma form.

However, it seemed that the soul power of the 800,000 witches had not been used up yet, as it was still holding something in its front paws.

Once Yinglong left Jade Mountain, he immediately soared into the sky, flying straight into the clouds without stopping, and disappeared from sight.

However, as the master of human affairs, Wei Yuan knew that it had chosen a place above the clouds to build its nest. It was just that the location of this nest was somewhat remote, more than a thousand miles away from the central city.

Hiding in such a desolate place, it didn't seem to like it here, but rather as if it was hiding from something. Wei Yuan pondered, what could his Dharma Form possibly have that could frighten a Shadow Dragon like this? A Dragon Eagle? Definitely not.

In the center of the Yin-Yang Furnace of the Central City, the girl opened her eyes. Those eyes, devoid of any emotion, pierced through numerous obstacles and landed on Shadow Dragon.

Shadow Dragon let out a low roar, as if facing a formidable enemy, and immediately curled up into a ball.

At this moment, the shadow in the full moon came to life, revealing a three-eyed bird head. Then it opened one eye and looked down at the small shadow dragon below, as if examining its flesh.

Shadow Dragon let out a low growl and remained motionless, as if it were playing dead.

The shadow in the moon changed again, and the bird's head grew bigger and bigger until the entire full moon became just one of the three-eyed bird's pupils!
The full moon resembled a window, and within it, a three-eyed bird approached, peering down at the shadow dragon. A moment later, the full moon returned to normal, as if nothing had happened.

This series of changes made Wei Yuan increasingly confused. The mundane affairs of the human world were gradually slipping out of Wei Yuan's control and beginning to evolve on their own. Moreover, even now, the souls of the humans who died in the final battle had not been reincarnated through the Gate of Realms, and he didn't know what had happened.

In the final battle, Qingming lost 30,000 elite soldiers. These people had naturally powerful souls, and their reincarnations as mortals were likely to be endowed with various talents.

At that moment, Wei Yuan's heart stirred as he received a message: Another baby girl had been born in Xu Family New City—the very baby girl whose growth was accelerated by gathering the energy of thousands of infants.

When she accelerated her gestation, she absorbed only slightly fewer babies than Xu Shiba, so Wei Yuan always paid close attention to her and specially left a Dao Foundation Warrior to protect her at all times.

However, the other girls in Xu Family New City were quietly developing, unlike the first time when all the babies were absorbed by the last three, who then had to fight each other. Although the other two babies survived at the time, they died not long after, and after their deaths, Xu Shiba's growth accelerated again.

Wei Yuan greeted Zhang Sheng and then left the Netherworld for Xu Family New City.

After he left, Han Li and Long Wushuang exchanged a quiet glance. Countless subtle messages flickered in their pupils; they had exchanged their views without making a sound.

Long Wushuang disagreed with Wei Yuan's assessment, while Han Li believed that the Creator Immortal Venerable was unfathomable.

(End of this chapter)