Longzang

Chapter 60 could have filled a single sheet of jade paper.

Even after leaving the arena, Wei Yuan's heart was still pounding. Previously, Wei Yuan had only seen alien races in books and in the images his teacher created through spells. This time, however, he was personally fighting them head-on, and against mountain giants with extremely strong individual combat power.

The mountain people are also a large race, living in the south and southwest of the Great Tang. Beyond the border mountains of Yongzhou lies their territory. There are two types of mountain people: one is slightly shorter than humans and moves swiftly through the mountains; the other is the giant Wei Yuan faces. The two types of mountain people differ greatly in size, yet they share the same origin and race—a marvel of creation that truly inspires awe.

Wei Yuan paid special attention to the mountain people because the mountain people's country was right outside Yongzhou. Although the mountain people's main attack direction was not Yongzhou, small groups of troops would still invade from time to time. Moreover, the mountain people were fierce and brutal. In ancient times, humans were on the mountain people's diet, and even today, if the mountain people captured humans, they would still cook and eat them.

The mountain giants all possessed starting combat strength equivalent to a Foundation Establishment cultivator. Wei Yuan was facing the weakest of the mountain giants, and the Tai Chu Palace, for the sake of complete security, had already drugged and destroyed their minds, leaving only their fighting instincts for the purpose of training their disciples. True mountain giants are not only cold-blooded and brutal, but also cunning and ruthless, clad in full armor, and wield specially forged weapons. If the mountain giants released were of that type, Wei Yuan's chances of survival would be slim.

After Wei Yuan, the other students also took to the field. The vast valley was divided into more than a dozen arenas, where battles took place simultaneously. There were no restrictions against the alien races; they could unleash their full power.

Xiao Yu used the Dao Foundation Immortal Sword Great Sun to enhance the supreme magic sword, making it infinitely powerful. With one strike, he cleaved the mountain giant in two.

Bao Yun's Dao foundation was not yet complete, but she possessed a set of top-grade magical artifacts. She held a glass jade bottle in her hand, which shone brightly when activated. Various powerful Dao techniques were like a storm, blasting the mountain giant to the ground, charred black.

Yan Ming then threw out two magic orbs, which exploded and revealed two whale-mermaid warriors in the arena. These whale-mermaid warriors were three zhang tall, significantly taller than the mountain giant, and their strength was equivalent to the mid-stage of the Foundation Establishment realm. Fighting two against one, they swiftly killed the mountain giant. However, these magic orbs were single-use items with no cultivation level restrictions, so each one was worth 100,000 taels of immortal silver. Yan Ming essentially used 200,000 taels of immortal silver to buy a good exam ranking, with the reward worth approximately 2,000 taels.

Yan Ming was not ridiculed for this battle; instead, he received praise and admiration. The reason was simple: the 200,000 taels were earned by Yan Ming himself over the past three years. The favor Yan Ming received years ago came from the jade pendant at his master's waist, a pendant with the power to measure the size of Mount Sumeru; it was essentially the master's purse.

The gift of the patriarch's waist pouch is terrifying indeed.

Besides these few, several other disciples managed to win using various methods, but most students were defeated. The mountain giants were thick-skinned and extremely strong; ordinary Dao Foundation artifacts could only cause minor injuries. Those lacking in combat skills could not seriously injure their opponents even after exhausting their Dao power. Therefore, even more than half of the disciples who had formed their Dao Foundation were defeated.

Throughout the entire exam, only thirteen people managed to defeat the half-crippled mountain giants, less than ten percent of the total. The disciples of Taichu Palace were all arrogant and didn't take the alien races seriously at all, but after facing them face-to-face, they truly felt that the ferocity of the alien races was not just talk.

After the two exams, Wei Yuan ranked fourth among the five disciples of the Dingxin Sect who received the patriarch's blessing, which was neither outstanding nor disappointing. He was awarded three bottles of Peiyuan Pills.

However, of all the participants, only Wei Yuan managed to fight the mountain giant head-on without being at a disadvantage. With Wei Yuan's example already set, all the disciples of the Mingwang Palace roared and fought the mountain giant head-on, only to suffer a crushing defeat; even the two who could have won were defeated.

One of the Mingwang Palace's talented disciples imitated Wei Yuan, also taking a long spear and attempting to stab the mountain man in the groin from behind. However, the mountain man, in pain, fell down, accidentally sitting on the disciple's buttocks. The disciple was severely injured and thus defeated.

After the preliminary examination, it was rumored that the Lord of the Mingwang Palace approached True Lord Xuanyue, hoping to take Wei Yuan under his wing, but to no avail. There were also rumors that the Lord of the Mingwang Palace had known all along that the Tianqing Palace would not release him, and that his visit was merely because the Mingwang Palace had recently made a windfall and needed to show it off to True Lord Xuanyue.

After the mini-exam, Wei Yuan was surprised to find that the process of refining his physical constitution would continue!
By this time, he had read all the Yin-Yang secret manuals and knew everything he should and shouldn't know, so he wanted to argue with his senior sister.

But the eldest sister never reasoned with people.

The eldest sister said that no matter how small a bird turns into an eagle, even if an eagle vomits blood, it still has to be washed the same way.

Wei Yuan rose up in resistance but was brutally suppressed. The process was filled with humiliation, but the act of filling a jade paper made it impossible for Wei Yuan to ever again harbor any desire to resist.

Fortunately, Wei Yuan's Dao foundation was not yet complete, so his senior sister's unique skill of pulling up the Dao foundation was useless. Otherwise, Wei Yuan would have experienced the feeling of being in unbearable pain, worse than death, wanting to die but still being alive, and being in a state between life and death.

The Blood Fusion Realm cultivation continued as usual, only the pills were changed to Blood Essence Pills, each costing two hundred taels of immortal silver, three pills a day. The taste was indescribable, even worse than the Qi Cultivation Pill. After three days, Wei Yuan felt that his life as a toad was not worthwhile.

This diet lasted for three years.

Having successfully fused his blood, Wei Yuan's blood turned a pale pink, as thick as flowing mercury. His physical body became even stronger, his speed greatly increased, and his recovery ability significantly improved. If he were to participate in the sect's preliminary exam now, Wei Yuan could defeat two more of his four opponents after defeating the others.

After the blood fusion, it becomes jade bones, which means the entire skeleton and marrow are forged. The elixir for the Jade Bone Realm was replaced with Bone Forging Pills, three pills a day, each costing four hundred taels. The taste of the first pill made Wei Yuan suspect Chan Sheng, and then he ate them for two years.

The Jade Bone Realm remains untouched by defilement.

With his Jade Bones fully formed, Wei Yuan's entire skeleton was as translucent as ruby, almost transparent. His speed increased further, his movements lightning-fast, and his strength surged; only his physical body remained relatively unchanged. If he were to participate in the preliminary exam now, aside from a handful of people, the rest would not last three rounds against him. Even if his opponents had already reached the Foundation Establishment stage, Wei Yuan could easily defeat them with his fists and feet. Facing the armored mountain giant, Wei Yuan was confident of victory.

After that comes the refinement of the spirit, taking the Spirit Nourishing Pill, seven hundred pills each, which takes two years to complete.

If this elixir is taken, the toad will wish it were dead.

Time flies like an arrow. Wei Yuan finally achieved the Great Perfection of Spirit Refinement and the Perfection of Body Forging, awaiting only the opportunity to condense his Dao Foundation. This was exactly ten years after Wei Yuan embarked on the path of immortality.

That year, Wei Yuan was sixteen years old.

Zhang Sheng was ten years old. At the break of dawn that day, Zhang Sheng sat before Wei Yuan, giving him his final test.

When Wei Yuan entered his sea of ​​consciousness, a visualization image was vibrant and lively, already possessing its own spiritual charm. This was a sign of the completion of body forging. The jade toad was even more lively, blinking its eyes when Zhang Sheng's divine sense swept over it, quite mischievous.

However, according to the standards of the Taichu Palace, this visualization is unremarkable. There are no auspicious beasts or celestial birds, no gods, demons, immortals, or Buddhas, and no immortal swords or divine weapons. Only the shadow lingering in the full moon is somewhat special.

But Wei Yuan and Zhang Sheng knew how arduous it would be to fill in this visualization diagram.

For the past few years, everyone in the Azure Heaven Palace, starting with True Lord Xuan Yue, has turned a blind eye to the reappearance of the shadow in the full moon and remained completely silent about it. As long as the shadow does not continue to expand the visualization diagram, everyone treats it as if it does not exist.

After carefully examining the visualization diagram, Zhang Sheng sighed, lamenting Wei Yuan's passing and his own wasted ten years. He paused for a moment before saying, "Let's go, come with me to see the Patriarch."

At this moment, Wei Yuan also cultivated his Dao power, standing firmly on his flying sword like a rock. The flying sword moved like lightning, landing in the Azure Sky Main Hall in the blink of an eye. The last time Wei Yuan was here was nine years ago.

In the center of the main hall sat an old Taoist priest with white hair and a long beard, a kind face, and a ruddy complexion like that of a baby. At Zhang Sheng's prompting, Wei Yuan quickly went over to pay his respects. This seemingly benevolent old Taoist priest was none other than Xuan Yue Zhenjun, the master of the Tianqing Palace and Shuiyue Palace.

To the left and right of the True Lord stood three True Men on each side, with the Burning Sea True Men standing second from the left. Today, all six True Men from the Azure Sky Palace and the Water Moon Palace were present, making it a truly grand occasion.

After receiving the greetings, True Lord Xuan Yue ordered Wei Yuan to rise. With his eyes slightly open, he could see right through Wei Yuan, both inside and out. At this moment, Wei Yuan was over seven feet tall, a head taller than ordinary people, and his skin shone with an inner radiance, without the slightest flaw.

As for appearance, when he was a child, the Immortal of the Burning Sea said that he was better looking than Zhang Sheng, which made Zhang Sheng sulk for three whole months. Now that he has grown up, the difference between him and Zhang Sheng has widened again.

However, Wei Yuan was calm and composed from a young age, with sharp and distinct features, which was completely different from Xu Henshui's pure and gentle beauty.

After looking at it for a long time, Xuan Yue Zhenjun sighed and said in a rather desolate voice, “This visualization diagram has its own vast and boundless atmosphere, and is a complete whole, just like heaven and earth. It does not need to be refined at all. We were attached to appearances before.”

Upon hearing the True Lord's words, the expressions of the other True Immortals turned somewhat grim. Over the past ten years, Wei Yuan's expenses on cultivating pills had been the majority, but the cost of refining his foundation was also considerable. Now, the True Lord was saying that refining was meaningless, which was difficult for the True Immortals to accept.

How could it be meaningless? Immediately, two immortals, their eyebrows furrowed, prepared to argue with the True Lord. But the True Lord wasn't necessarily right either.

Immediately, a true master spoke eloquently: "Ancestor Xuan Yue, I cannot agree with your words! Cultivation prioritizes purity above all else; this is an immutable truth! Purity is never useless. No matter how pure your Dao foundation is, it's never too much. It's like a piece of pure white jade paper with a black spot on it..."

Those who can cultivate to become Dharma Aspect True Persons are all people who lack nothing in terms of talent, perseverance, and luck. They also basically have one thing in common: they are extremely persistent in pursuing purity. When they see even a little impurity, it is like a sesame seed on a piece of white paper in front of them. They must remove it to feel at ease.

When they were condensing their Dao foundation, each of them wanted to refine the immortal embryo hundreds or thousands of times. Even if there were no impurities, they would still hammer it several more times before they felt at ease.

Wei Yuan's immortal embryo is unprecedented in size, but it is far from pure. Any random piece is worth refining a dozen times, which is especially stress-relieving.

The true men have keen eyes; they see impurities everywhere they look, and the more they look, the more uncomfortable they feel. They wish they could take Wei Yuan's place and squeeze out each impurity one by one.

Besides, if it really didn't need refining, why only say so now? The cost of refining pills increases with each level of refinement. If you had said so a few years earlier, the True Immortals wouldn't be so penniless.

Xuan Yue Zhenjun offered Wei Yuan a few more words of encouragement, then said, "You have cultivated diligently for ten years, and now you need to seek an opportunity to establish your Dao foundation. Soon it will be the grand examination held once every ten years by my Tai Chu Palace, which is the duty of every Dao foundation cultivator. Although you are not yet at the Dao foundation stage, your body tempering has been completed, which can be considered as establishing your Dao foundation. After ten years of diligent cultivation, it is time for you to serve the palace. Zhang Sheng!"

"The disciple is here."

"You will go with Wei Yuan to this major exam. In a little while, you will take my token to the palace to collect all the necessary magical implements and supplies."

Zhang Sheng accepted the order, and then True Lord Xuan Yue bestowed some pills and magical artifacts upon Wei Yuan, before instructing him to return and prepare. Throughout the entire process, True Lord Xuan Yue kept one hand concealed in his sleeve, never extending it.

After Zhang Sheng left, Xuan Yue Zhenjun's voice rang out again: "The matter of purity is not understood by you in this way. The Dao follows nature, and sometimes impurities are also part of the Great Dao..."

"...I cannot agree!"

"Come, come, I, the True Lord, will only show you two fingers and teach you what it means to respect your teachers!"

P.S.: Sometimes you have to be gentle; you can't cut where it hurts every time.

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(End of this chapter)