Longzang

Chapter 638 Abundant Daoist Treasury
The cultivators of Taichu Palace swiftly and efficiently cleaned up the battlefield, taking everything back regardless of its usefulness. Many things, even if useless, seemed to have great value in Xu Henshui's hands.

Seeing Xu Henshui constantly throwing various limbs, tattered clothes, and fragments of magical artifacts into his storage bag, Wei Yuan became curious and asked, "Uncle Xu, with your vast wealth and power, what are you collecting these things for?"

Xu Henshui said, "These are all top-quality medicinal materials, why not pick them up?"

Wei Yuan considered himself to be of decent alchemy skills, only slightly better than Xu Henshui, but he couldn't see any resemblance to alchemical ingredients in these things.

Xu Henshui rolled his eyes at him and said, "You claim to have refined elixirs, yet you lack even this basic common sense? The *Taishang Danjing* states: 'Heaven and earth are the furnace, yin and yang are the charcoal, and all things are the copper.' This shows that the ultimate realm of an alchemist is to use heaven and earth as a furnace to refine the entire world into a single elixir—this is the pinnacle of alchemy!"

Therefore, all of these things I have can theoretically be used to refine pills. If I can't, it just means my skill level isn't high enough, not that the ingredients are bad.

Wei Yuan hadn't really read any alchemical texts; he'd only skimmed through them once. His first attempt at alchemy relied on the aid of human experience to simulate the perfect process, with movements precise to the second. The second attempt used an optimized version of the process, also precise to the second. Then it was a continuous process of optimization and refinement, repeating the process over and over.

But hearing Xu Henshui say this, Wei Yuan couldn't help but ask, "Uncle-Master Xu, is it possible that when that patriarch wrote this, it was actually a metaphor?"

Xu Henshui said, "How could I not know that? But the senior has pointed out the path, and it's not necessary for me to be able to do it myself. We, the younger generation, should naturally go further than our predecessors on the path they have pointed out. That is the right way. If our predecessors dare to think, then we should dare to do it."

"In my generation, Xu Henshui, refining an entire world is impossible, but surely we can refine a batch of pills from a grotto-heaven, a small world, or the mountain gate of a certain sect?"

Wei Yuan never expected that his Uncle-Master Xu's ambitions were so lofty—to forge the world into one furnace, which was practically to recreate the elements of earth, fire, water, and wind. Who says alchemists don't have a heart that yearns to destroy the world?
That's a matter for the distant future; for now, Wei Yuan won't stop Xu Henshui from collecting trash. Lei Dong's intelligence already included a detailed map of the area around Mingtie Mountain, and after Wei Yuan inspected it in person, he confirmed the location for building the fortress and stationing troops there.

Many cultivators then built five or six fortresses within a few miles of the Nether Mountain.

Time was of the essence, and Wei Yuan didn't have time to dig tunnels. He simply placed a Dao Foundation Warrior in each fortress to guard it, and then retreated back to Mount Ming with the other cultivators. They built another fortress on the top of Mount Ming, which offered a commanding view of the surrounding dozens of miles.

Wei Yuan has now positioned three cannons atop Mount Ming, each pointing in a different direction. These cannons are forged from Ming iron, making them extremely sturdy, and the gunpowder is made with Dao power, resulting in immense power; thus, a single shot can travel dozens of miles.

Wei Yuan then returned to Mount Ming and began studying the painting left behind by Shu Li's incarnation with the other cultivators.

After setting up the surrounding array and all the cultivators were fully prepared, Wei Yuan opened the scroll. As the scroll slowly unfurled in Wei Yuan's hands, a landscape painting appeared, revealing a city within it. The city was ancient and elegant, nestled against the mountains and facing the water, and the architectural style within it leaned more towards the human race.

A fire is burning in one corner of the city in the painting. Many houses have collapsed and the ground is scorched. The city is full of panicked witches running around. In the small square next to it, rows of corpses are laid out and witches are being carried over one after another.

Every ten or so breaths, the scroll would ripple like water, and the figures of the sorcerer within would change accordingly. Several sorcerers were circling a burning building, trying to extinguish the fire little by little. But the fires in the other buildings were burning ever brighter.

After seeing it, the cultivators of Taichu Palace looked at each other in bewilderment. They tried to probe it with their divine sense, but only felt a membrane like ripples on water, which they could not penetrate. Their primordial spirits seemed to be able to pass through and enter the world within the painting, but none of them would do so.

Xu Henshui, who came from a distinguished family and had a broad perspective, said, "This painting should depict a small world like a blessed land. This painting should be the entrance, not the blessed land itself."

Yu Zhizhuo said, "That makes sense. Otherwise, any blessed land that can be carried around would be at least a celestial artifact. Even immortals would fight over it. How could Shuli, who is just a sorcerer, possess such a treasure?"

Wei Yuan said, "It's a pity that Shu Li's avatar died too quickly, otherwise it would have been a great gain if we could have interrogated him about how to use this scroll. This painting should depict the real world, not the primordial spirit world."

Feng Tingyu was eager to try: "Should I go in and explore?"

Wei Yuan immediately refused: "No way! Nobody knows what the situation is over there. This kind of space travel is extremely dangerous. If the entrance is disturbed when the primordial spirit enters or exits, the primordial spirit may be banished to the outer world forever and become food for monsters from the outer world."

After discussing it for a while, Wei Yuan finally decided to send a Dao Foundation Establishment warrior in to explore. Wei Yuan chose an unawakened Dao Foundation Establishment warrior, attached a wisp of his divine consciousness to him, and then manipulated him to fly into the world within the painting.

Daoji warrior locked onto the scroll, and as he approached, a voice rang out: Do you wish to enter the Jade Spring Blessed Land?
"Enter." Wei Yuan responded in his mind, and then a suction force was generated in the picture. The Dao Foundation Warrior became smaller and smaller, and finally turned into the size of a grain of sand and flew into the picture.

Then Wei Yuan severed the connection with him, and the Daoist warrior appeared in mid-air, falling helplessly, seemingly having lost the ability to fly.

He didn't fall onto the ground, but into a huge pit filled with rows of gleaming blades, and at the bottom, a layer of highly corrosive poisonous water rippled.

The warrior fell helplessly into the pit of blades, his body pierced by sharp blades. His body was then corroded, billowing smoke, and he quickly charred and vanished into nothingness.

Wei Yuan felt a slight pain in his mind; he had lost this Dao Foundation Warrior forever.

The cultivators of Taichu Palace, with their sharp eyes, had already seen that rashly entering the painting would be a certain death; the knife pit and acid pool were not prepared for nothing. Moreover, once inside the painting, the Foundation Establishment cultivator seemed to lose the ability to fly, unable to even use a life-saving technique. Falling into the knife pit meant instant death, just like an ordinary person.

As the sustaining power dissipated, the warrior vanished into thin air, transforming into spiritual energy and returning to the world. All the cultivators stared at Wei Yuan and asked, "How did you feel?"

Wei Yuan smiled wryly, "The connection was severed the moment I entered the painting; it felt like I had truly entered another world."

Zhang Sheng said, "A Dao Foundation cultivator who is not weak can't move any Dao power after entering, and doesn't even have an instinctive protective body. This shows that the rules of heaven and earth in the inner world are extremely powerful and restrictive. It should not be entered lightly. The best way is to find a way to use this treasure correctly."

Sun Yu said, "This will most likely fall on the last avatar of Shu Li. What should we do next?"

Wei Yuan said, "I will first transplant all the immortal orchids that Uncle Xu gave me. They can generate their own domains and replace the kingdom here. Once I obtain information about the entire kingdom, we will use this Nether Mountain as the center and extend our domains towards the core of the kingdom. Wherever the domains extend, our firepower will cover that area."

Zhang Sheng nodded and said, "However, Shuli is, after all, a sorcerer, and this is his kingdom. We must be wary that he may have other tricks up his sleeve. Everyone should contribute their efforts to gather some useful magical artifacts. The more magical artifacts we have, the fewer unexpected events we will encounter."

Xu Henshui's eyes flickered, and he suddenly said, "The domain of a single Immortal Orchid is limited; it's probably not enough to cover too many areas. Do you still want Immortal Orchids?"

Wei Yuan was pleasantly surprised: "You have more?"

Xu Henshui nodded and then said, "Three plants will get you one ancient immortal pill recipe. If you don't have any, you can buy them on credit. I'll give you nine plants right now!"

Wei Yuan gasped, this time truly surprised and delighted. Nine Immortal Orchids—this number was completely unexpected. Although an individual Immortal Orchid is weaker than other Immortal Plants, the sheer number of them was astounding!
However, Xu Henshui's request put Wei Yuan in a difficult position. Ancient elixir formulas were already hard to find, and immortal formulas were even harder. The longevity pill given by Xianghou could be considered an immortal formula, mainly because its most important effect was prolonging life.

Encountering even one of these ancient elixirs is an opportunity, let alone three? However, Xu Henshui's request wasn't unreasonable at all, so Wei Yuan was prepared to grit his teeth and agree. He was used to being in debt anyway, and it seemed like he never had to repay it.

Every time Wei Yuan repaid part of the loan, Ancestor Xuan Yue would borrow even more, and there was always a constant stream of people lending him money, which Wei Yuan found very strange.

Just as Wei Yuan was about to further enhance his reputation, a girl's yin-yang thoughts suddenly came to him: "Say yes!"

"Huh?" Wei Yuan was a little confused, not understanding why the girl Yin Yang had gotten involved.

“I have the ancient elixir here.”

"How many?" Wei Yuan asked hopefully.

"As many as you want, we have them."

This answer completely surprised Wei Yuan: "Where did the elixir formulas come from?"

"The legacy left by the immortal predecessors."

"show me."

"You can't understand it." The young woman showed no mercy to the Creator Immortal.

Seeing Wei Yuan agree, Xu Henshui's face showed an expression of "I knew it," and then he said he would hand the Immortal Orchid over to Wei Yuan when he returned. After discussion, the cultivators all agreed with Wei Yuan's strategy of proceeding step by step and using firepower for defense. At the same time, they should focus on studying the Netherworld, especially its kingdoms, to enrich the Daoist treasury of the Primordial Palace.

Afterwards, Wei Yuan became even more cautious, especially forbidding Feng Tingyu from going out. Feng Tingyu outwardly agreed, but as soon as the cultivators dispersed, she secretly approached Wei Yuan and questioned why she wasn't allowed to go out and play.

Wei Yuan knew she had this idea, but now that only one of Shu Li's avatars remained, who knew what other tricks he might have up his sleeve? Therefore, Wei Yuan was especially wary of him resorting to desperate measures, and naturally dared not let any Tai Chu Palace cultivator go out to take risks.

So Wei Yuan said to Feng Tingyu, "There's something really fun you can try. It's about practicing handling multiple tasks simultaneously amidst the everyday life of ordinary people. The more tasks you can handle at the same time, the better it will train your spirituality! It'll be very beneficial for your future development of your Dharma Aspect. Why don't you try it first and see how many you can do at the same time?"

Feng Tingyu was indeed very interested: "Has everyone else tried it?"

“They play every day!” Wei Yuan said seriously.

"Okay, I'll give it a try too." Feng Tingyu skipped and hopped into the human world, which relieved Wei Yuan. It wasn't until after Feng Tingyu left that Wei Yuan remembered something: she hadn't returned the Demon Blade.

Everything proceeded as planned, and Wei Yuan waited for the Dream Eater to come to him.

(End of this chapter)